Evan could tell by the way Jonathan held himself, that he was tense. He walked through the cafe door in downtown L.A. and greeted him with a smile. But Evan could see the anxiety behind it.

Evan reached his hand out for him and saw him lick his lips nervously before he took his fingers and grasped them in a firm handshake. "Hey, man."

"Hey." Evan smiled and went to pull him in for a hug and Jonathan was so awkward about it. He was stiff as a board, like he was silently praying for it to be over with already. So Evan pulled away and they sat across from each other and Jonathan relaxed when the human contact was over.

"So, how do you like it here?" Evan asked him over a cappuccino.

Jonathan shrugged, "It's different. But it's nice, I like it."

"Good. You should come over sometimes and we'll chill, watch movies and shows, play some games." Evan said cheerfully until he noticed the worry creep across his friend's face. "Or … we could hang at your place. Whichever."

"I'll think about it." Jonathan nodded and after they talked for a long while and shared a few laughs they parted ways. Evan waved instead of sending him off with a hug like he wanted to and he saw how much more Jonathan agreed with that idea.

It bothered him. A lot. To the point where when Evan got home he called Luke immediately. "Tell me the truth. Why is he so … awkward in person? He didn't even laugh as much as we do in games. He acted like he didn't want to be near me."

Luke have an amused sigh, "He doesn't like to be touched because he's not used to it. He's never been close enough to anyone to be comfortable coming in contact with them. He has this bubble around him that you gotta break through. But don't force it because it'll burst and you'll never see or hear from him again. Just, respect his comfort zone. It keeps him sane."

"Okay. I will. Thank you for telling me." Evan sat down hard on the sofa.

"No problem, man."

He hung up and stared at himself sitting there in the reflection on the tv screen until his bed called his name. He slept on the thought and when he woke, he had a plan. It would take time, but he'd give all the time in the world for Delirious.

It started off slow. He would let Jonathan choose when he wanted to come over or if he wanted Evan to come to his place and what time and for how long. He always let Jonathan be in control. Evan never touched him, not even a hand shake. He'd open the door, smile, and let him in. They didn't even sit close on the couch and over the next few weeks he noticed how much more relaxed Jonathan seemed when he came over.

Then Evan took him to the movies, just the two of them, no other friends because that would've been too much for him and Evan didn't want to ruin it. They did movies a lot after that and Evan always gave him the armrest, always making sure their knees never brushed. Until the time they did and it was because Jonathan was slouching in his seat, widening his legs. But he didn't pull away when his knee came to rest against his. Evan couldn't focus on the movie after that because that was a huge accomplishment. He was so warm.

For a while that's how they were in the theater, touching knees, until Jonathan started to tell Evan about all of his favorite movies and began bringing them over one by one to make him watch them with him. The distance between them on the couch grew less each time until they were almost shoulder to shoulder.

Evan liked it that way more than he cared to admit. He could see his features better. He could watch the lights dancing in his eyes, those eyes that were suddenly his favorite color and he thought about how nice his bedroom wall would look that shade of blue.

The next time he came over Jonathan sat beside him and halfway through Silence of the Lambs he leaned into him and it set Evan on fire.

Jonathan glance over at him and said in time with the movie, "It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again."

They giggled like idiots and Evan didn't dare move for fear of losing that precious fleeting contact. His skin was so hot.

Evan searched for something new for them to do and a smile spread across his face when Jonathan told him that he didn't know how to ice skate, but he wanted to learn.

He helped him lace his skates and he stepped onto the empty ice, looking back at him as he stood on the edge hesitantly. Jonathan met his eyes and Evan could see he was waging a mental war with himself, but he stood tall and held out his hand for him.

Evan's heart beat a little harder when Jonathan said, "Help me."

Evan moved to him, slowly taking his hand in his, waiting patiently for Jonathan to squeeze his fingers. He did as he moved onto the ice where he lost his balance immediately and clutched at Evan with his other hand. He ended up with his face pressed to his chest, clinging to him for dear life before he burst into a fit of laughter.

Evan stood him up and chuckled fondly at him as he practiced, holding both of his hands until he couldn't feel anything else. Just those long slim fingers that felt as smooth and soft as they looked. His eyes always drifted to his smile because he'd never seen it spread across his face so much for so long before now. It made him wonder what was changing and what was making the man so happy.

Jonathan fell asleep on him for the first time a week later and Evan didn't have the heart to move him. Because he was sleeping so deeply with his head on his shoulder, so Evan leaned into him a little. Enough so he could rest his head on his and close his eyes.

Jonathan woke in the middle of the night, heart pounding because he'd wrapped himself around Evan, but he didn't want to move away for the first time in his life.

So he didn't.

After that day he started sleeping over more, bringing over long movies for the sole purpose of putting them both to sleep beside each other.

And when they'd walk out around town together he'd keep his arm pressed firm against Evan's, trying to let him know that he was okay with him being in his personal space. He even let their fingers brush every now and then.

But he back tracked on himself when Evan caught his hand as they were skating one day and threaded their fingers together on the empty ice. Jonathan shivered, never feeling what he was feeling before. He didn't know what to do with it, so he put distance between them as quickly as possible. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

He glanced back at Evan who was standing there patiently, but his eyes were sad and he couldn't hide it. "I'm sorry."

Evan shook his head. "Don't be. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's not that. I actually wanted you to." Jonathan rubbed his face out of frustration. "This is just so overwhelming, because I like you and want to be close to you and I don't know how and I'm fucking terrified."

Evan just smiled sweetly at him. "It's okay. I've been letting you go at your pace. I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to. I don't want to run you off because I really like you and just feel so good when you're around. I don't want to lose that."

"You've been doing all of this just for me?" Jonathan asked hopefully.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I?"

"No one ever has."

A few days later Jonathan was debating whether or not to stay the night again but when he got up Evan slipped his fingers around his wrist and whispered into the dark, "Stay … please."

Jonathan didn't feel threatened or scared or anxious. Those warm fingers felt calming and a lot like home as they pulled him gently down onto his lap.

And for once, Jonathan initiated the contact intentionally. He let his fingers run across Evan's face in the pale moonlight and leaned in until the tips of their noses were touching. "Touch me."

Jonathan sighed and felt the heat spread through his body when Evan's hands went up his shirt and slid across his skin, so gentle and careful. His fingers found Evan's hair and he could feel his hot breath on his lips that were just barely touching his. For a second he thought he felt them tremble and he flicked his tongue out before planting a careful kiss against his mouth.

Evan tried not to grip him too hard, tried not to kiss him too fast. He held back until Jonathan opened his eyes and said, "Touch me, please. Fucking touch me because it's so good. Your hands are so warm and you make me feel like I'm not the odd one out, scared to be near anyone, scared to leave his comfort zone. You ARE my comfort zone, Evan. Please."

Evan didn't know what to say, so he tried to say it with his hands instead. He said it with his fingers as they slipped the clothes from their bodies. He said it with his eyes as he drank in the sight of him before him, so pretty in the pale light, like a resilient piece of art that had never been touched for fear of ruining it. He said it with his lips as he pressed them against his smooth flesh, leaving goose bumps in their wake. He said it with his tongue that slid past his in a wet glide that formed words with every twist and turn it took, with every noise it coaxed out of him.

Jonathan couldn't get enough of him. But he had a lifetime to try inside the bubble of personal space that was no longer just his.

It was theirs.