Kaelan couldn't shake off what had happened the night before. Even though the air was lighter this morning, the confession still weighed heavily in his mind. Ethan would've chosen him too. The words echoed in his head, blending with the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen.
He tried to focus on the present. After all, it was a lazy Saturday morning in the house, the perfect time to unwind—if that was possible with this group.
As he entered the kitchen, Seraphina stood at the counter, pouring tea with an ethereal grace that always made it look like she floated instead of walked. Inas and Damien were sitting at the kitchen table, bickering about something trivial—again.
"I don't care how many times you tell me, Damien," Inas was saying with a huff, "Blood is not a valid substitute for seasoning!"
Damien, unfazed, twirled a spoon in his hand and gave her a bored look. "I didn't say it was for seasoning. It's just more… efficient."
"Efficiently revolting," Inas shot back, her silver hair shimmering in the morning light as she rolled her eyes.
Kaelan chuckled as he passed them, grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting down. He tried to lose himself in the light-hearted argument, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Ethan, who hadn't shown up for breakfast yet.
---
Ethan's Unexpected Arrival
As if on cue, Ethan strolled into the kitchen, his hair still damp from a shower, and plopped down next to Kaelan. He didn't say anything at first, just reached for Kaelan's cup of coffee and took a sip, ignoring the way Kaelan raised an eyebrow at him.
"Morning," Ethan said finally, his voice casual, as if last night hadn't happened.
"Morning," Kaelan replied, not quite sure how to act around him now. Was Ethan being nonchalant because he didn't think it was a big deal, or was he hiding something?
Before Kaelan could think of something else to say, Lucifer burst into the room, dramatically throwing open the door and startling everyone.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and those of otherworldly origins," Lucifer declared, "I propose we have a little fun today. How about a classic game of hide-and-seek?"
Kaelan blinked. "Hide-and-seek? Really? Are we twelve?"
"You wound me, Kaelan," Lucifer said, clutching his chest as though Kaelan had pierced his heart. "It's not just any hide-and-seek. It's magical hide-and-seek. The stakes are high, the hiding spots are limitless, and the humiliation for the losers? Priceless."
Damien groaned. "I'm not in the mood for your games, Lucifer."
Lucifer's eyes glowed with amusement. "Oh, come now, Damien. Don't be such a party pooper. You know you love it."
Before anyone could protest further, Lucifer snapped his fingers, and suddenly, the whole house seemed to shift. The walls stretched, doors appeared where they hadn't been before, and everything felt... different.
"The game has begun," Lucifer said with a wicked grin. "Good luck, everyone."
---
A Very Tight Hiding Spot
Kaelan found himself running before he even knew what was happening. The magic in the air made the game more exciting, almost like the house had become a living maze. He turned corners, opened random doors, and finally ducked into a closet, heart racing.
To his surprise, the closet door creaked open a few seconds later, and Ethan squeezed in beside him.
"Out of all the rooms in this giant house, you had to pick this one?" Kaelan whispered, trying to shift his tall frame to make room for Ethan, who was pressing a little too close for comfort—or maybe just close enough.
Ethan smirked. "What can I say? I'm drawn to trouble."
The space was small, and with both of them inside, it was cramped. Kaelan's shoulder was pressed against Ethan's, and he could feel the warmth of Ethan's body against his own. His heartbeat, already racing from the game, seemed to quicken even more.
They were quiet for a moment, listening for the sound of footsteps outside. But the only thing Kaelan could hear was his own shallow breathing—and Ethan's, just as uneven as his.
"Last night," Ethan whispered suddenly, his voice barely audible in the tight space. "Did you really mean it? Or was it just for the game?"
Kaelan's throat went dry. He hadn't expected this conversation to come up here, now, in a cramped closet during a magical game of hide-and-seek. But there was no escaping it—literally.
He took a breath, trying to calm the storm inside him. "Yeah. I meant it."
Ethan didn't respond right away. The silence felt heavy, like it was filled with all the things neither of them had said yet. Finally, Ethan shifted slightly, his face inches from Kaelan's now. The smirk he usually wore was gone, replaced by something softer, something more real.
"Good," Ethan murmured. "Because I wasn't just playing around either."
The tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife. Kaelan could feel his pulse in his throat, his heart pounding as Ethan's blue eyes locked onto his.
"What are we doing, Ethan?" Kaelan asked, his voice hoarse.
Ethan chuckled softly, the sound low and almost nervous. "I'm not sure. But I think… I want to find out."
Kaelan didn't get a chance to respond. At that moment, the door to the closet flew open, and Inas stood there, hands on her hips, glaring at them.
"Really? Hiding together in a closet?" she asked, exasperated. "You two are the worst at this game. Found you both."
Kaelan and Ethan jumped apart, the moment shattered, as Inas grinned and sauntered off, calling out, "Lucifer! I found them! And they weren't exactly 'hiding'."
---
Aftermath: Unfinished Business
Once the game was over—Inas, of course, declared herself the winner—the group gathered in the living room to unwind. But Kaelan and Ethan stayed apart, the conversation they had started still lingering, unfinished.
As Kaelan sat on the couch, his mind kept wandering back to that closet. To Ethan's words. To the way his heart had pounded in his chest. He didn't know what was happening between them, but one thing was clear: things were about to get a lot more complicated.
And in this house, that was saying something.