Neon Lights

37

Meeting Draven the very night after Angelo was unexpected. Callisto was going to tell him about the deal he made with the silver-haired man, but he didn't think it would happen tonight of all times. As he trudged his way home, the last thing he expected to see was for Draven to lean against his usual dark car, a hand in his jacket pockets meanwhile his other hand was busy tapping on his phone. A soft breath escaped Callisto as he stopped to stare at the other man.

It was cold tonight.

With every blow of wind to his face, a shiver wracked through his figure. And Draven looked inviting. It had been a long time since he had felt his strong grip on his body and he had forgotten how warm his touches had been.

To think when he left all those years ago that he would possibly regret it... even a little.

The silence of the night gave him enough time to gather his bearing before he forced his feet to lessen the distance between them. For once, he was tired from continuously growing angry at Draven. For now, he just wanted to approach this less aggressively as possible.

What a change he was feeling.

"What are you doing here?" Callisto said once he was close enough to Draven.

Said man looked up from his phone before he pocketed his phone in his jacket pockets. "Can't I just drop by sometimes?"

Callisto raised his eyebrows. "For what?"

A corner of Draven's lips quirked upwards. "To see you."

Without him wanting to, his cheeks warmed. Callisto averted his gaze to stare at the darkened roads before him, taking in a deep breath even when the cold air stung his lungs. "Come in then."

He didn't wait to see how Draven reacted to it. Walking ahead of him, he kept his pace fast, trying hard to not look over his shoulders to see if the other man was following him. It didn't matter if he followed him or not. It really didn't.

A soft sigh escaped his lips when he heard footsteps following him from behind had him immediately sobering up. It seemed he was losing grasp with himself whenever Draven was around. As per usual.

Once they were in his apartment with Callisto tossing his work bag on the sofa and unbuttoning his own jacket to hang up at the coat hanger, he kept his gaze firmly away from Draven. While he was curious to see how Draven looked right now, he didn't want to give in to that. Not yet.

"So," Draven said, catching him off guard. In shock, his fingers fumbled with hanging up his coat and it slipped to the ground. Callisto stared at the floor a second before he bent down to grab it. Hanging it back on the hanger, he turned to finally look at the other man, catching his eyes immediately. "You invited me in."

Was he going to make a big deal out of this? Callisto's cheeks continued to remain warm as he forced his body to move to the living room. "Yes, well. I have something to say to you," he said, deciding he needed to a find a topic to talk about.

Draven hummed under his breath. "And that is?"

"Angelo found me at my work today," Callisto said, turning to look at Draven. He noted the stiffened shoulders and narrowed gold-brown eyes at him. "Yeah," he said in the end when the silence stretched between them.

"He did, did he?" Draven huffed a breath. "Should've known the slippery bastard will do this."

Callisto frowned. "He's a Fournier."

"Yeah and?" Draven waved a hand at him. "Did he do anything to you?"

"No but..." He tried to find the right words in his head. "He asked me to find out what experiment Alia is doing. Even after knowing that you'll be..." The word that was stuck in his throat tasted bitter. "That... you will be seducing her."

"Hardly seducing," Draven mumbled, rubbing a hand on his chin as he looked away. "What does he want to know about her experiment anyway?"

Callisto tried to reign in the slight bubbles of acidity in his chest at the way Draven was sidestepping the issue he would have to seduce Alia for the notes. Crossing his hands against his chest so he wouldn't say things he shouldn't, he said instead, "Angelo is thinking she's involved in something... unsavoury? For the Gulls."

Draven turned his attention on him then. "Is she? Interesting..."

Callisto remained quiet for a bit before he said, "So? Should I do what he says?"

"It's not like you have any choice right now, do you?" Draven shrugged, taking Callisto back at the callous way he was answering. Something must've crossed his face before the other man took a step toward him, hands reaching out to touch his face before they stopped mid-air and dropped to his sides. "Don't look like that."

He certainly didn't look like— whatever it was that Draven thought he looked. Still, he said, "Like what?"

"Like you thought I don't care about you." Draven thinned his lips. "You know I do."

"Do you now?" Callisto's sarcasm left his lips before he could stop himself, earning a narrowed gaze from the other man. "I don't want to argue about this. Not tonight."

"What? Ran out of steam already?" Draven said, quirking his lips upwards.

And for a brief moment, Callisto returned his smile. Those gold-brown eyes widened briefly and the smile faltered on that face. How funny to see Draven shocked like this. "I just don't have the energy to deal with your nuisance today. I just wanted to tell you about what Angelo asked of me. I don't even know how I'm supposed to make Alia speak." Then, without meaning to, he added a bit more tersely, "Not like I can seduce her like you can."

A brief silence washed into the scene before Draven broke it with a small chuckle, deep and ringing into Callisto's head like it belonged there. "You're still jealous? I told you I'm not going to do anything with her."

His cheeks warmed further as he turned to glare at the taller man. "I'm not jealous."

"No? Then I must be stupid." Draven lessened the distance between them, once again causing Callisto to freeze where he stood. "I know how you sound like when you're angry, when you're happy and when you're jealous. I know everything about you."

The words were uttered gently as he leaned down to meet Callisto's gaze fully, mesmerising him immediately. His heart skipped a beat when Draven reached a hand to touch his cheek, testing the waters.

And Callisto had missed this warmth.

He leaned into the touch and released a soft breath. "Of course you do," he said, dryly, looking at Draven.

Draven searched his face before a smile so gentle crossed his face, his thumb caressing Callisto's cheek. "Of course I do. I didn't love you so fiercely for me to forget about you so easily," he said, almost stopped Callisto from breathing at the words.

Draven loved him?

Maybe if he had been better at showing it, he wouldn't be doubting Draven right now. 

**

This is the last update of 2023! What a year it has been! Thank you all so much for the love and support you have given this story! I appreciate every comment, read and vote. It means a lot to me to know I have this small community willing to read my work <3 

Have a nice celebration on the final day of 2023 to welcome the first day of 2024! With that, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! May your wishes and dreams come true the coming year <3