Season 3 Episode 24 | My Best Friend’s Brother Dylan (Patreon)

All characters depicted in this story are fictional and 18 years of age or older. Everything portrayed is safe, sane, and consensual.

Episode 24: Brothers & Best Friends

The evening light was fading outside when I stood in front of the mirror in Dylan’s bedroom, fixing the collar of my shirt for the third time. My hands felt restless. Dylan was sitting on the edge of the bed behind me, watching quietly. Neither of us had said much since I got back from meeting Lucien earlier that afternoon.

I turned around to face him. “I think I should go meet Jake alone first.”

Dylan looked up at me, his expression unreadable for a second. “You sure?”

I nodded. “Yeah. He might be more open if it’s just the two of us at the beginning. If you are there right away, it might feel like we are both coming at him at once.”

Dylan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his hands together slowly, like he was thinking it through. “I don’t like the idea of you going by yourself. But I get why you want to do it this way.”

I walked over and stood between his legs, resting my hands on his shoulders. “I just think it will be easier for him to say what he needs to say without you there at first. He is hurt. And I think part of that hurt is because it is both of us who kept this from him.”

Dylan looked up at me. His hands came up to rest on my waist. “You don’t have to protect me from this, you know.”

“I am not protecting you,” I said quietly. “I am trying to make this easier for all of us. Especially for Jake.”

He studied my face for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Alright. I will wait nearby. I will go to a nearby restaurant and wait. Text me when you are ready for me to come over.”

I felt some of the tension in my chest ease. “Thank you.”

Dylan pulled me a little closer and rested his forehead against my stomach. “Just… don’t take too much of the blame on yourself. I was the one who made the choice to keep it quiet.”

I ran my fingers through his hair. “I know. But I still feel like I owe him an explanation.”

We stayed like that for a little while, neither of us in a rush to move. Eventually Dylan stood up and pulled me into a proper hug. He held me tightly, his face buried in the side of my neck.

“Text me if you need me,” he said against my skin. “I mean it. Even if it is just to say you want me to come right away.”

“I will,” I promised.

He kissed me once, slow and steady, before letting me go. I grabbed my jacket and phone, then headed for the door. As I stepped out into the hallway, I took a deep breath. My stomach was tight with nerves, but I knew this conversation needed to happen.

The walk to the restaurant felt longer than it should have. My mind kept replaying the things Lucien had said earlier that afternoon. About how Jake had always been supportive. About how finding out this way must have felt like a betrayal. I knew he was right, but that did not make walking into this any easier.

When I reached the restaurant, Jake was already there. He was sitting at a table near the back, staring down at his phone. He looked tired. Not angry exactly, but worn out in a way that made my chest ache. I walked over slowly.

“Hey,” I said when I reached the table.

Jake looked up. For a second his expression was guarded, but then he nodded. “Hey.”

I sat down across from him. The silence that followed felt heavy. Jake picked up his glass of water and took a sip, avoiding my eyes for a moment.

“I am glad you came,” I said finally. “I was not sure if you would.”

Jake set the glass down and looked at me properly. “I almost did not. But then I figured we should probably talk.”

I nodded. My hands were clasped together on the table. “Jake… I am sorry. For how you found out. That was not how I wanted it to happen.”

He let out a short breath. “Yeah. Me neither.”

I waited, giving him space to speak. After a moment, he continued.

“Look, Troy,” he said, his voice quieter than usual. “I am not mad that you and Dylan are together. That part does not bother me. What bothers me is that you both kept it from me. I’ve been here for days. I’ve been joking around with both of you, making plans, acting like everything was normal. And the whole time you were lying to my face.”

I stayed quiet for a moment, letting his words settle. Jake was not yelling, but the disappointment in his voice was clear. It made my chest feel tight.

“I know,” I said finally. “And I am sorry. You are right. We should have told you.”

Jake looked at me, his expression tired. “Why didn’t you? I mean… I am your best friend, Troy. We have known each other since we were kids. You came out to me first. I thought if something this big was happening in your life, you would tell me.”

I nodded slowly. “I wanted to. A few times I almost did. But it was not just my secret to tell.”

Jake frowned a little, waiting for me to continue.

I took a breath. “Jake… we are not just fooling around. Dylan and I are in love.”

Jake blinked, clearly caught off guard. He leaned back in his chair slightly. “You both are in love?”

I nodded. “Yeah. We are.”

He was quiet for a few seconds, processing what I had just said. His expression shifted from hurt to something more thoughtful.

“I did not realize it was that serious,” he admitted. “I thought maybe it was just… something that happened while he was here. I did not know you two were actually together like that.”

“It’s quite serious,” I said. “It has been for a while now. But Dylan… he struggled with it at first. You know how he is. He has never been with a guy before. Admitting that he had feelings for me was not easy for him. We wanted to give him time to figure things out on his own terms.”

Jake’s face changed again. The defensiveness in his shoulders seemed to ease a little. He looked down at the table, then back at me.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “I did not think about that part. I have always seen Dylan as… well, Dylan. The guy who dates around and does not really do serious stuff. I never stopped to think about how hard it must have been for him to actually fall for someone like this. Especially with it being you.”

I gave a small smile. “He is different with me. It took him time to accept that. We did not want to rush him into telling people before he was ready.”

Jake nodded slowly, like he was finally understanding something he had missed before. “Yeah… I get that now. I guess I was so focused on feeling left out that I did not think about what it meant for him.”

He paused, then added in a quieter voice, “I am still hurt that you did not tell me. But I am starting to see why it was complicated.”

I felt some of the tightness in my chest loosen. “I am really sorry, Jake. I hated keeping it from you. You have always been there for me, and it felt wrong to hide something this important. But I also did not want to push Dylan before he was ready.”

Jake rubbed the back of his neck and let out a long breath. “I know. I am not saying it was easy for you either. I just… I felt stupid. Like I should have noticed something was going on.”

“You were not stupid,” I said. “We were careful. We did not want anyone to know until we were sure about what we had.”

Jake was quiet again for a moment. Then he looked at me with a more open expression.

“So… you are really in love with my brother?” he asked, almost like he still could not fully believe it.

I nodded. “Yeah. I am.”

Jake shook his head with a small, disbelieving laugh. “Man… this is still weird to hear out loud.”

I smiled faintly. “I know.”He leaned forward again, resting his arms on the table. “Alright. Tell me how it actually started. Because I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this has been going on and I had no idea.”

I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head lightly. “Why don’t you ask him instead?”

Jake blinked, clearly not expecting that answer. “What?”

I looked at him. “Dylan is waiting at a restaurant not far from here. I told him I wanted to speak to you alone first. But if you want to know how it started… you should hear it from him too.”

Jake was quiet for a few seconds, his expression shifting as he thought about it. Finally, he gave a small nod.

“Alright,” he said. “Let’s go.”

We paid for our drinks and left the restaurant together. The walk was quiet at first. Jake kept his hands in his pockets, his shoulders still a little tense, but he did not seem as closed off as he had been earlier. I walked beside him, glancing over every now and then. Part of me was nervous about how this would go once we were all together, but another part of me felt relieved that we were finally doing this properly.

When we reached the other restaurant, I spotted Dylan sitting at a table near the window. He looked up as we approached, his posture straightening slightly. He stood up slowly when he saw Jake walking beside me.

Jake stopped a few feet away from the table. For a moment, the two of them just looked at each other. The air felt thick again, but it was different this time. Less explosive. More uncertain.

Then Jake stepped forward and held out his hand. “Sorry, man.”

Dylan looked at the offered hand for a second before reaching out and dapping him up. It was not overly warm, but it was not cold either. It was the kind of greeting that said they were still brothers, even if things were complicated right now.

“Hey,” Dylan said quietly.

We sat down together. Jake took the seat across from Dylan, and I sat beside Dylan. For a few seconds, no one spoke. Then Jake let out a breath and leaned back in his chair.

“So,” he said, looking at his brother. “Troy told me some things. But I want to hear it from you. How did this even start?”

Dylan glanced at me briefly before looking back at Jake. He seemed calmer than I expected, though I could still see the tension in his jaw.

“It started the day Troy came over to play FIFA at our parent’s house,” Dylan said. “When I was home from college. We ended up talking after you left the room. One thing led to another.”

Jake raised his eyebrows. “That was almost two years ago.”

“Yeah,” Dylan replied. “It was slow at first. We did not plan for it to turn into anything serious. But it did.”

Jake shook his head, still looking surprised. “And I was literally in the house. How the hell did I not notice anything?”

Dylan gave a small, almost amused shrug. “We were careful. And you were not exactly paying attention to us back then.”

Jake let out a short laugh, though it still carried some disbelief. “Man… I cannot believe this. All that time I was complaining about you to Troy, and he was secretly into you.”

I felt my face warm a little. “It was not that obvious.”

Jake looked at me with a knowing smile. “You always got weird whenever I talked shit about him. I should have known.”

Dylan smirked faintly from beside me. “To be fair, he had a crush on me even before that.”

I turned to look at him. “Shut up, Dylan.”

Jake laughed again, this time a little more genuinely. The tension in the air had started to ease, even if it was not completely gone. It felt like we were slowly moving back into familiar territory, even with everything that had happened.

Jake looked between the two of us for a moment, his expression growing more serious again.

“I am still pissed that you both kept this from me,” he said. “But… I get it a little more now. Especially after what Troy said about you needing time to figure things out.”

Dylan nodded. “It was not about keeping it from you specifically. It was just… new. For both of us. We wanted to make sure it was real before we told anyone.”

Jake was quiet for a few seconds, then he looked at me. “You really love him, huh?”

I did not hesitate. “Yeah. I do.”

Jake nodded slowly, like he was finally accepting it. Then he turned back to Dylan. “And you… you are actually serious about this?”

Dylan met his brother’s eyes without looking away. “Yeah. I am.”

Jake let out a long breath and rubbed his face with both hands. “Man… this is still fucking weird to hear. But alright. I am not going to sit here and act like I do not see it now.”

The conversation continued from there, moving between heavier moments and lighter ones. Jake asked more questions about how things had developed over the past two years, and both Dylan and I answered honestly. Eventually, some of the old banter returned. Jake teased me about having a crush on Dylan back when we were younger, and Dylan made a few cocky comments that made me roll my eyes.

It was not perfect. There was still some awkwardness in the air. But it felt like we were moving in the right direction.

Toward the end of the meal, Jake leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.

“Fuck,” he said. “I am so pissed that I spent my last two days in Paris being mad at you both.”

I frowned. “Last two days? I thought you were staying for another week.”

Jake shook his head. “Stacey’s mom got sick. We decided to cut the trip short. We are flying back to America tomorrow.”

Dylan and I both looked at him, surprised.

“Shit,” Dylan said. “Is she okay?”

“She will be,” Jake replied. “But Stacey wants to be there. So we are heading back in the morning.”

I felt a small wave of disappointment. “That sucks. We did not even get to properly hang out.”

Jake gave a small smile. “Yeah. Stacey was actually excited about doing double dates and all that once she found out about you two. But I kind of wasted the opportunity by being in a bad mood.”

“You did not waste anything,” I said. “I am glad we had this talk.”

Jake nodded. “Yeah. Me too.”

We finished our food and paid the bill. As we stepped outside the restaurant, Jake pulled both of us into a hug, one arm around each of us. It was not as easy or carefree as it used to be, but it was genuine.“Listen,” he said. “Since we are leaving tomorrow morning, why don’t you both come back to the Airbnb with me? Stacey is already there. We can just hang out for the night. No pressure, no heavy talks. Just us.”

Dylan glanced at me. I could tell he was leaving the decision up to me.

I nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good.”

Jake gave a small smile. “Alright then. Let’s go.”

The three of us walked together through the quiet streets. The earlier tension had eased, but it had not completely disappeared. Every now and then Jake would make a comment about something random, trying to keep things light. Dylan stayed mostly quiet, but I could feel that he was relieved the conversation had gone as well as it did.

When we reached the Airbnb, Stacey opened the door with a warm smile. She did not ask any questions, which I appreciated. She just stepped aside and let us in.

“Come in,” she said. “I was just about to open a bottle of wine.”

We spent the next few hours together in the living room. It was not the same as before everything happened, but it was comfortable. Jake put on some music in the background while Stacey poured drinks for everyone. We talked about small things at first — the places they had visited in Paris, how Jake was still getting used to the food, and how Stacey had fallen in love with the city.

Eventually the conversation shifted to lighter memories from back home. Jake told a story about something stupid we did in high school, and for a little while it felt almost normal again. Dylan even chimed in a few times, adding details that made Jake laugh.

At one point, Jake looked over at me and Dylan sitting beside each other on the couch.

“You know,” he said, “I am still getting used to seeing you two like this. But… I am glad you are happy.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Jake.”

He nodded, then took a sip of his drink. “I am still pissed I am leaving tomorrow. Stacey’s mom needs her, so we have to go. But I wish we had more time.”

Dylan spoke up from beside me. “You can always come back. Or we can visit you guys.”

Jake looked at him and gave a small smile. “Yeah. We should do that.”

The rest of the night passed quietly. We did not stay up too late. Around midnight, Jake stood up and stretched.

“Alright,” he said. “I should get some sleep. Early flight tomorrow.”

He walked over and pulled me into another hug. This one felt more natural than the one outside the restaurant.

“Take care of yourself,” he said quietly. “And take care of my brother too.”

“I will,” I replied.

He hugged Dylan next. It was shorter, but still meaningful.

“Text me when you land,” Dylan told him.

“I will,” Jake said.

Stacey hugged both of us as well, telling us she hoped we could all meet again soon under better circumstances.

After they went to their room, Dylan and I stepped outside onto the small balcony for a few minutes. The night air was cool. We stood side by side, looking out at the quiet street below.

“You okay?” Dylan asked after a while.

I nodded. “Yeah. Much better.”

Dylan slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. “He just needed time. And to hear it from us properly.”

I leaned into him. “I am glad we did this tonight. Even if they are leaving tomorrow, at least things are not completely broken between us.”

Dylan kissed the top of my head. “They are not broken. He just needed to process it.”

We stayed outside for a little longer before heading back inside.

Dylan and I walked back to his apartment in comfortable silence. When we finally got inside, I felt lighter than I had in days. The conversation with Jake had not fixed everything overnight, but it had cleared the air enough for us to move forward.

As we got into bed, Dylan pulled me against his chest the same way he had that morning. This time, the weight between us felt a little less heavy.

I closed my eyes, listening to the steady sound of his breathing, and let myself relax.⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ Season 3 Episode 25 | My Best Friend’s Brother Dylan (Finale)