Faded: well I kinda wrote this as a result of going to a mini-con in my town. I believe I was thinking something along the lines of: "canada is so moe and cute. china adores cute things. hmm...china would probably adore canada cause he's so moe and cute!" and then this happened. and this also became my new OTP for hetalia. sooo....enjoy?

Riane: TFG does not own Hetalia: Axis Powers or any related entities. she only owns the plot for this story.

Exotic Attraction

By: The Faded Guardian

I'm not really sure what it is about him that I like, I just…do. He's different, I guess. Something exotic that just came to school one day as a new student that had moved from China. He wasn't really tall or short, but he was definitely lanky. And being the kind of stereotypical guy I was, I thought he fit the "Chinese" category perfectly. Oh, but before I go on, let me introduce myself. Matthew Williams, age 17 and a junior in high school. I am often forgotten or ignored because of my over-bearing older brother, Alfred. I also enjoy pancakes and maple cookies.

"Class, this is Wang Yao. He just moved here from China, so I expect everyone to treat him well," our teacher had told us.

Initially, Yao had (inevitably) been picked on and bullied a little, but after a few weeks, he had slipped seamlessly into the school population. I was secretly glad about that; I had been watching from the sidelines to make sure nobody would give him crap like they normally would me for something stupid my brother had done. But I digress. And through the few classes we had together, and me sticking up for him whenever I was around, we had become pretty close friends, and that made me smile. Even if it was mostly because he didn't seem to forget I existed like everyone else.

***

"…and–Matthew, are you even listening, aru?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Huh?" I shook my head to try and get myself to focus again. "Heheh…sorry Yao." I scratched my cheek, embarrassed. Yao was over at my house supposedly to help me with homework. But let's be serious people; we all know the only reason I invited him over was because I liked him and, well…so I could look at him. He's very…I don't want to say pretty, because he's not that, but handsome doesn't sound right either. He's some kind of in-between. As I've said before, he's exotic. (Can you tell I don't get out much?)

He shook his head and tried not to smile. "You're not going to pass this test if you keep spacing out on me, aru."

"Sorry…" I mumbled, trying to pay attention to the math problem in front of me.

"It's fine, aru," he told me. "Anyways…"

The two of us worked late into the night on homework, mainly due to my amazing deficiency. Random trivia fact: I, Matthew Williams, am not the best in school…but I'm still better than my brother. By the time either of us looked at the clock, it was already past 10:30. "Aiyah!" Yao exclaimed, scrambling to get his things together. "I need to get home, aru!"

"Well…it's already so late…why don't you just stay the night?" I purposed. "I'm sure my parents won't mind."

"Well, I guess so, aru. But I need to call and ask first, aru." I nodded and he went into the kitchen to call his parents. I was having a hardcore party in my head; that is seriously how happy I was. Sure Yao cam over about once a week, but I hardly saw him during school because we only had 2 classes together. He walked back into the living room a little while later with a smile on his face. "They said I could stay, aru!"

I smiled back at him. "Cool. You don't mind using my brother's room, do you? Or… borrowing his clothes for the night…?" The only reason my brother's room was free was because he had moved to London for college with his "friend" (Psh. So not.) Arthur.

He shrugged. "I guess so, aru."

We wound up staying up pretty late talking about random stuff, from school to everyday things. I learned that he had several other siblings and that he was also the oldest.

"Lucky," I said, picking at the carpet. "I wish I was the older one. Alfred always gets what he wants cause he's the first born…"

"I don't know, aru," Yao said. "My younger siblings get away with everything because it's supposed to be my responsibility to watch them. And every time they do something bad, it's my fault, aru."

I winced. "Yikes. That really sucks." He nodded, but didn't seem to care. That was another thing I liked about him. He was always very relaxed about thins, while I'm a little more high-strung.

Yao fell asleep before me and I wound up walking back to my room to go to bed soon. It was very different without my loud and obnoxious brother around. And cause I'm pretty family oriented (maybe too much so…) guy, I wound up calling him.

"Heeello?" my brother answered on the first ring; as he always did.

"Hey Al. It's me," I greeted.

"Matt! Hey! How's it going? What's up at home? Do you miss your awesomely heroic brother?" I would almost see the grin on his face.

"Heh…it's quiet without you," I replied quietly.

"Oh gee, thanks, Matt," he said, a bit sarcastic. "But wait…isn't it like…one in the morning or something at home?"

"It is…1:03 right now," I told him.

"The hell you still awake for then, dude?" he exclaimed.

"I could ask you the same thing. Isn't it around 6 in the morning?" I asked.

"Yea, so?"

"I'm surprised you're not still asleep."

"Shut up, Matt."

"Hah…nope! Anyways, how's London treating you?"

"IT'S FUCKING AMAZING!!!"

I let him ramble on about where he was going to college for about ten minutes before I got bored and asked him what I had originally called him for.

"…and anyway, Arty's yelling at me to be quiet since it's six in the morning and he's still trying to sleep. And plus it's a weekend, so I should probably–"

"Hey, Al, can I ask you something?" I asked in my usual quiet tone.

"Hm? Sure. What is it, Matt?" he asked.

"Well…let's say you like someone, but you're not sure if they like you back, or if you should tell them how you feel…" I mumbled, fiddling with the phone cord.

"Okaaaaaaay… Where did this come from?" he asked with a small laugh. "Last time I checked, you thought you were a-sexual 'cause you never liked anyone."

"Sh-shut up!" I said, indignantly. "Look, are you going to help me, or just be obnoxious?"

I explained my situation, trying to keep everything as ambiguous as possible. Because even if my brother was in denial about his relationship with Arthur, he is still a total hypocrite about things. "And…I'm not sure if he likes me or not," I finished.

"Huh. Well I'd–wait did you just say 'he'???" Alfred demanded.

I cringed inwardly. I had said that, hadn't i? Damn. Now I was in for it. "Well…heh…ya see…I, uh…" I searched my brain for an answer, but none came. "Alright, fine! Yes, I said 'he' dammit. Look, I really don't care what you think about it, since you're with friggin' Arthur. Just tell me what I should do!" My vision blurred as tears threatened to leak out. Great. Now I was going to start crying. Wow I really am a loser.

"No! Matt, I didn't mean it like that. It just…I dunno. Caught me off guard." He paused before asking the question that caught me off guard. "So what's he like?"

My jaw about hit the floor. "'What's he like'?! I practically come out of the closet to you and you're asking me what he's like?!"

"Yea. What's so wrong with that?" he asked, clearly confused.

"You're not gonna freak out on me?"

"Uh-uh."

"And you're fine with this?"

"Is that was this is about, Mattie? Of course I'm fine with it! I'd be a huge hypocrite if I wasn't! You can't change the way you are. So as your awesome and heroic brother, I'll back you up on it. Now gimme details or you're not getting my help."

Okay, I'm really gonna sound like a girl here, but I was totally gushing about every single detail about Yao. "Okay, well first off, he's asian. Chinese, actually. Completely gorgeous in that kind of feminine way. Oh, and he has the most amazing brown eyes. You could just get lost in them. They're all soulful and when he looks at you, you just get this feeling that he's seen so much of the world. And he sweet, and smart, and he's just so…awesome! I totally wish you could meet him…"

My brother started cracking up on the other line. "Sorry Matt, but you friggin' sounded like such a girl!"

"Be quiet, you moron!" I snipped, feeling my face flush with embarrassment.

"Hee~ don't think so! And if I shut up then how am I gonna help ya on this, huh?"

Okay, so my obnoxious brother had a point for once. And as far as I knew, he was good with relationship stuff. (Hell, he had Arthur, didn't he?) Not that I knew that this advice would never actually be put into action. So there I was, listening intently to his advice and jotting the important stuff down. "Oh, and you have to tell me how it goes, kay Matt?" he finished.

"You got it, Al," I assured him. "Anyways, I should probably go. It's almost 2."

"Alrighty, dude. Ima go back to sleep too," he said, yawning. "Talk to ya next time, Mattie.

"Mkay. Night Al."

I clicked the phone off and stuck it back on the cradle. For all his idiocy, my brother could spit out a nugget of wisdom once in a while. I fell asleep confident that the advice he had given me would help.

***

Well, my brother's advice was absolutely no help at all. Not because it was stupid (Okay, maybe looking back on it, it was a little stupid, but look who we're talking about.), but because when I was going to put said advice into play, I was hit with the worse news I could have received.

"Matt! I'm so glad I caught you, aru!" Yao had caught me at lunch to tell me the news.

"Hmm? What're you so happy about?" I teased.

"Remember that girl in my anatomy class that I told you about, aru?" He couldn't seem to stop smiling. That should have been my warning.

"You mean Amanda?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. "What about her?"

"She asked me out, aru!" he exclaimed, still smiling and bouncing slightly.

That single statement crashed around me. I wanted to yell, cry, scream…something! But I didn't. I kept up my façade and pretended I was happy for him. "Oh. That's awesome, Yao." I smiled tightly to keep my emotions in check. "So are you still gonna be able to come over and help me out on homework?" I asked, even though I was sure I already knew the answer.

He made a wishy-washy motion with his hand. "It all depends, aru," he replied, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind his ear. "But I still will try and come over, aru."

I nodded tersely. "Alright. Well, why don't we eat, huh?" Not that I would be able to eat now. I just needed something to get my mind off the news I had just heard.

He bit his lip and looked a little concerned. "Ah…well…"

"Wait, let me guess. You were going to eat with her, right?" I asked, trying not to roll my eyes.

He winced slightly at my tone. "You could eat with us if you want to, aru…" he told me.

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. Go have fun with Amanda. I'll just go sit with someone else." Lie.

"Are you sure, aru?" he asked, eyebrows knitted together in concern.

I waved my hand back and forth. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

He grinned and gave me a quick hug. "Okay! Thanks, aru!"

I sighed sadly to myself as he walked off. Why did it seem like life was out to get me so often?

***

I nearly got pulled over for speeding home that day. I stormed into the house and pounded up the stairs to my room. I know it wasn't his fault that she asked him out before I had even had a chance to do anything, but I still couldn't help but be a little angry at him. I had thought that as his best friend he would have at least consulted me about it first. But I guess we weren't as close as I thought. And yes, I did wind up breaking down and crying finally, if you were wondering.

I buried my head in my pillow and screamed until my throat was raw and dry. Then came the tears. Every time I thought I didn't have anything left to cry, fresh tears managed to spill out. I stayed like that for about 20 minutes before I finally got over myself. If he wanted to be with Amanda, fine. I wasn't going to stop him.

Of course, these things are always easier said than done, right? So of course when I drove to school the next day, I had to pull in right when they did. Yes, they. Apparently she was going to be giving him a ride to school now too. Fabulous.

I saw him gesture to where I was parked and say something to her before walking over. "Good morning, aru," he greeted, smiling. I merely nodded and took my things out of the trunk of my car. "Are you alright, aru?" he asked. The concern in his voice made my chest tighten.

"I'm fine," I mumbled in reply. "Just a little tired…"

"Are you sure? You seem kind of out of it, aru," he commented.

I blinked several times to get rid of the crocodile tears that were coming. "I'm fine, Yao. I can take care of myself."

His mouth twisted down into a frown. "If you say so, aru…" He tilted my chin up to look at him. "If anything's bothering you, you know you can come talk to me, right, aru?"

I smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, I guess," I muttered, turning and walking away.

"Is there, like something wrong with Al's little brother?"

"I'm not sure, aru…"

"Well, whatever. Let's go."

"Hm? But we're still early, aru."

"Hehe…I know."

I can honestly say that I couldn't stand the girl Yao was with. She was shallow, materialistic, and I think she's using him to get back at her ex. Though he obviously doesn't see that, or else he never would have said yes. So time passed and we grew apart for a little while. It made me kind of depressed.

***

Take me on a trip, I'd like to go someday

Take me to New York, I'd love to see LA

I really want to come kick it with you

You'll be my American boy, American boy

I rubbed my eyes blearily and put on my glasses. Who in their right mind was calling me at–I glanced at the clock–four in the morning? (I was in no mind to match the ringtone to a caller at the time.) "H'llo?" I mumbled into my cell.

"Matt! Hey!" My brother's loud and boisterous voice came from the other end.

"Wha d'ya want?" I asked, falling back onto my mattress. "'S 4 in th' morning."

"It is? Oh yeah! The time difference! No wonder Arty said not to call!" I swear I wanted to hit him over the head with a hockey stick right then. "Oh, anyways, I was calling to see how things are going with your Chinese friend." As soon as he said that, I clicked the end button and shut my phone. I didn't need to talk about that.

Take me on a trip I'd like to go someday

Take me to New York, I'd love to see LA

I really want to come kick it with you

You'll be my American boy, American boy

I grumbled silently and reached for the phone once more. "What?" I growled. My brother just doesn't know when to leave the hell alone.

"Yeesh, Mattie. What's with you?" he asked, taken aback by my tone. "Did something happen with you and…uh…"

"Yao," I reminded him. "And yes, something did happen. Look, Al I really don't want to talk about it."

"Oh c'mon, Matt. It couldn't have been that bad," he coaxed, trying to get me to spill.

I sighed. "You don't know the half of it."

"What, you can't tell your own brother? Gee, thanks," he grumbled.

That guilt-tripping ass. Of course I would tell him now that he made me feel guilty. So I let everything out of me in one incoherent rant. Alfred listened intently, asking me the occasional question until I finished rambling. "A-and now h-he probably ha-hates me!" I finished, sobbing uncontrollably. Huh…I wonder when I had started crying. Oh well.

"Matt, you're being totally overdramatic," he told me. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you. But he probably thinks that you're mad at him cause you won't talk to him. Give it time, man. He'll come around."

"I guess…" I mumbled, picking at a loose thread on my blanket. (Curse my habit of picking at things and fiddling with things!!)

"Don't sound so optimistic, man," he teased. "At least you get to spend Christmas with the family."

"Huh? You're not coming home for Christmas?" I asked.

"Nuh-uh. Spending it with Arty this year."

I laughed slightly. "Okay. Look, I better go. It's like, 4:30 in the morning. Talk to you later, Al."

"Right-o! G'night Mattie!"

"Night."

I clicked my phone off and set it back on my nightstand. I could only hope that what Alfred had said about Yao coming around would be true.

***

~You have one new text message~

I flipped my phone open and opened the text. It was from someone I hadn't heard from in ages.

hi matt. i was just wondering how u were doing since u haven't talked 2 me in a while. txt me back. lonely w/o my friend :(

Yao

I stared at the text for a good two minutes before squealing like a five year old girl and hugging my cell to my chest. I wasted no more time in typing out a reply to him.

sorry i've been out of touch. just been kinda out of it. maybe a little upset about some stuff too…idk =/ u ever gonna come back & tutor me again? ;)

I pressed send before I lost my confidence. Hopefully he wouldn't ask what I was upset about. I don't think I was ready for that yet. Not two minutes later, my phone buzzed signaling another text. I opened it quickly and read it.

ah. ok then. u still want tutoring? i'll be rite over :3

He was coming over?! I wasn't ready for that!! "Oh…this is bad…very, very bad…" I whined. "But I'll be okay. Yeah. He said it was just tutoring, right? Just tutoring…alright…"

Bzz…bzz…bzz…

"GAH!" I jumped about a foot in the air when my phone went off again. I hastily opened it and read the new text message.

ur door's locked. it's never locked…do u not want me here??? D:

"Ack!" I ran over to the front door and yanked it open. "I'm soooo sorry Yao! I didn't think you'd actually come over!"

He chuckled lightly. "It's fine, aru. Can I come in? Or do you really not want me here, aru?"

"Oh! No, not at all! Come on in!" I stepped aside to let him in. When he walked in, I noticed something about him seemed off. I didn't mention anything about it, though. If he wanted to tell me, he would. After all, he had been incredibly patient with me while I was sulking over his new relationship.

"So why have you been so upset, aru? I'm not trying to pry…just worried, aru." He turned away and scratched his cheek nervously.

"Oh…um…" I looked at my feet trying to think of an answer for him. On one hand, he was my best friend and I should be able to tell him anything. But then again, this wasn't any normal matter. 'Make it seem normal!' I finally figured out my answer. "W-well…I was just kinda upset of what was going on with you and Amanda. And I was kinda hurt that you didn't consult me or anything about it. I just…thought we were closer than that."

He looked shocked by my answer. "Oh…" I waited for the storm to come, but it never did. "Matthew, why didn't you just tell me, aru? I would have tried to make time. I…you're one of my best friends, aru."

I cocked my head slightly. Had he been about to say something else? When nothing came, I sighed and smiled. At least we could be on good terms again.

***

Ah, winter, my absolute favorite season. The snow makes everything seem quiet, Christmas songs are playing on the radio, but most importantly…hockey season!! I don't care what my brother says about it; it's an awesome sport. But I'm getting off track. (Again.)

Here I was, on a lovely winters day, ready to hit the slopes and Yao was trying to bail out on me. "I don't care if you can't ski or snowboard!" I told him, cradling my cell between my shoulder and ear as I crammed my skis into my trunk. "You are coming with me!"

"W-well…I didn't want to tell you this because I thought you would worry, aru," he said quietly.

"Hm? Tell me what?" I asked, struggling to close my trunk without letting my phone fall.

"Um…I'm a little sick, aru." This statement was followed by a fit of coughs and sneezes.

"Are you ok? Do you want me to come over or get you something?" Okay, I will admit I totally freaked out when he said he was sick. I mean, he sounded horrible! But despite my concern, he was quick to decline.

"Ah, no. It's fine. I don't want you to catch this, aru," he replied. "I'll just stay home and rest. Maybe we can go another time, aru."

"Yeah…" I sighed. This wasn't what I wanted to happen, but c'est la vie, I guess. "Well, I'm gonna go hit the slopes. Get better, huh?"

"Mm. Have fun, aru."

I hung up the phone and got in the car. I could have fun even if Yao wasn't there, right? Yeah. Just keep telling yourself that, Matt.

I got to the ski resort about an hour later. After paying for an all day lift ticket and such, I was off. I spent most of the day on blue square slopes (intermediate for those who don't speak ski) and on a few black diamond (advanced) slopes that didn't look too life threatening.

I was riding back down on the ski lift when I saw something that struck me as a little odd. Sitting on the lift in front of me was a happy little couple; the girl had a snowboard dangling off one boot and her boyfriend was in skis. From the back, the boyfriend looked a lot like Yao. 'Don't be ridiculous,' I thought to myself. 'Yao is sick and at home.' And I stuck by that thought. At least until I got back into the resort, that is.

I stuck my skis and poles into the snow next to the resort and went in to get myself a nice hot cup of coffee. After getting my drink, I took a seat by the big fireplace and surveyed the people around me. To my left, a family of four, getting their children ready for ski lessons. In front of me, a crowd of people waiting in line for a hot drink as I had been. And to my right, Yao and Amanda were sitting together sharing some snack.

…Wait, what?!?!

I nearly choked on my coffee when I saw the two of them together. Wasn't he supposed to be at home being sick? Apparently I was wrong. She was talking animatedly with him, but he didn't seem to be all there. Maybe she was boring him, or something.

I got up and walked over to the two of them, determined to make things as awkward and uncomfortable as I could for the two of them. "Well, well, well! Fancy meeting you two here!" I said in greeting.

Yao's head snapped up at the sound of my voice. "A-ah! Hello, aru," he mumbled, looking away. Amanda didn't say anything to me, she just pretended I wasn't there.

"I thought you were sick, Yao," I said. "And that's why you couldn't come hit the slopes with me today."

"Well, I-I am sick, aru…but, Amanda called and, well…" he trailed off, looking like he didn't want to finish. But that wasn't going to fly today.

"Well what?" I asked with a pleasant smile. (Agh! That Braginski guy's been rubbing off on me!)

He mumbled something about "I'll tell you later, aru," and went back to drinking his tea.

"So, like, did you want something?" Amanda asked me. "Or did you, like, just come over here to bug us?"

"Oh, am I bugging you guys?" I asked, feigning surprise. "Oh forgive me for intruding on your privacy!"

"No, it's fine, aru," Yao told me. Amanda looked at him, shocked. "Actually…why don't you join us, aru?"

Oh my god, the look on her face after he said that was absolutely priceless! I, of course, accepted the invitation and sat down with them. After about ten minutes, Amanda excused herself and went to get another drink. "So what are you doing here?" I demanded. "You said you were sick."

"I am, aru!" Yao insisted, coughing slightly when he spoke. "But she called me, and… I don't know, aru. I felt like I couldn't say no to her, aru."

"Oh, so you could say no to your best friend but not to your girlfriend? Thanks, man. At least now I know where your loyalties lie." I got up to leave, but he caught my arm and pulled me back.

"Wait! Please…just let me explain, aru." He looked up at me with pleading brown eyes. I hesitated, but nodded and sat back down. "I really didn't want to do anywhere today, aru. But when she called, she just sounded so sad and lonely, that I couldn't say no to her, aru."

Well that was to be expected. Yao was a sucked for a good sob story; hell, he even admitted it himself! Still, you'd think he'd be consistent in his rejections at least. "Why didn't you have her come over instead of going out?" I asked.

"I don't know, aru," he mumbled, staring into his tea. "I guess I though I'd see you here, aru." He laughed slightly before taking another sip of tea.

That had me melting into a helpless happy little pile of goo. He did care! And maybe he did like me back and just didn't realize it yet! "Oh. Well that was a nice thought," I said quietly, trying to hide my smile.

Amanda came back and stood next to Yao. "Well we, like, need to get going," she said. "Totally sorry, but I promised to get him back by five. So bye, Al's little brother!" She tugged the sleeve of Yao's jacket and he stood up as well, waving to me.

"I'll be by tomorrow, aru," he told me.

I nodded and waved him off, ignoring the look Amanda was giving me. Who cared what she thought? By now I was sure that he liked me as more than a friend. He just had to realize it. And the realization couldn't come fast enough.

***

Who knew waiting could be so agonizing?! No, I'm not talking about waiting for that realization. I was already resigned to the fact that it could take forever. I'm talking about just waiting for an invite to a Christmas party. I go through this every year. The winter holidays come and I spend most of my time waiting for an invitation to someone's Christmas or New Years party. And the invitations always come.

And they're always for my brother.

Even when he's practically on the other side of the globe, he got invitations. And I didn't get any. Boo hoo.

Once the 22nd had come around and I still hadn't gotten anything, I pretty much gave up any hope for eventful winter holidays. So here I was, around midnight on the 24th (Or maybe I should count it was the 25th?) sitting in my room listening to Christmas songs play on the radio with my silly Santa hat on. I was about to nod off when my cell phone started to ring.

Loudly.

Check yes Juliet

Are you with me?

Rain is falling down on the sidewalk

I won't go until you come outside.

I flipped open my cell and answered. "Hello?"

I heard someone clear their throat on the other line. Then: "Can you come open the door? It's cold out here, aru." And then he hung up.

I raced down the stairs, nearly tripping and losing my Santa hat in the process. I slid to the door in my socks and opened it quickly. Just as I thought. Yao was standing there, looking like he was about to freeze. I ushered him in the door and closed it as quietly as I could manage without waking my parents. "What are you doing here??" I asked. "Not that I mind…"

He finally looked at me and said softly, "We got in a fight." His eyes looked slightly glazed and puffy. "But that's not the only thing…"

It broke my heart to see him so upset. Call it instinct, but I wound up giving him a huge hug. "What else happened?" I asked, trying to get him to look at me. "What did she do?"

He explained to me that he and Amanda had gotten into a fight. (It was something stupid, so I don't really remember what he said the fight was about.) Anyways, Amanda had stormed out on him, yelling that it was over. And since he's such a nice guy, he hadn't wanted it to end on such bad terms so today (yesterday? You know what I mean.) he had gone over to her house to try and talk things out. But, when he had gotten there, she had been with her ex who apparently wasn't her ex anymore. And now, after much moping, Yao was here at my house. "I think I just need a friend right now, aru," he mumbled, hugging me back tightly.

I smiled at him. "It's what I'm here for." We walked back up the stairs to my room and talked like we always do. After about 15 minutes, we lapsed into a comfortable silence. The radio was still playing softly in my room and when "I'll Be Home For Christmas" came on, Yao stood up. I thought he was going to leave, but instead, he pulled me up as well and started dancing with me.

I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams

I'll admit that it caught me off guard and that I was blushing so badly that I looked like a tomato, but I enjoyed it. He held me against his chest and we moved in time to the music. I leaned back into him, enjoying just being around him. Something is just very relaxing about him. Maybe it's that smell of green tea that always seems to surround him, or maybe it's just that he's very at peace with the world.

The song came to a close and I expect him to let go. But, he didn't. He rested his head on my shoulder and sighed contentedly. "I don't know what I saw in her, aru," he whispered.

"Maybe…you just wanted someone to like you," I replied, a little breathless from the proximity.

"Mmm…but I already had that, didn't I, aru?"

"Wha–?"

He spun me around to face him and looked me intently. And then…oh sweet St. Laurence River, do you know what he did?

He kissed me.

Surprised as I was, I managed to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. It was perfect. Amazing. Everything that first special kiss should be. Oh god…I'm starting to sound like a girl again. The kiss ended much to quickly for my taste and I let out a little whimper of disapproval when his lips left mine. He chuckled lightly. "Something wrong, aru?"

"Wha…where did that come from?" I asked quietly.

Yao took my hand and placed it over his heart. "Here."

Okay, I think he was trying to see if he really could turn me into a puddle of goo. And if he was trying, it was working. 'Unless he's just doing this 'cause he's lonely,' the little nagging voice in the back of my head told me. Oh god. I hadn't thought of that. Damn!

"Why are you doing this?" I asked almost hesitantly.

He pulled back and looked at me. "Do you not want me to, aru?"

I shook my head. "It's not that…I just don't want this if you're only doing this because of what happened between you and Amanda." Wait…what was I doing? I had a willing Yao here with me and I was pushing him away? No! Wrong, wrong, wrong! Someone hit me with a hockey stick!

He looked taken aback by my response. "Matthew…why would I be pretending? You're one of the few people who have been by me since I first got here, and that's including my own family. Sure it took me a while, but I think I've come to realize that you're more than just a friend to me." He looked away from me before adding, "If you don't think I'm being sincere, then I can leave."

Okay, so it was time for a sincerity check. He had been looking right at me the whole time (except that end part) he was talking, he didn't look like he was lying, and he seemed genuinely upset that I would think he was being insincere. But the biggest thing was that he had dropped his adorable (sometimes annoying) speech tic. He only dropped it when he was being truly serious about something. So yea, I think he was being sincere. "I…I believe you," I mumbled.

He tilted my chin up. "Are you just saying that, or do you mean it?" His soulful brown eyes seemed to look straight through me, searching for an answer. Instead of answering him, I threw my arms around his neck again and kissed him with all I had.

When I finally pulled back, I looked up at him with a small smile. "What do you think my answer is?"

Yao smiled at me and laughed. "I'll take that as an 'I believe you,' aru." He hugged me close and asked softly, "So what does this make us?"

I gave him a peck on the cheek and replied, "More than best friends."

I won't deny that there's a physical attraction there too. But, it's more than just that. It's personality, friendship, and something else. Something…exotic. Yes, that's what it is. An exotic attraction.

Faded: LONG ONESHOT IS LONG. omg i'm so sorry D': anyways, couple of notes here: yes, Alfred's custom ringtone is "American Boy." why? cause i can! and Yao's ringtone is "Check Yes Juliet" cause...i don't know. just cause. anywho, hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review. they make me smile :)

Riane: oh, and no flames plzthx.