Chapter Text
"So....." Jere pipes up once Bojan and Kris have left. Joost looks up from where he's unlocking his bicycle lock. "What you think?"
Joost takes his bike out of the rack and offers a small nod. "Cute guys! Kris is fun to mess with, heh."
Jere loiters around by the now closed funnel cake stand, uncharacteristically awkward. He'd like to talk to Joost about his not so platonic feelings for Bojan but that would mean admitting them out loud which makes them all the more real. Jere was mostly planning on just burying these feelings until they pass but he feels like he might literally explode if he does. Jere's never been good at keeping these things to himself.
"Hé, schatje." Jere startles at hearing the foreign pet name, blinking owlishly at where Joost is winking at him suggestively. "Are you gonna stand there all night or you gonna hop on?"
"I hop!" The Finn insists with a firm nod. He stuffs all the plushies Joost and Bojan have won for him in his backpack before hopping on the back of his friend's bike.
Joost takes off a bit clumsy but steady enough for Jere to feel safe. Still, he does squeeze his arms around Joost's waist. It'd be a shame if his winter break ended prematurely because of this crazy Dutchman. Joost laughs at the grip the smaller man has on him. "Hey, relax! When have I ever crashed my bike with you on it??"
"Last time I come to Netherlands....." Jere points out. Joost makes a noise of acknowledgement, conveniently having forgotten that this isn't Jere's first rodeo on the back of his bicycle.
They ride into the night, the cycle path relatively empty. A comfortable silence settles between them, unusual for them but not unwelcome. Jere needs a moment to gather his thoughts and Joost probably needs to focus on the road. The Finn watches well lit buildings and street lamps pass by in colorful blurs for a while before finding the courage to speak up again.
"Joost?" Jere mumbles into the other man's blue jacket. Joost makes a noise of acknowledgement, turning a corner with surprisingly smooth movements.
The blonde rests his forehead against Joost's back and sighs. He might as well say it. It's not like he's confessing to Bojan. And Jere has heard his fair share of love troubles from Joost himself so the Dutchman will just have to listen to his for once.
"I.....I like the Bojan. You know, like, uh....I really-"
Jere cuts his stammering off with a grunt of annoyance. He's so goddamn eloquent in Finnish. Why can't he translate his deep profound thoughts into English? Joost thankfully takes it easy on him, momentarily removing one hand from the bike handles to squeeze Jere's around his waist. "I know, Jere."
Huh?
"Mitä??" The blonde cries out in shock. "How you know that??"
Joost turns his head to full on stare at Jere, offering him a deadpan look. Jere starts to giggle at the reaction before it trails off into a shriek when Joost in his distracted state temporarily loses control of the bicycle. The two of them scream as they almost tumble into some bushes. The Dutchman is thankfully able to regain control of the vehicle at the last moment to steer them back onto the path.
"JOOST!! You watch out!!" Jere whines, lightly punching at Joost's back. But neither of them can keep themselves from laughing at the situation. Jere feels pleasantly light now that he's gotten his feelings off his chest. Maybe not to Bojan but he's proud of himself for acknowledging his love for the Slovene out loud at all. Maybe it isn't so scary after all.
"But....how you know?" Jere demands once more. Joost huffs out a laugh, shrugging his shoulders.
"Uh, 'cause I have eyes? You were all over him tonight!" The remark momentarily ignites something self-conscious within Jere. Is he too clingy with Bojan? He's like this with all his friends but admittedly it's just a tad extra with the beautiful brunette.
But then, Joost adds: "So was Bojan, by the way. For a second I thought you guys were, like, together, you know? As in dating."
"Huh??" The Finn tries not to get too excited yet. He doesn't want to set himself up for disappointment with false hope just based on Joost's one time observation. "We....we not dating."
"Why not?" Joost quizzes him, as if it's that simple. Jere tightens his arms around his friend's waist in annoyance.
"What you mean why not? Bojan not even know I like him! How can we be together?" The smaller blonde sighs, defeat melting into his exasperated tone, feeling a bit hopeless at the prospect of confessing to Bojan. It could make or break everything between them, as dramatic as that sounds.
"You tell him how you feel." The Dutchman gently urges him. Jere shakes his head, briefly nuzzling into the soft material of Joost's jacket.
"I'm....I'm scared. I don't really know if he feels same." Jere admits solemnly. Had it been anyone else, he might've felt brave enough to just bite the bullet and spit out how he feels. But it's different with Bojan. His connection with the man feels so special and once-in-a-lifetime that he's absolutely terrified of potentially running things.
Joost is quiet for a while, the only noise between them the wind rushing past their ears and the chain of Joost's bike occasionally making a worrisome noise. Jere imagines that his dear friend might be a little taken off guard by the Finn's unusual display of insecurity. Jere admits that this is the first time he's ever been so afraid to share his feelings with someone he's interested in. But this is Bojan, for God's sake. Nothing about the man has made Jere act like usual. In his defense, as far as Jere is aware, none of his friends are secretly ASMR YouTubers either. That complicates things a little.
Oh, who is he kidding? Even if Bojan wasn't his beloved Carpe_DiemASMR, Jere would still be sitting here sweating bullets at the thought of asking him out. Bojan just has that effect on him.
"I'll help you find out if he's into you, okay?" Joost eventually suggests along with a determined nod. "I mean, I know he's into you! So it shouldn't be hard to prove."
Jere, touched by his friend's determination to help him, happily cuddles into Joost's back. "You so cute and amazing, Joost..... Maybe I need to choose you!"
"Well, don't give me false hope...." The blonde teases, turning another corner, brakes screeching to a halt once they reach Jere's apartment. "We're gonna get you that Bojan, yeah?"
"Okei!" Jere nods with newfound motivation. He can do this. At the end of the day, he has to remind himself that it's just Bojan. Sweet, funny, gorgeous Bojan who at worst would let him down gently. Really, there's nothing to be afraid of.
Nevermind, he can't do this.
Jere almost considers just turning back around, only offering a stiff wave and a shaky smile when he sees Bojan and Kris approaching from a distance. Joost wraps an arm around his shoulder. A comforting gesture or a way for him to hold Jere in place? Maybe both. Get it together, Jere. Be normal.
"Jere!" Oh God. Bojan looks way too happy to see him. How can he remain nonchalant in the eyes of such a beautifully joyful man?
"Bojan!!" Jere cheers, immediately throwing his arms up in an over excited greeting. So much for being nonchalant.
"C'mere." The Slovene encourages, his arms spread out, inviting. And who is Jere to refuse? He presses himself into Bojan's embrace, happy to feel the warmth of the other man. Bojan is wearing a black coat with white stripes that honestly doesn't look all that warm but the brunette feels like a soft furnace anyways.
"Nice to see you too, Jere." Kris says bluntly from behind Bojan. Jere can feel Bojan roll his eyes more than he can actually see it. The two men pull apart to tend to the poor neglected Dutchies instead.
"Hei, Kris!" The blonde wraps Kris up in a hug too. He'd never admit this out loud, especially not to his friends, but Jere enjoys being embraced by tall men. Even if he's a little insecure about his height sometimes, especially with the ladies, he still can't help but love the feeling of being held and protected by a big man.
Still, despite physically enjoying being towered over, that old shadow of insecurity creeps its way up Jere's back once he gets a proper look at Kris. The man is tall and beautiful, slim with a sharp jawline. Even the light acne on the side of his face is attractive. And he looks so stylish in his fancy coat. Meanwhile Jere just grabbed a random hoodie and an old, worn down jacket from the back of his closet. The difference between him and Kris becomes even more striking when Bojan pulls away from his hug with Joost to stand beside his own Dutchie again.
Bojan and Kris look good together. Damn.
Jere has to physically shake his head to get rid of the ridiculous thoughts. C'mon, Jere, you're now mature enough to stop comparing yourself to other people. Him and Kris look nothing alike and that's perfectly okay. Jere is hot and sexy, tall or not!
"Hellooo? Calling Jere Pöyhönen?" Joost snaps his fingers in front of Jere's eyes. Oops. He was totally spacing out.
"What." Jere says dumbly. His friend looks very much amused, pushing his glasses further up his nose as he smirks.
"I said we should go inside, my friend! Bojan and Kris are already ordering." The Dutchman points out with a gesture towards the cafe. Jesus Christ. Jere needs to lock the fuck in.
"Okei, okei, okei!" Jere whines when the blonde starts to physically push him towards the door. Joost puts his lips right next to Jere's ear, tone teasing as he says:
"I'll show you how much Bojan is into you~"
Hah.
Once the four of them are finally seated, muffins, donuts, coffee and tea shared between them, the conversation flows easily. Jere isn't entirely there with his thoughts but he's not completely spacing out like before. He's somehow even able to follow Kris' drawn out and vague rant about creepy videos online or whatever. At some point he describes something that Jere doesn't quite understand until Joost pipes up with:
"Oh, you mean ASMR, ja toch?"
"Ja! Dat." Kris nods before shaking his head solemnly. "I don't know how people can get into it. I hate having some stranger whisper stuff to me while tapping on random shit....."
"Well, it's definitely not for everyone." Joost agrees, shrugging. "It's relaxing for some folks but definitely not me."
Then Kris turns towards Jere with a curious glint in his eyes. "What about you, Jere? Do you watch ASMR sometimes?"
Jere answers without thinking. Through a mouthful of donut, he bluntly admits: "Yeah."
......oh shit. Jere casts a nervous glance at Bojan, worried to potentially see realization appear on that pretty face. If Bojan hasn't put two and two together yet about Jere's online identity, now should do it. Except the young Slovene appears completely unfazed by Jere's confession. He smiles at Jere like usual, oblivious.
"That's cool, man. Me too! I find it relaxing." Bojan reassures the Finn with an additional pat on his shoulder. Jere is honestly impressed with how clueless this man is. At least he can relax now.....
"Freaks." Joost and Kris simultaneously remark. The two Dutchies of course immediately high-five at the jinx.
When Joost in the middle of their conversation suddenly wraps an arm around Jere's shoulder, the Finn is unfazed. It's not uncommon for them to get affectionate with each other. Jere has very few friends that he doesn't cuddle constantly whenever he's with them. Only Allu pushes him away but it's nothing personal. He's still oblivious when Joost somewhat unnecessarily pulls Jere closer to his body while laughing. It's not until the blonde man whispers to him-
"Look, he's getting jealous....."
-that Jere realizes what Joost is trying to do. He eyes his friend skeptically before following the younger man's gaze. Bojan, on Jere's other side, is peering into his coffee cup with what could be interpreted as a pout on his lips. The smaller man turns to look back at Joost and shrugs, unconvinced. The Dutchman sighs softly before clapping Jere on the back and releasing him. It's less than a minute later that the Finn is once again captured. This time by none other than Bojan.
The Slovene is a little more subtle than Joost, the arm he wraps around Jere's shoulder just a tad careful. As it turns out, it's a practical way for him to pull Jere a little closer in favor of showing him some ridiculous photo of Kris on his phone. Ah. Jere isn't quite convinced that the other man means anything more than friendly with the gesture. Not even when Joost enthusiastically nudges him and wags his eyebrows up and down. Even when Bojan squeezes Jere against him as he laughs, the blonde can't take it as confirmation that his feelings are mutual.
What he has with Bojan is simply too precious to risk ruining with a one-sided attraction. Maybe if Jere is lucky, these feelings will blow over eventually.
As if.
It's an hour later that him and Bojan are standing outside of the cafe, waiting for their friends who have disappeared inside the bathroom. A comfortable silence hangs between them as Jere absent-mindedly watches fellow pedestrians cruise by. He's so distracted by them that he startles a little when he glances off to the side only to find a white earbud held right before his eyes. Bojan's smiling face greets him, an amused glint in his eyes. Jere just really can't get himself together around this guy, can he?
"C'mon, take it." Bojan urges him when Jere simply continues to stare at him. The Finn is just about to point out that he's got his own headphones around his neck before realizing that Bojan has the other earbud in. Oh. He wants to listen together.
Jere takes the earbud.
And so they listen. Music starts to play through the frankly poor quality speakers of the earbuds. Something that isn't Jere's style at all. But it's the proximity to Bojan that distracts Jere from whatever is going on music wise. Bojan's head is tilted towards his, slightly lowered to be closer to the shorter man. The Slovene thankfully has his eyes closed as he softly nods along to the beat of the song, unaware of Jere's admiring gaze. It's only when long eyelashes begin to flutter that the blonde quickly looks elsewhere.
And if a double decker bus~
Crashes into uuuus~
To die by your side~
Is such a heavenly way to die~
Heh. It's kinda corny. Something Jere would definitely make fun of if the song was in Finnish. But Bojan clearly wants to share it with him so Jere closes his eyes and keeps listening. He becomes so focused on the song that afterwards it takes him a second to realize that the music has come to a stop. The Finn removes his earbud, handing it back to Bojan.
"So? What'd you think? You like it?" The pony-tailed Slovene quizzes him enthusiastically.
"No." Jere says immediately. "Or-well.....is not my style. But is also not bad. I just not really listen to British singer man....."
Bojan laughs at his honest response, reaching out to gently squeeze Jere's shoulder. "That's okay! It's not for everyone. To be honest, I just needed an excuse to have you to myself for a few minutes."
This fucking guy. Can't he see what he's doing to Jere? In a split second of bravery, the blonde bluntly tells Bojan:
"Bojan not need an excuse."
Brown eyes widen slightly at the abrupt admission. It's true, though. If Bojan wants Jere to himself, the Finn is all too happy to oblige. Actually, it's kinda cute that the brunette specifically came up with an excuse to get Jere's full attention. Before Bojan can save his dignity or protest, the two missing Dutchies finally emerge from the cafe.
"Jesus Christ. Were you guys sword fighting in there?" Bojan instead redirects his energy to tease the other men. Kris pulls a vaguely offended face while Joost wags his eyebrows suggestively.
"No way! Gross." Kris protests with a solemn shake of his head. "Anyways. That's enough social contact for me today. It was nice seeing you guys!"
In a sense, Jere can appreciate how blunt Kris is. While he's a little sad that they're already separating from the Slovenians, it is true that he gets to see Bojan every week while he hasn't seen Joost in months. They should make the most of their limited time with their friends.
"Bye, bye, Kris....." Jere hugs the lanky brunette tight, having become weirdly fond of the younger man. He can see why Bojan likes him so much.
Bojan and Joost also hug goodbye and the two Dutchies exchange some words in their shared language (two of which Jere was able to understand, wow!) before the four men split up. Jere hugs Joost from the side as they walk, pleasant butterflies in his tummy after such a nice hangout.
"I'm so blij you here, Joost!" He says happily, undoubtedly butchering the word, if Joost's breathless laugh is anything to go by.
"I'm blij I'm here too, man!" Long fingers pet through Jere's hair as they stumble back towards the apartment, hanging off of each other the entire way.
Jere spends the last hours of Joost's visit only with his friend. They rot inside Jere's apartment for most of the day, swapping stories and singing along to the music playing from Joost's phone that he put in an empty cup to create a makeshift box. Jere really has missed his crazy Dutchman. It's a shame that he could only stay for a few days but Joost (surprisingly) has his own life to get back to.
Naturally they're a bit hesitant to say goodbye once they reach the airport. They linger in the hall, not quite ready to part but knowing it needs to happen regardless. When Joost opens his arms for a hug, Jere presses himself into his embrace within seconds.
When Joost speaks, his breath tickles Jere's ear. "Thank you for learning Dutch for me, Jere..... You're fucking awesome!"
"No, you are ge-wel-dig." Jere clumsily responds. Joost squeezes him just a tad tighter before releasing the shorter man. "Do not crash the plane, crazy fucker!"
"Ah! You got me!" Joost playfully rolls his eyes, gloved hands held up in defense. They engage in one more weird handshake before Joost grabs a hold of his suitcase and makes amends to go. But before leaving, he of course looks back to blow some kisses Jere's way. "Dag, schatje! Love you!"
"Ik hou van jou!!" The Finn confidently yells after the blonde. Let it be known to the whole airport, damn it!
Jere feels a little empty, once Joost has turned the corner. Now that he finally got to see Joost again after so long, it'll hit all the harder now that they're separated again. At least he's already become quite accustomed to long distance friendships. .....which only further reminds Jere of how painful it is to be separated from his friends and family back home. Ouch.
As if somehow sensing his upcoming negative spiral, Jere's phone buzzes with a message. A light at the end of the tunnel. Bojan.
Bojan🍍: I can't wait to see you Friday :)
Right. Jere honestly completely forgot that the weekly class is starting again. That's good. Even though he's already managed to impress Joost with his extremely limited vocabulary, Jere would like to keep learning. And....of course there are some other factors that keep him going. Ahem.
You: yes yes very soon <33
At least he still has one friend who lives in the same country.
God, an 8 hour school day is brutal. How the fuck did Jere deal with this in highschool every day? He practically drags his feet across the sidewalk, headphones blasting music in an attempt to keep him awake enough to get to Dutch class. He's so damn tired. It's like his classes just seemed to stretch on forever. At least the grades he received for his interior design presentation were much better than expected. Looks like Bojan's pep talk to him wasn't for nothing.
Once Jere gets to the building, he abruptly realizes that he underestimated how long it'd take to get here. Lame. Now he has to wait another 15 minutes. He goes to sit on the stairs in the meantime, shivering a little as a cold gust of wind rushes through his hair. Might as well kill some time while he's at it. Jere digs up his phone and opens YouTube. His fingers immediately type in a familiar name. It's automatic at this point. Jere taps on a video titled Pronouncing Dutch words! 🇳🇱 (ASMR) and smiles once the lower half of his dear friend's face comes into frame. He has already watched this video three times now but it's educational so whatever.
"This one is pretty difficult....." Bojan whispers in the video, absent-mindedly tapping his pencil against his desk. "Vrachtwagen....it's kinda hard!"
The Slovene is too cute for his own good. Jere gets completely engrossed in the video, the sound on his phone almost at its maximum volume. It's very easy to just get totally lost in that buttery smooth voice. What kind of factory was Bojan made in, seriously?? He's not aware of his surroundings at all, so perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise when Jere doesn't take notice of one very important thing until it's too late. Just as the video comes to an end, the screen goes black and Jere's face stares back at him at a rather unflattering angle. And not only does Jere see his own reflection, he also sees a pair of legs behind him on the screen.
No fucking way.
Jere whips his head back, startled. His heart rate skyrockets when warm brown eyes look back at him. His mouth opens and closes repeatedly, struggling to form words, panic making him unable to do anything but stare like an idiot. This is bad. Really fucking bad. But perhaps scariest of all, is that Bojan's face remains.....perfectly still. He doesn't look shocked or angry or anything, really, and it's really making Jere feel even more terrified.
"I-is not-" Jere stutters out, mortified when he feels his cheeks burning up. Why, why, why is this happening to him? Bojan was never supposed to find out that Jere knows who he is. "I not know that you-I-vittu-"
He rubs at his eyes in an attempt to forcefully keep away the tears that start welling up. Oh God. Does Bojan think he's a creep now? Some kind of stalker fan? Or that Jere only likes him because he's into Bojan's ASMR channel? That he doesn't see Bojan as a real person? What the fuck are you even supposed to do in this bizarre situation??
Bojan's eyebrows slowly begin to frown as he watches Jere attempt to explain that he's "not weird stalker man, pliis, I promise-" while trying really hard not to just start crying from the stress of it all. It's over, isn't it? How the hell are they supposed to move forward now?
"Sorry.....I'm s-sorry, Bojan...." The blonde hides his profusely blushing face into his hands, wanting nothing more than for the Earth to just split open and swallow him whole. It's not like him to be such a mess. Why must he humiliate himself in front of Bojan like this? Is the universe playing some kind of cruel joke on him? Ha fucking ha.
"Jere...." Bojan's soft voice pipes up. Jere keeps hiding, unable to face the upcoming rejection just yet. In hindsight, he wonders if he should've just told Bojan right away that he knows about his internet identity. Would've been a hell of a lot less creepy.
"Jere." The Slovene sounds more firm now. Jere peeks at Bojan from behind his fingers but otherwise doesn't make amends to uncover his face.
Bojan quickly becomes fed up, hands reaching out to gently but firmly grab a hold of Jere's wrists. "Eiii...." Jere whines in protest, just a tad pathetic. He thinks he can hear Bojan laugh a little but he doesn't have time to properly look at the brunette's face once his hands are forcefully lowered. Because the younger man suddenly leans in close.
Huh?
Jere freezes, wrists still in Bojan's hands, blinking slowly as his friend's lips get dangerously close to his. But at the last second, Bojan changes course, plush lips finding Jere's burning cheek instead. The Finn is flabbergasted at the act. Just what the fuck is happening? He's no longer panicking, just befuddled.
"Mitä?" He mumbles out loud in genuine confusion. Can't he just catch a break already???
"Stop freaking out." Bojan tells him, surprisingly calm and mature given that he's usually bouncing off the walls with energy. It feels like their roles have been reversed now and Jere doesn't know how to feel about it. "I don't like seeing you so scared, you know....."
"Not scared...." Jere protests quietly, a pout starting to form on his lips. Okay, maybe he's a little scared. His eyes fleet to the ground, still embarrassed about crying in front of Bojan.
"It's okay, Jere....." The ASMRtist soothes him, gently massaging Jere's still captured wrists. Jere remains suspicious. Is it really okay? This seems like a huge deal. At least to him.
Bojan laughs at the unconvinced look on Jere's face. "Don't look at me like that! It's okay, Jere, really. We'll talk about this after class, alright?"
Jere is just about to demand some answers right now when their Dutch teacher suddenly walks past. She offers them a puzzled look as she unlocks the door to the building. Right. They probably look very weird right now. Jere and Bojan jump apart, attempting to look casual. But the ineffectiveness of their attempt ends up making both of them crack up with giggles, a much needed breather from the previous strong emotions. Jere's body is still trembling slightly from the leftover effects of stress but at least he no longer feels like he's going to throw up. If anything, his head feels....empty. He's almost in a dreamlike state as he follows Bojan into their classroom.
Obviously, Jere can't concentrate at all during the lesson. The teacher's words go in through one ear and come out the other. Jere's eyes inevitably wander to search for Bojan beside him. It's like a magnetic force. He wants to make sure that the brunette is really there. That this isn't a dream. At first glance, it appears like Bojan is paying attention, looking completely calm and collected despite the shocking reveal from earlier. But it's when Jere looks a little closer that he notices.
Oh.
Bojan's ears have grown red. Him resting his cheek against his fist isn't a demonstration of him carefully paying attention. He's hiding. He's blushing. Proving that he's just as affected by this as Jere. The blonde has to turn his own face away to hide a smile, so utterly, devastatingly endeared by this beautiful man. This guy is too cute.
In a moment of bravery, Jere slides his hand under the table, moving towards where Bojan's is resting against his chair. He closes his eyes, focusing on the thump thump thump of his heart as he extends a pinky and taps it against the other man's. He can feel Bojan's gaze on him but decides to be courageous, not pulling away just yet. It takes a few seconds but eventually Bojan's own pinky shyly reaches out to link with Jere's.
They stay linked throughout the rest of the hour.
The pinkie holding progresses into full blown hand holding once class is over. Jere's hand fits perfectly in Bojan's, as if it was always meant to be there. Maybe Joost was onto something, after all. They're not speaking as they walk but Bojan seems determined, leading Jere in a specific direction. Jere follows him without worry. Bojan could take him absolutely anywhere and the Finn would go happily.
Thankfully Bojan takes him to a rather nice place, a nearby park where the trees are covered in white layers of snow. Bojan gently tugs him towards the biggest tree before coaxing Jere to sit with him. They sit beside each other, shivering slightly in the cold. Bojan manages to stay quiet for two more seconds before he turns towards Jere with wide eyes.
"So....you're Hotrider99???"
Jere bursts out laughing, face palming and shaking his head in disbelief. "You so slow, Bojan! How you not know??"
"H-hey! How was I supposed to know??" Bojan protests in spite of a look of embarrassment passing over his face. "Hotrider99 could've been anyone!"
The blonde offers his companion a deadpan stare. "I am Finnish man. I talk with bad English. I say I watch ASMR! And you still not realize?"
Bojan hides behind his hands, a big smile stretching his lips as he struggles not to laugh. "Okay....maybe I am slow. I guess I just thought it would be too insane if my biggest fan was also my classmate. I thought it was all just a weird coincidence....."
"I think so also." Jere admits, absent-mindedly scratching at his beard. "But I give you snacks and you make video so then I know you really Carpe Diem!"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Bojan removes his hands from his face, regarding Jere curiously, looking soft and sweet in this winter wonderland. Jere fiddles with the headphones around his neck and shrugs.
"I just....scared I ruin friendship. Maybe you get un....unco....eh, not comfortable and not want to talk with me anymore. Or think I am creepy fan." The Finn slowly explains. He watches realization pass over Bojan's face, the man finally putting together why Jere has been acting kind of strange around him these past few months.
"Oh....." The Slovene breathes out. "Yeah, okay, I can understand why you wouldn't tell me. I'm glad I found out, though."
"Really? Is it okay?" Jere is still a tad skeptical. "You not....feel weird? That I watch the Bojan on YouTube?"
The brunette thinks about it for a moment, resting his head back against the tree trunk, thoughtfully looking to the sky. "Well....I've thought about it a lot. How I would feel if someone I know in real life would find my channel and recognize me. Honestly, the thought was pretty scary to me and it made me feel anxious. But you know what? Now that I know that you know, I don't feel scared anymore. It's just ASMR."
Bojan glances at Jere again, smiling gently. His hair is getting in his face again and Jere's fingers itch to reach out and wipe the soft locks out of the way. "I'm just really happy that my videos brought us together."
At that, Jere scoffs. "Even if you not ASMR man, we still be together! Because I really like Bojan. Not just for being YouTuber."
Bojan giggles at his honesty, flattered. Jere means it, though. Even if he never discovered Bojan's channel.....he'd still fall head over heels for him. How could he not? Jere raises his hand to carefully brush aside the silky hair getting in Bojan's eyes before grinning at him.
"But.....I am happy for Carpe Diem channel because now I can listen to sexy ASMR voice."
For a second, Bojan is just stunned, blinking stupidly upon hearing Jere's confession. But then his face breaks out into a brilliant smile, eyes disappearing with the intensity of his joy. Bojan retaliates by leaning in real close again. And for the first time since meeting the beautiful Slovene, Jere doesn't freak out. He stays perfectly still, smiling as he closes his eyes. Bojan blesses him with something even better than a newly uploaded video. A brush of his lips that sends tingles up Jere's spine.
And to think this all started because of Bojan holding a pineapple.