“You’re wearing my hoodie,” he finally said as he stepped forward and closed the door behind him, keeping his eyes on Riley.
He looked at his chest and back at Josh with a sheepish expression.
“Uh, yeah, it smelled like you, and I was… I missed you, so I threw it on. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it is, we’ve always borrowed each other’s clothes,” Josh said, closing the distance between them and wrapping Riley in a warm hug. He could feel the stress leech out of Riley’s body as he held him. He’d likely been as anxious to hear about the letter as Josh.
Josh finally released Riley and pulled out his keys and wallet and took off his winter gear, then washed his hands in the kitchen. This talk required snacks.
“I’m grabbing nutritional reinforcements,” he told Riley, who watched his movements like a hawk. “You can get cozy again and I’ll join you in a second.”
Riley retreated to the couch while Josh raided the cabinet and made some hot cocoa to go with the cookies they had for special occasions.
He topped his own mug with minimarshmallows and put whipped cream on Riley’s, just the way they liked it.
When he plopped on the couch next to Riley and set their treats on the coffee table, he could practically feel Riley vibrating out of his skin.
“It seems like you had a good visit with Auntie Chen?” Riley asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, it was great. She says hi by the way.”
“Hi, Auntie,” he said shyly. Riley had met her a handful of times over the years on some grocery excursions. He didn’t always tag along, though, saying he didn’t want to butt in on Josh’s time there. Josh had been confused at first, since he usually dragged Riley everywhere he went, but Riley had explained that Josh deserved that space since he’d lost it growing up.
Riley grabbed his mug and cradled it in his hands, sneaking a quick lick of the whipped cream. Josh clocked the movement and reminded himself to focus. He could snag a taste of Riley when they were finished with this conversation.
“So, come on, I’m dying here,” Riley said, disrupting Josh's naughty thoughts. “Tell me how it went.”
Josh took his own mug and a cookie and started dunking it in the hot liquid as he spoke.
“I told Auntie Chen everything and showed her the letter. She read it easily, thankfully.”
One of the reasons Chinese was such a difficult language to learn for English speakerswas that different dialects still used the same exacthanzi. The characters were the same, but the language changed, and there wasn’t actually an English alphabet to correlate it with. People developed one based on the sounds, of course, but it wasn’t meant to be used that way. He was so thankful that Auntie Chen spoke and read the same dialect as his parents, likely since they’d all emigrated from Hong Kong.
Josh still didn’t quite understand how the map worked in China. It was divided into provinces, kind of like Canada, but there were also regions. And Hong Kong itself was considered a special administrative region, which he didn’t really understand. Maybe it was like how Washington, D.C., was its own… thing. Geography was hard. They hadn’t spent nearly enough time on it in school, and when they did it had mostly been about Europe or North America.
“And, uh, what did it say?” Riley asked. “I mean, if you want to tell me. You don’t have to if you want to keep it for yourself.”
Josh couldn’t help but smile at how sweet his… Wait. Was Riley his boyfriend? They’d never discussed that part.
“Are we boyfriends?”
Riley blinked at him, opening his mouth to say something before closing it again. He shook his head and managedto say, “Yes?”
Josh couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you asking me or telling me?”
“I’d love to be your boyfriend, if that’s what you want.”
Riley’s hand settled on Josh’s thigh, giving it a squeeze.
Josh let go of his mug with one of his hands and placed it on Riley’s. Riley turned his over and threaded their fingers together.
“Yeah, Ri, I want to be your boyfriend.”
Riley smiled, and it calmed everything in Josh.
Josh squeezed his hand and tried to refocus on their conversation.
“The letter is about finding the perfect partner for me, and you’re it, Ri. You’re everythingMamadreamed I would have one day.”
