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Noah had cleaned himself up before leaving the reserve. Or, at least, he thought he had. Ryan had eventually produced several crumpled McDonald’s napkins from one pocket, and Noah had wiped his face by the light of his phone while Ryan provided useless commentary from the grass.
Left a bit.
Where?
Other left.
By the time they separated at the bus stop, Noah had been reasonably certain there was no visible evidence of what they had spent the previous hour doing beneath the tree - Ryan’s mouth on him, then the thick ropes of Ryan’s cum across his face and into his hair. The residual taste of Ryan still lingered on his tongue.
The light above the kitchen table was still on when he got home. Sophie was stacking plates while Liam rinsed them at the sink.
“There he is,” Sophie said.
Noah dropped his keys beside the fruit bowl. “Hi.”
“You ate?” Liam asked.
“Yeah.”
“Where?”
“McDonald’s.”
Sophie carried the plates towards the sink. “Classy.”
“It worked.”
“With whom?”
Noah opened the refrigerator despite not wanting anything. “Ryan.”
That got both of them. Sophie looked at Liam. Liam looked at Noah.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Sophie said.
“You both did something.”
“We looked at you.”
“Exactly.”
Liam turned back to the sink, the corner of his mouth moving slightly. “How was dinner?”
“Fine.”
“Just dinner?” Sophie asked.
“We ate. We talked.”
“And?”
Noah looked at her. “We went for a walk afterwards.”
Liam made a quiet sound. Noah turned towards him. “What?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You made a noise.”
“The plates are slippery.”
“That wasn’t a plate noise.”
Sophie smiled. Noah could still remember the cool night air, the rough grass beneath his knees, Ryan’s mouth wrapped around his cock, and Ryan sitting beside him afterwards, suggesting they should go for walks more often. The soft shorts he wore brushed against his bare cock with every small movement.
He took a drink from a bottle he found in the refrigerator. Sophie had gone quiet. Noah lowered the bottle. “What?”
She was staring slightly above his face. Liam followed her gaze and stopped rinsing the plate in his hands. Noah’s stomach tightened. “What?”
Sophie pointed towards her own temple. “You’ve got something in your hair.”
Noah lifted a hand. His fingers caught against something stiff in several strands near his hairline. He froze. Apparently Ryan’s directions had been even worse than he thought. Sophie looked at Liam. Liam looked back at her. Then both looked at Noah.
“No.”
Neither of them had said anything. Which was considerably worse. Liam turned towards the sink again. His shoulders moved once. “Are you laughing?”
“No.”
“You absolutely are.”
Sophie pressed her lips together. Noah rubbed at the strands again. “I thought I got all of it.”
Silence. The sentence registered half a second too late. Noah closed his eyes. “Fuck.”
Sophie folded against the table. Liam gave up and laughed openly. “I’m showering,” Noah finally said.
“That seems sensible,” Liam said.
“You never mention this again.”
“Mention what?”
“Good.”
Noah looked at Sophie. She was still laughing. “You too.”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“That’s probably wise.”
Noah backed towards the hallway. Sophie managed, “Nice walk?”
He stared at her. Liam laughed again. Noah left.
In the bathroom mirror, the offending streak became painfully obvious once he knew where to look, dried into several hairs above his ear. “Brilliant.” He turned the shower on. Hot water ran over his shoulders and down his body, across the soft weight of his cock. He washed thoroughly this time, fingers lingering a moment longer than necessary as the memory of Ryan’s mouth returned.
By the time Noah returned to his bedroom, hair damp and considerably cleaner, his phone had buzzed twice.
Ryan.
Home?
Then, a few minutes later:
Ignoring me already?
Noah smiled despite himself, still naked under the towel.
Home.
He hesitated, then typed:
Sophie and Liam found some of you in my hair.
The typing indicator appeared. Vanished. Reappeared.
What?
Exactly what I said.
I gave you napkins.
You also gave directions.
My directions were excellent.
They knew what it was.
A longer pause.
Fuck.
Noah laughed quietly.
Very helpful.
Did I at least make a good impression?
Noah stared at the message, cock giving a slow throb under the towel.
You are never meeting them.
Bit late for that.
His mouth twitched.
Goodnight Ryan.
Night Commando.
Noah put the phone down. He should have been mortified. He was, slightly. But lying in bed a few minutes later, still bare under the sheet, he kept remembering Sophie laughing and Liam trying unsuccessfully to hide it. Neither had become uncomfortable or demanded an explanation about Ryan or what Noah was doing with him. Two weeks earlier, Noah had worried about walking into the kitchen without a shirt. Tonight he had accidentally come home carrying considerably more revealing evidence of his private life. The house had survived. So had he. His cock stayed half-hard for a long time after the lights went out.
Noah woke Saturday to his phone vibrating against the bedside table. He reached for it without opening his eyes properly. Callum.
You live next to that park along the creek, right?
Noah blinked at the message.
Yeah.
Then:
Why?
The answer came almost immediately.
Someone in the ecology group saw a pink-tongued skink there yesterday.
Noah stared at the screen.
Okay?
Three dots appeared.
Okay???
Noah smiled.
I’m missing something.
They’re not common around here.
Then:
Not exactly rare, but uncommon enough that I want photos.
Noah rolled onto his back, the sheet sliding down his bare chest.
So what does this have to do with me?
I’m heading there now.
Noah sat up.
You’re coming here to look for a lizard?
Skink.
That is a lizard.
There was a pause.
Technically yes but calling it “a lizard” feels disrespectful.
Noah laughed.
Another message appeared.
Want to help?
He looked towards the window. Sunlight already pressed through the curtains. He had no plans. No reason not to.
Fine.
Callum reacted immediately.
Good.
Then:
Wear proper shoes.
Noah stared.
I own shoes.
Noah got out of bed, still naked, the soft weight of his cock shifting against his thigh as he moved. He pulled on soft grey shorts - nothing underneath - and a T-shirt.
Callum was waiting beside the park entrance twenty minutes later, backpack over both shoulders, a water bottle clipped to one side and his phone already in his hand. Noah looked him over. “You came prepared.”
Callum looked at Noah’s sneakers. “So did you.”
“You made it sound like we were going into the wilderness.”
Callum glanced towards the dry grass, scattered eucalyptus and scrub running beside the creek. “It’s habitat.”
“It’s behind my house.”
“Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”
Noah followed him off the path. “What exactly am I looking for?”
“A pink-tongued skink.”
“Helpful.”
Callum held his hands about thirty centimetres apart. “That describes quite a few lizards,” Noah said.
“Not if you know reptiles.”
“I very clearly don’t.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
For the first fifteen minutes, Noah mostly watched Callum inspect rocks, fallen branches and patches of leaf litter. He moved differently out here than he did at university. More focused. Less awkward. He knew what could be disturbed safely and what should be left alone. When Noah reached towards a piece of fallen bark, Callum stopped him. “Don’t rip it off.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were about to.”
“I was going to look underneath.”
“Exactly.”
Callum carefully lifted one loose edge, checked beneath it, then put it back exactly as he had found it. “Nothing.”
Noah folded his arms. “This is exciting.”
“You’ve been doing this for twelve minutes.”
“Feels longer.”
Callum ignored him. They found two garden skinks, an eastern water skink near the creek and one beetle Noah considered impressively large. Callum photographed all of them. “The water skink isn’t the one?”
“No.”
“It looks like a skink.”
“It is.”
Noah stared at him. “What?”
A beat passed.
“You’re making this difficult deliberately.”
“I’m really not.”
Somewhere between another fallen branch and Callum explaining the difference between smooth and keeled scales, Noah realised he was enjoying himself. Not the search exactly. Callum. There was something entertaining about watching someone become completely absorbed in something he loved. At university, Callum could turn a lecture into a fifteen-minute tangent about bird behaviour. Out here, those tangents had somewhere to go.
Noah’s phone buzzed. Ryan.
How’s your Saturday?
Noah looked towards Callum, who was crouched beside a pile of rocks with the concentration of someone defusing a bomb. He took a photo. While Callum was still crouched beside the rock checking the photographs, Ryan lifted his phone and took a quick photo of him. Callum barely seemed to notice.
Hunting reptiles.
Ryan replied almost immediately.
What the fuck?
Noah smiled.
Callum heard someone saw a semi-rare lizard near my house.
And you agreed to help?
Noah looked at the dirt already coating one knee of his shorts.
Apparently.
Do you need rescuing?
Noah laughed. Callum looked over. “What?”
“Nothing.”
His phone buzzed again.
Seriously.
Noah typed:
Possibly.
Where?
He hesitated, then sent the park pin. Callum watched him put the phone away. “Ryan?”
“How does everyone know?”
“You make a face.”
“Sophie said that too.”
“She’s right.”
“I hate that.”
Callum went back to the rocks. “Is he coming?”
“Maybe.”
“Good.”
Noah blinked. “Good?”
“We need more eyes.”
“He knows less about reptiles than I do.”
“Still eyes.”
Noah shook his head.
Ryan arrived almost half an hour later carrying three cold drinks. Noah saw him approaching along the path first. Dark shorts, grey T-shirt, sunglasses pushed into his hair. The silver chain caught briefly when he stepped into sunlight. He held up one of the drinks. “Rescue party.”
Noah accepted it. “You took your time.”
“I had to buy supplies.”
Callum emerged from behind a bush. Ryan looked at him. Callum looked at Ryan. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
Ryan handed him the third drink. Callum’s expression brightened immediately. “Thanks.”
Ryan looked towards Noah, eyes dropping briefly to the soft grey shorts and the way they sat low on Noah’s hips. “Very difficult rescue.”
“You haven’t been here an hour.”
“Why are we looking for this thing?”
Callum opened his mouth. Noah pointed at him. “Careful.”
Ryan looked interested. Callum ignored Noah completely. “Pink-tongued skink. Cyclodomorphus gerrardii. They’re mostly nocturnal or crepuscular, but someone photographed one here yesterday afternoon. This is close to the southern end of where you’d commonly expect them, so -”
Ryan looked at Noah. Noah drank. “You asked.”
Ryan nodded. “I did.”
Callum continued anyway. By the time they started walking again, Ryan knew considerably more about pink-tongued skinks than he had apparently intended to learn. He did not seem to mind. That surprised Noah slightly. Ryan teased Callum, but he also listened. Asked questions. Looked where Callum told him to look. When Callum explained why they should avoid turning large rocks unnecessarily, Ryan nodded rather than making a joke. Every so often Ryan’s eyes would drop to Noah’s legs, or the soft grey shorts, or the way Noah’s thighs flexed when he crouched. Noah noticed. His cock gave a slow, interested throb inside the fabric.
Twenty minutes later, Ryan found the first thing worth stopping for. “Is that it?”
Callum froze. Noah followed Ryan’s gaze towards a patch of sun beside a low rock. Something moved. Callum lifted one hand. “Don’t.”
Nobody moved. Callum slowly pulled out his phone. Noah squinted. At first he saw only brown leaves and stone. Then the shape resolved. A broad-bodied skink rested partly beneath the edge of the rock, mottled brown-grey across the back. It remained completely still except for the slight movement of its sides. Callum crouched. “Holy shit.”
Ryan leaned towards Noah, shoulder brushing his. “That’s good?”
“Apparently.”
Callum shot him a look. Noah smiled. They stayed several metres back while Callum took photographs. The animal shifted once, tongue flicking briefly from its mouth. Callum made a sound Noah had previously heard only when he discovered the monitor-lizard sequence in practical. Ryan looked at him. Then at Noah. Noah nodded. “That's the noise.”
Callum ignored them. After another minute, the skink disappeared beneath the rock. Callum immediately started examining the photographs. Ryan stretched his arms above his head, the movement making his dark shorts ride higher on his thighs. “So…”
Noah looked at him. “We saved the day.”
Callum didn’t look up. “You found it.”
Ryan smiled. “Exactly.”
Noah laughed.
By the time they left the park it was well into the afternoon. Callum had 84 photographs from the hunt. Noah knew because he had asked. He regretted asking. “Some are blurry,” Callum explained.
“That does not make 84 reasonable.”
“I’ll delete some.”
Ryan looked over Callum’s shoulder. “This one’s good.”
Callum stopped walking. “Which one?”
Ryan pointed. They immediately began discussing the photograph. Noah continued ahead without them. Neither noticed for several metres. Eventually Ryan caught up, falling into step close enough that their arms brushed. “You’re abandoning us.”
“You’ve become part of the problem.”
“I found the skink.”
“Once.”
“Still counts.”
They reached the park entrance. Callum checked the time. “I’m starving.”
“So am I,” Ryan said.
Noah nodded towards the road. “There are places near campus.”
Ryan looked in the opposite direction. Towards Noah’s street. “Don’t you live basically there?”
Noah became suspicious immediately. “Yes.”
“So… food at yours?”
Noah looked at him. “No.”
Ryan laughed. “Why not?”
“Because we can eat somewhere else.”
Callum glanced between them. “But your house is five minutes away.”
Noah looked at him. “You’re supposed to be helping me.”
“With what?”
Ryan’s expression changed. Understanding arrived slowly. Then his mouth curved. “Oh.”
Noah pointed at him. “Don’t.”
Callum looked between them again. “What?”
“Nothing,” Noah said.
Ryan was already trying not to laugh. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Ryan.”
Callum frowned. “Do your housemates not like people coming over?”
“They’re fine with people coming over.”
“Then why can’t we go there?”
Noah pictured the kitchen the previous night. Sophie folding over against the table. Liam laughing into the sink. I thought I got all of it. He looked at Ryan. Ryan knew exactly what he was thinking. His smile widened. Noah hated him. “Takeaway,” Noah said.
Ryan nodded. “At yours.”
“I did not say that.”
“Closer.”
Callum nodded. “Definitely closer.”
“You’ve known him for an hour and you’re already taking his side.”
“I’m hungry.”
Ryan put an arm briefly around Callum’s shoulders. “See? Reasonable person.”
Callum looked down at the arm. Then at Noah. “I don’t think this makes us allies.”
Ryan removed it. “Fair.”
Noah exhaled. “Fine.”
Ryan smiled, eyes dropping once more to the soft grey shorts. Noah pointed at him again. “You say nothing about last night.”
“I haven't said anything.”
“That phrase has ruined my life.”
Callum looked even more confused. “What happened last night?”
“Nothing.”
Ryan coughed. Noah stared at him. “Nothing,” Ryan repeated.
Callum considered asking. Apparently decided against it. “Okay.”
Noah was grateful.
Noah opened the front door. “Welcome to student luxury.”
Ryan looked past him into the hallway. “Looks expensive.”
“You live in a student flat.”
“I know quality when I see it.”
Callum stepped inside behind them. “Your park is genuinely five minutes away.”
Noah shut the door. “You doubted me?”
“People exaggerate walking distances.”
They had barely made it farther than the entrance when Sophie appeared from the kitchen carrying two empty glasses. She stopped when she saw them. Her eyes went first to Noah, then to the two unfamiliar guys standing behind him. “Oh. Hi.”
“Hi,” Noah said.
Sophie glanced between them, clearly waiting. Noah gestured towards Callum first. “This is Callum. We do biology together.”
Callum gave her a slightly awkward smile. “Hi.”
“Sophie.”
She shifted the glasses into one hand and offered the other. Callum shook it. “And this is Ryan.”
Something changed in Sophie’s expression. Tiny. But Noah saw it. “Ryan,” she repeated.
Ryan glanced at Noah before looking back at her. “Yeah. Hi.”
Sophie smiled and offered him her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
She released his hand. Only then did her eyes flick towards Noah. Then, very deliberately, up towards his hair. Noah stared at her. Don’t. Sophie looked back at Ryan. Her smile became fractionally brighter. “I’ve heard about you.”
Ryan’s mouth twitched. “Good things?”
“Mostly.”
“Sophie.”
“What?”
“You’ve barely heard anything.”
“Maybe not.” She looked at Ryan again. “But you’ve already made an impression.”
Noah closed his eyes. Beside him, Ryan made a quiet choking sound. Callum looked between them. “What?”
“Nothing,” Noah said immediately.
Sophie’s expression remained perfectly innocent. “I meant the report.”
Noah opened his eyes. “No, you didn’t.”
“I could have.”
Ryan was looking down now, clearly trying not to laugh. Sophie stepped aside and nodded towards the lounge. “Liam and Claire are in there.”
As she passed Noah on her way back to the kitchen, he murmured, “You promised.”
Sophie kept walking. “I haven’t mentioned anything.”
Noah stared after her. “That sentence does not mean what you think it means.”
Ryan leaned closer, voice low, breath warm against Noah’s ear. “Did I at least make a good impression?”
Noah turned slowly towards him. Ryan grinned. “I hate you.”
“Good start.”
Noah shoved him lightly towards the lounge. “Go.”
Liam and Claire were on the sofa, Claire curled into his side with a half-finished bowl of chips between them. Both looked over when Noah entered with Callum and Ryan behind him. “More people,” Liam said.
“Apparently.”
Noah gestured towards Callum. “This is Callum. We do biology together.”
Callum gave them a slightly awkward wave. “Hi.”
“Liam.”
“Claire.”
“And this is Ryan.”
Liam looked at Ryan again, now with the name attached. Ryan lifted a hand. “Hey.”
Claire smiled. “Hi.”
Liam stood and shook both their hands. “Good to meet you.”
“You too,” Ryan said.
Noah watched the handshake for no sensible reason. Ryan knew exactly who Liam was. Noah had mentioned him often enough, and after last night Ryan also knew Liam had been one of the two people who discovered what Noah had brought home in his hair. Liam, meanwhile, now knew that this was Ryan. The lab partner. The beach. Dinner. The walk. Their eyes met for perhaps half a second longer than necessary. Liam’s gaze flicked once, almost imperceptibly, down Noah’s body - the soft grey shorts, the bare legs - before returning to Ryan’s face. Noah noticed. Unfortunately, Sophie did too. She had followed them into the lounge and was leaning against the sofa arm with an expression Noah did not trust.
Claire looked at Noah. “So, what have you three been doing all afternoon?”
“Hunting lizards.”
“Skinks,” Callum corrected immediately.
“A skink is a lizard.”
“That doesn’t mean you call it one when you know what it is.”
Ryan nodded. “I’ve learned not to argue about this.”
“You were arguing twenty minutes ago.”
“I’ve grown.”
Claire laughed. Sophie looked between them. “You actually went looking for one?”
Noah pointed at Callum. “He did. I was recruited.”
“I invited you.”
“Exactly.”
Ryan leaned against the other sofa, close enough that his arm brushed Noah’s. “I was the rescue party.”
“You joined the hunt almost immediately.”
“Because I found it.”
Callum turned. “You saw movement.”
“It was the skink.”
“After I identified it.”
Claire smiled. “Did you get photos?”
Callum’s entire expression changed. “Yes.”
Noah sighed. That was enough. “How many?” Sophie asked.
“84,” Noah said.
“Some are duplicates.”
“Still 84.”
Claire made room beside her, and Callum sat down with his phone. Sophie moved around the sofa and leaned over Claire’s shoulder. “This is probably the best one,” Callum said.
Claire studied the photograph. “Oh, he’s cute.”
Callum looked pleased. “Pink-tongued skink. They’re uncommon around here, which is why I came out.”
Sophie looked closer. “How do you know it’s the same one someone saw yesterday?”
Callum brightened. Ryan shook his head. “Don’t ask follow-up questions.”
“Why?”
“Because you'll still be hearing the answer at dinner.”
“I explained it because you asked.”
“I asked why it was interesting.”
“Exactly.”
Liam laughed. Ryan looked over, smiling. It was nothing more than a joke landing. Noah noticed anyway - the easy way Ryan and Liam already occupied the same space. “So you voluntarily went skink hunting?” Liam asked.
Ryan shrugged. “I was rescuing Noah.”
“You brought drinks and then spent an hour looking under rocks,” Noah said.
“I contributed.”
“You found one thing.”
“The thing we were looking for.”
Ryan looked towards Liam. “We've been arguing about this for an hour.”
Liam considered it. “Callum wins.”
“Thank you,” Callum said.
Ryan looked betrayed. “We’ve known each other thirty seconds.”
“Long enough.”
Liam smiled. Ryan laughed. Callum had already returned to the photos. “This one shows the markings better.”
Claire leaned closer. Sophie did too, although after a few seconds her eyes lifted over the phone towards Noah. Then Ryan. Then Liam. Noah caught her. She immediately looked back down. Far too immediately. He narrowed his eyes. Sophie smiled sweetly. Claire, oblivious, pointed at another photograph. “What makes the tongue pink?”
Callum turned towards her with renewed enthusiasm. “That’s actually interesting because -”
Ryan leaned closer to Noah, voice low enough that only he could hear, breath warm against his neck. “She’s watching us.”
“I know.”
“What does she think is happening?”
“No idea.”
Ryan glanced towards Sophie, then let his hand rest briefly against the small of Noah’s back, fingers brushing the soft fabric of the grey shorts. “Don’t encourage her,” Noah murmured.
“I haven’t done anything.”
Without looking up, Sophie said, “He hasn’t.”
Noah closed his eyes. Ryan laughed, the sound vibrating against Noah’s side. Liam looked between them. “What?”
“Nothing,” Noah said.
“Absolutely nothing,” Sophie added.
Liam clearly knew there was something, but wisely left it alone. Eventually Sophie straightened. “So, are you three eating?”
Ryan looked at Noah. “That was apparently the plan.”
“Your plan.”
Callum looked up. “I supported it.”
“You were hungry.”
“I still am.”
Claire laughed. Sophie reached for her phone. “Well, if we’re feeding two extra biology students, we should probably work out what everyone wants.”
Ryan smiled at Noah, eyes lingering a second too long on his mouth. Somehow an afternoon that had started with Callum looking for a skink had ended with Ryan standing in Noah’s lounge, talking to Liam as though he'd been invited deliberately. Noah leaned closer. “Not one word.”
“I haven’t said anything.”
From the sofa, Liam laughed. Noah turned. “Don’t you start.”
Liam raised both hands. “I didn’t say anything either.”
“That phrase is banned.”
Claire looked up from Callum’s phone. “I feel like I’ve missed something.”
“No,” Noah said immediately.
Beside her, Sophie smiled. “You really haven’t.” She held Noah’s gaze just long enough to make it clear that Claire had, in fact, missed quite a lot. Then she turned back to the phone. “Okay, this one’s actually really good.”
Callum brightened. “That’s the clearest one of the markings.”
“See?” Claire said. “84 photos were justified.”
Noah stared at her. “Please don’t encourage him.”
“Too late,” Ryan said.
Callum nodded. “Much too late.”
Takeaway became a group decision almost immediately. Claire wanted Thai. Liam wanted something spicy. Callum claimed not to care and then spent five minutes examining the menu before choosing. Marcus was still at work but due home soon, so Sophie added his usual order. By the time the food arrived, containers covered most of the coffee table. Sophie had the remote and was scrolling through films while everyone objected to her choices before she had actually selected one.
Callum sat on the floor beside the table, his phone and 84 skink photographs temporarily abandoned in favour of food. Claire was tucked against Liam on one sofa. Noah and Ryan took the other. Ryan’s thigh rested against his, warm and deliberate. Noah became strangely aware of it - the solid heat of Ryan’s leg, the way the soft grey shorts did nothing to hide the fact that Noah was bare underneath, the quiet pressure of contact that felt far more intimate than it should have in a room full of people. Ryan had existed at university. On the beach. In Ryan’s bedroom. At McDonald’s. Beneath a tree. Seeing him sitting in Noah’s lounge, eating takeaway while Sophie argued with Liam about what they were going to watch, felt different. Not bad. Just new. And charged.
Sophie caught Noah looking. He looked away. Her smile told him she had noticed. The front door opened before she could do anything with that information. Marcus came in with his gym bag over one shoulder and stopped when he saw the crowded lounge. “We have guests.”
Sophie looked up from the television. “There’s been some kind of skink hunt.”
Marcus paused. “A what?”
Noah gestured towards the two newcomers. “Marcus, this is Callum and Ryan. Guys, Marcus.”
Callum lifted a hand. “Hi.”
Ryan looked at Marcus for a second longer than necessary, eyes taking in the broad shoulders, the sleeveless shirt still damp from the walk home, the way the gym shorts sat low on his hips. “Hey.”
Marcus nodded to both of them and dropped his bag beside the armchair. His gaze flicked once to Noah - the soft grey shorts, the bare legs, the way Noah was sitting close to Ryan - before settling. “So, what’s a skink hunt?”
Noah pointed towards Callum. “Ask him.”
Callum immediately brightened. “Someone spotted a pink-tongued skink in the park yesterday.”
Marcus looked at Noah. “And you went looking for it?”
“I got recruited.”
“Of course.”
Marcus found his takeaway container and dropped into the armchair. Beside Noah, Ryan leaned closer, voice low enough that only Noah could hear. “That’s Gym Marcus?”
Noah immediately knew where this was going. “Don’t.”
Ryan glanced towards Marcus again, eyes lingering openly on the broad lines of his shoulders and chest. “Your standards are fine.”
Noah elbowed him. “Shut up.”
Ryan smiled and opened his food, but his thigh pressed more firmly against Noah’s. Sophie finally chose a film. Nobody approved. She put it on anyway. For the first few minutes, Noah remained conscious of Ryan beside him. Their legs touching. Sophie and Liam knowing considerably more about Friday night than Callum or Claire did. Marcus now existing in the same room as the person Noah had discussed him with - and the way both Ryan and Marcus had looked at him. Then the film became terrible enough to distract everyone.
One character injured his shoulder and, ten minutes later, attempted to climb the outside of a building. Marcus shook his head. “He’s not doing that.”
Ryan looked across the room. “Why not?”
“Shoulder.”
“People in films are more durable.”
“No. Films just ignore anatomy.”
Callum looked up from his food. “Some reptiles can survive fairly significant injuries.”
Nobody had asked. Claire laughed. Marcus looked at him. “Define significant.”
That was enough to start a conversation Noah suspected neither of them had anticipated. Halfway through the film, Liam made a quiet sound of disapproval. Ryan looked over. “What?”
Liam pointed at the screen. “That staircase makes no sense.”
Ryan stared at it. “In what way?”
“It’s unsupported.”
“It has walls.”
“That isn’t how stairs work.”
Ryan considered the screen. “I don’t know. I’ve used several.”
Liam looked at him. Ryan looked back. Then Liam laughed. Noah noticed. There was nothing particularly significant about it. Ryan had made a joke. Liam found it funny. Still, it was easy in a way Noah hadn't expected, and Noah was already too aware of who was looking at whom for even a simple joke to feel entirely simple. A few scenes later, another character heard a noise somewhere in the dark building and decided to investigate alone. Ryan shook his head. “No.”
Liam pointed at the television. “Exactly.”
“He’s going downstairs.”
“Then whatever happens is his fault.”
Ryan laughed. Noah looked between them again. Noah looked at the screen. He wasn't entirely sure what she thought she had noticed. By eight, Callum checked his phone and frowned. “I should go before the buses become theoretical.”
Sophie paused the film. “That bad?”
“After eight-thirty? Increasingly.”
Callum collected his backpack and phone. Noah followed him into the hallway. At the door, Callum pulled one strap over his shoulder. “Thanks.”
“For dinner?”
“The skink.”
Noah smiled. “You found it.”
“Ryan found it.”
“He’ll remind you.”
Callum smiled. Then glanced back towards the lounge. “He’s nice.”
“Ryan?”
“Yeah.”
Noah leaned against the doorframe. “You’ve known him longer than today.”
“Not really.”
“That is objectively untrue.”
“I've sat near him in practicals.”
“Several times.”
“That doesn’t count.”
Noah laughed. Callum adjusted his backpack. Then, without teasing, “You seem good.”
The words caught Noah slightly off guard. “Yeah.”
Callum nodded. “Good.”
He reached for the door, then stopped. “Send me the photo Ryan took?”
“You have 84.”
“The one with me in it.”
“Of course.”
Callum left. Noah watched him head towards the street before closing the door. From the lounge, Ryan called, “Did he admit I found it?”
Noah smiled. “Absolutely not.”
“Coward.”
Noah headed back towards the others. The film resumed before he reached the sofa. Ryan shifted automatically, making room beside him. Noah sat down. His thigh settled against Ryan’s again. This time he barely noticed - or rather, he noticed and simply let the heat of it settle into him.
Claire stayed. That made sense. It was Saturday, and she had apparently planned to spend most of the weekend with Liam anyway. After Callum left, the group became quieter. Marcus disappeared for a shower. Sophie changed the film to something less terrible. Claire curled more comfortably against Liam and eventually stole the blanket he had been using. “You have your own,” Liam complained.
“Mine’s over there.”
“Exactly.”
Claire pulled his closer. Liam sighed and let her. Ryan watched them for half a second. Then looked at Noah. Noah knew what he was thinking. Small habits. Comfort. He looked back at the television, aware of every point of contact between their bodies.
Around nine, Marcus returned wearing shorts and nothing else. Broad chest still damp from the shower, dark hair trailing down his stomach, the soft shorts sitting low enough that the outline of his cock was visible. Ryan glanced at him. Then at Noah. Noah caught it. Ryan smiled, slow and knowing. Noah mouthed, Shut up. Marcus saw that too. His mouth curved. His eyes dropped deliberately to Noah’s soft grey shorts and the bare outline beneath them before returning to Noah’s face. Noah briefly regretted every decision he had made since moving out of home - and also did not regret any of them at all.
Sophie went to bed first. “I have work tomorrow.”
“It’s Sunday,” Noah said.
“Cafés remain operational.”
She stood. On her way past Ryan, she stopped. “Nice meeting you.”
Ryan looked up. “You too.”
Sophie glanced at Noah’s hair. Just once. Noah pointed at her. She smiled. “Sleep well.” Then disappeared down the hallway. Ryan waited until her door closed. “She’s terrifying.”
“I told you.”
Liam looked over. “She likes you.”
Ryan stared at him. “That was liking me?”
Noah nodded. “You got off lightly.”
Claire looked between them. “I feel like I’m missing something.”
“No,” Noah said.
Ryan answered at exactly the same time. “Yes.”
Noah stared at him. Ryan smiled. Claire looked interested. Liam shook his head. “Leave it.”
Claire looked at him. “You know?”
“No.”
“You clearly know.”
“I know enough to not ask.”
Noah pointed at him. “Thank you.”
Claire considered this. Then shrugged. “Fine.”
Noah loved her a little for that.
By ten-thirty, the house had thinned out around them. Callum had left for his bus more than two hours earlier, Marcus had retreated to his room, and Sophie had gone to bed for work the next day. That left Noah, Ryan, Liam and Claire. Claire had gradually folded herself into Liam’s side as the film continued, her head against his shoulder and one of his hands resting loosely across her knee. She yawned. Liam looked down at her. “Bed?”
Claire nodded without moving. “That generally requires getting up.”
“I know.”
“You don’t seem committed.”
She closed her eyes. Ryan smiled from the other sofa. Eventually Liam stood and pulled her up with him. Claire kept the blanket wrapped around herself for several steps before abandoning it on the sofa. “Night,” Liam said.
Ryan lifted a hand. “Night.”
Claire looked between Noah and Ryan. “Have fun.”
Noah narrowed his eyes. “With whatever you’re watching next,” she added.
“We’re not watching anything next.”
“Okay.”
Liam glanced at Noah, the corner of his mouth moving. Noah pointed at him. “You too.”
“I said nothing.”
“That has become the most threatening sentence in this house.”
Ryan laughed. Claire took Liam’s hand and pulled him towards the hallway. “Goodnight.”
Their bedroom door closed a minute later. The house went quiet. Noah and Ryan remained on opposite ends of the sofa for perhaps thirty seconds before Ryan looked at him. Noah looked back. The television had returned to the menu screen, its music repeating softly. “So,” Ryan said.
“So?”
“Successful day.”
“You found one skink.”
“I found the skink.”
“Callum did everything else.”
“History remembers discoveries.”
Noah laughed. Ryan’s foot nudged his thigh. Small. Deliberate. The contact landed directly against the soft fabric covering Noah’s bare cock. Noah looked down, then back at him. Ryan’s expression had changed. There it was again. That shift Noah had learned to recognise. Ryan leaned towards him. Noah met him halfway. The first kiss was soft, almost lazy after an afternoon spent surrounded by other people. Ryan’s hand came to Noah’s jaw as Noah turned more fully towards him. Nothing hurried. That felt different too. They had kissed beneath a tree with strangers potentially passing nearby. They had kissed in Ryan’s bedroom with Ben beyond the wall. Here, Noah knew exactly who was sleeping down the hallway. Ryan pulled back slightly when Noah smiled against his mouth. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“You smiled.”
“I’m allowed.”
“Suspicious.”
Noah kissed him again. Ryan’s hand slipped beneath his shirt as Noah shifted closer, pushing him back into the corner of the sofa. The kiss deepened. Ryan made a quiet sound. Both of them stopped and listened. Nothing. “Thin walls?” Ryan whispered.
“You already know that’s a problem.”
“Ben’s are worse.”
“Ben heard us.”
“Exactly.”
Noah shook his head and kissed him again, quieter this time. For several minutes the rest of the house receded. Ryan’s hand moved beneath Noah’s shirt, palms sliding over warm skin, fingers tracing the lines of his ribs. Noah’s fingers caught briefly against the silver chain at Ryan’s neck, then slid lower, across the lean muscle of his chest. Their legs tangled awkwardly on the sofa. Noah could feel Ryan’s cock hardening against his thigh through the dark shorts. His own was already fully hard inside the soft grey fabric, pressing insistently against Ryan’s hip. Eventually Ryan leaned back, breathing harder. He checked his phone. “Bus in twenty-three minutes.”
The words sat strangely between them. Noah knew what came next. Ryan would leave. They would kiss at the door. Noah would see him again Monday. Perfectly normal. Instead Noah looked towards the hallway, then back at him. “You could stay.”
Ryan went still. “Yeah?”
Noah shrugged, although there was very little casual about the jump in his pulse. “If you want.”
Ryan’s mouth curved. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Ryan placed his phone face down on the coffee table. “Okay.”
Noah smiled. “Okay.”
Ryan glanced towards the hallway. “Do I need formal approval from the household?”
“No.”
“Sophie seems like she’d have paperwork.”
“She probably does.”
“And Liam?”
Noah remembered the kitchen the previous night. I thought I got all of it. “Absolutely not.”
Ryan laughed. Noah stood. “Come on.”
Noah closed his bedroom door carefully behind them. Ryan had seen the room before only indirectly: mirror photographs Noah had sent, pieces caught behind him in selfies. Now he looked around properly. The bed beneath the window. Desk. Textbooks. Gym bag beside the wardrobe. The room Noah had been slowly turning into his own. Ryan sat on the edge of the mattress. “So, this is Commando’s headquarters.”
Noah stared at him. “You’re never going to stop calling me that.”
“No.”
Noah pulled his shirt over his head. Ryan’s eyes immediately dropped to the bare chest, the lean stomach, the soft grey shorts sitting low enough that the thick outline of Noah’s hard cock was unmistakable. “That seems appropriate.”
“You’ve seen me shirtless before.”
“Still looking.”
Noah smiled. The answer reminded him briefly of Marcus. Hard not to. That attraction still existed somewhere in the background. Tonight it didn’t compete with anything. Noah crossed the room and stood between Ryan’s knees. Ryan looked up. Noah kissed him. The mood shifted. Not serious exactly. Just quieter. More intentional. Ryan’s hands settled at Noah’s waist, fingers sliding under the waistband of the soft grey shorts, brushing bare skin. Noah lifted Ryan’s shirt over his head, leaving the silver chain where it was. He liked it there. They moved onto the bed. For a while everything stayed familiar: kissing, touching, the growing ease of knowing how the other reacted. Noah pushed Ryan’s dark shorts down; Ryan did the same to Noah’s. Both of them were fully hard. Noah’s cock stood out thick and flushed, the foreskin already pulled back slightly from the sustained arousal of the evening. Ryan’s was uncut, heavy, leaking at the tip.
Ryan shifted lower without a word, wrapping a hand around Noah’s cock and taking him into his mouth. The sudden wet heat made Noah’s hips twitch. Ryan sucked him slowly at first, tongue working under the foreskin, one hand stroking the base while the other rested on Noah’s thigh. He took him deeper, the soft pull of his lips and the quiet wet sounds filling the room, until Noah was fully hard and aching, fingers tightening in Ryan’s hair. Ryan pulled off after a minute, lips shiny, and looked up.
Ryan caught Noah’s wrist and looked at him. Not stopping him. Just making sure he had his attention. “You okay?” Noah asked.
“Yeah.”
Ryan’s thumb moved once across his wrist. “I want more.”
Noah understood. The idea had crossed his mind before, but imagining Ryan and actually having him here, in Noah’s bed, were different things. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Ryan held his gaze. “I want you to.”
Noah kissed him again. This time, neither of them joked. Noah reached for the small bottle of lube he kept in the drawer — the same one he had used alone more than once while thinking about Ryan. He slicked his fingers thoroughly, then pressed one carefully against Ryan’s entrance. Ryan’s breath caught. Noah worked him open slowly, carefully, one finger then two, curling, scissoring, until Ryan was pushing back against his hand with quiet, controlled sounds. Noah slicked himself next, the cool gel warming quickly against his skin. He positioned himself between Ryan’s thighs, the head of his cock pressing against the slick, yielding heat. He pushed in slowly, watching Ryan’s face the entire time, feeling the tight ring of muscle stretch around him, then the long, gripping slide as he sank deeper until he was fully buried. Ryan’s legs wrapped around him. They stayed like that for a long moment, breathing hard, Noah buried to the hilt, both of them hyper-aware of the thin walls and the people sleeping only metres away.
Then Noah began to move. Slow at first, long careful strokes that dragged almost all the way out before sliding home again. He kept his mouth against Ryan’s to muffle any sound, kissing him deeply, swallowing the quiet moans Ryan couldn’t quite suppress. Ryan’s hands gripped his back, then his ass, pulling him deeper. Noah shifted the angle, lifting one of Ryan’s legs higher, driving in harder but still controlled, the wet sound of skin on skin soft enough that it wouldn’t carry. Ryan’s cock was trapped between them, hard and leaking steadily. Noah reached down and stroked it in time with his thrusts, thumbing the wet head. Ryan’s breathing changed, growing sharper against Noah’s mouth. His hole tightened rhythmically around Noah’s cock, fluttering and gripping in waves. Noah fucked him deeper, faster, still kissing him through it, until Ryan came with a low, broken groan that Noah swallowed against his lips, thick ropes spilling across both their stomachs while Noah was still buried inside him. The sudden milking tightness around Noah’s cock was almost too much. He kept thrusting through Ryan’s orgasm, feeling every pulse, until Ryan was shaking and oversensitive. Only then did Noah pull out, shift up onto his knees, and stroke himself hard and fast over Ryan’s body. He came with a muffled groan, thick ropes landing across Ryan’s chest, stomach, and the silver chain, painting him in long, warm streaks.
Afterwards, they stayed close. Noah rested his forehead against Ryan’s shoulder while Ryan’s hand moved slowly across his back. For a while neither spoke. Then Ryan murmured, “That was good.”
Noah laughed softly. “You said that yesterday.”
“Still true.”
“Very detailed feedback.”
“I can provide notes tomorrow.”
“No.”
“Annotated.”
“Definitely no.”
Ryan smiled. Noah shifted onto his side beside him. The room felt different. Or perhaps Noah did. Ryan looked towards the ceiling. “So this is why you invited me to stay.”
Noah turned towards him. “I invited you to stay before we came in here.”
“Very strategic.”
“You can still catch the bus.”
Ryan looked horrified. “Cruel.”
Noah laughed. They cleaned themselves up as quietly as possible, turned off the light and got beneath the sheet. Ryan stayed. That was the part Noah noticed most. No checking the time. No reaching for his clothes. No calculation about the final bus. He simply settled into the bed as though staying had already been decided. Noah lay beside him. For a while there was space between them. Then Ryan rolled closer and rested an arm loosely across Noah’s stomach. Noah looked down at it in the dark. He had slept beside someone before. That wasn’t new. His girlfriend had stayed with him. He had stayed with her. He knew the warmth of another body beneath the same sheet, the gradual slowing of someone else’s breathing beside him. But never a man. Never Ryan. His breathing was already beginning to slow. Noah stared at the ceiling. Saturday had begun with Callum messaging him about a skink. Ryan had joined because Noah had jokingly accepted an offer to be rescued. The three of them had ended up back here because dinner at Noah’s had somehow become the easiest option. Almost none of it had been planned. Except this. You could stay. That had been Noah’s choice. He closed his eyes. Ryan’s arm remained warm across him. Home, apparently, had room for one more person.
Noah woke to Ryan trying unsuccessfully to pull his arm free without waking him. “You’re terrible at that.”
Ryan stopped. “Morning.”
“What time is it?”
“Eight-thirty.”
Noah groaned. “Your house makes noise,” Ryan complained. As if summoned, a cupboard closed somewhere down the hallway. “Welcome.”
Ryan lay back down. His hair was flattened on one side, the silver chain catching the morning light. Noah looked at him. Ryan noticed. “Creepy.”
“Shut up.”
Noah kissed him.
Eventually hunger won. They dressed - Noah pulling on the same soft grey shorts, still nothing underneath - and found Liam already at the kitchen table with coffee and an open workbook in front of him. He looked up as they entered. No surprise in his face. “Morning.”
“Morning,” Ryan said.
Noah opened a cupboard while Ryan glanced at the page in front of Liam. It was covered in diagrams, arrows and equations. “What are you doing?”
Liam looked down at it. “Statics.”
Ryan pulled out the chair opposite him. “What’s statics?”
“Engineering. Forces, structures, things not falling over.”
Ryan studied one of the diagrams. “That looks hostile.”
Liam smiled faintly. “It is.”
“I thought engineering involved building things.”
“Eventually.”
Ryan pointed at the page. “That appears to be a triangle.”
Liam looked at the diagram. Then at Ryan. “It’s a very important triangle.”
“Right.”
Noah looked over from the cupboard. Ryan was still examining the page with exaggerated suspicion. “And you have to do this on a Sunday?”
“Apparently.”
Ryan nodded. “Definitely hostile.”
Claire appeared a minute later wearing one of Liam’s T-shirts and sleep shorts. She stopped when she saw Ryan. “Oh. You stayed.”
Noah looked at her. Claire smiled. “Observation. Not judgment.”
“I appreciate that,” Ryan said.
She crossed to Liam and reached for his coffee. He moved it away. “No.”
“You have another mug.”
“You don’t.”
“Exactly.”
Claire took it anyway. Liam sighed and let her. “Are we still going out later?” she asked.
Liam glanced at the workbook. “Yeah.”
Claire waited. He looked at it again. “I just need to finish this first.”
“How long?”
“An hour? Maybe two.”
Her expression changed only slightly. “You said we’d head out this morning.”
“I know. Sorry. This is taking longer than I thought.”
Claire looked at the page, then back at him. “Okay. Just let me know.”
Liam touched her briefly at the waist as she moved past. “I will.”
Nothing about the exchange sounded like an argument. Still, Noah noticed it. Then Sophie walked into the kitchen. She stopped when she saw Ryan. Looked at him. Then Noah. And very deliberately checked Noah’s hair. Noah stared at her. “Don’t.”
Sophie smiled. “Looks clean.”
Ryan covered his face. Liam laughed into his coffee. Claire looked between them. “I’m definitely missing something.”
“Keep missing it,” Noah said.
Sophie opened a cupboard. “Morning, Ryan.”
Ryan lowered his hands. “Morning.”
“Sleep well?”
Noah looked at her. Sophie’s expression was innocent. Ryan smiled. “Yeah, actually.”
“Good.”
Her eyes flicked once more towards Noah’s hair. “Sophie.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Liam laughed again. “That phrase is banned,” Noah said.
Breakfast gradually assembled itself around them. Sophie complained about having to work later. Ryan resumed his claim that he had discovered the skink, which Noah immediately disputed. The house sounded ordinary. That was what caught him. Two weeks ago, home had been several hours away: his parents, his old bedroom, listening for footsteps and pulling on a shirt before entering the kitchen. Now it was Claire stealing Liam’s coffee while his engineering work waited in front of him. Sophie tormenting Noah about something she could easily have made awkward and hadn’t. Marcus still asleep somewhere down the hallway. And Ryan, in yesterday’s clothes, sitting at the kitchen table as though waking up there required no explanation at all. Ryan looked over. “What?”
Noah realised he had been staring. “Nothing.”
Ryan narrowed his eyes. Noah smiled. For once, nothing was enough.
