"Wow, I...I don’t even know what to say other than I'm so sorry to hear that you've been having such a hard time," Joshua replies. "You're always so cheery in your vlogs that I never would have guessed something was wrong."

"Oh my God." Rory makes eye contact with Joshua, smiling big. "You watch my videos? Tell me from which channel, the main one or the one for vlogs?"

"Would you look at me in a different light if I answered yes to both?" Joshua whispers, his anxiety rising until Rory shakes his head, not judging him at all. Joshua sighs in relief.

"So, this will probably sound like a shitty thing to say, but I'm actually glad my computer died, because now I finally have an excuse to take a break from everything," Rory confesses. "Be honest. Do you think I'm a terrible person for feeling this way? I know my fans will want to riot after I announce I'm taking a break while I search for a new computer to buy."

"Rory, you should never feel like you have to constantly put out content for us. If you ever want to take a break, then take a break. If you don’t, you'll just end up working yourself to death and I... no one wants that for you," Joshua replies, resting a hand on Rory’s shoulder. "Your real fans will understand, and they won't get upset. Plus, as a side note, I know a thing or two about computers. I can text you a list of recommendations later, if you’d like."

Rory nods, thanking him. "You're way too nice to me, Joshua. Seriously. Most of the people that I meet always end up asking something from me before we part ways. Ever since I got a little clout thanks to my YouTube fame, it's made me look at people in a different light. So far, I’ve been able to tell the real from the fake. But with you... I don't know what it is about you, but I can't sense you being anything but a decent human being, an overall good person inside and out." Rory looks away from Joshua, blushing at his own words. "What about you?" Rory asks, his voice soft and quiet. "I told you a secret, now you have to tell me one."

I like you, Joshua thinks to himself. I like you so much that it hurts...

"I like to sing," Joshua blurts out instead. "I've been singing and writing songs for a few years now. It's a secret passion of mine, and only two other people know this about me. I-I honestly can't believe that I just told you—"

"You totally have to sing something for me now," Rory interrupts, playfully bumping shoulders with Joshua. "Pretty, pretty please?"

“Absolutely not!” Joshua laughs, shaking his head. "Maybe some other time, though."

"Ah. I'm going to hold you to that, so don’t forget." Rory warns, still smiling, and before he or Joshua can say another word, Rory gets an incoming call that he promptly declines. "We should probably head back downstairs. I'm sure your friend must be looking for you."

Knowing that definitely isn't the case, Joshua scoffs. "That horn-dog is probably hitting a home run in the backseat of someone's car right now. I'm sure I'm the last thing on Lucas’ mind."

“Oh my.” Rory laughs while heading towards the door, Joshua walking behind him.

Joshua only notices that his shoelaces have come undone when it’s much too late and he’s already tripping and falling forward. Rory, not having been fast enough to turn around and catch him, goes down with Joshua after he grabs hold of Rory’s shirt at the last second, thinking it would prevent him from falling. It doesn't.

They both end up on the ground, laughing and tangled up in each other.

"Are you naturally this clumsy or do you just enjoy being in my arms?" Rory teases while Joshua stares at him with a mortified, but also ridiculously cute, expression on his flustered face. Rory’s hands tighten on Joshua’s waist as the boy tries to move away from him. "Wait a minute," Rory whispers, ignoring the thousand apologies that Joshua is busy muttering. Rory flips their position to where he hovers over Joshua, their lower halves touching. Joshua's expression quickly shifts from apologetic to confused. "There's something that I have been wanting to do for a while now," Rory admits, suddenly looking nervous. "I need to get it out of my system before I end up going crazy, and it’ll all be because of you..."

"Rory..." Joshua feels that in this exact moment, he can read Rory Carter’s mind. 

Joshua can almost sense when it happens, sense something shifting within himself. Joshua’s confidence gets a mega boost, desire pooling in his stomach as he moves his arms up and loops them around Rory's neck. Joshua carefully pulls Rory’s face down while tilting his own head upwards, his lips now centimeters away from Rory's.

"Is this what you want?" Joshua whispers, his gaze hot and heavy. Rory licks his own lips, nodding, unable to speak. Joshua can see the hesitancy that dances in Rory’s enchanting brown eyes, it's as clear as day...just like Rory’s bulging erection. "Do you want to kiss me, Rory?"

Rory slips into his native tongue and answers in Korean.

Joshua smiles, knowing only a handful of Korean but he’s pretty sure that Rory just answered ‘yes’ to his question, to which Joshua sweetly replies, “I want to kiss you too.”

“Then do it,” Rory encourages, staring at Joshua’s lips.

“Okay.” Joshua, not at all focused on whether this will later turn out to be a colossal mistake or not, closes what little space had been left between their bodies as he finally does the one thing that he's been yearning to do for years—kiss Rory Carter.