34B. |raylijah

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"No, really, it's fine." Mike reassured before taking a sip of coffee. "He's really the character." The pair sat in at a table in a cozy, little coffee shop. It was titled 'Coffee At The Porch' and it was Michael's idea. Elijah didn't know what to say when they arrived at a home styled café that sat guests on a large, porch. It felt like they were eating at someone's house.

"Tell me about it," Elijah uttered, forcing a smile. "And you actually caught him on a good day too." He felt guilty about Ray's hostile behavior so he invited the man for coffee the following morning—Mike happily obliged. To be honest, Elijah needed the company anyway. He hadn't found the time to talk to Tessa since the incident; it felt like the woman was avoiding him.

"Ray can't be that bad if you're still with him." Mike chuckled, shrugging off Rayan's behavior. He knew he was seen as competition and he didn't exactly mind. But Mike also understood that their relationship would remain platonic as long as Elijah wanted it to. He respected the man enough for that.

"Yeah." Elijah smiled again, stirring around his warm coffee. "He's kinda rough around the edges but he makes me happy." He glanced down at the mug before quickly sipping. He wasn't a fan of coffee but Michael practically forced him to try a 'Philosopher's Cup' and a blueberry scone—the scone was pretty good but he was hesitant on trying the chocolate, caramel and toffee nut beverage.

"That's good," Mike set his hand over Elijah's, flashing the man a comforting smile. "Your happiness is what matters the most, always." The action caused him to tense up.

The moment would've been awkward if Elijah's phone didn't vibrate on the table.

Saved by the bell, he thought.

"Hello?" He said quickly after snatching his hand away from the man. Mike put his focus back on his chocolate chip muffin as Elijah put his attention on his Facetime.

"Babe," Ray sighed, ruffling his hair as he began looking at what appeared to be various shelves. "Where're those hot pocket things I like? What store was is it at, I can't- watch where the fuck you're going, bag lady!"  Elijah watched as his boyfriend snapped his head in the other direction and yelled at someone.

"Ray." Elijah shook his head. "Check the section where the fries are." He smiled. Rayan didn't like public settings at all and it was very evident.

"Where are you anyway? We could eat hot pockets together and watch Tiny Desk concerts on Youtube." Ray frowned, putting the phone closer to his eyes. Elijah laughed as his boyfriend was the only thing in view.

"I'm having coffee," He informed his boyfriend and glanced over at Michael, a frown forming on his face. "With Mike."

"Coffee? I thought you hated coffee?" He could see Rayan's face contort into an annoyed scowl as he padded around the store.

"Turns out it's actually not that bad."

"And wow, another meeting with Mike that I wasn't informed about." He said, an attitude evident. "What a lovely fucking date."

Elijah frowned at the man's snarky tone.

"Ray-"

"Put him on the phone." He said sternly, his face now monotone. He looked genuinely angry.

"Absolutely not." Elijah shook his head.

Rayan wasn't a fan of the way Michael seemed to look at Elijah—it made his skin crawl to also notice how Elijah seemed to 'blush' under the man's hungry gaze. He wasn't dumb; something wasn't right about it and it bothered him to know that Elijah seemed to be sneaking around with the man.

"Give me a good reason why you don't like him instead of knit-picking and being jealous!" Elijah argued, rubbing his temples.

The couple had been arguing about Mike for the past hour and it was starting to annoy him. Rayan was clearly worked up about it and Elijah didn't see the big deal.

"Okay wait." Ray put on an overly dramatic 'thinking' face. "If I were to have this secret, flirty friend...you'd be okay with them?" He glared. "I don't like the nigga. End of story! What's so fucking hard to understand?"

"Oh so you can have a secret baby but a friend, who you don't know personally, is where your panties are in a bunch?" Elijah shot back, now laughing in disbelief. "I can't believe we're seriously arguing about this shit!"

"Are you seriously throwing Syn in my face?" Rayan asked, staring at Elijah as if he'd done the unthinkable. "He's my son and if you're not okay with him, then fucking leave!"

"I never said I wasn't!" The man nearly gasped. "All I'm saying is, don't be a goddamn hypocrite, that's it! What the fuck is your problem?"

"You're out going on dates with the nigga and trying to play it off as friends!" Ray clapped his hands to emphasize the situation. "We're supposed to be trying to work through our issues yet you're allowing outsiders in for some fucking ego boost!"

"Shut up, Ray. Seriously."

"I haven't hung out with Jon or Melian in a minute, Elijah. Because I wanted to devote my time and attention to you and working through my bullshit but you're barely making time for me because you're with him."

"This is so fucking childish." Elijah sighed. "He's just a fucking friend, Rayan."

"I don't care how childish or insecure I sound," The man leaned against the counter, exhaling as a way to lower his voice. "But I don't like the way you guys look at eachother, okay? I'll be as green as the grinch, Elijah, I don't fucking care but it's not the way he looks at you....it's the way you look at him."