Solid GrounD (MxM)

When the Steaks Shift

When he felt a grumble against his chest, Austin glanced down, raising an eyebrow a second before a towel was thrown over his head. He freaked out for a second, but then realized that Roh-Ahn was just forcefully drying his still-damp hair.

"I'll be okay, Roh. I swear I'm not going to catch a cold from just a little rain." He said with a light chuckle to his voice before he sniffed a little.

"Liar. You're a liar. A very bad liar." Roh-Ahn grumbled, making Austin roll his eyes jokingly and pull the guy back in for a tight hug.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Do you want to meet my brother before you go work in your room, or?" He asked, not minding either way.

Roh-Ahn opened his mouth to reply, but a knock on the door interrupted him, making both of them jump a little.

"Uh, guess they are a little early."

The turn of a key in the door's lock drew Roh-Ahn's eyes wide as he quickly stumbled behind Austin, grabbing his shirt tightly to keep from falling since his bad leg seemed to have trouble with the abrupt movement.

"Hey bro, we're he-," his brother started saying as he walked in, only to pause when he spotted one of Roh-Ahn's hands tightly grinning the front of Austin's shirt.

The two brothers looked somewhat similar. Their height was near exactly the same and their hair color matched, but where Austin's was almost shoulder length if it wasn't styled, his brother's was cut much shorter. He also had several ear piercings and a single one on his left nostril.

"Oh? You finally got yourself a girlfriend?" His brother shouted loudly, making Roh-Ahn physically flinch against his back.

Austin swallowed nervously and lifted one of his hands to gently grasp the one Roh-Ahn was tightening in his shirt.

"Ivan and Terry are getting the stuff out of the car, but let me see your cutie first? I promise I won't bite too hard." He said, nearly pleading to see the young woman who somehow managed to steal his brother's attention.

How am I supposed to play this? He just laughed when I had a boyfriend for a few weeks in high school... and are we together?

"Um, actually, could you just back off for now? This is my roommate, Roh-Ah, the exchange teacher from Korea and he's not great at meeting people so abruptly. You kinda spooked him."

Of course, he knew that Roh wasn't that bad, but he just wanted to deescalate the situation to keep the stress to a minimum.

The look on his brother's face screamed that he knew he was lying, to some degree, but he took a step back anyways, then opened the door. "I'm going to go help them bring stuff in, be back in a minute."

As soon as his brother was out the door, Austin turned around and hugged Roh-Ahn tightly, then stepped back and took his hand.

"Don't lie to me, Roh. Do you want to meet them or would you prefer to stay in your room and I'll bring you dinner soon?"

He wasn't going to be upset, and almost preferred that he was away from his brother and his friends. They got to be very rowdy drunks.

Thankfully, Roh-Ahn only hesitated for a moment before giving him an awkward, shy smile, then turning toward his room. Noticing that he hadn't brought his cane, Austin walked with him, holding his hand just tightly enough so that Roh-Ahn could use him to help balance the few times his bad leg caused him to trip a little.

His brother must have stalled the other two because he was easily able to get Roh-Ahn settled at his desk with everything he wanted to work on for the evening, as well a big plate of dinner before he heard the front door open again.