Lost in translation
Johndy fluff. Andy is surprised by the one language John isn't fluent in… or at least, can't read. The pair compares notes on all the languages they have managed to learn.
A/N: I should warn you that I'm not fluent in any of these languages except for English. If you are and there are mistakes please blame google translate.
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What struck Andy as odd the moment he walked into his flat wasn't the fact that John was sitting on his couch. After all, the other man had all but become a permanent fixture in his home – rapidly becoming their home – since they had begun seeing each other a few months ago. Nor was it the fact that John was reading; Andy had discovered very early on that if John were to be forced to pick only two things to be abandoned on an Island with, it would definitely be Andy, then a vast supply of books.
He still wasn't sure if John actually liked reading or sex more. But Andy hoped it was sex. Andy wasn't that good of an author.
No, what Andy found odd about his boyfriend was the fact that he was wearing glasses. John didn't need glasses – at least, Andy didn't think he did. In all the time they had been together, Andy had never seen John wearing any types of glasses, other than the flashy, reflective type American pilots started wearing in the later 1900's.
"John?" He asked, unsure of this sudden change. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing.
"Yeah?" John looked up from his book, apparently just now realizing Andy had come into the room. He grinned, which caused the glasses to slip down the bridge of his nose.
Andy blinked. "You're wearing glasses." He commented, staring incredulously at John. The other man nodded.
Andy had to swallow to keep himself from vaulting over the couch and laying claim to his boyfriend. John, meanwhile, was oblivious to the danger to his current position. He pushed the glasses back up his nose, smiling.
"Yeah."
Andy once again stared, unable to respond to John's questioning tone. His attention was fixed on the glasses now adorning his boyfriend's face.
They were a thick, plastic framed style. The frames themselves were calico print, accented against a burn red background. Andy hadn't realized he could think someone with glasses was sexy… until now. A very specific part of his anatomy was reacting, and Andy, to his embarrassment, was unable to subdue it.
"You – You're wearing glasses." Andy repeated, taking several steps towards the couch. John raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah…" he answered again. "I think we already agreed on that. Why?"
Andy smiled, sitting down next to him. He gestured to his lover's new accessory, while John apparently waited for an answer.
"What's with the glasses John?" Andy asked, genuinely curious about what sparked his lover's sudden fashion trend change. John shrugged
"I got sick of having to translate all of the writing here into Latin in order to read it." He gestured to his glasses. "These are actually a translation unit concealed in glasses."
"You mean you can't read?!" Andy asked stunned at this revelation. John shrugged once more.
"English never really interested me. It's easy enough to learn verbally bit a pain in the ass to translate through Latin another joint root then into my standard language. Hell, I can't even say my actual name with the language, since all the vowels are wrong. It wasn't mandatory in school, and besides English is such a pain to learn. I just didn't think it was worth it. Después de todo lo que tenía todas estas otras lenguas antiguas tierras de aprender." (After all I had all these other ancient earth tongues to learn.)
John concluded his admission, switching to the second earth language he had learned. Andy was stunned by the fluidity of john's change, and responded in like.
"Usted habla español!" You speak Spanish!
"Wrth gwrs fy mod yn ei wneud." Of course I do.
"A Chymraeg? Rwy'n dysgu rhywbeth newydd drwy'r amser." And Welsh? I learn something new all the time.
"Et J'adore en apprendre du vous." And I love teaching them to you.
"Yaha śikṣaṇa pāsa karanē kē li'ē mērī bārī hai yahāṁ taka ki jaba." Even when it's my turn to do the teaching.
"Osobenno togda. Ty zamechatel'nyy prepodavatel' Andrey." Especially then. You're a wonderful instructor Andrew.
"Oh. Doufám, že nejste jen přitahuje mě kvůli mému hlasu." Oh. I hope you aren't just attracted to me because of my voice.
"Dāngrán bùshì. Yǒu tài duō de nǐ chóngbài wǒ jiǎndān de zhuānzhù yú yī jiàn shìqíng." Of course not. There's far too much of you to adore for me to simply focus on one thing.
"Boa. Eu sinto o mesmo sobre ti." Good. I feel the same about you.
"Eu morrería sen ti. Sabía diso?" I would die without you. You know that?
"I do now."
At his lover's half-hearted smile, John sighed. Reaching out, he pulled Andy closer to him on the couch.
"Well then, you'll just have to teach me." Andy gave him an odd look, to which he grinned. "So that I can make a list of all the things you mean to me in a language you can read."
Seeing the incredulous look on Andy's face, John resorted to the only substantial evidence he could to support that statement. John pressed his lips gently to his lovers. Andy soon responded in kind, reaching one hand up to play with John's glasses. When the other man made a move to set them down, he pulled back.
"Don't." Andy breathed. "You should keep them on. You look sexy in them."
John grinned. "Well I never was one to disappoint." And he didn't.
Later that evening, as John lay dozing in their bed, Andy began tracing the faintest outlines of letters against his bare skin. He chose to ignore the strange, garbled words John had screamed out as Andy did dirty things to his lover's body. When John was ready, and felt safe, he would tell him. But for now, Andy contented himself with this moment, and sharing the languages the both knew. Maybe at some time in the future, John could teach him his native tongue while Andy taught John his.
"Mmhh. That feels nice." John muttered, curling closer into his pillow as Andy's writing trailed over his spine. "What does it mean?"
"I can't really explain it." Andy admitted, though not stopping his fingers motion.
"Why not?" John asked tiredly, accentuating it with a yawn.
"The meaning would be lost in translation."
John smiled seemingly content with that answer. Andy sighed, wishing not for the first time that he had been brave enough to say it out loud.
I love you.
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The languages they go through are as follows: Spanish, Welsh, French, Romanized Hindi, Russian, Czech, Mandarin, and Gaelic.
Review?