Leo had been standing under Ivan's bedroom window for so long he had eventually realised that he could see Ivan's silhouette through his closed curtains if he tried hard enough. He should probably tell Ivan about that.

  He would if he finally got the courage to just knock on the other boy's window. He had been repeating to himself since he arrived that he was going to wait until Ivan's parents were asleep, but their lights had been off for the last twenty minutes, and he had run out of excuses to make up.

  It was night, and the moon was fingernail-sized tonight, so everything was shrouded in a blanket of blackness and framed with strange silhouettes.

  Leo closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. When he opened them, there was a slight pressure in his eyes, and the world was clearer than before. Most colours had been desaturated into a depressing mix of blue, purple and yellow, and the previously dark night was brighter and clearer, the silhouettes having disappeared.

  After searching around for a few seconds, he discovered a rain-rusted ladder, which was lying sadly behind a cloud of trimmed hedges, on the side of Ivan's house.

  He let out a frustrated groan into the night and pulled the ladder from hiding. He extended it to its full length, propped it against the roof of Ivan's garage and began climbing. When he got to the top of the ladder, he stepped onto the roof and crouched down, carefully walking forward until he was staring at what he hoped was Ivan's bedroom window.

  He lifted his knuckles to the cold glass and tapped on the window gently. He waited for any sign of movement. When nothing happened, he tapped again, this time making sure it was a little louder.

  He decided to give a third, even louder, knock on the glass, and then halfway through his fourth knocking sequence, the window slid open.

  “Will you stop knocking so loudly?” Ivan pulled the sheer white curtain that separated them to the side.

  The blonde was standing on the other side of the window. He had a black shirt over his neck like he hadn't decided whether he was taking it off or not, and he did not look happy.

  Ivan dragged his shirt back down his chest.

  He leaned out the window and past Leo to send a brief, questionable stare down at the abandoned ladder. “I should've put that away long ago.”

  “Then I wouldn't have been able to grace you with my presence.”

  “Goddess, you are so annoying.”

  Leo smiled. The blond pulled the curtains open further, creating a gap that was just big enough for Leo to move through, and dragged his eyes away, stepping back from the window to invite him in.

  Leo stared at him, his eyebrows converging. “How'd you even know it was me? You just left your ladder completely unattended, and practically anyone could've knocked.” He ducked under the top window ledge and stood in the middle of the room, panting and staring intently at Ivan. “I could've been a ghost or something… I mean, I don’t even know how a ghost would knock, but yiu never know.”

  “I didn't. But, I mean, who else would it be? And who would knock?” Ivan tilted his head, then turned around, walking further into his room. Leo opened his mouth to answer, and Ivan narrowed his eyes disapprovingly. “And don't say something stupid like a zombie."

  Leo crossed his arms across his chest. “...We didn't finish our conversation from earlier.”

  “Yeah we did; you just refuse to let it go.”

  "Yeah, for good reason! I've been thinking about it a lot … like way more than I should. And I know that for whatever reason — maybe for a good reason — you think that this shouldn't happen. But I think you're wrong.”

  Ivan's eyebrows raised. Leo probably should have been embarrassed by the admission. He might've been in any other context, but at that moment he could not find it in him to care.

  He pinned his hands at his sides to stop from reaching for Ivan's hand again. “I'm sorry I was so pushy in the bathroom. If you seriously don't want this, we can just go back to being friends. I'll respect that.”

  Ivan's surprised expression faded. He was quiet for a long time. He was glancing at Leo with more vulnerability than Leo knew what to do with. His mouth was parted slightly, and somewhere in his eyes he looked terrified.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Finally, Ivan sighed. “I didn't really know what I wanted before the swings. I guess I was just caught off guard by… well, everything.”

  “What about now?” Heaviness flooded his veins. He wasn't sure if he was ready to hear the answer or not.

  “Now… I think that I also haven't been able to stop thinking about it either.”

  Leo's heartbeat was racing. It felt like his heart was going to combust, and the drumming was making his head throb.

  Despite feeling like he was about to die if he stood there for a second longer, he raised an eyebrow and smirked playfully. “Really? What part? Because I know exactly what part I've been—”

  “Okay,” Ivan said, putting a hand up to cut off the start of what was going to be the rest of Leo's uncomfortably elaborate explanation.

  Leo blinked. “Okay, what?”

  “Okay,” Ivan said firmly. “Okay, I'll give this a chance, but—” Before Ivan could continue, Leo's lips were on his.

  Ivan froze for a second before his lips responded almost instinctually, following Leo's lead as he kissed him back firmly.

  Leo's arms wrapped around Ivan's waist, and Ivan gripped his shoulders tightly, pulling them closer to each other.

  Where their skin met, Leo could feel that same spark he had felt on his hand when Ivan had first touched him so long ago.

  “I've been waiting to do that all day,” he whispered, and he felt Ivan smile into the kiss.

  He gently cupped Ivan's face while another hand brushed the bare skin at his waist where his shirt had ridden up. Heat enveloped his hand from Ivan's body.

  They kissed deeply and only broke apart when they both eventually ran out of air.

  Leo swallowed, panting. He leaned in again, and Ivan put a hand up to his chest, stopping him just as their lips brushed against each other. “This is a really bad idea.”

  “Maybe,” Leo breathed. “But so was agreeing to stay mates.”

  This time, it was Ivan who kissed him.

  Their lips met, and Leo smiled, momentarily breaking the kiss. They kissed fiercely, and Leo's mouth moved from Ivan's lips and down to his neck, causing Ivan's grip on his shoulders to tighten. Heat travelled from his hands to his shoulders and then settled in his stomach, where it continued to flicker.

  Then the heat travelled to another part of his body, and he quickly broke the kiss, moving his body as far away as he could without seeming suspicious.

  Unfortunately, Ivan had noticed. The blond took a step back and scanned his body and then his face. “What's wrong?”

  Leo's face felt hot. Jesus Christ, why now? “I— uh…. Well, we're mates so…” He sheepishly gestured downwards.

  Ivan followed his gaze to where he currently had his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants and was adjusting the front of the pants.

  “Oh.”

  “I can't help it.”

  Ivan's jaw clenched. The corners of his lips twitched before they returned to a thin-lipped smile. “I'm… not judging.”

  Leo narrowed his eyes. “Then stop laughing.”

  Ivan's restraint broke, and the twitching became a full smile. “Who said I was laughing?”

  Leo rolled his eyes and lightly shoved Ivan, causing the blond to tumble onto his bed. Ivan grabbed the edge of his hoodie, dragging him down along with him. They both fell onto the bed, lying side by side, hearts still racing. Ivan was still grinning.

  Leo’s lips lifted in a smile, and then he yawned. It was late, and the excitement had been distracting him from the fact that it was almost 2am and he was exhausted. And now all of his exhaustion had concentrated itself in his eyelids, slowly dragging them down.

  “I should probably…” Leo gestured behind him.

  They both got up from the bed and awkwardly stood next to the window. Leo hovered between the window and the door, indecisively contemplating the appropriate way to leave. He raised his arms for a hug, then — deciding it was too awkward — dropped them.

  Finally, he walked over to Ivan and mumbled a small “bye” before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

  He shut the window as tightly as he could from the wrong side and followed his same route down the ladder and onto the ground.

  He continued walking in the darkness until a myriad of thick and thin tree trunks surrounded him before pulling out his phone.

  Me: See? Not Predictable.

  2:01 am

  Güero: Yep. Just an idiot.

  2:01am

  Me: I thought kissing you would make you nicer to me

  2:01am

  Güero: Maybe it'll work a second time.

  2:02am

  Me: Or a third?

  2:02am

  Güero: Trying never hurt.

  2:02am

  Leo bit his lip to stop the grin from spreading on his lips. He could swear his cheeks would explode from how wide he was smiling.

  Hopefully they would stop hurting by the time he got home.