Will met up with Laragh and Kyle at a cafe close to the youth centre. She'd apparently decided to stop being the invisible middle man between their meetings, and just show her face outright. He was half-present, half in his thoughts when their drinks arrived. Laragh had ordered for them; mint tea for her and Will, regular tea for Kyle. No coffee. No caffeine. He hadn't told her about his recent dependence, and wasn't sure if he was ready because she'd tell him to cut back. He couldn't just ignore his therapist. Or he could. If it came up, he would.

"How is Dune?" Kyle asked.

Will looked at Kyle in surprise.

"Stephen was running his gob," Kyle answered his questioning look.

Laragh was the one left confused.

"He's staying home with his dad for a while." Will steeped the mint tea bag, breathing in the fresh mint scent. "Joyce was the heart of their family, and it's tough on them."

Kyle grimaced. "Sorry."

Will was sorry too. He text Dune constantly, trying to be there for him. That was all he could do. It wasn't enough, but Will didn't think anything ever could be.

Will explained to Laragh about it, both Dune's situation and how Kyle knew about it. Kyle didn't speak much when Laragh was actively taking part in the conversation, and her questions directed at him only received one-word answers. Will didn't pick up on too much animosity in him, despite the clipped responses.

"Stephen's talking non stop about Cassie." Kyle revealed.

Will hummed, "They were getting along."

"He said you're territorial about her."

"Cassie's the best."

"Are you two secretly dating?"

Will smiled, "If I was straight, she'd be my girlfriend."

"If you were bi you'd have a threesome with your little friend group."

Will choked on a laugh. Kyle's grumpy expression transformed into something pleasant; he looked pleased with himself.

"I've already got a boyfriend, so maybe not."

"You should introduce Luke to him."

"Why?"

"He'll stop turning his nose up at you and Dune then. He doesn't think you're just friends." Kyle said.

Given that Luke and Dune had ended up in bed at that meet-up, Luke should know better. Then again, sometimes Will didn't know better either. "Soon as people find out you're gay, you're not allowed to just be friends with guys."

Kyle's phone chimed, drawing his attention. Laragh, who'd been sitting back sipping her tea, leaned forward, her gaze on Will. "You have a boyfriend?" She questioned.

Will froze.

Kyle saw his stuck expression, and narrowed his eyes.

Given everything that had happened recently, he completely forgot that Laragh didn't know about Gabriel. He hadn't told her on purpose. Unlike his friends, if she found out who Gabriel was, he doubted it would be let slide. Well, maybe it would be fine? They weren't teacher and student anymore, and Gabriel hadn't been at the school that long. If Will stuck to the story that they met in Dublin, then even if Gabriel's previous position came to light, it would still be fine. Wouldn't it?

He wasn't sure. And if he wasn't sure, he couldn't say a word.

"Will?" Laragh prompted.

"He's older, right?" Kyle poked the bear.

Will shot him a look.

Laragh put down her tea, and gave Will a reassuring smile. "You don't have to talk about it if you're uncomfortable."

Will knew that line would lead to an entire session examining why talking about Gabriel made him uncomfortable. He forced a relaxed smile. "Sorry, I'm not uncomfortable. Kyle's right, he is older. I wasn't sure how you'd react."

"How much older exactly?" Kyle asked.

"He's twenty-six."

"Eight years, huh? That's a big gap."

"Kyle." Laragh intervened before Will got the chance. Kyle shut his mouth, but didn't turn his attention back to his phone. Instead he watched Will and Laragh with a gleeful gleam in his eye. Apparently, he liked seeing Will squirm. Will did his best not to. If he stayed relaxed about this, then it wouldn't become a topic for his and Laragh's sessions.

"What does he do?" Laragh asked.

"He's a college professor in DIT," Will said, "And he used to box."

"Smart and athletic," Kyle said, "A bit like Dune? Is that your type?"

Not really. If Will was looking for a similar quality in Gabriel and Dune that drew him in, it would probably be the way they treated him. Compassion, understanding. Always, without fail, they never snapped at Will for his shortcomings, even when they had every right to do so. Will thought about what he said to Gabriel again, he thought about how Gabriel handled it, and his chest ached. If Gabriel had done the same to him, Will didn't think he would have had a level enough head to offer the same chance to explain. There hadn't even been any blame when Gabriel talked to him. He didn't believe that what Will said had come from somewhere malicious, he had faith in him. More faith than Will had in himself.

"You seem happy," Laragh observed.

Will wondered how he seemed happy when his thoughts were anything but.

"I really like him."

Kyle's sigh indicated he was annoyed by the peaceful turn the session had taken.

"How is college going?" Laragh changed the subject.

"Well," Will began, finally having something positive to say about it after weeks of classes, "I spoke to Professor Heil about changing my presentation group and he let me."

"Why did you want to switch?"

"They were all over-achievers, and I couldn't keep up."

Laragh smiled. "Taking the initiative? I'm impressed."

Kyle's sigh was even louder.

"And how is school on your end?" Laragh asked him.

"Shit."

"It sounds like you're talking to Stephen again. You two made up?"

"He's behaving cause his dad is back in the country, that's all. Soon as Vincent is gone it'll be back to drinking himself into oblivion."

Will recalled Tara's explanation of Stephen's behaviour after they'd met. She said he had it hard, and asked for some leeway before Will wrote him off. After a few meetings, Will got the impression that Stephen didn't much care for what people thought of him. But, he also didn't hate him. He was easy to talk to. Though, he didn't want Cassie getting close to someone who would self-destruct so easily. She was too good. She'd get hurt.

"Have you met Stephen?" Laragh asked him.

"I like him. Sort of." He paused. "Sometimes."

Kyle's eyes narrowed on him.

"What?"

"Nothing."