What little strength Gage had left eroded. His shoulders slumped, and he ducked his head to avoid meeting Aaron’s gaze.

Aaron’s return wasn’t supposed to have gone like this. In Gage’s perfect world, Aaron would have let him know that he’d graduated and that he was on his way home. Gage had it all planned—the conversation, the answers to the questions Aaron would inevitably have, and even ways to defuse any kind of reaction Aaron would have, whether it was overjoyed, disappointed, or angry.

But a face-to-face confrontation wasn’t part of the plan. Everything had gone wrong, and Gage didn’t know how to make it right.

“I didn’t want to tell you,” Gage whispered when Aaron said nothing. While he spoke, he stepped out of the doorway and back into his apartment. It was ridiculous to think that Aaron could ever get so angry that he’d harm a child, let alone Gage’s boy, but when Bo had shrieked and his voice had crackled like cellophane, Gage’s paternal instincts had kicked in, and he’d acted without even thinking about it. Bo was his whole world, and he wouldn’t let anybody—not even Bo’s father—send that world crashing down. “I was going to tell you before you came back. But I… I couldn’t tell you while you were still in school.”

“That’s my son?” Aaron asked in awe. The anger in his voice was gone. Cautiously, he stepped into the apartment. Gage allowed him entry.

“He’s yours,” Gage reaffirmed. Guilt started to twist inside him, coiling around itself like fibers weaving into thick rope. “It happened that summer, when you came back home from California…”

“Gage,” Aaron uttered, sounding gutted.

“I know…”

“Baby, you should have told me.” A soft hand found Gage’s cheek, and Gage found the courage to face Aaron again. Aaron’s dark eyes were burdened with concern and regret, and his lips were arched down the tiniest bit, doleful. “I would have come home. I don’t… I don’t understand why you’d keep something like this a secret. God, Gage… that summer was almost five years ago.”

“I know,” Gage murmured. “I’m sorry.”

“How has no one told me?” Aaron glanced over Gage’s shoulder into the apartment. The door was still open behind him, and Gage reached forward to close it. The walls were thin enough as it was—he didn’t need the rest of the building hearing what a mess he’d made of his life. “Your parents, my parents, our brothers, our friends… how did you convince them to keep it a secret?”

“I didn’t.” Gage looked down again. The choices of his past weighed on him. “No one knows.”

“No one knows?”

“No one.”

“How?” Aaron’s hand slid to the back of Gage’s head, and he cupped the base of Gage’s skull. His touch was a comfort Gage didn’t feel like he deserved. He knew he’d done wrong—Aaron should have been furious at him for what he’d done. How could one man be so understanding?

How could one man love him so damned much?

“When I found out I was pregnant, I’d already moved into the city so I could attend college.” Gage blinked away his tears. “I remember, when I found out, I lay in bed for hours and stared at the ceiling of my new room, wondering what I was supposed to do. You’d just left for Europe, and we’d just finished planning our future together. You’d told me that I needed to be strong…”

Gage didn’t want to cry, but the memory was difficult, and his throat convulsed with the onset of a sob. He took a second to compose himself, and as he did, Aaron pulled him against his chest. The time they’d spent apart had changed Aaron’s body—he was firmer than he’d been before, leaner and more muscular by touch, but not by sight. But even if time had sculpted Aaron from youth into rugged maturity, the scent of him remained the same. Like the smell of a desert at night, sweet and lush and earthy, complemented by the scent of his bodywash. Gage buried his nose against Aaron’s shirt and took it in until his heart stopped racing and the sob that threatened to escape settled inside him again.

“Oh, BP,” Aaron whispered against the top of his head. “I didn’t mean like that. You never had to be strong like that.”

“What else was I supposed to do?” Gage’s voice trembled, his words so delicate, he was afraid his tongue would break them. “Our parents are best friends. If I’d told anyone in my family, your parents would have found out about what happened. Your dad would have pulled you out of university and forced you to come home so you could take care of me and the baby. That wasn’t our plan. I knew that if I could just keep it a secret for a few years, you’d finish up your studies, come home with your degree, and we could pick up from where we left off… just with a child to care for.”

“So all this time, you’ve never been back to see your family?” Aaron asked. The hand at the bottom of Gage’s skull traced down his neck and began to rub in small, comforting circles. “You’ve kept to yourself all this time?”

“Not really.” A chill swept its way down Gage’s spine, following the path of Aaron’s hand. “I video chat with them when I know Bo won’t interrupt and blow our cover, and I go back maybe once or twice a year for holidays, if Mal has time to babysit.”

“Bo?” Aaron’s voice shook. He pulled back from Gage and looked him in the eyes. “His name is Bo?”

“I didn’t think you’d mind,” Gage murmured, embarrassed. He dipped his gaze again, but Aaron lifted his chin and forced him to meet his eyes.

“I don’t mind,” Aaron said. “It’s perfect.”

A blush spread across Gage’s cheeks. There were still things he had to tell Aaron—dark things, things he was ashamed of—but for now, he let himself enjoy the tenderness of the moment. Aaron had listened, and he’d believed what Gage had said. For now, that was enough. The rest could come a little later, once Aaron had enjoyed meeting his son for the first time, and Bo was put to bed for the night. Gage wouldn’t spoil the happiness of the moment with news of the awful things he’d done to keep their family together.

“A baby,” Aaron murmured at last, seemingly speaking to himself. “We have a baby…”

“And he’s beautiful,” Gage said. He looked over his shoulder at the couch, where Bo had gone to hide. “Do you want to see him?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitance or reluctance when Aaron spoke. “I want to meet my son.”

Gage took Aaron by the hand and guided him to the couch. The blankets piled on it trembled and wheezed. Gage squeezed Aaron’s hand, then let it go so he could sink down next to where Bo was hiding. When he was settled, he laid a hand on top of the pile where he figured Bo’s head would be. “Hey, baby boy. It’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe.”

The blankets said nothing. They kept trembling.

“I have someone here I want you to meet. Will you come out and say hello?”

“No,” Bo sobbed. His voice crackled.

Gage pinched his lips together and looked up at Aaron apologetically. Aaron stood near the couch, watching the blankets patiently. It didn’t look like he was annoyed by Bo’s refusal.

He’s waited for me for years, Gage thought. Of course he can wait a few minutes for his son.

“It’s someone very special,” Gage said softly. He stroked Bo’s head. “Do you know how I told you that one day, your daddy would come home, and we’d be a family?”

Bo was quiet, but Gage was certain that he’d heard. He kept stroking the blankets, doing his best to soothe his son.

“Well… your daddy just came home. He’s come home to us, and he wants to meet you. Will you come out to say hello?”

The blankets started to move, until finally, a crown of golden hair popped out from beneath them. Bo, teary-eyed, looked up at Gage and lifted his arms. Gage plucked him free from the blankets and brought him to sit on his lap. Then, with tremendous affection, he smoothed Bo’s hair back from his forehead and gestured at Aaron. “Say hello to Daddy?”

“Hello, Daddy,” Bo said in a little voice. Then, more sheepishly, he mumbled, “Hello.”

“Hi, little man,” Aaron replied, his voice kinder and softer than Gage had ever heard it before. He approached the couch cautiously and sank to one knee in front of Bo. Bo whimpered pitifully and pushed back against Gage, and Aaron didn’t come any closer. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m sorry that it took me this long to be here with you.”

Bo wheezed a few, incomprehensible syllables. He squirmed on Gage’s lap, and Gage had to lift him up and reposition him on his knee.

“It’s okay, baby boy. I’ve got you.” Gage held him in place, making sure he had all the support he needed. Bo was starting to get big, but with his health the way it was, he was more dependent on Gage than Gage thought he should be.

When Bo was settled, Gage glanced at Aaron. Wonder had shaped his features, and Gage read from it how badly he wanted to make a connection. Still, he didn’t infringe on Bo’s personal space—in all things, Aaron was thoughtful and kind. It warmed Gage’s heart to see it. He kissed the top of Bo’s head and asked him a gentle question, hoping he could get Bo to open up. “Is it okay if Daddy gives you a hug to say hello?”

“No,” Bo said. He twisted and squirmed until he had his back to Aaron, then buried his face against Gage’s chest. “No!”

“Okay.” Gage held back his frustration, keeping it as far as possible from his voice. It was okay that Bo was scared—Aaron had been yelling in the hallway, and even though he was calm now, Bo had likely made an association. It would take a little bit of time to undo, but it wasn’t insurmountable. Bo would let Aaron into his heart when he was ready. “It’s okay. No one’s going to force you.”

Aaron sat back on his calves. A look of disappointment flashed across his face, but it was only temporary. “If you decide you want a hug, you let me know, okay?”

Bo said nothing. Instead, he started to cry. Gage stroked his hair and did his best to comfort his son, but his heart ached. Bo hadn’t met many adults before—he’d been hidden away most of his life, and his social circle, as a consequence, was small. It shouldn’t have surprised Gage that he wouldn’t take well to meeting a stranger, especially after what had happened in the hall. But seeing Aaron have to put on a brave face while his child rejected him broke Gage’s heart.

“Would it be okay if Daddy stayed with us today?” Gage asked. He hadn’t discussed plans for the rest of the day with Aaron—they’d been a little too focused on other matters—but he figured that Aaron’s intention was to stay so they could catch up, especially now that Bo was in the picture. “He’s not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do, but he wants to get to know you. Is that okay?”

Bo sobbed, and when he drew breath, his lungs crackled. Gage made a small, disappointed sound and kissed the top of his head again.

“I know it’s scary,” Gage murmured, hoping Bo could hear him over the sound of his own fear. “I know that meeting new people is hard, and that meeting your daddy for the first time is a really big deal. It’s okay to feel like you’re feeling, but will you give Daddy a chance to show you that he’s nice, and that he loves you?”

Bo sniffled. He pulled at Gage’s shirt, but seemed, otherwise, to be calming down.

“That’s a good boy,” Gage said. Bo slid off his lap and pulled the blankets over himself until his nose was covered. Mostly concealed, he peeked over the blanket’s frayed edge. He looked at Aaron, and Aaron looked back. “You take the time you need to feel good, okay? That’s all we’re asking.”

Bo nodded. He pulled the covers tightly over his body and said nothing. The labored sound of his breathing marked the silence, time slowing until it dragged. Finally, Gage couldn’t take it anymore. He left the couch to put on an old Peppa Pig DVD in the hopes it would calm Bo down.

It did.

Slowly, the blanket dropped from Bo’s face. The tension disappeared from his small body, and he settled into a semi-reclined position against the arm of the couch while the episode played. Gage, relieved, came to stand by Aaron’s side. He’d given up on approaching Bo and abandoned his lowered position, standing tall once more. Gage squeezed his shoulder. In time, Bo would learn the kind of man that Aaron really was, and he’d come to adore his father as much as Gage did. All they had to do was be patient.

As the world returned to normal, Aaron brought his suitcase inside, and they settled on the couch as a newly formed family—Gage in the middle, with Bo’s head rested on his thigh and Aaron’s arm draped over his shoulder. From the rigid way Aaron held himself, and the frantic energy in the air, Gage knew Aaron had questions. If Gage had been in his position, he would have had questions, too, but he was pleased to see that Aaron was sensible enough not to start asking them in front of Bo, who was panicked enough as it was.

Questions could be answered later, when Bo was down for the night and they had some semblance of privacy. Until then, they’d pretend to play family. It was hollow, but it gave Gage hope for the future. One day, they’d settle on the couch without it feeling tense or strange.

That day couldn’t come soon enough.

Gage rested his head against Aaron’s shoulder, closed his eyes, and let time tick by. It wouldn’t be much longer before the rest of the truth came out, and when it did, he needed to be ready for it. There was a chance that when Aaron found out what he’d done, he would leave. A secret baby was one thing—it was a mistake both of them had made together—but what Gage had been forced to do to keep food in the fridge and a roof over their heads? There was no one else to share his guilt, and he had to be ready to face the consequences of his actions alone.