*Episode 2: Cracks in the Walls*
Day 5 starts with passive aggression and cold coffee.
Milo wakes up to the sound of a blender. Aggressive blending. The kind of blending that says _I am mad and this smoothie is going to pay for it._
He pads downstairs in socks and an oversized hoodie. Cass is in the kitchen, in black again, jaw tight, blending something green.
"Morning," Milo says.
Cass doesn’t look up. "Coffee’s cold."
"I like cold coffee."
"Of course you do."
Milo pours a mug anyway. The kitchen smells like rain from last night and whatever punishment Cass is blending.
They haven’t talked about the almost-kiss. Neither of them. It’s hanging in the air like a bad song.
"So," Milo says, sitting at the counter. "What’s on the agenda today? Brooding? More brooding?"
"Work," Cass says. "And fixing your bike."
Milo blinks. "My bike?"
"The tire was flat. I saw it in the garage."
"You... fixed it?"
"I’m fixing it." Cass finally looks at him. "Don’t make it weird."
Too late. It’s weird.
"Thank you," Milo says quietly.
Cass grunts. That’s as close to "you’re welcome" as he gets.
---
By noon, Milo is bored out of his mind. Cass is locked in his office. The house is quiet again.
Milo hates quiet.
So he does what any reasonable person would do: he reorganizes Cass’s bookshelf.
Not all of it. Just one shelf. By color.
He’s halfway through when Cass opens the door and freezes.
"What are you doing."
"Making your books prettier," Milo says, not looking up. "You’re welcome."
"Those are in alphabetical order."
"They’re in rainbow order now. Better."
Cass crosses the room in three steps and pulls a book out. "Dostoevsky does not go next to cookbooks."
"They can be friends."
"They are not friends."
Milo finally looks up. Cass is standing too close. Again. He smells like coffee and that clean soap he uses.
"Sorry," Milo says, but he’s not. "Do you want me to put them back?"
Cass stares at the shelf. At Milo’s hand still holding a book. Then he sighs.
"No. Leave it." He rubs his neck. "But don’t touch my desk."
"Deal."
Cass turns to leave, then stops. "Bike’s in the garage. Tire’s fixed."
"Thank you," Milo says again.
Cass nods once and disappears.
Milo looks at the rainbow bookshelf and grins.
---
That evening, Jay calls.
They put him on speaker in the living room.
"Are you two getting along??" Jay asks immediately.
"Define getting along," Milo says, sprawled on one end of the couch.
"We haven’t killed each other," Cass says from the other end. Three feet of space between them.
"That’s a win," Jay says. "Cass, be nice to him. Milo, don’t annoy him to death."
"I’m not annoying," Milo says.
"You literally texted me 12 times yesterday about the color of his mug," Jay says.
"It was navy. He said it was navy. That’s a crime."
Cass makes a noise. It might be a laugh. It might be suffering.
"Be good," Jay says. "Both of you. I miss you."
"We miss you too," Milo says, and means it.
After they hang up, the silence is heavier.
"He sounds tired," Cass says.
"He is," Milo says. "His parents are... a lot right now."
Cass nods. "Yeah."
Another pause.
"You can ask me about it," Cass says suddenly.
"What?"
"About his parents. Or anything. If you want to."
Milo sits up. "Are you offering to talk? Voluntarily?"
"Don’t make me regret it."
"I won’t." Milo scoots forward. "Is he okay?"
"He’s okay," Cass says. "He’s just carrying too much. Like always."
"Like you?"
Cass looks at him. "Something like that."
Milo doesn’t know what to do with that. So he does the worst thing possible: he tells a joke.
"Well, if we’re both carrying too much, we should start a support group. Name ideas? Grumpy and the Sunshine?"
"Don’t."
"The Annoying and the Annoyed?"
"Stop."
"The Two Idiots Who Should Go To Bed?"
Cass throws a pillow at him. It hits him in the face.
Milo laughs. Really laughs.
Cass looks away fast, but not before Milo sees it. The corner of his mouth. Up.
---
Day 7. Rain again.
Cass’s client cancels. Which means he’s home. All day.
Milo tries to give him space. He fails after 2 hours.
"Do you want to go to the art show?" Milo asks, popping into the office.
"No."
"It’s free. There’s wine. Bad wine, but wine."
"I have work."
"It’s Saturday."
"It’s a deadline."
Milo leans in the doorway. "When’s the last time you did something that wasn’t work?"
Cass doesn’t answer.
"Exactly," Milo says. "Come on. One hour. Then you can go back to being a workaholic."
Cass rubs his eyes. "Fine. One hour."
The gallery is small, downtown, full of loud paintings and louder people. Milo is in his element. He talks with his hands, points at everything, drags Cass from piece to piece.
"This one looks like how I feel on Mondays," Milo says, pointing at a swirl of grey.
"This one looks like you," Cass says, nodding at a bright, chaotic splash of color.
Milo stops. "That’s... that’s nice."
"It’s true."
They end up at a bench. Cass has a plastic cup of bad wine. Milo has two.
"Thank you for coming," Milo says.
"I didn’t have a choice."
"You did. You could’ve said no."
Cass looks at him. "I wanted to see what you liked."
The words hit Milo square in the chest.
"Oh," he says.
"Don’t make it weird," Cass says, but his ears are red.
"Too late."
They sit in comfortable quiet for once. No bickering. No noise. Just them and the art and the rain outside.
On the walk home, Milo’s umbrella flips inside out. Cass swears and pulls Milo under his.
They’re close. Too close. Cass’s arm around Milo’s shoulders. Milo can feel his heartbeat.
"Rule three," Cass murmurs.
"I know," Milo whispers.
Neither of them moves away until they’re at the door.
---
Day 9. The jealousy chapter.
Milo’s friend from school, Ben, stops by. "Just for 10 minutes," Milo says to Cass. "I swear."
Ben is cute. And flirty. And he touches Milo’s arm when he laughs.
Cass watches from the kitchen. Doesn’t say anything. Just watches.
When Ben leaves, Cass is already in his office. Door closed.
Milo knocks. "Hey. You okay?"
"I’m fine."
"You don’t sound fine."
"I’m working."
"You’re mad."
"I'm not mad."
"Then why are you being like this?"
Cass opens the door. "Like what?"
"Like you care."
Silence.
"I don’t care who you bring over," Cass says. "Rule three was about dates. Not friends."
"Ben wasn’t a date."
"Good."
Another silence.
"Did you think he was?" Milo asks, voice small.
"I don’t think anything," Cass says. "Go to bed, Milo."
But he doesn’t close the door all the way.
At 2AM, Milo is awake. Again. He goes downstairs for water.
Cass is there. At the table. Laptop open, but he’s not typing. Just staring.
"Couldn’t sleep?" Milo asks.
"Deadline," Cass says.
"Liar."
Cass looks up. He looks wrecked. "What do you want from me, Milo?"
Milo freezes. "What?"
"You’re here for two months. You’re Jay’s best friend. You’re..." Cass gestures helplessly. "You’re everything I’m not. And you’re in my house and you’re laughing and you’re touching things and I—" He stops.
"You what?" Milo whispers.
"I don’t want to mess this up," Cass says. "For Jay. For you."
"You're not," Milo says. "You’re not messing anything up."
"I’m thinking about kissing you," Cass admits. "And that’s the problem."
Milo’s heart stops. "Oh."
"Yeah. Oh."
"I’m thinking about it too," Milo says before he can stop himself.
Cass closes his eyes. "Milo."
"What?"
"Don’t."
"Don’t what?"
"Don’t look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you want me to."
Milo steps closer. "And if I do?"
"Then we’re breaking rule three."
"Then let’s break it."
For a second, Cass doesn’t move. Then he stands, fast, and walks out.
Leaves Milo standing in the kitchen with his heart in his throat.
---
Day 10. The fight.
It starts over dishes.
"Did you leave these out?" Cass asks, pointing at a mug.
"No?"
"Then who did?"
"I don’t know! Maybe the ghost who lives here!"
"Don’t be sarcastic."
"I’m not! You’re just— you’re always like this! Always rules and control and—"
"And you’re always chaos and noise and—"
"And what?"
"And you don’t take anything seriously!"
Milo flinches. "That’s not fair."
"Isn’t it? You joke about everything. Even this."
"This?" Milo asks. "What, us?"
"I didn’t say us."
"You meant it."
"I meant that I can’t do this," Cass says. "I can’t have you here and pretend I don’t—" He cuts himself off.
"Pretend you don’t what?"
"That I don’t like you!" Cass snaps. "Okay? I like you. And it’s stupid and it’s wrong and I can’t—"
He stops. Breathes.
Milo’s eyes are wet. "Why is it wrong?"
"Because of Jay. Because I’m 6 years older. Because if this goes bad, I lose both of you."
"It won’t go bad," Milo says.
"You don’t know that."
"Then let’s find out."
Cass shakes his head. "I can’t."
He walks away.
Milo stands in the kitchen alone.
Later, he packs a bag. Just in case.
A knock.
Cass.
"I’m not good at this," Cass says. "But I’m tired of pretending I don’t want you here. With me."
Milo drops the bag. "So what now?"
"Now we talk. To Jay. Together. And we figure it out."
"Okay," Milo says. "Okay."
Cass steps in and pulls him into a hug. It’s awkward and tight and exactly what Milo needed.
"I’m scared," Cass whispers.
"Me too," Milo says. "But not of you."
---
*END OF EPISODE 2
