A/N: Hello, all! Please enjoy this update! I've been working on it all day, so I hope it is to your liking!

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Max twirled the keys to Mei's mom's SUV around his index finger as they all sat in the girls' hotel room together. "Alright, everyone, where do we want to go first? We've got an entire weekend of adventures here in the Kuk, so let's make the most of it." He cast Neoklis a wicked grin as he said, "I know Neo wants to terrorize the locals at Wal-Mart, but isn't that just common knowledge at this point?"

Yong-Soo laughed. "I nearly pissed myself laughing when he jumped out of the clothing racks at that kid last time," he said. "Laura loves playing hide-and-seek there, too. Remember that time when she and Nat hid together in that pillow bin? We couldn't find them for nearly an hour, and the only reason we found them was because Laura had to pee."

As the entire group burst into raucous laughter, Emil tried to imagine having fun at a store. "Can going to the store really be that fun?" he asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion. "I mean, I guess my brothers have fun at the store when we go, but not that kind of fun. Do you all really play hide-and-seek inside the store?"

Mei's eyes widened in shock. "Emmy, don't tell me you've never gone to a store like Wal-Mart just to hang out!"

"Is that really such a big shock?" he replied. "I mean, I go to Wal-Mart sometimes with my brothers, but we just go there to shop. It's hard for me to believe that people go there just to hang out with each other. I mean, isn't that what going to the mall is for?"

Raivis giggled. "I forgot you've never been to Keokuk," he laughed. "Wal-Mart basically is the mall here. I mean, yeah, there's a mall down by the river, but can it even be called one if all it has is a dojo, an overpriced clothing store, a cinema, a couple restaurants, and a Dollar General?"

"Don't forget the nail salon, Raivis," Laura chimed in. She put her hands on her cheeks and giggled, eyes sparkling. "The manicure I got there last time was to die for!"

Natalia rolled her eyes. "I like the nail salon by here better," she stated indifferently. "The only redeeming quality of the mall in this town is their Chinese restaurant. First Wok is so good!"

Leon scoffed. "Their poor excuse for actual Chinese food sucks," he flately stated.

The rest of the group other than Emil all mockingly bowed their heads to the Cantonese boy. "Forgive us, oh great one, for we did not know our place," they all stated in monotonous unison. Their sarcasm seemed to be dripping off of their words. They all lifted their heads back up in unison as well.

"I hate it when you guys do that," Leon grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and sulking. "You're all such a pain in my ass."

"And we're proud of that fact," Neoklis laughed. "We wouldn't be friends if we weren't, now would we?" He placed his hand on his boyfriend's thigh and smiled at him. "Even though Raivis has a hard time mocking people. He's such a sweet guy."

Raivis's face turned a deep shade of red within seconds. "Neo," he whined. "Don't call me out like that. It's embarrassing! Even if everyone knows it already, it's still embarrassing when it's said out loud like that."

Mei patted Raivis on the head, giggling. "You're so cute, you know that?" She wound his curls around her fingertips, smiling to herself. "I would have loved to have a little brother like you, Rai!"

"Shut up, I'm older than you!" the curly-haired boy argued. "I may be one of the shortest, besides Lilli, but I'm the oldest. It's not my fault I was held back in second grade for being sick a lot." He crossed his arms over his chest. It was quite obvious that he was sensitive about his adorable looks.

Neoklis laughed and squeezed his boyfriend's thigh. "Relax, Rai," he said. "Nobody's making fun of you. We know you're the oldest, it's just that you're so cute that Mei is jealous and has to make you feel inferior for it."

Max snorted, trying to hold back his laughter over his girlfriend's stunned expression. "Damn, Neo," he laughed, "you didn't have to look that far into it."

"I call 'em like I see 'em," the other boy replied. He smiled over at Raivis, who blushed and smiled back.

"We're getting off topic," Yong-Soo sighed. "Come on, guys, you always do this. Weren't we supposed to be figuring out what we should do today?" He gestured to the Icelandic boy across from him. "Since it's Emil's first time in town, why don't we take him to some of our favorite places to hang out here? I suggest taking him down by the docks or to Rand Park."

"We can also go to the downtown Mom-and-Pop shops, too," Laura chimed in. "Also, what do you think of taking him to Triangle Park or catching a movie at the mall." She turned to Emil, smiling widely. "The theater here charges the same amount for a movie, a drink, and popcorn as our theater up in Iowa City charges for a ticket on a cheap day. We're going to have so much fun this weekend!" Her hands clasped the Icelandic boy's between them, the paleness of his skin looking like printer paper compared to her darker complexion. "So, Emmy, which would you like to do first?"

Emil felt the pressure of all eyes on him and squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to ignore it. "Um, how about we go walk around downtown first?" he suggested. That would give him enough time to think about what he would want to do next. After all, there was no way he could make a decision regarding a place he hadn't been before. "Or if you guys would like to go somewhere else first, we could go there. I don't know much about this town, so I feel I'd rather be shown around first."

"That makes sense," Leon said, putting a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "There seems to be a lot of pressure when making decisions for a group, but I feel we shouldn't put that pressure on Emil since he doesn't know anything about this town. I say we should just take him around to have fun. We can each choose something that we like to do when we're here and show him the things we enjoy doing. Emil would have a great time doing something like that, don't you think?"

Emil placed his hand over Leon's and squeezed it. "Thanks," he whispered in his ear. He always felt safer and more relaxed whenever his boyfriend was around. His mind could unwind, knowing that Leon can handle stressful things for him. "You're the best."

The Cantonese boy squeezed his boyfriend's shoulder. "Thanks, I know," he teasingly whispered back. "I vote that we all go to Rand Park first. It's got some pretty nice scenery."

"Yong-Soo, let's go on the teeter totter together!" Max enthused, grinning widely at the Korean boy. "I swear I'll launch you off of it this time!"

Natalia slapped her palm to her forehead. "Not this again," she groaned. "Didn't Max nearly break his leg last time? Do you two want to be yelled at by Vash again?"

"Vash can't yell at us if he doesn't know what happened," Yong-Soo quickly replied.

"He will if we all end up at the ER again," Mei sighed. She glared over at her boyfriend. "Max, you two are not doing extreme playground sports again. Things always end up going to hell in some way or another, so I'm putting my foot down."

Yong-Soo grabbed both of her feet and lifted them from the floor. "Are you, Mei?" he asked. "Are you really putting your foot down? It appears that you are unable to do that at this time." He grinned over at Max. "Well, Max, my boy, it appears that our extreme playground sports shall commence the moment we get to Rand Park."

Max kissed his distressed girlfriend's cheek. "I promise I won't get hurt this time."

"That's what you promised last time," she stated with a defeated sigh. "Don't expect any of us to feel bad for you if you get hurt. That goes for you too, Yong-Soo."

The Korean boy put a hand over his heart. "Madame, you wound me."

"You look pretty fine to me," Natalia commented, causing Emil and Leon to snort. "Then again, your pride is pretty fragile."

.

The park was bigger than Emil had thought. There were many sections to it as well. It had a children's playground, a complete frisbee golf course, another playground for older kids, a flower garden, a pond, and even a bluff that overlooked the Mississippi River. As Emil looked out over the bluff, he felt breathless. He hadn't seen a sight so beautiful in a long time, not since he had left Reykjavik.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" Leon asked, sitting next to him on the park bench. He gazed out over the river, smiling. "Call me cheesy, but I've always wanted to take in beautiful scenery with a significant other. It lets me know if our minds will connect on the same plane." His hand rested on Emil's thin knee. "I'm glad that you like this view too."

Emil smiled and placed his hand on top of Leon's, not once looking away from the river view. "It's breathtaking," he mused. "I've never seen another place like this."

The Asian boy resisted the urge to repeat his boyfriend's words as a compliment to him. Too cheesy, Leon! Instead, he squeezed Emil's knee. "Call me sentimental if you'd like, but there's something I want to do."

Sensing the urgency in his boyfriend's voice, Emil pried his eyes from the river view to look at him. "What's that?" he asked, suddenly looking into Leon's brown eyes. The intensity in them was mesmerizing, and just by the look in them, he could tell what he wanted to do.

Both boys leaned in, touching their lips together. It was safe to say that they were on the same wavelength, yet neither of them expected how much their minds wandered together. Within a matter of minutes, both boys were panting against the other's lips, gasping for air. They had completely shut out the world around them for a few minutes of passion and were grateful that none of their friends had approached them during that time.

"Emil! Leon!" they heard Neoklis calling. "Where are you guys?"

Leon stood and offered Emil his hand. "For all we know, those idiots hurt themselves," he laughed, nodding toward the bigger playground. He clasped his boyfriend's hand in his once he stood. "Time to go see what they want."

The Icelandic boy smiled. "Yeah, I suppose so," he agreed, clinging tightly to Leon's hand. "Also, won't you feel bad if Yong-Soo and Max actually got hurt?"

"Not a chance," the other boy laughed. "If those idiots were dumb enough to do something to get hurt, even after their girlfriends told them not to, then they deserve to suffer, don't you think?"

"I'll keep those words in mind if you ever get hurt doing something I told you not to do," the Icelandic boy replied. He smirked over at Leon. "After all, they're your words, not mine."

"Planning to use my own words against me one day. I see how it is." Leon smiled as he saw everyone else they had gone to the park with spinning on the merry-go-round. "Oh, Jesus," he sighed. "It's not obvious why they were looking for us." He pointed to the others with his free hand. "It appears that we are going to be getting dizzy as shit."

"Ah, my favorite past time," Emil laughed. "I'm going to get drunk by natural causes this time."

"Speaking of being drunk," the Asian boy began, "just you wait until tonight. We have a friend in this town who always supplies the booze whenever we're here. All we have to do is call him up and meet him in our designated place before heading back to the hotel. We even have an extra duffel bag in the backseat of Yong-Soo's truck that we put it all in. Vash never finds out." He grinned widely and winked. "We're going to have a great weekend!"

"Here's hoping that we don't end up dying of alcohol poisoning this weekend," the Icelandic boy said. He raised their intertwined hands. "Skál!"

Leon laughed. "What does that mean?"

"Cheers!" Emil repeated, but in English that time. He laughed. "Here is to a great weekend with some great people!"

.

Lilli hiccuped and smiled widely, dropping her empty cup. She swayed back and forth with the music that was playing on someone's phone. "More!" she giggled, picking the cup back up and thrusting it at Yong-Soo.

"I think you've had enough for now," Natalia chuckled, taking her girlfriend's cup and setting it on the side table. She kissed Lilli's cheek and pushed her girlfriend's hair behind her ear, whispering into it, causing the smaller girl to blush furiously. Moments later, the two girls clasped hands tightly and slipped into the bathroom together.

Leon leaned forward and whispered into Emil's ear. "Lilli and Natalia are always the first to get it on when we get drunk like this." He slipped his arm around Emil's waist. "After them is usually either Laura and Yong-Soo or Mei and Max. Neo and Raivis usually wait until everyone is asleep." He could feel Emil tensing up. "Don't worry, Emil. I don't plan on making drunken moves on you. I prefer being sober when I make a move, you know? That way it's more special than a random drunken fling."

Emil relaxed upon hearing his boyfriend's words. He took a sip of his own drink, which was a mix of vodka and root beer. By this point, he no longer felt the burning sensation of the vodka going down his throat. Instead, all he could really taste was root beer. His head felt as if it were spinning, making him feel lighter than air. To him, there was no better feeling than being drunk. It were as if every last one of his cares were gone when he felt floaty.

He slowly turned to face his boyfriend. "Would kissing be considered 'making a move'?" Emil asked, words slurring and all blending together. "Can we do that?"

The Asian boy pulled his boyfriend into his lap, causing Emil to straddle his hips. He locked their lips together, kisses getting deeper and more passionate with every passing minute. Leon's body began heating up, and he could feel the rising heat in his boyfriend's body as well. He was conscious enough to know where the boundaries were, but when their friends shoved them into the bathroom together, he felt at a loss.

While he loved that Emil was clinging to him and wanting more of him, it didn't feel right to continue these sorts of things when drunk. Since their friends had shut them in the bathroom together, Leon had no choice but to remain in there with his boyfriend for awhile. He could see that Emil's mind was hazy, so he helped position him into the bathtub, fully clothed with no water inside. This was the easiest way to keep his boyfriend safe, considering that the Icelandic boy couldn't even walk in a straight line. Leon sat on the floor next to the tub and held Emil's hand, smiling to himself as his boyfriend rambled on and on about nothing. To him, there was something cute about Emil when drunk. He could listen to his drunken babbling forever.

"Hey, Leon?" the Icelandic boy slurred after ten minutes of babbling in Icelandic about miscellaneous things.

"Yeah?" Leon asked, sobering up more and more with every passing minute. "What's up, Em?"

"I like being with you," Emil said, weakly squeezing his boyfriend's hand. "You take away the pain. When I'm with you, I don't feel so alone anymore. It's like whenever I'm with you, life is worth living. I don't want to die when I'm with you." His eyelids began to droop as he yawned. "Thank you for putting up with me. I'm happy that you saved me. With you by my side, I'm sure that I'll live through this."

"Live through what, Emil?" his boyfriend quietly asked, trying to mask the concern in his voice. He hoped that all of this was also just random drunken babble instead of Emil's actual thoughts.

"When we're together, I don't want to kill myself," the Icelandic boy mumbled. "I hope we can be together forever. You love me, right, Leon? You won't let me die." He yawned as he began to lose consciousness. "Never in a million years."

Knowing that Emil was asleep, Leon held his hand tightly, trying to calm his trembling. "Why would you want to kill yourself?" he whispered, more to himself than his boyfriend. "Please stay with me. Let me save you." He kissed his sleeping boyfriend's forehead. "I'll save you, Emil. And you're right. Though we've known each other for two months, I know for sure that I really do love you. And because I love you, I promise that I'm going to save you." His lips touched the back of Emil's hand. "I promise I'll save you from yourself."

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Emil woke up on one of the beds in the hotel room, disoriented until he remembered where he was for the weekend. He could feel an immense heat at his side and turned his head to see Leon curled up next to him, wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts. His mouth formed into a smile as he snuggled up next to his boyfriend, feeling the heat practically pulsing from him.

"You're like a furnace," he muttered under his breath, pushing Leon's bangs out of his eyes. He couldn't help but admire his sleeping boyfriend. It wasn't his fault that he looked so angelic when he slept. His lips lightly pressed against the Asian boy's forehead. "You look so peaceful when you sleep."

Leon turned his head up toward Emil, eyes still closed, as he placed a hand on the back of his boyfriend's head and pulled him closer. His lips pressed against the Icelandic boy's, making him smile. "Did you sleep well?" he mumbled, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and pulling him closer.

"I did," Emil whispered back. He giggled for a moment. "It's strange, though. I don't remember falling asleep in this bed." He was quiet while he thought back. "The last thing I remember from last night was sitting on your lap and kissing you." His cheeks flushed a bright red as he squeezed his eyes shut from embarrassment, hoping that Leon's eyes were closed as well. "It was pretty nice, though."

"Yeah?" Leon asked, snuggling closer to his boyfriend. "It was. I enjoyed it." His mind then went to the conversation he and Emil had in the bathroom after that. "Emil, I hope we can always have this much fun together. Every day is a new adventure, and another day to fall for you more and more. Meeting you was the best thing to ever happen in my life."

"Yo, that's pretty gay," Yong-Soo commented from the next bed over.

Emil gasped and bolted upright, feeling a dull ache in his head. "How long have you been listening in?" he asked, holding his head in his hands.

"Considering that I've been here all night and morning, I'd have to say since the beginning," the Korean boy answered. "Laura is the only one in this room who is still asleep." He pointed to the mound of blankets next to him in the bed. "Everyone else is in the other room. Nat and Lilli took the air mattress over there with them."

"Is that so?" Leon yawned, sitting up as well. He stretched and groaned. "Just in case you haven't noticed, Mr. Im, I just happen to be dating a guy. That, in essence, makes me gay, wouldn't you say?"

Yong-Soo snickered. "Well, I'll be damned, you really are pretty gay, Leon."

The Cantonese boy scoffed. "Thanks for noticing. The next mind-blowing thing you'll figure out is that the sky is blue, you boosted ape." He yawned once again and crawled out of the bed. His mouth formed into a smirk as he saluted Yong-Soo. "The more you know, right?"

"Oh, fuck off," the Korean boy laughed, flipping Leon off.

Leon put a finger to Yong-Soo's lips. "Shhhh," he said. "You look so much smarter when you aren't talking out of your ass."

Emil put the pillow he used over his face in an attempt to muffle his laughter over the exchange between the other two boys. He wished that he was as quick-witted as Leon and Yong-Soo were, but sometimes he had a hard enough time translating what he wanted to say into English. Though he knew that Leon had grown up in Hong Kong, he never would have guessed since his boyfriend spoke perfect English.

He felt a pang of despair in his heart. Everyone else was so much better at communicating than he was. They had all been friends for years and knew each other much better than he did. Despite their words, he felt that he didn't exactly belong. But maybe one day he would. If not, he had no idea what he would do.