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Gareth wasn't supposed to be home.
That was the first thing he thought as he stood outside the apartment door with his keys in hand, because if his meeting hadn't been cancelled at the last minute and if his manager hadn't decided that everything else could wait until tomorrow, he would still be sitting in an office building across town instead of unlocking the front door three hours earlier than normal.
The second thing he thought was that something very strange was happening.
At first, it was just a voice. Kayden's voice.
That wasn't unusual.
The unusual part was that Kayden was clearly having a conversation.
A very one-sided conversation.
Gareth stepped inside as quietly as possible, kicking off his shoes near the entrance before freezing when he heard Kayden sigh dramatically from somewhere in the living room.
"Look, all I'm saying is that if he asks me one more time whether I've eaten lunch, I might actually lose my mind."
Gareth blinked.
There was a pause. A surprisingly long pause.
Then Kayden spoke again, “I know."
Another pause, "I know he means well."
Gareth slowly rounded the corner and immediately had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.
Kayden was sitting cross-legged on the rug in the middle of the living room with Moka stretched out in front of him like some sort of furry therapist. One of the cat's paws was draped lazily over Kayden's leg, and judging by the serious expression on Kayden's face, they were apparently in the middle of an extremely important discussion.
Neither of them noticed Gareth.
Which, in hindsight, was probably the only reason Gareth survived the next ten minutes.
"I just don't understand why he worries so much," Kayden continued, reaching down absent-mindedly to scratch under Moka's chin. "I'm thirty-three years old. If I forget lunch once, I'm not going to immediately collapse and die."
Moka blinked at him.
Kayden narrowed his eyes. "Okay, maybe twice."
The cat continued staring.
"Fine. More than twice. That's not the point."
Gareth pressed a hand over his mouth.
This couldn't be real.
This absolutely could not be real.
Because apparently his boyfriend, who spent most of his time pretending he was too cool to care about anything, had developed a habit of holding full conversations with their cat while Gareth was at work.
And somehow, impossibly, that wasn't even the weirdest part. The weirdest part was how comfortable Kayden looked.
There was no guarded expression. No sarcasm sharp enough to keep people at a distance. No carefully maintained indifference. He was relaxed in a way Gareth rarely got to witness, stretched out on the floor in an oversized hoodie with Moka sprawled beside him, talking about his day as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
It did something dangerous to Gareth's heart.
Because this was the version of Kayden that most people never saw.
The version that only existed at home. The version that existed when he felt safe.
"Honestly, you're the only reasonable person around here," Kayden informed the cat.
Moka immediately rolled onto his back.
Kayden snorted, "Don't let it go to your head."
The cat purred.
Traitor. A complete and utter traitor.
Gareth was beginning to understand why Moka seemed so attached to Kayden. The little bastard had apparently been getting exclusive access to content nobody else knew existed.
Kayden shifted slightly, resting one arm on his knee as he looked down at the cat.
"You know what's really annoying?" he asked.
Moka's tail flicked.
"Gareth."
The answer came so quickly that Gareth nearly laughed out loud.
"He leaves notes everywhere."
A pause.
"Everywhere."
Another pause.
"If I leave for work, there's a note."
Scratch behind the ears.
"If I open the fridge, there's a note."
Another scratch.
"If I forget my laptop, there's somehow a note."
Gareth smiled despite himself.
The notes had started as a joke years ago. Then they'd become habit. Then, somewhere along the way, they'd become something else entirely.
Something that belonged to them.
"You know what the worst part is?" Kayden asked.
Moka looked entirely uninterested.
"I keep all of them."
Gareth stopped breathing.
The words were said so casually that it took a moment for them to sink in.
Kayden didn't seem to realize what he'd admitted.
Or maybe he did.
Maybe that was why his voice had gotten a little quieter.
"I have a drawer."
Gareth's heart immediately attempted to launch itself out of his chest.
"A whole drawer."
Moka purred.
"I know it's stupid."
Another purr.
"No, seriously. It's embarrassing."
A third purr.
"You're not helping."
Gareth felt like he had accidentally wandered into an alternate universe.
Because this was Kayden.
Kayden, who acted like feelings were a communicable disease.
Kayden, who rolled his eyes whenever Gareth got sentimental.
Kayden, who had once threatened to throw him out of a moving vehicle for writing "I love you" in the fogged-up car mirror.
And yet apparently this same man had a secret drawer full of notes.
A secret drawer.
Gareth genuinely didn't know how he was supposed to recover from that information.
Meanwhile, Kayden continued speaking, "I think he worries because he loves people too much."
The words came out thoughtful this time.
Quieter.
More serious.
Gareth found himself leaning forward slightly.
"He loves everything too much, actually."
Moka blinked.
"I mean, look at you."
The cat immediately sat up straighter.
"Exactly."
Kayden laughed.
A soft, fond sound that Gareth would happily spend the rest of his life listening to.
"He loves you. He loves his friends. He loves his family. He loves random strangers on the street. One time he spent twenty minutes helping a woman reach something on a supermarket shelf."
Gareth frowned.
"He loves everyone too much," Kayden said, scratching absent-mindedly behind Moka's ears before pausing halfway through the sentence. A second later he snorted softly and shook his head. "Actually, that's bullshit."
Moka blinked.
"Complete bullshit."
The cat meowed.
A smile tugged at the corner of Kayden's mouth as he looked down at him.
"He pretends to love everyone."
The words were quieter now. More thoughtful. More honest.
"He has that whole golden-boy thing going on. The smiles. The politeness. The stupid charm."
Moka purred.
"I know." Kayden rolled his eyes. Everybody thinks Gareth Carson belongs to everyone."
His fingers continued moving through the cat's fur. "They think he's nice because he likes people."
A pause.
"They're wrong."
Something unexpectedly warm settled in Gareth's chest.
Because yeah.
Kayden knew.
Of course he knew.
"I've seen him when nobody else is around," Kayden continued softly. "I've seen him after bad days. I've seen him angry. I've seen him exhausted. I've seen him when he's too tired to pretend."
Moka stared up at him.
"And that's how I know."
The smile on Kayden's face softened. "He doesn't love everyone."
Another pause.
"He loves his people."
A slightly longer pause.
"And God help anyone who gets between him and those people."
Gareth felt his heart squeeze.
Hard.
Because nobody understood that.
Nobody except Kayden.
"They see the mask."
Kayden scratched Moka under the chin.
"I get him."
His voice dropped lower.
Softer.
"And maybe that's my favourite thing about him."
The apartment seemed to go silent.
"He chooses his people."
A small laugh escaped him.
"And once he does, he's hopeless."
Moka meowed.
"Exactly."
Kayden shook his head fondly.
"It's actually embarrassing how much he loves."
Another purr.
"I know."
A smile, there was another moment of silence before Kayden's expression softened completely.
The change was small.
Easy to miss.
But Gareth saw it.
Always.
"I love him, though."
Everything inside Gareth immediately melted.
Not figuratively.
Not poetically.
Actually melted.
Right there.
Gone.
Reduced to emotional soup.
The words slipped out naturally.
Without hesitation.
Without defence.
Without any of the walls Kayden usually carried.
And that was it.
Kayden looked down at Moka as he spoke, almost as if the words weren't meant for anybody else.
"He drives me insane."
A faint smile.
"He's annoying."
Another smile.
"He steals the blankets."
And then, softer:
"But every morning I wake up and he's there."
Gareth's throat tightened.
"He chooses me every day."
The apartment suddenly felt very, very quiet.
Kayden's fingers moved slowly through Moka's fur.
"He doesn't even realize he does it."
A small laugh escaped him.
"He'll just... do something ridiculous, like leave me coffee before work or send me a text reminding me to eat or wait up for me when I'm
running late, and somehow every single time it feels like he's choosing me again."
Moka purred loudly.
Kayden smiled.
"I know."
And that was it.
That was the moment Gareth completely lost the ability to remain hidden.
That was the moment Gareth finally lost the battle against his self-control.
·
Because there were only so many declarations of love a man could accidentally overhear before he needed to physically intervene.
He stepped around the corner.
Moka noticed first.
The traitor.
The cat's ears perked up. His tail flicked.
Then Kayden followed his gaze.
The silence that followed was glorious.
For one full second, Kayden simply stared.
Then all colour drained from his face, “Oh."
Gareth smiled. Slowly.
"Oh?" he repeated.
Kayden looked at Moka.
Then at Gareth.
Then back at Moka.
As though the cat had somehow orchestrated this betrayal.
"You're home."
"I am."
"You weren't supposed to be home."
"I wasn't."
Another pause.
Another stare.
And then Gareth completely ruined whatever dignity remained.
"You have therapy sessions with the cat."
Kayden closed his eyes. "Don't."
"You discuss our relationship."
"Gareth."
"You ask for advice."
"I literally don't."
"You called him reasonable."
"He is reasonable."
Moka meowed.
Gareth pointed, “See? He's agreeing with me."
"Both of you are insufferable."
Gareth grinned.
Kayden immediately looked like he regretted every decision that had led him to this moment.
Unfortunately for him, Gareth wasn't finished. Not even close, "You have a drawer?"
"Oh my God."
"A whole drawer?"
"Oh my God."
"You keep my notes?"
Kayden buried his face in his hands.
Which only made Gareth smile harder.
Because this was unprecedented.
Kayden Lucas Davenport.
Embarrassed.
Actually embarrassed.
It was like spotting a unicorn.
Or a solar eclipse.
Or Eli King admitting he was wrong.
The latter was probably less likely.
"Gareth."
The warning in Kayden's voice finally appeared.
Low. Sharp. Dangerous.
That tone that normally indicated that Kayden thought he was a little brat, and that the little brat was about to face serious… punishments.
Normally, that tone would have worked.
Normally.
Unfortunately, Gareth had just overheard twenty minutes of emotional confessions directed at a cat.
His fear had temporarily left his body, "No."
Kayden lowered his hands. His eyes narrowed, "Gareth."
"No."
"Stop smiling."
"I physically can't."
"You're enjoying this."
"I am."
"I hate you."
Gareth immediately moved forward and dropped onto the floor beside him, “You love me."
Kayden groaned. A long-suffering sound that suggested he was reconsidering every life choice he'd ever made.
"You are never letting this go."
"Absolutely not."
"Gareth."
"I've waited years for this kind of blackmail material."
"You are not blackmailing me."
"I have witnesses."
Moka purred.
The traitor.
The absolute traitor.
Kayden looked at the cat.
The cat looked back.
Neither of them appeared pleased with the other.
Then, finally, Kayden looked at Gareth.
Really looked at him.
And whatever annoyance had been there softened slightly when he caught the expression on Gareth's face.
Because underneath the teasing, underneath the laughter, underneath all the ridiculousness, Gareth was looking at him the way he
always did.
Like he'd just been handed something precious.
Like hearing all of that had mattered.
The irritation in Kayden's expression weakened immediately, “Stop looking at me like that."
Gareth's smile softened, “Like what?"
"You know exactly what."
"I don't."
"You do."
Gareth leaned over and pressed a quick kiss against his temple.
Kayden rolled his eyes.
But he leaned into it anyway.
Just slightly.
Just enough.
And Gareth thought, not for the first time, that he would probably spend the rest of his life hopelessly in love with this man.
"You're such a brat," Kayden muttered.
The grin that spread across Gareth's face was immediate.
Victorious.
Because there it was.
His favourite nickname.
And judging by the fond exasperation hidden underneath the insult, Kayden knew it too.