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Chapter 16 - The Words We Didn't Say

Aaron and Eli say it. Not in passing. Not as a tease. But clearly.

No masks, no roles, no shame.

Just two people, who began with obsession… and arrived at something real.

Part 16: The Word We Didn't Say

It happened without candles.

Without silk ribbons, rituals, or whispered names.

It was just morning.

The light was soft. The air smelled like toast and rain. Eli was perched at the kitchen table, still wearing one of Aaron's shirts, sipping warm tea with both hands wrapped around the mug.

Aaron leaned against the doorway, watching him.

And he said it like it had always lived in his mouth.

"I love you."

Eli froze.

Not from shock — but from the weight of how easy it had been. How little it hurt. How natural it felt now, after everything they'd done. After every dark corner they'd crawled through to get here.

He looked up.

Aaron didn't flinch. Didn't rush to explain it.

Just stood there, arms crossed, hair messy from sleep.

"Do you mean it?" Eli asked softly.

Aaron nodded once. "Yeah."

A pause.

Eli set the mug down.

And stood.

He walked to Aaron, barefoot and silent, until they were nose to nose.

Then, slowly, Eli lifted Aaron's hand and pressed it against his own chest — over his heart.

"I love you too," he whispered.

And Aaron…

He breathed.

Like something inside him had been held hostage.

And finally let go.

They didn't fuck after that.

They just held each other.

On the couch. On the bed. On the porch. In silence, sometimes. In small touches.

Aaron kissed the inside of Eli's wrist like it was sacred.

Eli rested his head in the crook of Aaron's shoulder like it was a home.

Later that night, Aaron asked quietly:

"Does this change anything?"

Eli shook his head. "It just… names what we already built."

Aaron nodded. "Good."

"Do you feel different?"

Aaron looked at him for a long time.

Then kissed him on the forehead, softly.

"No," he said. "I just feel more sure."

Eli wrote Tanya a short message that evening:

I'm still here. I'm okay. And it's not what it looks like. It's what I chose.

He loves me. I love him. You don't have to understand it. Just know I'm not alone.

She didn't reply right away.

But a day later, a single heart emoji arrived.

Eli showed it to Aaron, then deleted it.

And neither of them spoke about it again.

Outside, the world kept turning.

But inside their home, something had finally settled.

No more need for cages.

No more tests.

No more pretending it was just lust, or play, or control.

It had always been love.

They just hadn't known how to speak it.

[To Be Continued — In Part 17: Aaron introduces Eli to someone from his past. It's awkward, raw, and a little tense. But Eli holds his ground, proud and soft and unapologetic — and Aaron watches the man he loves shine without hiding anymore]

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