Even after the intimacy they shared, Denial still didn't feel the same way for Ren—as a lover.
Yes, he cared for Ren… deeply. But that love was still tangled in the complicated threads of seeing Ren as someone close, someone he had always protected like a younger brother.
Still, something between them had changed.
Their bond had evolved—softer, more physically affectionate, and emotionally blurred. The way Denial touched Ren wasn't the way someone touched just a friend or a brother anymore. There was warmth. Longing. And a kind of hunger that Denial had never allowed himself to explore before.
That first night of intimacy had awakened something inside Denial—a pleasure he had never known before. And from that point on, their physical connection became a secret addiction.
Most nights, Denial would spend hours—sometimes three to four straight—losing himself in Ren's body. It was never just about lust. It was a need for closeness, for that warmth only Ren could give. And Ren… he surrendered to Denial's touch like he was made for it.
One morning, as Ren packed his bag for university, he casually mentioned he had an important lecture.
Denial, buttoning up his shirt, looked up and said with a half-smile, "Wait for me after class. I'll come pick you up today."
Ren's heart fluttered. It was silly, but small things like this made him feel special.
What Denial didn't know… was that a girl from Ren's university had been crushing on him for months. Ren never paid her any mind, never gave her hope—because his eyes were set on Denial only.
After class, as Ren walked out of the university gates, that same girl was waiting.
Before he could react, she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a sudden hug. Caught off-guard, Ren stiffened. Students around them stopped and stared. But the worst part?
Denial saw everything—from across the street.
Standing silently, arms crossed, he didn't react. He didn't yell. He didn't even flinch.
Because… deep down, a part of Denial had always wanted Ren to find someone else. Someone who could love him the way he deserved to be loved.
Yet watching another person hold Ren…
It stirred something unexpected in Denial's chest.
A flicker of possessiveness. A twinge of jealousy. A strange, burning ache that he couldn't name.
That night, as they lay together once again, Denial found himself unable to stop staring at Ren's sleeping face.
"Maybe I've always loved him… just never the way he wanted me to."
"But now… maybe, just maybe, that's starting to change."
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