Kevin sat his desk, the document in front of him and his mind miles away. When his mentor and friend asked him to help take care of his affairs, he never imagined this was what would be involved - going over a last will and testament with a young man that was, a week ago, in a horrific car accident, the same accident that claimed the life of his only parent. No, Kevin didn't foresee this. A little over a month ago, John had asked him to be the executer of his will. Despite the somber topic, the older man had been in a jovial mood. Apparently his only son was coming home, from what Kevin understood, to be a long stay in the hospital. And although it went unsaid, Kevin had a suspicion that the hospital in question was an institution to treat those suffering from mental illness.

Kevin opened his briefcase to pull out his notes. John's son, Jesse, had been unavailable for the reading of the will. In life and in death, John had been an efficient man. When he was making his plan, he left explicit instructions with his lawyer to have the reading of the will done as soon as the executor was available. He didn't want his death dragged out to a month long affair. The funeral, wake, reading, and memorial service all took place within three days of his death. Jesse was unable to attend anything, still in the hospital, recovering from the injuries he sustained in the accident.

Kevin looked over his notes again for what felt like the thousandth time. All of his mentor's life boiled down to one sheet of paper. The door to Kevin's office opened and a young man walked in. He wasn't at all what Kevin imagined when he heard John speak about his fun-loving, adventurous son. This man looked pale and drawn, and his eyes spoke of pain that John would never understand.

After a few minutes, he realized he was simply staring and stood up to introduce himself properly, reaching out to shake the man's hand.

"Hello Jesse. It's nice to meet you, unfortunate circumstances, but its still good to meet the son John spoke so fondly of."

"Er...um...he talked about you too." Jesse mumbled somewhat awkwardly before taking a seat across from Kevin. "How long do you think this'll take?"

Kevin looked up from the page of notes that his eyes had drifted to once again only to find Jesse, head down, staring at his own hands which were currently fiddling with a rubber band.

"It shouldn't take too long. Everything was laid out very..." Kevin searched for the right word, "succinctly. We should be out of here within the hour." The only response he receives is a silent nod from Jesse.

Kevin spent the next hour going through John's last wishes. He left everything to Jesse, with the exception of the company John owned and Kevin was employed at. John left the company to both Jesse and Kevin, equal partners, although John did acknowledge that Jesse may want to take on the role of silent partner, seeing as how he had no interest in business.

Jesse was left the entirety of his father's estate, valued at a little over 5 million dollars. John also left instructions for what should be done with each home he owned, three in total - two vacation homes in Florence and Quebec, and their home just outside of the city. Most of John's personal belongings were to be sold and the resultant funds donated to charity. The domestic staff were given the option to leave with a generous severance pay or to stay under Jesse's employ. The final decision of what to do with the two vacation homes was left up to Jesse, he could sell or keep. But John made it clear that his wish was for Jesse to keep their home in the family.

It was a lot to take in for anyone, let alone someone so young. Kevin looked up to see how the man was taking it all. His gray eyes were a little shiny but his voice was firm, "Is that all?" Kevin was caught off guard a bit by the blunt question.

"Um...yes...I guess so. John wanted to have everything done as soon as possible so you should probably try to go through his things sometime this weekend. If you need any help…" He didn't get a chance to finish his offer.

"That won't be necessary. Thank you for your time. Have a nice day." And before Kevin could stop him, Jesse was out of the door.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kevin stood on the open porch, the sun warming his skin and hurting his eyes. He had no idea what he was doing at the house. Jesse had made it very clear that didn't need or want any help from him. But what about Kevin? He was still grieving. John had hired him right of law school, mentoring and teaching him. He became the closest thing to a father that Kevin had ever had. John was even making plans to introduce him to Jesse, his family. Kevin had lived his life without a family here, and John was offering to share his. Now John was gone. That relationship was pulled from underneath him. And maybe he was grasping at straws here, but the only piece of John left in the world was Jesse. And was it so wrong that he wanted to get to know the young man?

The door swung open to reveal Jesse. The man's mouth was a tight scowl and his eyes were suspiciously rimmed red.

"What are you doing here?" His tone was cold.

"I came to see if you needed--"

"I already told you that I am perfectly capable of handling things." His voice was cold and he was already trying to close the door Kevin's face. Kevin couldn't let that happen. He forged ahead, putting on his kindest smile he pushed the door further open, insinuating himself between Jesse and the doorjamb before walking into the foyer. He turned around to look at Jesse.

"I don't care whether you need it or not. I want to help, so let me help." Jesse's ramrod posture slumped a bit in a defeated kind of way.

"Fine."

Kevin and Jesse sat on the floor, their backs resting against half packed boxes. They'd ordered a pizza and were taking a break from packing Jesse's father's things.

"I don't want any part of it, Kevin. It's all yours." Jesse mumbled the words around a slice of hot pizza.

Kevin just shook his head. He put his pizza down and swallowed before talking. "He left it to both of us. How can you just give it away like that?"

"I've received more than enough from my father. You know more about that business than anyone else. You deserve it."

"Don't give up on it yet, okay? Just give it a few months. You could come in tomorrow, maybe take a tour or something. I just can't let you give it away."

"I'm not going to change my mind." Kevin was about to interrup but Jesse stopped him, "But if it'll make you happy, I'll stop by tomorrow."

"Good."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kevin greeted Jesse by the front receptionist's desk the next day, and Jesse looked...good, like he'd actually slept through the night. His dark hair was styled to look like he'd just rolled out of bed. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a light blue button down shirt. The clothes were form-fitting and showed off Jesse's athletic build. If his appearance wasn't enough to make Kevin look twice, the smile was. Kevin couldn't remember ever seeing Jesse smile. It was a nice smile, wide and bright, and Kevin was hoping it'd be making an appearance a lot more often.

He gave Jesse a grand tour of the firm. Jesse found the whole thing kind of boring, but Kevin was excited, talking about new conference rooms and high profile cases they were working. It only made Jesse more sure of his decision. Kevin loved this place. Jesse wanted him to have it. As they walked around, Kevin introduced him to all the employees as Mr. Greene's son. After the third person spent twenty minutes giving Jesse her condolences, Kevin switched tactics, introducing Jesse as a good friend instead.

For the rest of the tour, Jesse couldn't help but notice people giving him strange looks. When he left a room, he swore he heard people talking about "the cute guy." He tried to put it out of his mind though, sure that he was just being paranoid.

Within an hour they had finished the tour and were standing in front of the receptionist's desk once again. Jesse didn't want to leave. He was having a good time talking with Kevin. He was about to ask the older man to lunch when Kevin beat him to it. "There's a small deli across the street. You want to grab some lunch?" Jesse gave him one of those wide smiles before answering.

"Sure, I'd like that."

XXXXXXXXXX

They were seated in the outdoor section of the deli. They'd both finished their sandwiches, and Jesse was just picking at his potato chips while Kevin watched. "Back at the firm...was it just me, or were people talking behind our backs?" Jesse was surprised to see Kevin's face turn a little red.

"Uhm...yeah, about that...I don't give a lot of personal tours, and they were probably just jumping to conclusions. I'm gay, Jesse. I was introducing you as a friend, and..." Kevin looked completely embarrassed, and Jesse laughed for the first time in a week.

"Oh my God, I wish I had known. We could have given them a show. It would've been hilarious." Jesse's laughter died down, and he popped a potato chip in his mouth.

Kevin couldn't stop himself from commenting. "Wow, the Ice Man actually laughs. I don't believe it."

"Ouch." Jesse grimaced. "The Ice Man? I'm not that bad, am I?"

Kevin smiled to take a little of the sting from his words. "Yeah, you are."

Jesse just nodded. He looked down at the table before looking back to Kevin. "This past year's been pretty bad, and this week...well, I haven't had a whole lot to laugh about."

Kevin looked Jesse in the eye and spoke seriously. "I get that, but maybe you'll let me do something about it? You have a nice laugh. It'd be nice if I got to hear it more often."

And Jesse did exactly what he was about to accuse Kevin of by throwing a coy smile Kevin's way. "Are you flirting with me?"

"Maybe." Kevin leaned over the table, closer to Jesse, and gave his own smile. "Would you be receptive to that?"

Jesse leaned back and plucked the last potato chip from his plate and popped it into his mouth. But it didn't stop the smile spreading across his fast. "Maybe."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jesse debated making the phone call. There wasn't a doubt that he enjoyed spending time with Kevin. And he knew Kevin liked spending time with him. They'd developed a friendship of sorts over the last few days, and Jesse kept telling himself that was all it was and ever would be...a friendship. Yeah, they flirted a little bit, but the last thing Jesse needed was another relationship. It took him 10 seconds to dial the number he'd already memorized.

"Kevin Litchfield."

"Hey, Kevin. It's me...Jesse."

"I know. I recognized your voice. How're you doing?"

"Good, good. Yeah, uhm, Kevin. I'm not doing anything tonight. And I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to do something...with me...tonight?"

"Do you have an idea for this something?"

"Well, yeah. I was thinking maybe watching a movie or eating or uhm...whatever you want to do. Or if you're busy, you're probably busy right? You have other plans. But...uh...maybe another time or..." Jesse knew he was rambling but he just couldn't stop the words from falling out of his mouth.

"Jesse."

He took a deep breath before answering. "Yeah?"

"I'd love to hang out with you. I'm not busy. And even if I were I'd change my plans."

"Oh. Okay." Kevin could probably hear the relief in Jesse's voice.

"I'm still at work. Why don't you come over to my place tonight? We'll order in and watch some movies, your pick."

That didn't sound like a date at all. Jesse tried to keep himself from being a little disappointed. "That sounds good." He listened as Kevin gave him directions to his place and told him to come over around seven.

"I'll see you at tonight, Jesse." The deep voice sent a shiver up Jesse's spine.

"Bye, Kevin." He hung up and sat down on the couch, trying to figure out how he'd keep himself occupied for the next three hours.

Jesse stopped at Blockbuster on his way to Kevin's house. He tried browsing the shelves of new releases but gave up after a few minutes and sought out his favorite movies. Classics were classics for a reason.

He followed the directions to Kevin's house that he'd scrawled during their short phone conversation, and after a short drive, he was pulling into the driveway of a medium-sized house in the 'burbs. Nothing as elaborate as Jesse's father's home, but it was nice, well-maintained. Jesse got out of his car, bringing the movies and six-pack he bought on the way with him. The front door swung open before he could even knock.

Jesse smiled. "Hey."

"Hey, come on in." Kevin stepped away from the door, motioning for Jesse to follow him into the living room. The coffee table was covered with Chinese takeout boxes. Kevin looked at all the food and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I didn't know what you like, so I went a little overboard."

"Don’t worry, so did I." Jesse held up the Blockbuster bag of DVDs and handed it to Kevin, before sitting down on the sofa. "I picked up a bunch of my favorites. You can pick whichever you like."

Kevin sat down next to Jesse and going through the movies. "Grease 2?"

"What? It’s a good movie. And the dude in it is way hotter than Travolta."

"I’ll take your word on that." He continued looking through the movies. "How about Shaun of the Dead?"

"Sounds good to me. Put it in."

They spent the next few hours eating, watching movies and bullshitting about everything from celebrity gossip to life goals. If Jesse had met Kevin a year ago, he'd already be half in love with the guy. As it was, he was half in love with the guy and in serious denial. The last thing he needed was a relationship.

So it only made sense that Jesse was surprised when Kevin kissed goodbye, on the lips, as he was leaving. His surprise didn't stop him from responding though. Only when Kevin pulled away did his mind catch up to his body. Before Kevin could get a word in edgewise, Jesse was muttering "I can't do this," and running out of the front door, not looking back.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jesse was beating himself up the next day. He'd made a fool of himself. He shouldn't have let it go that far. He didn't want or need any kind of relationship. And now Kevin kept calling and Jesse just couldn't bring himself answer. He didn't know what to say. Kevin was kind of amazing. And Jesse had a habit of forgetting his no relationship rule when he was with the other man. He'd laugh and flirt and smile, and it just felt so good to be around him.

Jesse watched his cell phone vibrate on the coffee table before it started ringing. He knew it was Kevin. It wasn't like there was anyone else left to call him anymore. Just that thought was enough to remind him why he shouldn't have gotten involved with Kevin in the first place. He shouldn't have let him in that first day, but Kevin had been so…persistent, and if Jesse were honest with himself, deep down, he'd wanted some kind of human contact after the last of his family died.

Jesse heard a knock on the door. Yeah, Kevin was persistent alright. He debated between answering the door and just pretending no one was home. Jesse had already made his decision about his non-relationship with Kevin and he didn't want Kevin to change his mind, because Jesse knew the man could.

But, before he knew it, Jesse was at the door. He squared his shoulders and opened the door, prepared to tell Kevin that he'd rather not see him anymore and shut the door in the man's face. Maybe he'd offend the guy so much he wouldn't come back. Jesse's plan was ruined when Kevin pushed past him and entered the house though.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Kevin was pacing in front of the living room sofa. "You run out on me like a crazy person last night and then you won't return any of my fucking phone calls. I thought something had happened to you, but you’re just holed up in your house like a fucking hermit."

Jesse hadn't been expecting this. "Um...I'm sorry? I didn’t mean for you to worry."

"Then you should have picked up your phone." Kevin had run out of steam and sat down on the sofa in front of him. He looked up at Kevin who was still standing by the door a little shell shocked. "So are you going to tell me what happened last night or what?"

It was now or never. Jesse sat down in a chair across from Kevin. "I don't know if I gave you the wrong impression or something. I'm just not interested in anything other than friendship with you."

Kevin looked at Jesse and nodded. "Bullshit. I know you’re attracted to me Jesse. That much is obvious."

Jesse didn't think he'd been obvious, but Kevin did have a point. "I may be attracted to you, but that doesn't mean I want a relationship with you, or anyone for that matter. I just want to be alone for awhile."

"Whether we end up having a relationship or not, you won't be alone, Jess. I thought we were friends. Over the last couple weeks..." Now Kevin sounded hurt and Jesse hadn't meant to do that.

"You don't want to be my friend, Kevin."

Kevin shook his head. "No, you don't want to be my friend. You don't want to be in a relationship of any kind. You want to be alone for the rest of your life. You're the one not making any sense."

Jesse considered just telling Kevin to leave, but he had a feeling Kevin would never let it go. He kind of reminded him of his father in that regard. His dad had a reputation for being relentless.

Jesse took a deep breath and started his story. "Did you know my dad had just picked me up from the hospital when we got in the accident?" The look of surprise on Kevin's face was enough of an answer, so Jesse just continued. "Well, yeah, we were headed home when we got hit. It took ambulances forever to get there." Jesse paused, remembering the accident. "All I could do was watch him die."

"There was nothing else you could've done, Jesse."

Jesse gave Kevin a soft smile. "I know that. I know I’m not responsible up here." He tapped his temple with his index finger. "I know it wasn't my fault, but I still feel so guilty. And the thing is that wasn't the first time something like that happened. There was the whole reason I was in that hospital in the first place. Last year, my best friend, Mal, was killed.

I had this boyfriend and we broke up because…well, he was crazy actually. He didn't take the break up so well. He came over to her place looking for me. I heard him from one of the back rooms and called the police before I went to talk to him. He had a gun with him. He tried to shoot me, but he missed and got Mal instead. I tried to stop the bleeding. My ex was just standing there in shock. The police arrested him. Mal died before the ambulance got there. After a couple weeks, I checked myself in for depression." Jesse paused. "Two dead and one in jail." Jesse gave a chuckle without humor. "It’s like I’m a bad luck charm or something." He took a deep breath and exhaled. He looked into Kevin's eyes full of sympathy and caring. "You don’t want to be my friend Kevin."

"Hey, hey." Kevin reached out for Jesse's hand, taking it in his. "Let me be the judge of that. I like you Jesse, and that isn't going to be changing anytime soon. You've had a rough year. But we can take things slow. I can do slow. Just give me a chance, okay?"

Jesse didn't know what to say. What did he really have to lose though? He'd lost everyone else already. Jesse nodded. "Okay. I can do that."