“Happy birthday to me,” Adriel whispered.
Landen laughed again, fuller that time, the sound filling the room, and then he leaned down and kissed him. Deep. Slow. Tasting of gratitude and love and something vast and unnamed that Adriel was only beginning to understand.
∞∞∞
Adriel spent most of the late afternoon getting ready.
He took a shower; let the hot water run, let his mind drift, didn't rush. He dried off slowly, wrapped in the towel that Jenna kept stealing because it was softer than hers, and stood in front of his open closet without the familiar tightness in his chest.
Wear something you feel good in.
Landen had said it this morning, between kisses and coffee and a second round in the shower that had nearly made them both late for work. Adriel had laughed against his mouth, breathless, and saidwe're going to be late,and Landen had saidlet them wait,and they had been, both of them, twenty minutes late.
Adriel smiled at the memory and reached for a shirt.
He felt good in everything lately. Not always; the bad days still came. Some mornings he caught his reflection and flinched before he could stop himself, old habits surfacing like ghosts. But more often than not now, he looked and didn't look away. He saw himself and thought,that's me,and kept moving.
He chose a shirt. Dark green, soft fabric, one that Landen had touched last week and saidthis color on youand trailed off like he'd run out of words for how much he liked it. Adriel buttoned it slowly, watching himself in the mirror.
His reflection looked back.
Jenna had left about an hour ago. A shift, she'd said, one she couldn't get out of. But she'd given him his present before she went: a framed sketch she'd done of the two of them, pulled from a photo taken years ago. Both of them laughing at something he couldn't remember. She'd captured it perfectly; the way her head tipped back, the way his eyes crinkled, the easy, unguarded joy of a moment neither of them had thought to preserve until she did.
She'd hugged him at the door. Longer than usual, her arms tight around him, her face pressed into his shoulder.
"Happy birthday," she'd said, pulling back, eyes bright. "I'm so proud of you. You know that, right?"
He'd nodded. Hadn't trusted his voice.
Now he stood in front of the mirror, and thought about how different this year felt from the last. From every year before it.
He had a job he loved. Friends who showed up.
And he had Landen.
They'd been public for a while now; both at Grayson House and to their friends and family. Landen had been true to his word.Once the decision was made, there was no half-measure, no hedging. He'd told his colleagues, told his friends, introduced Adriel as his boyfriend with the same quiet certainty he brought to everything.
And still, sometimes, it caught Adriel off guard. The casualness of it. The way Landen reached for his hand in public without checking who was watching first. The way he saidmy boyfriendwithout lowering his voice.
Adriel had spent so long being hidden. By Zach, who had never quite wanted to be seen with him. By his own shame, the deep-rooted belief that he was something to be kept in the dark, brought out only when no one else was looking. By the years of conditioning that told him his body was wrong, his wants were wrong, his very existence required apology.
Being loved openly still felt, on certain days, like a language he was learning. He understood it. He was getting fluent. But every now and then a word surprised him, and he had to stop and marvel at it before he could move on.
He checked himself in the mirror one last time. Ran a hand through his hair. Let it fall where it wanted.
Landen picked him up at eight.
Adriel saw him through the window first; leaning against the car, dark coat, dark trousers, hair pushed back, a cocky half-smile spread across his lips. The sight of him made something in Adriel's chest lurch, warm and immediate, and he stood there for an extra moment just watching. Just letting himself appreciate the view.
Then he went downstairs.
The night air hit him as he stepped outside, cool and clean. Landen straightened when he saw him, his eyes moving over Adriel with open, unhurried appreciation.
"You look incredible," Landen said.
"So do you." Adriel meant it so completely it ached.
Landen kissed him on the sidewalk. Right there, in the streetlight, one hand on his jaw.
