Helios slid the coffee over to Peter and smiled. "Here you go. Your usual chai latte with a dash of pumpkin spice." He watched as Peter took the latte and handed him a five-dollar bill. That was new. "Uh, what's this for?"

Peter winked. "Tip for the barista." They walked to a table in the cafe, sipping their coffee and messaging someone on their phone. Helios stuffed the money in one of the many vest pockets he had, and then went back over to the coffee machine, noticing the list of orders piling up. He picked one up and looked over at Eos, who was manning the register and orders. One of the customers in line was Dustin, and Helios waved at him. Dustin didn't wave back, and Helios frowned, going back to making coffee.

Dustin looked very pouty when telling Eos what he wanted, and Helios listened to the tone his boyfriend used. Something was bothering him, but Helios couldn't tell why Dustin was so unhappy this morning. Well, he was always grumpy, even when he had coffee and was showered with affection. Must just be one of the days when he was especially mad.

Helios was surprised when he saw a note pinned on top of the latest order. A single black coffee, nothing added. He unfolded the note and looked at it, simultaneously pouring the coffee.

"When you're done with your shift, go to the park. I'll be at the bench. -Dustin." Helios read, before refolding the note and putting it in the vest pocket above his heart. He smiled. Maybe Dustin would tell him what was going on. Mostly the thought of seeing Dustin again made Helios happy. Never mind that he had spent the entire night with the other.

Helios put a lid on the coffee cup and scribbled Dustin's name on the side, a little heart replacing the dot above the i. One of the things he always did when Dustin ordered something at the cafe. Which was quickly becoming every day.

"One small black coffee for Dustin!" Helios called, making sure the other had taken it before turning away to continue working. When Dustin had picked up his coffee, he wasn't meeting Helios' eyes. There was definitely something off with him. Helios thought about it and wondered what he had done to make Dustin like this today.

------

He finished up the orders, the final one being for a doctor dressed in green. Green. The color made Helios think of Dustin, and he was a little put out when he gave the doctor his coffee. But then he remembered that he'd be meeting Dustin at the park. They could talk, and maybe figure out what was going on.

"See you later, Zach." Helios smiled. The doctor smiled back and skated out of the cafe. Helios snickered at that and undid his apron, going to the backroom and hanging it on the coathook. Helios clocked out at around six pm and walked to the park, whistling.

At the park, Helios saw Dustin sitting on their bench, his back to Helios. Dustin seemed to be wearing one of Helios' sweaters, hunched over. He looked even more down than he had been before.

Helios sat on the bench next to Dustin and tapped his shoulder. Dustin jumped and turned around to face Helios. He huffed and seemed to retreat into the sweater. Helios frowned and tapped Dustin again. "Sweetie?"

"Don't 'sweetie' me..." Dustin said from inside the sweater. Helios laid back and looked at the sky. Usually, Dustin was okay with the nickname. Was there something wrong? Helios shifted and laid his head on top of Dustin's sweater, wrapping his arms around the other, who only moved slightly away from the contact.

"Do you want to talk about why you're so grumpy today?" Helios murmured. There was only a quiet 'hmph' from the sweater. Helios pulled the sweater back and saw that Dustin looked more than just angry. He also looked sad. "Dustin? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dustin pulled the sweater back up. "I'm fine." Something told Helios that Dustin was not fine. He closed his eyes and teleported both of them into their digital house, everything settling into place. Helios moved Dustin into his lap, and surprisingly the other didn't protest like usual.

"If you're fine, then why are you so unhappy? And why did you give me that note?" Helios leaned back, and Dustin followed, resting his head on Helios' chest. This was weird since Dustin didn't let his guard down or like this much physical contact. Unless they were cuddling. Helios gently ran a hand through Dustin's hair. "Tell me."

Dustin was silent for a few moments. "I don't like Blue." He finally said, so much hatred in his voice at the name. Helios had to take a second to process that Dustin was talking about the person and not the color. He sighed.

"Is that all?"

"I don't want them near you." Dustin muttered. He buried his face into Helios' sweater and stared at the other. It dawned on Helios that this wasn't the first time that Dustin had acted like this after Helios had talked to Blue. He always seemed upset when Helios gave Blue their coffee.

"And why is that?" Helios traced shapes on Dustin's back. Was there something wrong with talking to his best friend? Did it have to do with them being Dustin's headmate?

"Because they might take you away from me!" Dustin gripped Helios' vest. "I don't wanna lose you! I don't want you to leave me for a giant asshole." Helios raised his eyebrows at this and then hugged Dustin. What a thought.

"Dustin, sweetie, babe, I love you, but you're stupid. Why would I leave you? You're the best person in the world, the best thing that has ever happened to me." Helios kissed the top of Dustin's head. "You're not going to lose me."

"Really? 'Cause, you're pretty damn friendly with Blue." Dustin was glaring at Helios accusingly. Helios sighed and peppered Dustin's face with kisses, before answering. Dustin didn't object to the affection.

"Yeah, friendly. We're just friends. Okay?" Helios smiled. "I promise. Plus they have a boyfriend so I don't see why they would want me."

Dustin didn't seem to like that answer. He stood, pushing Helios away. "I need to do something."

"Okay."

Dustin dissolved into pixels, and Helios watched as his boyfriend disappeared. He sighed. Was this something that had happened more than once?

------

"HEY!" Dustin appeared next to Blue. They turned to him quickly and dropped the game controller.

"Jesus Christ, Dustin! What?"

Dustin crossed his arms, sweater sleeves falling. "Stay the fuck away from my boyfriend." Blue picked up their controller again and tilted their head to the side, knowing exactly why Dustin was like this. They made a point of subtly giving Helios little flirty gestures. It was hilarious to piss Dustin off because he was always so grumpy. Plus he now had Helios' sweater on, so even better.

"You're telling me to stay away from my best bud?" Blue started the game again and smirked. Dustin's eye twitched, and he had to resist punching them. He usually just walked away or hid from situations, radiating general anger than outwardly starting a conflict. But this time was different.

"Yes, I'm telling you that. I'm fucking telling you to stay away from my damn boyfriend. He's mine." Dustin hissed. Blue side-eyed Dustin and continued to play.

"Hm. Okay. I'll stay away from him. I'll stop talking to him." Blue shrugged. Dustin leaned closer to Blue, eyes narrowed. He didn't believe them. He smacked Blue with a sweater sleeve.

"Promise me. Swear to fucking god that you will stay away from him." Dustin kicked Blue. Blue kicked Dustin back and pushed him away. "Don't touch me." Dustin said.

"Okay, okay I promise I'll stay away from him," Blue said dismissively. "Okay? But it's cute to see you're getting jealous over him talking to me." Dustin slapped Blue with the sweater sleeve again.

"I'm not fucking cute. And you better stay away from him!" Dustin disappeared, leaving Blue alone in Rich's head.

"I'll stay away from him when you're watching." Blue murmured.

------

Dustin appeared in the bedroom and picked two more of Helios' sweaters, layering them on top of the first one. He walked out to the living room and sat on the couch next to Helios, shoving himself next to the other one. Helios hadn't moved at all from his spot. "Mmph."

"So why'd you leave," Helios asked, wrapping an arm around Dustin. "Did I do something wrong?" Dustin shook his head and nuzzled closer to Helios, feeling some of the doubt go away.

"No, it was someone else's fault." He looked up at Helios. "You promise you won't leave me?" Helios kissed Dustin's cheek and a warm fluffy feeling spread over him. This. This is what it was like to be with Helios. Warmth. Happiness. Love.

"Yes, I promise I won't leave you."

"Mmm."

Helios smiled, laying his head on top of Dustin's and passing out, into charging mode. Dustin looked at the sweet sleeping face his boyfriend had. His boyfriend. Dustin smiled and closed his eyes. Sometimes he felt like he wasn't good enough for Helios. Sometimes he was worried that Blue or someone else would take Helios away from him. But Helios proved him wrong, and he felt better about things already.

"I love you." Dustin mumbled.