A/N: Ugh, my life has been a dumpster fire lately. The kids have been out of control, especially since this past week was spring break. Both of them were stir crazy, and it was the younger one's birthday. Sorry for such a delayed update. Here's hoping the stress goes down once more when the kids go back to school next week.

A/N 2: On a side note, the theater part actually happened to me once when I was a kid. I noticed that the theater doors were opened, so my friends and I walked in and I showed them around, only for the person there cleaning to nearly have a heart attack and almost call the police.

.

Emil stood out on the boat docks on the Mississippi River. He gazed across at the state of Illinois, though it mostly just looked like a bunch of trees from where he was standing. Something about this was calming to him. He felt at peace with himself. Choosing to ignore the gigantic factory to his right, he decided to focus on the nature across from him. If there was one thing he had to complain about in that moment, it was that the river was filthy and smelled pretty foul. Other than that, it was a perfect moment.

"Stop it before I throw you in the river!" Yong-Soo shouted, ruining Emil's inner peace. He was standing atop a hill of rocks that led into the river, yelling at Max about something while Mei and Laura acted as if they didn't know the two.

Sighing, Emil turned back to the view he had been looking at. He felt a slight rocking under his feet as he heard someone coming up behind him. His mouth formed into a smile as Leon appeared beside him and silently grabbed his hand. Grateful that Leon had known better than to speak to him at that moment, the Icelandic boy squeezed his boyfriend's hand, taking a deep breath.

"This reminds me of when I used to go to the beach back home," Emil mused. "The last time I went to one was with Lukas, and it was right before we moved here. I had just officially met him, and he was trying to get me to warm up to him. At the time, anything was better than the idea of coming to America with him. But now I'm kinda glad I came. I never would have met you and the others if I had remained in Iceland, you know? If it weren't for everyone here with us, I don't want to imagine how miserable my life would be here. I'm glad that I met all of you."

Leon smiled and squeezed his boyfriend's hand. "We're pretty glad that we met you, too," he said. "You make our days fun. Our group wouldn't be the same without you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," the Icelandic boy quietly replied. "Thanks for making me feel welcome. I'm glad that I made friends like all of you." He blushed, the red in his cheeks a major contrast to his snowy hair. "And I'm glad that we get to be together. You really are one of the best things in my life. I'm grateful for you every day."

"I could say the same about you." Leon leaned in and kissed Emil's forehead. "Honestly, before I met you, I didn't think that there was anything missing from my life. And then when I met you, I realized how horribly wrong I was. You are the one major thing in my life that I didn't know I needed until you showed up."

Emil could feel his heart swelling at his boyfriend's words. There was so much he wanted to say, but his brain couldn't translate it with him being so flustered. It were as if there were a switch in his brain that allowed him to speak English, and it was shut off by Leon's charming words. He felt frustrated, but at the same time he was overjoyed that his boyfriend would say such kind things. His heart was soaring, and he was dying to say something sweet in response. If only his brain would allow it.

"You make me glad that I moved to America," he finally managed to say. "Every day with you is a new adventure." Emil awkwardly stumbled over his words as he tried to piece together what he wanted to say. "It is hard for me to say what I want to. I can't figure out how to say it properly." Usually, he had no problems with speaking, but now that he was so flustered, it was nearly impossible. "I know that we haven't been together for very long, but…" His voice trailed off as he tried to think of how to say it. "You have made immigrating here much easier than it would have been without you." That wasn't it either. "Ég elska þig!" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Leon's eyes widened in surprise. "What was that?" he asked, trying to process the words his boyfriend had said. He could feel the gears turning in his head as he thought back through the conversation up until he heard the Icelandic phrase. The moment it dawned on him, he internally kicked himself for not knowing sooner. His lips pressed firmly against the other boy's. "Though it may seem too soon to others, it isn't for me," he whispered against his lips. "I love you too."

Emil gasped as Leon pulled away. "H-How did you know I said that?" he asked, blinking at him in surprise.

"Call it a lucky guess," the Asian boy replied. He could see the sparkle in Emil's eyes and could only guess that stemmed from him figuring out what he had said. The amount of joy he could feel his boyfriend giving off was astounding. His own heart began to soar as he watched Emil's smile grow wider and wider.

At that moment, Leon made a vow to himself. He was going to do anything he could do in the entire world to always be able to protect that smile.

.

Emil walked beside Leon as they left the coffee shop everyone had gathered in. Everyone went back to the hotel, but Max lent Leon his car so the two could explore downtown a little more. They kept a steady stride as they walked in the direction of the river.

After crossing the street, they walked a block down, preparing to cross once more when Emil spotted something. It was a tall building on the next corner with a marque that stretched out almost to the street in front of it. There were show dates and times on the side that was facing them.

"Look over there!" the Icelandic boy exclaimed, pulling on his boyfriend's arm and pointing toward the building. "I think it's a theater! Is it cool if we check it out?"

Leon turned their course toward the building. "You like theater, Emil?" he asked with a smile. He looked toward their destination building. "We've never been to this one, but our group likes to go and see shows every now and then. Maybe we can go and see a play together sometime?"

Emil blushed. "That sounds really nice," he shyly stated. By that point, it was too late for him to tell Leon that the theater held no interest to him whatsoever. He figured he would sound too lame if he told his boyfriend that he only thought the building looked cool. "I wonder if this place is open to the public," he mused as they stood in front of one of the many doors to the entrance.

"Only one way to find out," his boyfriend replied with a mischievous grin. He placed his hand on the door handle, only to discover that it was unlocked. His arm pulled gently and the door practically swung open. "After you," he stated, bowing and gesturing inside. A wide smile graced his features as he followed after Emil.

Both boys gawked at the simplistic beauty of the lobby. A large chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling. Two small corridors branched out from the back of the lobby, leading toward seating, bathrooms, and a staircase on each end. The two wandered into the house seating, still awestruck at the sheer beauty of the room they were in, paying no attention to the lit up stage or the girl standing atop it. Instead they took in the balcony above them, the box seats, and the giant chandelier that glimmered beautifully above them.

"Can I help you?" the girl called out from the corner of the stage, bringing the boys to the shocking reality that they weren't alone. She nervously fiddled with the long, ginger braid that was draped over her shoulder and stretching to her waist. "This place isn't exactly somewhere you can just wander into off the street. How did you get in here? And more importantly, who are you and why are you here?" Her blue eyes narrowed as she tried her best to stare them down through the blinding stage lights.

Leon moved in front of Emil and fixed his gaze on the girl. "Sorry about that," he simply said. "We're from out of town and just happened to be walking by. When we checked the door, it was unlocked, so we came in."

The girl cocked her head to the side in confusion. "One of the lobby doors is unlocked?" she asked. "That can't be good." She made her way to the stairs on the side of the stage and walked down into house seating toward the two boys. "I'm sorry if I appeared unfriendly, it's just that I was taken off guard. I thought I was here alone." Now that she could see Emil and Leon clearly, she blushed, realizing that they looked to be around her age. "You see, my mom usually comes here to clean, but she's sick, so I came instead. I'm Tandy, by the way."

"What the hell kind of a name is Tandy?" Leon blurted out before he could stop himself. He immediately clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. "Shit, I did not mean to say that out loud. I am so sorry."

Tandy breezily dismissed it with a wave of her hand as Emil quietly giggled. "Don't worry about it, I've heard worse." She smiled warmly. "When you have a unique name, it kinda just comes with the territory."

After breathing a sigh of relief to calm his racing heart, Leon grinned at her. "I'm Leon," he stated. "This is Emil." He stepped aside and gestured to his boyfriend, who nervously grabbed the hem of Leon's jacket. "He's a bit shy, I'm afraid."

"That's fine," she said. "Want to see what it looks like from the stage?" Tandy nodded her head toward the large, bright platform before her. "It's actually pretty breathtaking."

Leon looked to Emil for his opinion, and smiled when his boyfriend nodded to him. "Yeah, let's do that." He followed the redhead up the stairs and onto the stage, eyes widening when he looked out toward every seat facing him. "Wow, there's no one out there, and I'm already experiencing stage fright."

"Not every stage light is on right now," Tandy stated, "but when they are, you can barely see anyone out there. The adrenaline of performing in front of a packed theater is like nothing else I've ever experienced. It gets the blood pumping in your veins, and you feel invincible. The world could end while you're on stage, and it feels like it wouldn't even matter."

"You seem to really like performing," the Asian boy replied. "That's pretty cool. We live in Iowa City, and it's a pretty artsy city. I've never performed before, but I've gone to a few plays. The actors always look like they're having fun. Have you ever been in a play, Emil?"

That was when the Icelandic boy finally found his voice. "No," he quietly stated, face turning red. "Knowing my luck, I'd forget the English lines and really embarrass myself or something."

Tandy smiled brightly. "I like your accent," she said, moving closer to Emil. "Is English your second language?" Her smile widened when the boy nodded. "That's so cool! Where are you originally from?"

"I grew up in Reykjavik, Iceland," he replied. "It's not as impressive as it sounds. I'm just an average person, nothing really special about me."

Leon frowned upon hearing his boyfriend's words but didn't have the heart to call him out on it in front of a stranger. Instead, he made a mental note to remind, and possibly show, Emil how special he really was later.

They stayed at the theater with Tandy for awhile, chatting and taking a tour of the building before realizing how late it had gotten. The others were probably worried about them, so they bid their farewells to the girl and headed back to the car.

"Why did you say there was nothing special about you?" Leon asked once they were driving back to the hotel. "You're so down on yourself all the time, Emil. Don't you see how incredible you are?" He waited for Emil to say something, but then continued once he received only silence in response. "I mean it, Emil. My life has changed drastically since you became a part of it. And it changed for the better. You don't have to be down on yourself all the time. I hope you'll see how amazing you are one day."

Emil's voice was so quiet that Leon had to strain his ears to hear him. "There isn't anything particularly outstanding about me. I'm just average, if even that. I don't understand what you all see that makes me so great. There's nothing." He crossed his arms over his chest defensively and looked out the window. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Leon sighed but kept his retort to himself. After all, if he were to fight with Emil, things would get weird for the rest of the trip.

.

Everyone sat in the hot tub at the hotel later on that evening, seeing that the pool area would close soon. It was a bit crowded in the hot tub until Yong-Soo challenged Neoklis, Max, and Leon to jump into the pool after they had soaked in the hot water for while. It became more relaxing once those four were gone, although their shouts of how cold the pool was echoed off the walls.

Natalia rolled her eyes. "I tell you, those boys all act like they're twelve most of the time," she sighed, sinking further into the water. "I'm so glad that you two actually act your ages."

Emil blushed, unsure of what to say. He then looked to Raivis, who laughed in response to his friend's words. That was when he decided that a smile would be the best response to a statement like the one Natalia had made.

"Eh, at least they won't let their fun sides die at this rate," Raivis joked. His gaze then rested on Neoklis as he smiled fondly. "Besides, I think it's kind of cute to see them all laugh like that. Even if I'm not a part of the fun, it's nice to see Neo smile so happily."

The Icelandic boy's gaze then went to his own boyfriend. He loved the dopey grin that Leon had on his face. The sound of Leon's laughter rang into his ears in an almost intoxicating way. Nothing in the world sounded more beautiful to Emil. Considering Raivis's statement, he couldn't agree more. There was just something about seeing his partner so happy that brought a sense of peace and warmth to his heart.

And just like that, the happiness Emil felt was gone. His mind instantly went to a more negative aspect of seeing Leon laughing with their friends. He doesn't need you to be happy. Even if you were to disappear, Leon would still be able to laugh like this with his friends. You don't matter, Emil. You're nothing.

"Go away, you're cold!" Laura whined, bringing Emil back to reality. She was frowning up at Yong-Soo, who was nearly grinning from ear to ear. "Don't touch the back of my neck like that! It's sending chills down my spine!" Her eyes widened in horror. "Wait, a minute! No!"

But it was too late. Before her horrified cry could be completed, her boyfriend had already untied the top of her swimsuit, exposing her endowed chest to everyone. Laura smacked at him before putting an arm over her exposed breasts as Mei quickly went to tie the top of her bathing suit back in place.

Emil tried his best to tear his eyes from Laura's chest, but he couldn't do it fast enough. He felt horrible for having seen it, deafening the sounds around him as he internally panicked. What would Leon do if he knew that he had seen Laura like that? His heart pounded madly in his chest as he thought of every possible negative outcome that could come from Leon getting upset over him looking at a girl's exposed breasts.

"You okay there?" a voice asked as a hand clapped itself firmly onto Emil's shoulder. Leon smiled at his dazed boyfriend. "Yong-Soo does this kind of shit all the time." He then examined his boyfriend's expression. "What's with the face you're making? Don't tell me that's the first pair of tits you've ever seen!"

Blushing furiously, the Icelandic boy looked away. "Shut up," he grumbled, hoping that Leon didn't attract too much attention with that final statement, but he couldn't be so lucky.

"What?!" Yong-Soo exclaimed. His eyes were nearly bugging out of his head in shock. "Emil, you're so innocent!"

Laura sighed and elbowed her boyfriend. "Yong-Soo, can't you see that he's embarrassed enough?" She shyly smiled at Emil. "He does that shit to me all the time. I'm sorry you had to see it. I understand if you're uncomfortable."

As everyone else began to talk about how seeing Laura like that was a normal thing, Emil's face turned darker shades of red. How could everyone be so calm over seeing a girl their age half naked like that? It wasn't as if Emil was aroused by it, but why wasn't anyone else as embarrassed as he was over it? How could a sight like that be normal to them? What was up with these people that he called friends?

Leon quickly jumped in to save the day. "I'm gonna head to the room with Emil," he quickly said. "I think the heat from the hot tub is getting to him." He waited for Emil to get out of the hot tub and quickly dried off with him before they headed back to the room together.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked once they were alone in the elevator. "You seem really shaken up by what happened with Laura. I'm sorry about what happened. Did it bother you that much?"

Emil shook his head, trying to form his apology to Leon in his head. "Please don't be mad at me, but I looked," he stammered out. "I know I shouldn't have, but I did. I understand if you're angry with me for it."

It took Leon a couple moments to process his boyfriend's apology, but once he did, he couldn't help but laugh. "Wait, do you think I'd be mad at you for seeing Laura's boobs? No, I wouldn't be mad at you for that. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't cheat on me with her after something like that." He smiled reassuringly at his boyfriend as he led the way out of the elevator. "Don't worry, I'm not mad about it at all. I swear."

Letting out the breath he didn't know he had been holding, Emil allowed himself to smile. "That's a relief," he said. "I thought you would be mad or something." His cheeks were dusted with a soft blush. "I've never dated anyone before, so I thought it would be like the movies where people were always getting jealous or angry over misunderstandings like that."

"No worries," his boyfriend replied. "As long as I know that I'm the only one in your heart, there wouldn't be a need for me to get jealous or angry over silly things like that." He unlocked the room and held the door open for Emil. "I trust you."

Feeling silly for overreacting, the Icelandic boy blushed. "I mean, I suppose you're right," he said. "And for the record, you're the only one I feel this way toward. Technically, the only person I've ever felt this way toward." He could feel his face growing hot from all of the embarrassing things he was saying. "You don't have to worry about me developing feelings for anyone else."

"I'm happy to know that," Leon replied with a smile. "The same goes for me. You're the first guy I've liked since middle school. The fact that you feel the same is enough to keep me happy for years. You being my boyfriend is the best thing to ever happen to me. You know that, right?"

Emil hadn't expected to hear such bold words from his boyfriend. No one had ever said something like that to him. For a moment, he felt he had imagined Leon saying it, but when he saw the look in his boyfriend's eyes, he knew that something like that couldn't be a lie. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as he slowly moved closer to Leon, closing the distance between them. Even if just for a moment, he wanted to be closer to the man he loved.

Leon stepped forward and closed the distance between them. He rested his hands on his boyfriend's hips as he softly kissed Emil's lips. It was such an innocent kiss, but even Emil could tell that it had an underlying deeper meaning. His hands pulled the Icelandic boy into him, crushing their bodies together as his kisses became more feverish and desperate.

Intoxicated by the kisses, Emil began to feel dazed, going with the flow of the kisses. His heart yearned for more, anything to prove that his boyfriend really did mean the words that he said. Anything to make him feel as if he were truly worth something. Words were no longer enough to express feelings. Emil was starved for more. He needed to know that Leon truly wanted no one else.

The Asian boy slowly pulled away, kisses slowing and losing the passion behind them. "We shouldn't do this right now," he quietly stated. "The others will be coming back any minute now, and to have them walk in on something so personal would be pretty bad, don't you think?"

Biting back his protests, the other boy simply nodded his agreement, even if he didn't really mean it. Negative thoughts plagued his mind once more. Leon doesn't really care about you. You should know this by now. You're just someone convenient to pass the time with. If he really loved you, he wouldn't care who saw the two of you. He's hiding something.

Emil quickly collected his clothes and went to the bathroom to change out of his bathing suit. He tried his best to mask the disappointment he felt, but there was no way he could successfully do so. Having always worn his heart on his sleeve, he could tell that Leon knew he was bothered by the abrupt stop to their kissing. The whole time he changed his clothes, he couldn't help but wonder if Leon would come to resent him for acting like this.

Leon was changed as well when Emil came out of the bathroom. He smiled at his boyfriend. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked. "You appear lost, for lack of a better word."

"Lost?" Emil asked, sitting on the bed across from his boyfriend. "No, I feel pretty fine. My head is just still a bit foggy from sitting in the hot tub for so long." He plastered a fake smile to his face. "It's nothing to worry about."

"If you're sure," Leon said, forcing a smile.

Though it was left unsaid, both boys could feel that something was terribly wrong between them.