Actions speak louder than words.  That singular belief defined much of Leo’s existence. 

Words, as far as he was concerned, were dangerous.  They could be rife with meaning, or fraught with lies, but knowing which was a puzzle that could be nigh impossible to figure out until you really knew the person you were talking to, which was why Leo didn’t really like meeting new people.

New people were only words, with no actions for Leo to evaluate, and until he had those actions he couldn’t know if those words were something he could trust, which meant that when he met new people, he would first observe them for quite some time, the longer the better really.

However, by the time they were walking home from the basketball game Wednesday night, Leo was realizing that his time to evaluate Luhan was running out because, if there was one thing Leo had gotten very good at because of his distrust of words, it was reading people, and the amount he could read into both Luhan’s and Minseok’s actions would have probably filled several volumes.

Unfortunately for them both, he wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

There was, however, one thing of which he was absolutely certain: he never wanted to see the Minseok he had seen last November again.  Preventing that from occurring was his top priority, and that meant that he needed to talk to Minseok and Luhan.  Minseok to figure out where he was even at, and Luhan to decide whether encouraging this or stopping it dead was the better idea.

Neither conversation was one he was particularly looking forward to having, not that he ever really looked forward to conversations, but as he watched Minseok carry Luhan on his back down the sidewalk he knew they were ones he needed to have sooner rather than later because whether he knew it or not, Minseok was falling, and Leo needed to know if there was something soft for him to land on at the bottom.

---

Between the two of them, Minseok was the far easier one to talk with first, and hoping to work towards answers sooner rather than later, Leo decided to start that night as they both paused in the kitchen after arriving at their apartment.

“You like him.” 

Minseok jumped as Leo stared at him from where he stood leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Like who?”  Minseok asked as he recovered from his shock and continued to try to get himself a glass of water.

Leo would have rolled his eyes if he was the type to do that.  Instead he just stared with narrowed eyes and offered a single name.  “Luhan.”

Minseok’s eyes widened as he shook his head back and forth, “No I don’t.”

“Yes you do.” 

Minseok continued to shake his head.  “No, I don’t.  Rule number 3, remember?”

Leo just stared, trying to determine if Minseok really believed that a single rule on a sheet of paper on the wall besides his bedroom door meant anything.

“Stop looking at me like that.  I don’t like him.”

Leo blinked once, twice.  “Well, he likes you.”

“Thank you for that observation.”  Minseok responded sarcastically.

“So you know.”  Interesting.

“I know that you’re being annoying.  And besides, don’t you not like Luhan?”

Leo shrugged. He still didn’t know the full answer to that question.  “Unclear.”

“Then why are we having this conversation?”

“Because you like him.”

“But I can’t like him, remember?”

“So it’s can’t now?”

Minseok groaned.  “Can you just stop?  Don’t.  Can’t.  It doesn’t make a difference.  There’s no way this goes anywhere.  We’re better off keeping things the way they are.”

Leo nodded slowly, satisfied.  “Okay.”

“Okay?”  Minseok asked, clearly confused.

Leo nodded again.  “Okay.”

“But what does that mean?”

Leo just walked out of the kitchen towards his room down the hall. 

Minseok was clearly in the land of denial, with some other issues mixed in, which was completely understandable, as far as Leo was concerned, and until Leo was certain Luhan really was a good person, he wasn’t going to try to lead Minseok to anywhere else.  It was safer that way.

---

Leo watched Minseok and Luhan walk into practice Thursday night, laughing as they went.  That is, until Luhan saw Leo, and then he became noticeably more reserved even as he and Minseok entered the field and started to run around with the others to warm up.

“I think he’s afraid of you.”  Ken observed with a laugh as he popped up behind him.

Leo batted his face away from his left ear.  “I know.  It’s a problem.”

“Wait.  What?  I thought you didn’t like him with Minseok.”

“I don’t know how I feel about it.”  Leo responded as his eyes trailed Minseok and Luhan around the field.

“Um, well, how are you going to figure that out?”  Ken asked, stepping up alongside him.

“I need to talk to him.”  Leo responded simply.

Ken turned to look at him, eyes wide.  “You want to talk to him?”

“No, I need to talk to him.”  Leo corrected.

“That’d be a whole lot easier if he wasn’t terrified of you.”  Ken supplied helpfully.

Leo nodded in agreement.  “Any suggestions?”

Ken smirked.  “I think I can come up with something.”

“See that you do.”  Leo responded, gaze returning to the pair.

Ken laughed.  “I take it you’d like this to happen as soon as possible.”

Leo nodded, but before he could offer any words of confirmation, N’s voice was breaking out across the turf to ask if the two lovebirds were ever going to actually start to practice, which got them both moving pretty quick as Leo hoped that Ken would indeed come up with something.

---

“Hey, it looks like Leo is going to be the one giving you a ride home.”

Luhan froze halfway through pulling on his shirt as he just stared at Minseok in shock.  “Huh?”

“Ken asked me to take him shopping for Valentine’s Day, and Leo can’t exactly go with, and three people can’t fit on a bike so…”  Minseok looked apologetic as he rambled on with his explanation, but that did little to set Luhan’s mind at ease.

“But I don’t think…”  Luhan trailed off as he considered how he could get out of what would most assuredly be the most awkward car ride of his life.

“I promise it won’t be that bad.  Leo is nice.  Really.”  Minseok reassured.

Luhan just laughed.  “To you maybe.  I’m pretty sure he hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you.”  Minseok said firmly, tone confident.

Luhan cocked his head to the side.  “How can you be so certain?”

Minseok blushed lightly.  “I just know, okay?  I promise it’ll be fine.  I’ll even tell him to be nice to you if you think that will help.”

“That’s not necessary.”  Luhan said with a snort as he sat down on the bench in front of the lockers and set about getting on his shoes, trying to focus on something else.  It wasn’t very effective.

Minseok laughed as he knelt down beside him and took the laces from his fingers.  “Did your mom always tie your shoes at home?”

Luhan let out a laugh as Minseok set about tying his shoes with an intense look of concentration on his face.  “No, I usually can tie them just fine.”

“Not from what I’ve seen.”  Minseok responded as he moved on to the other foot.

Luhan sighed.  “Well, maybe if you’d stop doing things to make me anxious, I’d be able to tie them.”

“A car ride with Leo is nothing to be nervous about.  Those feel alright?”  Minseok asked as he looked up from his spot in front of Luhan on the floor.

Luhan nodded.  “They’re fine, and I didn’t say I was nervous.”

Minseok stood from the floor while dusting off his hands with a small laugh.  “No, you were… what did you say?  Anxious?  I’m pretty sure nervous is a synonym to that.”

“But it is a different word.”  Luhan retorted, standing up alongside him.

Minseok shrugged.  “Well there is no need for you to be anxious either.  It’s ten minutes.  What could happen?”

Luhan shrugged, he really didn’t want to know.

---

When they got outside the building, Leo and Ken were there waiting.  Luhan hung back for a few seconds, hesitant as Minseok walked forward to whisper something to Leo that Luhan couldn’t hear, but as he pulled back his expression was rather serious before he turned to Ken with a smile.

The two made their way over to Minseok’s bike, from which they both offered waves before getting on their way. 

Luhan hadn’t moved from his spot just outside the door even as the two pulled out of the lot, and Leo raised an eyebrow. 

“Did you forget something?”

Luhan started slightly as his soft voice carried over the silence.   “No.”

“Well then let’s go.”  Leo moved to get into the driver’s side of the car, and Luhan nodded dutifully as he moved himself away from the building and towards the passenger side door.

He took a deep, steadying breath before pulling on the handle.  At the very least he reminded himself, Leo had said he would drive him home.  Therefore, at the very least, Leo probably didn’t actually hate him even if it sometimes seemed like it. 

Of course, that left a whole range of other less than desirable emotions still on the table, but Luhan tried not to think about that too much as he climbed into the car and buckled his seatbelt. 

It was ten minutes.  He could do this.

For the first couple moments, it was silent as Leo turned the keys in the ignition, backed the car out of its space and made for the exit of the parking lot, but as they pulled out onto the street, Leo’s voice broke the silence.

“Minseok said you’re single.”

Luhan jumped slightly at his words.  He had kind of expected for the ride to go on in awkward silence for ten minutes, not for Leo, of all people, to start a conversation, and even if he had anticipated a conversation, he definitely wouldn’t have thought it would entail discussing his love life.  Still, Leo had asked.  It’d be rude not to answer, and besides, Leo was his only way home without walking an obscenely long distance.  Keeping him happy seemed like a good idea.

“Yeah.”  Luhan responded simply.

“But you have dated.”  Leo responded, voice assured.

Luhan nodded once, noting how Leo had redirected his gaze to the rearview mirror in an effort to see his face.  “On and off.  Nothing too serious though.”

“Why not?”  Leo asked as he stopped at a corner to make a right turn onto the main road.

“Huh?”  Luhan asked, not quite following the question.  Apparently, even if he decided to talk, lots of words were a premium feature for Leo.

“Why were none of them serious?”  Leo clarified as they pulled out onto the road.

Luhan sighed and looked out the window.  He didn’t really want to be having this conversation.  Especially not with Leo of all people, but there were still at least five more minutes to go before he could get out of the car.  He had to answer somehow.

“Things didn’t work for one reason or another.”

“What kinds of reasons?”  Leo persisted, eyes back on the road as he carefully navigated the slightly busier thoroughfare.

Luhan wasn’t really sure how to answer that.  There were lots of reasons.  None of them were ones he particularly felt like sharing with this newly inquisitive iteration of Leo.  He’d have never thought it possible, but he was starting to miss silent, glaring Leo a lot.  Finally, Luhan settled on what he figured was both the most succinct, and least detailed answer he could give.

“Basically, there either was no physical attraction or all we had was physical attraction.  Makes it pretty hard to build a lasting relationship.” 

“But you’d like one?”  Leo asked, turning to face Luhan as he pulled to a stop at a traffic light.

His gaze was intimidating, but Luhan resisted the urge to shrink away.  “A lasting relationship?”  Luhan asked, making sure he had successfully followed the linkage of thoughts in Leo’s mind.

Leo nodded once, gaze still intense.

Luhan, met his eyes with his own, the whole situation feeling very much like a test he would lose either by looking away again or by offering the incorrect answer to Leo’s current question.  Of those two things, maintaining eye contact was difficult, but manageable.  However, Luhan still wasn’t really sure what the correct answer was.  In the end, he figured the honest one was pretty good.  “Yeah.  It may sound sentimental, but I’d like one.”

Leo stared at him for a few more seconds before the shrilling of a car horn had him turning back towards the road to start driving again.

It was silent for a few moments, and just as Luhan wondered if they were back to silent Leo, he opened his mouth and said, “It’s not sentimental.”

“Huh?”  Luhan asked, not following.

“It’s not sentimental.  It’s good.”  Leo repeated firmly. 

“Wanting a lasting relationship?” Luhan asked, still somewhat confused.

Leo nodded once, then asked, “Do your parents know?”

Luhan blinked once, trying once again to follow Leo’s train of thought.  It was a rather tiring process, but it didn’t take him too long to arrive at an answer.  “What?  That I’m gay?”

Leo nodded once again as Luhan took note that they were turning into campus.  One minute to go.

“They know.” 

Leo didn’t respond, as he turned into the parking deck and began to wind his way up the ramps in search of an open space, but once he pulled in to a space he turned and asked, “And?”

Luhan considered not answering.  He could just open the door and run away now that they were where they needed to be, but that would have been childish, and besides, this was a question he could answer. 

“And they’re fine with it.  Well, kind of.”  Luhan conceded as Leo raised an eyebrow.

“Kind of?”  Leo asked.

Luhan nodded.  “Part of them would rather I’d be normal, you know?  Think it’d make my life easier and all that, but they get that I’m not, and they let me live the way I want so yeah, kind of.”

Leo nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied.  “Do you want to get dinner?”

No, Luhan did not want to get dinner.  He wanted to run out of this weird car and this weird conversation and never look back.  However, he was also keenly aware that the list of people Leo had ever invited to dinner couldn’t be very long, and Minseok liked Leo, so he couldn’t be all bad, even if he had a penchant for asking oddly invasive questions, so Luhan said yes, praying the interrogation portion of the evening was over.

It was, and it wasn’t.  Luhan wasn’t exactly sure what he had expected when he had decided to agree to eat with Leo after their strange little car ride, but he definitely hadn’t expected Leo to switch in to almost… friendly conversation.  However, that was exactly what he did as they settled down across from each other to eat their respective plates of food.

He asked about Luhan’s Yoga classes, curious as to whether or not they actuallyhelped with sports performance.  He asked about Luhan’s other friends, surprising Luhan when he remembered all their names even though he’d only learned them the night before.

In turn, also to Luhan’s surprise, Leo answered a few of Luhan’s own questions, clarifying that he had known Minseok since high school and even getting all blushy and lowering his face dangerously close to his plate of food as Luhan asked what he thought Ken had wanted to go buy him for Valentine’s day. 

His reaction made Luhan laugh.  It was cute and unexpected, and by the end of the evening, Luhan was beginning to realize that Leo really was capable of normal conversation, well minus one more question about whether Luhan had anyone he liked currently, which Luhan fumbled through as best he could, trying not to look too depressed about it. 

However, that only served to make his car ride interrogation all the more baffling because, if Leo knew what normal conversations were supposed to be like, why had he conducted one so entirely odd?

Maybe, Luhan thought as they spilt ways and headed to their respective buildings, his impression that he was being tested was correct.  And maybe, the fact that they’d then proceeded to have relatively normal conversation over dinner meant he’d passed.

Of course, that still left Luhan to wonder just what kind of test he’d actually been taking, but he decided not worry about it too much because, whatever it was, it had made Leo stop giving him glares he couldn’t interpret, meaning it was most likely a good thing. 

---

Leo watched Luhan walk away towards his dorm, thoughtful.  He’d given good answers.  He hadn’t, from what he could tell, been lying, and then their conversation over dinner had been pleasant.  Leo was beginning to understand how Minseok had managed to fall so fast, and at this point, he was pretty sure it wasn’t a bad thing, which was why, when Minseok walked in later that evening, Leo looked up from his spot on the couch and said, “I like him.”

Minseok started, clearly unsure of what Leo meant.  “Like who?”

“Luhan.”

Minseok blinked twice, before his eyes widened in horror.  “What did you do?”

“I asked him questions.”  Leo responded, undisturbed by Minseok’s reaction.

“What kinds of questions?”  Minseok demanded, walking into the living room to stand in front of Leo on the couch.

Leo shrugged.  “The kind that let me know he’s a person you could be happy with.”

Minseok’s eyes widened further.  “You didn’t tell him anything did you?  He doesn’t even know I’m gay.”

Leo eyes blinked once.  He hadn’t known that.  It explained why Luhan had looked so depressed when he had decided to slide in a question asking whether Luhan liked anyone during their dinner conversation. 

“You should tell him.” 

Minseok began to rapidly shake his head.  “No I shouldn’t.  It’d only make things more complicated.”

“Or less complicated.”  Leo offered.

“No, it’d definitely make them more.  Rule number 3, remember?”

Leo sighed, Minseok was nothing if not stubborn.  “Just think about it, alright?”

Minseok shook his head.  “No, definitely not, and don’t you say anything either, got it?”

Leo nodded dutifully.  He’d keep his mouth shut, for now.

---

<3 See you next week and as usual thanks for subs, comments, and upvotes.  ^^