“I think we got the visuals, now’s the time for the real shit,” Atlas grinned as they all sat down in Cassius’ study with Kai sitting behind the desk as the leader.

“We already went through the basics. But we still need to discuss the details, regarding your introduction as the new head of the family, young master,” Grey spoke out, taking a seat across from Kai. 

Atlas just leisurely sat in an armchair by the window, crossing his legs as he sipped from his iced coffee. Kai had a suspicion that he was addicted to that cold black liquid. 

“So as you said, I just have to play my part, correct? I need to make them believe that I know what I am doing especially after they will doubt me since they all thought I am dead,” Kai attempted to sum it all up, trying not to mind how weird his last sentence sounded. 

It seemed like an impossible task to step in front of those scary men and act as a fearless mafia boss who was watching them all this time from behind the scenes. He was able to grasp what went down while he was gone but to act as if he was involved all along was a challenge he wasn’t sure he could handle. 

“Right,” Grey nodded. “Your main role is to persuade them to believe that you are able to run the business smoothly so they don’t try to overthrow our family while we’re going to be looking for master Cassius.” 

“Don’t worry, Caelum, we will help you with managing the business of course,” Atlas assured him.

The man was twenty years old yet he seemed to be well informed about the ways of their family business, ready to take the lead after his father, who was apparently gravely ill. From what Kai heard, the relationship between his uncle and Atlas wasn’t the most ideal but Atlas was still diligent enough to be able to accept his duty, despite being so young. Kai could only wish to be like him. 

He still had the urge to run, but he had to stand his ground firmly to be able to find his missing brother. After all he’s been cowardly trying to get away from this family for as long as he could remember and it was about time for him to face those struggles head on.

Kai was deep in thought when a knock on the door startled him, causing him to wince.

“Ah, that should be Ryan,” Grey announced and called for the person to enter the room. 

“Ryan! My man!” Atlas jumped up from his seat and excitedly ran to the man, who walked into the room to hug him. Apparently it was his habit to throw himself at anyone he meets.

The man let out a low grunt but still endured the tight hold of Atlas, earning Kai’s admiration as he quietly observed him from behind his desk. 

As every bodyguard of their family he was dressed in an all black suit that fit his tall yet slim frame, underlining his perfectly sculpted features. His raven black hair was cut short yet he let it fall into his eyes at the front which made it harder for Kai to take a glimpse at his face. 

Only when the man was released from his temporary prison he turned to greet the new boss, but froze when their eyes met. 

“Ryan, this is young master Caelum, the new head of the family. At least until we find master Cassius.” 

The introduction didn’t reach Kai’s ears that were deafened by the pounding of his heart against his chest. 

Just what twisted games his fate was playing with him?

*** 

A year has passed since young Caelum was sent to the boarding school. One tortuous year he spent by enduring the endless mocking and nagging of his classmates that had the time of their life picking on the fragile boy who was always passing through the hallways with slouched shoulders and frightened expression on his pale face. He was an easy target. He rarely spoke a word and never fought back since he was terrified of the strangers who kept attacking him, whether it was words or their fists. 

He was praying for this hell to be over but he knew that he was far from leaving this place. 

The voice of his older brother encouraging him to hold on was his only light leading him towards the end of the dark tunnel. 

His pale eyes were focused on a piece of paper that was being dragged by the wind across the football field together with countless autumn leaves. A strangely pathetic thought found its way into his mind, comparing him to that piece of paper that had no will and was forced to be carried in whatever direction the wind blew. Same as that paper he was dragged from one place to another by the powerful force of his family.

“Judging by the look on your face, fall is not your favorite season of the year.” An unfamiliar voice appeared out of nowhere and Caelum winced when his eyes registered a colorful leaf that the stranger held out in front of him.

He glanced up at him, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Pretty, isn’t it?” The boy smiled and sat down on the grass next to Caelum who was still confused about what was happening.

“Fall is my favorite season. Especially here where the weather changes so drastically. All the colors and chilly weather,” he took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air and the smell of coming rain, “I love it.” 

Caelum watched him with a hidden interest, admiring the way the boy managed to find joy in such an ordinary thing as the changing weather. 

“You don’t talk much, do you? I’ve been watching you for a while now, you know.” 

“Creepy,” Caelum mumbled under his breath. 

“So you know how to talk,” the boy smirked. “Nice.” He nodded with satisfaction and reached out his hand. “My name is Ryan.” 

Caelum hesitated before he slowly accepted the gesture and squeezed the boy's hand that felt strangely warm against his cold skin.

“Caelum,” he introduced himself.

“Calum?”

“Caelum,” he corrected him patiently. 

“Nice name, Caelum. I like it,” Ryan grinned. 

How could he admit what he likes so easily? Caelum wondered as he studied the boy’s handsome face. His bright blue eyes were smiling at him from underneath the veil of his raven black hair.

“Actually I am your senior , you know,” Ryan noted, not minding that Caelum didn’t say a word. It was enough for him that the boy let him stay by his side. 

“How old are you again?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer. 

“Fourteen,” Caelum replied, fidgeting with his hands. 

“So we’re only a year apart! But I am still older.” 

“Mhm,” Caelum nodded. 

He wondered what made this boy so interested in him. He’s always tried not to stand out and never acted friendly towards anyone from his class, trying to keep everyone at arm’s length. So what was it that attracted this joyful boy enough to start talking to him out of the blue.

But he wasn’t aware that Ryan noticed him on the first day he arrived. He’s been observing this peculiar boy from afar for the last year and had to admit that it tore his heart open to see the way he was treated by the other kids. He tried his best to secretly watch out for him but back then he still felt somewhat intimidated by the bullies. But he couldn’t just stand by anymore and so he decided to become his guardian just because he felt protective of this boy with light blonde hair and pale blue eyes that always observed the world from afar.

And so the strange little friendship began and soon a whole year has passed and Caelum found himself sitting at the same place as the year before where he first met Ryan. And just as the smiling face of his friend popped up in his mind, something cold brushed against the skin on his neck. 

“The hell!” Caelum jumped and quickly pulled away. 

“What a nice greeting,” Ryan giggled and handed him the can of lemonade he bought for him. “Here.” 

“Isn’t it too cold for this?” Caelum objected but still accepted the cold beverage.

“I saw you running on the field today,” Ryan said and laid down on the grass. “You’re pretty fast.” 

“Were you stalking me again?” 

“Of course not! We had training with the team.”

Caelum still couldn’t believe he was friends with the captain of the football team. Someone so popular was wasting his time with him, while he could be hanging out with his teammates that were definitely more fun than him. He still wasn’t able to find out why he had the privilege of being his friend.

“I also saw you with Matt’s group afterwards.” Ryan’s voice sounded more serious now but Caelum didn’t have the courage to look him in the eyes. 

He instinctively pulled his sleeves over his hands and let out a nervous chuckle. “That was nothing.”

“Didn’t seem like it,” Ryan disagreed and grabbed Caelum’s wrist, causing the younger boy to hiss in pain. “This doesn’t sound like nothing,” he mumbled and pulled his sleeve up to reveal the bruise on his forearm in the shape of someone’s fingerprints left by the strong grip.

“Ryan, please,” Caelum whined and tried to pull his arm away but his friend didn’t let him. 

“You need to fight back,” Ryan reprimanded him as he applied some kind of ointment on his bruises. “You need to show them that you’re not scared.” 

“But what if I am?” Caelum asked, shivering slightly as Ryan brushed his fingers against the smooth skin on his forearm.

“You don’t have to be scared, silly. You have me,” Ryan smiled at him and still didn’t seem to want to let go of him. Instead he took his hand and intertwined their fingers, giving it a light squeeze.

Caelum's pale eyes were glued to their hands as Ryan kept reminding him about how he has to stand up to his bullies. The physical touch was sending a tingling sensation down his spine and his breath got caught in his throat the moment their eyes met. 

That was the moment Caelum realized he was slowly falling for his friend. 

And so he decided he will try his best to be worthy of standing by his side. The first step being that he signed up for the school’s wrestling club and continued his physical training. At first it was tough to overcome the trauma caused by the endless drilling of his father back when he was still under the influence of the cruel mafia boss but soon he got used to it and his skills got to the point where he was able to represent his school at a championship. 

Ryan was on his way to congratulate his friend for winning the gold medal when a strange noise came from the junkyard not far from the place Caelum was supposed to celebrate with his teammates. Several voices echoed from behind one of the containers but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. After he took a look around he decided he should check it out but what he found was far from what he expected.

Caelum stood with bloodied knuckles with two of his classmates laying on the ground, whining in pain. Both of them were fairly beaten up but Caelum wasn’t left unscathed. A stream of red flowed from the cut on his eyebrow but the boy seemed to not feel the pain as he glared at the boys in front of him. 

“This was the last time you disrespected me,” he growled with a chilling scowl on his face. “Leave me alone, you hear me?”

“Y-Yeah,” one of them answered weakly as he struggled to get back on his feet. “We’re sorry, man.” 

“We just thought you were an easy target since you always cling onto our Captain,” the second one admitted, still on his knees. 

“The fuck you’re talking about?” Caelum hissed.

“Shut the fuck up, Greg!” his friend nudged him but it didn’t keep the guy from talking. 

“We thought you were just sucking up to him and found it annoying! We just wanted you to leave him alone because he’s too nice to tell you to fuck off!” he blurted out, ignoring the angry curses of his friends. 

Caelum was left speechless. Was this really how his friendship with Ryan appeared to other people? 

“Get the fuck out of here and don’t ever appear in front of me or you will end up way worse,” Caelum threatened, his eyes blazing like a wild fire. Suddenly finally looked like the son of a mafia clan, more than ever before.

“I told you he’s a fucking psycho! Let’s go!” One of them called out in a trembling voice and ran out of the yard, not even paying attention to Ryan who stood there the whole time, trying to comprehend what he just witnessed. 

“Ryan?” Caelum breathed out when he spotted his friend, tears welling up in his eyes. He was so confused by this whole encounter. Last thing he remembered was them dragging him here and being punched. The rest was in a haze of adrenaline and anger.

“A-Are you okay?” Was the only thing Ryan managed to say. 

Caelum hesitated before he nodded and wearily looked around. He wished he could disappear. He didn’t want Ryan to see him like this, especially when he got to witness what the pair of idiots told him. 

“What were you thinking, huh?” Ryan furrowed his eyebrows and stepped closer to him. 

“I-I am sorry. I didn’t want to hurt them like that I just couldn’t bear it anymore I-“ 

“Who the fuck cares about them?? You’re hurt!” Ryan grabbed Caelum his arms, closely examining the wound on his face. 

Caelum froze and quickly averted his gaze, not able to hold eye contact with those pure blue eyes. 

Ryan clicked his tongue when he was done searching for more injuries Caelum could have and gently held his face. 

“You can’t make me worry about you like this,” Ryan reprimanded his friend as he softly brushed his thumb against his cheek.

Panicking, Caelum took a shaky breath and pulled his face away, not able to endure the butterflies swarming in his stomach. 

Ryan was taken aback by the sudden cold approach and cleared his throat to hide his awkwardness. 

“Let me take care of that,” Ryan gestured towards Caelum’s bleeding eyebrow and didn’t leave him any chance to protest as he grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the junkyard. 

Back at Caelum’s dormitory room, they sat on the bed while Ryan carefully cleaned his wound and put a bandaid on it. 

“Alright, we’re done here,” he smiled, making sure he did a clean job and ruffled Caelum’s hair. “Be careful not to get hurt next time.” 

“Ryan?” Caelum finally spoke up after not saying a word since they left the scene of the fight.

“Mhm?” Ryan hummed as he was putting all the supplies he used back into the first aid kit. 

“Is it true?” 

“What?” 

“You heard them.” 

“What do you mean?” Ryan furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at his friend but Caelum stubbornly avoided his eyes. “Caelum?” 

“Hm?” 

“Damn it, can’t you even look at me?” Ryan angrily grabbed his hand but was surprised when Caelum pulled it away from his grasp. 

“Do you think the same?” Caelum mumbled, staring out of the window and stubbornly fighting against the tears in his eyes.

“The hell are you talking about??”

Swallowing hard, Caelum made sure that his voice wouldn’t break before he said, “They said I am just a creep who follows you around.”

“Really? And you believed their bullshit? Over my words??” It was clear that Ryan was upset which didn’t help Caelum’s attempts at holding his tears back. Eventually his emotions managed to win over him as he let the tears fall. 

“Then tell me…” Caelum whispered. “Tell me what this is.” He finally looked at Ryan with teary eyes. “If you think this is some kind of a game and it’s fun to lead me on then-“

Caelum’s body was pulled into a tight embrace, stopping the flow of his scattered thoughts.

“Don’t listen to them,” Ryan whispered and gently stroked his back. “They have no idea what they’re talking about and never let anyone else define us, alright?”

“Alright,” Caelum obliged but his voice was quivering. He still couldn’t shake off the anxiety clenching his heart in a painful grasp.

“Caelum listen to me I… I care about you. A lot. And it hurts to see you get hurt like this. Do you understand?” Ryan asked, not letting go of the frail body in his arms.

“No,” Caelum uttered and sniffed.

Ryan let out a soft chuckle and stroked Caelum’s silky hair. He held his friend and rocked him side to side until he noticed the tension disappearing from his body as it grew heavier. Only after hearing his stable breathing he realized that Caelum fell asleep. 

When the younger of the two opened his eyes, it was the next day. It took him a while to remember what happened before he fell asleep and his eyes widened in shock when he heard someone’s breathing behind his back. 

Caelum realized he was lying in his bed with Ryan sleeping next to him with his arm thrown over his body, giving him a sense of comfort he’s longed for without knowing it. They were snuggling so close to each other that Caelum could feel his friend’s breath on the back of his neck. 

And it dawned on him. He wished he could wake up like this every single day. 

Since that morning Caelum was trying to come up with a way to deal with his feelings. He knew he didn’t want to stay oblivious until the day Ryan leaves. The day of his friend’s graduation was nearing and he was sure that if he didn't find the courage to confess his feelings before that, he wouldn't get another chance. 

But until that moment came, Caelum decided to secretly enjoy every single moment he got to spend next to him. Whether it was during their study sessions or just hanging out after school, he stole glances at his handsome face and let his ringing laughter fill his heart to the brim. He ought to stay close to him, no matter what and so he calculated how long he could look at him before it got weird or for how many seconds it was tolerable to hold any kind of physical contact. At the end of the day he let those moments rock him to sleep with a smile on his face. 

Without realizing, Caelum lost count of the days he’s spent pining for the boy whose affection he was longing for every second they were apart. 

“So how was it?” Caelum asked nervously when he saw his friend coming his way. He purposely waited for him in front of his school building to ask about his finals.

“I feel great,” Ryan grinned as he stretched with a loud groan. “Fucking finally. It’s over.” 

“I am proud of you,” Caelum smiled and stretched out his arm, holding a can of his favorite lemonade. “Here.” 

“Ohhh a reward??” Ryan’s smile widened as he accepted the gift. “Thanks, buddy.” He threw his arm around Caelum’s shoulders and headed to their spot by the football field.

Caelum hasn’t said a word the whole time until they got there, trying to find the right words. It was now or never. 

“Ahhh I love this,” he closed his eyes, enjoying the sweet sparkling beverage cooling him down.  He finally got to relax after endless studying and preparing for his finals. 

“Ryan?”

“Hm?” The older of the two looked at him while sipping from the drink.

“I have… I want to tell you something,” Caelum started, nervously shifting his weight. 

“Mhm?” 

“This… This isn’t exactly easy for me. You know I’ve never…  not like this but…” it was hard for him to get the right words out. 

“Hey, hey,” Ryan caught his attention by placing his hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. You can tell me anything,” he assured Caelum.

Taking a shaky breath, the younger of the two spoke again with more confidence, “You matter to me. A lot.” 

Ryan stood in surprise before he let out a chuckle. “Of course. You matter a lot to me too,” he said without any signs of shame. 

That gave Caelum more courage. “But I… I think I like you.” 

Frozen, Ryan’s eyes fell on his hand that still remained on Caelum’s shoulder. He swallowed hard and slowly let it fall to his side. 

“You do?”

“Yes,” Caelum affirmed, pressing his lips together. “I like you, Ryan.” 

Ryan blinked a few times before he turned his face away.

Moments passed by as neither of them found the courage to speak. Caelum could hear the deafening silence banging inside his ears or maybe it was his pounding heart. Each beat felt more and more painful and he felt like his ribcage was breaking apart under that force.

 “I’m sorry, I don’t feel the same… way.” Ryan finally said. It tore his heart open to finish that sentence but he couldn’t lead this boy on so he wouldn’t hurt his feelings. He didn’t deserve that.

“Can you…” Caelum’s voice quivered, “Look me in the eye and say it? Please I…”

“Why?” Ryan still refused to look at him.

“I want to hear it when you look at me. So I can-“

“I don’t feel the same way,” Ryan cut him off with a firm voice, this time looking straight into Caelum’s pale eyes, trying to endure their intensity. But he couldn’t bear to see the pain that muddied the light color of his eyes and so he turned on his heel and started to walk away. 

Caelum stood there, staring at his receding back, his bottom lip trembling as the first tear streamed down his face. 

That was the last time he’s ever seen Ryan and he thought that this would probably be the last time he got to talk to him.

****

The bodyguard cleared his throat and bowed, “Young master.” 

Kai sighed and nodded his head in acknowledgment, but didn’t speak a word to him. He slowly stood up from his seat and walked over to the window that allowed him to look outside into the large garden spreading behind the mansion. 

“Grey,” he called for the man who noticed the strange shift in the young master’s behavior. 

“Yes, young master?”

“How many more people are involved in this plan?” Kai’s tone was freezing cold as his pale eyes remained glued to the view outside. He still didn’t have the courage to face that man but refused to reveal how shaken he was by their sudden encounter. 

“Just the one’s you see. Trust me, we are being as careful as we possibly can, young master,” Grey tried to assure him, but was aware how wary Kai was. He’s never been trusting of strangers and it was foolish of Grey to recklessly introduce him to one like this, saying they are playing a major part in their plan. He wasn’t aware of the history the two shared, but that was for the better. 

But he had to keep his cool for the sake of his brother. He desperately wanted to succeed in order to find him and bring him back home. So for now, he was willing to put on this mask and play his role as perfectly as possible. 

It took Kai a moment to come back from the shock, but when he saw that the man in front of him was acting like he’s seeing him for the first time he pressed his lips tightly together and nodded in acknowledgment. If this is how they’re gonna be for now, he was willing to play along. 

“Ryan already knows the basics of our plan,” Atlas spoke up, oblivious to the tense atmosphere between the two men. 

“For now, he’s going to be your head bodyguard,” Grey announced and thought that Kai’s strange expression was due to meeting a stranger that he was uncomfortable with. He couldn’t possibly be aware of the fact that they already share a kind of history that no one in the room would guess.

“I thought that’s you,” Kai turned his gaze towards Grey, trying to cover up his anxiousness by once again going through the documents on the tablet. He’s already imprinted possibly all the information in his mind but he just didn’t have the courage to look up at Ryan who was still silently observing him. 

“Don’t worry, young master. I will still remain by your side as the secretary but since the situation at hand is quite difficult, we need to carefully divide our roles.” 

“Difficult,” he mumbled to himself. Yes. No one had any idea how difficult this situation was getting for him. The second Grey appeared, his world managed to turn upside down numerous times and Kai didn’t dare to guess what other strange complications he was going to have to face. 

“So this is the team that is supposed to ensure my brother’s return?” Kai asked with a stern expression as his on his face as his cold gaze traveled across the faces of the three men in the room, wondering who he could actually trust. He realized that he’s feeling like an outsider who just got dragged into this twisted game while they probably had a much better picture of what was actually going on. Doubting Grey was not his intention but his paranoia was outweighing his rational thoughts. 

Kai couldn’t shake off the feeling of being left out. The fact that he kept being pushed trhough loopholes while everyone around expected him to adjust perfectly made his blood boil. Just who they think he is? 

“Yes, young master,” Grey replied, sensing the sudden shift in Kai’s mood. He forgot how careful he should’ve been when filling the young man in on the circumstances. He couldn’t read him, as much as he tried the young man was too complicated for Grey to comprehend. If he ever thought that the older brother was hard to deal with, he forgot how Kai was back when he was younger. And now after all the trauma his personality seemed even more complex and prone to detonating like a timed bomb.

If he were to sum up the collection of people he gathered for this operation they had an unhinged teenager who was too intelligent for his age, a traumatised young man who was still trying to adjust to the situation that he’d been avoiding for years and a bodyguard who brought a strange tension when he met the young master.

The probability of this going smoothly was low but Grey was determined to take the risk to bring this family back together as it always should’ve been.