Page 27 of Find Me Again

"Sure, okay."

Driving the small distance between their houses took no time at all, and after turning the engine off, Neil glanced at Ryan, only to see him staring at the house, unmoving.

The silence stretched between them, until Neil couldn't take it anymore.

"Come on, let's go," he said, and without waiting for a reply, he stepped out of the car.

Ryan followed after another second.

So far, so good.

Neil led him to the house and, on instinct, went towards the kitchen, because that had been the first place they'd always gone to. It didn't even occur to him until they were already in there that he probably should've picked the living room.

Ryan didn't comment on it, thankfully, so maybe he, too, felt more at ease in the kitchen.

"Do you want something to drink?" Neil gestured at the table for Ryan to take a seat. "There's tea, of course, and coffee, juice, water…"

"Tea would be great," Ryan said as he looked around the room.

Probably cataloging the changes, Neil figured. His parents had renovated the kitchen a few years back, and only theold table remained, along with a winged chair tucked next to the window nook.

Hearing a familiar noise in the hallway, Neil turned around in surprise. Ken hadn't come out to greet any guests in forever, but now he appeared in the doorway and headed straight for Ryan, wagging his tail.

Ryan, for his part, beamed and got down on his knees.

"Hey, boy, hey," he murmured in a soft voice that absolutely didnottug at Neil's heart hard enough to knock something loose. "Such a good boy." He laughed when Ken licked his neck and jaw. "Ah, yes, I didn't miss this part. I guess you haven't grown out of that, huh?"

Ken lay down on his back in front of Ryan and nudged him with his head any time Ryan would stop petting him for longer than a second.

"Shameless," Neil muttered once he'd gotten his voice back, only to be faced with both Ryan and Ken as they looked up at him—Ryan with a grin that punched Neil right in the chest and Ken with an open-mouthed "smile" of his own.

Ryan's grin disappeared when he seemed to remember where he was and with whom, but he still didn't move from his place on the floor, now sitting cross-legged with Ken's head on his lap.

"Sorry, I—"

"No, no, not you," Neil assured him quickly. "I meant him." He gestured towards Ken. "He spends most of his days in the backroom, only going out when he needs to or when we nudge him, and then the moment he senses you, this happens."

Ryan grinned again.

"Is that true?" he asked Ken, mock-serious. "Am I getting special treatment from such an esteemed senior citizen as yourself? I'm honored, sir."

Ken lapped at Ryan's hands, making him laugh.

Neil snorted, too.

"I see how it is," he said, then turned towards the counter to hide his face, because the sight of the two of them together was—

A lot. It was a lot.

As he busied himself with the kettle and preparing mugs, he kept an ear out for the sweet nothings Ryan continued to bestow on Ken. In the past, those two had gotten along great, but it had been twelve years. How in the world had Ken even recognized Ryan after so long?

Seems like you weren't the only one who missed the man, the sarcastic voice at the back of his head supplied readily, prompting Neil to grimace.

Touché. It wasn't like a part of him wouldn't love to roll around the floor with Ryan as well.

Neil's brain screeched to a halt.

This wasnotwhat he'd intended, at all. He hadn't invited Ryan here for anything other than a conversation. He wanted advice, and he wanted it from a person he could trust, a person who had experience in coming out and all that it entailed.

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