~6~

Bryan choked slightly on air, not expecting his reaction at all.

His eyes still watered but for a different reason this time, his hands clenching and unclenching beside him, Kieran trapping him with those reflectionless black eyes of his.

He couldn't give an answer even if he wanted to because it wasn't being treated like a child that unsettled him but something entirely different. 

He wasn't about to say it to Kieran though.

So he kept quiet looking up at Kieran with vulnerability in his eyes.

"Fuck." Kieran cursed, letting him go. "Don't fucking looking at me like that." He muttered, restarting the car.

Bryan was confused. "What? Like how?"

Kieran stopped his motion of restarting the car again, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

Why was it so hard to handle Bryan all of a sudden?

"Ignore that." He waved off. "You haven't answered my question." He reminded him, taking out another candy stick.

If it weren't for Bryan, he would have puffed through a couple packs of cigs by now, fuck knew he needed it.

Bryan just watched Kieran aggressively shove another of his candy sticks in his mouth, he was treating them like cigarettes. 

If the situation in the car wasn't so tense, he might have burst out laughing.

"Of course I don't." He decided to go with honesty, well some of it. "No one likes to be called a kid."

Kieran crushed another candy stick between his teeth, he should just let this line of conversation die and keep driving.

"I don't call you kid." Not anymore at least and not out loud.

Bryan pouted. "You don't have to."

"Is it because I told you to sit on the ground?" Kieran raised a brow. "It doesn't matter who it is, I'd still do the same." He pointed out bluntly.

Bryan's eyes widened briefly at this, realizing that Kieran hadn't hesitated to do the same to the two Head Warriors from Crimson Pack.

But he wasn't caving in so easily. "Don't divert, you do see me as a kid, don't you?" He leaned forward slightly in his earnestness. 

Kieran let his eyes drop from Bryan's wide blue eyes, dropping lower to settle on his lips.

He flicked his eyes upwards again. "Like I said, does it matter? it doesn't change anything." He replied steadily.

Bryan was about to snap. "But it does! I don't want you to see me like that!" He practically yelled trying to get Kieran to see things from his point of view. 

"Yelling is unlike you." Kieran frowned, concerned. 

"That! Right there!" He exclaimed again, uncaring that Kieran just practically scolded him. "You wouldn't treat a date like that!" He blurted out before he could help himself.

Kieran's frown darkened. "What? How did we get to that point?"

Bryan was beyond frustrated now, here he was practically on the verge of confessing yet Kieran was calm and unruffled as ever.

"You act like you're my dad, I don't want that."

Kieran scoffed. "That's ridiculous, I'm not that old…" He started to say but Bryan had long snapped.

This was the only chance he would get to break out of the pseudo father-son dynamic they kept getting stuck in.

But what could he do or say? He was already terrible with words and knowing Kieran, he would easily counter whatever Bryan had to say.

So instead he leaned across the center console, taking Kieran's face in both of his hands to pull him close for a kiss.

Bryan pulled away first, looking horrified. He couldn't bring himself to look at Kieran.

What the fuck? Why had he done that?

Kieran took out an actual cigarette this time, if he didn't have the nicotine sticks between his fingers, he was wary of what he would end up doing. 

There was no need to say anything else, he had gotten Bryan's message loud and clear, the only problem now was that he didn't have any issues with it.

He fired up the car, stepping on the gas. Each minute he spent alone with Bryan was pulling him dangerously close to slamming Bryan against his car door and completing what he started.

But that was a fucking bad idea, an absolutely terrible one, there would be no going back from that.

Bryan kept his gaze steadfastly out his window, he was looking outside the car but wasn't processing anything he saw.

He could still feel the soft but firm pressure of Kieran's lips against his and if he swiped his tongue across his lips, he could almost taste a sticky sweetness.

The smell of cigarettes dragged his head around briefly, if Kieran was smoking again after Bryan just kissed him, it couldn't be good news.

Just as he feared, he couldn't decipher Kieran's emotions from his expression, he was simply left in the dark.

Bryan wanted the floor of the car to open up so that he could drop down to the asphalt below, he should have known from the very start that lunch was a horrible idea.

"Thanks for lunch." Bryan said in a rush when they got back to the Pack House, hurrying out of the car before Kieran could even formulate a response.

Kieran watched him hurry away with a curse on his lips, fumbling with his lighter, he struggled to light up another stick, taking a deep drag.

He was well and truly fucked.

Bryan didn't slow down till he got to his apartment, skidding slightly in his hurry.

His mom was already back but before she could make a comment about why he was back so early, he practically ran to his bedroom, locking his door with an audible click.

He stumbled the rest of the way to his bed, doing a belly flop on it.

Bryan pulled a pillow close, burying his head in it to scream loudly, the sound muffled by his pillow.

How could he have fucked up so bad?

He didn't want to be treated like a kid anymore but now he wouldn't even get to be anything.

How could he ever look Kieran in the face again?

He groaned, more miserable than ever when his phone dinged.

He didn't have any friends so no one ever texted or called so the sound made him curious.

A quick check revealed it to be a text from Kieran. Bryan read through with wide eyes.

Kieran never texted even though they had each other's contact.

Bryan didn't text either, there wasn't much of a need to, considering that they spent every other weekday together. 

It was Kieran saying that he expected him over the next day.

What??