Archive of Our Own

The voice singing through Leo's headphones faded away, only to be replaced by a different, more melancholic one. He hummed along, eyes roaming the entire waiting area for what must have been the thousandth time. Nothing interesting had happened since last time he did, the fluorescent white lights were still the same, the same metal trash cans stood by every corner, and the same background noise of luggage wheels and chatter filled the room. The only thing that had changed were the people pacing around, wheeling suitcases and talking on the phone or scolding children.

Waiting had never been his strong suit, but that day felt like he'd drop dead if the plane didn't land during the following five minutes. Thankfully, Leo didn’t die. Frustratingly, it took almost a full hour before the much expected flight arrived.

He scolded himself a lot in the meanwhile, since he had nothing else to do. “You had to leave the dorms thirty minutes before the scheduled landing, didn't you, Leo? Like planes are ever on time and arriving five minutes before doesn't mean waiting for twelve hours.” He groaned, absently picking at the colorful banner the team had prepared to welcome Guang Hong Ji. He had to stop himself when the lifted corner of a group picture kept growing until half of it was separated from the board paper. “You're never early for the movies, but you had to be for the airport, huh?”

He looked up at the clock. The lady in the intercom had said there was a delay, like there always were, and he was starting to get hungry, but was anxious enough that his stomach was tightly coiled into a knot, anticipation coursing through his veins. With his luck, it would probably land while he was eating, and then Guang Hong would not find anyone and would panic and call Celestino, who would end up driving all the way over and then he would never let Leo come pick him up alone, ever again.

“This is technically a first impression.” He reminded himself. “Can't mess it up, it's the first time I do something important all alone.” He nodded, convictions reaffirmed.

Still, sitting down for so long was proving to be insufferable. Leo usually only sat down for minutes at a time, usually while doing homework, and pacing always seemed to get his brain mouse going, that's why his school teachers always called him out, and why his trainers loved him. Sitting down? Unless he had a broken leg, that just wasn't happening.

As soon as he stood up to stretch his leg muscles, his phone started vibrating, making his heart skip and disrupting Manu Chao's singing. He hurried to pick it up, almost dropping it in the process and taking three attempts to unlock it. He frowned at the ID, then shrugged and clicked the button in his headphones.

“Hey, Leo!” Phichit's voice rang through his ears. He halved the volume, wincing. “Any updates on the flight?”

“It hasn't arrived yet. It shouldn't take much longer, though.”

“Ugh, makes you wonder if those pilots even have maps, they always get delayed. What are you paying them for?”

Leo rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Not all us can afford private jets that land atop luxury hotels, you know?”

“Ciao-Ciao said that you'll have to land a quadruple axel to repay his kindness.” He changed the topic. “Maybe you can ask Guang Hong to help you after training, he's very good with quadruples.” Leo didn't need to be next to Phichit to feel him leaning into his personal space. “I can't wait for you two to get back here so I can laugh at you for taking so long to confess.”

“Phichit...” Leo rubbed his face, laughing wearily. If he had forgotten his nerves about that part of the plan, they were back full strength. “We don't know for sure if he'll-”

“Leonardo Di Caprio De la Iglesia.” Leo snorted. He never should've let him know his full first name. “We've been over this a million times! Guang Hong is just as lovesick as you are, and we're all tired of seeing you two smiling at each other like you're staring at a puppy, only to find out every time that you're not dating yet! You know how tired we are? Ciao-Ciao let you pick him up and he has a contract to follow. That's how tired we are.”

“I'm pretty sure he let me because you kept insisting he do after I asked him.”

“Yes! Because I'm sick of avoiding you two on the ice, geez. You're hazards in the rink whenever you see each other. Living obstacles.”

“...You sound like Yuri Plisetsky.”

“I'm willing to bet he's also sick of you two.”

This time, Leo laughed, covering his mouth and coughing when the people in the waiting area glared at him like he was crazy. “I don't know how it is you do it, Peach, but for most of us it's not as easy as just... eye fucking a person for them to fall down to their knees without even knowing if they're into men. Besides, it's not like... That's not what I want from Guang Hong.”

There was silence on the other side of the line for a few seconds, enough for Leo to check if the call was still going. “Oh my gawwwd , you make it sound so complicated!” Phichit whined suddenly, startling him.

“Because it is?”

“It's not, I promise. People wouldn't date otherwise. No one likes complicated things.”

“A lot of people like you.” To that, Phichit laughed, much too proudly for his taste.

“That's because I'm great.”

“I don't even know if... What if he's straight?”

“What do you think?” His voice dripped sarcasm.

“I think a lot of things, but I don't know if they're true.”

“Then ask him. And then tell him that you've been wanting to kiss his adorable face for almost half a decade. Because he likes you, trust me, I mean, you're his friend, right? Have you ever had a conversation with him?”

“I don't know...”

There was a defeated sigh along with some rustling, which made the static go wild for a second.“Whatever, you do your thing Leo, some of us are going to be the first Thai skater to win gold and would never miss a day of training, not even for a hottie.”

“Some of us aren't Thai. Good luck.”

“Some of you aren't getting the gold. Buh-bye!”

And just like that, the call was over, the song continued where it left off and Leo's mind was back at the task of waiting, an itch he couldn't scratch nagging at his subconscious.

He knew he'd never know how Guang Hong truly felt about him unless he asked him, but it was a daunting task, and despite never having a problem presenting himself in big competitions, before thousands of eyes world wide and facing incredibly talented sportsmen, he could never bring himself to ask Guang Hong about it. Ask him to hang out? Yes. To go have dinner together? After every competition. To accept the follow request for his private instagram? Piece of cake.

But telling him how he truly felt? His brain started shutting down just thinking about it, it felt like that much of an impossibility.

He had never cared about losing, either. Of course he always tried to win gold, just as much as everyone else, but he never threw tantrums about it, his coach consoled him more than he felt was necessary, but the mere idea of losing Guang Hong's friendship was frightening.

When a plane started the complicated landing sequence, Leo realized he didn't hear the intercom lady over the squeal of Phichit's voice earlier, but it was here! Guang Hong was here! Finally!

Almost.

The next ten minutes somehow felt longer than the previous two and a half hours. He stood there, the welcome sign held up to his chest. He had taken so much care not to crease it in the car, only to mangle it all during the waiting time. Some of Phichit's glitter marker was smudged, and he had unstuck two pictures and a half, which flopped pitifully since it was printer paper. He held the two loose pictures on the corners under his palms, hoping his sweaty hands weren't hurting the presentation too much.

No one was scoring him on it, right? He didn't have to show perfect form while holding a sign. What was the perfect form for sign-holding, anyways? Not the one he was doing, but it didn't matter.

His eyes jumped over every head of brown hair that exited the gates, disappointment squeezing his chest every time the person was too old, or too tall, or too female to be his friend. He checked his phone, trying to see if he had any new messages.

“Leo!” A voice jolted him like touching a live wire with wet hands. Not that he had done that before.

“Guang Hong!” He straightened his back along with the piece of cardstock he was holding, only to have it crinkle as he was pulled into a one armed hug. The tickle of soft hair against his cheek made his hands clutch the paper like it was a cheap store bill. He hoped the paper between them was enough to mask the erratic beating of his heart. “How... How was your flight?” He asked into his puffer jacket.

“Cramped.” Guang Hong responded without letting go.

It was a little awkward, his arms trapped against his chest and his knuckles digging on the smooth, synthetic fabric of Guang Hong's coat. He wondered if it was painful for him, since it was definitely making his fingers cramp a little. If it was, he didn't say anything. Neither did Leo.

When Guang Hong finalized the embrace, the airport felt at least ten degrees colder. The lack of warmth against his chest caused him to shiver, but before could say anything, he noticed his friend was looking around.

“Where's everyone?” He asked, and Leo noticed how heavy his accent was. He knew it always got worse when Guang Hong was tired, and he had to bite his tongue to not comment on it because it was fucking adorable. “Where's Coach Celestino?”

“Ah!” Leo raised a picture-holding hand to his forehead and turned away. “I thought you'd be happier to see me! After all this time!” He faked a sob.

Guang Hong snorted, and it was the cutest sound Leo had ever heard. “I am! I just can't believe he let you roam around with no supervision!”

“You best believe it. I had to call dibs on my best friend before anyone else did.”

Guang Hong tried to look behind him, as if his frame was enough to hide an entire team of skaters, or a single coach. When he realized Leo was telling the truth, he turned his eyes up to his, and Leo's lungs stopped as if on cue.

He had always liked Guang Hong's eyes. They were dark, but lighter than his own, and round, downturned, which often gave them an expression of wistfulness. His eyelashes didn't obscure any part of them, and Leo would often get lost thinking about his eyes. He wasn't a fan of the color of his own eyes, he didn't mind it, of course, but they weren't anything to write home about. Yet Guang Hong's eyes were something else. They were the most delightful brown, warm and deep, like they could see the good in everything, no matter how bleak.

Leo had looked Guang Hong in the eye before, multiple times. He knew the exact shape they had, could picture their outline when he laid down to sleep, could recognize them by the freckles under and around them, yet at that moment he was sure they held something else, something important, a silent urgency, but he couldn't tell what, or why he looked like he was expecting Leo to do something.

Once Guang Hong gave him a sweet smile, the air rushed back into his lungs. He felt like a swimmer emerging from the deep end of a pool. He had never been a strong swimmer. “Not even Phichit? I'm surprised.” He teased.

Reality crashed back into Leo's mind. They were still at the airport. The bustle and hustle of the people around them was overwhelming.

He brought himself to gasp in mock offense. “He's barely older than me! What's that supposed to mean?”

Guang Hong giggled, then took out his phone and turned it on. “Let's take a selfie!” He pulled on Leo's shoulder to make him squat a little. “Say landing!”

“Landiiiiing.”

Click.

It was the first of a dozen or so pictures they took at that spot, then they walked underground, Guang Hong insisted. He wanted to see the light show, take some videos for Instagram and SNS. He couldn't say he was at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and didn't see the light show because 'they didn't have to go underground'.

They stayed at the airport for another half an hour that felt like five minutes, then claimed Guang Hong's luggage and walked out. Leo purposefully ignored his questions about transportation, whether they'd need to call a taxi, or Celestino, or fucking Phichit of all people, like the asshole had a car in the US. Leo was not about to travel around in a rental car with Phichit nudging him and winking the whole ride. Plus, that would completely defeat the purpose of going alone.

When they reached his new, secondhand car, Leo unlocked the trunk, tossing the welcome sign in the back seat and lugging the suitcases over the toolbox he kept there just in case. Next, he unlocked the doors and got in. When his friend stayed standing outside, he leaned over the dashboard and opened it from the inside, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Would you prefer to walk all the way over?” He asked.

That seemed to do the trick, since Guang Hong climbed in and buckled his seat belt, then closed the door with a loud bang.

Leo grimaced. “¿Cerró o soldó?”

“Huh?”

“I said-” Leo buckled his own seat belt and turned the ignition on. “Did it close? Or did it weld shut?”

At his nervous laugh, Leo turned on the radio as well. The car was old enough that the radio didn't have a USB port, let alone Bluetooth connection. Luckily, Leo wasn't enough of a zillenial as to not know how to burn CDs.

A melodic guitar rippled through the air and Leo turned to check the back for incoming cars, the clicking of the safety lights almost matching the beat of the song.

Guang Hong looked thrilled, like he was sitting inside a Porsche and not a beat up Tsuru that still smelled of the previous owner's cigarette smoke.

“I didn't know you had a car!” He chirped once they had left the periphery of the airport.

“I didn't.” He shrugged, blaring his horn at a motorcycle driver who seemed to think threading through the cars was a smart idea. “¡Pendejo!” He yelled, pouting as he relaxed back. “I bought it last month.”

“So that's why you came alone.” Guang Hong said, matter of fact. “So you could flex your new car.”

Leo glanced at him with a blank expression. “...You think I'd flex a Tsuru.”

“Yeah! You always talk about buying a 'mamalón' and now you finally got it!”

Leo blinked at the road a few times. Yeah he did. “It's a meme.” He explained, though it made no sense.

“So you bought a car... because of memes?” Guang Hong asked, bewildered.

Leo felt all the cogs in his brain screech to a halt. “Yeah.” It was true, and a horrible realization. It made him question his sanity.

On the flip side, the car, and all spare parts were ridiculously cheap. This car was early 2000's, after all.

To his right, Guang Hong started laughing, it all felt fine once more, especially when Guang Hong started humming along to the song that was still playing. Leo wasn't surprised he recognized it, after all-

“You have to play that for me when we get back!” There it was.

Leo closed his eyes and smiled for a second, before going back to the task of focusing on the road. “Seriously? I know how to play more songs, you know?” He could tell Guang Hong was pouting just by the silence in the other seat. He chuckled. “It doesn't work if I'm not looking at you.” It was a lie.

“Then look at me!”

“No.”

“ Leeeooo. ”

“I’m driving! Besides, you always want me to play that song.”

“Because it's a good song!”

“Not really...” A huff. “I mean, yeah, if you're in middle school and just learned to play guitar.”

“Why do you have it in your playlist if it's not good?” Touché. “How did you learn to play it, Leo?”

“My uncle taught me, next question.”

“Will you play it for me when we get back?”

“ Fine. But then I'll play something else, I don't want you thinking that's the only song I know.”

Guang Hong whooped, then clapped a few times. Leo sighed. Lamento Boliviano. It wasn't a bad song by any means, but he had promised himself that he wouldn't play it again once he learned more songs on the guitar, and the next song he learned was Wonderwall, which was just as bad, so he didn't play it anymore, either. Unfortunately, he had bragged to Guang Hong before he expanded his repertoire, and now it was tradition to play it for him every time they saw each other and there was a guitar nearby. He couldn't say he disliked it, but...

He changed to the next song before that one was done, just to spite him. It worked.

“Hey!”

“You're gonna listen to me sing it later!”

“I can listen to both!”

“No you can't, you're gonna overdose on overplayed songs!”

“Rude!”

“That's what my mom says.”

“Well, she's wrong.”

Leo snorted, then glanced at him with a questioning look. “You called me that first.”

“I changed my mind!”

“Did you change your mind on the song part, too?”

“Never.”

Leo sighed dramatically, then swerved into a McDonalds parking lot.

“Fine, but fries first.”

When he turned to see his friend, his mouth was agape, eyes wide open. “ Leo. Burgers are illegal. Celestino's gonna lose his mind.” He whispered to him.

Leo barked out a laugh. “He's not gonna find out. But you can stay in the car if you want, I'd hate to get you in trouble for a burger.” He said, then turned off the radio and left the car. Guang Hong followed after him and sighed, then shook his head.

“I guess, if you leave me no choice.”

“I gave you options!”

“Shush, I'm hungry .”

He wrapped an arm around Guang Hong's shoulders, laughing as they walked into the establishment.

They took a booth by the windows after ordering, Guang Hong had to convince Leo to not order a happy meal just because of a stupid toy, which he still hadn't forgiven him for when they finally got their food.

“Aren't you tired? What time is it for your body?” Leo asked, opening another package of ketchup and squeezing it onto his fries.

Guang Hong seemed to think about it for a few seconds, then yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Like 8 in the morning.” He yawned again.

Leo frowned, mentally doing the math. “Did you sleep on the plane?” He watched Guang Hong shake his head.

“I didn't want to be jetlagged here, that's why I chose a plane that landed in the evening.”

“You haven't slept in how long? Isn't the flight like 20 hours? How are you still alive?”

Guang Hong smiled at him like he had just asked him why clouds produced rain. “I slept in the first plane, I had to change planes somewhere in Europe. It's been...” His eyes moved to the ceiling, like the answer was stuck next to the lights. “Twelve hours, tops. How much of that are you putting in your food?” He changed the topic, an expression of disgust as he looked at the soggy potatoes.

Leo smiled as he popped a few into his mouth, then moaned exaggeratedly, sliding down his seat so much that he bumped the table with his knee on his way up, nearly spilling Guang Hong's milkshake.

“I can't believe Celestino didn't see through your plan to get junk food with such a fickle excuse.” Guang Hong mulled. A balled up napkin hit his cheek.

“Excuse me? I was perfectly honest with the coach, the fact that a wild McDonalds got in our way was merely coincidental.” Leo shoved more fries into his mouth and hummed at Guang Hong's disgusted expression. “'sides, I'd never use you as an excuse for something so lowly, bro.” The spontaneous use of 'bro' made Leo cringe at himself, but it seemed to entertain his friend.

Suddenly, Guang Hong stepped on his foot under the table. Leo gasped, pulling out of the way and retaliating the attack with both feet. “How dare you! Those are my money makers!”

“Can't win gold if you can't compete!” Guang Hong laughed, holding onto the edge of the table and trying to get his foot on top of Leo's once more.

“You're gonna hear from my agent.” Leo stuck out his tongue, laughing when he felt both of Guang Hong's feet over his left one. He tried to wriggle free, and when he finally did, his knee bumped the table full force. “¡Verga!”

“Are you okay?” Guang Hong leaned over as Leo rubbed his knee, feeling like if he stopped laughing, he'd start crying. “You know I don't actually want you to stop competing! It'd be so boring without you!” He sounded almost panicked.

“Maybe it's time for an early retirement. The history books will talk about a McDonald related injury. I peaked in high school, I don't think I'll be able to escape my shame.”

“Celestino will kill us both before that happens.” Guang Hong winced, but Leo smiled.

He realized everyone was looking at them when he stopped being a baby over his knee. He cleared his throat and got up. “Maybe it's time to head back, it's getting dark outside.”

Guang Hong nodded, packing his half eaten burger and dumping his fries along Leo's gross, ketchup covered ones, then grabbed his milkshake. “Thank you! Good night!” He called as they left.

Leo winced as he sat back down once in the car. He hoped his knee wouldn't bruise, or that it wasn't an actual injury to worry about. He'd have to keep an eye on it.

Guang Hong climbed in shortly after, closing the door carefully so it wouldn't make any noise. “Are you okay? That was a loud bump.”

“I'm fine, a restaurant table is no match for my powerful legs.” Leo turned on the ignition, and Guang Hong wasted no time before turning on the radio as well.

The silence in the car lasted around thirty seconds, or until the 'good part' of the song started, and Leo started singing full volume, only stopping to curse at a driver who cut him off through the wrong lane. “¡AY BABOSO! CASI NOS PARTES LA MADRE, CABRÓN!” He flopped back on the seat, blowing a few strands out of his face. When he felt Guang Hong's eyes boring holes on his face, he glanced at him. “What?”

Guang Hong shook his head, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “You'd make a good living as a singer.”

“I thought competitions would be boring without me.”

“They would. I'd skate to your songs to make up for it, though, so don't worry.”

Leo hummed. “A Chinese skater... using the music of a Mexican-American ex-skater for his choreographies...”

“You can make them in Spanish just so it's more confusing.”

Leo snickered. “I think I'll keep competing a few more years, then we'll see.”

Guang Hong opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Leo singing the next song from the very beginning. It was Caifanes. He had to.

When they reached a red light, Leo seized the opportunity to fully turn to look at his friend. He glanced at the glove box, then back at him. "Seriously, I can't believe you've been awake for so long. You could take a nap while we get there, you know?"

"You never go train in China. Sometimes we make sacrifices, you know." He took a second to think about Leo's words, then shook his head. "You'd wake me up by yelling at the other drivers, and if you don't, you'd have to carry me inside."

Leo laughed. "I'm willing to. Hey could you open-" He was cut off by someone honking their horn at him as soon as the light turned green. Like the bastards had timers on their wrists.

Guang Hong opened the window a little.

When they arrived at the dorms, three and a half songs later, it was already pitch black outside. Leo parked outside the building and waited for the song to end before turning off the radio. Guang Hong looked like he was falling asleep already, taking off his seat belt and reaching for the door.

“Hold on.” Leo undid his seat belt and walked out, opening the passenger door again and leaning in to open the glove compartment. He produced a teddy bear from inside and presented it to Guang Hong with what he hoped was a neutral expression.

Guang Hong looked at the stuffed animal and blinked a few times, like he couldn't understand how Leo had managed to transform an apex predator into a snuggle appropriated toy. He hesitated for a second more before taking it from his hand, looking into its lopsided face then looking up at Leo with a million questions in his eyes.

“I didn't think you'd choose a plush over your training gear, and you mentioned sleeping with one, so I figured...” He trailed off. “Welcome to Detroit?”

Guang Hong beamed, pulling Leo into a hug that lasted a little less than too long. “Thank you!”

Guang Hong leaned back, his face barely far away enough to not be blurry in Leo's vision. He was still smiling, and Leo had to force his eyes to not look at his mouth more intensely than was necessary. “You're welcome.” He smiled back, and finally, the hug was over, Guang Hong's arms wrapping around the miniature bear instead. He looked exhausted once more.

Leo closed the car's door with one hip check, then moved to the trunk, not wanting his friend to die from lack of sleep. He insisted on carrying the luggage himself, since Guang Hong didn't look like he could remain standing for much longer, let alone carry something heavier than a teddy bear.

Phichit was lounging around in the living room. When he saw them walk in, his eyes landed on the plush and his face split into a wide grin. Leo felt adrenaline bubbling in his chest, he carefully dropped the suitcase and bags, then cleared his throat.

“Thank you for not telling Guang Hong I had a car .” He said quickly, then watched as Phichit's smile shifted into a confused expression.

“You didn't tell him?”

“It was a surprise.”

Phichit looked between the two, then opened his mouth like he was saying 'oooh' without making a sound. “So you walked? ”

Guang Hong snickered, moving to sit on the other couch. “No, I was just surprised he went to pick me up alone. I wasn't expecting him to drive, I thought we'd pay a fortune on a taxi.”

Leo almost didn't notice he was done talking, he was too busy having a silent conversation with Phichit's eyes. He knew he had set himself up for mockery, but he hoped he'd at least wait until Guang Hong left to sleep.

Guang Hong looked at them, then shrugged. “We also stopped by McDonalds.”

Leo whipped around, raising his index to his lips and aggressively hushing his friend.

“I knew you couldn't be trusted.” A different voice called from behind them. Leo wanted to faint, or at least pretend to. Maybe then Celestino wouldn't scold him too bad. “I leave you out of my supervision for a few hours and you break not one, but two diets.”

“Did you bring me any?” Phicit chimed in.

Leo tossed him the bag containing the cold fries, and Phicit hollered, digging in without a second thought.

“Make it three.” Celestino sighed.

“Three's a charm?” Leo tried, but his coach gave him a stern look, then smirked.

“You better not stay up late, tomorrow's training is gonna be tough, young man.”

His heavy steps vanished into the hallway and Leo sighed, scratching his head as he looked over at his two friends. Phichit wasn't even looking at him, but Guang Hong was. Barely. His eyes were half lidded and half of his face was hidden by the plush.

“I'll help you set up in your room.” He offered.

Guang Hong nodded, then looked at Phichit. “Do you wanna come?”

“Nope, I have to sleep early if I want to get the most out of my training, you two have fun playing interior design.” He said, seeming to enjoy the fries, or maybe the spectacle of Leo trying to act cool.

“You're in room 44.” Leo said, checking the sheet that was stuck on the notice board.

“What's your room, Peach?”

“52.”

“And yours, Leo?”

“66”

Guang Hong pouted. “Neither of you is on my floor?”

Phichit hummed. “Yuuri is in room 40.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah.”

“It's almost 8:20” Leo tried. “We can probably finish unpacking before 9 if we hurry up.”

“Good luck, lion.” Phichit supplied just as they were leaving for the stairs.

They looked for his dorm next, managing to not bump into anyone. The room was big enough, but bare like it was, it looked kind of bland. The twin sized bed had standard white sheets and a couple shelves over it. There was a desk and a chair pushed under the window, and an empty, doorless closet was opposite of the bed.

Leo placed the suitcase on the bed, and Guang Hong made sure to place the teddy bear on the pillows before taking his computer and tablet out of his carry-on, tossing the bag into the closet immediately after.

Leo stared at the plush. Guang Hong had no shortage of them back home, he knew that for a fact, but he hoped it made a difference to have at least one in the US with him.

"What are you gonna name it?" He asked, unzipping the suitcase and pulling out some of the neatly rolled clothes.

Guang Hong looked up from where he was kneeling, fixing his skates in an agreeable position in one of the compartments of the closet. "Cuddles, with a z."

"Cuddlezzz..." Leo tried.

"It's still pronounced 'Cuddles', you just spell it cool."

Leo smiled, moving the clothes into their appropriate spot and sighing when he caught a glimpse of a stuffed animal squeezed inside Guang Hong's carry-on bag.

They did finish unpacking before 9; turns out skating gear simply takes way too much space for anything else, and luggage fees are expensive, especially when you have to take three planes to get from Beijing to Detroit.

"I guess I'll go back to my room now, Celestino's gonna start making the rounds soon and you look exhausted." He watched Guang Hong nod without much enthusiasm. Staying up for so long surely affecting his mood. "Good night, see you tomorrow."

"Night."

Leo resisted the urge to groan as he made his way upstairs, his knee was still a little sore, and he was tired from carrying Guang Hong's things, but more than anything, he was annoyed his master plan had flopped like that. It didn't help that he found Phichit on the fifth floor.

"Don't give me that look, I'm too tired for this."

"You coward, you said today was the day."

"I know." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Maybe it wasn't today, okay? Give me a break."

Phichit smiled, shoulder checking him as Leo made his way past him. "Hey, look at the bright side, he'll be here the whole summer." He winked.

"Night, Peach."

"Night, night, Lion."

There were about five minutes of peace once Leo reached his room. Then someone knocked on the door.

He groaned, pausing the quiet mumble of Heroes del silencio to open up. He expected Celestino to come nag in another hour.

"I'm all ready to sleep."

"Sorry." Leo opened his eyes, his little act of tiredness forgotten as he looked at Guang Hong standing in the hallway, pink pajamas on and Cuddlez in hand. "But you promised me a song." Leo stood to the side and opened the door without a word.

When the door was closed, he turned to see Guang Hong on his bed, looking at the teddy bear he also kept over the pillows.

"You still have Mr. Cute!" He said, and Leo laughed, a little offended about the fact that he seemed surprised to find out.

"'Course I do. He's a bro."

"You sleep with him?"

Leo inhaled, sharply enough it hurt a little. "N-no, it must've fallen off the shelf." He said, hurrying over to grab it and move it to the desk instead.

He knew he couldn't have fooled him with that. Mr. Cute's nickname was Big Boi, after all. When Leo held it to sleep with its fluffy head tucked under his chin, its legs reached his mid-thigh, there was no way it fit on his busy shelf, but he could always claim it fell exactly for that reason.

Guang Hong kept his eyes on the toy for a few seconds longer, then turned to him. "So the song."

Leo's back relaxed, but he checked his phone. "It's 9 o'clock."

"You promised." Guang Hong said, holding his puppy eyes like a weapon.

Leo sighed, moving over to a corner of the room where his guitar laid dormant. There was a slight coat of dust over the wood. He pulled back the desk chair and sat down, strumming it a few times to see if the tune was right. When it was, he started playing and singing along.

He made a few mistakes in the process. He hadn't played it in a long time. His hands were a little sweaty, his voice cracked twice and his heartbeat was entirely wrong for the song. It wasn't even because the song said anything important, but because Guang Hong's eyes were fixed on him.

By the end of it, though, and despite the subpar presentation, Guang Hong clapped and fell back on the bed.

"See? It's good."

"Were you even listening?" Leo asked, putting the instrument back in the corner of shame.

"Were you?" Guang Hong looked up at him, saw him sit on the chair again, and dropped back down. "You said you'd play another song."

"I say a lot of things." Leo shook his head. "I'll do it tomorrow, or Celestino's gonna kick me out."

As soon as he said that, there was another knock. "Lights off, Mr. Music. Hang up the phone and go to bed."

Leo's eyes widened, he looked at Guang Hong and his shocked smile, then jumped up when the knob started moving slightly. "Alright! Alright! I'm changing! Don't come in!"

"Delete your history too." Celestino laughed, and moved on to the next dorm.

Leo wanted to die inside, especially when he heard Guang Hong snicker. "Wow, smooth."

He sighed, sitting on the floor and laying on his back. "He's never gonna let me live this down."

There was a silence. 

"I can't go back to my room."

Leo glanced at him, then back at the popcorn ceiling. "Let's just wait until he goes to the next floor." He whispered back. "If he knocked on your dorm he probably thinks you're k.o."

The lack of response prompted him to sit up and look over, Guang Hong was biting his lip with a ruddy expression.

"No, I mean…" He hugged Cuddlez closer to his chest. "It's room 44. Four-four. You know…"

Leo wracked his brain for an answer. Nothing weird seemed to stick out, until he remembered something he and Phichit had discussed before.

"You're not superstitious, right?"

"I'd rather not risk it on my first day."

Leo stared at him while he figured it out. "But my room is six-six. That's not really better, is it?"

"It's not a thing in China."

Leo didn't know enough to rebuke, so he sighed and walked over to the closet. "Alright, then."

"Thank you."

Leo pulled out a bundle of extra blankets and placed them on the chair. "Don't touch them." He warned, but Guang Hong just smiled at him.

"I wasn't going to."

"I'm gonna turn off the lights, ok? I'll be right back."

Guang Hong nodded, so Leo did just what he said and slid out of the room. He cursed to himself when he noticed Celestino was still on that floor.

"I thought you had changed. Where are you going?"

"I need to use the bathroom." His panic added a hint of urgency to his voice, which left his coach with little choice but to let him make a run for the stairs.

By the next floor he slowed his mad dash, stopped in front of room 52 and knocked twice.

"I said I'm asleep!"

"I don't believe you, open up, I need a favor."

The door opened, Phichit looked around the hallway and pulled him in, then closed the door.

"What’s up?"

"I need your sleeping mat."

"I don't have a sleeping mat." Phichit said, smirking.

"Yes you do, are you telling me that your hookups sleep on the twin bed with you?"

"They don't sleep. Or they sleep on the floor or the chair."

" Peachyyy… "

"Ugh, fine , but you better wash it if you bang Guang Hong on it." He said, kneeling next to the bed before crawling half of his body under it. When he pulled out a rolled up mat, Leo realized there was no way he was concealing that if Celestino caught him, but at least it'd offer extra protection if he fell on the stairs. “Actually, I changed my mind: Don’t bring it back until you’ve at least kissed him on it.”

"I'm not banging him, but thanks." He took it, and had to lock his arms around it in order to carry it in a comfortable manner.

"Whatever you say. Go get him, lion."

Leo chuckled as he left. He'd have to deal with that mental image later, for now, he had to make sure he got back to his dorm without being caught.

The stairs were easy enough. They were dark, but he climbed them slowly, maneuvering his head around the mat so he could see the steps. He felt more pressure than he did in the nationals. Everything was silent, and as opposed to performing on the ice, he didn't want to call any attention to himself.

Once he reached floor six, he peered through the tiny windows. Celestino was nowhere to be seen. He must've gone to the other floor already, so he dashed over to his room and walked in, then closed the door and clicked the lock. He knew it was against the rules, but so were sleepovers, and he wasn't getting caught breaking that one.

He turned on the light again, Guang Hong's eyes welcomed him into the room. He breathed out, almost forgetting the reason he had gone to Phichit's.

"Where did you get that?" Guang Hong whispered, barely audible from across the room, so Leo moved closer to set it on the floor next to the bed.

"Phichit."

"Why does he have an extra mattress?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

"Ooh."

"Yeah."

"So you're sleeping in Phichit's fuck mattress?"

Leo paused, looked at his friend and tilted his head like a challenge. "Who says I'm using the fuck mattress?"

Guang Hong held onto the bed sheets, a playful smirk pulling his lips. “I do.”

Leo faked a quiet gasp, moving onto the bed and halfheartedly trying to push him off, which only resulted in Guang Hong taking hold of Leo's jacket from a very strange angle while he laughed and Leo shushed him, so he changed plans, wrapping his arms around his and lifting him.

“Aaah! Leo, no!” He laughed, Leo hushed him again, and Guang Hong laughed like a child, low first, then louder as he got close to being off the bed. “Nooo! You use the fuck mattress!” He whisper-yelled.

Finally, he was standing on the floor, Leo let his guard down as Guang Hong tried to compose himself.

A big mistake.

Guang Hong climbed on the bed again, pressing his back to the wall and pushing his feet against Leo's back.. Leo gasped, Guang Hong had cold feet, he could feel it seeping through his zip-up jacket, and the thing about ice skaters, is that they have ridiculously strong legs, proven by the fact that Guang Hong, who was a good chunk shorter than him, was pushing him off with ease while he giggled, full on giggled, like a schoolgirl.

Leo couldn't let that happen, so he flopped down and held onto the mattress, laughing as Guang Hong's feet pressed against his ribs and armpit. He tried to hold on and reposition himself, eventually even ripping off the fitted bed sheet and helping the mattress scoot a good two inches away from the wall, but he ended up on the floor all the same.

He stayed there for a minute while recovering his breath, looking at the door half-expecting Celestino to burst in and call them out. When that didn't happen, he sat up, brushing his hair out of his face and glaring at Guang Hong.

“Aight, you won fair and square.”

Guang Hong smiled then dropped down on the bed and sighed. "Good."

Leo looked down. He was still wearing jeans.

"I need to put on my PJs." He stated.

Guang Hong nodded and turned to the wall.

There was no need, really. They had showered together a number of times at the gym showers, and after competitions, but not having a pair of beautiful eyes over him made it a little easier to breathe.

When he finally sat down on the mat, Guang Hong turned again.

“Are you going to turn off the light?”

“Unless you're scared of the dark.” Leo teased. A pillow flew at him, bounced off his head and fell on his lap. “Thank you.”

Guang Hong stayed silent for a moment, then reached for Mr. Cute. “You're not gonna sleep with him?”

“Nah, he's a bro, not a bae. Why? Do you want to?”

Guang Hong looked at the bear for a long second. “He looks so sad.” He pouted, turning the bear so Leo could look at it. The worst part was that Leo agreed. He felt that Mr. Cute thought he was a traitor, casting him aside in favor of impressing a boy. But Guang Hong wasn't just any boy, he was the reason Leo had Mr. Cute in the first place, and why it was christened Mr. Cute.

“Does he?”

“Yeah, 'cause he's lonely.”

“Oh.” Leo tried to ignore the way his voice wavered while pronouncing a single syllable, he cleared his throat. “Well, I can take him in, if you insist.”

Guang Hong hesitated, but held the plush close to his chest. “No, he sleeps with me.”

“Damn, traitor.”

“You said he's your bro, so you were the one taking that decision.”

“So Mr. Cute is your bae now?”

“Seems it.”

Leo chuckled and stood to turn off the lights.

“Leo?”

“Yeah?” He turned his head around. The sight of Guang Hong in pink pajamas with two plushes in bed was showstopping.

“Why does your ass say 'tasty'?”

Leo looked down and groaned. He forgot he was wearing those stupid booty shorts. “Christophe gave them to me as a gag on my birthday. I wear them to sleep so he can't say I don't use them, but no one has proof I do.”

Guang Hong nodded. “Sounds like Christophe.” He snickered, then hummed. “No one except me.” He grinned. Leo was about to refute, he saw it, but he didn't really have proof, but then Guang Hong reached for his phone. Leo didn't click the light switch fast enough, plus, he had the flash on. Curse Guang Hong's wicked social media abilities.

Leo laid down on the mat, looking at the slowly fading green phosphorescence of the lightbulb. “Don't post that, my mom follows my instagram. She sees everything I get tagged on.”

Guang Hong hummed. “Why would I post it?” Leo tried not to think too hard about those words. “I can't blackmail you with it if I do.”

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

Leo turned to his side, hearing movement on the bed before it stilled. He regretted saying what he did; not holding Mr. Cute felt weird after doing it every night for a year, plus, something about Guang Hong holding it instead didn't sit well with him. Would it whisper everything Leo had whispered to it over the last twelve months, in Guang Hong's ear? Would he tell him everything in a dream? He couldn't let his stupid teddy bear ruin everything before he even had a chance to do it himself.

“Guang Hong?” He whispered.

“Hm?”

“I'll take Mr. Cute.”

“I knew it.”

There was shuffling, then a soft lump landed next to his head. “Thank you.”

He fell asleep listening to Guang Hong's easy breathing, with a heartbeat that would have his physician worried for his well-being.

The next morning Leo woke up to Guang Hong sitting on his desk chair, writing away on his laptop. Leo was, somehow, laying in bed, and the door was completely open. He tried to make his eyes obey his orders to stay open, but they stung and the light was incredibly rude to them. He blinked up at Guang Hong, who had paused his writing when Leo propped himself up on his elbows.

“Good morning.” He flashed a bright smile.

“Mornin'.” Leo yawned.

“I went to change earlier so no one would notice I stayed overnight. You were already in bed when I came back.”

Leo squinted at him until the words made sense in his sleepy brain. Then he realized that Guang Hong's accent had completely vanished, so he must've been awake for a while at that point.

“What'chu doin'?”

Guang Hong turned to his computer and closed it, shrugging it off like it had happened on its own. “Waiting for you to wake up.”

Leo looked at the window, some light was already filtering from over the skyscrapers. “What time is it?”

“7 o'clock.”

“You had breakfast?”

“That's why I was waiting for you.”

Leo yawned and got out of bed. “Give me a minute.” He said, leaning into his closet.

There was a shutter click.

“Guang Hong!”

Leo pushed him out of the room while Guang Hong laughed, then closed the door. “You wait there, creep.”

He got changed out of the stupid booty shorts, put on a decent shirt and sighed, taking three seconds to get mentally prepared before opening the door.

“Bonjour!”

“God damnit.”

“Chris was telling me about your birthday shorts.”

Leo gave Chris a tired look. “It's too early.”

“Monsieur Ji asked me. I was on my way to the shower, care to join me?”

“Nah, we're going to have breakfast.” Leo said, looking at Guang Hong for confirmation.

“Mmhm, but we'll probably see you after practice, right?”

“Alright!” Chris waved at them. “I'm glad you enjoyed your shorts, Leon.”

Leo couldn't help laughing as he closed and locked the door, now that he knew he wore them, Christophe was never leaving him alone. But he did like them, they made his legs look awesome.

"Alright, so…" Leo looked at Guang Hong, noticing he was wearing a pink, sleeveless hoodie. He didn't even know they made those. "Where do you want to go?"

"Not sure, not McDonalds though."

"Not McDonalds," Leo chuckled. "Noted."

There was a silence while they looked at each other.

"You know Detroit better than I do." Guang Hong reminded him.

Leo snapped out of it. "Oh, yeah, yeah, you're right, let's see..." He turned to check his phone. "We can go to the cafeteria, if you want bland-ass food that perfectly follows the regime." He heard Guang Hong's disgusted noise and snickered, grabbing his wrist and turning on his heels. "Alright, then. Let's go."

"To where?"

"Not McDonalds, I promise."

They reached the bottom floor. Phichit was there, holding Chris from going to the showers by sitting on his lap. Christophe was poking at his sides and telling him to get off him.

"Morning, Peach, Chris ." Leo squinted at the blond, saying his name like it was physically repulsive.

" Leo ." Chris imitated his expression.

"We meet again."

"So it seems."

They held each other's cold stare or a second longer, then relaxed, a smile appearing on the Swiss man's face.

"How's it going? We were just going to Abby's for breakfast, want to come?" Leo offered.

Phichit immediately jumped off of Chris' lap. "Sure! Do you wanna come, Chris?" 

"Nah, I was on my way to shower, now that you're done delaying me." Chris stood as well, reaching for his towel, when a tan hand landed on his shoulder.

"Do you wanna come, Chris?" Phichit repeated through gritted teeth, smiling tightly.

"Uh, no…"

" Chris ?"

"Uh… fine, alright."

"Nice! Then it's a date."

"Leo?" Guang Hong spoke, placing a hand over Leo's around his wrist.

"Hm?"

"You're squeezing."

Leo realized that he had, in fact, increased his grip around Guang Hong's wrist without noticing, since Phichit's not-so-subtle show of dragging his boyfriend into this had put him on edge. He let go of Guang Hong’s wrist like it burned.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't notice."

"It's fine." Guang Hong smiled. When the clear sound of a slap echoed through the living room, both of them turned to Phichit, who had his hand pressed against his own face.

“You oblivious fucks are too much.” He muttered. Leo had to strain his ears to hear it.

"Peach?" Guang Hong called.

"Chris, you can't go to a restaurant carrying a dirty towel." Phichit said, straightening up and starting a casual conversation, completely ignoring his friends.

Chris looked down at his forearm, where his wash towel hung. "I was going to leave it in my room, of course."

"Then let's go." Phichit pushed him towards the stairs, turning to see their friends confused faces with an apologetic smile. "Get going guys, we'll see you there."

Leo sighed, turning around and starting his walk towards the exit, whatever they were plotting now better be worth the secondhand embarrassment.

Guang Hong took hold of his sleeve, so Leo turned to him. 

"Not planning on getting lost in another country." He explained. Leo nodded, grasping his hand and interlocking their fingers.

"Like in kindergarten, then. Don't get separated from your partner. " He said, raising his voice two octaves and setting a marching pace.

Guang Hong giggled, swinging their hands enthusiastically and oh God, he was so cute. And holding his hand. For real. Leo had to keep playing it cool, with any luck Guang Hong wouldn't notice Leo’s palm getting clammier the longer he held his hand.

Abby's wasn't far at all, but going through the crowds sure extended the perceived time. Whenever they squeezed past other pedestrians, instead of letting go of him, Guang Hong stuck close to Leo, his other hand on his shoulder. He figured he really must've been scared of being dragged away by the masses, after all, he could vaguely feel his heart beat against him at times.

When they finally reached the restaurant, Leo turned to his friend. He looked red, and his hair was slightly disheveled from pushing past so many busy people with more important things to do than let them go first. Sometimes he wished people had turn signals like cars.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked.

Guang Hong blinked up at him, then looked at their hands, raising them up to eye level. "Mission accomplished." He grinned.

"Hell yeah!" Leo raised higher, forcing Guang Hong to stand on the balls of his feet as he laughed. "Let's go inside, I bet Peach and Chris will take another two hours 'putting away the towel'." He said, making air quotes with his free hand.

After ordering what could be considered a five course meal for breakfast and finding a table, Guang Hong looked over the rest of the patrons, then turned to him.

"Are Chris and Phichit, like…" He leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Dating?"

Leo held a laugh at the forced secrecy, it wasn't like Phichit or Chris were masters of discretion, but something told Leo that Guang Hong already knew that: Phichit was his friend too, after all.

Still, he played along, leaning over as well and whispering back. "Why don't you ask them when they come back?"

Guang Hong dropped back, seemingly satisfied as he hummed. "Does Celestino know?"

"Like hell if I know. They're not really subtle, but Celestino is…"

Guang Hong looked at him with interest, completing the idea for him. "Dense?"

"I guess."

Guang Hong nodded solemnly. "I know someone like that."

Leo blinked. "Back in China? I guess oblivious people must be everywhere."

His answer didn't seem to amuse him. "Everywhere, indeed."

The conversation came to a lull, with Guang Hong looking around the restaurant again. It was nice enough, not yet influenced by instagram hipsters: a family place. The perfect balance between cheap and delicious, though of course both he and Phichit agreed they could afford to put a few more spices on the food.

Leo took the chance to look at Guang Hong's profile, illuminated by the light filtering through the windows, Leo could count every single flyaway hair that stood proudly on his head, refusing to be lumped together with the rest.

He looked at the slope of his nose, his lips and then down to the pale skin of his neck, peeking above the oversized hoodie.

The crown jewels were his eyes, though, Leo could never get tired of looking into Guang Hong's eyes. The light from outside brought out the reddish tint of his irises, though it didn't illuminate them as much as the playful smile that pulled his eyes into a cute almond-like shape.

Someone cleared their throat. How long had he been staring?

A nervous waiter looked at both of them and apologized, informing them they had ran out of eggs, but still had plenty of mashed potatoes. They both agreed to change their order, and the server left. 

Leo turned back at Guang Hong, feeling his cheeks blazing. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, you were just…"

"Staring."

"Mmhm." Guang Hong ran his fingers through his bangs and looked elsewhere, a healthy red holding his face for ransom. "It's fine, so was I."

There was a silence. Leo really hadn't noticed when Guang Hong had turned to him before the waiter interrupted them, but now he wondered how that was even possible.

The chairs next to them whirred, and down sat none other than Phichit and Christophe.

"Who won the staring contest?" Asked Chris. "I couldn't quite tell."

Leo sucked a breath, then cleared his throat. "Me, of course."

"What? No way! You looked at the waiter first!" Guang Hong interjected.

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Didn't!"

"Yes, you did! Yes, you did! Yes, you did!"

Leo rolled his eyes and leaned back on the chair, crossing his arms and pursing his lips. "That's not true."

"Yeah, Xiǎo Hong, he was too busy being enthralled by your beautiful face to notice the waiter was a waitress." Phichit interjected, batting his eyelashes.

Guang Hong looked blank. "Waiter is a gendered word?"

"Did you order?" Leo changed the subject, turning to the newcomers.

"Yeah, they ran out of eggs already? How many did you order, Enrique Iglesias ripoff?" Chris asked him.

" Clearly , not enough." Phichit added, already scrolling through his phone with a smile on his face.

Leo was not amused. " I know. Isn't it way too early?"

"Maybe they forgot to order more, it's the end of the week, after all." Guang Hong joined the conversation.

Chris knitted his brows together. “I don’t think they order eggs for the entire week, don’t they go bad?”

Leo nodded. Phichit looked up from his phone and hummed. "Right. Any plans for the weekend?"

"Surviving Celestino's wrath." Leo said, leaning back in the chair and hanging his head over the backrest.

"Why? What did you do?" Chris asked.

"McDonalds."

“Oh.”

Leo nodded. “I took Guang Hong with me.”

“Ooh.”

“And then gave Phichit the fries.”

“Leo, you're dead meat.”

“I know.” He sat back upright, though not without having the chair wobble dangerously, which prompted him to take hold of the table, shaking it. “At least he doesn't know I bumped my knee at the McDonalds, too. It's still sore.” He said, a little breathlessly. "It was Guang Hong's fault, so he should share part of the punishment."

The conversation stopped as the waitress presented Leo and Guang Hong their first dish, telling Chris and Phichit that their food would take a little longer, then placed the tray on the table and unloaded it, but still had to head back into the kitchen to bring them more side dishes, and finally their drinks.

Leo looked at Guang Hong as he offered Phichit a part of his food, so he wouldn't have to wait so long before having breakfast, which Phichit refused. The light didn't seem to illuminate him quite as well now that Phichit was sitting next to him.

His train of thought was interrupted by a hand waving before his face. “Earth to Space Lion, Earth to Space Lion, can you hear me?” Phichit spoke.

Leo swatted his hand away.

“You were staring at Guang Hong… Again.” Phichit explained, laughing at Leo's flustered reaction.

“Like a creep.” Chris added.

“Not like a creep.” Guang Hong chimed in, absently playing with his fork.

“Like a total creep.” Chris insisted.

Leo groaned, grabbing his glass and chugging down the water like it had personally offended him. Maybe he was being a creep.

“Actually, Guang Hong took pics of my ass.” Leo said, raising his eyebrows at him.

“Of your shorts.” Guang Hong corrected. “For blackmail.”

“Sure, say it again and you might convince me.” Leo grinned, watching a blush creep on Guang Hong’s face. 

“Speaking of creeps.” Phichit started, gauging everyone's reaction before continuing. “I heard you stayed in Leo's room last night.” He wiggled his eyebrows. Guang Hong laughed, playfully swatting at him.

“Yeah, I did. What of it?”

“You told Chris he actually wears his stupid gag shorts. As Leo’s best and closest friend, I demand an embarrassing fact, too.”

Guang Hong hummed as he thought it over. “Well... He sleep-talks.”

Leo's heart stopped.

“ Oh? ” Phichit's interest was clearly piqued, as he leaned over Guang Hong's chair. “What did he say?”

Guang Hong glanced at him, lips pressed tightly, giving his mouth the appearance of a straight line. There were so many things that were wrong with that look. He knew he sleep-talked, his family never stopped teasing him about it, but he was pretty sure he mumbled more than he actually talked. Still, what if this was the single time where he actually formed coherent sentences? What if he'd said something stupid, or embarrassing, or worse? What if he'd confessed? What if asleep Leo had more balls than awake Leo?

He tried to remember what he had dreamed the previous night, but being awake for so long wouldn't allow him to.

Finally though, Guang Hong shrugged. “It was in Spanish, I guess. Or some weird dream dialect.”

Both Phichit and Chris leaned back on their chairs, seemingly unsatisfied with the information, if the fulminating glare he received from Phichit was any indication. Leo, on the other hand, was happy to breathe normally once again.

The conversation stopped, Leo looked at Guang Hong and took a sip of water.

Guang Hong stood and excused himself to the restroom. Leo kept looking in the direction where he disappeared, keenly aware of the stares from his friends.

The waitress delivered the rest of the food. Everyone present thanked her for her attention to their table while the restaurant was almost full. They agreed she had earned a handsome tip when breakfast was over. The interruption had distracted Leo from his defensive state.

Chris whistled. “When you said he was dense, you really weren't kidding.”

Phichit opened his palms like he was presenting the food. “Now you understand my pain !”

Leo saw Chris turn to him from the corner of his eye, but he didn't turn back until a hand was placed on his shoulder.

“You're unbelievable.” He smirked. “Are you really not gonna say anything to him?”

“I will! Just... Not yet.” Leo said, crossing his arms and looking away.

“Not yet?”

“I can't, okay? I don't even know if he likes boys, I can't just come up to him and tell him 'Hey Guang Hong, I think you're really hot, want to kiss?' like it's nothing!”

There was a silence at the table.

“I don't think you'd say that even if you knew for sure.” Phichit said.

Leo shook his head.

“Just tell him, what's there to lose?” Chris asked.

Leo tightened his grip on his abdomen as it churned uncomfortably. Suddenly the food didn't seem so enticing anymore.

“So much.” He locked eyes with Chris. He was so much more agreeable when he wasn't putting on a playboy facade, he could actually be pretty insightful. Shocker. It was like his thick framed glasses where his secret identity. A superman situation. Compared to Contact-Lenses-Cocky-Chris, Leo much preferred Big-Brother-Glasses-Chris. “I can't risk Guang Hong's friendship.”

Chris held his stare for a second, then knitted his eyebrows together. “Why not? If you don't tell him, you're definitely not getting anything with him; but if you do, you may. What's the difference between competing and this? You never know for you're gonna win, and yet I've never seen you hesitate before a competition.”

“ And you've won gold a few times.” Phichit added.

Leo took a shaky breath, then shook his head. “The difference -” He said- “Is that a gold medal and a podium are not my best friends. If I don't win a competition, my other medals don't get taken away. And I'm not competing against anyone for Guang Hong. That's the difference.”

“Well, your other friends won't go away either, and neither will Guang Hong, really.” Phichit shrugged.

Leo shook his head. “I don't know that.”

“Well, what do you know?” Chris prompted. “I think you might be just-”

“Anxious.” Phichit supplied.

“Confused.” Chris corrected. He tapped the table to get Leo to look. “Maybe you need to think about what you want. It's fine if you want to stay friends with Guang Hong; having a crush doesn't mean you have to act on it.” He looked into Leo's eyes to make sure he was listening. “But, if you do want to act on your crush, you have to take that decision yourself.”

Leo stayed silent, unsure of what to say.

Across the table, Phichit sighed. “I didn't mean to pressure you, if that's what I did. You asked for my help and told me not to let you backpedal. I wasn't counting on the fact you're such a chickenshit.” Phichit chuckled. Leo had to, as well. It was true.

“Maybe think about it?” Chris insisted.

Leo shook his head. “I know what I want. I just don't know if I'll get it, I mean what if-”

“Leo, does Guang Hong know you're gay?” Chris asked, his brows almost touching in the center of his forehead. He seemed concerned. Leo opened his mouth. He felt like a fish out of the water. “You keep saying you don't know whether he's into men or not, but does he know you are?”

Leo could've flopped backwards as it hit him.

“No.” He said, like he was having an epiphany. ¡Que lo parta un rayo! Why did it take someone else pointing it for him to notice?

He never told Guang Hong because the conversation never really came up. It was an open secret, or at least that's what Leo assumed, but if he never confirmed it, it could well sound like mere gossip to anyone. He never brought up the conversation because he didn't know if it was unnecessary, or if it would look like he was pushing something. Clearly it was necessary, and of course he would've been pushing something.

The conversation ended there, with Chris having put that information on the table for Leo to take and do whatever with it. He had to, metaphorically put it in his pocket and think about it.

Maybe he'd just put it on his Instagram bio. Maybe he'd bite the bullet and just tell Guang Hong he was gay and go from there.

Guang Hong returned a minute later, complaining about the line being long, but at least the waitress had brought Chris and Phichit's dishes so they could start eating together.

After a few minutes, Leo looked up from his plate. “Guang Hong, do you want to skip practice?”

Everyone paused to look at Leo, shocked. Even Guang Hong opened his mouth to answer, but when no sound came out, he closed it again.

“Why?” Guang Hong’s eyebrows were almost touching his hairline. 

“You landed yesterday, I don’t think it’s a very good idea to push yourself so soon.” Leo explained.

Guang Hong whipped his head to look at Phichit, eyes wide.

“Wǒ xiànzài yīnggāi zuò shénme?”

Phichit shrugged. “Tā zài wèn nǐ.”

Guang Hong bit his lip and took a deep breath, holding eye contact with Leo. 

Maybe he shouldn't have asked. Maybe this was a bad idea.

Leo was about to backpedal when Guang Hong nodded. “Fine.”

“Cool.” Leo grabbed his glass, fully intent on sipping it. His throat felt dry.

“But, Leo?”

“Yeah?” Leo looked up at him, glass hovering near his mouth.

“Can we have a word?”

The look in Guang Hong's eyes told Leo he didn't have many other options other than nodding, if he didn't want his friend to be upset.

“Good.” Guang Hong said, scooting his chair back and standing up. Oh, he meant right now. “We'll be right back, guys. You can keep eating.” He smiled politely, then left the restaurant altogether.

Leo blinked at his friends before going after him.

When he exited the premises, Guang Hong was standing against the wall with his arms crossed, looking away from the entry.

“Um…” Leo announced his presence. “Am I in trouble?” Leo tried to joke. They were outside, but the atmosphere felt charged, almost oppressive.

Guang Hong turned to look at him. Leo knew Guang Hong’s expressions better than his own: this was his ‘something’s up’ face.

“You realize you’ve been acting strange lately? I’ve only been here for a day and I can tell something’s wrong with you.”

Leo’s heart stopped. “Have I? I’m just excited to have you around, I haven’t seen you in so long…” Leo reached to place his hand over Guang Hong’s bicep.

His friend smiled. “It’s still not like you.”

Leo gulped. “What do you mean?”

“You’re nervous.” He pointed out. Leo sighed, retrieving his hand and shoving it in his pocket.

“I…”

“And skittish.”

“Well-”

“Did you find out I’m gay?”

Leo’s breath hitched, there was a flash of pain in Guang Hong’s eyes as he looked up at him, yet he was smiling. A smile of resignation.

“I-” Leo shook his head. “I didn’t.”

“No?”

“No.”

“I’m gay.” Guang Hong repeated, stepping away from the wall so he was fully facing Leo.

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Guang Hong raised an eyebrow, his smile playful now. “That’s it?”

“No, I mean...” Leo scratched the back of his neck. Why was he shaking? “I’m gay too, so it’s fine, I don’t… I don’t mind.”

“You don’t mind.” Guang Hong repeated. They were innocent words, but the way Guang hong said them sounded wrong. Leo felt the sudden urge to hit Cntrl + Z and try again.

Leo shook his head. Guang Hong nodded.

“I like you, Leo.”

Leo’s eyes widened. His stomach and his head felt light, weightless, like he was stuffed with cotton. “You do?” He stammered.

Guang Hong nodded, then bit his lip and turned away, his hand soothing over his arm. “I wanted to tell you sooner, but…” He looked up at him again. “Phichit told me you were planning something, so I wanted to see what you’d do.” He chuckled. It sounded like a gasp. 

Leo stepped forward and took Guang Hong’s face in his hand, carefully wiping away the tears that spilled down his cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

“Were you really going to?”

Leo nodded. “I was, I just… I don’t know, I realized I didn’t even know you’re gay! How was I supposed to confess if I didn’t know? It felt… disrespectful.” Leo took a deep breath. “And then I realized a good friend would know that kind of thing, but I didn’t know how to ask.”

“Maybe with your mouth?” Guang Hong chuckled, nuzzling into Leo’s hand. “You’re so frustrating.”

“Imagine dealing with me 24/7. I have to.” Leo huffed a laugh.

A pause. “Are you still going to?”

Leo stared at him, barely breathing, then he grinned. “Marry me?”

Guang Hong bursted out laughing, bucking his head down so Leo couldn’t keep holding him. Leo dropped his arms to his sides, hovering felt more awkward than just standing there.

Guang Hong straightened, still giggling. He lifted the hem of his sweater to dry his eyes, then sniffed. “I think you’re missing a step, there.”

Leo dropped to his knee, smiling playfully at him.

Guang Hong swatted his shoulder while he laughed. “You’re so infuriating!” He said, shaking his head. Leo stood up, not minding the looks they were getting from passersby. “Leo, I’m serious.”

Leo nodded. “Don’t you want to confess? God, Guang Hong…” He grabbed his hand, rubbing his knuckles before looking up at his face. It looked red, there was a darker splotch covering his left eye, almost like a panda. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because. Phichit. Told me. You. Already. Had. A plan!” Guang Hong yelled, stressing every word. “And you looked like you were going to, but turned back every single time.”

Leo moved his hand to hold Guang Hong’s cheek again, then frowned. “Do you still wanna date me after all that?”

Guang Hong beamed, a smile stretching across his face. “Yes! I want to date you! I thought you’d never ask!” He said, taking hold of Leo’s shirt. Then he propped himself up on his toes and finally, finally , pressed their lips together.

It lasted a few seconds. The soft pressure, the taste of fresh orange juice and the faint hint of salty tears were far too short for Leo’s liking. 

When Guang Hong pulled away, Leo was stunned. He blinked once, then twice, then met Guang Hong’s eyes. He seemed happy with himself.

“You cheater! You know I didn’t want to ask like that! ” Leo yelled.

Guang Hong smirked. “If I waited for you to ask the way you wanted, you’d NEVER ASK!”

Touché.

Leo sighed and shook his head, holding Guang Hong’s face for the third time and leaning in for a kiss. This time, Guang Hong’s arms wrapped around Leo’s neck as he kissed back. Leo leaned in more, eventually having to press his hand on the wall to balance them. Pulling away to breathe still felt like one second too short.

Leo smiled. “I’m glad you said yes.” He whispered, pressing his forehead against Guang Hong.

“Bèn dàn.” Guang Hong smiled back.

Walking back into the restaurant holding Guang Hong’s hand was an experience. 

First, Phichit stood up while clapping and hollering, drawing the attention of the rest of the patrons towards them. Then, Leo checked his phone, since it hadn’t stopped vibrating in a few minutes. He saw a dozen notifications flooding his lock screen. Then, Phichit screamed “Congrats on being boyfriends!” and for whatever reason, people seemed to cheer. Call it bystander effect.

Once at the table, Leo realized why his phone was suddenly blowing up: Phichit had paparazzied his way through the whole conversation, from Leo kneeling down to them kissing. All of the pictures had ridiculous captions and reaction gifs, in case his excitement was evident in text form.

The first one read: “OH MY GOD IT’S HAPPENING” and had Leo kneeling before Guang Hong. It had a gif of an emergency siren.

The second was: “I think it’s a yes?” with Leo still kneeling, but Guang Hong bent over with laughter. There were several gifs of question marks around the image.

The third one said: “Aw, try again buddy :(“ with a video of Guang Hong patting his shoulder and shaking his head.

The fourth one was simply: “YES” with Guang Hong’s surprise kiss.

Then the fifth said: “Okay, I think they’re getting really into it.” when Leo leaned them both into the wall.

The last status was a black screen with text over it, Phichit explained they weren’t actually getting married, but it was all for naught, since Leo already had his DM’s flooded by fans squealing and congratulating him. He also had his mentions full of edits of Phichit’s stories. Guang Hong laughed and snickered as he peered over his arm. His own phone was probably exploding as well.

Leo sighed, leaning his head on Guang Hong and smiling. “Well, I’m glad that’s over.”

“I’m glad I don’t have to deal with your bullshit anymore.” Phichit hummed. “Xiǎo Hong, I hope you start getting comfortable with the idea that you’ll need to propose to Leo, if you ever want to marry.”

Guang Hong nodded into Leo’s shoulder. “It’s only fair.”

Leo scoffed and shook his head. “Nuh-uh, I proposed first, I have proof.” He said, shaking his phone.

Guang Hong laughed, stretching a little to kiss Leo’s cheek.

With that out of the way, summer definitely seemed much more promising for Leo de la Iglesia and Guang Hong Ji.