Espresso in The Rain

Noah woke up to the scent of coffee.

His body ached in the best way possible, a reminder of the night before, of Elias' hands and lips claiming every inch of him. The warmth beside him was gone, but the imprint of Elias still lingered on the sheets.

Pushing himself up, Noah ran a hand through his messy hair and reached for his phone. A few messages from Santa, mostly teasing emojis and "Did you survive?" texts, made him roll his eyes. He typed back a quick shut up before slipping out of bed, pulling on his boxers and Elias' discarded shirt from the floor.

The apartment smelled like fresh coffee and something sweet. Noah padded into the kitchen to find Elias standing at the counter, shirtless, hair slightly damp, looking unfairly attractive as he poured coffee into two mugs.

Elias glanced over his shoulder and smirked. "Morning, sleeping beauty."

Noah scoffed, rubbing his face. "Shut up."

Elias chuckled, sliding one of the mugs toward him. "Figured you'd need this."

Noah took the coffee, his fingers brushing Elias' in the exchange. "Thanks."

They stood in silence for a moment, sipping their drinks. The atmosphere was… comfortable, surprisingly so. Noah had expected awkwardness, but instead, there was an ease between them, like they'd done this a thousand times before.

"You stayed," Elias said, watching him over the rim of his mug.

Noah arched a brow. "Should I not have?"

Elias smirked. "No, I like seeing you in my shirt."

Noah rolled his eyes but felt his face heat up. "You're insufferable."

"You love it."

Noah didn't dignify that with a response, instead focusing on his coffee. But deep down, he couldn't deny that Elias was right.

And that scared him.

Because this—whatever this was—felt too good. Too easy. And Noah had never been good at easy.

Elias leaned in, voice dropping lower. "Are you overthinking again?"

Noah exhaled sharply. "Maybe."

Elias set his mug down and closed the distance between them, tilting Noah's chin up with a gentle touch. "Then stop." His lips brushed against Noah's, teasing, promising. "And just be here. With me."

Noah let out a shaky breath.

For now, he would.