Kai never thought that waking up can be a pleasant experience. He usually opened his eyes, and his mind was immediately bombarded with a list of urgent projects and tasks to complete through the day. 

After he graduated, there was nothing to do anymore. Nothing was waiting for him. No one needed him anywhere. Suddenly there was no responsibility, no pressure, only guilt.

This morning was different from them all. It was warm, safe and inviting. Without responsibilities, without pressure.

Kai opened his eyes and was greeted by an adorable, sleeping face just a few inches from his. Reaching up, he felt the softness of chestnut coloured locks. 

Reaching up, he felt the softness of chestnut coloured locks. Smiling to himself managed to get up from bed quietly and don't wake Leo up in the process. While he walked downstairs, clutter and chatting hit his sleepy ears. 

Annoyed, used to quiet mornings Kai, went straight to the coffee machine murmuring good mornings to his aunties on the way.

"Oh, Kai, you got up so late." Karen, one of his mother sister's almost sang enthusiastically, wearing a pretty cocktail dress. "We are almost ready. Where is your friend?"

"Still asleep. Ready for what?" Kai questioned, confused while turning on the machine.

"For the breakfast and small afterparty in the palace," She walked closer to the counter, also confused. "You didn't know?"

"Oh, I asked him, but he refused to go. He must forget." His mother stepped in the doorway, holding fresh flowers and a vase. "They live quite far away. It's good to see you, Kai. "She put a hand on his shoulder as she passed by, walking to the sink and poured some water into the vase. "I was wondering if I will be able to say goodbye to you before you leave. I hope you and your friend are feeling well today. Drive safely, honey, and I hope to see you on Christmas."

"Of course, mother. Have fun at the party." Fake smiling, he turned to his auntie, who was eyeing them both. "You too, Karen. Have fun, and I hope you will love your new job."

"Thank you. I hope so too. Safe journey!" She waved and walked towards her husband as they took their coats and left the house dragging behind their suitcases.

His smile fell as he was left alone in the kitchen with two cups of steaming coffee.

"Why are you standing there alone?" Startled, Kai looked over his shoulder to see amused Leo. "Is that for me?" He pointed at the cup, having a bright expression without any trace of tiredness.

"Oh, yes. Yes, it's for you, please." Kai forced a smile and sat at the barstool by the counter. "You okay? Where is everyone? Are they still sleeping?" Leo questioned.

"They left for the afterparty." Both men sat next to eachother by the counter, Leo on his right.

"Afterparty? You never mentioned any." He raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently, I refused because we have to drive faaaar away," Kai said sarcastically. 

"Your mother?" Leo looked up, smiling in understanding.

"Yeah," Kai confirmed. "Well, never mind. We are going to your parents, so we wouldn't be able to go anyways."

"It doesn't change the fact that it was..." He sighed, searching carefully for the right words. "It wasn't nice, Kai. You have all rights to feel upset, don't try to cover it up and pretend that is nothing." He covered Kai's palm with his own, squeezing it gently.

"Thank you." His face brightened as he met Leo's eyes. "Let's finish the coffee and get out of here, okay?"

"As you wish." He stared straight ahead into space and added. "You know, I also feel a little upset."

"Why?" Kai turned his head to the side, concerned. Patiently, waiting for Leo to continue.

"I felt lonely when I woke up." He playfully smiled as he looked to his left.

They drove in comfortable silence, listening to the radio in the background. An hour later, Kai turned off the radio, and they switched to their favourite playlists played from their phones. Kai slowly fell asleep to wake up to Leo, patting him on the head and holding a cup of coffee.

"We have less than twenty minutes left. We are almost there, so I need you to be awake." Leo smiled and pulled back his hand to start the engine. "You have a sleep-deprived face. I thought you slept well at night when you woke up before me but considering your weird relationship with a bed- I don't think that anymore."

Kai glared at him longer than needed to make a point. Leo drove back on the road from the station, and Kai noticed that they weren't on the highway anymore. 

Drinking his coffee, he sat straight in his seat, hoping to shake off the sleepiness from his mind. He wanted to be awake while meeting Leo's family for the first time.

"You look nervous," Leo looked at him with the corner of his eyes.

"A little." He paused for a moment. "What if they won't like me? It would be so awkward."

"Of course my parents will like you. Why wouldn't they?" Leo chuckled as if Kai was telling something ridiculous and funny to the point of being unreal. 

"I don't know. I'm not the most social person out there, and I look awful." Kai sulked, looking outside of the window.

"You are social once to get to know you. Not everyone has to be chatty-smiley with everyone every day. It just makes people feel more special when you are warming up to them with time. That is how I see it." Hoping to hid his embarrassment, Kai turned away from Leo as much as he could. Leo focused on the road, smiling softly.

In a couple of minutes, he pulled into the driveway of a small red-brick house. A short wooden fence hugged the small front garden with vegetating shrubs waiting for winter to pass. They went through the opening that was supposed to have a gate in it. Kai looked around and noticed it was leaning against the wall with a few broken ribs, dirty and overgrown with dead grass.

On the porch in the corner were piled empty pots and some garden tools. Leo opened a dark brown door and entered into the narrowing with cupboards and hangers on the left side where jackets were hanging; from there, you could see an open space with white sofas and Tv placed on a white designer chest drawer. The living room naturally blended with the kitchen, separated by a bar counter. Everything was a combination of whites, blacks and pastels, topped by a high amount of green flowers placed in any space you could fit the pot.

"Finally, you got here! We were waiting for you!" Dark hair woman nearly ran down the stairs and embraced Leo in a tight hug as soon as she got a grip on him. "We missed you so much in here."

"Yeah, I know mum, me too," Leo hugged her back. She released her son from a hug and directed attention on Kai instead. 

"I'm Mary, Leo's mother. It's good to meet you, Kai." She directed them into the living room. "You must be hungry. I prepared the dinner earlier today, so you both don't have to wait long."

Kai melted on the sofa, breathing out all the air he kept in his lungs. Too tired to feel nervous, hungry and strangely feeling relaxed, he nearly fell asleep as his head wobbled a few times to the side. Leo walked to him, stopping for a second before putting down on the coffee table two cups of tea.

Kai slowly began to drift away in his dreams as he felt the soft blanket covering his body. In the next second, the movements of the person who now sat next to him stopped. The said person, who Kai figured must be Leo, pulled him to his right side and down onto the sofa. With his eyes closed, he lifted his legs and tucked them under the blanket covering him from his toes to his head, which now rested on the man's lap.

"Take a nap. I'll wake you up for dinner." Leo said softly, brushing Kai's locks with his fingers. He was saying something else, but Kai was already asleep to recall anything that happened around him. The house seemed to have a magical soothing atmosphere in it. It was the same as the one around Leo. It was so different from Kai's childhood house that was always cold and unwelcoming.

"Kai, wake up. Dinner is ready. Kaaai, Kai!" Kai slowly opened his eyes and looked up at him, unfazed. Staring, carried on for a long minute when he clicked that he just took a nap on Leo's parent's sofa and their son's lap. Startled, he sat up, trying to stay composed while rambling apologies to Mary.

"Don't worry about that at all. You must be exhausted after the party and then driving in here." Mary waved at him, reassuring him that she is not offended as Kai may think.

"Hi, I'm Rose! The sister." She said happily, reaching out to shake his hand.

"You are not cool, Rose." Leo stood up after Kai, who was shaking hands with a happy teenage girl.

"And here, I would disagree." She turned around. "Come, let's eat. Mum made your favourite chicken."

The dinner went by quickly in the accompaniment of jokes and stories from Leo's and Rose's childhood. Leo's parents were pretty chill, which Kai found unusual as it was the opposite of what he had seen all his life.

"Come by again soon as well as call us more often. You never call!" Mary made a face like she was about to cry.

"Oh, leave him be. He is grown up. He doesn't have to report to his mother every day." Josh hugged his wife as they were saying goodbyes.

"Mooom," Leo smiled softly and hugged them both. Rose- uninterested, stood by their side. "I will see you soon and way longer than today."

"Bye, Kai. It was lovely to meet you." Both of them headed to the car while shouting even more goodbyes waving to each other until they disappeared from their sight.

"It took us a bit longer than I thought. We should be back around ten." Leo looked at the GPS. "I hope they didn't scare you. They can be intense and blunt, at times."

"Oh, no! They were lovely, completely different than I thought. I envy you. You have great parents." Kai smiled sadly. 

Leo's hand wrapped in his as he continued. "You know, I feel like I can let it go now. I'm happy I went there, and having you by my side gave me the strength to face it. I have all those insecurities about myself and my life. My parents never supported me in anything, never gave me advice based on my well being, but what will look good to brag about with the neighbours." He paused, letting part of his thoughts remind silent to continue more to himself than Leo. "I don't feel angry and frustrated anymore as much as before. For the first time in my life, I want to do something for myself. I feel like I can do it, and I don't need to expect their approval. Fuck, I don't think they would care if I die, so why would I care what they think."Leo squeezed his hand to let him know that he is there listening. 

"I'm happy I have met you. Really happy." Kai voiced his thoughts, and Leo, smiling, whispered: "Me too."