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The competition was over. Leo stood on the podium with the flag held high. He was overjoyed: it was the first time he had won gold in his home country! And he was sharing the podium with his best friend!
He shook hands with Otabek, his upset expression contrasting with Leo's wild grin. He gave him a few joking words about it, saying he looked constipated, among other things. They hugged, of course, but it was like hugging a wooden plank, and Beka pushed him away as soon as it was appropriate.
He also shook hands with Guang Hong. The subsequent hug was much longer than he expected, but he accepted it; it was cold in the ice rink, anyways.
Just like that, Skate America was over.
As Leo packed his gear and accessories in his travel bag, Guang Hong ran up to him. He was still wearing his costume, Leo noticed, because the pale skin of his chest was gracefully framed by olive nylon and black and silver sequins. The color complimented his skin tone well. So very well. Leo didn’t know much about that stuff, but even he could tell it looked... Nice.
Leo came back to the present by a hand whacking his head. Clearly holding back, but strong enough to make him snap out of his musings.
"My eyes are up here." Guang Hong laughed.
"Sorry I just… that's a nice costume, but— how did you not freeze on the ice?"
Guang Hong shrugged. "I don't know if you noticed, but I was moving a lot." He grinned.
Leo nodded. Made sense.
He stole a last glance at Guang Hong's chest, noticing the blush that was starting to cover his skin, before looking back up at his face. Guang Hong was smiling, like he had expected Leo not to listen to him.
"I was going to congratulate you on your gold, but if that gets in the way of you enjoying the view, I can wait until you're done." Guang Hong teased. Leo felt his face getting hot and thanked God for his dark skin. "Your ears are bright red." Guang Hong pointed out.
Leo touched his ear. It was burning. The only time he uncovered them from his hair, and this happened! He must be cursed. He'd have to call his abuela to get una limpia. That bizarre egg cleansing thing. He had never gotten one done, but he was willing now.
"Ah— I was just…"
"One would think you'd like your medal better than mine." Guang Hong shrugged, smiling still. Leo hadn't even noticed Guang Hong was still wearing his bronze medal, but it was there, perfectly framing the plunging neckline, as if made to measure.
"Congrats on winning bronze!" Leo said, lifting his hands like they would distract from the fact that he was obviously not thinking about the competition anymore. "For real, I thought you'd be the one center front out there. Your routine was killer!"
Guang Hong giggled, jutting his hip to the side and cocking his head. "Thank you." Leo hadn't noticed until now, but Guang Hong's hands had been behind his back. "But I wanted to congratulate you. "
Leo blinked. "No, seriously. Your choreography was amazing, the way you incorporated your fighting style in the choreography was breathtaking!"
"But you won, so I guess you weren't bad yourself." Guang Hong grinned.
Leo shrugged. "I guess."
Guang Hong extended his arms, presenting Leo with a big teddy bear. It was light brown, and was wearing a blue bowtie and matching hat. "Congratulations."
Leo took it from him, looking down into the bear's eyes for a second before looking up at his friend. He liked Guang Hong's eyes better, but the toy was cute. "Thank you. Didn't a fan throw it at you, though?"
"Yeah." Guang Hong nodded. "I have too many. I usually only keep one or two and donate the rest to Beijing's children's hospital. But I figured that since you won gold, might as well, right? As a gift."
Leo was satisfied with that answer. He wasn't much of a plush lover himself, but this one he could keep.
He wasn't sure why his heart was beating so fast when he hugged Guang Hong once again, but it was, and it wasn't because of the gift. It was more about the way his friend wrapped his arms around him, or the slight tackiness of his sweaty cheek sticking to Leo's. Or maybe because he sighed when he held Leo.
"Hey, do you want to go celebrate? I know a restaurant near here that should be open." He asked. Guang Hong hummed into his shoulder. It almost felt like he didn't want to let go of him yet.
"Mmhm. Sure."
"Cool, let's go shower, I'll text Coach Ro."
Leo placed the stuffed animal on top of his bag, looked at it for a second, then turned to Guang Hong. He took a moment to give him another once over, since he was getting off the costume soon. He really appreciated the simplicity of Guang Hong’s black tights, compared to the mesmerizing shimmer of his shirt. They clung to his legs like nobody’s business, highlighting every single muscle group of Guang Hong’s legs: From his thighs to his calves. Leo had never been good at anatomy, but he wouldn’t mind learning if the model was Guang Hong.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Guang Hong suggested, clearly teasing, but still getting Leo’s face to boil once again. At Guang Hong’s laugh, Leo covered his ears.
He turned to the plush again. “Are you gonna help me name it?”
Guang hong didn’t hesitate. “Mr. Cute.”
Leo bit his lip to contain a smile. Only Guang Hong would come up with something like that.
“What?”
“Suits him.”