Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Emil paced across his room, distraught. This wasn't like Leon. Normally, he would answer his phone within a ring or two. If he didn't do that, he would respond to texts in seconds. However, Emil's eight texts and four calls to his boyfriend remained unanswered.
"Hi. You've reached Leon Wang-"
Emil sighed in defeat and stopped pacing.
"I'm obviously not at the phone, so yeah leave a message."
Beeeeep.
"H-Hello," Emil stated, stuttering just a tad. He continued, "How are you? Um…have you been alright?" He paused, scrambling his brain for something to say. "Through these…lonely nights?"
He shook his head in disbelief. 'Lonely nights?' Where the heck did that come from?
Truth be told, these last few nights had been extremely lonely for Emil. It was summer time, and he had been staying at Leon's house in Hong Kong. When he said Leon's house, he meant his family's house, where a normal moment never occurred, for he had four brothers and two sisters who were all equally crazy in their own way.
Leon's parents were almost never home, which left the house and family in charge of his eldest brother, Yao, who didn't approve of Emil's and Leon's relationship. At all.
There, Leon and himself had gotten into their first real argument. He let his mind drift back to the scenario a couple days prior.
They had been sitting on the couch watching a Doctor Who marathon when Yao had entered, looking a bit more pissed than usual.
"Do you both have no shame at all?" he said as a way of greeting.
"Wow, I didn't know that watching Dr. Who was a crime," Leon had responded, not taking his eyes off the screen. Emil snickered quietly at the comment.
"No, I'm not taking about that," Yao huffed, crossing his arms. "This…behavior of yours."
Emil took his eyes off the flat screen and turned his questioning gaze upon him.
"You two must realize that your relationship between each other is deeply frowned upon by both families!" Emil inwardly cringed; he didn't want to hear anything about his family, especially his older brother Lukas. He glanced sideways towards Leon, who was still focused on the Doctor and Rose, running away from the dreaded metallic cybermen.
"We're…sorry?" Emil countered confusedly, not really knowing what else to say.
"Not only is it looked down on by your own flesh and blood, but it is looked down upon by society! You must understand that your relationship doesn't only make you two look like fools, but us too!"
To his surprise, he stood up and faced Yao head-on. "Look Yao, we both really, really…like each other, and not to be disrespectful, but it isn't any of your business! Right, Leon…? He finished, hoping to get support from his boyfriend. However, the support he desired never came, for Leon had turned off the TV, gotten up from his seat, and was making his way to his room.
Emil didn't stay to see the haughty look he knew was on Yao's face and immediately followed Leon, throwing open his door. "What the crap was that?" he asked, fuming.
Leon was lying on his bed, most likely trying to sleep. "What the crap was what?"
"Why didn't you back me up?!"
Emil was met with a blank face and silence.
"Weren't you listening to the conversation just a few moments ago?" Emil prompted.
"…No."
"You mean you didn't hear your older brother chewing us out and giving us a hard time?"
"…No."
"Well, I really could've used your help back there! You made it look as if you didn't care about our relationship, or about me!" Emil's voice rose a little at the end. "Do…do you not care?" he added, looking towards the ground.
Leon tilted his head. "Of course I care about it. But Doctor Who was on and Rose—"
Emil shut his eyes and unknowingly clenched his hands into fists. "I can't believe you sometimes," he muttered as he walked over to his deep brown suitcase on the bed opposite of Leon's.
"What are you doing?" Leon's confused voice sounded from behind him.
"What does it look like? I'm packing up my things."
Now that got Leon's attention. There was a rusting sound and his voice now sounded a bit more urgent than before. "What? Why? You can't be, like, that mad."
"Oh, I am that mad," Emil responded, grabbing his jacket and throwing his pillow and puffin plushie in his bag. "It just seems to me that I'm the only one fighting for our relationship and you couldn't give a damn about it." He turned around and stood up, throwing on his jacket.
"Oh come on! You know that's like, not true!" Leon's thick eyebrows had lowered, and he had stood up.
"Well, it didn't seem like it out there." Emil mumbled as he gathered his suitcase, making his way towards the door. "Don't follow me."
"Emil, come on, don't do this." Emil felt a hand grab at his shoulder, but he shook it off and threw open the door.
"Thank your family for having me, Leon." He spared a glance behind him, and the sight he witnessed almost made him drop his strong façade and change his mind. Leon's crestfallen face was staring back at him with upset eyes, and he wrung his hands nervously.
But he pushed the feeling away, left the house, and got on the next flight to his home in Iceland.
And here he sat, flummoxed, lonely, and heartbroken.
Emil realized that he had been silent for a while and continued the topic at hand, "Well…that's what I'd say. I'd tell you anything…if you pick up that telephone."
With an inaudible sigh, he hung up the phone and immediately called his older brother afterwards.
"Hey, Emmy, got any beer?" Mathias' loud voice thundered from the kitchen.
Emil looked up from his phone. "I told you never to call me that!"
"Hey, Emil, got any beer?"
"No."
"Aww man!" The sound of a shutting fridge was heard and Mathias suddenly appeared with a drink in hand. "Guess I'll have to settle for Dr. Pepper."
Emil's peace and quiet had been bluntly and crudely interrupted after he had made the decision to talk to his brother Lukas, who lived across the Norwegian Sea, in Norway. At the time, his three friends, Berwald, Tino, and Mathias had been staying with him, and when Lukas had received Emil's call, they all decided to come and help him.
If help meant turning on their own TV show marathon and eating him out of his apartment.
Around two and a half hours after Emil first called Lukas, they had showed up, Mathias with a humungous bowl of popcorn and Tino with five tubs of ice cream. They were all dressed normally except for Lukas, who was clad in a long, black trench coat, a cobalt scarf wrapped around his neck, and a deerstalker perched upon his head.
Apparently a Sherlock marathon had been scheduled the same weekend as a Doctor Who one. A vote was cast, and the result had been Sherlock 4, and Doctor Who 1, with Emil the only one desiring to watch it.
So now here they were, all sitting on the couch watching the fourth episode.
"There's still five more after this?" Emil asked in a bored tone.
"Mhm." Berwald's sonorous hum sounded from his right.
Making an effort to pass the time, he took out his phone, hoping to see a response from Leon. Unfortunately, there was none, and he couldn't stop himself from sending yet another text.
6:42 PM
'Hey, how you feeling?'
After pressing send, he pocketed his phone and his eyes returned from the sleuthing Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. A sudden ding! was heard and he immediately pulled out his phone in hopes of an answer from Leon.
"Oh! The cookies are done!" An exuberant Tino jumped off the chestnut leather sofa and ran into the kitchen.
A "cOOKIES?" burst from Mathias as Emil dismally pocketed his cell, turning back to the television.
"Has he responded yet?"
Lukas' monotone voice was heard above the clamor. The fifth episode had just ended, and Emil's guests had all gone for more food in the kitchen.
"No, I don't know why he's not answering…it's not like him," Emil responded.
"You tried calling him and texting him?"
"Yeah. This hasn't happened before…I'm getting a little worried," Emil said as the sixth episode began to play, which showed John and his therapist, comfortably sitting in a small room, with rain pouring outside.
"Have you tried calling his house phone?" Lukas prompted.
"Yeah…they said he was occupied though," Emil responded, looking at the ground. "I bet he's available, but doesn't want to talk to me…I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to talk to me either."
"Why?"
"Because I yelled at him and now he hates me." Emil ran a hand through his hair in irritation. "Please don't remind me, brother."
"I wouldn't go straight to hating you. Besides, you do have a point to be angry at him. I would've acted the same way you had."
Bzzzzt!
Bzzzzt!
Bzzzzt!
In excitement, Emil whipped out his phone, expecting to see a reply. However, he realized that not only his phone was ringing, but as was Lukas'. Tino ran back into the family room with a worried expression on his face, his phone also buzzing.
"Emil, have you checked the weather lately?" He asked, pointing towards the windows, which were currently covered with chocolate brown curtains.
"Yeah, it's been raining for a few days. So?" Rain wasn't seldom in Iceland, and these last couple days, it had been raining a little more than usual.
"Well, apparently there's a storm warning coming in from the East…the warning also cautioned for people to stay where they and not to travel," he added, smiling sheepishly.
"All right, slumber party!" Mathias yelled.
Other than that, the atmosphere was silent, with just the pitter patter of rain blending in with the rain in the current episode.
"…is dead." John Watson's teary voice suddenly made an appearance.
"Oh god," Lukas covered his face with both hands, taking a deep breath.
"What?!" Emil's head turned towards the television, and then to his companions. "Who's dead?"
"Oh, shit!" Mathias came bounding into the room with a cookie in each hand, with a bottle of Sprite tucked under an arm, with Berwald behind him. "It's the Reichenbach Fall!"
"The what fall?" Emil questioned. "Who's dead?" He asked again.
"You'll find out soon," Tino answered him, biting his lip slightly when Berwald came and sat on his right. "Just wait."
"Hi. You've reached Leon Wang-"
Emil sniffed and wiped his eyes.
"I'm obviously not at the phone, so yeah leave a message."
Beeeeep.
Emil wasted no time and got straight to the point. "Okay, so no one's answering." He paused to sniff and swallow before he continued, "But…can't you just let it ring a little longer?" He coughed twice, laughing a little, "I just finished watching episode six of Sherlock…that's why I'm crying," he explained, just realizing how his crying could be interpreted in another way. "Can you…can you please call me back? I'm so sorry for being so selfish and…"
Emil suddenly realized that his crying might not have been only for the catastrophic episode, and leaned against the wall of his bedroom. "I'll just sit tight…but could you let it ring forever more?" He ended the call and wiped his once again moist eyes, putting more weight against the wall.
He didn't have much time to himself, for his door was opened and Lukas stepped inside. "The next episode is starting. Are you coming?" he asked.
"Yeah, yeah, just give me a minute," Emil got out, turning his back and wiping his eyes once again. "That episode…just really got to me," he half-lied, praying that Lukas wouldn't see through his fib.
Quiet footsteps were heard and Emil was suddenly encased by two arms. "That episode is a hard one to get through the first time."
Silently celebrating that Lukas' 'big brother powers' hadn't worked this time, Emil turned around and let himself be hugged by him, just to make the lie more believable. "Yeah. Sad."
"But I know that's not the only thing you're crying about."
Emil stiffened.
"I've known you since you were born, and you haven't been notorious for getting emotional over television." Lukas stepped back and looked at him a bit closer. "Is it about Leon?"
Deciding that there was no way out of this, Emil nodded in response. "I really miss him. I'm just so afraid that he will never want to talk to me again."
"Oh, stop being so melodramatic." Lukas' flat voice broke through the emotional atmosphere. "You know Leon well enough that he's not one to do that."
"But you don't know what I exactly said—"
"I have a pretty good idea what you said. Besides, why are you the one feeling guilty? In reality, it should be him."
Emil turned his head away to look at his phone, which lay on his mahogany dresser. "Well, obviously he isn't guilty. He hasn't contacted me at all."
"Brother, you never know exactly what's going on. Maybe he is busy. Remember he lives in a location that is eight hours ahead of you," Lukas reminded. "He will talk to you soon. Just don't give up on him."
Surprised by these words, Emil turned around. "I never thought I would hear you say that. I thought you didn't approve of him."
A small, rare smirk appeared on his face. "I don't think I'll ever approve of anyone that is either suitable or satisfactory for my little brother." He paused, and then continued, "But you seem to like him, and if you're happy, then I guess I will be as well."
Struggling to keep a smile off of his own face, Emil nodded. "I can't believe I'm taking advice from you when you look like a closet nerd."
"Should we be getting back now?" Lukas swiftly changed the conversation.
"I believe that is a marvelous idea."
"No Sherlockkkk," Mathias dragged out as the famous detective left the Watsons' wedding, into the black night.
'The Sign of Three' had just ended, and the five friends were still in decent shape. Tino was currently asleep, with his head leaning on Berwald's shoulder, whose face was, at the moment, a bright cherry red. Emil was also quite certain that Mathias had experienced at least two sugar rushes due to cookies and pop.
"Why didn't anyone even notice he was gone?" Emil countered, throwing his hands up slightly.
Lukas shrugged from his left. "Cause they're all stupid."
"And cause its television," Berwald jumped into the conversation.
Tino heavy sighed in his sleep, as if to agree with him.
Emil stood up and stretched, realizing just now how late it was. "I'll go and set up beds for you all." He walked over to the window and pulled back a curtain to peek outside. "It's still raining pretty hard…you guys won't be leaving tonight."
"Awww Emmy, you're so sweet!" Mathias beamed at him from across the room.
"I told you to not call me that." And with that, Emil began walking down the hall, pausing to look back and whisper-shout, "Don't start the episode without me!"
After preparing four new beds for his four guests, Emil strode down the hall. "The beds are made, however, each person will have to share a room, since there's only two available. I sincerely hope you didn't start the episode…"
It was at this moment that he realized that the family room was completely silent. He looked up to see three faces (and a sleeping one) with astounded and anxious expressions staring back at him.
"What? Did something happen?" Emil looked around him, then back to his companions. "What's wrong?"
The sound of rain and wind beating against the windows echoed throughout the house.
Knock, knock, knock!
Emil's head swiveled to face the door, where the sound had come from. "What on earth—"
There was a sound of people getting on their feet. Emil spun around. "What are you all doing?"
"What does it look like? We're going to bed," Lukas answered, smoothing his trench coat, as Berwald reached down and scooped up Tino into his arms.
"What?! But who's going to answer the door?!" Emil countered, nervously.
"It's your house Emmy! You answer it!" Mathias announced as he strolled down the corridor. "Oh, and me and Luke will share a room!"
Lukas groaned in response.
"I don't want to answer the door this late! What if it's a guy going to rob me? Or murder me?!"
"Emil, no one is going to murder you!"
Everyone's heads turned to witness Tino, currently awake in Berwald's arms, one hand in a pointing position as if he just had an epiphany. "Actually, most robberies take place in the morning, because robbers are little bitches who are afraid of the dark." He paused, yawning widely. "And only about seven percent," another yawn, "end in violence. Cause they're little scared bitches too."
And with that, his head fell back against Berwald's chest, and he began snoring loudly. "I'll go take him to bed," a flabbergasted Berwald murmured slowly as he padded down the hall.
Silence befell the two brothers.
"Okay, first of all, what the hell was that?" Emil questioned.
Knock, knock, knock, knock!
"I don't know and I don't care. What I do care about is you answering that door, however."
"But it's like…" Emil peered around Lukas to glance at the puffin wall clock. "Almost two o'clock! Can you just open it, pleaseeeee?"
"No." Lukas began walking back to his room down the passage.
Emil suddenly had a grand idea. "Big brother, could you please open it for me?"
Now that got him to stop in his tracks.
"Please, big brother?" Emil continued, turning up his 'little brother' charm as Lukas turned around.
"Oh, you are one adorable little devil."
Crap.
"I won't fall for that, not this time. Now go and open that door." And with that, he turned around with his coat swishing majestically as he disappeared into the room that Mathias had gone into.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock!
Emil was once again reminded of the task at hand, and took a deep breath, setting his fear aside. He quietly crept to the door, peeping into the eye hole.
A pissed off, dripping wet, shivering Leon with a suitcase greeted him.
With a small gasp, Emil pulled open the door, startling Leon a bit.
"I'd thought you'd never open the door," he managed to get out, chuckling slightly.
"I'd thought you'd never want talk to me again," Emil uttered as he forcefully pulled Leon inside and shut the door. "Why…how…what are you doing here?" he asked in disbelief, as he helped Leon slip off his soaked jacket. He didn't give Leon time to answer, for he suddenly stopped what he was doing and peered down at the ground. "But first, I…I need to tell you that I am truly sorry." He glanced up to witness Leon with an unreadable expression. "I shouldn't have gone off on you like that, it was all my fault that—"
"Oh my God, Emil will you, like, stop apologizing?"
Emil ceased his would-be apology and waited for Leon to specify what he meant. "I need to tell you that I am sorry." He paused for a moment to set down his luggage. "You had, like every right in the world to be mad at me back at my house, and I totally take the full responsibility for everything. I paid more attention to the television than I did to you, and I would've reacted the same way you had."
Emil tried to say something, but Leon cut him off. "I let you down when you needed me, and hurt you, and I am totally sorry. I promise that it will never happen again."
Emil was silent. "Why didn't you answer your phone when I tried reaching you?"
"After you left, I talked to Yao about everything that like, went down and he promised to let the matter go and never 'condemn' us again. He sends his apologies." He coughed and ran a hand through his drenched, choppy hair. "I got on a plane to Iceland the next day, but this super huge storm like passed through and I wasn't able to get to you as soon as I'd liked. I didn't get any of your messages because my phone was on airplane mode."
"Oh," was all Emil responded with. "I guess that makes sense."
"Mm." Leon agreed, shrugging.
"So…you're not mad at me?" Emil made sure once more.
"If I was mad at you, I wouldn't have like flown all the way from China to Iceland," Leon reassured. Suddenly, his eyebrows rose, as if he'd just remembered something. "And just to clarify, I don't really, really like you."
In response to these words, Emil's mouth dropped open slightly. "What-"
"Emil, I love you."
While the two had been dating for a while now, they weren't overly romantic. Occasionally they would hold hands or share a chaste kiss here and there, but those words hadn't ever been spoken to the other, until now.
"R-really?" Emil stuttered, not knowing what else to say. "You love me?"
Leon nodded once, his face stoic but his eyes sincere.
All at once, Emil's emotions got the best of him, and he tightly embracing Leon, who was returning the endearment. "I love you too," he heard himself murmur.
Leon laughed lightly in his ear. "Cool."
And just as soon as the hug started, it was ended as Emil pulled away. "You really need to get into warmer clothes," he pointed out, looking at Leon who was a bit too close to be mistaken as 'friendly.'
Leon nodded again, his cinnamon eyes fluttering once. Suddenly, Emil found himself leaning closer and closer to him, with Leon doing the same. They stopped when their lips barely brushed.
"Are we like…gonna kiss?" Leon whispered, his breath tickling Emil's mouth.
"I guess so," Emil responded, and with that their lips met tentatively, awkwardly at first, taking several tries to finally get it right.
They both pulled away after a few seconds, laughing quietly after they had caught their breath. "Maybe we can try that again when we aren't like, so tired," Leon mumbled as he slipped off his dripping shoes.
"Actually, I'm not that tired," Emil countered.
"Same."
Hey everyone! As the summary said, I began this fic only basing it off of ELO's 'Telephone Line' (which is a great song, if you haven't heard it!) and only intended it to be 500 words long, and then it just evolved from there.
Feel free to review - each one makes my day!
Thank you so much for reading!