Tommy answered immediately.
“Yes.”
No hesitation. No wavering.
He met Logan’s eyes first when he said it, grounding the answer where it mattered most.
Then he looked back at Chase.
“This is just… unexpected,” Tommy added. “But nobody did anything wrong.”
Chase’s shoulders relaxed slightly.
“I didn’t know it was you,” he said. “I swear.”
“I know,” Tommy replied. “I didn’t recognize you either.”
A brief silence followed, awkward, but no longer sharp.
Chase glanced toward the door, reading the room with quiet awareness.
“I should probably head out,” he said. “Give you guys space to… recalibrate.”
Logan nodded easily. “That’s fair.”
Chase looked back at Tommy, expression softer now.
“No weirdness at the party,” he said. “We can pretend this never happened.”
Tommy smiled faintly. “Yeah. We’re very good at pretending things are normal.”
A quiet laugh passed between all three of them, surprised, but genuine.
Chase dressed quickly without rushing. At the door, he paused.
“For what it’s worth,” he said, meeting Tommy’s eyes, “it was good seeing you.”
Warmth rose unexpectedly in Tommy’s chest.
“Yeah,” he said. “You too.”
Chase nodded to Logan. “Goodnight.”
Then he was gone.
The door clicked shut.
Silence filled the room, heavier now that it belonged only to them again.
Tommy exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.
“Well,” Logan said after a moment, “that was not on my bingo card.”
Tommy laughed, half disbelief, half adrenaline release. “No kidding.”
Logan studied him carefully. “You actually okay?”
Tommy leaned back into him, settling into familiar warmth.
