@andwebegin (It’s no ring, but here’s more fic. <3)
Pete watched as Tin sulked in class the next morning. As the weeks had gone by, Tin’s demeanor had worsened. Pete almost found himself wishing that Tin was still pursuing him just to screw with Ae, if only to be rid of the cloud that loomed over Tin.
But based on the conversations that they had prior, Pete knew exactly what the problem was here. Tin was business savvy, book smart, all sorts of cunning, but he was a terrible communicator when it came to emotions. Can was observant, instinctual, quick to catch on, but absolutely dense when it came to anything emotional.
And yet they had gotten under each other’s skin and no matter how the both of them scrubbed, the stain would not go away. Not that they were trying particularly hard to get over each other.
Pete wrote another line of notes in his notebook. The two of them deserved each other.
Biting his lip, Pete looked out of the corner of his eye to see Tin slumped over his laptop, shoulders hunched, as if he could protect himself from the piercing gaze of the student body. At this point, who didn’t know that Tin was upset? And to the student body, especially when it involved Tin, any sort of juicy gossip was prized.
For someone who was actually uncomfortable with the public gaze sometimes, it was ridiculous how often Tin did something to earn himself a reputation one way or another.
After texting Ae that he wouldn’t be able to join him for lunch today but he was welcome to sleep over tonight, Pete sighed and looked at Tin again. It was time to be a proper friend.
“Come on, let’s have lunch,” Pete said, tugging on Tin’s sleeve after class ended. “We haven’t talked properly in a while.”
Tin raised his head enough to glare at him. “Tempting fate, are you?”
“You promised Can that you wouldn’t interfere. I made no such promise.”
Tin laughed, it was an ugly and sarcastic sound. Pete hated being the cause of it. “And so you finally show your teeth. I don’t know whether to be proud or upset.”
“I learned it from you. Let’s go.” Pete tugged a little harder and Tin got up and shuffled along with Pete to the cafe near by.
Tin stayed silent as Pete ordered the food and coffee for both of them. It was only after Pete took away the salt and pepper shakers that Tin was using as fidget toys that Tin spoke.
“Why does everyone always assume the worst of me?” The words were soft and Pete remembered the boy that had been. The one that lived before Tul’s manipulation and the damage that came from Tin’s time abroad. The softer, kinder, happier Tin that had been sensitive to his own emotions and those of others.
And even though Pete’s heart ached for his friend, it was time to be blunt. As blunt as Pete could manage anyway.
“It saves time.” Tin’s head whipped up, lips in a frown and eyes in a glare, and Pete flicked his friend’s forehead. “Don’t act like you haven’t spent the better part of the last few years building that, ‘I don’t care,’ reputation. You wanted everyone to assume plenty of things about you.” Tin rubbed the sore spot on his forehead and grumbled, but did not disagree. “And finally that persona has come back to bite you.”
“I never expected Can to believe those things.”
“But you’ve never given him a reason otherwise.”
“You let him do something he thought you let people do anyway.” Tin recoiled as if Pete had shot him. “And while you knew what emotion you wanted to convey when you said yes, you failed to tell him.”
“You are the absolutely last person who should be criticizing my communication skills.”
“And here I am, doing it anyway.” Tin huffed and crossed his arms before looking away. “Will you please talk to Can? At least tell him what you meant.”
“You’d rather be miserable forever than hope that Can might change his mind about you?”
“What’s left to change? I told you what he said when he came to see me last time.”
“Yes, and you threw things at him. I’m new to relationships, but that doesn’t sound like a successful communication.” Tin rolled his eyes. “Stop being so dramatic. You know Can is straightforward. If you don’t spell it out, he will never know. And you’re so obtuse, you don’t understand that Can means what he means. There is no ulterior motive.”
“Everyone has an ulterior motive. Even you have one right now.”
Their food arrived and Pete took the moment to choose his words carefully. “Yes, I have an ulterior motive. While it’s nice to be allowed to just be with Ae now because you aren’t trying to break us apart, you are my friend and I hate to see you so upset.” Pete laid a gentle hand on one of Tin’s. “And as your friend, my ulterior motive is to see you happy. If you think Can is what would make you happy, then I want you to talk to Can.”
“What am I supposed to do? Just walk up to him and say, ‘Hey so you were actually my first time and I gave it up to you because I’ve slowly been falling for you since the second time you punched me because you don’t take anyone’s shit and I respect that about you?’“
Pete bit his straw to refrain from laughing, especially after seeing who had walked in the door and just caught Tin’s rant. “Yes. You should absolutely say all of that.”
“Tin?” Can’s voice was high pitched and confused.
Tin banged his head against the table, rattling all the plates and cups. “Fuck my life.”
“Can already fucked you. What’s another time?”
Tin’s resulting shout and Can’s objection were incredibly hilarious.
Pete almost lamented that his joke was poorly received as he pushed Can into his seat and walked out the door. Pete took a sip of his iced coffee. At least now he was free for lunch with Ae again. It seemed a reasonable reward for helping Tin sort out his issues.
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