Grief

Elias hadn’t cried at the funeral.

He had stood there in his black suit, face blank, while people offered condolences. He had shaken hands, accepted hugs, and said all the right things. But inside, he felt nothing. Just a hollow, aching emptiness.

After everyone left, he went home to the apartment he had shared with Marcus for five years.

The silence was deafening.

He was sitting on the couch in the dark when there was a knock on the door.

It was Marcus’s best friend, Kai.

Kai didn’t say anything when Elias opened the door. He just stepped inside and pulled Elias into a tight hug. Elias stood stiffly for a moment before his body gave out. He sagged against Kai and finally started crying — harsh, broken sobs that shook his entire frame.

Kai held him through it.

They ended up on the couch, Elias curled against Kai’s chest while he cried himself out. Kai didn’t try to shush him or tell him it would be okay. He just held him and let him grieve.

Eventually, Elias’s sobs quieted into shaky breaths.

He looked up at Kai.

Kai was watching him with dark, unreadable eyes.

Elias didn’t think. He just leaned up and kissed him.

Kai froze for half a second. Then he kissed Elias back — slow at first, then deeper. His hands slid into Elias’s hair as he pulled him closer.

They didn’t speak.

Kai picked Elias up and carried him to the bedroom. He laid him down gently and undressed him with careful hands. When he finally pushed inside Elias, it was slow and deep. He held Elias close the entire time, forehead pressed against his, breathing the same air.

Elias clung to him, nails digging into Kai’s back. Every thrust felt like both comfort and punishment. He came with a broken moan, tears slipping down his temples. Kai followed soon after, burying his face in Elias’s neck as he came inside him.

They stayed like that for a long time afterward — tangled together, breathing hard.

Kai eventually lifted his head and looked at Elias.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have—”

Elias shook his head and pulled him back down.

“Don’t,” he said hoarsely. “Just… stay.”

Kai stayed.

They didn’t talk about what it meant. They didn’t talk about Marcus or guilt or what came next.

They just held each other in the dark, two broken people trying to find something — anything — to hold onto.

And for one night, it was enough.