(Thanks for the patience, I've been super busy these last few weeks x.x)
The next week flew by far faster than Austin wanted. They'd thankfully awoken just in time to get dressed before Wan-Nu showed up to bid Roh-Ahn farewell. Wan-Nu had also given Austin his number, just in case Roh-Ahn needed anything and was too proud to ask for it. Austin could understand.
Leaning back in his desk chair, Austin glanced up at the small clock across the room from him and lifted his feet up onto his desk. He'd already finished grading most of the midterm exams he'd given out earlier in the day, so he wasn't too worried about taking a small break and letting his eyes rest for a bit.
It was no surprise that he had an awkward weight in his lap when his eyes opened again an hour or so later. "I think you missed the chair by a few feet, Roh." Austin mumbled as he reached up and pulled the young man against his chest.
The lights were out and there was a piece of black construction paper over the window to his door, signaling that it was locked and he did not want to be disturbed if it wasn't important.
Already know my habits. He thought as he allowed his right hand to wander upward along the suit that hugged Roh-Ahn's slim body until it delved into his soft hair.
"Done with all of your midterm exams already?" He whispered as he closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of having Roh-Ahn against him.
When he felt Roh-Ahn shake his head, Austin frowned. "Another to give tomorrow."
Ah, good. He'd hoped that he could quickly finish grading the remainder he had to do, then maybe take him out for an early dinner.
I've decided to try and win his heart yet I can't even manage to find enough time to try and spoil him.
Just thinking about all of the missed opportunities they'd had over the past week made him sigh. The remainder of their weekend was rained in by one bad thunderstorm after the other. Besides their college classes for the week, Roh-Ahn hadn't been doing too well Monday and took most of Tuesday to recover and finish up some grading.
He's been cooking almost every night, too.
"What's wrong, Austin?" Roh-Ahn asked, drawing Austin's eyes open as he felt gentle fingers massage the crease his frustration often caused along his forehead.
Truth, or lie?
He didn't need to think very long about that. He was a terrible liar.
"I just wanted to spoil you a little this week but it's already half over and I haven't even gotten to take you out for dinner."
The little grin Roh-Ahn tried to hide at his response had Austin's cheeks warming, but Roh-Ahn didn't let him suffer for long. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his neck, then sealed his lips with a sweet kiss.
"But I got to spoil you." He replied, making Austin lean back just enough to free his mouth to speak. "You got to what?" He asked.
Roh-Ahn's eyes jerked wide and he leaned back in Austin's lap slightly, absolutely shocked to hear that he'd been partially understood. Why do you think I've been so tired lately, hun? He thought, remembering the countless hours he'd stayed up the last few days working on learning Korean with his earbuds in at three in the morning.
So glad that you're a deep sleeper.
"I..." Roh-Ahn stuttered, still seemingly in shock.
Austin shook his head slowly, a smile playing at his lips before he leaned forward to steal a quick kiss. "I've been studying a bit. I want to be able to understand you better."
When Roh-Ahn still couldn't form a coherent sentence, Austin reached up and mussed his hair, then winked. "So, what is it exactly that you got to do?"
He waited patiently for Roh-Ahn to pull himself together, wanting to hear his answer. I really hope he tells me the truth, too. Although, he didn't think Roh-Ahn ever translated what he said incorrectly to keep something important hidden, but he did feel like he didn't get the full messages sometimes.
A soft, warm hand against his left cheek brought Austin out of his thoughts. Roh-Ahn's face was barely an inch from his own, and he very much loved the view. Love. He thought as he felt Roh-Ahn kiss him softly.
"I got to spoil you."
Austin grinned, pressing a kiss to Roh-Ahn's nose.
"You are sweet" He said, mispronouncing the words a little, though still managing to make them decently understandable since Roh-Ahn gave a little laugh and leaned in for another kiss.
"Really?" Roh-Ahn asked, his smile widening as he snuggled in against him.
Austin tiled his head down to press a kiss against Roh-Ahn's hair. "Of course."
He was quite proud that he'd managed to remember so much. The grammar and sentence structure, especially, had thrown him off for several hours when he'd first tried to figure things out.
Of course, my patience is non-existent.
"I can't believe you studied so much for me already. Half of my students still don't do well with sentence structure and you are only messing up a little." Roh-Ahn said as he rested against Austin's chest, his eyes closed.
"That one's a bit over my head but I got the I can't part." Austin said at the same time they both heard a light knock at the door.
Pursing his lips, Austin looked at the clock, then sighed.
"Still have office hours for another fifteen minutes." He grumbled as he carefully helped Roh-Ahn from his lap and into one of the two armchairs across from his desk, then went to open the door.
Emri walked in the second he turned the lock, and went straight for Roh-Ahn as soon as he saw him, easily perching on the arm of the chair where he sat with an unsettling smile on his face.
"What are you doing here, Emri?" Austin asked as he walked over, sitting on the edge of his desk, trying to be close without giving his unease away.
It didn't seem to work, though, because Emri was already smirking at him before his backside even touched the worn desk.
"Down boy, I just came to chat." He said, not lessening Austin's worry much.
It wasn't that he didn't trust the guy, but that he knew him somewhat well. Emri liked to poke at people, if only out of curiosity. I don't want him bugging Roh-Ahn, though.
"Hey, you're the new language teacher for this semester, right? Korean?" Emri asked as he leaned over a little, making Roh-Ahn scoot into the far corner of the chair as he put his hands in his lap.
"Yes. My name is Roh-Ahn, nice to meet you." He said in a professional tone, offering a hand to Emri.
The moment they shook, Austin wanted to grab Roh-Ahn, toss him over his shoulder and storm out of the room. I don't think he'd appreciate the cave man antics... dammit.
Wisely, he instead just grabbed the edge of the desk and leaned forward. "Did you do well on your midterms? I already graded yours for my class and you got a ninety-seven."
Emri faked looking surprised, making Austin roll his eyes, as well as sneak a glance at Roh-Ahn. The guy looked uncomfortable, but not terribly so.
"Cool. How have you two been doing? Is Austin driving you crazy yet?" Emri asked, bringing a bright blush to Roh-Ahn's cheeks that Austin's mimicked.
The look on Emri's face made him want to shove the guy out of the room right then and there, but Austin bit his tongue as Roh-Ahn replied. "In more ways then one."
Shit, I can't figure that one out completely, but I'm praying that my guess of i'n more ways than one' is correct.
He did study, a lot, and was getting the hang of the language, but Roh-Ahn talked very quickly, especially when nervous, so Austin couldn't really pick up the sentence as a whole. He was pretty confident that he'd guessed the missing words correctly, though.
"You know what he's saying, Aus?" Emri asked, glancing up at him at the same time Roh-Ahn replied. "His name is Austin."
Oh boy. Is that jealousy I hear?
Emri raised an eyebrow at Roh-Ahn, who seemed to be trying quite so hard to not appear frustrated in any way.
"I feel like I'm standing between two very horny teenagers that need some alone time, so I'm just going to back away slowly..." He taunted, standing from the chair and backing up toward the door with his hands raised slightly.
"We're adults and just had a pretty stressful week. We'll talk later, okay Em?" Austin said as he stood up, suddenly feeling much less like a lion trying to defend its territory and more like a civilized human being.
Emri glanced away for a moment before shrugging. "Sure. Just uh, somewhere on neutral territory." He joked, earning a scowl before he darted out the door.
Sighing, Austin looked down at a still-blushing Roh-Ahn and rubbed one hand over his face. "Sorry about him... he tends to just say whatever he thinks. Not much of a filter."
"I wouldn't mind more time alone with you, though I don't know how I'll react if we do much more than what he have been." Roh-Ahn mumbled, making Austin frown. He barely caught much of that sentence, either.
"Translation?" He asked as he walked back around his desk and grabbed his suit-jacket and bag, then slung them over his shoulder.
When Roh-Ahn just blushed darker and got himself up using his cane, Austin figured that he wasn't comfortable saying it in English... yet.
Glancing over Roh-Ahn's shoulder, Austin made sure that the door was completely shut before walking over to him and taking his hand, then leaning down to whisper against his ear.
"If I remember correctly, there is one phrase that I definitely want to say, but I'm afraid I can't quite do it in English yet."
Roh-Ahn licked his lips and looked up to meet his eyes as Austin leaned back, a nervous smile of his own stretching across his lips.
"I love you."
He waited for the dramatic pause to end, but when Roh-Ahn seemed to process what he'd said, instead of smiling or hugging him, he elbowed him in the side and laughed.
"What on Earth? Do you know what that means?" He asked, his cheeks turning a bright pink with how much he was getting into his laughter.
I swear I checked that one over and over again so that I didn't look like an idiot by saying it wrong...
"What did I say?" He asked, trying to get Roh-Ahn to stop laughing at him.
When he still got no response, Austin blew out a breath through his nose and fished out his phone. He went to one of the apps he had downloaded and then held the phone up as he pushed play on the short sentence.
"I love you."
There was a brief pause, then.
"I love you." In Korean.
That drew Roh-Ahn's laughter to an awkward end as he reached up, mussing his hair with one hand as he looked down at his shoes.
Might have pushed that a bit too far and gotten defensive humor.
"Alright, my office hours are finished. Let's get out of here?" He asked, offering Roh-Ahn an out by dropping the previous subject.
The guy seemed grateful, because he quickly grabbed Austin's hand and began tugging him toward the door, flicking the light off on their way out.
They walked in silence out into the light drizzle that had started up, foreshadowing an oncoming storm in the distance. Austin swung their hands gently, loving the cool breeze that the storm was bringing as it rustled his hair.
"This feels great." Roh-Ahn said before he stopped, making Austin pause and turn his attention to where Roh-Ahn was looking.
At first, he didn't really understand, but then he realized that he was looking at the items swaying in the growing breeze up on the hill.
"You're looking at the hammocks?"
Roh-Ahn nodded, then, after a moment of hesitation, began tugging him up the steep grassy hill leading to them. They skipped the first few, which were on smaller trees without much shade. The one they ended up stopping at made Austin's heart beat harder in his chest.
This is where I found you that day...
It felt like forever ago, yet it hadn't even been a month or so.
Roh-Ahn hopped into the large hammock after leaning his cane against the tree, then grinned up at him. It was clearly about to rain, but Austin didn't need to be asked. He carefully scooted himself into the hammock, then tugged Roh-Ahn snugly against his chest.
He wouldn't dare risk falling asleep right before a storm, but it was absolutely gorgeous outside to him at that moment as the growing wind slowly rocked their hammock and a light sprinkle of rain that managed to get through the full canopy of leaves above them tapped against their clothing and skin.
When he felt Roh-Ahn's breathing even out with sleep after only a few minutes, he grinned. It didn't bother him that the guy fell asleep often. It usually just meant that he was hurting and hid it. He'd only called out of work once when he was having a really bad day, but besides that, even if he was clearly hurting, he refused to miss any other classes.
"I like you." Austin said, his words disappearing into the growing patter from the rain around them. "I love you." He added, waiting a few moments to be sure that Roh-Ahn was still asleep and didn't react before pressing a kiss to the back of his head.
He was just considering waking him so that they didn't get caught in the worst part of the storm when his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. Fishing it out quickly, he pressed the accept button without looking at who was calling, then shoved it against his ear.
"Hello?" He said quietly, hoping that he hadn't just picked up a telemarketer's call.
A rough but familiar voice rang out through the speaker, making him scowl at the back of Roh-Ahn's head. "Hey Aus! Me and the guys are in the area, want us to bring over some beers?"
No! Stay the hell away.
He wished that he could say that, but his brother, unfortunately, had a key, so he'd likely come by anyways, like he had the last four times.
Wish I could hide Roh-Ahn...
"Yeah, I guess." He said, feeling his heart sink in his chest as worry swallowed it.
"Cool. We'll see you in two hours or so, bro." His brother, Max, said before hanging up, not waiting for a response from him.
As he slipped his phone back in his pocket, slightly on panic mode, Roh-Ahn decided to wake up and roll onto his back. He gave a small yawn before looking up at him with half-lidded eyes that Austin just wanted to kiss.
"Is something wrong? You look stressed."
You're getting really good at reading me. Though I know I suck at hiding shit, too.
"My brother is coming over with his friends tonight..." He said before leaning down and kissing each of Roh-Ahn's eyelids, then leaning back.
When Roh-Ahn opened his eyes and smiled, Austin knew that he wasn't thinking along the right track. "Is your brother like you? I'd like to meet him." He said, making Austin's worry triple and his newfound jealousy nearly make him growl.
"He likes to drink... a lot." He said as he carefully got himself out of the hammock, then offered Roh-Ahn a hand once he'd sat up... which was left hanging in the air, collecting raindrops.
Whatever happened to him had alcohol involved.
It was obvious once he looked up into Roh-Ahn's wide, terrified eyes.
"Hey, Roh. It's okay. I can just tell them not to come." He said, already reaching for his phone.
Unfortunately, when he dialed his brother's number, it went straight to voicemail, telling him that he likely hadn't charged his phone, like usual, and had used the last bit of battery to call him.
Roh-Ahn noticed that there was no conversation and looked down at his hands.
"Don't worry. If they show up, I'll just tell them I'm too tired to drink." Austin said, trying to get Roh-Ahn back to his previously-happy self. He hated seeing him down.
It took a few minutes of standing in the cool rain before Roh-Ahn finally lifted his head back up and put on a fake smile. "It's okay. I can always stay in my room and grade things."
I want you to stay with me and maybe watch a movie on the sofa while we eat dinner together.
"Are you sure? I swear I won't feel bad turning them away." He asked, hoping that Roh-Ahn would stop putting on the fake act and just tell him to get rid of his brother when he showed up with his friends.
When Roh-Ahn licked a droplet of rain from his lips and nodded, Austin resigned himself to a terrible night. You'll make it through. Just make sure that they don't bother him.
Thankfully, Roh-Ahn finally reached up and took his hand, making Austin realize that he was shaking pretty badly. Shit. He didn't hesitate to lift him into his arms, then retrieve his cane before hurrying down the steep hill toward the parking lot.
"Roh-Ahn, can you talk to me, please?" He asked, hoping that it was just the cold from the rain and a little stress making him shake, and not a bad seizure starting.
The second he got Roh-Ahn settled lying down in the back seat Austin tugged off his wet shirt and grabbed the blanket he left folded on the floor of his car. He dried him as best he could, then covered his upper half with the thick blanket. Then watched and waited.
If Roh-Ahn had started shaking worse or convulsing, he would have grabbed the medication he left in the glove compartment, but thanks to some miracle, it seemed like it hadn't been a problematic seizure and he'd just gotten too stressed while already being cold, because his body slowly calmed and after a few tense minutes, his eyes cracked open.
The moment he saw those beautiful eyes look up at him with a mixture of sleepiness and confusion, Austin let out the breath he'd been holding and felt his own body shake. He'd been standing in the rain the whole time, not having wanted to cramp Roh-Ahn in the car.
"You scared me there. Are you feeling better, Roh?"
When he got a nod in response, Austin smiled and carefully shut the door, then walked around to drop into the driver's seat. He quickly tossed his soaked shirt onto the floor of the passenger's side, then cranked up the heater.
It would have been so nice if the storm had held off for a bit longer.
"Sorry." Roh-Ahn said as he sat up, making Austin run through his limited Korean vocabulary before realizing that he'd said sorry.
"It's fine. I was enjoying myself. The storm just hit a bit too fast."
Roh-Ahn nodded as he clicked his seat-belt into place and relaxed back against the seat.
"I do not mind if your brother comes over, by the way. I do have a lot of things to grade, so I will get that done while they are there."
Austin didn't like that idea one bit, because he knew that he was still clearly uncomfortable with them, but he wouldn't argue. He couldn't just ignore his brother forever, and at least he wasn't an asshole when drunk. Just an idiot.
Absolutely no drinking for me, though. The second they're gone, I'm going to drown Roh-Ahn in so many kisses he'll get annoyed and shove me out of his room... or we'll just be up all night making out, again.