Vinny was completely disoriented. His thoughts raced when he heard it.
Griffin's car.
The engine hummed into the driveway, then cut. A car door clicked shut.
Panic surged through him. Vinny darted back to the guest room, moving quickly but trying not to look frantic, desperate to erase any sign he had been somewhere he shouldn't. He sat on the bed, chest rising and falling fast, forcing himself to still.
The front door closed.
"Hey, Vinny, I'm back," Griffin's voice carried through the house.
Vinny swallowed hard. "I'm in here," he called out, strained, trying to sound natural.
Griffin appeared in the doorway a moment later, leaning casually against the frame. His smile was relaxed, satisfied, like nothing in the world was amiss. "Sorry I took so long. Had to stop by the market. I don't usually stock up for more than myself."
Vinny forced a laugh, too thin. "What do you mean, more than yourself? I'm sure you've got a girlfriend hidden somewhere. You're just not telling us. Your fans."
Griffin tilted his head, his smile never fading, though his eyes narrowed slightly. "No. I guess no one had caught my eye."
"Had?" Vinny pushed, voice higher than he meant. "So… is there someone now?"
The smile thinned. Griffin's voice softened. "You're unusually chatty tonight. That doesn't sound like you, does it?"
Vinny flinched and shook his head quickly. "I didn't mean anything. Sorry."
But Griffin just sighed, patient, and stepped further into the room. "No. You're not prying. I'd expect curiosity from my biggest fan." His eyes held Vinny's with a warmth that made Vinny's stomach twist. "So I'll tell you."
"I've had my eyes on someone for a long time. Since university, actually."
Vinny blinked, confusion flickering across his face.
Griffin's gaze softened in a way that almost looked tender. "Back then I was… nothing. Just a machine. Empty. But then I saw them. Free. Beautiful. Completely alive. And in that moment, I knew I couldn't go back to what I was before."
....
Griffin was younger then, thinner, his face drawn and pale from long nights and stricter routines. He walked across campus with eyes that never really saw anything until he collided with someone.
Books scattered. A boy bent down, gathering them with quick, careless grace. Black lipstick. Fishnets. Smudged eyeliner. A look that shouldn't have worked but somehow did, otherworldly, like something from a dream.
Vinny.
"I can be really clumsy," the boy said, handing the books back with a small, embarrassed smile.
Griffin stared, hollow one moment, burning the next.
"Uh… your books?" Vinny prompted.
Snapping out of it, Griffin took them, but said nothing.
"Vin!" a voice called. Lamar, with a girl at his side, beckoning. "C'mon, we're gonna be late."
Vinny glanced back once, apologetic, then ran to join them.
And Griffin stayed frozen. His chest burned with something fierce, something new. Something he couldn't name.
He learned the name soon after. Vincent, but everyone called him Vinny. The discovery consumed him, his posts, his photos, his voice. Every glimpse fanned the heat higher.
From then on, nothing was the same.
...
"They never knew," Griffin murmured, his voice rich with something that sounded dangerously close to love. "They had no idea what they'd done to me. They lit up my dark world."
Vinny's throat tightened. He couldn't move when Griffin leaned closer, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"And then one day, they vanished. No posts. No trace. Do you know what that does to a man?" His lips curved in a small smile, but his eyes gleamed. "I told myself I'd find a way. If I became someone, if I shined bright enough, then fate would bring them back. And it worked. Because I saw him again. In my grandmother's shop."
Griffin's hand brushed Vinny's, deliberate, gentle. "You."
Vinny shifted back, pulse hammering. "Griffin…"
"You saw it, didn't you?" Griffin asked softly.
"I… saw what?" Vinny's voice cracked, desperate to sound steady.
Griffin only smiled. "It's alright. You don't have to hide it." He cupped Vinny's hands between his own, his touch firm but tender, as if Vinny were fragile. "Who would have thought? My light. My doll. My biggest fan."
Vinny stiffened, but Griffin went on, his tone calm, romantic even. "You don't know how much control it took to wait. To not take you the first chance I got. I followed, yes. I watched. I kept pieces of you. Photos. Little recordings. They helped me stay calm."
Vinny's pulse spiked, but Griffin's voice only grew gentler, almost soothing.
"And then him." The softness faltered, his jaw tightening. "That man. Lamar." His eyes darkened but he forced his voice back to calm, brushing Vinny's knuckles with his thumb.
Griffin sat on the edge of the bed, his shoulders tense, his gaze locked on Vinny as if every word needed to be measured.
"You know…" he started slowly, voice tight, "I kept running into Lamar. It wasn't on purpose. I'd just… see him sometimes. By the grocery store, outside a café, near the park." He gave a short, bitter laugh. "I didn't even realize where he lived until I'd passed that street one too many times. I never thought much of it."
Vinny shifted uneasily, heat rising to his cheeks under Griffin's piercing stare.
"And then that night…" Griffin's eyes softened, as though the memory hurt to touch. "I just happened to be at the bar. Out of all the nights, all the places I walk in and there you are. With him." He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "He had his arm around you, leading you away like you belonged to him. I couldn't ignore it."
Vinny's throat went dry, shame flickering across his face as he lowered his eyes.
Griffin leaned forward, his voice dropping into something dangerously tender. "You were swaying on your feet, Vin. You could barely keep your balance. And him he wasn't helping you. He was taking advantage. I couldn't just sit there. So I followed."
His jaw tightened, eyes darkening. "When I saw what he was about to do… I lost it. I didn't think. I just acted. And I'd do it again."
For a moment, silence hung heavy between them. Then Griffin reached out, brushing his thumb against Vinny's cheek with a careful gentleness that clashed with the intensity of his words.
"You're safe now," he murmured, his gaze unwavering. "With me. Where you should be."
Vinny's chest tightened, his breath stuttering. The warmth in Griffin's tone wrapped around him like a blanket.
'What do I do?'