Work Text:
It was a terribly hot day in Fresno at 96° Fahrenheit. Why Leo’s mother had chosen to hold a yard sale in the mid-July heat was beyond Guang-hong. Somehow, though, they’d had a pretty good turnout so far.
Currently, Guang-hong stood over a disheveled stack of boys’ clothing. He was in the process of re-folding the clothes and re-organizing the table of little boys’ clothing for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. A pair of mid-thirties women approached Guang-hong.
“Excuse us, but do you know where we can find clothes for a toddler-age boy?” One of them, a tall brunette with a kind smile, asked.
“Right here, actually! I was just folding them up.” Guang-hong answered. He smiled at the couple, wondering whether to try to start conversation. Leo had told him earlier to be very friendly and polite with those who were looking to buy things, in hopes that kindness would encourage them to buy more than they might otherwise.
“All items of clothing on this table are 25 cents, by the way!” Guang-hong informed the two ladies who were scouring through a pile of shorts. One of the women remarked upon how good of a deal that was and continued rummaging through the pile.
All of the boys’ clothing they were selling that day had once belonged to Leo and then passed down to Leo’s baby brother as hand-me-downs. Now that Leo’s brother, Gabriel, was approaching middle school, Leo’s mom decided that now was the perfect time to get rid of all the little boys’ clothing once and for all. Besides, Leo was leaving for college this fall, and most of the money from the yard sale was going towards college expenses.
Remembering that his best friend in the entire world was going to be leaving for college in a couple of months, Guang-hong let out a sad sigh. He fanned himself by tugging his collar back and forth a few times.
“Would you guys like some water?”
“Oh, how much?” asked the shorter one, a redhead wearing a pair of large-rimmed glasses, in reference to the cost.
“It’s free!” Guang-hong replied, smiling.
“Can we have two bottles please?’
Guang-hong handed them each a cold bottle from the cooler.
“Thank you so much!” said the brunette. “We’re ready to pay.”
“Awesome! Did you check out the boys’ shoes?”
“No, sorry. We’re not interested.”
“That’s alright!” The redhead handed the stack of clothes to Guang-hong and he counted how many items they’d purchased. “That’ll be $3.50.”
They handed him exact change and left after Guang-hong handed them plastic grocery bags full of the clothing they bought. Guang-hong stretched and decided he deserved a break. He walked past Leo’s mom who was debating the price of an electric screwdriver with an older man.
“Excuse me, Ms. de la Iglesia, I’m going inside for a quick break.”
“No problem, Guang-hong. Tell Gabriel to come out here when you get inside,” she said, turning her head back to face Mr. Screwdriver Expert who wanted to pay far too little for what was a screwdriver in good condition.
Inside the house, Guang-hong found Gabriel sorting out puzzle pieces on the living room floor, a big cup of lemonade in hand.
“Ooh, where’d you get that from, Gabe?”
“My mommy gave me the puzzle. Leo just made this lemonade,” the boy said, not looking up from the puzzle pieces in front of him.
“Your mom wants you to go help her outside for a second.”
“Okayyy,” Gabriel dragged out the last syllable in a whining voice.
As Gabriel left, Guang-hong looked down at the puzzle before him. The full picture was supposed to be of some type of wildlife scene, and Guang-hong bent down and attached a leopard’s tail to the rest of its body.
“Hey, Guang-hong. Finishing Gabe’s puzzle for him?” Leo asked with a small smile, strolling into the living room, a cup of lemonade in hand. Guang-hong licked his lips. His mouth was so dry.
“Here you go, man,” said Leo, handing the other boy the cold glass. He smiled seeing how grateful Guang-hong was. Guang-hong took the glass eagerly and promptly swallowed down a large gulp.
“This is perfect, Leo. What am I gonna do with myself when you’re gone?” Guang-hong meant it jokingly, but Leo sensed a deeper undercurrent of sadness in Guang-hong’s tone.
“You’re gonna be fine without me, man. It’s me who’s gonna be completely lost after this summer.”
“Oh, shut up --”
“No, I’m serious. You’ve always been there for me. Hell, you’re spending your Saturday helping my family with a yard sale. I don’t know what it’s gonna be like without you.”
Guang-hong looked down into his glass, wordless.
“Will you help me set up the lemonade and cups outside?”
“Of course,” answered Guang-hong.
Leo was right. Guang-hong wanted to help him out every step of the way.
-
Leo and Guang-hong had met in middle school. Guang-hong’s family had moved to the US from China the summer after Guang-hong’s eleventh birthday. Entering middle school is a difficult enough transition as is, and starting over in a new country was tough for Guang-hong.
During the first couple days of school, Leo was assigned to help Guang-hong acclimate to the new school. Thanks to his responsible nature and friendly demeanor, Leo was chosen by his teachers to be a student ambassador, which meant he was the first student from his new school that Guang-hong met. Although he was a grade below him, Leo continued to hang around Guang-hong even after his duties were fulfilled. It was not long before the two were inseparable.
When Guang-hong’s first crush, Kevin, turned him down when Guang-hong asked if they could go to the Valentine’s Day dance together, Leo consoled Guang-hong and took him to the dance with his group of friends (and had an impromptu sleepover at his house when Guang-hong ended up wanting to leave early.)
When Leo nearly got his first B on his report card because of a grading error on a pre-algebra test, Guang-hong was the one who gave him the courage to confront his teacher about it.
When the other boys teased and bullied Guang-hong for his small stature, Leo was there to defend and comfort him.
When Leo’s parents divorced during his freshman year of high school, Guang-hong would wait up for him at his bus stop so that Leo would have someone to talk about his feelings with on his way home even though they didn’t go to the same school that year.
As long as they’d known each other, Guang-hong and Leo had had each other’s backs, and it was going to be hard for them to separate indefinitely once Leo left for college. Especially considering the feelings Guang-hong was starting to realize he had for Leo.
-
Outside, Leo sold cups of lemonade to passersby, and Guang-hong was helping Leo’s mom keep track of the money. Looking over his shoulder, Leo glanced at Guang-hong. He felt a warm fondness fill his chest, and he wasn’t sure if it was a familiar sensation or not.
Lately, Leo had been feeling the desire to pull Guang-hong tight against him, the desire to hold him, the desire press his own lips against his. As long as he’d known Guang-hong, Leo had thought he was cute. Leo remembered feeling the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach when he was first introduced to the new student; he’d remembered quite liking the boy’s shiny brown hair and freckles. But as they became closer friends, Leo’s little crush subsided. Or, perhaps he’d just put it on the back burner.
Leo noticed a group of boys who went to his school walking in the direction of his yard. There were four of them: Viktor Nikiforov, star of the school’s soccer team who had received a ton of money in scholarships, Yuuri Katsuki, Viktor’s boyfriend who was certainly going to replace him as the soccer team’s star, Chris Giacometti, who was known for being their school’s biggest party animal, and Phichit Chulanont, Chris’s boyfriend and total social butterfly. Leo liked each person individually, but all four of them were a lot to handle at once. However, judging from how sweaty and flushed each of them looked, Leo was certain he was about to sell a ton of lemonade. They walked up to the lemonade stand.
“Hi, Leo!” Phichit was the first to greet him. “We saw your yard sale on Guang-hong’s Snapchat story. How’s it going? Have you guys sold a lot so far?”
“It’s actually going really well. We’ve already sold more than we expected.”
“Well, that’s great,” piped in Viktor. He smelt like sunscreen and out of the whole group, he looked the most worn out by the heat.
“Would you guys like some lemonade? It’s 50 cents per cup. Or, if you buy something from the yard sale, you get a free water with your purchase,” Leo explained, plastering a handsome, friendly smile across his face.
Yuuri spoke first. “I’ll buy lemonades for every one here,” he pulled out his wallet and handed Leo three dollars, ignoring the protests of his boyfriend.
“Yuuri,” Viktor whined, “Let me buy it for you.”
“Nope. Besides, you never carry cash with you anyways.”
Viktor pouted and was the first to get his cup. He swallowed the sweet and sour drink gratefully.The others followed suit.
“Hey, Yuuri, you gave me a dollar too many--”
Yuuri winked and gave a tiny smile. “It’s your tip.”
Leo shrugged and pocketed the extra dollar. “Thanks, man.”
Guang-hong walked to the stand and stood next to Leo. “It’s 1 o’clock. Your mom said we can go now.”
“But who’s going to help take everything down?”
“Your cousins Angie and Gloria came over to help.”
“Awesome, do you wanna go grab lunch or something?” Leo asked, running a hand through his hair that was damp with sweat. It was kind of gross, and he grimaced.
“You guys should come hang out with us. We were gonna stop by my and Yuuri’s families’ restaurant to grab a bite to eat and then maybe head over to Viktor’s house for a swim,” Phichit offered. Phichit’s and Yuuri’s families had known each other for decades, and they ran a Thai and Japanese restaurant together. Both of Viktor’s parents were doctors, and they had a pool in their backyard.
“Oh my gosh,” Phichit continued,” You guys should totally come! It’d be like a triple date, how fun!”
“Wait, Leo and I aren’t dating…” Guang-hong clarified. He felt his face flush even more somehow than it already had in the heat. His cheeks felt uncomfortably hot, and he pressed his hands against the jug of lemonade, then against his cheeks.
“Wait, what?!” said Phichit.
“You guys aren’t dating?” asked Chris.
“How are you two not dating?” asked Viktor.
By now, Guang-hong’s skin was hotter than the surface of the sun.
“We aren’t dating,” explained Leo. “We’ve just been best friends since middle school.”
“I hope you guys know that everyone has assumed that you two are dating since, like, junior year,” said Viktor.
“What? Why?” Guang-hong was thoroughly confused.
‘Well, you know, Leo brought you as his guest to his junior prom along with his actual date, Jordan,” said Viktor.
“And then you left early with Guang-hong instead of Jordan. Can you guess what everyone assumed you two had left to go do?” Chris drawled out his words suggestively, and the revelation hit Leo immediately. Jordan had broken things off with Leo the Sunday afternoon after prom without an explanation.
“And then after you guys broke up, you started hanging out with Guang-hong even more, as if that was somehow possibile,” Yuuri added.
“Everyone sorta assumed that you two had made things official. Well, actually, there was some gossip that you guys had been messing around behind Jordan’s back before the break-up, but you’re such a nice guy that no one wanted to believe it.”
“Oh my god, I can’t believe all this happened without me or Guang-hong knowing what everyone was saying about us,” Leo said. He felt a knot of worry settling in his stomach. Usually, he was able to calm himself down when stressed, but right now, he felt himself succumbing to worry. Is how I feel about Guang-hong that obvious? he wondered to himself. If it was that obvious to everyone else how I feel about him, then he definitely knows that I like him. Is he weirded out by me?
“So everyone thought that I broke up Leo and Jordan…” Guang-hong’s voice trailed off. “That’s just. Great.” Guang-hong felt like he was going to be sick. Did all of his classmates think that he was that type of person?
“Whatever happened then is in the past,” Yuuri remarked maturely. “Don’t get yourselves worked up over what other people think of you.”
“Yeah, like everyone thought that the reason Yuuri made the varsity team his sophomore year was that he sucked me off so that I’d convince the coaches to let him on--”
“Viktor! I thought you weren’t going to bring that up anymore,” Yuuri interrupted.
“Yeah, but the rumor was false and everyone saw how good of a player you are during the first game of the year when you won that goal for our team!” Viktor grinned as he recounted the events, and he pulled Yuuri close to him by his waist.
“What I think Victor was getting at is that people forgot about the rumor because you and Leo are such nice guys. Regardless of how we thought you two got together, we decided it didn’t matter because you two are so cool. Anyways, everyone thought that you two made such a cute couple,” Chris explained.
“Well, I hope that’s the case,” said Guang-hong. His earlier worries were allayed for now, and his appetite was returning. “Why don’t you all go ahead and go eat? I feel gross and sweaty, and I want to change before we go hang out, er, that is, if we’re still invited?”
“Oh, absolutely!” exclaimed Phichit. “Meet up with us in a few at the Thai and Japanese Kitchen, okay?”
“Yeah, okay, we’ll see you there,” said Leo.
-
Leo and Guang-hong walked to Leo’s room together in a pensive silence. Once there, Guang-hong grabbed a change of clothes from his bag. He’d slept over at Leo’s house the night before, and he had been considering staying another night before their conversation with Viktor, Yuuri, Chris, and Phichit. Now, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be near his best friend. He felt stupid for having been so oblivious to how others perceived their friendship. If Guang-hong were so clingy that people thought they were dating, Leo was probably dying to get away from him. He was probably so excited to leave him behind for college, thought Guang-hong.
But, why does it bother me so much that Leo is leaving me behind?
I can’t imagine not having him near me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else before.
I think… I think I’m in love with Leo.
“I’m going to go wash up, Leo.” Guang-hong didn’t even look up at him when speaking.
“Guang-hong, wait,” Leo said, looking conflicted. “Do you think I was a bad boyfriend to Jordan? I mean, I sort of abandoned him for you, and… it wasn’t only on that occasion. There were times when he needed me, but you needed me, too.” Leo looked up at Guang-hong, realizing.
“I always chose you, Guang-hong. And, I think I want to keep on choosing you.”
“Leo, you don’t think I’m too clingy, do you?”
“No!” answered Leo. “I mean, I want to be there for you always.”
“I want to be there for you, too,” intimated Guang-hong. “Leo, I’m worried about you going away… Are you going to forget about me?”
“I could never. You’re, like, my favorite person ever. Who else would help my family with a yard sale in almost 100 degree weather? I couldn’t forget about you if I tried.”
“Can I hug you?” asked Guang-hong.
“Please.”
Leo pulled Guang-hong against him. He wrapped his arms around Guang-hong’s back, pressing his small frame against his own. Guang-hong nestled his face in Leo’s neck. He ran his fingers along the muscles in Leo’s back, and when his hands reached his lower back, he let his hands rest there. When Leo squeezed Guang-hong tighter, Guang-hong squeezed at Leo’s hips.
“Guang-hong, are you… Do you…?” Leo had no idea how to finish the question.
“Leo, I want you. I’ve liked you for so long, and I’m only just now realizing it.” He moved his hands upwards to run them through Leo’s soft hair.
“I’ve liked you forever. I liked you when we first met, I liked you when I was with Jordan, and I like you now. I like you a lot now.” Leo’s hands were large, and they were now resting on Guang-hong’s bottom.
It wasn’t clear who kissed whom first.
The kiss left them both breathless, and Guang-hong felt like his heart was going explode. He’d been kissed a couple times before, but it had never felt quite like that. If he had been blushing hard earlier, then, now, flames must have been dancing on his skin. Leo put his hand against Guang-hong’s hot cheek.
“I’ve always thought you were so cute when you got flustered.”
“But it happens so often…” Guang-hong pointed out.
“Well, I always think you’re cute.”
“Leo, do you still want to meet up with the others?”
“Yeah, I guess. I would love to stay up here, though, and see just how flustered I can get you,” Leo teased.
“Oh my god,” said Guang-hong. “I’m going to go wash up now. We need to hurry. They’re probably eating already, and I’m starving.”
“Alright, I’ll hurry up,” Leo said. “So, are we, like, boyfriends now?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Before leaving to the bathroom, Guang-hong pulled Leo into another kiss. Leo blinked as if waking up from a dream afterward, and Guang-hong ran his hand against his strong chest.
“Okay, let’s get ready for real this time.”
-
In spite of the heat, Guang-hong and Leo held hands on the way to the restaurant. It was nearing 2 p.m. by the time the two reached their destination, and when the group waiting for them noticed their linked hands, the new couple was met with whoops and and giggles. They situated themselves at the table.
“Sorry for eating without you guys,” apologized Yuuri, in front of whom sat an empty plate with a stray smear of wasabi and a couple grains of rice.
“It’s alright. I can’t even blame you, I’m so hungry,” Guang-hong said, scouring over the Thai section of the menu. “Ooh, the panang chicken curry sounds delicious,” he said.
“That’s my favorite,” said Chris, “I just ate some.” Chris gestured at his empty dish, laughing.
“Do you know what you want, Leo?” asked Guang-hong.
“I think I’ll just get a sushi roll,” he answered. Yuuri’s older sister, Mari, came over and took their orders. She was in enrolled in art school, and she helped out at the restaurant during the summertime.
“So, are you guys, like, official now?” asked Phichit in a faux-shy voice.
“Yeah,” answered Leo. “After you guys left, we did some… talking,” he explained, chuckling and rolling his eyes at Chris’s raised eyebrow. “Guang-hong and I talked and figured some stuff out,” he finished. Guang-hong looked up at him, eyes smiling, and moved his hand from where it rested on the table to touch Leo’s hands clasped on his lap. Leo grabbed the traveling hand, feeling somewhere between calm and exhilarated.
“So this is a triple date!” Phichit concluded happily.
-
After eating, the group of six spent the rest of the afternoon splashing around in Viktor’s pool. Once the sun set, Leo and Guang-hong walked back to Leo’s house hand in hand again.
“Are you staying the night?” Leo asked tentatively. It was his turn to blush.
“Do you want me to?” Guang-hong asked, and, yes, he was blushing, too.
“Of course.”
“Then I will.”
They’d spent the rest of the night exploring each other. It felt very different for them both to discover each other’s bodies after having been strictly platonic for years, but they fit together well. Sort of like Gabriel’s puzzle pieces.