“I know I’m going grey,” Shane snorted, one hand reaching up to tug at the curls at the front of his head. He’d found a few grey strands among the chaos just a few days ago and was still mourning their arrival. That didn’t even begin to describe the feeling he’d felt a few months back when he’d noticed the first of the greys in his beard. “But I don’t think I’m ready to be daddy for at least another few years.” He nodded, happy to accept Tristan’s acquiescence. “I have a sibling too. I know how it goes. I’ll do my best to show her that I intend to take good care of her brother.” Even if it’s temporary, he thought. His heart twisted violently at the thought of it. He’d gotten so used to having Tristan around that he wasn’t sure how he’d return to being just him when their arrangement had run it’s course. Of course, that was a few years away, but the thought still broke his heart. Over these last few months, he’d become so accustomed to being in a relationship, even a fake one, and having someone else around that the idea of that changing caused him to feel a deep sense of loneliness.
“She’ll love you,” he reiterated, “but I don’t think I can lie to her. So I’ll understand if you choose to tell Aria the truth about us. I can’t ask you to trust me when I say that I want my mom to know the truth but not give you the same courtesy. If you think it’d be best that your sister knows what’s really going on, then I’m fine with that. Plus, ma will see right through me if I tried to lie. She’s always been able to.” Which was why he needed to make this as convincing as possible, or Shane would find himself on the first flight back to a country that hadn’t felt like home in decades. Shane grasped Tristan by the chin, turning his face so that they were looking at one another. “I don’t know who convinced you to believe that, but believe me when I say that you’re the best person I know. You’re kind and soft and absolutely beautiful. So, anyone who ever said otherwise can kindly fuck right off.” He brushed his finger tips against Tristan’s cheeks, sure that he’d never really get used to touching him freely. “I want to know all the little details about you, okay? Like living in New York. Who knows? Maybe we were orbiting one another for years without even knowing it.” He shrugged slightly, a light smile tugging at his lips. “I don’t know what any of that means, but I like hearing you speak Spanish, so let’s agree that you can romance me in Spanish whenever you want.”
“N-No! I wasn’t calling you old or anything like that Shaney, I was just trying to be sexy y’know, be like damn daddy come here often, or something like one of those romcoms like that, and you’d strip your shirt off and say something very harry potter like cause damn papi all your words sound like magic to me, and we’d stare into each other’s eyes, and i know i’m rambling, but then we’d kiss and ride off into the sunset in your magical nissan or something.” Tristan could never see Shane as old, he was so lively and not to say that aging wasn’t a beautiful thing but the way he made it sound was as if he was already an old man. Those grey hairs, on his head or his beard were beautiful, Tristan could count an infinite number of ways to count all the things he found beautiful about the man. “Will try to not call you dad from now on. Please do, because my sister might break a few of your bones or something, or like at least threaten to.” Tristan didn’t think this could ever end, the mornings, the banter, the way he could walk into any room and find a little bit of Shane in them, until he finally found him and all his worries would wash away as if they were never there to begin with.
“No, I understand completely. She knows you the most and she’ll know why you’re doing it even if she doesn’t approve. I’ll let my sister know, it’ll take some of the burden of having to keep it a secret off my shoulders.” Tristan lied as if he was never burdened, there was no lie in what he felt for Shane so he didn’t really have any reason to hide how he felt. To the other man it could appear to be an act, but Tristan wanted to be here with him, hopelessly in love and...he was in love? He realized it as Shane took his chin and said those words that breached the deepest parts of his soul. Without skipping a beat he leaned in and kissed Shane, it was the softest kiss he’s ever given, it was tender and caring, full of yearning but not full of fire and hunger. “Sorry, that was the part in the hallmark movie where I kissed you under the mistletoe.” he teased slightly, a big blush on his cheeks as he tried to look away. “Lots of people told me that growing up by the way, I was always the weird gay kid, and I was kind of chubby too before I got fit, so they used to call me a whole mix of names.” he left out the part where he never got asked to any school dance but would still show up waiting for one of his crushes to come and ask him to dance, and yet it never happened. “That would be a funny story to tell, always circling each other and here we are now.” he smiled. “Whenever I want? alright mi amor, I’ll make sure I make all your latin fantasies come true.”
