Nervous Habit Chapter 3: Hobbies are what occupy us when we don't want to think about life.

"Hi Ethan," Tara grinned as she closed the door securely behind her. She stepped into his office and graciously made her way over to his desk, clutching a yellow legal pad to her chest softly.

"Hello Tara," Ethan answered politely, a small annoyed sigh present. He sifted through the vanilla envelope of papers filled with writing. As a counselor, he was responsible for researching cases that his paired lawyer would represent.

"Find anything?" she asked, sitting on the edge of his desk and crossing her legs towards him.

Ethan rolled his eyes and glanced over at her legs momentarily. He shifted his gaze up to her and sighed. "Not really."

Tara leaned over his desk, completely aware of her low cut blouse. "Can I help?"

Ethan shook his head slightly and turned back to his work, slapping the folder down and leaning back in his reclining chair, beginning to rock steadily.

Tara turned to him with an innocent and startled look. "What's the matter, Ethan?"

With a long sigh, Ethan turned to her and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, staring up at her. "This," he replied simply, gesturing to her legs with a nod.

Tara raised a brow, beginning to bounce her leg calmly. She made a small sound, tilting her head slightly as if not understanding. Her long blonde hair softly framed her face with its angles, resting along her shoulders and falling down past her chest.

Ethan stood suddenly, standing above her and watching her eyes follow him. She sat slightly taller, resting her hands on the desk beneath her and releasing her legal pad to fall to the desk.

Ethan moved up to her, dropping his hand to rest on her neck, drawing her face close to his as he leaned down to her lips. Tara smiled, raising a hand to rest on his wrist as she met his lips. Ethan deepened the kiss, standing over her and keeping the one hand behind her head to guide the kiss while leaving the other arm at his side.

Tara eagerly returned the kiss, uncrossing her legs slowly and wrapping one around his thigh, slowly drawing him closer to her.

Ethan abruptly pulled away from her, laughing almost pathetically at himself as he sat back down in his chair. "Well that answers that.."

Tara remained leaning slightly forward from him pulling away so suddenly, but quickly sat back, eyeing him uncertainly. "What?"

Ethan turned to her, unable to conceal a small smile. "I'm gay."

Tara slipped off his desk, grabbing her notepad and groaning. "What?!"

Ethan shrugged, leaning back and seeming slightly more relaxed than before.

"Oh my god," she shook her head slightly, taking a step back. "I turned you gay." By Ethan's silence, Tara grew pale. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Ethan was thinking of something to say to calm her down when the phone rang. He answered it immediately, taking his mind off his secretary.

"Hey. Ethan?"

Ethan turned from the coffee machine in the small cafeteria, easily recognizing the voice of one of the office's lawyers. "What's up, Ryu?"

Ryu sighed, leaning against the counter beside him. He studied the co- workers passing by, shifting edgily. "Beth saw Tara in the bathroom. She wasn't feeling so well."

Ethan took a sip of his coffee, grimacing at the taste. "And..?"

"Tara told Beth that you said you were gay." Ryu kept his eyes averted, glancing around, unable to focus on anything.

Ethan shrugged slightly, turning to him. "Would that bother you?"

Ryu raised a brow, turning to him. "Wait. you are?"

"Tara didn't mention that we were kissing in my office, did she?"

Ryu eyed him uncertainly, smiling slightly as realization dawned on him. "After having Tara for your secretary for two and a half months, you finally get with her. and you blow her off? Way to go man!" Ryu began to walk away swiftly, shaking his head and laughing. ".Telling people you're gay just 'cause you dissed her..."

Ethan sighed, deciding to allow Ryu to think whatever he pleased. He placed the mug of thick liquid on the counter in front of him before heading out of the cafeteria. "Hey, Ron?" he called to someone behind a small cubicle, "Tell Mark I'll be back in a little over an hour?"

The man he was speaking to barely looked up from his computer, "You only get an hour for lunch."

Ethan sighed, "I got a call. I've got to go."

Ron looked up, focusing on Ethan through his frames, "You only get an hour," he repeated himself.

Ethan raised a brow, "He'll deal with it."

Ron eyed him indifferently, "Whatever you say."

Ethan skidded to a halt outside Tristen and Kale's apartment. He silenced the engine and slipped out of his car, walking up to the building with a slight bounce in his step. He took the steps two at a time and made his way slowly to their door, regaining his breath as he knocked a few short times.

Kale ran a hand through his untamed hair, simply allowing it to fall back to hang in front of his eyes as he pulled the door open. "Ethan?" he asked, his eyes widening noticeably.

Ethan let his face fall, taking a few deep breaths as he spoke to regain his composure. "Tristen said you wouldn't be here."

Kale's features scrunched at his remark, leaning against the door and fiddling with the doorknob uncomfortably. He tapped the tiled floors with his foot which was covered by the long sweat pants he wore. "Tristen hasn't been here since I woke up," he mumbled.

"But he called me," Ethan grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and looking Kale over. He wore a large t-shirt that obviously didn't fit him correctly and pants that were too large. "You got company or something?"

Kale looked up, shaking his head and little and pursing his lips. He studied Ethan for a moment before realizing he was asking because of the clothes he wore. "Laundry day."

Ethan nodded in realization, dropping his crossed arms and pocketing them casually. "Alright, then I guess I'll be going." He slowly backed away from the door before turning around.

"After coming all this way, you're just gonna go?" Kale asked, taking a step forward out of the apartment almost desperately.

"I've got to get back to work," Ethan replied, although slowing his pace significantly.

Kale walked out into the hall, allowing the door to close behind him with a small click. "What did you want to talk to Tristen about?"

Ethan glanced over his shoulder, stopping in his tracks, "I didn't. He called me."

Kale crossed his arms over, already shivering slightly from the cold air in the hallway. "What about?"

Ethan sighed, turning to face him, "I don't know. That's what I came here to find out."

Kale sighed, watching Ethan for a moment before turning his gaze away. "You could wait inside for him."

"Like I said, I have to get back to work," Ethan replied hesitantly.

"Oh," Kale nodded, forcing a small smile and backing up again, "sure."

Ethan watched Kale expectantly for a moment as he turned to go back into the apartment.

"Oh shit," Kale muttered, whimpering slightly. He turned back around to meet Ethan's expectant gaze. "Ethan?" he pouted.

Ethan raised a brow, eyeing him uncertainly, "What?"

"I'm locked out," Kale said, quickly beginning to become teary eyed. He crossed his arms over his chest again and stared aside, biting his bottom lip.

Ethan's eyes narrowed as he stared at Kale incredulously for a moment. Then his gaze turned to one of sympathy and he nodded a little. "Alright, who's got an extra key?"

Kale sniffled slightly, mumbling, "Tristen."

Ethan shook his head a little, taking a step towards him, his hands still pocketed, "Well we don't know where he is. So who else? Have you ever given a neighbor a copy of your key?"

"We're not allowed to," Kale whispered, not wanting to make himself any more upset than he already was.

Ethan walked through the long hallway towards his office, rubbing his hands together to get feeling back into them. His cold grip on the steering wheel was unbearable. Kale followed him with quick short steps, kicking the ends of Ethan's work coat he wore. The gloves were slipping, but they kept him warm. "Ethan?" he whispered, trying to keep up with him.

Ethan continued to walk, rounding the corner and proceeding towards his office. He wanted the warmth of his office. He wanted his comfortable chair. He didn't want to face Kale.

"Who's the kid?" Ron asked, eyeing Kale expectantly from behind his desk. "We don't have a babysitter here, Ethan," he smirked.

Kale eyed him uncertainly. "Well who watches you, then?" he shot back.

Ethan paused, unable to conceal a smile as he turned around to glance at Kale in slight surprise. He turned to Ron a moment later, pointing over to Kale with a smirk, "What he said."

Ron grumbled something under his breath as he watched the two head down the corridor. "Hey, Mark said to see him in his office when you got back!" he called after him matter-of-factly.

Ethan internally groaned at that, stopping outside his office and opening the door, but not heading inside. He turned to face Kale, "Wait inside, I've got things to take care of."

Kale obediently stepped inside, turning to face Ethan uncertainly. "What should I do?"

"Just. don't touch anything," he pointed at Kale accusingly.

Kale nodded a little fearfully, clutching the large overcoat tightly around him with his small hands which were buried in the immense gloves. "Okay."

Ethan couldn't help but smirk a little at the sight, laughing shortly and pulling the door shut behind him.

Kale sighed after the door was closed and bit down on the tip of his right glove, proceeding to pull it off with his teeth before taking off the glove's pair with his ungloved hand. He shoved the gloves in one of the pockets.

He turned and began to head over to Ethan's desk, managing to slip the coat down his arms and tossing it to one of the two chairs that sat opposite his desk, but missed and the coat landed sloppily one the floor.

A computer, desk calendar, coffee mug, stack of manila envelopes, and a phone were the only objects that lay on the deep cherry wood colored desk. Kale made his way slowly around it, pulling out the comfortable chair and taking a seat behind the desk. He laid back a little, smiling at the relaxing comfort. He began to rock back and forth a little, giggling slightly. Kale pulled the top drawer open, poking though the organized pens, pencils, papers, and paperclips.

"You're so boring," Kale groaned aloud as he shut the top drawer and moved to open the side drawers. He sighed as he noticed they were locked. Content to simply rocking back in forth in the chair, Kale gave up his search for something to entertain himself.

Ethan pulled the door to his office open, running a hand though his hair with a long drawn out sigh. The first thing his noticed was his coat on the ground. He sighed and headed over to it, mumbling, "This is the last thing I need today." He simply laid it nicely over the back of the chair Kale was aiming for earlier.

When Ethan looked up at his desk, he froze. Kale was curled up in his tilted chair, curled up comfortably. Ethan glanced over at the clock on his wall and noticed it was just past five. "Two and a half hours alone," he sighed. He walked over to Kale and sat down on his desk, watching him. "Kale?" he whispered.

Kale shifted slightly, but didn't open his eyes. "Hummm..?"

Ethan reached down and shook his shoulder lightly. "Kale, come on. I'll take you home now."

Kale opened his eyes slowly and let them focus on Ethan. He remained still, staring up at him quietly. He wanted to talk about what happened. He hated pretending it never happened, while it was eating away inside of him.

"I got caught up in a long meeting, you must have fallen asleep," Ethan informed him, "I'm sorry."

Kale sat up slowly, causing Ethan to withdraw his hand from the younger boy's shoulder. "You're gonna take me back now?"

Ethan nodded, "I'm sure Tristen's back by now." He stood and walked around the other side of the desk, lifting the envelopes and glancing through them idly. He didn't want to face the discussion Kale was most likely hesitating about asking.

"What if he's not?" Kale asked, leaning forward on his knees in the chair and supporting his chin on his wrist.

"Then we'll find one of your friends," Ethan sighed.

"Why can't I come home with you?"

"Because."

Kale sat up, watching Ethan intently, "Because why?"

Ethan slowly placed the papers on his desk, turning to Kale and slipping one hand into his pocket. "You know why."

"Because you hate me!" Kale got to his feet, crossing his arms over. "That's what this is all about, right? Why can't you just tell me how you feel and I can stop bothering you!"

Ethan placed both hands on his waist, watching the smaller boy incredulously. "I don't hate you! If I hated you I wouldn't have taken you with me to work."

"That was just 'cause there was no where else for me to go," he mumbled, turning away annoyed.

"I could have told you to find another room to wait in. I could have dropped you off at Lana's. There were many options, Kale."

Kale shook his head, turning to him with a stubborn tone, "You just had to get back to work, that's why!"

"That's not why!" Ethan felt like laughing at Kale's stupidity.

"It's obvious you don't want me around and you barely can even talk to me without throwing disgusted looks at me because of what happened!" Kale slumped back down into the chair, averting his eyes and keeping an angry glare on his face.

"I don't care about what happened, you were drunk, it was a mistake!" Ethan leaned over the desk, holding himself up on his hands and staring intently at Kale.

"I wasn't drunk!" Kale turned back to him, leaning forward and watching him expectantly, allowing his voice to get significantly softer. "You were."

Ethan shook his head slowly, unable to turn his stare away from Kale. "No, I wasn't."

"You weren't?" Kale asked quietly.

Ethan simply shook his head, standing and pocketing his hands once again.

Kale leaned back silently, keeping his hands in his lap and watching Ethan uncertainly.

Ethan glanced around the room, returning his focus to Kale quickly. "What?"

"Well now what?" Kale nervously smiled a little, completely surprised by Ethan's reply.

Ethan continued to shift on his feet, barely knowing how to respond. "I'll. take you home," he answered with a sigh, heading over to the chair where his coat lay. "Here, put this on."

"But." Kale bit his lower lip a little, remaining where he sat and turning slightly in his chair. "What if Tristen's not there?"

Ethan rolled his eyes, folding the coat over his arm and tucking his arm into his side. "We went into this already. We'll find you someone to stay with."

"Can't I stay with you?" Kale asked quietly, getting up from the chair and walking around the desk, dragging his small fingers over the surface slowly.

Ethan took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and turning away from Kale. "I already said no." He glanced behind him at the door to his office, silently wishing someone would interrupt them.

"Please?"

Ethan turned quickly to see Kale already in front of him, lightly holding onto his arm. He instinctively shook the smaller boy off of him and took a step back, extending his arm out to Kale. "Put this on."

"Ethan?" Kale asked quietly, reaching out and taking the coat, letting his arm drop at the unexpected weight.

"I don't want to talk about this!" Ethan shouted, heading over to his door and pulling it open, holding it for Kale. He glanced outside at the dimly lit office. It was after work hours and there were just a person or two bustling about their desks towards the front, trying to get things ready to leave until tomorrow.

"Why are you being like this?!" Kale growled back, storming over to him and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because!" he grumbled, turning to stare in the opposite direction, continuing to hold the door open.

"What if." Kale searched for something to say. He wanted to know how Ethan felt without his stubbornness interfering. "What if I were in a coma?!"

Ethan turned towards him, screwing up his face in confusion. "You watch too many damn soap operas," he concluded.

Kale shook his head, refusing to walk though the open door, holding the coat by the collar at his side near his hip. "No, seriously. If I were in a coma is there anything you wished you would have told me, or are you okay with how things are now?"

"Would you stop being stupid?!" Ethan shouted again, slamming the door and resting his hands on his hips.

"No, I'm serious!" he yelled, dropping the coat and letting his arms wave as he spoke. " If. If you don't answer me about this, I'll.. I'll jump out a window and fall into a coma! And then I'll. I'll. I'll like fall in love with the doctor or something and forget all about you!"

Ethan closed his eyes, raising a hand to his head and sighing, shaking his head slowly. "Kale..."

"What?" he pouted, slowly bringing his arms back across his chest protectively.

"You're being ridiculous," Ethan sighed, dropping his hand to his side and eyeing him expectantly.

"Fine, if you don't want to talk-"

"Of course I would have wished I told you," Ethan watched Kale quietly, unable to say anything more or even smile in the least.

Kale dropped his arms slowly, raising his brows and watching Ethan just as intently as the stare directly towards him. "Told me what?"

"I wasn't drunk!" he repeated, lowering his voice after that outburst, "and I don't think it was a mistake."

Kale gave him a small encouraging smile and shrugged a little, causing his large t-shirt he still wore to slip from his shoulder.

Ethan reached down and slipped it back up onto his shoulder again before dropping his hand to his side lifelessly. "That keeps happening," he said quietly, staring at the hardly covered shoulder to avoid anymore of the pressing conversation.

Kale shrugged his shoulder again purposely, allowing his shirt to fall again. "I noticed."

Ethan lifted his hand again to Kale's shoulder, ignoring the shirt and placing his fingers gently on the younger boy's skin. "I don't think I can do this."

Kale smiled, nodding slightly in understanding. "It's just hard for you, that's all." He lifted his hand to Ethan's, letting his fingers brush over the back of Ethan's hand gently.

Ethan shook his head, withdrawing his hand slowly, "Come on, put my coat on, I'll take you home."

"But Ethan," Kale protested softly.

"Just. put it on and let's go," he sighed, pulling the door open and heading though it without waiting.