Kleo’s phone buzzed and he excused himself as he fished it out of his pocket to see Alexei’s face displayed on the screen. He quickly answered, questioning why Alexei would be calling him at that moment. Wasn’t he going to some study session thing with his science nerd friends? Before he could even open his mouth to voice any of these thoughts, his ears were met with the slurred voice of his friend.

“Kleo,” Alexei’s voice drawled, stretching the “o” in his name for a few beats before catching himself. “Kleo, you really suck sometimes, you know?” Alexei hiccuped at the end of his sentence before letting out a sigh. Kleo didn’t like how he sounded.

“Where are you?” Kleo asked and he heard Alexei sigh again.

“Why do you want to know?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What? You’ve been so busy with your new girlfriend, I didn’t think you’d care.”

Kleo didn’t need to see his face to know there was a pout situated on Alexei’s lips.

“I have a girlfriend? That’s news to me,” Kleo said, trying to lighten the conversation, only for Alexei to scoff in response.

“I’m at the park on Main,” Alexei said before ending the call.

In all the years of knowing him, Kleo’s never witnessed Alexei act so… jealous? Hell, he didn’t think he’d ever seen him so drunkenly upset as he seemed on the phone. Kleo was worried, and a bit guilty if he were being honest. No, he wasn’t dating Flora, but it’s not like he hadn’t been spending a lot of time with her. Flora’s an incredible witch and has been such a massive help to Kleo since he learned about his powers. He knew he’d still have zero control over them if it weren’t for the things she’s taught him. But, of course Alexei jumped to that. He didn’t even know magic existed, let alone that Kleo suddenly had these powers. How could he fault him for thinking that?

Kleo pocketed his phone as he walked back to the front and grabbed his jacket from behind the shop’s counter. Flora looked to him from where she sat.

“Everything alright?” She asked.

“I gotta go, can we continue another night?” He grabbed his keys and she nodded.

“Sure, I’ll lock up on my way out.”

Kleo thanked her and walked out the front door. A cool breeze caressed his face as he bound up the stairs leading to the street. Luckily, Alexei wasn’t far from home, but still, the jog there left enough time for Kleo’s guilt to build inside of him. He was brought with the same question that had been plaguing him since he learned about magic: Why hadn’t he told Alexei about his powers? A dumb question with an even more dumb answer. Kleo was scared. Alexei had been such a constant in his life since he was in middle school. He was someone who knew him better than anyone and had been there since his mom passed. He’d trust him with his life, but for some reason he was terrified of the “what if’s” regarding Alexei finding out about magic. Alexei was all about science and concrete reality, the truth of something being tangible and seen by the human eye. Isn’t that the exact opposite of what magic is?

He reached the park entrance and saw him sat there on one of the concrete benches, his hair messily untucked from its place behind his ear. He looked up at him for a brief moment and Kleo could see the redness in both his cheeks and his eyes. He looked like he had been crying and Kleo’s heart sunk in his chest. Alexei’s shoulders shivered slightly and Kleo blanketed his jacket around him before motioning his head back towards the way he came.

“Let’s go home.”

The walk was quiet, save for the occasional hiccup escaping Alexei’s lips. Kleo imagined the brisk air may have sobered him up some while he waited for him to meet him. He watched him out of the side of his eye, taking in the way he walked, head tall even while still intoxicated. He admired that about him, honestly. Alexei always carried himself with confidence, even know, and Kleo always liked that about him.

He unlocked the shop’s door, letting Alexei inside before locking up behind them. The two walked up the stairs leading to their home, Kleo watching out to make sure Alexei wouldn’t trip going up. Once inside, Kleo immediately walked around the bar to grab a water bottle from the kitchen while Alexei stayed still in the entryway. Concerned, Kleo turned back to him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked and Alexei’s shoulder’s slumped for just a moment before he seemed to catch himself. He stuck his chin out and met Kleo’s eyes.

“I don’t care if you’re dating her, you know?” His voice no longer slurred as he spoke, and Kleo took that as a sign that he was indeed starting to sober up.

“I’m not.”

Alexei chuckled, “So, you just run off with some girl? Of course, you can do what you want Kleo, but you can’t lie to me.” A frown formed on his lips.

“Look, it’s really not like that, honest,” Kleo tried to explain but, how could he? Alexei shook his head before kicking off his shoes.

“You’ve never been a good liar,” he said, walking past him in disbelief. “Fine, you’re not dating her, but then what is it? What could it possibly be that you can’t even tell me?” Kleo almost didn’t catch the way his voice cracked when he said that. His heart broke knowing he was the one to do this to him. He hated seeing Alexei hurt, and it was worse because he was to blame. Kleo had to tell him the truth.

“I found something out, about my mom,” he started, voice soft and unsure as to how he would even explain it. “Something about myself that I had no way of knowing.” Alexei looked over his shoulder and Kleo could see the skepticism in his eyes. He hated that that look was directed towards him and the bad feeling it formed in his gut. “Just, here, read for yourself,” Kleo said as he pulled out his wallet, slipping the folded letter out and holding it out to him. Alexei looked at the folded note in his hand before looking back at Kleo. He turned, walking over just enough to take the letter from Kleo. He carefully unfolded it and read what it said. Kleo could feel the anxiety building inside of him as he waited for him to say something, anything.

“This,” Alexei started, eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t believe him. Of course he didn’t, why would he? “What is this?” Alexei asked, confusion and disbelief clearly on his face. “Do you expect—“

“I can prove it,” Kleo piped up before Alexei could say another word. Alexei closed his mouth and looked at him. He stood there, arms crossed and waiting for Kleo to somehow prove to him that magic really existed. Kleo walked over to him and held out his hands. Alexei raised an eyebrow and Kleo let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Please, just humor me?” Alexei eyed him for another moment and Kleo could feel his own impatience bubbling inside him. He just wanted to clear the air and show Alexei that he wasn’t really lying to him. Well, maybe he was sort of and he did feel terrible but it was only about magic, something that neither of them even knew existed until recently.

Alexei returned Kleo’s letter before holding his hands out. Kleo took them and closed his eyes, remembering the first spell that Flora showed him how to do: a simple spell to bring light to any situation. Kleo could feel the warmth forming in his hands and didn’t have to open his eyes to see the small glowing orb that formed.

“What in the everlasting fuck?”

Kleo didn’t need to open his eyes to imagine the look on Alexei’s face either, but it was something he’d like to see, so he did. There was pure shock and amazement and Kleo couldn’t help but giggle a little. He looked adorable, just like a kid. The orb started to fade as Kleo lost focus on the spell and Alexei just stood there, mouth agape and eyes larger than he ever thought possible.

“See? I proved it,” Kleo smiled and Alexei shook his head.

“How is that real?”

“I don’t know.”

“What all can you do?”

“Honestly, I’m still figuring that out.”

“How did you even find out?”

“They just sort of happened around my birthday.”

“That was over a month ago!” Alexei’s face shifted from an excited shock to something a bit more pained. He asked the question that Kleo had been asking himself this entire time.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kleo didn’t know how to answer that question, still, no matter how often it ran through his own head, or how guilty it made him feel to keep something like that from him, he was scared of what Alexei would think if he did. He was scared of the worst case scenario and he didn’t want to lose someone else who was so important to him. Given that, though, he knew he had to be honest.

“I was scared,” he said softly and with a bit of shame.

‘Scared? What of?” Alexei asked and Kleo refused to look him in the eyes. There was a quiet between them and then suddenly, Kleo felt Alexei’s arms close around him. “You idiot,” he said in a whisper and held him there.

Kleo would admit that it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. A tightness in his chest had loosened and for the first time in over a month, he could truly breathe. He held onto Alexei and they stayed that way for moment before he pulled away.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“I mean, you’re a fool for not telling me, but, I guess I can understand,” Alexei said with a coy smile. “It’s good to know my opinion means so much to you,” Alexei joked. Kleo rolled his eyes and shoved him off.

“Please, stop talking.”

Alexei laughed and took his hand, pulling him back, “No no, you’re not getting away that easily.” Kleo let himself be held again as Alexei slipped his arms around his waist. “So, what does Flora have to do with all of this?”

“Flora’s a witch and she found out on accident,” he explained and received a hum in response. “She’s been helping me learn how to control my powers and stuff. Like magic lessons, basically.”

“That’s good to know,” Alexei said sheepishly, and Kleo smirked.

“You really were jealous, weren’t you?”

“Who, me?” He looked incredulous. “Never. Why would I be jealous?”

Kleo rolled his eyes yet again and tried to slip out of Alexei’s grip, only to receive a pout in return. His heart skipped a beat as he looked at him. “Ok, ok,” Alexei conceded, “ maybe I was a little jealous.”

“A little?”

“Hey, you’re the one who was keeping secrets! How could you blame me?”

“I’m just teasing,” Kleo said with a soft smile and finally tucked the loose strand of hair behind Alexei’s ear. “Also, I’m pretty sure you didn’t go to some chem thing tonight.” He said and Alexei looked somewhat embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” he said something and Kleo rubbed his back.

“It’s fine. We’ll call it even,” He smiled him and Alexei met his eyes. He couldn’t help the way his smile widened as he noticed the red appearing along Alexei’s cheeks. He decided that he liked this side of him. Alexei was always so cool, daring those who didn’t know him to just try and get close. He had his own walls that were fortunately built with Kleo already tucked inside with him. Kleo always had an advantage when it came to Alexei and he was thankful for that. Kleo heart began to pound in his chest as he held him there, and he knew Alexei had to have felt it. He didn’t know what to say in that moment, so he said nothing as they stood there in one another’s arms.

“You’re no fair, do you know that?” Alexei said, his voice barely a whisper.

“Am I?” Kleo meant to ask, but his lips were quite suddenly preoccupied with another soft pair to even begin to mutter a sound. Kleo was right, he definitely liked this side of him.