Ezra Bridger had had a crush on his classmate, Jai Kell, for as long as he could remember. Actually, he was pretty sure that Jai was the reason he'd first realized that he was bi. He could still remember the first time he'd seen him-it had been the first day of highschool, and he'd totally just wiped out with his skateboard on the steps. He was pretty used to all the bruises and scrapes he got from the hobby that his concerned adopted parents kept warning him was going to land him in the hospital or worse and so he'd just sighed and picked himself up, starting to gather up his scattered belongings. He'd been reaching for his science textbook when he found his hand contacting with another, and he'd looked up to see an angel smiling at him, nut brown hair falling into those gorgeous hazel eyes. The stranger had disappeared after handing him the book, his friends calling for him, but Ezra had never forgotten that moment. He'd fallen and fallen hard, and ever since then he'd had the biggest crush in the world on him. Not that he'd really had much of a chance to so much as talk to Jai since that first encounter. They were in a lot of the same classes, but as student body president and one of the most popular guys in their grade, Jai was almost always surrounded by a group of classmates, making it hard for Eza to really get a chance to really get to know him. But every once in awhile, the blue haired teen would bump into him when they were in the hallway or waiting in the lunch line, and he was always so nice to him. Ezra felt like they just connected, and once on a school camping trip when they'd been alone Jai had confessed to him that he was really jealous of the way that he had the courage to be so openly bi when he was too afraid to even tell his own mom about the fact that he was too. Ezra had almost asked him out right there and then, but, as usual, before he could actually try to confess his feelings someone else showed up and interrupted them and after that Jai hadn't really talked to him. It wasn't that he was rude to him or anything, but when he was around all of his friends he just didn't act like himself-the real person beneath that shiny exterior that Ezra saw whenever they actually talked. It hurt him knowing that the guy he was crushing on so badly was hiding so much of himself from the rest of the world. That's why, with the Sophomore Spring Formal coming up, Ezra had decided that maybe he could give both Jai and their relationship a small push in the right direction.

Hiro Hamada, his genius best friend (a Senior at age fourteen whom he had met in robotics club), told him that he was crazy-that he barely knew that guy, that a couple of short conversations and one closeted admission about being gay weren't enough to confirm that he actually liked him back. He said that Ezra was going to get his heart broken and quite possibly get himself physically hurt in the process if he was rejected and word got around the school about the gay kid hitting on the student body president. But the skater boy was determined. He was going to ask his crush to go to the dance with him, and, if things went well, maybe he could start actually going out with him! It was going to be amazing! That's why he found himself waiting outside the door of Jai's last class, clutching a small bouquet of flowers and sweating nervously. He'd asked Hiro to come with him as moral support, but his best friend had been oddly distant and cold ever since he'd told him about his plan, only responding by saying that he wasn't going to stick around and watch the crash and burn that was sure to happen. Ezra couldn't help but feel hurt by the fact that the other teen wasn't being more supportive-he needed his wingman right now! But he wasn't going to let Hiro's bad attitude ruin this for him. He was going to ask Jai out, and that was that!

The final bell rings (Ezra had slipped out of P.E. early to sneak over here) and students start to pour out of all the doors to the classrooms, crowding the hallway. The skater boy has to keep his eyes trained on the door, trying to make sure that the other man didn't slip out without his seeing him. And then, there he was, a smile on those perfectly formed pink lips and a sparkle in those gorgeous hazel eyes as he laughs at something one of his friends had just said.

Heart pounding loudly in his chest, drowning out any other sound, Ezra makes his way through the crowd, trying to catch up with the other teen. It took forever to finally make his way to him, but he eventually catches up with him just outside his locker.

"J-Jai!" he cries to get his attention, panting slightly from the exertion of fighting through the crowds of teenagers.

"Ezra?" Jai looks at him in surprise as he sees him standing there, "What are you- Do you need something?"

"S-Sort of…" Ezra finds his mouth going dry now that he was actually face-to-face with him. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe he shouldn't do this… But no, he'd come this far, he wasn't backing down now!

"T-These are for you," he finally manages to get out, holding the flowers out to Jai.

"U-Um… Thank you, I think?" the other teen says, frowning in confusion. "But why are you bringing me flowers?"

"I-I want to ask you to come with me to the Sophomore Formal!" Ezra blurts, determined to get his words out before he completely lost his nerve.

"You mean… As a friend?" Jai says slowly, something akin to fear showing in his eyes as he glances around at the other teens who were watching their exchange with great interest.

"No, I mean… As my date," Ezra answers his confidence faltering.

"Ezra…" Jai licks his lips nervously as a round of very loud whispers breaks out in the crowd. "I-That's really nice of you to ask, but I just-I'm not into guys like that."

"B-But what about camp?" Ezra starts to protest, panic beginning to fill his chest. "You said-"

"I said nothing at camp," Jai quickly hisses, his expression becoming hard. "I don't even remember really talking to you before, I just know your name because you're the class queer. I should have known something was up the way you were always stalking me. I don't know what weird sort of fantasy you cooked up in your head, but just stay away from me, okay?"

"J-Jai-" Ezra tries desperately one last time, but before he could say anything else the other teen was slamming his locker shut and heading off down the hallway. As he goes, he drops the flowers Ezra had given him to the floor, and within moments they're trampled by the many feet passing in the hallway. It was like a sick, twisted metaphor of what had just happened to the skater boy's heart.

For a full minute, Ezra just stands there in shock-how was he supposed to move on from being so publicly rejected and humiliated like that? And then suddenly he feels an arm wrapping around his shoulders and a familiar voice saying softly in his ear, "C'mon, this way."

Ezra doesn't even ask any questions, he just lets himself be blindly led forward, feeling completely and totally numb. He doesn't even notice where he's going until the voice speaks again. "You wanna go home, or is there somewhere you want to go to talk about it?"

Ezra just shakes his head-he didn't know what he wanted right now except maybe to scream and yell at the world for being so cruel and unfair. What was the point of letting someone fall for someone else only to have the rug ripped out from under them and leave them painfully broken on the ground the minute they tried to act on those feelings?

Then, to his great horror, he finds tears beginning to prick at his eyes. No, he was a guy, he wasn't supposed to cry! But he just finds the arms supporting him wrapping around his torso and the voice-Hiro's voice-saying gently, "It's okay. You can cry if you want to. Just get it all out, okay?"

Ezra tries to hold it in for a bit longer but then one tear slips out and the whole dam breaks and he's sobbing into his best friend's arms.

"Sh… Sh…" Hiro starts gently, tenderly almost, rubbing circles into his back. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."

Ezra had never seen this side of his best friend before-he always put up such a hard, snarky exterior, never letting any emotions in or out. But it felt good being cared for by him like this. Really good, even though his heart had just broken.

"I-I thought he was the one, Hiro," Ezra mumbles into the other man's hoodie when his tears start to slow down. "I-I thought that we were going to have a perfect fairytale ending…"

"I know you did," Hiro says softly. "And, no matter how much I was worried about you rushing into things, you didn't deserve for him to treat you like that. I have half a mind to go find him and beat some sense into him!"

"N-No, don't," Ezra tells him, knowing that the other teen could never hold his own in a fight with how tiny he was. "I-I just feel so stupid…" he mumbles. "Y-You were right, I barely even know him… How could I think I actually had anything with him?"

"Because you're a romantic and a dreamer, Ez," Hiro answers, giving him his trademark crooked, gap-toothed smile-the smile he saved only for him. "And while I think maybe you should use a bit more caution, that's just who you are and the world needs people like you to keep us hopeful when the rest of us have become cynical and hardened."

"Maybe I should try the cynical thing for a while," Ezra mumbles. "It sounds a lot better than getting your heart broken."

"Ezra Bridger, so help me, I am not going to allow you to ruin everything that is good and amazing in you just because some asshole broke your heart!" Hiro cries, frowning deeply.

"So I'm just supposed to keep crushing on people and having my heart broken just so I can stay 'good'?" Ezra quietly snarks.

"Maybe it's time you stopped just crushing on people you barely know and focus on someone close to you who actually cares about you and wants to see you happy!" Hiro answers, seeming to grow slightly agitated.

"Like who? Pretty much the only people I know are my family and you!" Ezra answers, looking at him in confusion. "Unless you know something I don't about one of our classmates actually having a crush on me?"

"Ezra, for the sake of all that is good and holy, are you really this dense?!" Hiro cries, looking almost angry now.

"Who are you calling dense?" Ezra shoots back. "Just because I'm not a genius like you-!" His sentence is cut short when suddenly the other teen slaps him hard across the cheek.

"Hiro, what the freaking hell?" he cries, a hand instantly going to where the skin was still stinging from the contact. "You're supposed to be helping me feel better, not attacking me!" He was more than a little surprised when he sees his best friend shaking slightly, his shoulders trembling with emotion-anger? Fear? Something else entirely?-and instantly concern fills him.

"H-Hiro? What's wrong?" he asks softly, reaching out a hand towards the other man.

"Don't. Touch me," Hiro quietly growls, pulling away from him.

"Hiro. I don't know what this is about, but talk to me," Eza says, standing up and, despite the other teen's protests, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close to his chest to keep him from just running away. "Just tell me what's going on."

Hiro looks up at him for a moment with wide eyes, reminding him of a scared rabbit or maybe a doe who sensed danger in the meadow-he'd never really noticed before, but his friend's eyes were actually really pretty, especially with the way those thick eyelashes framed them. And there was something about the way he was gently trembling in his arms, so small and fragile, his heart beating in his chest like a gentle but wild butterfly… If he wasn't imagining it, he could have sworn that Hiro was leaning in towards him, those beautiful brown eyes fluttering shut-

And then suddenly he knew he wasn't imagining it because suddenly Hiro's lips were pressing against his own, softer and sweeter than he'd ever imagined (not that he'd ever actually imagined what it would be like kissing him before-had he?) Ezra's finds his own eyelids closing as he returns the kiss, letting out a soft moan as their lips move together, Hiro's arms tightly wrapping around him as he pulls him closer, almost as if afraid to let go of him. Eventually they have to break for air, and the blue haired teen finds himself feeling slightly dazed from the unexpected kiss. But as he looks down at his best friend, he knew that this was the first time that he'd ever seen him this clearly.

"Wow…" he breathes, unable to take his eyes off of him. How had he never noticed before just how handsome Hiro really was? And all those adorable little nerdy quirks that he had-the way he always got so wrapped up in projects, how he so passionately defended his position in a debate over their favorite nerdy movies or tv shows, the way he had of looking up at Ezra through those thick eyelashes when he was showing him something he'd made and waiting to hear his approval…

And then his friend's words from their argument come back to him-the way that he had been telling Eza that someone close to him cared about him, hinting that they actually liked him… Was that Hiro's way of trying to tell him that he actually had a crush on him?

"H-Hiro," Ezra breathes, staring down at the other teen in slight shock. "D-Do you… Like me? Like, like me like me?"

"Do you think I go around kissing people I don't actually like?" Hiro shoots back, his tone defensive but a definite vulnerability like Ezra had never seen before in his facial expression as he looks up at the older boy.

"I… W-Wow…" Ezra gasps. Seriously, looking back all the signs had been there: the way Hiro got so possessive whenever he'd brought up Jai to him and yet listened to him anyways, how he was always there to help him get out of trouble no matter what situation he managed to get into, all those long, lingering looks he sometimes caught him giving him when he thought he wasn't looking… And yet, in spite of the fact that it had probably hurt like hell to stand by and watch him crushing on someone else, Hiro had never tried to actually come between Ezra and Jai, had always been as supportive as he probably could be given the circumstances. He'd been by his side through all of it and yet never once complained or tried to force his feelings onto him.

"I really am dense, huh?" Ezra finally says, gazing down at the younger man.

"A little bit, yeah," Hiro admits, a nervous smile on his face. It seemed like he was still scared of something, and it took Ezra a full minute to realize that he was waiting for his response. Well, if that's what he wanted, response he was going to get.

Gently, tenderly almost, Ezra reaches down and carefully tilts Hiro's chin upwards, leaning in slowly, wanting to give him a chance to pull away if he didn't actually want this. But instead the other teen leans in too, his eyelids fluttering shut again and an absolutely blissful look on his face as Ezra kisses him back, any thoughts of the Jai debacle quickly swept out of their minds. Perfect. Everything was absolutely perfect.

Ten years later, the two men find themselves walking up the front sidewalk of the school where they'd met and shared that first kiss. A lot had happened since then. Ezra had ended up taking Hiro to the Sophomore Formal, and Hiro had in turn invited him to Senior Prom. Even before that, they started dating, and by the time Hiro graduated and started attending school to earn his robotics degree at the local technological institute, SFIT, they were going completely steady. Despite no longer going to the same school, they kept the flame going, going on dates on the weekend and texting and Skyping each other every day the rest of the time. When Ezra finally graduated high school he started at SFIT too, going for a degree in teaching so that he could teach technological classes in schools or even at the local community center. He finished his Bachelor's degree the same year Hiro graduated with his Masters, and shortly after Hiro and his older brother, Tadashi, managed to get their robotics company Hamada Bros Inc up and running, Ezra finally proposed to his boyfriend of then six years in front of all their family and friends. Hiro had tearfully accepted, and a year later they were married. Two years after that, a beautiful baby girl named Hope came into their lives-Hiro and Tadashi, after years of research, had created an incubator of sorts that allowed same sex couples to have children, and after Tadashi and his husband Fred had been the first trial run for humans, resulting in the birth of their son, Daniel, Hiro and Ezra were the second couple to use it. Hope had Ezra's blue hair and Hiro's brown eyes, and she was the pride and joy of their lives, spoiled by both them as well as all of her grandparents, aunts, and uncles, biological and adopted. Her "daddy", Ezra, especially loved dressing her up like a little princess, and today was no exception-she was wearing an Elsa inspired dress made by her Tía Honey Lemon (a college friend of the her fathers' who loved everything involving chemistry and fashion) and Ezra couldn't stop cooing over how cute she was in it.

"Sweetheart, I know how much you love her, but could you at least help me get the door open?" Hiro asks, smiling slightly as he gestures to the glass door in front of them and then at the stroller he was pushing.

"Yes, sorry!" Ezra apologizes, quickly settling Hope back into her seat before opening the door for him.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Hiro says, warmly pecking him on the cheek as he pushes the stroller inside.

"You're welcome, dear," Ezra answers, pecking him back before leading him down the hallway towards the school auditorium.

Honestly, neither of them had been fully sure that they wanted to come back for Ezra's ten year reunion. They'd skipped Hiro's entirely, given everyone who had been in his class had solely focused on either making his life a living hell or ignored him completely. But in Ezra's class, they'd at least had some friends in the robotics club (three guys, Hunk, Lance, Keith, and a girl named Pidge-they'd actually gone out on a couple of double dates with Lance and Keith once those two had finally had gotten together) and so they'd decided that it would be worth it to show up in hopes of running into them.

They got lucky-all of the old team was there, and they spent a good couple of hours just catching up. Keith and Lance were happily married as well and currently in the process of adopting twins, a boy and a girl. Hunk had ended up marrying a very sweet girl named Shay he'd met in college and while they didn't have any children yet they said that they were definitely planning on having a big family. And Pidge was more than happily married to her work, sharing a home with her five cats. It turned out that their old robotics coach, Shiro, and his wife, Allura, had come to visit since they'd known that most of the team was planning to attend, and so overall it was a very satisfying reunion.

It wasn't until Hiro was off changing Hope's diaper and Ezra had taken a short break to hit the refreshments table that he saw him. He was standing alone, sipping on a glass of punch and looking somewhat out of place in the crowd even with all the people standing around him. Part of Ezra said that he should just walk away-leave the past in the past and not open up old cans of worms. But he just looked so lonely standing there, and damn it if that optimistic heart that Hiro claimed to love so much didn't get the better of him.

"Um, hi," Ezra says somewhat awkwardly as he walks over to the other man. "I-I don't know if you remember me, but-"

"Ezra?" The other man looks him up and down in surprise. "Ezra Bridger? Is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Ezra agrees, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling slightly embarrassed-he'd hit puberty late, but when he finally had he knew that it had done him some favors and he looked a lot different than when he'd graduated.

"W-Wow, I can't even… It's been a long time!" the other man says, letting out a tiny laugh. "I think the last time we talked was…"

"Sophomore year," Ezra answers with a wry smile.

"Right…" Jai flinches at the memory. "I-I never got a chance to apologize to you after that, did I?"

"No," Ezra admits. "But it's okay. It was high school, we all did some pretty stupid stuff back then. Actually, I kind of have you to thank-if you hadn't turned me down, I probably never would have gotten together with my husband, Hiro."

"Husband-wow, a lot really has changed," Jai says with a slightly regretful look on his face. "I see you two on the news together sometimes when he's giving interviews, but I didn't realize you were actually…"

"Married? We definitely are. Four years, with a perfect little two-year-old girl, Hope," Ezra answers, unable to keep the pride out of his voice, before adding, "You should come say 'Hello'-I'm sure Hiro would love to see you again and I can introduce you to our daugher!"

"Somehow I don't think Hiro would actually be that thrilled to see me," Jai admits wryly. "I think he could tell even back then that I had a pretty major crush on you."

"Y-You actually had a crush on me?" Ezra cries in disbelief.

"Big time," Jai answers with an embarrassed smile. "Unfortunately I was too far in the closet to let it show-I was too worried then about what my so called 'friends' would think. Funny how after high school ends most of the people you think are going to stay by your side suddenly disappear without a trace."

"Not all friends!" Ezra protests, thinking of how he'd stayed in contact with everyone even if they didn't see each other as often as they used to.

"Maybe not if they're the right kind of people," Jai answers quietly. "Mine apparently weren't. Especially when my girlfriend ended up getting pregnant just after graduation and, after planning to get married, she ran off with my supposed best friend, leaving me with the baby."

"Oh my gosh, Jai, I'm so sorry!" Ezra gasps. "That's horrible!"

"It seemed that way at the time," Jai admits. "But oddly enough, I think it kind of woke me up to reality-that I wasn't in high school anymore and I wasn't the person that everyone blindly followed just because I was popular. Still, as harsh of an awakening that was, it also made me realize that I didn't have to worry about what everyone thought of me anymore and I could do what I wanted with my life. So, I straightened myself out. I got myself the best job I could and I moved out of my parent's basement with my son. It's not the easiest life in the world, but we're happy together. I'll be honest, I considered looking you up at one point, see if maybe there was still something there… But then I saw you on the news with Hiro and I knew that ship had sailed."

"I…" Ezra didn't really know what to say. He wasn't sure if he could really say he was sorry when he just wasn't-he was happy with Hiro, and not even encountering his old high school flame could change that. If anything, it was making him realize just how blessed he'd been to end up with the right man.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have even said that," Jai says with an embarrassed laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not still pining over you or anything. Actually, I'm seeing someone now from work-his name is Zare, and he's ex-military. He's a good man, and he loves my little boy like he's his own son. I think… I think he might end up being the guy I end up marrying."

"I'm so happy for you," Ezra tells him, and he genuinely means it.

"Thank you." Jai flashes him a grateful smile and tosses his empty cup in the trash can. "Well, I think it's about time I head out. I'll be honest, I don't know why I even came here today, I didn't really want to see most of the people we'd graduated with. I guess maybe in the back of my mind I was hoping I could run into you-just so I could tell you I was sorry for what happened and maybe finally have some peace after all these years knowing that you're okay, as selfish as that sounds."

"Well, for the record, I definitely accept your apology," Ezra tells him warmly. "And I'm really glad to know that you're doing okay too."

"You have no idea how much that means to me," Jai says, flashing him one last grateful look before heading towards the door.

Ezra thought about calling after him that he'd see him around, but chances were that, if he hadn't seen him all these years, he probably wouldn't. Still, he was honestly extremely happy to know that he was doing alright, and somehow it gave him closure to have finally heard him tell him that he was sorry for what he'd done all those years ago.

"Hey." Hiro smiles as he rejoins there little group where little Hope was being passed around from one new admirer to the next. "I was about to go looking for you! Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ezra reassures him. "Just ran into an old acquaintance."

"Jai?" Hiro asks, already seeming to anticipate his answer.

"Yeah," Ezra admits.

"How's he doing?" Hiro asks, his tone and expression guarded.

"He's good," Ezra answers. "He's got a little boy and a serious boyfriend he's thinking about marrying."

"Oh, that is good," Hiro says, seeming to relax slightly.

"Hiro Hamada, please tell me you're not jealous!" Ezra says, gently ruffling his husband's hair.

"I don't know, Ezra Hamada, it depends on if you were giving me a reason to be jealous or not!" Hiro shoots back.

"Trust me," Ezra answers, wrapping his arms lovingly around his waist and pulling him close. "If anything, it just solidified what I already knew-that I married the perfect man and the love of my life."

"Good!" Hiro grins and leans up to peck him on the lips.

Feeling playful, instead of leaving it at that, Ezra dips him down into a full kiss, making his husband burst out laughing before happily kissing him back. And somehow, making it publicly known just how much he loved this man and surrounded by their friends, he knew that what he'd said was true-Hiro was the one he loved, now and for the rest of his life, and no one and nothing was ever going to change that.