He took a breath, tried to calm down, then realised that it wasn't going to happen. Not until he knew what he was really dealing with. He tossed the blanket aside and rose to his feet. “I need a drink.”
“A drink?” Vanos frowned and looked around the room, as though a beer would materialise out of nowhere. “Oh, perhaps we can toast together?” he suggested, just as River took a step towards his side counter.
Stopping in his track, at those ridiculous words, he looked back at Vanos and frowned. “It's not for a toast, you fruit loop.” He shook his head and crouched in front of the cabinet, to reach into the hidden drawer at the base. As soon as it popped open, he grabbed the bottle of whiskey he'd stashed there and unscrewed the cap. He took a long swig, then stood and faced Vanos again. But the hope in the Griffin's eyes was so naïve and didn't match the fury he'd seen there just six weeks ago. It was so disconcerting that he took another drink. “Jesus...what did I ever do to deserve this?”

Harrison turned back to the stranger and made a face at the way he lifted himself onto his elbows and began poking the back of his head with fingers. He smacked the hand away by instinct. “Stop that, you stupid idiot. You might make it worse,” he protested.
Suddenly, he had the man's full focus and when those deep blue eyes met his he realised that he wasn't quite a man yet. Older, yes. Maybe even out of high school already. But there was something quite innocent about him, too. Something that made Harrison wonder why he was out here alone, sitting in the middle of the trees for his lunch break, when he could be surrounded by people.
Until he realised how that sounded and smacked himself on the forehead.
“Us loners really need to learn to eat somewhere public,” he grumbled, lowering his hand to glare at the man.

“You're pressing too hard,” Bradley said in a low voice, from behind him.
Rory looked over his shoulder and was shocked to see him so close that, if he'd had the courage, he could have kissed him. “What?” he asked, not able to think clearly enough to remember what he'd said. Bradley was too close, smelled too good and his lips were just a little too far out of reach.
Unable to control his thoughts or his centre of gravity, he found himself drifting towards Bradley before he could stop it. Those lips curved into a smile, as two hands caught his waist and straightened his stance.
“Careful there, cupcake. You might headbutt your painting,” he mocked, shocking Rory back to reality with that unwanted wake up call.

the one fact of his own life was that he was a coward. When it came to relationships, he always took the back seat. He let the other person drive in every aspect from how often they saw each other, to where they went on dates, to all the interior design options in whatever apartment the other person decided they should live in. And he never made the first move. He never stood up and spoke up about what he wanted or where he wanted it or when. Or how. Or why.
Oliver was the only exception. Ever. Until now.
Because he was still being a coward. He had been a damned coward for the last six months.

The moment Innes saw Arash in the throng of bodies, his arm around the neck of a taller, Adonis like figure, panic ensued.
He didn't know whether to turn and run, to pretend he'd never been here to see that. Or wait and give Arash the benefit of the doubt. His heart said that his boyfriend still cared for him, because he'd said so a million times during his phone calls. But the civilian madly in love with an army brat told him that he was an idiot. He was sixteen and Arash was eighteen; why would his beautiful Iranian God stay faithful to him when there was a Greek God under his arm? And probably in his barracks.
Then a voice behind him called a name; “Vincent!”
The group all turned, before Innes could make up his mind. And he knew. The second Arash's eyes fell on him, that smile faded and he removed his arm from the Greek God. As Innes' heart pounded and his legs froze to the platform floor, Arash dropped his bags and power-walked his way towards him. They crashed into each other, chest to chest, and he didn't have time to take a breath before a mouth crushed to his.
Innes knew in that moment that he was lost.