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“It’s good to see you.” When Laszlo said this with the smile that was only reserved for his friends and family, John knew that he couldn’t stay mad at him. No matter how many nightmares he may get from the scenes Laszlo asks of him to illustrate, that smile he had become so fond of will always make it all worth it.
“You’ve caused me a sleepless night Laszlo, the first of many I suspect.” It was never a question, and it was never said in annoyance. While Laszlo had stolen from him a night of pleasure, he was never truly annoyed about it. John never minded helping his friend, rather he always hoped Laszlo will always need him.
John lifted the offered glass of whiskey to his lips and took a sip of the liquid, enjoying the burn it left in his throat.
“Forgive me but I had no choice. Roosevelt and his officers would have never allowed me on that bridge, and I thought they might be better disposed to you.” John couldn’t argue with that, but as always, he had a more bothersome question on his mind.
“Did you know the child?” John made sure to keep his eyes locked with his friends, scanning them for even the slightest bit of emotion. But the man was a professional now, and John wasn’t shocked when he spotted none. John remembered when Laszlo hadn’t developed that skill, he remembered when he could read his friend like an open book. But that was when they were much closer, due to their respective jobs, they grew apart but somehow kept their friendship still intact.
Laszlo looked down for a second and spotted the folder in John’s hands, looking back up at his friend with hope in his eyes. “Do you have the drawings?”
And that’s when John remembered why he was truly here, he looked down at the folder in his hand as if he only just noticed it was there. Moving his arm forward, he offered it to Laszlo.
“Thank you.” Laszlo, ever the polite man, said as he took the drawings from John, walking over to the table and place the folder down to look at the illustrations.
John stayed where he was, holding a half glass of whiskey in his right hand while his left found its way into his pocket. As Laszlo looked over the gruesome drawings he had drawn, he found his mind wondering to when they first met.
---
They had become friends by chance. John was well liked amongst other Harvard students, no one really had an issue with him and John considered himself lucky for this. Back when he was child, other boys would mock him because of how kind he could be, claiming that he acted to feminine. But now his kindness was doing him justice, attracting to him a lot of people he has now become friends with, both men and woman alike.
Laszlo however was different, he was definitely kind to others, but he had a knack for proving others wrong, which had made a lot of other students dislike him. Thus, they had become rather mean to him, not that Laszlo really minded, people could be mean, and others could be very kind, it’s how life was.
John was in the right spot at the right time (though some would say wrong) to see some boys call Laszlo some unfathomable names across the hallway, not only were they just some boys however, they were boys he had come to call friends. Seeing the negative display awakened something in John and as he watched the boys come closer to Laszlo, he felt himself start to lose control.
The whole walk towards Laszlo they had been shouting rude nonsense towards the targeted boy, but Laszlo hadn’t given them an inch of attention. The boys took this as an insult and soon enough, one of them was pinning Laszlo to the wall and shouting abuse at him.
John narrowed his eyes as he didn’t see the boy try to fight the other off of him. Why wouldn’t he even try? Did he not care that they may just beat him up? John shook his head and walked over to the scene and tried using his charm and kindness to get the boys to leave Laszlo alone.
After many lines of “it’s not worth getting into a fight over” and “you could get caught doing this” and “you may just even get kicked out”, the boys John swore to never call his friends again let Laszlo go. Before leaving the scene however, one of the boys spat at Laszlo and John’s feet.
“Well that is just completely unhygienic.” Laszlo mumbled, and John had to stop the boy who spat at them from throwing punches. Once the boys were finally out of ear and eye shot, John turned towards the other boy, watching him straighten out his clothes.
“Are you okay?” John asked, watching a little hint of shock flicker through Laszlo’s eyes before he composed himself and smiled slightly.
“I’m fine, thank you for interfering.” The boy said, and John smiled back at him.
“I’m John Moore.” He said, holding out a hand for the other to shake. The boy in front of him reluctantly clasped his hand in his own, shook it firmly.
“Laszlo Kreizler.”
They had become good friends after that day. At first John thought Laszlo would be quite reluctant in becoming his friend, thinking the boy didn’t quite have those skills after finding out the boy didn’t have many. But Laszlo turned out to be quite good at conversing with him and soon they were practically inseparable, they always hung out when they weren’t buried under piles of school work, hell sometimes they would even just do the work together even though they were doing different majors.
And as their friendship grew, so did John’s realisation that he wanted Laszlo to be more than his friend. It didn’t come as a shock to John like you would expect, he had already experienced these types of feelings before for other males and of course females. However, he never acted upon the feelings he had for other males, knowing that if someone were to find out, he would be sent to a mental asylum and that was the last thing he wanted.
One night, the two friends were sitting in John’s dorm, his roommate having gone home to his family for a week. They were chatting about their days, drinking a bit of whiskey to help ease their stressed-out minds There was a moment of silence before Laszlo decided to change the subject, sprouting a question that shocked John.
“Tell me John, have you ever felt as if you were born in the wrong century?” John looked at Laszlo with a furrowed brow, silently asking him to elaborate. “Say you have feelings that aren’t exactly legal in this century, but could be legal in the future.”
John sat there, contemplating the question and example he was given. Of course, he has felt feelings like that, is experiencing feelings like that, but having no clue as to where Laszlo was heading with this he just shrugged his shoulder, hands fiddling with his glass.
“It really depends on the feelings I guess. Why do you ask?” John questioned, staring at his friend with a concerned eyebrow raised.
“Because I have been suffering emotions towards another person, these emotions aren’t considered proper. They are considered a sin, but truth be told I don’t believe they are a sin, I believe they are completely normal, just not in this century.” John nodded slowly, somewhat understanding what his friend was saying, soon coming to realise it almost sounded as if Laszlo wanted to talk about his dilemma.
“And what are these uh emotions you speak of?” For a moment, and the very first time in their friendship, Laszlo looked reserved. “Laszlo, my friend, you can talk to me about anything, you know that right?”
“Well if that is true then I trust I can say this to you.” John sat patiently as he watched Laszlo suck in a deep breath. “John, I have been experiencing emotions towards you. Some of them of course is trust and fondness. You have become one of my most cherished friends in only under a year. But there are now other emotions, ones that will probably ruin how you see me now. I love you John, and not just as friend.”
John felt his heart stop at the confession, his mouth agape in shock and eyes wide. Laszlo continued talking as if John hadn’t gotten the exact explanation he wanted him to have.
“I feel for you romantically, I want to be able to hold your hand while we have our little chats. I want to be able hug you for longer than what is considered normal for friends and males at that. I want to be able to kiss you when you are stressed with work and hope for it to settle you for a moment. I want to be able to share your bed and hold you while you sleep. I want everything that is considered a relationship between lovers.”
Finally, Laszlo stopped talking, looking at his friend with a certain vulnerability in his eyes. John could only sit frozen, barely breathing as his mind took in what the other boy had just said. Once his brain had processed the new information, he looked at Laszlo, shocked as the rims of his eyes were red from holding back what John guessed was tears.
Now it was up to him, to decide on what he truly wanted. If he decided to indulge in Laszlo’s and his own desires for something more between them, they would be in a constant state of high alert at all times. They would have to pretend to just be friends in public, and try to keep touching to a minimum. But if he decided to reject Laszlo, to tell him that they could only ever be friends, he would risk losing his friend and causing himself hurt. And John, though he was considered a wise young lad, was truly willing to risk his reputation and life if it meant he could be with Laszlo in the way he wanted.
Slowly, John stood up, and with him as if scared he was about to be yelled at, Laszlo stood too. Staring at John with uncertain eyes, not knowing what the other boy was going to do. The two stared at each other for a long moment, and Laszlo went to open his mouth, to try and take back everything he said and beg to for John to stay as his friend. But before he could get a word out, he felt two hands grab the sides of his head and a pair of soft lips connect with his own.
Both boys felt their hearts weep with joy at finally being able to kiss the other, Laszlo wrapped his arms around John’s waist to try and bring him closer, and the taller boy went willingly. John felt Laszlo swipe his tongue against his lip, and if he wasn’t experience at kissing he wouldn’t have a clue on what that meant. But he was experienced, and he opened his mouth almost immediately to let Laszlo’s wandering tongue in, his own entering his new lovers mouth.
They spent what felt like an eternity making out, but the need for air became too bothersome and they pulled apart, gasping in air but staring at the other.
“I love you too.” John whispered, and the brightest smile appeared on Laszlo’s face.
---
“-ohn? John!” Laszlo called to him, bringing John out of his thoughts with a jolt. Laszlo looked at him with a concerned expression. “Are you okay?”
John only nodded, sculling the rest of his whiskey and placing the glass on the table. “Was just lost in thought.”
Laszlo raised an eyebrow at him, and turned away from the drawings, leaning against the table and staring at his old friend.
“What were you thinking about?” He inquired, and John looked down at his feet. See when both of them landed jobs, they went their separate ways, both parties thinking it for the best. Ever since then they had only met up a handful of times, mostly for work just like now.
“It’s nothing.” John mumbled, still staring at his feet. He heard his friend move and soon a pair of shoes came into view, quite close to his own.
“Talk to me John.” Laszlo said in a soft tone, and John smiled slightly. When things were better, when they were still at Harvard together, Laszlo would always use this tone and that sentence to get John to talk about what was on his mind. And now, just like then, it always worked.
“I was thinking about the first time we met. How we became best friends, and of course out first kiss.” He said the last part in almost a whisper, now looking at Laszlo. He saw something in Laszlo’s expression soften, and the shorter man smiled at him. He felt Laszlo’s hand grab his own, holding it like he always used to.
“I find myself thinking of those moments as well. They are the happiest moments of my life.” Laszlo said softly, only loud enough for them to hear. John gripped Laszlo’s hand tightly, not wanting the man to let go. Laszlo stared at him, searching his face for something, and what ever he was looking for he must have found. The hand that wasn’t clasped in his own raised to his neck, a soft but strong touch as he pulled John forward for a kiss.
The kiss felt like the first time, however it didn’t last as long. When Laszlo pulled back from it, he rested his forehead against John’s, not wanting to separate from the man but knowing anyone could walk in on them convinced him to pull away.
“We’ll talk more about this later. Right now, I need you to tell me what you saw.” Laszlo said, and John sighed, being pulled into a recount that will leave him with a lifetime of nightmares.
But if it meant he could stay with Laszlo a little longer, John would never mind what was requested of him.