Archive of Our Own ^beta

Guang Hong stumbled over a crack in the pavement, but managed to keep his balance. Thankfully. He didn't need to waste any time, since he was already late. As late as someone could be for a spontaneous meet and greet, anyway.

Leroy, his favorite soccer player was in one of the bigger parks downtown. It was a huge tourist attraction and always packed. And now that Leroy was there who knows if he would even be able to get in. But he had to catch a glimpse. Get a photo? Talk to him? He wasn’t sure how lucky he was going to be. On top of how lucky he already was.

He weaved through a stream of people, checking his phone for an update on Leroy’s whereabouts.

Although—

“Favorite” soccer player was a bit of a stretch. He never watched soccer before. If his friends were into it, he watched it while he was hanging out with them—watching it consisting of talking to his friends and going on social media. And eating snacks. Lots. Of. Snacks. However, he saw Leroy during the opening ceremony, and everyone (commentators, his friends, even his parents when he went home for some reason…. He didn't know they cared about soccer) was going on about how he was the youngest player, and a rising star and had so much talent…

And on top of that, Guang Hong’s own analysis was that he was so attractive. (Those eyes… those cheeks… those lips…that hair… that everything!)

And after Guang Hong followed him on all social media, he learned that Leroy was also so funny.

And sweet.

And kind, and a good person, and how had he never found out about him before? And he wasn’t that much older than Guang Hong …. (Guang Hong envisioned himself smiling deviously. Yes… everything was going according to plan…. Step 1: Get on the road to finding Leroy. Check. Step 2: Find Leroy. In progress. Step 3: Get married. TBD.)

He was never in the same town as his idols. (Leroy became an “idol” pretty quickly. He called him JJ if he was feeling especially daring and comfortable. Jean-Jaques was so formal… so beautiful, like royalty.. Though maybe all French-sounding names sounded royal to him. He didn’t know.)

He was getting close.  He was so antsy on the train. Apparently, even maglev high speed wasn’t enough for him. He usually waffled back and forth between being confident and self-conscious about his height, but today, being short helped him dart through the crowd and get off the train as soon as possible.

And then he pounded down the street.

He was almost there.

Actually, where was he?

A cute mom and pop shop that was definitely not Starbucks? Not it. Was he even going the right way? He should be better at directions. Especially since he has a GPS in hand. Why was navigating so hard? Should he have taken the bus? That would have taken forever. He should know where this is. He had been there before but of course how would he remember how he got there? Guang Hong looked up at the store names, trying to match to the map on his phone where he was  and—

“Shit!”

Everything happened all at once, just milliseconds apart.

The first thing Guang Hong noticed: his own anger—a momentary flash at the fact that someone had stopped him from his quest.

Then he saw the coffee creeping out of the paper cup, on the ground. He felt some of the hot flecks on his hand and chest. He looked at the other person’s chest. It was what was at eye level. It was half drenched.

Then he realized—

That was an American accent.

“I am so sorry—” he began (in English).

He looked up.

Who was this !?

The guy looked at him, a mix of amused (from what???? In this situation??) and rueful (that made more sense….) But maybe Guang Hong was reading too much into it. He did that a lot. His eyes were dark like the coffee Guang Hong spilled on the ground (whoops). His skin was (flawless) and dark and with his upturned nose and playful lips, Guang Hong couldn’t stop himself from staring.

“You must be in a hurry.” Again, that amused/rueful smile. What was this?? Attractive, for one thing.

“I am so sorry.” Guang Hong’s throat was dry. His heart was beating so fast he could barely feel it. Was this what it was like to be a hummingbird? Would his heart literally combust from overwork? “I’ll buy you a new shirt. And a new coffee.”

The man laughed. Young man. Practically Guang Hong’s age. Almost a boy. But… a little older than a boy… (Guang Hong’s age to be fair...looked twelve. Maybe the man looked his real age. Not twelve for sure .)

Guang Hong had to grit his teeth to keep his jaw from going slack. There was nothing funny about this. He was mortified. How could be do this? How would be be so careless? He was normally so … aware .

“Don’t worry about the shirt. But I wouldn't say no to a coffee.”

“Yeah?” Guang Hong was surprised. Normally people put up more of a fight in this kind of situation. Right? At least for show. Putting on a front. No one wanted to seem like they were inconveniencing the person who had inconvenienced them.

Or maybe Guang Hong just had really nice friends.

Anyway, this was going smoother than expected. Maybe he could still catch JJ…. “It’s the least I can do,” Guang Hong asserted, putting all his powers of persuasion and sense of finality into his voice.

Stranger shrugged. So casually. Guang Hong could not BREATHE.

He had not been able to process the last thirty seconds. Minute. Whatever. It had all been too much.

Stranger. Attractive stranger.

JJ was getting away.

But he had basically ruined Attractive Stranger’s day. On the other hand, maybe it was better that the stranger wasn’t mad. Why would he want to deal with a mad person? He didn't. But he felt like the stranger should be mad. Guang Hong led them back to the store but the stranger opened the door for him. Guang Hong couldn’t tell why his heart was beating so fast; he felt like a drum, hollow and reverberating. Maybe it was from the running? Was he that out of shape? The off-season must be getting to him…. All this adrenaline... Too much was happening.  

The line was almost to the door. The stranger’s back was almost pressed against the glass. If someone tried to open it, it wouldn’t get past the stranger.

They were going to be here a while.

“I swear the line wasn’t this long when I first got here,” the stranger said. He looked a little less happy-go-lucky than he did a minute ago. What happened?

Guang Hong cared. Because he ruined his day. So he deserved to be happy from now on, until the end of eternity. And also his smile was gorgeous. Did gorgeous people just walk the streets like this? Was this guy famous? The more Guang Hong looked at him the more familiar he seemed… where had he seen him before… He looked athletic. But Guang Hong didn’t follow sports. This might bug him all day.

“It’s okay.”

“No, I feel bad. Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Guang Hong blinked up at him. So far up. He had to look way up to see his face. How tall was he… “Huh?”

“You were running. You must have been in a rush.”

“Oh.” Well. That he was. Sigh. “No, it’s okay,” Guang Hong stated, trying to convey his determination. “I’m going to get your coffee.”

“Well. You really don’t have to. But if you insist on getting it, you could just give me money, I guess?”

Guang Hong had, in fact, thought of that. “I don’t have any cash on me.” He tried not to sound too sad. Did he sound too sad? Ugh. He didn’t want to make Stranger feel bad.

“Who said I was talking about cash?”

Guang Hong looked up at him in shock and saw that the stranger had a blank face, like a mask. A dry chuckle escaped Guang Hong’s throat with great difficulty.

“That’s true.”

Stranger looked down at him. His floppy brown hair, well, flopped into his eyes. Sexily. O h, my god, calm down , Guang Hong told himself.   The stranger couldn’t read his mind. Right??? Probably not. And even if he could, he must be used to this all the time. With his cute button nose. His dark, dark eyes. Which looked so good against his tan skin. Holy—

“Look, I really do feel bad. You don’t have to wait here with me.”

Guang Hong waved his hand. “I am already waiting! Don’t worry about it.”

“You’ll be late—”

“Stop bringing that up.”

Stranger looked a little shocked. Guang Hong was a bit surprised too, honestly.

“It’s not your fault,”  Guang Hong continued, trying to sound gentle to make up for if the Stranger thought he was being rude. “It’s my fault so don’t worry.”

Stranger scratched the back of his hand. “I don’t want to be the reason you miss your thing.”

“Again, my fault.”

“Well, I don't want you to blame yourself. I feel so bad.”

Guang Hong sighed. “I mean, it is objectively my fault, but thank you so much for being nice. It makes me want to make it up to you even more.”

Stranger smiled a little at that. Guang Hong smiled back, feeling a little warm inside. (What was he doing? Why was he so crazy?)

“Really?” Stranger asked, by golly, so hopefully.

“Yes.”

“Thanks.” Another grin.

“No problem.” It took everything he had to not go breathless.

And suddenly they were almost at the front of the line. There were two baristas and they both must be equally harried though the girl was still smiling and the guy looked like death. His cold disinterested look scared Guang Hong. He hoped he would get the girl.

“Also, what were you drinking?” He looked up at the Stranger.

“What?”

“What was your coffee order?”  

“Oh. Black coffee.”

Guang Hong balked. “Seriously?”

The stranger scratched his elbow and shuffled his feet. “Yeah. Why would I come all the way to a coffee shop for black coffee, right?”

They were at the front of the line. And they did not get the girl. The dark glare of the barista chilled Guang Hong. Crap. He needed to get over it. It was just coffee. He took a deep breathe. Okay, here goes. “Yeah, hold on—”

“Hi, what can I get started for you?” the barista cut Guang Hong off, running him over like a semitruck, with  the most deadpan voice Guang Hong had ever heard. His eyes were hooded and bored and Guang Hong felt very small (smaller than usual).

“Black coffee.”

“Name?”

Guang Hong turned to Stranger. “What’s your name?”

“Leo. What is yours?”

“I was asking for your name, not for a whole introduction.” The barista’s critical gaze swept between Leo and Guang Hong, stark and unamused.

“Sorry,” Guang Hong murmured.

“It’s my fault,” Leo chimed in with an apologetic smile. “He was buying me coffee but I was dumb and didn’t tell him my name.”

“Great. That will be 3.83.”

The barista turned his back to them and picked up a cup and went to the coffee machine and filled up the cup. He put it on the counter and Leo picked it up.

“Have a nice day,”  Leo and the barista said at the same time. There was bounce in Leo’s voice and it was almost funny and painful to hear the difference between Leo’s and the barista’s flat voice. The barista sent them one final gruntled look and went to help the next customer with the same dull done.

“Yikes,” Leo leaned down and stage-whispered in Guang Hong’s ear. It took everything Guang Hong had to not shiver. It wasn’t even cold (although, Guang Hong was always cold when he went out because everywhere cranked up the AC way too much!!) So. No excuses to shiver this time. None.

“It’s super busy, so he might be overwhelmed,” Guang Hong guessed.

“Yeah.”

They looked at each other in silence for a moment. Guang Hong was confused. They had been having amazing conversation this whole time. There had never been any awkward silences. Guang Hong could be particularly sensitive to awkward silences. He wanted everyone to like him all the time—never mind that his friends always reminded him: “they usually did!” And awkward silences didn’t mean bad. But he never knew what people were thinking during them which stressed him out.

What was Leo thinking?

His momentary stress was addressed the next second when Leo spoke.

“Well. I guess this is it.”

Oh. Well. They had done what they had set out to do.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You didn’t get anything,” Leo pointed out abruptly.

Guang Hong smiled softly, aiming for “nonchalant” and “appeasing”. “I don’t want anything.”

“Whaaat? Awww, why?” Leo goaded.

Guang Hong shook his head and chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“No, that’s not fair,” Leo whined.

“What do you mean?”

“You got me something!”

“Yeah, because I spilled your first drink, remember?”

“Still. Now we have to wait in line all over again.”

“No, please, no,” Guang Hong gasped.

“What, you hated talking to me that much?” Leo covered his heart with the hand not holding his drink.

“Oh my god, no!” Guang Hong exclaimed.

Leo laughed, a bit bashfully. “Well, in that case, would you like to to keep me company while I drink this concoction you bought me?”

“Yeah, sure!” Guang Hong could think about anything other than how pleased the invitation made him. “Though it’s not really a concoction since it’s just black coffee.”

“That’s true.” Leo started looking around the store.

Guang Hong looked around, too. There weren’t many tables open.

“The window?” he suggested.

“What about there?” Leo pointed to a tiny table all the way in the back, as far away from the window as possible.

“Worried about sun spots?” Guang Hong joked. Leo’s complexion was absolutely perfect so he probably literally had nothing to worry about ever.

“Huh?”

“You didn’t want to sit next to the window.” Guang Hong was regretting his joke.

“I mean we can if you want to.”

Guang Hong let out a small laugh. “No, no, it’s fine. It was a joke. A really bad one, but yeah.”

“Nah.”

They made their way to the table Leo had chosen and sat down.

They stared at each other for a moment. Guang Hong didn’t know how his mind was blank but so active at the same time, trying to think of something to say.

“How’s the coffee?” he blurted.

Leo looked down at the cup. “Well, it’s still too hot.”

“That’s true.”

“And honestly, I don’t even like coffee.”   

What the—

Guang Hong looked at him, appalled, his jaw open. “Well, why did you buy coffee from a coffee place then?!”

Leo shrugged. “I was going to meet a friend here, but then he bailed.”

Guang Hong was about ready to explode. But not from anger. From…? He didn't know. No time to analyze.  

“Oh.” Awkwardness hovered behind him, slapping its hands on Guang Hong’s shoulders like an older brother out to embarrass him in front of his friends. Leo. Whatever. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. He always does this.”

Guang Hong gawked. “That’s not fine! That sucks! People should honor their commitments.”

Leo looked at him with a hollow look of shock.

Guang Hong straightened out wrinkles in his shirt. He became very self conscious about the wrinkles in this moment. And about the past few minutes. And about his whole life.

“What?”

“No one has ever defended me so passionately before. I like it?”

Guang Hong felt himself flush, and his day just kept getting better and better, didn’t it? (Sarcasm.)

“Really?” Guang Hong asked (dumbly). “Well, they should.”

“Why, thank you.” Leo looked delighted.

“Yeah.”

“Although, it’s a bit of a leap of faith for you to be saying that to me, don’t you think?”

“Well, that’s your responsibility.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. It’s your responsibility to make sure that I am not buying coffee for a murderer.”

“Oh, it’s not that bad. Other stuff.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Oh?”

“What stuff?”

“I don’t know. I guess people don't think I take stuff seriously. Or I don’t react how they want. I don’t know”

“Do you take stuff seriously?”

“Yes. I think I’m a good listener. Maybe they think if I make jokes, then I don’t care? But I do.”

“Well. You can always adjust per the situation. Joking can be a coping mechanism or  to make things less awkward. And laughing can make people feel better. It has to be at the right place at the right time.”

“Makes sense. Thanks doc.”

“No problem.” Guang Hong felt a brief moment of panic. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make it seem like I knew your problems or how to solve them.”

“No, it’s fine! I think it’s funny. Oops, there I go again.”

Guang Hong had to laugh at that. It came out a lot easier this time.  

“Look at me, conveying my life secrets,” Leo’s gaze darted around the room conspiratorially.

Guang Hong giggled, trying not to be mortified at himself. Once he started he couldn’t stop. He had to wonder: was Leo actually that funny, or just super attractive? “Strangers can be very therapeutic.”

“You don’t say?” Leo smiled softly. “I guess I need it.”

Guang Hong took a shallow breathe. He honestly didn't know how to respond. He wasn't going to pry. But he found that he wanted the best for Leo. Was it normal to get attached to someone so easily?

“We all probably do,” he admitted.

“That’s true. Are you still going to try to make it to your thing?”

Guang Hong blinked. “What?”

“You were in such a rush earlier.”

“Oh.” Oh. He had almost forgotten. He studied the pinprick of sadness. Yeah. It sucked a little. But honestly if he had to miss it for anything, he was glad it was for this. He stared up into Leo’s apologetic gaze. Making a new friend was worth anything.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s probably over by now. It doesn’t matter.” Guang Hong looked at the table.

“Oh gosh. I’m so sorry I made you miss it. What was it?”  

Guang Hong hesitated.

He wasn’t sure how to answer that question.

He wasn’t embarrassed, so to say, by his “obsessions.” He looked up to the these people. Sometimes they were extremely attractive. Okay, they were often pretty attractive. Or, the fact that they were phenomenal, good-hearted, kind people made them attractive and lovable. They always had inspiring stories of how they “reached success.” Watching someone follow their dreams made anyone want to follow their dreams.

And also if they were music artists, then them creating good things and putting it into the world was inspiring and awesome and Guang Hong’s life would be silent without them. Which was a horrible thought. Guang Hong owed them all a lot. All these people got him through difficult times. He shared a lot of his waking moments with them, supporting them. Because they deserved it.

So, was he ashamed of stanning?

No…. (He was respectful…He never wanted to invade someone’s privacy. But JJ was known to love meet and greets. He would never break into someone’s house or harass them on social media. Or on the street. If they were down to take photos then that’s great but they were real people too. Really amazing extraordinary people.)

He decided he couldn't trust Leo. He didn’t want to be judged. “I was meeting someone.”

Leo froze. “Oh.”

Guang Hong studied Leo for a second. Was something wrong? Guang Hong wondered what he had said. Or maybe he’d imagined it? What were the chances that this guy was here to see JJ too…

“Will they be mad? Oh, god. And you were just telling off my friend who bailed on me.”

Guang Hong scoffed. “Yeah, that’s true. I mean. It’s… uh. It’s a celebrity. One of my favorite soccer players.”

“Oh? Who?”

“JJ Leroy.”

“Oh.”

Guang Hong swore Leo’s lips twitched in a smirk.

“JJ—uh, Leroy?”

“Yeah.” Silence. “What about you? What were you up to before I ruined your day?”

“Um, I wouldn’t phrase it like that. I was having a pretty good day before, but it’s going pretty great now.”

“Oh? What have you got planned?”

“Oh, nothing much.”

They stared at each other for a second.

A small chuckle escaped Guang Hong’s lips.

“What?”

Guang Hong shook his head. “I can’t believe you don’t like coffee.”

“Yeah.” Leo looked down at his cup as he spun it around in his hands. Then he shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Should we get something else?” Guang Hong asked.

Leo looked up in surprise. “I mean you already bought me this.”

“We can each buy our own. Of whatever.”

“So you want to?” Leo looked excited.

“Yeah, I guess,” Guang Hong grinned.

“Do you want lunch?”

This definitely probably wasn’t a date but Guang Hong was getting nervous like it was. “We could get lunch.”

“Okay. I will buy you lunch to make up for the coffee.”

“You don’t have to do that! That defeats the purpose!”

“I’m going to.”

“That’s not a fair trade!”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“Lunch is a huge step up from coffee.”

“I move quickly.” Leo smirked at an inside joke that Guang Hong was not privy to.

“Okay.”

“Great! Do you know any good places around here?”

“Not off the top of my head.”

“Okay, well why don't we walk around until we find something?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Cool.” Leo grinned and Guang Hong was dazzled.  He could live for that smile.

****

They had been walking around for a while. Leo was a lot less of a stranger by now. Honestly, Guang Hong felt like he knew him pretty well after this. Leo asked how many siblings he had (sadly, none).

But Guang Hong could listen to Leo talk about his sisters all day.

In fact, Guang Hong was too busy listening to Leo talk about his little sisters’ last soccer game by now to remember that they were supposed to get lunch. The enemy coach disrespected Leo’s sisters’ teammates so one of the girls dumped a water jug on his head.

“Normally people dump water on the coach when they win, right? Duh, you already know that, why did I say that.”

Guang Hong shook his head. “No, actually I didn’t.”

Leo looked down at him in awe. “Really?”

“Yeah. Is that bad?”

“How can a soccer fan, or any fan, not know that? I mean, not to be rude.”

“It’s not rude.” Guang Hong hesitated. The moment of truth…. Leo probably deserved it. “Uh, well.  Fan is a strong word.”

“You just think JJ is really hot?”

Guang Hong flushed. “Yeah.”

“He is very attractive.”

“Yeah.” Okay, well. A little awkward but not that bad. Guang Hong could have sworn  that Leo’s face fell for a second. Maybe he was imaging it.

Leo looked like he was steeling himself. He looked down at Guang Hong resolutely. “Well, do you want to meet him?”

Guang Hong hoped his smile didn't look too dopey. “Yeah, it would be a dream.”

“Okay.”

Leo got his phone out of his pocket and flipped it face up.

Guang Hong tried to peer at the phone. Why was Leo so tall? Why was the phone practically at nose-level? “What are you doing?” Did Leo have inside deets on Leroy’s whereabouts? Was Leo a stan this whole time? Why didn’t he say anything??

Leo held the phone to his ear. The moment Guang Hong thought it might be rude to make a phone call in the middle of a conversation, Leo muttered, “excuse me,” and Guang Hong bit back a sigh. By now he should know Leo didn't have a rude bone in his body.

“Hey, man, what’s up?”

Were American accents always this attractive? Was it just a Leroy and Leo thing? (North American accents in general, then.)

“Yeah, it’s fine. You suck and you are the worst.”

Oh. Was Leo talking to a best friend?

“Actually, if you want to make it up to me. Yeah. Thanks, man. See you in a bit.”

Leo put down the phone. Guang Hong looked up at him expectantly. Leo looked very pleased.

“I have a surprise for you.” He smiled smugly.

“What is going on, I’m scared.”

“A surprise,” Leo repeated. Unhelpfully.

“Leo,” Guang Hong whined. Leo looked down at him, intrigued.

“We do not know each other well enough for this kind of shenanigans.”

“Huh.” Leo looked thoughtful.  “I feel like we have known each other our whole lives.”

How could Leo say stuff like this so easily?

Quick, respond!

“Yes, oh my god, that is so sweet!”

Leo honest to god preened.

“Let’s go.”

Leo called an Uber. Guang Hong realized he should not get in a car with a stranger.

“Where are we going?”

Leo looked down. “It’s a surprise.”

“I like you and we are friends now but I can’t get into a car with a stranger.”

Leo nodded. “Okay, makes sense. Karaoke.”

“Okay.”

“Here’s the address.” Leo showed Guang Hong his phone. Guang Hong supposed he should write it down. He noted the name of the bar at least.

“Tell all your loved ones where you are going. They can come if they want. Especially if they are football fans.”

Guang Hong looked up at him. “Uh.”

“You want to meet JJ, right?”

“Yeah, that would be amazing,” Guang Hong repeated slowly, his brain struggling to put everything together. He wasn’t sure if Leo was being mysterious and cryptic or if he was just being dense. “You arranged for me to meet him on the phone.”

“Yes, I called him.”

Oh my god. “You… You called him.”

“Yeah.” Leo put his hands in his pockets. “He is my teammate.”

Guang Hong’s mouth and throat were so dry. He missed Leo’s coffee right about ow. “Teammate. You play on JJ’s team.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god.”

“Yeah.”

Everything was clicking together now. Leo’s face in Leroy’s pictures. Why he looked so familiar. Because he had seen Leo’s face before. In so many of Leroy’s posts. “Oh my god. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”

Leo smiled wryly. “You said you weren’t a fan, so I wasn’t going to be offended. JK I’m super offended.”

“No, I knew you recognized me from somewhere!”

“Ah, ah, it’s too late,” Leo wagged his finger. “You definitely had no idea who I was.”

“I mean, now I recognize you from JJ’s pictures,” Guang Hong defended.

“Nah, JJ only posts pictures with Christophe,” Leo rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t want me ugly-ing up his feed.”

Guang Hong honestly couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “No, what??? There’s no way he thinks that.”

“It’s true,” Leo sighed dramatically. “But it's fine. We can’t all be JJ and Christophe.”

“Who is Christophe?”

“Giacometti? Here.”  Leo got out his phone scrolled for a bit and showed him a picture.

Leroy was there of course. Leo was there. Both of them looking very attractive. There was a blonde man with light eyes and ridiculous eyelashes, and an even more ridiculous pouty face.

“Oh, wow, he is attractive,” Guang Hong blurted.

“Yeah.” Leo took his phone back, looked at the screen for a second, then locked his phone and put it back in his pocket.

“You are attractive too.”

“Oh, don’t mind me I’m fine,” Leo joked.

“You are!” Guang Hong cried.

“You are just saying that to be nice,” Leo stated. “Which I appreciate. But you don’t have to.”

“No, I’m not! I mean it!”

“Well, thanks.”

The Uber eventually arrived. Leo confirmed the destination and they were on their way.

Guang Hong couldn’t believe his life.

They pulled up to the karaoke bar.  Watching JJ sing live….Guang Hong was getting less worried about being kidnapped, and more worried about passing out.

They went inside. Okay, maybe Guang Hong was literally going to pass out.

Leo led them through the crowd.  Guang Hong wanted to hold his hand or hold him by the shirt to keep from getting separated. Guang Hong though his shirt would be so warm from laying against his skin all day.

“Hey!!!” someone greeted Leo as Leo walked up to them and slapped and clasped hands with them in a well-rehearsed handshake.

Oh wow, JJ was right there. And smiling at him. Whoa.

“Hey, JJ, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Guang Hong?” JJ grinned.

Guang Hong was honestly stunned.

He looked like a real human.

Definitely a very attractive human.

But Guang Hong couldn't believe he was standing there.

“Hi,” Guang Hong grinned, “Thanks for letting me intrude.”

“It’s not an intrusion at all. Do you sing?”

“Umm—”

“Why don’t you go sing?” Leo said. There was something off about his smile.

Before Guang Hong could say anything, JJ grabbed his arm, raising a yelp out of Guang Hong.

“Okay, let’s go!” JJ cried.

Once he was on stage there was no stopping him. JJ was so into it and Guang Hong couldn’t believe this was happening. He was shy at first.

“How about my theme song?”

Some of the crowd booed. It seemed to be the soccer team.

“You have done that about three times already!!” an incredibly short boy with long blonde hair yelled. Was that a full adult?

“Do something else!!” Christophe agreed from his barstool.

“Oh, fine,” JJ sighed like a hurricane. “Then what shall we do?”

“Here.” Christophe got up and signed up for them.

“What did you do?”

He studied Guang Hong for a second. Guang Hong wondered what he was looking for.

“Just try your best.” He looked at Leo meaningfully. Leo glared. “What?” he mouthed. Christophe smiled sweetly.

“Oh my god.” Guang Hong giggled breathlessly, shifting his weight from one foot to another.  He clasped his wrist in his other hand and watched Leo made his way towards them intently. He focused on Leo’s gait, his eyes. They never broke eye contact. Guang Hong kept looking up and up and up as Leo got closer, until he was right in front of him.

“They dragged you into this?”

“You told me to do it.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You should choose what you want.”

“Honestly this is good.”

“He wants Arianna Grande,” Christophe said. “But this is for his own good.”

Guang Hong flushed. “How did you know!”

Christophe smirked. “I can just tell with these things.”

Guang Hong looked down, then around the dark room. He was just so dumb happy now.

They went up on stage. The lights were so bright. Guang Hong looked for Leo. He could barely make out any of the faces in the dark room. He thought he found him and smiled. Leo smiled back and gave him a thumbs up.

The intro notes started. JJ started perfectly on time. Was he a legit performer?

“We were both headed different ways

Both in a rush, trying to get away

I ran into you-ou-ou”

Guang Hong looked at Christophe. Wait a minute. What was this?

Christophe looked at him knowingly.

“Like a crash of thunder

Out in the rain waiting for the bus

We started talking 'bout different stuff

And it's true-ue-ue

There's an eighth world wonder

And from now on

You're not as lonely as you think you are”

JJ was such a stunning performer. It was amazing to see him in person.

It took some time for Guang Hong to get into it. But once he did, all bets were off.

“We can make it happen

I could be your sweetie, sweetie

You're not as lonely as you think you are

I'm trying to tell you

That all I wanna do, is just be true to you

And give you satisfaction

Sweetie, sweetie

Yea”

By the time the ending notes finished, Guang Hong was on a different plane.

Everyone clapped and JJ smiled and waved. He held up Guang Hong’s hand and made them both bow.

“Oh my god, stop,” Guang Hong giggled.

“You did amazing!!” JJ exclaimed.

“Thanks so much! You were amazing!”

“Leo just finds all the good ones, doesn’t he?” JJ winked.

Guang Hong flushed. All of the good ones?

He got JJ’s number. Which was incredible. He might not use it. Maybe be would. He didn’t know. JJ was so nice. Why was he so nice.

“Don’t give it out,” he warned with a wink.

“Yeah, definitely,” Guang Hong agreed. He caught a glimpse of Leo out of the corner of his eye. His face was taut—with discomfort? Was he overthinking this?

“Shall we do another one?”

“Yeah, sure, why not,” Guang Hong answered breathlessly. When he looked around for Leo again, Leo was gone.

JJ wanted to do his theme song again. Guang Hong did not know the words. Guang Hong could tell JJ was miffed, though he was trying to pretend he wasn’t.

Guang Hong sat down at the bar next to Christophe.

“Good job,” Christophe said, handing him a water bottle.

“Thank you!! I had so much fun!”

“Glad you got to come today. JJ always likes meeting fans.”

“Thanks! It’s funny, I was trying to meet him this morning. This is so amazing. It was so good to meet all of you.”

Christophe smiled warmly at him. “Likewise.”

He sipped his water. He couldn’t believe this day. But why did he feel like there was something missing?

He looked around.

Where was Leo?

He turned to Christophe.

“I think he went out back,” Christophe nodded in the direction Leo supposedly went.

Guang Hong looked at him warily. How did he… never mind.

“Thanks.”

He hopped out of the chair and made his way in the direction Christophe pointed. He was momentarily afraid the fire alarm would go off if he went out this way. He turned back to see if Christophe could still see him. He was still at the bar, elbow propped up on the counter. The bartender was looking at him intently. Never mind. Guang Hong took a deep breath.

And nothing happened when he opened the door.  Thank god.

He tried to close the door quietly behind him. He looked around. And there Leo was. Looking sexy as usual. Especially nonchalant, leaning against the brick wall like a teenage dream.

Guang Hong walked towards him. “Hello.”

Leo looked up, shocked. “Hi. How’s it going?”

“Amazing. Thank you so much.” Guang Hong laughed. “I cannot believe this.”

“Good think you spilled coffee on me, right?”

Guang Hong’s jaw dropped. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t. I’m not.” Leo smiled. “I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with you today.”

“Yeah.” Guang Hong felt his cheeks warm. “Me too.”

Silence.

Guang Hong felt uncomfortable. “What’s wrong?”

Leo turned away and shook his head and turned back to Guang Hong. There was a grin on his face, but it was forced, the fact of which pricked Guang Hong. He felt his blood run cold. This was not the smile he wanted to see.

“So? How was JJ? Is he the man of your dreams?”

Guang Hong laughed drily.

Leo looked troubled. As in, did not look like he was joking.

“What? Yeah, he is amazing.” He stuttered to a halt. “Um. Did I do something?” Guang Hong asked. Anxiety. He didn’t want to do anything wrong. He didn't want to ruin this friendship.

“What do you mean?”

“We were having a lot of fun before, at least I think, and I don’t think we are now.”

“No, we are. As long as you are having fun.”

“Do you like to sing?”

Leo looked down at him warily. “Yeah.”

“We should sing a song together.” Guang Hong’s mind was blank, with blindingly bright white hope.

“Nah,” Leo said and Guang Hong’s heart fell.

“Let JJ have his spotlight.”

Guang Hong snorted. “He had probably had enough.”

Leo looked at him in surprise. “Well, yea, probably.”

They stared at each for for a moment.

“I never got to buy you lunch.”

“Yeah.” Guang Hong looked up at him trying to read him. What did he want? “That’s okay. You don’t have to.”

Leo smiled tightly at the ground. “Okay.”

“I mean.” Was he being dumb? Probably. He swallowed dryly. “Unless you want to?”

Leo looked up with a carefully guarded expression. Guang Hong wanted so much for things to go back to the way they were before. He really liked Leo. He took a deep breath.

“I want to get to know you,” he said. Leo opened his mouth but Guang Hong waved for him to wait. Leo respectfully closed his mouth. Guang Hong smiled fondly at that. “I want to spend more time with you. Today was a magical day.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I want to get to know you too. I … I really like you.”

Guang Hong flushed. “I really like you, too.”

“So are you going to get my number?”

“No, I’ll just communicate via passenger pigeon.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks. That will be perfect, I have a little barn for them and everything.”

“Good, I love farms.”

Leo looked at him fondly. Guang Hong wondered if he was going to say “I love you.” Maybe that would be too cheesy. And anyway, there would be time for that later. They could make it happen.