Connor landed on his ass, hard. He’d made a mistake. No, it was more than a mistake. This was a disaster.

Stunned on the hardwood floor, words failed him– though truly, what excuse could Connor even offer for trying to kiss his uncle’s boyfriend? It didn’t matter that he and Inho were close in age, or that they were friends from college. It was no defense that Connor had liked Inho for years, and it definitely wasn’t important how perfect Inho looked when he smiled. None of that mattered. But it sure felt like it did. And when they’d shared a moment on the couch a few seconds ago, Connor had committed treason.

He’d leaned in to kiss his unrequited, forbidden, and obviously inappropriate crush and Inho had swatted him to the ground like a fucking mosquito.

Now, Inho stood over him, eyes wild. He gulped a breath then bent to check that Connor wasn’t hurt. Inho was so stupid and nice. Of course, he would check on the guy who’d just tried to force a kiss on him. 

Connor felt the hot sting of tears and pulled his knees in close to his chest. Maybe if he fainted, everyone would leave? Then they could all pretend this didn't happen. Just another silly family memory to store away forever. He could bring it up in a speech at their wedding, “Hey Uncle Stephen, remember the time I tried to kiss Inho? Hilarious!” And they’d all laugh together at the foolish indiscretions of youth. Did he still get that pass? 

Inho was saying something. Connor ignored it, pressing his face harder against his knees.

This had been his chance! He’d held it in for three years, and here, finally, moving from his small conservative hometown in Canada to his first apartment in Seattle he’d intended to leave his doomed crush behind.  If only Stephen and Inho hadn’t insisted on helping him move. 

But Stephen had left Connor and Inho alone to take a call, leaving them awkwardly seated side-by-side on the lonesome couch in the otherwise empty living room, and something had happened. Inho was making his usual cheerful inane small talk. Then, while laughing about some small joke he’d made, unaware of how Connor’s eyes lingered on his full lips, oblivious of how the woodsy scent of his shampoo tickled Connor’s nose, he had reached over to brush some paint dust off the tip of Connor’s ear. Dust. What an odd thing to ruin a person’s life. How unglamorous.

Inho had reached for the dust. For an instant, their faces had been too close. Their eyes had met, and...

Connor had fucked up. And now he was the goddamn Judas of kissing other people’s boyfriends.

He held in a hearty sniffle, his breathing was sharp and shallow. Only an instant had passed since their lips had met, but his butt stung like crazy from falling off the couch when Inho shoved him away.

It was probably best to just reincarnate at this point. He’d had a good run– 21 years? Might as well just retire from life. It wasn’t on a high point, but it was fine. Stephen was going to come back in and Inho would be all: “Your creepy nephew just tried to kiss me!”

Connor could already imagine Stephen’s glare. He would look at him with such utter disgust, and that would be it. They’d leave him, he’d lose the only family member that he could trust, and the idiot he was in love with too. All because of a damn moment. 

At the peak of his despair, less than a minute after the incident, two things happened. First, a huge white thug with a buzzed head and a leather jacket barged into the room yelling, presumably to rob them– god, how unsafe was America? And second, a fat orange cat darted across the room like a gunshot and squirmed into Connor’s lap. 

Connor was then blessed with watching Inho move defensively between him and the man, as though Inho hadn’t been the one tossing him on his ass a second ago. 

“What are you doing?” the stranger asked. He wasn’t yelling anymore, which was a shame– If he was a murderer or whatever, that would really spare Connor a lot of hassle in the immediate future.

“Who are you?” Inho demanded. He was all puffed up like an angry cat and it was adorable, despite the circumstances. Connor considered getting up to help, not that he would be of any use. At any other time, he would drag this out to appreciate the delightful scene of Inho protecting him. But Inho did love to escalate situations, and this guy was just so much bigger than him. He looked like he liked to lift heavy things as a hobby. It would be a shame if he beat Inho up. Connor sighed, heavy with responsibility. He’d better defuse things until Stephen got back. 

Another stranger walked in, a deathly pale guy with obviously expensive clothes and dark circles under his eyes. He looked bored and apathetic, indifferent to the chaotic scene before him. He only cared about the first guy’s grocery bags, and he pawed through them, muttering something about chips. 

What an odd home invasion this was. America so far was terrible. Everything was terrible. On his knees, the chubby cat started to purr.