A/N: Sorry this took so long! My computer completely crapped out on me, but I got a new computer last night, so I'm finally back! Happy New Year, everyone! May 2020 be the best year yet!

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Emil woke up in a daze the next morning. Stretching, he realized that there was someone lying next to him in his bed. He looked over at his boyfriend and smile, blushing. In his disoriented mindset, he had forgotten that Leon had stayed over. His hand moved to brush Leon's bangs from his sleeping face. How could someone be so perfect, even when asleep?

In his sleep, Leon grabbed Emil and snuggled him close. So close, in fact, that the Icelandic boy could put his head to his boyfriend's chest and hear the steady rhythm of his heart. And as Emil listened to the other boy's heartbeat, he felt at peace with himself, as if nothing could ever go wrong. How he longed to live in that moment forever.

After awhile, Leon began to stir in his sleep. For a moment, he held Emil tighter than he had been before relaxing his grip. He planted a sleepy kiss on his boyfriend's forehead before sleepily mumbling, "Good morning, Emil." His dark eyes slowly opened, looking into the violet eyes of the other boy. "Did you sleep well?"

"Who wouldn't sleep well next to you?" the other boy playfully asked. He smiled and cupped Leon's cheek in one hand, gazing into his eyes. His heart felt so full in that moment. How he wished he could wake like this every morning. "You're so beautiful. Like, how the fuck can that be? You literally just woke up."

The Cantonese boy grinned and cupped his boyfriend's cheek back. "The world is ugly, Emil, but you're so beautiful to me." He laughed as Emil blushed and hid his face under his blanket. "It's only fair that I say things like that too if you can."

"No it's not."

"And why exactly is that?" Leon asked with an amused smile. With a swift tug, he ripped the blanket right off of Emil and blinked in surprise. "You're blushing," he mused. "Red looks pretty good on you, Em."

Horrified, the Icelandic boy covered his rosy face with his hands. "Because you do unfair shit like this all the time," he groaned. "How am I ever supposed to act normal around you when you're so charming? I can't do it! I just can't!"

The Asian boy smiled and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, pulling him closer. "Who would ever want to be normal anyway?" he asked. "For what it's worth, I like you the way you are."

Emil felt his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Curious as to whether Leon could feel it as well, he looked up at him. Yet the moment that his head was tilted up toward the other boy's, he felt his boyfriend's soft lips on his own. And in that very moment, as their lips melded together, the Icelandic boy felt as if everything was going to be okay. At that moment, everything felt right in the world.

.

Mathias smiled widely as the two boys finally made their way into the kitchen that morning. "If it isn't Tiny Lukas and Mini Yao," he greeted, chuckling to himself. He turned to the two teenagers. "Is there anything in particular that you would like for breakfast?"

Emil thought for a moment. "Do we still have some cloudberry jam from our last trip to IKEA?" he yawned. "If so, then I'll just take some of that on toast."

"That's hardly a meal," the oldest of the three sighed, begrudgingly shoving some bread into the toaster. He opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the cloudberry jam. "What about you, Leon? Are you hungry at all?"

Leon glanced toward the sizzling bacon in the skillet. "Got any more bacon?" he asked.

Mathias's eyes lit up. "A boy after my own heart!" he exclaimed. "I feel like I'm the only one in this house who actually eats breakfast. Lukas and Emil just nibble on toast or drink coffee every morning. But you, Leon, you actually eat something!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Emil groaned, rolling his eyes. He pulled a butter knife from the silverware drawer and did his best to mentally prepare himself for the moment of truth, which was when the toast was to pop out of the toaster. No matter how much he mentally prepped himself for it, he never felt as if he were truly ready for it whenever it happened. And as fate would have it, he still jumped when the toast shot up.

The Asian boy, who had been curiously watching his boyfriend to figure out what he was doing, stifled a giggle as he watched him jump. Even when he wasn't trying to be, Emil was always the most amusing person to observe when in a room full of people. Then again, how could Leon ever not watch him at all times. After all, Emil was a beautiful human, but more than that, with the concerning things he would sometimes say, Leon wanted to be sure that nothing would ever happen to his precious boyfriend.

Emil blushed after slathering the jam onto his toast, realizing that Leon had been watching him. How embarrassing! How could he still jump at something as stupid as the toaster at his age? Why did Leon have to be watching right when that had happened? He wanted to go right back to bed and crawl under the blanket until his embarrassment passed, yet who knew how long that would truly be?

"It gets me too sometimes," the Asian boy chimed in. "Especially when I'm home alone. It's like you're expecting it to pop up, but it's always so sudden, ya know?"

Mathias, upon hearing Leon's words, turned his back to the two boys and smiled to himself. He was well aware of how insecure his brother-in-law was about literally anything, and that Emil would rather die than let anyone see him do anything embarrassing. The fact that Leon had openly admitted to doing the same thing to make the other boy feel better meant everything. In that moment, the Danish man realized that he had nothing to worry about as far as his brother-in-law's boyfriend was concerned. Leon was most definitely a good person.

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Emil was sitting in bed and reading that night, trying to mentally prepare himself for school the next day. He hated waking up early. Why couldn't school just be at least a little later in the day? Mornings weren't exactly the most ideal time of day, especially when everyone was still half asleep.

There was a knock at his bedroom door, causing him to jump a little. "Come in," he called, putting his book down next to him. He glanced at the clock next to his bed. It was quarter after ten. Lukas and Mathias were usually asleep by this time. He wondered what was going on.

Lukas slowly opened the door. He was wearing basketball shorts and one of Mathias's long-sleeved shirts, which he seemed to be drowning in. "Got a minute?" he asked, lingering in the doorway until he received a response from his brother.

"Yeah, I suppose I can spare a minute," Emil dryly replied. "But no longer than sixty seconds."

The older brother smiled to himself and entered the room. He sat down on the end of Emil's bed. "Do you mind if we talk about Leon for a moment?"

"Uh, sure. I guess. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Lukas answered. "I just wanted to say that I really like him. You've picked yourself one of the best guys out there, Emil. He's respectful, he's kind, and he even goes out of his way to make sure everyone is comfortable in any given situation." He smiled. "Mathias told me about this morning. You know, the thing with the toaster." His smile widened slightly when he saw his brother blush in embarrassment. "I think you've found yourself a keeper, little brother."

"He is," Emil quietly confirmed, hugging his knees to his chest. "I really am lucky to have him. Out of all of the boys in our high school, he chose me." There was a soft, fluttery feeling in his chest. "Before it all happened, I never thought for a moment that he'd settle for me, you know?"

"Look at me." The authority in Lukas's voice caused his younger brother's attention to snap straight up to him. "No one settled for anyone. I hope you realize that. It's like you said, he chose you out of hundreds of other guys. He chose you because you actually meant something to him. Last night, when Mathias and I got home, you were asleep on the couch, but Leon was wide awake. You wouldn't know because you were asleep, but the way he was looking at you and the gentle way he was stroking your hair as you slept was the most sincere thing I've ever seen a high school boy do. It felt as if he didn't want to be anywhere but beside you in that moment." He sighed. "And then Mathias ruined it by excitedly asking me for sex."

Emil chuckled to himself. "Sounds like him."

The Norwegian man rolled his eyes. "Doesn't it?" He groaned. "I wanted to kill him in that moment." His lips pulled into one more smile as he looked at his brother. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that Leon is welcome here at any time, okay? Same for any of your other friends. You've really found some good people. I'm proud of you."

"I think your minute is up," the younger brother stated, smiling. "Goodnight, Lukas."

"Goodnight, Emil." Lukas stood up and ruffled his brother's hair before heading to the door. "See you in the morning."

"Yeah, see you then." Once his brother was gone, Emil buried his face in his knees. While he was honored that Lukas would say such great things about his boyfriend, he was also extremely embarrassed by it. He knew how amazing of a guy Leon was, even without his brother saying it. But now that even his own family was telling him about it, their relationship seemed even more real than before.

His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to imagine what Lukas had seen upon coming home the night before. He pictured Leon's fingers running through his silvery locks in the most gentle manner. As he imagined the look in his boyfriend's eyes, he felt his face growing hot. How had he managed to get so lucky?

.

Upon meeting up with his friends the next morning at school, Emil was bombarded with enthusiasm over how "dope" his brothers were. He blushed a bit and told his friends that they liked them too. Blushing, he turned to Leon.

"Congrats," he began, "you officially have my brothers' seal of approval. They both adore you." Emil rolled his violet eyes, trying not to seem too embarrassed. "I don't know what you did, but according to them, I'm a really lucky guy."

"Couldn't the same be said about me?" Leon laughed, flashing his boyfriend a charming smile. "I mean, how was I supposed to know that the cute, shy transfer student from Iceland was going to be my boyfriend? Who knew you would be so charming? How could I not fall for you?"

The Icelandic boy blushed. "You're embarrassing," he grumbled.

"But I'm still yours." He grinned at Emil until he saw his lips also pull into a smile. "You know, before you came along, I didn't know how happy I could really be. Every relationship I've had up until now has been so flaky, and every breakup was always so vague. None of them lasted longer than a month. But when it comes to you, I see you in my future. I don't think I'll ever want to be with anyone but you."

"Stop, I'm going to burn myself alive like this," Emil groaned, cheeks hot with blush. "And then you'll be stuck all alone. You don't want that, do you?"

"Never in a million years," Leon confirmed. "I guess I'll have to stop for now, huh? Wouldn't want anything to happen to you, right?" He winked at his boyfriend. "So did you sleep well last night, even though I wasn't beside you?"

The Icelandic boy groaned even louder. "Stop," he pleaded. "I don't think my cheeks can get any redder. It's embarrassing. Especially doing this in front of everyone." He averted his gaze, knowing that he would blush even more if he looked at him. "Please, Leon, no more."

"If you say so," he answered with a shrug. The Asian boy slung his arm over his boyfriend's shoulder, grinning. "Let's get headed to class. We'll be late if we don't." He began to lead them toward the hallway where the classrooms were. "So what other praises did your brothers have for me?"

"All of them," his boyfriend sarcastically stated. "So much praise for The Great Leon Wang."

"Shut up," Leon laughed. "You're always like this. I try to feed my ego, and you have to tear me down with your sarcasm. You always have to do this. Why?"

"If I don't, who will?"

"Why, you little..."

.

At lunch, Emil was more than happy to be reunited with everyone. He was glad to be out of classes and take a break from learning. Being with his friends was always a good way for him to relax. If there was anything he would ever appreciate Iowa City High School for, it would definitely be his friends. Granted at first he didn't know if he belonged with them, but as he sat around and laughed with them every day, he had never been so sure of his own standing with others in his life. They made him feel as if he truly belonged.

"So, tell us about your sleepover with Leon, Emmy," Lilli giggled, waggling her eyebrows at her friend from across the lunch table. "And don't leave out any of the juicy details, understand?"

"Hot, passionate sex all night," Leon dryly replied before Emil could. "It was so sexy. He even called me by his father's name."

"I don't even know my father's name," Emil commented as Lilli threw a few of her diced peaches at her boyfriend. He then cleared his throat. "We just hung out. Kinda like we always do."

"Booooooring," Laura drawled, rolling her eyes. "And to think we thought the two of you would be a bit kinky when left alone." She turned to Yong-Soo. "Guess they just haven't reached our level, have they?"

The Korean boy shook his head in mock dismay. "I guess our sweet boys just haven't grown up yet like we thought they would have." He clicked his tongue in disapproval for a few times. "Laura, where did we go wrong with them? I thought we raised them better than this."

The African American girl buried her face into her boyfriend's shoulder and pretended to weep. "I have failed as a mother!"

"Has anyone ever told you how annoyingly dramatic you are?" Leon groaned. "Like, remind me why I hang out with you two. Life isn't all about sex, right? There are plenty of other things to enjoy than just carnal pleasures." He then turned to Max, who hadn't said a word since the discussion turned to sex lives. "I'm shocked that you haven't said anything."

"What would I have to say?" the blond asked. "Sex is just sex, right? It doesn't matter when you have it or how often you have it. You just have to be sure of the bond you have with the other person first." He reached under the table and held Mei's hand with both of his. "I mean, Mei and I have been together for two years. Everyone knows that she and I are sexually active, even our parents as of this weekend."

"What?!" everyone at the table all shouted in unison. They all quickly realized that the people at the tables near them were all staring at them, so they all lowered their voices.

"When did this happen?" Lilli demanded. "And why did I not know about it?"

"Mei, why didn't you tell me anything about this? Did your parents take your phone or something?" Laura asked.

"What a plot twist," Raivis commented, looking toward Neoklis, who nodded.

The Asian girl stood up, tears in her eyes. "I told you not to fucking say anything about it!" she shouted at her boyfriend. "Why can't you just do one goddamn thing that I ask?!" Not caring who was all paying attention to her at that moment, she ran out of the cafeteria, immediately followed by Lilli, Natalia, and Laura.

Max paled and hung his head, tugging at his hair. "I fucked up," he groaned. "She's right. I shouldn't have said anything." After a moment, he slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Goddammit," he growled before heading off after the girls.

"What the hell was that all about?" Yong-Soo commented. "I mean, yeah, their parents found out they've been fucking for the past year, but why would Mei react like that to Max mentioning it to us?" He rolled his eyes. "I hope it didn't put a huge rift in their relationship, you know? A bad breakup in our group would be devastating, you know? Especially if it's those two."

Emil spaced out after that as the guys all tried to figure out what had happened between Mei and Max. Yong-Soo was right. A breakup in their friend group would be bad. It would be almost like a war-zone. What if they had to choose sides and couldn't remain friends with one of them? That would be absolutely devastating. He hoped that it would never come to that with any of them.

Then a terrifying thought crossed his mind. What if he and Leon were to break up? Leon had been a part of that friend group a lot longer than he had. Without a doubt, everyone would choose his boyfriend over him any day of the week. But then where would that leave Emil? He would be all alone. How terrifying.

He felt Leon grab his hand under the table a squeeze it, bringing him back to the present. Emil thankfully squeezed his boyfriend's hand back, calming himself down. He needed to focus on the present and not worry about things that may or may not ever happen in the future. There was no telling what the future held, so he was determined to focus on living in the moment. After all, this was the only guaranteed time frame where Leon would be there.