— t w e n t y - f i v e —

house, even more nervous than he had been outside Adam's house and wondering how his day had turned into a tour of their town surprising his friends with impromptu visits. Having a car certainly made a tour of town and impromptu visits a lot easier. Although that made it sound like he was a fun, spontaneous person. Oliver was anything but fun or spontaneous. This was more of an ambushing people who had been ignoring him until they agreed to stop ignoring him. It had worked pretty effectively for Adam. After the questionable resolution to their argument (which Oliver thought had raised more concerns than resolved them), they'd hung out for a bit playing video games until Adam had kicked him out to finish his work.

Oliver had never been more grateful to not be headboy when he saw all the numbers for venues and caterers he had to call for the year eleven party. He was pretty sure Adam hadn't even wanted to be headboy, in the same he probably didn't want to go to Cambridge. Just more expectations from his parents.

Oliver looked up at Reed's house for what had to be the millionth time. He was stalling and he was well aware of it. He had been round to Reed's house plenty of times when they were kids, but never since he had returned from London. Reed had never invited him. He would always come round to Oliver's house if they wanted to hang out and Oliver had never pushed him for reasons or explanations. Maybe he was more self-conscious about it now that they were older. Maybe Oliver still had to earn that trust and comfort back from when they were kids. Whatever the reason, it only made it worse that he was turning up without an invite after Reed had been ignoring him for so long.

Still stalling, Oliver reminded himself, and forced himself to walk up the path to the front door before he lost his nerve completely. He didn't let himself dwell on his wandering thoughts once once he reached the door and rung the doorbell immediately.

It was Elsie who answered the door. "Oliver, hey," she said, her smile wavering towards tired, although she made a valiant effort of it. "Are you looking for Reed?"

"Yeah. Is he..." Oliver bit his tongue on asking is he alright, because it didn't feel like a conversation he should be having with Reed's sister. Not when she had been dealing with as much as him these past few days. "Is he home?"

"No, sorry. He hasn't been home much since getting back from your holiday. I assumed he was with you," Elsie said, with an almost knowing and slightly confused look.

Oliver frowned. "I haven't seen him since coming back. I've barely spoken to him, actually."

"What?" Elsie looked very confused now. "That's strange. He'd been spending so much time with you recently, I thought that with everything that happened..." She rubbed her eyes, suddenly seeming exhausted. "God. I'm sorry, I'm not the best for company right now. Everything's a bit of a mess."

"I can imagine," Oliver said, with a sympathetic pang. "I'm sorry about your mum. And to drop in like this. I just wanted to make sure Reed is okay."

Elsie's mouth tugged down at the corners. "Honestly, I don't know. He's not really talking to me much, but I can tell he's taking it harder than usual. I think he blames himself for not having been here when it happened. Dad and I only really noticed she was getting worse just after Reed left, and we didn't want to say anything to worry him unless we had to. And then...well, it got worse," she said, with a small, weary smile. "Reed's usually the best at talking to mum when she's having a hard time, so he's annoyed at us for not telling him sooner. I just didn't want to ruin his holiday." Here she looked at Oliver with hopeful blue eyes so similar to Reed's it made his stomach twist. "I'd hoped he would at least be talking to you about it."

"No," Oliver said, with a sinking feeling in his stomach. "He hasn't."

"Oh." Elsie chewed her lip, as if deliberating her next words. "Did something in Val Thorens?"

It was safe to say something had happened, just maybe not in the way Elsie was implying. Oliver thought about kissing him in the hot tub, about hours passed in the chalet just the two of them, about bickering over anything and everything while stealing kisses in the narrow snow-lined alleys of Val Thorens. But Oliver didn't think any of that was appropriate, so he just said, "Everything was fine, honestly. We were having a great time until he found about your mum." Oliver glanced over his shoulder, as if expecting Reed to suddenly appear. Maybe he was just hoping he would. "Do you know where Reed went?"

"Not too sure, sorry. It won't be the hospital — we have to plan our visiting times around her therapy sessions, and I know she's in one at the moment. I don't know where else he would've gone."

Oliver had a pretty good idea where Reed would disappear to when he was upset. "No worries. Thanks anyway, Elsie. And how about you?" he asked. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, honestly. Cora and Kara came round with all my favourite movies, so..."

"Sounds like a great way to spend the day." Oliver was just relieved to know she wasn't alone. "I'll leave you to your movies. I hope everything works out in the end with your mum."

Elsie smiled. "Reed's lucky to have a friend like you. I'll let him know you stopped by."

Conway Leisure Centre was only a ten minute drive from the Bishop house and Oliver instantly relaxed stepping inside, the scent of chlorine and sounds of watery splashing echoing off the walls all familiar comforts to him. It was the first time Oliver had been here since coming back from London and it brought back a wave of nostalgia. There had been retiling job since then, and the co-op had been converted into a cafe, but everything else was unchanged. Conway was where Oliver and Reed had met, the start of a lifelong friendship. Racing Reed in the water, racing along the wet poolside, being scolded for racing along said poolside. They were also scolded for playing what Reed liked to call "splash wars", which, as the name suggested, involved a lot of splashing and trying to shove each other into the water.

Looking back on it, they spent a lot of their time here getting scolded. Their old swimming teacher must have been relieved when they were moved up to the next grade.

Oliver spotted Reed easily enough – his pale hair gleamed under the bright lights as he dominated his part of the free swim lane, along with the deft sure movement of his limbs. Oliver leant against the railing and waited for Reed to surface before trying to speak to him, but he never stopped. Five laps passed, then ten, then twenty, with Reed showing no sign of pausing for longer than a second at the end of each lap before twisting in the water to continue. He wasn't swimming at his fastest for once, as he always pushed himself to do in competitions, but with a consistent stamina that was almost more impressive. It was only to a testament to the relentless drive which Reed applied to everything.

Oliver wasn't sure whether Reed was purposefully ignoring him or just hadn't seen him when finally, Reed swum over to the side of the pool. He pulled his goggles up into his hair and propped his arms on the poolside to look up at Oliver. A shiver ran down his spine when his gaze met Oliver's. It had been over a week since he had seen Reed but he looked as hot as Oliver remembered, even more so with the memories of their time in Val Thorens. His hair was darkened to gold by the water, his cheeks flushed from swimming, breathing a little harder than usual from the laps he had been pushing himself to do. Oliver wanted to kiss him so bad.

"Hey," Oliver said.

"Hey." Reed raked a hand through his dripping hair, spraying droplets everywhere. Oliver traced their path down his shoulders along the muscled curve of his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Maybe I felt like a swim."

"What an interesting way of swimming, standing there watching me."

"Guess I couldn't help myself," Oliver said, and paused to see how that would be received. Reed rolled his eyes but the corner of his mouth twitched in a suppressed smile. That was promising. "Should you really be swimming this much?" He gestured to Reed's wrist, which was still bound in a cast. "With the cast?"

"The doctor said it was fine."

"The doctor said it's okay to get the cast wet," Oliver said, "not to swim for hours on end. You'll end up injuring it further."

Reed narrowed his eyes. "I'm fine, Oliver."

"Are you?"

Reed narrowed his eyes further and Oliver just gazed back at him in impassive silence. Reed was stubborn, but Oliver had every intention of winning this one. "Ten more laps," Reed said finally. "Then I'll be done."

That was hardly an answer to Oliver's question but it seemed to be all he was getting for now. Reed dove back into the water and Oliver wandered into the cafe to kill time. He ordered a lukewarm tea and was sipping it without much enjoyment when Reed emerged from the changing rooms. Hair still dripping wet, and blue gaze cautiously guarded, Oliver's urge to kiss him only intensified. He held off because he was a still a little unsure where he stood with Reed.

"Juniper's?" Reed suggested.

"Please." Oliver finished his now cold tea in one gulp and tried not to grimace. "This tea has nothing on their hot chocolates."

It was bitterly cold outside and Oliver wound his scarf a little tighter around his neck even for the short walk to his car. New Years was only a couple of days away and the temperature was dipping below zero as January fast approached, meaning everyone outside was bundled up in gloves and coats. Reed turned to start towards the bus stop and frowned when Oliver only continued towards the car park. Of course, Reed had no idea he had a new car.

"Where are you going?" Reed asked. "Did Adam drive you here?"

"No," Oliver said, and paused for dramatic effect that was entirely wasted on Reed. He just waved his hand in an impatient gesture to hurry up and spit it out. "I drove myself here."

"No way." Reed's eyes widened slightly as he turned to scan the car park. "You got a car? Since when?"

"Christmas," Oliver told him. Which you would have known if you were answering my texts, he thought, and was glad he kept that one to himself. Neither of them had brought up Reed's mum yet and after talking to Elsie, Oliver was a little worried to. He wasn't sure how Reed would take it or if he even wanted to talk about it. Oliver led him towards his black Toyota that was parked, admittedly, a little sloppily. He would be the first to agree he may have passed, but he was far from a perfect driver. "Not bad, right? And unlike Adam, I don't drive like a maniac, so at least you won't have to fear for your life getting in the car with me."

Reed gave the car an appreciative once-over. "Not bad at all," he allowed. "Although I still hate you and Adam for having the audacity to pass first time. That's so unfair."

"You can hate Adam more. At least I drive decently enough to deserve my pass. As for you..." Oliver cast him an amused look over the car. "I'm not sure anyone failing with four majors should ever be allowed on the road again, personally."

Reed's predictably immature response was to flip him off and get in the passenger seat.

It wasn't a long drive to Juniper's but Reed still managed to fall asleep for it. Oliver glanced over with a frown at where he was dozing off against the glass, one hand curled loosely around the strap of his swimming kit. He hadn't noticed earlier, too distracted by all the wet skin and his own inappropriate thoughts, but Reed seemed just as exhausted as Elsie if not more so. The shadows beneath his eyes seemed more pronounced and it took more than one nudge from Oliver to wake him up once he was parked outside Juniper's. Inside the cafe, after ordering two hot chocolates, Oliver caught Reed's hand when he went to reach for his wallet. The touch sent sparks up Oliver's fingers which only pooled into warmth in the pit of his stomach when Reed didn't pull away. He raised his gaze in question to Oliver's.

"Isn't it my turn to pay?" Oliver said.

"Is that a thing we're doing now?" There was nothing accusatory or irritated in his tone, only more cautious curiosity. As if he wasn't sure where this was going but he wasn't entirely sure he minded. "Buying each other drinks?"

"This seems to be a common enough occurrence that I don't see why not."

Reed didn't press on exactly what this was or push the point any further, dropping his hand in silent acceptance. Oliver didn't think Reed had ever accepted something so quickly, even if he was only arguing back to be difficult. Oliver tried and failed not to feel pleased at this realisation that maybe Reed saw a lot more of the two of them hanging out together in the future. Once they had their hot chocolates safely cradled in their hands and were back out in the wintery chill, Oliver suggested a walk. They needed to talk and he didn't feel confident enough in his ability to drive while multitasking, especially for an important conversation.

They walked in a comfortable silence for ten minutes or so with no particular destination in mind. Oliver was working up the courage to say something on the topic they were both avoiding and Reed seemed lost in his own thoughts, sipping absently at his drink every so often as if he wasn't even tasting it. Oliver opened his mouth, and Reed glanced at him, and he copped out at the last minute by blurting out, "You look cold."

"It is cold," Reed said, giving him an odd look. "That's generally how winter works."

"Funny. What I meant is that you're not dressed anywhere near warm enough for how cold it is."

Oliver may have been beating around the bush, as he was known to do, but he wasn't wrong. Reed was dressed entirely inappropriately for the weather; he only had a hoodie on under his thin coat and no gloves or scarf, not even a hat for his damp hair. He had started shivering at some point.

"My bad, I didn't realise you'd be showing up and taking me out for a walk. No," Reed said, sounding a little exasperated now, before Oliver even had the chance to say anything. He had barely even opened his mouth. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Fussing over me. First my wrist, now this. I don't need you to look after me."

"Really?" Oliver sighed at Reed's hard look. "Elsie told me you haven't been home much. I can imagine you've been at Conway for a lot of that, but I'm not going to ask how many hours at the risk of 'fussing'."

"You've been talking to my sister about me?" Reed demanded.

"Only today, when I went round to yours. It seemed as if it would be the only way to see you," Oliver said in a measured tone. He was about to lay his feelings out in the open and took a sip of his hot chocolate to give him a moment longer to summon up a little more courage. "It's fine if you need space or don't want to talk about what happened with your mum, but I missed you, Reed. I've already spent five years missing you and I don't want to waste a second longer missing you now. I'm only fussing because I'm worried about you and to be honest, I don't think you're the best at looking after yourself. Someone has to do it."

Oliver's heart was pounding by the time he had finished speaking and he took another sip of his drink to stop himself spilling anything else, when that confession already felt too vulnerable. He struggled with discussing such personal things as it was and with Reed, it felt like there was far more at stake than there had ever been with anyone else Oliver had liked. Reed said nothing for long enough that Oliver began panicking he had said the wrong thing and then he felt the brush of Reed's hand against his own, his fingers cold and uncertain. They weren't holding hands but they were coming close to it.

"I'm sorry," Reed said, his voice quieter than Oliver had ever heard it. "For being so distant."

"That's okay, I know — "

"Shut up. I'm not done."

"And you call me the bossy one," Oliver said, but he was smiling.

"I never said I wasn't either." Reed took a deep breath, looking as if he was mustering up some courage of his own. It eased some of the tension coiling in the pit of Oliver's stomach that he wasn't the only one struggling with verbalising what he was feeling. "I missed you too. A lot. Way more than I was expecting. I just...I didn't know what to say to you. Things were going so well in Val Thorens and then when I found about mum...I didn't want to unload all my shit on you." Another deep breath. Oliver ran his thumb over Reed's wrist, a silent offer of support. "I didn't want to scare you off."

"Reed, you're my best friend. Nothing you say could scare me off."

Reed just shrugged. He was still shivering and Oliver caught his hand, pulling him to a stop. Oliver took his scarf off and wound it around Reed's neck, muffling his protests by letting the soft wool cover the lower half of his face. Reed pushed it down from his mouth and shot Oliver an accusatory look.

"Now you're going to get cold," Reed said.

"A sacrifice I'm willing to make. Get used to being looked after, because I'm not stopping anytime soon." Reed looked as if had more to say on the matter but Oliver shut him up in the way he knew best; with a kiss. It was nothing more than a quick peck on the lips, at the risk of Reed panicking at someone seeing, but it was more than effective in doing the job. Oliver laughed at his surprised expression. "Good. Now I'm not hearing anything more on the matter."

Reed's surprise faded to disgruntlement. "You're definitely the bossiest one out of the two of us."

"We can keep fighting for the title until one of us wins."

Silence fell over them again only it felt different now. Warmer, more charged. Whatever tension there had been between them, it seemed to have melted away as they walked much closer than they had been minutes ago, hands brushing more often than not. Their wandering had brought them to Ashfield park. It was full of joggers and dog walkers and mums pushing buggies, their babies swaddled in hundreds of layers safely inside the warmth of the covered buggies. They veered away from the play area filled with screaming children deeper into the grassy, tree filled part of the park. They took one of the smaller paths winding through the park, which was almost entirely deserted apart from the two of them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Oliver asked.

Reed didn't have to ask what he was talking about. He was quiet for so long Oliver was sure that meant the answer was no when he pressed his palm against Oliver's, slowly but surely intertwining their fingers. That warm, fuzzy feeling he got just being around Reed spilled out to fill his whole body at the feeling of their hands curled together.

"She hasn't been this bad in years." Reed was speaking quietly again, so quietly Oliver had to strain to make sure he didn't miss the words. "I thought the medication was finally working this time. The doctors said relapses are common, but I didn't expect...I guess I hoped it would be different for my mum." Reed tightened his grip on Oliver's hand and he returned it with an encouraging squeeze. "I should have been here. I should have been with her, not on some stupid fucking skiing holiday."