Saturday came far, far too quickly.

Cole had cleaned his apartment three times (and was just about to start his fourth when Cryptor had come to see why any of his messages hadn't been answered). "You're gonna be fine, kid," he said, forcing Cole to the couch. "Relax. Breathe. You aren't even cooking dinner, so you've got nothing to worry about."

"I've got everything to worry about," he snapped back, but he knows that his face is giving away how relieved he is.

"Damn, you really are on fucking edge. Want me to go get the cat?"

"No. I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just...stay a minute, please?"

"Of course," Cryptor replied, letting Cole lean against him. "It's really early. You can sleep for a while, if you want. I'll stay and wake you up."

"Gotta stay awake so I can sleep tonight." The other man sighs, and Cole makes a pitiful noise. "I got like an hour or two yesterday?"

"And what is so important that you can't sleep?"

"Anxiety," Cole says with a laugh. "That's really it. I've made enough content to get me through the next two weeks, though, so I guess I can't complain." Cryptor shakes his head and moves so his arm is slung over Cole's shoulders. The younger sighs, fiddling with the fabric of his t-shirt. For a few minutes the two just sit there, lost in their own thoughts, until Cole gets restless. Gracelessly he squirms out from under Cryptor and heads towards the kitchen. The other rolls his eyes and gets up with a groan, wincing at the audible crack of his joints. "God, I'm getting old."

"It's because you don't stretch." Cole gives him a cheeky grin, and when he turns back around he misses the relief that crosses Cryptor's face.

"Damn brat." The older man joins him in the kitchen, already beginning to rummage through the cabinets. "What do you think your stomach can handle, bud?"

"Anything light. Rice, maybe? I know that's an odd breakfast choice."

"Nah, it's fine." Cryptor gives a little wave of his hand before grabbing the container of rice. "We've got some broth at home that I can run and get, if you want it. You really need to be eating more."

"I know," Cole mutters, filling a pot with water. "I'll try better."

"That's all you can do, kid. That's all any of us can do."

Saturday couldn't have come any sooner.

Between the two of them, packing was almost a joke. Zane was just as organized and calculated with it as he was with his school work, so all Lloyd had to do was put the things in whatever box his boyfriend pointed at. That, and make sure he would stop long enough to eat. Once he was dedicated to a task, Zane would do so until it's completion. It was incredible endearing, but worrisome, too. People liked to say that Zane was the mothering type in his own awkward way, but when it came to the two of them Lloyd was the one who ended up taking care of them. He liked to joke that once Zane became a doctor he was going to become a trophy husband, and he knew that if that's what he wanted Zane would let him do it without hesitation.

It surprised him sometimes just how much Zane trusted him. Never once had he thought he would ever be on the receiving end of such love and devotion but now, almost four years into their relationship, he was constantly giving it, feeling it, receiving it. And never had he thought that someone would feel as he did, complete but not whole, content but not quite satisfied in a relationship with another. God, he would think about this all day if he could. But he had boxes to move into Zane's car and if he stood in the hallway any longer his boyfriend would become concerned. So, he shifts the boxes' weight in his arms and heads down the stairs. Zane smiles fondly at him when he makes it outside, immediately coming up to take the topmost boxes from him. "I can do it," Lloyd sighs, but he's smiling.

"I know you can, but I want to." Zane replies, easily setting the boxes in the car. "Those are the last ones, are they not?"

"Besides the backpacks, yeah. I can grab those, though. You get all comfortable in the driver's seat. Shoot Cole a message, yeah? Don't want to just pop in unannounced."

"Of course, dear," Zane presses his lips against Lloyd's forehead before he allows the other to set his boxes in the car. Lloyd laughs, shaking his head, and he takes the steps back up two at a time. He feels kind of like static, fuzzy and wild and all-over the place. And for once he doesn't mind it. He hands shake with uncontrollable energy, and he feels so close to bursting that he almost feels restless. Lloyd hopes that Cole won't mistake his energy for anxiety; he isn't nervous, not really. Excited feels like the closest word, but even that isn't an exact fit. The backpacks are sitting on the floor between the couches, and he's suddenly hit with a wave of nostalgia. They'd spent almost two years in this apartment. Closeted, sure, but happy. Safe and warm.

Tears prickled in the corners of his eyes, and he swallowed them down. They'd make new memories; they'd have to. Memories with Cole. It made him nervous just thinking about it. Already they were going to make some today. Moving into the apartment, having dinner with Cole's neighbors...We're finally going to feel normal. God, he couldn't wait for that. His father was a popular businessman, his mother an archaeologist, and "normal" for them was state dinners and white-collared men who couldn't keep their hands to themselves after a glass of wine. He had actually met Zane at one of those dinners; Zane's father was a doctor, and a leading figure in the manufacturing of prosthetics. He had immediately wooed Lloyd with his typical rich boy aesthetics, and charmed him with his awkward demeanor. For all his desire to be a doctor (a profession full of conversing with others) Zane's social skills were average at best, and a disaster at worst. Lloyd was the mouth of the pair, that they had figured out quickly; Zane was the brain and the brawn.

He grabs the backpacks and heads back downstairs, shaking his head to clear it of its thoughts. He can't afford to keep thinking of the past; their future is bright, and he's going to face it head on. Zane smiles at him when he slips into the car, reaching over to run his fingers through Lloyd's hair. "Did you get lost?" He says softly, and Lloyd laughs.

"A little, yeah."

"Well, we all get lost sometimes." He replies sagely. "Will you give me directions, please?"

"Yeah, of course," Lloyd replies, already searching for his phone. "Yeah."

"Feel better, kiddo?" Cryptor asks as he comes back into the room, leaning back on the couch to peer up at him.

"Yeah." He settles next to the other on the couch, and Cryptor immediately wraps his arm around Cole's shoulder. "How long will you stay?"

"You're stuck with me forever, buddy." He says with a laugh. "But I'll leave whenever you want me to."

"I think the three of us can move them in together. And you should help Pixel with dinner."

"Should," Cryptor says with a laugh. "Kidding, kidding. Ten minutes, then? Have they texted you that they're on their way?"

"About two minutes ago. He said he'd let me know when he got to the apartment building."

"Well, I'll leave when you get that message, then. Want me to braid your hair?" Cole snorts, and Cryptor laughs with him. "Pixel has been teaching me, you know!"

"I don't doubt it." He says, untangling himself from Cryptor. The other man tries to pull him back, but when Cole brushes his hands away he sinks back into the couch with a huff. There's nothing left to do in the house, and with a sigh Cole heads towards his bedroom. "Fine. You can braid it. Be gentle?"

"Of course. How could I not be with such a precious boy?" Cole snorts again, and Cryptor raises his arm in a stretch. When he returns the other is on his phone, and a quick glance shows him that the other is looking at pictures of braids. He laughs, and the other simply sticks his tongue out at him. Cole pushes the coffee table back and settles between the other's legs, shuddering when Cryptor runs his hands through his hair. "Damn, kiddo, you gotta give me the name of what conditioner you use. Pixel's hair is never this soft."

"Did a mask. I was feeling festive." Cryptor hums behind him, separating his hair into sections. "Guess I'm just feeling frisky?"

"Get that dick, champ. Two strapping young men rooming with you? High school me would be jealous."

"Did you date guys in high school?"

"I did. There was this really weird guy, but he had some snakes, and they were cute. As cute as cold-blooded reptiles can get, I mean. He worked at Petco. I think he smuggled me a goldfish one time."

"Need me a freak like that," Cole said with a laugh.

"Pixel was pretty quiet in high school, too. We didn't get along at first, but her dad talked some sense into me."

"Must have taken a long time; I didn't know he was such a determined guy."

"He's a good guy. You'll have to come with us when we visit him some time. Apartments aren't very good for him, you know? He'd like you, I think."

"Let me know when and I'll go." Cole says softly, and Cryptor hums again. His phone vibrates against his leg, and a quick glance tells him that Zane and Lloyd are at the apartment. "They're here," he mutters, and Cryptor tugs lightly on the braid he was forming. "So leave." The other man laughs, quickly tying off the braid before standing with a groan. He takes a moment to roll his shoulders before helping Cole up, gently rubbing the younger man's shoulders. "You're gonna be fine," Cryptor whispers lowly, "just fine. You're my tough kiddo, yeah? My fighter. I'm right across the hall if you need us. And I'm sure Pixel wouldn't mind if you borrowed the cat for a while."

"Thanks," Cole mutters with a shrug, reaching up to move the other's hands. "I'll walk you?"

"How romantic." Cryptor deadpans, and Cole shoves him playfully. They walk out to the hall practically attached at the hip, Cryptor's arm wrapped around his waist and Cole pressed snug against him. The older man ruffles his hair before they part, slipping into his apartment without another word. Cole takes the steps two at a time, fingers curling and uncurling as he tried to stomach his nerves. He could do this; he had to do this. There wasn't any other option.

He refused to go into hiding again.

Zane watched as Lloyd bounced around the outside of the apartment building, chuckling when he let out an noise of surprise. The outside was surprisingly nice for an apartment inside the city, and it was far nicer than the one they had lived in before. It was fairly small, made out of white brick. Several flower beds were placed out front, and were all in full bloom. There was a sign placed onto the white stone reading "White Stone Apartments". They certainly won't win an award for originality. Lloyd bounds back over to him and wraps his arms around one of Zane's. "It's nice," he says softly, and Zane hums in agreement. "Did you tell Cole we were here?"

"I did," he replies, shaking his head at his boyfriend's antics. "He did not reply, but the message was read. I am sure he'll be here soon."

"Hey, sorry I'm late!" Speak of the Devil, and He shall appear. Both he and Lloyd look up, and the former clings just a bit tighter. Cole is walking towards them, smiling widely. He looks relieved...Did he think we would not show up? Zane feels the need to comfort him, so he untangles himself from Lloyd and crosses the distance to Cole, who seems a bit surprised. "You are not late. If anything, we are early."

"Nope! You're right on time, actually. Do you want to see the apartment first, or should we just start hauling stuff up?"

"We can probably just start bring stuff up." Lloyd says slowly, glancing between the pair curiously. "That okay?"

"Of course!" Zane and Cole look at each other before laughing, realizing they had spoken at the same time. Lloyd laughs as well, smiling brightly at the pair. Zane goes and opens the car, gesturing to the boxes. "Here's most of our apartment, in all its former glory." Cole chuckles, squeezing past Zane and reaching for several boxes. Lloyd goes and grabs the backpacks from the front of the car, watching as Zane carefully placed boxes into Cole's arms before grabbing a couple for himself. Cole shifts the boxes in his arms before tilting his head towards the door. "Shall we go?"

He leads the other two boys up the stairs, trying to think of something to say. Lloyd is talking quietly with Zane, gushing about the apartment building, and Cole finds himself content with just basking in the other boys' company. They're a few steps behind him, but it's comforting, listening to them. He almost feels bad interrupting them when he says, "This is my floor!"

"Finally!" Lloyd cheers, and Cole laughs.

"You're not carrying any boxes, Lloyd. Shouldn't Cole and I be the ones cheering?" Zane asks playfully, and the look Lloyd gives him has Cole in stitches.

"I wasn't built for physical labor. I'm like, a Yorkie or something. Tiny and only good for sitting on peoples' laps." Cole manages to catch Zane rolling his eyes, and he nearly loses his grip on the boxes with how hard he's laughing. One of the doors open, and for a moment he's worried he's disturbed one of his neighbors, but when he looks up it's only Pixel, cat held in her arms. She smiles fondly at him, raising an eyebrow, and he simply shrugs in response. "Sounds like you're having quite the time."

"We are," he replies, attempting to prop the boxes on his knee while he opened the door. "Six, right? Or whenever?"

"Whenever you'd like. We're only doing takeout, so there's no rush. If you get a moment and feel motivated to text Cryptor our guests' orders, that would be appreciated."

"Yeah, of course." He ends up sounding a bit frustrated, because he can't quite get the door open, but he's sure Pixel understands.

"Cole...do you want some help?" Lloyd asks hesitantly, and Cole really, really wants to do this himself, but he knows he probably can't.

"Please?" He's proud of the fact that he manages to bit back his sigh, and he steps back far enough to let Lloyd open the door. Pixel is giggling behind them, and before he enters the apartment he sticks his tongue out at her. Cole sets the boxes in his arms by the couch and stretches, letting out a groan. "Man, I need to start working out again. I'm getting out of shape."

"We can take you, if you like?" Lloyd offers, looking around the apartment. "Zane's college is pretty chill, so I usually go with him in the mornings and hang out in the gym. And the photography class is always looking for new people to take pics of. They'd kill for someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Cole notices that Zane and Lloyd are still holding onto their things, so he hastily adds, "You can just put them wherever! We can move them to your room later, if you'd like? Probably best to just bring everything in first." Lloyd sets the bag on the couch, and Zane sets his boxes beside the others. Cole watches as Zane rolls his shoulders back, and he can't stop the voice in his head from going, Maybe you should pick up art again. It'd be worth it to draw someone like that. He shakes his head to get rid of the thought, nearly hitting himself in the face with his own braid, before giving a breathy laugh.

If Cole laughs like that one more time today I'll probably die, Lloyd thought as he brought the last of the boxes up with the others. Cole had been smiling and laughing almost the entire time, chatting easily with Zane about God knows what. He thought he heard Zane say something about "anatomical correctness", so he had stopped listening a long time ago. Not that he minded-he was perfectly content to bask in the warmth of the other's conversation. Cole was acting much better than he had at their first meeting; it was if everything had been pushed aside and forgotten. It's like we're meeting all over again. That was a soothing thought. Maybe things will work out after all.

"Lloyd? You coming?" Cole called, staring at him in amusement.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" He called back with a laugh, joining the other boy on the stairs. Cole falls into step beside him, humming. Lloyd tries to put his thoughts together in a way that would make sense to anyone who wasn't Zane, but Cole beats him to it, saying, "I'm really glad you guys are moving in with me."

"Thank you for having us," he replies, feeling his face grow warm.

"I mean it. Honestly, without you guys I would have had to...well, I would've." Cole falters, staring at the boxes in his arms like they had personally wronged him.

"I get it," Lloyd says softly. "We both do. Zane's dad is great, and he'd take us both back in a heartbeat. But we're a lot to handle, if we're being honest. And my parents are just...tiring. They say one thing and do another. If it keeps money in their hands, they don't care who they hurt. You don't have to tell us anything, Cole, but know that we'll both stay as long as you need us to. We won't let them hurt you again."

"Thanks," the other boy whispers, sounding close to tears. "I won't let anyone get to you, either. I might not look like it, but I played football in high school."

"I didn't take you for a jock," Lloyd teased, nudging him. "Though I guess you could say the same for me. I was a runner and a swimmer; Zane actually played volleyball. Still does, actually, when he doesn't have his nose stuck in a book."

"No wonder his legs look so good." Cole says, and Lloyd snorts in laughter. "Ah, fuck, sorry! That was weird of me to say, huh? Sorry."

"It's fine, it's fine! I love a man who can appreciate the fine arts." He winks at Cole, who flushes brightly. "You should see him play sometime. He usually plays in the back row, so the view is pretty great. Actually, I think he has a game this week. Wanna come?" He feels warm, asking Cole to come, like it's a date. Maybe it will be. They'll gush about how handsome Zane is, Lloyd can drop a few hints about how they're an open relationship, and boom! Possible new boyfriend. Or at least, plant the seed. No matter the outcome, it would be a good opportunity to get to know Cole better. And that was what was most important.

"I was starting to get worried," Zane said when they came up the stairs. "I was about to send a search party." Cole simply laughs, sliding into the apartment. Lloyd follows him, shrugging off Zane's hands when he tries to take the boxes. "I've got it, babe. Relax." He says lightly, pleased to see that Zane looks slightly embarrassed by the words.

"Now that we've got everything up I can give you a tour of the house, I guess. And we should probably go over the rules. That's a thing people do, right?" Cole rubbed the back of his neck, glancing between the two. "We can do whatever. It's up to you guys."

"Rules," Zane said, just as Lloyd shouted, "Tour!" The two looked between each other, surprised, and Cole laughed.

And that's how Lloyd knew everything was going to turn out alright.