There With You: Part 5
Title: There With You - PART FIVE
Pairing: AJ/Soohyun
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Soohyun and AJ won’t be able to avoid their feelings for each other much longer, especially with a push in the right direction from AJ’s friend Ronan.
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PART FIVE
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AJ woke up feeling warm and comfortable. The air mattress and the blankets he borrowed must’ve been better than he thought. Then he rolled over, and froze. Soohyun was there, partially curled up against him. After staring at his sleeping form for a while, AJ chuckled under his breath. Apparently Soohyun hadn’t stayed in the bed after all, even after AJ had insisted he take it. He looked so cute and vulnerable that AJ had to reach an arm around him and pull him a little closer. Maybe that was weird, but AJ wasn’t awake enough to care. And Soohyun probably needed it.
Soohyun groaned a little as he woke, stretching then hissing when cold air hit his arm, immediately burrowing back under the blankets and pushing closer to the warm body beside him. Wait. What? His eyes snapped open in shock and all he saw was blue, the color of AJ’s night shirt, his face pressed into AJ’s shoulder. Then he remembered the night before, falling asleep in AJ’s arms, waking up in bed, feeling alone and lost and moving silently until he was once again by AJ’s side. But he had been half asleep then, and now, well now he was completely awake. And judging by the soft sounds of laughter coming from just above his head, so was AJ. But… if AJ was laughing… that meant he didn’t mind, right? And since it was really warm, what was the point in moving? He merely pushed himself closer, stifling a yawn before mumbling a good morning into AJ’s neck.
"Good morning, Soohyun,” AJ said. “The bed wasn't good enough for you, huh?" Then, to make sure Soohyun knew he was just teasing, he gave him a quick squeeze.
Soohyun smirked a bit, deciding to play along. "Nope, it was too cold. I like it here better." And to emphasize his point, he looped an arm around AJ's chest and threw a leg across AJ's hips, clinging to him like a koala before humming a contented sigh into AJ's skin.
AJ was surprised at how Soohyun was acting. No, ‘surprised’ was not the right word. ‘Surprised’ did not properly describe the electricity that was prickling through him, starting at his many points of contact with Soohyun’s body and surging through the rest of him. He ignored it, asking, "You slept well then?"
"Mmhmm." Soohyun nodded. "Did you?"
“Yeah, I did,” AJ answered. As a matter of fact, he wanted to keep sleeping, with Soohyun around him like this, and his face in his neck. But why should he want that? Besides, he had all of New York to show Soohyun; they couldn’t stay in bed like this, warm as it was. And AJ was starting to feel hungry and knew Soohyun probably would be too. “Hey, do you want to go out and have a nice American breakfast?” He smirked before adding, “With bacon?”
"Bacon?" Soohyun's head immediately perked up, a wide smile on his face. "I like thaaaaat."
AJ laughed. He was glad Soohyun didn’t think he wanted to kick him out of bed for anything other than a necessary reason. He was going to be paranoid about his reactions for a while now. “Oh, let me call Ronan,” he said, which he regretted instantly because of the way Soohyun’s face fell.
Hearing AJ say Ronan’s name at that moment, knowing that he was someone on AJ’s mind even first thing in the morning, stung. Which was stupid, since Ronan was AJ’s friend, and why should it be bad that AJ was thinking of his friends? But, reason didn’t change the way he felt. And Soohyun felt hurt. He pushed himself off of AJ and stood up, turning away to stretch and give himself time to rearrange his face. “Alright, I’m going to go to the bathroom while you call.” He threw a quick smile back in AJ’s direction then pushed through the door.
AJ buried his face into his pillow. Damnit. There, he’d done it again. He’d never been more aware of someone else’s emotions before, but he still kept messing up. He didn’t know how he was ever going to get Soohyun to truly… trust him. And not feel like he was going to abandon him the first opportunity he got because Soohyun wasn’t good enough. He thought he’d convinced Soohyun last night, but… old habits were hard to break. Old darknesses were hard to chase away.
AJ hauled himself upright and went to his dresser to get clothes to change into as he tried to clear his head. It’s not like he cared more about Ronan than Soohyun. He just wanted him there, mostly to try to make up for the way he had left the other night, and the fact that he had been too distracted once he found Soohyun to text Ronan like he said he would, which Ronan was really pissed about once he finally got a hold of AJ hours later. AJ wanted them both there: his new friend, and his old friend… with a real smile on his face, which was something AJ hadn’t seen in a long time. He sighed. Well, it was a new day and another chance to try again.
Ronan was remarkably bright and perky when he met them at the restaurant, which AJ teased him about as they sat down at their table. “Hey, I know how to hold my liquor,” he explained. “And how to get it out of me,” he added. AJ raised his eyebrows at that. “By drinking lots of water!” Ronan cried. “I don’t know what you’re thinking.” He crossed his arms. “I’m still mad at you, by the way.”
“What?” AJ said. “I told you, once I found Soohyun I was…” He trailed off, not really sure how to explain it. We… dealt with some emotional stuff, and then he fell asleep on me. After I kissed him on the forehead. That last detail was the one AJ was trying not to think about. And failing miserably at.
“Alright, fine, I understand,” Ronan said. “But I was really worried. I was really worried about you!” He pointed at Soohyun. “Tell him that, please,” he directed AJ.
Soohyun had been staring at the table, tracing over the groves with his fingers, when he felt the conversation turn towards him. He looked up just as AJ was turning towards him and listened quietly as AJ translated for him. Apparently, Ronan had been worried. Soohyun bowed his head in apology. “Tell him I’m sorry for worrying him.”
“Ah jeez, you don’t have to do that,” Ronan said, waving his hands. “I’m just glad you’re okay. You have natural New York skills though, seriously. Uh, tell him that too. Sorry,” he added to AJ, turning back to him.
“It’s fine,” AJ said, repeating it all back to Soohyun in Korean as best he could.
“Skills?” Soohyun’s eyebrows drew together at the center. “He thinks I’m good at… New York? I don’t get it.”
"He's impressed that you were able to make it back to the dorm on your own, after only being shown the way once," AJ explained.
“What did he say?” Ronan asked.
“Not yet, Ronan,” AJ said, head swiveling to him before turning back to Soohyun.
Soohyun’s mouth had formed a perfect ‘o’ but was now curving up at the corners, a smile forming on his face as he turned to Ronan. “Thank you!” he said, in very enthusiastic English. He quickly turned back to AJ, tapping his arm. “Tell him I think he has skills too.”
“Uh, no, not really, but thanks,” Ronan said. “Oh, tell him he’s really good at singing! I mean, AJ told me you were, but being told that and hearing for yourself are different things. And it’s hard in another language! My grandma taught me songs in Irish as a kid, and then I found out years later I was pronouncing half of the things wrong. Uh, you don’t have to try to say that last part, AJ.”
But AJ told him anyway, and Soohyun laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners. He nudged AJ and smiled. “I like your friend. He’s nice.”
AJ translated for Ronan and he grinned back at Soohyun. "What do you like to eat?" he asked, gesturing at the menus in front of them, which they had not yet taken the time to look through.
Soohyun knew how to answer that one. “Bacon,” he said, smiling very widely.
Ronan laughed. “I like this kid too. And… it so happens that I also love bacon.” He leaned forward, locking eyes with Soohyun. “How about we have a contest to see who can eat more?”
After listening to AJ's explanation, Soohyun grinned and slammed his palm onto the table."You're on!"
“Alright!” Ronan cried in response.
When the waiter came over they ordered two extra large sides of bacon, while AJ rolled his eyes at them and got a crepe with raspberries. Once the plates were in front of them, Ronan posed his fork over the gleaming pile. “Ready?” he asked.
“Wait!” Soohyun cried. “Need ketchup,” he said in English.
“You’re going to eat it with ketchup?” Ronan asked. “Damn. Okay. More power to ‘ya.” He caught the attention of the waiter again and had a bottle brought to the table. Soohyun poured a large portion on his plate, and then grabbed his fork in his fist to mimic Ronan. Ronan laughed. “Okay,” he said. “Ready… set… go!”
AJ watched with an amused expression as the two attacked their plates, before focusing on eating his crepe at a normal speed. It was very delicious and the berries were especially fresh. He knew Soohyun was a bacon fiend but even he was surprised when he looked up a few minutes later and found all of Soohyun’s strips gone, while Ronan was still struggling with his last two. “Oh my god,” he said, when he finally swallowed the last mouthful, clutching his stomach. “Maybe the ketchup helps them go down easier; I should try that. But, seriously! There were, like, fifteen pieces on that thing.”
Before AJ had a chance to translate, Soohyun pointed to his plate, saying in English, “More.”
“Ah God. Okay. You win. I can’t… I underestimated you. And the saltiness of this stuff. Dear Lord. You win,” he repeated, a little more slowly so Soohyun could understand. Then he downed his whole glass of water while AJ laughed and tried to translate to Soohyun the rest of what Ronan had said.
A huge grin spread over Soohyun’s face at Ronan’s words. ‘Win’ was something he understood. He stuck out his hand. “Very good!” He knew his English wasn’t perfect, but he figured Ronan would get the idea. And he did, taking Soohyun’s hand and curling it into a fist and laughing before bumping their knuckles together.
“That’s how you do it in America. Fist bump.”
Soohyun looked at his hand and nodded. “OK!” He turned to AJ, who had gone back to eating his crepe, and tapped him repeatedly on the shoulder. “AJ, me and Ronan just hit fists, like in the movies! I didn’t know you actually did that here!”
AJ laughed. “Yeah, sometimes.” He kept smiling. This is what he had wanted to happen, Soohyun really feeling welcome. If things would just continue like this, then Soohyun’s visit would be perfect.
“Hey guys!” exclaimed a voice from behind him.
AJ turned, his smile staying. “Hey Becca!” he said to the brown-haired girl standing there. “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you, having breakfast,” she answered. “Though… what happened to him?” She pointed to Ronan, who was holding his stomach and moaning softly.
“Bacon eating contest,” AJ answered. “Which he lost. He’ll be okay, he’s just hamming it up.”
“Ah god, no pork puns please,” Ronan whined.
“Oh dear,” Becca said, laughing. “But, okay, before I go back to my table, I have a question for you about the paper.”
“Yeah?”
Soohyun’s hand was still resting on AJ’s shoulder when a girl came over. She greeted them and immediately AJ was turning away. Soohyun’s hand fell back to his side. AJ was smiling at her and she was smiling back, conversing in English and completely forgetting his existence. He looked to Ronan and saw that the other boy was still out of it from their bacon battle. It looked like he really was alone, then. He sighed, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone, taking the opportunity to scoot up against the wall as he unlocked the screen. Flicking the mute button with his thumb, he clicked on his favorite game icon and slid further into the seat of the booth.
AJ could sense Soohyun’s emotions, even without looking at him. He’d felt Soohyun’s hand slide off of him and knew he must be upset that it seemed AJ was excluding him again. So he could get back to him, AJ was trying to wrap up his conversation with his classmate as quickly as possible, but she just kept wanting to chat. “My friend is here, visiting from Korea,” he managed to cut in. He turned to Soohyun and saw it was worse than he’d predicted. Soohyun was distracting himself with his phone while trying to hide himself against the wall.
“Soohyun,” he said, but Soohyun didn’t even look up. No, he’d have to do more. He’d have to be braver to prove to Soohyun that he wasn’t forgetting about him. He wouldn’t let what had happened last night happen again. “Soohyun,” he said a little louder, extending his hand towards him. He wanted to take his hand, but Soohyun had moved too far away and was clutching his phone. Hopefully Soohyun would understand what he wanted.
Letting the strange words filter in and out of his ears, Soohyun tried to force himself to focus on his game. It wasn’t quite as fun without the sound effects but he figured it’d be rude for him to put in his earbuds. So he didn’t. AJ said his name, and then something about ‘friend’ and ‘Korea’ so Soohyun knew he was being talked about. He chose not to look up. They could talk about him all they wanted, in their foreign language that he didn’t understand. And he’d just think about them, in Korean, maybe even mutter to himself. Then they would be the ones who didn’t understand. AJ said his name again, louder this time, and without other words surrounding it. Was he really trying to drag him into their conversation? Maybe he could limit it to just a brief introduction. He hit the pause button on his game and placed the perfect smile on his face, looking up and giving a slight bow. “Hi, I’m Soohyun. Very nice to meet you.”
The girl blinked for a moment at the sudden introduction, then broke the silence with an awkward laugh. “I’m Becca. Nice to meet you too.”
Figuring his part of the display was over, Soohyun turned back to his game. He really wished he could just put his earbuds in… so he wouldn’t have to listen to the sound of being left behind. He didn’t even know such things could have a sound. But they did, and now he couldn’t escape it. Nothing like being constantly reminded of his solitude.
AJ gritted his teeth. Trying to be gentle and forceful at the same time, he pried Soohyun’s hand from his phone and intertwined it in his own, pulling Soohyun back towards him on the seat. But after he’d done that-and realized that everyone was staring at him, including Ronan, who had finally stopped moaning about the fullness of his stomach-he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Finally he managed, “He’s only here for a few days.”
“Well, I hope you two have a good time then,” Becca replied, smiling. “See you around, AJ.” Then she walked away and AJ could turn back to Soohyun.
Soohyun looked down with a sad expression at his screen, now flashing in bold font how he had lost. AJ had pulled his hand away in the middle of an important part and now poor digital Soohyun was toast. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he felt AJ’s hand move against his own. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the girl, Becca, begin to walk away. AJ turned back to him, something in his eyes making Soohyun feel a bit on edge. His mouth felt suddenly dry and he snapped it shut, attempting to swallow before speaking. “Wh-What’s wrong? Did I say something bad?” He quickly looked over at Ronan, trying to see if the other boy looked in any way insulted or appalled, but he was merely looking between AJ and Soohyun with a slightly curious and bemused expression. Soohyun truly had no idea what was going on.
“What, no, of course not,” AJ said. “I just want you next to me.” He smiled, giving Soohyun’s hand a light squeeze.
Soohyun immediately felt his face go red. “Oh, okay…” He looked back down at the table, silently shutting off his phone and placing it beside his plate. He couldn’t play games anyway because AJ… was holding… his hand… He flushed an even brighter shade of red and shifted a bit against the seat.
“And, seriously, if you want to eat more we can order something else,” AJ said.
Soohyun resolutely shook his head. "I'm fine." He looked up at Ronan, taking a moment to think before tentatively asking, "Finish?"
“Yep, I’m done,” Ronan replied, smiling. He studied the two of them for a moment before slapping his hands against the table. “Aaaand, I have an idea. Let’s go ice skating!”
“One minute you claim your stomach is killing you, and the next you want to go ice skating?” AJ asked, arching an eyebrow. Then he repeated to Soohyun what Ronan had said.
"Ice skating?" Soohyun cocked his head to the side, considering. He looked between AJ and Ronan for a moment then nodded, drawing their attention before pointing between the three of them. "Three?"
"Yes, all of us," Ronan said. "Have you ever done it before?"
"Before... Before?" Soohyun knew what that meant, at least he thought he did. "Oh! Yes, before. In Korea. Very small. Very bad."
Ronan laughed. “Okay. Well, I… I am very good. And you, AJ?”
“Me…” AJ’s eyes flicked to Soohyun. “Also very bad.”
“Excellent.” Ronan rubbed his hands together. “All the more reason to go.”
~*~
They walked through most of Central Park to get there. Ronan and Soohyun played a game where one of them would point to something and then Soohyun would say the word for it in Korean, and then Ronan would repeat it (badly), and then name the thing in English, which Soohyun would then attempt to say. This went on for a while, but when Ronan pointed at a person and said, “Fat lady,” which Soohyun then echoed, giggling, AJ figured it was time to cut them off.
“Hey, AJ,” Ronan said, coming up beside him. “Uhh, I want to ask you something.”
“Alright,” AJ said, his eyes flicking to Soohyun for a moment to make sure he was okay. “What is it?”
“Uh, you two were, uh, holding hands earlier, and I was just wondering, uh… yeah,” Ronan mumbled, looking away.
AJ laughed. He’d never seen Ronan unsure of himself before. But once his amusement passed he found himself stumbling over his words as well. What Ronan was implying… Ah god, had it looked like that? "Ah, no, we're, uh... we're just friends. Things are a little different in Korea, so... you can hold hands and stuff without... yeah."
“Do they blush like that in Korea too?” Ronan asked.
“What?” AJ exclaimed. “B-Blushing?”
“Yeah. He was, and now you are.” Ronan pointed to AJ’s face.
AJ strung a bunch of incoherent syllables together. “Uhhh… I… Uhhh…”
“Don’t worry about it, just curious,” Ronan said, walking away from him and catching up with Soohyun, who was a ways in front of them. AJ breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad Ronan had dropped the subject. He didn’t have an answer, and didn’t know if he would ever have one.
So he was a little surprised when, a few minutes later, Ronan was flying around the rink hand in hand with a giggling Soohyun, and he felt a small tingle of something like jealously stir in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know why he felt so weird about it. It was great, really, how well they were getting along. Ronan was making Soohyun happy. While it seemed AJ could only make Soohyun sad. Maybe today he should be the one to leave. He kicked his right foot forward to continue his attempt at skating, but he was so distracted that he managed to cross it in front of his left one and send himself toppling over. Ronan magically appeared to help him up. “Thanks…” he mumbled.
“No problem,” Ronan said, starting back towards a tottering Soohyun.
“Wait!” AJ cried, before he knew what he was doing.
Ronan stopped and AJ managed to move up next to him. “Why are you… Uhh… You’re holding hands with Soohyun now too,” he said, immediately feeling himself turn red. Yet again. This was becoming a problem.
“Well, yeah,” Ronan replied. “You said that’s common where you’re from, so I’m just making him feel comfortable.”
“Yeah, of course.”
“And, besides, I don’t want him to fall over,” Ronan said. Then he winked at AJ and skated away.
AJ stared after him. What had that stupid wink meant? “But you let me fall over,” he grumbled, before starting up again.
The next time Soohyun and Ronan lapped him, Ronan grabbed AJ’s arm and whisked him along with them. After they’d gone around another time, Soohyun let go of Ronan’s other arm and skated out ahead of them, laughing. “Oooh, he’s a natural, that one,” Ronan said. Soohyun indeed seemed to be doing very well, and going very fast… until another person got in his way. He managed to avoid crashing into them, but tripped over himself instead. “Oooh,” Ronan said. “And he’s a natural faller too.”
He skated up to Soohyun and offered out his hand, while AJ slowly, stride by stride, battled to get close. That had looked like it’d hurt. He hoped Soohyun was okay and still having fun. But, judging by the way he was laughing, he was.
Soohyun grabbed Ronan’s hand, and then, instead of working his way upright, pulled Ronan down beside him.
Ronan was shocked for a second, but once he realized what Soohyun had done he cracked up laughing. “Oooh, you are a tricky devil and I like you,” he said. Soohyun kept grinning.
Soohyun was definitely enjoying himself. He loved being on the ice, feeling the cold winter air whip around his face, almost like he was flying. And he liked Ronan too, how he was always smiling and making Soohyun laugh, even if they didn’t always understand each other. He could definitely understand why he was AJ’s friend. And, as he pulled Ronan down onto the ice beside him and received only a bout of laughter, he’d like to think he gained a friend as well.
He hadn’t known what to expect, coming to New York. But he certainly hadn’t expected to meet someone like Ronan. He hoped that even after he had to return to Korea, they could still keep in touch. There was email… and Skype… maybe Ronan would even be up to visiting him and AJ sometime. But if that was the case, he should probably work on his English. Ronan said something, smiling at him, and Soohyun couldn’t help but grin. Even if he didn’t know all the words, he knew that look, and that tone of voice, teasing yet complimentary. He pushed Ronan’s shoulder gently, widening his smile. “Like you too.”
AJ wasn’t laughing, but he managed to smile at least. Soohyun started to get up, but before he could get very far, Ronan pulled him back down and straight into his lap.
Soohyun’s eyes widened almost comically as he stared up into Ronan’s face. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. Then Ronan burst out laughing, doubling over and almost crushing Soohyun in the process. Soohyun chuckled a bit in response but still shifted nervously, not quite sure what was happening. Did people normally do these kinds of things in America?
AJ’s eyes got very wide. Something in him snapped, and before he even knew what he was doing he was skating up and grabbing Soohyun’s hand and dragging him away. Ronan laughing with Soohyun, that was okay. Ronan holding Soohyun’s hand, he guessed that was okay. But making Soohyun sit in his lap? Being that close to him? That was really not okay. But now that AJ had Soohyun back, with his unsteady skates below him and a confused, off-balance Soohyun weighing him down, there was only one place for him to go: back down onto the ice. He fell and Soohyun fell too, landing on top of him.
Soohyun blinked once, twice, and then a third time, still not quite able to believe what had just happened. One second, he had been sitting in Ronan’s lap, then he was getting dragged away by AJ, and now he was back on the ice again. Well, not technically. In actuality AJ was between him and the ice… but the idea was the same.
Except that if he were on the ice, he’d be cold. And right now… well right now he was most definitely not cold. In fact, his face felt like it was burning up. His face… which was only inches from AJ’s, their lips practically level. He had never noticed how nice they were before. He shook his head fervently-what the hell was he thinking?
He felt a puff of air against his cheek and jolted slightly, jerking back when AJ let out a low groan. “I’m so sorry!” He sat up and held out his hands, pulling AJ up as well. “I didn’t mean to crush you. Are you okay?” And why the hell was he getting distracted looking at AJ’s lips! He blushed and dropped AJ’s hands before looking away. What was happening to him? But he didn’t have any more time to question himself, head jerking up as Ronan slid to a stop beside them.
“You two okay?” he asked. And then he winked at AJ for a second time.
AJ was confused by himself, which wasn’t something that usually happened. He was confused by Ronan, who seemed to be manipulating him, but why? And he was confused by Soohyun, who had been blushing at frequent intervals this whole trip and now was again, shying away from AJ’s touch only to seek it out, like he had last night and this morning. Despite how hard a fall it had been, AJ hadn’t really wanted to get up right away. He liked having Soohyun that close to him. And that confused him most of all.
He couldn’t take it. Ronan was betraying him, and now his own emotions were betraying him. “I’m… I’m going to go get some hot chocolate,” he muttered, skating away from the other two as best he could. At least he hadn’t sprained anything; that was some consolation.
Pairing: AJ/Soohyun
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Soohyun and AJ won’t be able to avoid their feelings for each other much longer, especially with a push in the right direction from AJ’s friend Ronan.
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PART FIVE
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AJ woke up feeling warm and comfortable. The air mattress and the blankets he borrowed must’ve been better than he thought. Then he rolled over, and froze. Soohyun was there, partially curled up against him. After staring at his sleeping form for a while, AJ chuckled under his breath. Apparently Soohyun hadn’t stayed in the bed after all, even after AJ had insisted he take it. He looked so cute and vulnerable that AJ had to reach an arm around him and pull him a little closer. Maybe that was weird, but AJ wasn’t awake enough to care. And Soohyun probably needed it.
Soohyun groaned a little as he woke, stretching then hissing when cold air hit his arm, immediately burrowing back under the blankets and pushing closer to the warm body beside him. Wait. What? His eyes snapped open in shock and all he saw was blue, the color of AJ’s night shirt, his face pressed into AJ’s shoulder. Then he remembered the night before, falling asleep in AJ’s arms, waking up in bed, feeling alone and lost and moving silently until he was once again by AJ’s side. But he had been half asleep then, and now, well now he was completely awake. And judging by the soft sounds of laughter coming from just above his head, so was AJ. But… if AJ was laughing… that meant he didn’t mind, right? And since it was really warm, what was the point in moving? He merely pushed himself closer, stifling a yawn before mumbling a good morning into AJ’s neck.
"Good morning, Soohyun,” AJ said. “The bed wasn't good enough for you, huh?" Then, to make sure Soohyun knew he was just teasing, he gave him a quick squeeze.
Soohyun smirked a bit, deciding to play along. "Nope, it was too cold. I like it here better." And to emphasize his point, he looped an arm around AJ's chest and threw a leg across AJ's hips, clinging to him like a koala before humming a contented sigh into AJ's skin.
AJ was surprised at how Soohyun was acting. No, ‘surprised’ was not the right word. ‘Surprised’ did not properly describe the electricity that was prickling through him, starting at his many points of contact with Soohyun’s body and surging through the rest of him. He ignored it, asking, "You slept well then?"
"Mmhmm." Soohyun nodded. "Did you?"
“Yeah, I did,” AJ answered. As a matter of fact, he wanted to keep sleeping, with Soohyun around him like this, and his face in his neck. But why should he want that? Besides, he had all of New York to show Soohyun; they couldn’t stay in bed like this, warm as it was. And AJ was starting to feel hungry and knew Soohyun probably would be too. “Hey, do you want to go out and have a nice American breakfast?” He smirked before adding, “With bacon?”
"Bacon?" Soohyun's head immediately perked up, a wide smile on his face. "I like thaaaaat."
AJ laughed. He was glad Soohyun didn’t think he wanted to kick him out of bed for anything other than a necessary reason. He was going to be paranoid about his reactions for a while now. “Oh, let me call Ronan,” he said, which he regretted instantly because of the way Soohyun’s face fell.
Hearing AJ say Ronan’s name at that moment, knowing that he was someone on AJ’s mind even first thing in the morning, stung. Which was stupid, since Ronan was AJ’s friend, and why should it be bad that AJ was thinking of his friends? But, reason didn’t change the way he felt. And Soohyun felt hurt. He pushed himself off of AJ and stood up, turning away to stretch and give himself time to rearrange his face. “Alright, I’m going to go to the bathroom while you call.” He threw a quick smile back in AJ’s direction then pushed through the door.
AJ buried his face into his pillow. Damnit. There, he’d done it again. He’d never been more aware of someone else’s emotions before, but he still kept messing up. He didn’t know how he was ever going to get Soohyun to truly… trust him. And not feel like he was going to abandon him the first opportunity he got because Soohyun wasn’t good enough. He thought he’d convinced Soohyun last night, but… old habits were hard to break. Old darknesses were hard to chase away.
AJ hauled himself upright and went to his dresser to get clothes to change into as he tried to clear his head. It’s not like he cared more about Ronan than Soohyun. He just wanted him there, mostly to try to make up for the way he had left the other night, and the fact that he had been too distracted once he found Soohyun to text Ronan like he said he would, which Ronan was really pissed about once he finally got a hold of AJ hours later. AJ wanted them both there: his new friend, and his old friend… with a real smile on his face, which was something AJ hadn’t seen in a long time. He sighed. Well, it was a new day and another chance to try again.
Ronan was remarkably bright and perky when he met them at the restaurant, which AJ teased him about as they sat down at their table. “Hey, I know how to hold my liquor,” he explained. “And how to get it out of me,” he added. AJ raised his eyebrows at that. “By drinking lots of water!” Ronan cried. “I don’t know what you’re thinking.” He crossed his arms. “I’m still mad at you, by the way.”
“What?” AJ said. “I told you, once I found Soohyun I was…” He trailed off, not really sure how to explain it. We… dealt with some emotional stuff, and then he fell asleep on me. After I kissed him on the forehead. That last detail was the one AJ was trying not to think about. And failing miserably at.
“Alright, fine, I understand,” Ronan said. “But I was really worried. I was really worried about you!” He pointed at Soohyun. “Tell him that, please,” he directed AJ.
Soohyun had been staring at the table, tracing over the groves with his fingers, when he felt the conversation turn towards him. He looked up just as AJ was turning towards him and listened quietly as AJ translated for him. Apparently, Ronan had been worried. Soohyun bowed his head in apology. “Tell him I’m sorry for worrying him.”
“Ah jeez, you don’t have to do that,” Ronan said, waving his hands. “I’m just glad you’re okay. You have natural New York skills though, seriously. Uh, tell him that too. Sorry,” he added to AJ, turning back to him.
“It’s fine,” AJ said, repeating it all back to Soohyun in Korean as best he could.
“Skills?” Soohyun’s eyebrows drew together at the center. “He thinks I’m good at… New York? I don’t get it.”
"He's impressed that you were able to make it back to the dorm on your own, after only being shown the way once," AJ explained.
“What did he say?” Ronan asked.
“Not yet, Ronan,” AJ said, head swiveling to him before turning back to Soohyun.
Soohyun’s mouth had formed a perfect ‘o’ but was now curving up at the corners, a smile forming on his face as he turned to Ronan. “Thank you!” he said, in very enthusiastic English. He quickly turned back to AJ, tapping his arm. “Tell him I think he has skills too.”
“Uh, no, not really, but thanks,” Ronan said. “Oh, tell him he’s really good at singing! I mean, AJ told me you were, but being told that and hearing for yourself are different things. And it’s hard in another language! My grandma taught me songs in Irish as a kid, and then I found out years later I was pronouncing half of the things wrong. Uh, you don’t have to try to say that last part, AJ.”
But AJ told him anyway, and Soohyun laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners. He nudged AJ and smiled. “I like your friend. He’s nice.”
AJ translated for Ronan and he grinned back at Soohyun. "What do you like to eat?" he asked, gesturing at the menus in front of them, which they had not yet taken the time to look through.
Soohyun knew how to answer that one. “Bacon,” he said, smiling very widely.
Ronan laughed. “I like this kid too. And… it so happens that I also love bacon.” He leaned forward, locking eyes with Soohyun. “How about we have a contest to see who can eat more?”
After listening to AJ's explanation, Soohyun grinned and slammed his palm onto the table."You're on!"
“Alright!” Ronan cried in response.
When the waiter came over they ordered two extra large sides of bacon, while AJ rolled his eyes at them and got a crepe with raspberries. Once the plates were in front of them, Ronan posed his fork over the gleaming pile. “Ready?” he asked.
“Wait!” Soohyun cried. “Need ketchup,” he said in English.
“You’re going to eat it with ketchup?” Ronan asked. “Damn. Okay. More power to ‘ya.” He caught the attention of the waiter again and had a bottle brought to the table. Soohyun poured a large portion on his plate, and then grabbed his fork in his fist to mimic Ronan. Ronan laughed. “Okay,” he said. “Ready… set… go!”
AJ watched with an amused expression as the two attacked their plates, before focusing on eating his crepe at a normal speed. It was very delicious and the berries were especially fresh. He knew Soohyun was a bacon fiend but even he was surprised when he looked up a few minutes later and found all of Soohyun’s strips gone, while Ronan was still struggling with his last two. “Oh my god,” he said, when he finally swallowed the last mouthful, clutching his stomach. “Maybe the ketchup helps them go down easier; I should try that. But, seriously! There were, like, fifteen pieces on that thing.”
Before AJ had a chance to translate, Soohyun pointed to his plate, saying in English, “More.”
“Ah God. Okay. You win. I can’t… I underestimated you. And the saltiness of this stuff. Dear Lord. You win,” he repeated, a little more slowly so Soohyun could understand. Then he downed his whole glass of water while AJ laughed and tried to translate to Soohyun the rest of what Ronan had said.
A huge grin spread over Soohyun’s face at Ronan’s words. ‘Win’ was something he understood. He stuck out his hand. “Very good!” He knew his English wasn’t perfect, but he figured Ronan would get the idea. And he did, taking Soohyun’s hand and curling it into a fist and laughing before bumping their knuckles together.
“That’s how you do it in America. Fist bump.”
Soohyun looked at his hand and nodded. “OK!” He turned to AJ, who had gone back to eating his crepe, and tapped him repeatedly on the shoulder. “AJ, me and Ronan just hit fists, like in the movies! I didn’t know you actually did that here!”
AJ laughed. “Yeah, sometimes.” He kept smiling. This is what he had wanted to happen, Soohyun really feeling welcome. If things would just continue like this, then Soohyun’s visit would be perfect.
“Hey guys!” exclaimed a voice from behind him.
AJ turned, his smile staying. “Hey Becca!” he said to the brown-haired girl standing there. “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you, having breakfast,” she answered. “Though… what happened to him?” She pointed to Ronan, who was holding his stomach and moaning softly.
“Bacon eating contest,” AJ answered. “Which he lost. He’ll be okay, he’s just hamming it up.”
“Ah god, no pork puns please,” Ronan whined.
“Oh dear,” Becca said, laughing. “But, okay, before I go back to my table, I have a question for you about the paper.”
“Yeah?”
Soohyun’s hand was still resting on AJ’s shoulder when a girl came over. She greeted them and immediately AJ was turning away. Soohyun’s hand fell back to his side. AJ was smiling at her and she was smiling back, conversing in English and completely forgetting his existence. He looked to Ronan and saw that the other boy was still out of it from their bacon battle. It looked like he really was alone, then. He sighed, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone, taking the opportunity to scoot up against the wall as he unlocked the screen. Flicking the mute button with his thumb, he clicked on his favorite game icon and slid further into the seat of the booth.
AJ could sense Soohyun’s emotions, even without looking at him. He’d felt Soohyun’s hand slide off of him and knew he must be upset that it seemed AJ was excluding him again. So he could get back to him, AJ was trying to wrap up his conversation with his classmate as quickly as possible, but she just kept wanting to chat. “My friend is here, visiting from Korea,” he managed to cut in. He turned to Soohyun and saw it was worse than he’d predicted. Soohyun was distracting himself with his phone while trying to hide himself against the wall.
“Soohyun,” he said, but Soohyun didn’t even look up. No, he’d have to do more. He’d have to be braver to prove to Soohyun that he wasn’t forgetting about him. He wouldn’t let what had happened last night happen again. “Soohyun,” he said a little louder, extending his hand towards him. He wanted to take his hand, but Soohyun had moved too far away and was clutching his phone. Hopefully Soohyun would understand what he wanted.
Letting the strange words filter in and out of his ears, Soohyun tried to force himself to focus on his game. It wasn’t quite as fun without the sound effects but he figured it’d be rude for him to put in his earbuds. So he didn’t. AJ said his name, and then something about ‘friend’ and ‘Korea’ so Soohyun knew he was being talked about. He chose not to look up. They could talk about him all they wanted, in their foreign language that he didn’t understand. And he’d just think about them, in Korean, maybe even mutter to himself. Then they would be the ones who didn’t understand. AJ said his name again, louder this time, and without other words surrounding it. Was he really trying to drag him into their conversation? Maybe he could limit it to just a brief introduction. He hit the pause button on his game and placed the perfect smile on his face, looking up and giving a slight bow. “Hi, I’m Soohyun. Very nice to meet you.”
The girl blinked for a moment at the sudden introduction, then broke the silence with an awkward laugh. “I’m Becca. Nice to meet you too.”
Figuring his part of the display was over, Soohyun turned back to his game. He really wished he could just put his earbuds in… so he wouldn’t have to listen to the sound of being left behind. He didn’t even know such things could have a sound. But they did, and now he couldn’t escape it. Nothing like being constantly reminded of his solitude.
AJ gritted his teeth. Trying to be gentle and forceful at the same time, he pried Soohyun’s hand from his phone and intertwined it in his own, pulling Soohyun back towards him on the seat. But after he’d done that-and realized that everyone was staring at him, including Ronan, who had finally stopped moaning about the fullness of his stomach-he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Finally he managed, “He’s only here for a few days.”
“Well, I hope you two have a good time then,” Becca replied, smiling. “See you around, AJ.” Then she walked away and AJ could turn back to Soohyun.
Soohyun looked down with a sad expression at his screen, now flashing in bold font how he had lost. AJ had pulled his hand away in the middle of an important part and now poor digital Soohyun was toast. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he felt AJ’s hand move against his own. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the girl, Becca, begin to walk away. AJ turned back to him, something in his eyes making Soohyun feel a bit on edge. His mouth felt suddenly dry and he snapped it shut, attempting to swallow before speaking. “Wh-What’s wrong? Did I say something bad?” He quickly looked over at Ronan, trying to see if the other boy looked in any way insulted or appalled, but he was merely looking between AJ and Soohyun with a slightly curious and bemused expression. Soohyun truly had no idea what was going on.
“What, no, of course not,” AJ said. “I just want you next to me.” He smiled, giving Soohyun’s hand a light squeeze.
Soohyun immediately felt his face go red. “Oh, okay…” He looked back down at the table, silently shutting off his phone and placing it beside his plate. He couldn’t play games anyway because AJ… was holding… his hand… He flushed an even brighter shade of red and shifted a bit against the seat.
“And, seriously, if you want to eat more we can order something else,” AJ said.
Soohyun resolutely shook his head. "I'm fine." He looked up at Ronan, taking a moment to think before tentatively asking, "Finish?"
“Yep, I’m done,” Ronan replied, smiling. He studied the two of them for a moment before slapping his hands against the table. “Aaaand, I have an idea. Let’s go ice skating!”
“One minute you claim your stomach is killing you, and the next you want to go ice skating?” AJ asked, arching an eyebrow. Then he repeated to Soohyun what Ronan had said.
"Ice skating?" Soohyun cocked his head to the side, considering. He looked between AJ and Ronan for a moment then nodded, drawing their attention before pointing between the three of them. "Three?"
"Yes, all of us," Ronan said. "Have you ever done it before?"
"Before... Before?" Soohyun knew what that meant, at least he thought he did. "Oh! Yes, before. In Korea. Very small. Very bad."
Ronan laughed. “Okay. Well, I… I am very good. And you, AJ?”
“Me…” AJ’s eyes flicked to Soohyun. “Also very bad.”
“Excellent.” Ronan rubbed his hands together. “All the more reason to go.”
~*~
They walked through most of Central Park to get there. Ronan and Soohyun played a game where one of them would point to something and then Soohyun would say the word for it in Korean, and then Ronan would repeat it (badly), and then name the thing in English, which Soohyun would then attempt to say. This went on for a while, but when Ronan pointed at a person and said, “Fat lady,” which Soohyun then echoed, giggling, AJ figured it was time to cut them off.
“Hey, AJ,” Ronan said, coming up beside him. “Uhh, I want to ask you something.”
“Alright,” AJ said, his eyes flicking to Soohyun for a moment to make sure he was okay. “What is it?”
“Uh, you two were, uh, holding hands earlier, and I was just wondering, uh… yeah,” Ronan mumbled, looking away.
AJ laughed. He’d never seen Ronan unsure of himself before. But once his amusement passed he found himself stumbling over his words as well. What Ronan was implying… Ah god, had it looked like that? "Ah, no, we're, uh... we're just friends. Things are a little different in Korea, so... you can hold hands and stuff without... yeah."
“Do they blush like that in Korea too?” Ronan asked.
“What?” AJ exclaimed. “B-Blushing?”
“Yeah. He was, and now you are.” Ronan pointed to AJ’s face.
AJ strung a bunch of incoherent syllables together. “Uhhh… I… Uhhh…”
“Don’t worry about it, just curious,” Ronan said, walking away from him and catching up with Soohyun, who was a ways in front of them. AJ breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad Ronan had dropped the subject. He didn’t have an answer, and didn’t know if he would ever have one.
So he was a little surprised when, a few minutes later, Ronan was flying around the rink hand in hand with a giggling Soohyun, and he felt a small tingle of something like jealously stir in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know why he felt so weird about it. It was great, really, how well they were getting along. Ronan was making Soohyun happy. While it seemed AJ could only make Soohyun sad. Maybe today he should be the one to leave. He kicked his right foot forward to continue his attempt at skating, but he was so distracted that he managed to cross it in front of his left one and send himself toppling over. Ronan magically appeared to help him up. “Thanks…” he mumbled.
“No problem,” Ronan said, starting back towards a tottering Soohyun.
“Wait!” AJ cried, before he knew what he was doing.
Ronan stopped and AJ managed to move up next to him. “Why are you… Uhh… You’re holding hands with Soohyun now too,” he said, immediately feeling himself turn red. Yet again. This was becoming a problem.
“Well, yeah,” Ronan replied. “You said that’s common where you’re from, so I’m just making him feel comfortable.”
“Yeah, of course.”
“And, besides, I don’t want him to fall over,” Ronan said. Then he winked at AJ and skated away.
AJ stared after him. What had that stupid wink meant? “But you let me fall over,” he grumbled, before starting up again.
The next time Soohyun and Ronan lapped him, Ronan grabbed AJ’s arm and whisked him along with them. After they’d gone around another time, Soohyun let go of Ronan’s other arm and skated out ahead of them, laughing. “Oooh, he’s a natural, that one,” Ronan said. Soohyun indeed seemed to be doing very well, and going very fast… until another person got in his way. He managed to avoid crashing into them, but tripped over himself instead. “Oooh,” Ronan said. “And he’s a natural faller too.”
He skated up to Soohyun and offered out his hand, while AJ slowly, stride by stride, battled to get close. That had looked like it’d hurt. He hoped Soohyun was okay and still having fun. But, judging by the way he was laughing, he was.
Soohyun grabbed Ronan’s hand, and then, instead of working his way upright, pulled Ronan down beside him.
Ronan was shocked for a second, but once he realized what Soohyun had done he cracked up laughing. “Oooh, you are a tricky devil and I like you,” he said. Soohyun kept grinning.
Soohyun was definitely enjoying himself. He loved being on the ice, feeling the cold winter air whip around his face, almost like he was flying. And he liked Ronan too, how he was always smiling and making Soohyun laugh, even if they didn’t always understand each other. He could definitely understand why he was AJ’s friend. And, as he pulled Ronan down onto the ice beside him and received only a bout of laughter, he’d like to think he gained a friend as well.
He hadn’t known what to expect, coming to New York. But he certainly hadn’t expected to meet someone like Ronan. He hoped that even after he had to return to Korea, they could still keep in touch. There was email… and Skype… maybe Ronan would even be up to visiting him and AJ sometime. But if that was the case, he should probably work on his English. Ronan said something, smiling at him, and Soohyun couldn’t help but grin. Even if he didn’t know all the words, he knew that look, and that tone of voice, teasing yet complimentary. He pushed Ronan’s shoulder gently, widening his smile. “Like you too.”
AJ wasn’t laughing, but he managed to smile at least. Soohyun started to get up, but before he could get very far, Ronan pulled him back down and straight into his lap.
Soohyun’s eyes widened almost comically as he stared up into Ronan’s face. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. Then Ronan burst out laughing, doubling over and almost crushing Soohyun in the process. Soohyun chuckled a bit in response but still shifted nervously, not quite sure what was happening. Did people normally do these kinds of things in America?
AJ’s eyes got very wide. Something in him snapped, and before he even knew what he was doing he was skating up and grabbing Soohyun’s hand and dragging him away. Ronan laughing with Soohyun, that was okay. Ronan holding Soohyun’s hand, he guessed that was okay. But making Soohyun sit in his lap? Being that close to him? That was really not okay. But now that AJ had Soohyun back, with his unsteady skates below him and a confused, off-balance Soohyun weighing him down, there was only one place for him to go: back down onto the ice. He fell and Soohyun fell too, landing on top of him.
Soohyun blinked once, twice, and then a third time, still not quite able to believe what had just happened. One second, he had been sitting in Ronan’s lap, then he was getting dragged away by AJ, and now he was back on the ice again. Well, not technically. In actuality AJ was between him and the ice… but the idea was the same.
Except that if he were on the ice, he’d be cold. And right now… well right now he was most definitely not cold. In fact, his face felt like it was burning up. His face… which was only inches from AJ’s, their lips practically level. He had never noticed how nice they were before. He shook his head fervently-what the hell was he thinking?
He felt a puff of air against his cheek and jolted slightly, jerking back when AJ let out a low groan. “I’m so sorry!” He sat up and held out his hands, pulling AJ up as well. “I didn’t mean to crush you. Are you okay?” And why the hell was he getting distracted looking at AJ’s lips! He blushed and dropped AJ’s hands before looking away. What was happening to him? But he didn’t have any more time to question himself, head jerking up as Ronan slid to a stop beside them.
“You two okay?” he asked. And then he winked at AJ for a second time.
AJ was confused by himself, which wasn’t something that usually happened. He was confused by Ronan, who seemed to be manipulating him, but why? And he was confused by Soohyun, who had been blushing at frequent intervals this whole trip and now was again, shying away from AJ’s touch only to seek it out, like he had last night and this morning. Despite how hard a fall it had been, AJ hadn’t really wanted to get up right away. He liked having Soohyun that close to him. And that confused him most of all.
He couldn’t take it. Ronan was betraying him, and now his own emotions were betraying him. “I’m… I’m going to go get some hot chocolate,” he muttered, skating away from the other two as best he could. At least he hadn’t sprained anything; that was some consolation.