Friend from the wild side ( AePete AU )

Chapter 8

At first, Ae couldn't believe his eyes. He thought he completely made up the sleeping boy by his side in a dream, but when he woke up again and saw the takeaway containers in his bin and the boy still snoozing next to him, he felt convinced. How much time has passed? When he woke up the first time and ate the food, Pete was wearing his white shirt, but now he was dressed in a patched up T-shirt Ae recognised as one of his own. Sky behind the windows was also different, it was dark with a hint of pink on a horizon, a sunrise. It was barely 6am when Ae left the bed, unable to fall asleep again as he gathered his thoughts. Upon realising he slept an entire day and night, Ae quickly woke himself up and left the room to shower and make some food. His stomach was painfully empty and there was no way something small as an apple would satisfy him.

"Are you awake now?" Ae asked when a wobbly figure appeared in the kitchen doorway. He chuckled; Pete looked cute in his shirt, with his hair all fluffed up and face puffy. Pete yawned. He had to blink several times to register what he was seeing. Ae by the stove, wearing nothing but an apron. As if the man knew what the boy's thoughts were, he turned around, pointing at his lower half. "I'm wearing shorts, I'm not naked." "Sorry, it just looked like it." Pete yawned again. He sniffed around, looking over Ae's shoulder into the pan. It smelled heavenly and his tummy did a happy flip, but his eyes couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. "Uhm...what is that?" "An omelette, can't you tell?" Ae frowned. Sure his cooking skills were not a Michelin chef standard, but as long as it tasted good he couldn't care less for its aesthetic presentation. "Just go sit down, breakfast will be done in a second." "Sit down..." Pete looked around the tiny kitchen that severely lacked any kind of chair or a table. "There, silly." Ae said, shooing him back to the main area.

Pete didn't know what to call this. With the little sofa and TV, it was more of a living room rather than a bedroom, despite Ae's bed in the corner. With a coffee table in the middle and a shelf case by the wall, the room wasn't empty, and Pete was surprised how clean and tidy everything looked. When yesterday Ae spent the day in bed, Pete used it as an opportunity to snoop around, looking for a sign of any other person living here, but couldn't find anything. He appreciated very much how spotlessly clean Ae's bathroom was and the way his closet smelled of freshly washed clothes. He couldn't imagine Ae doing laundry and even though it all smelled fresh, Pete still chose a t-shirt Ae draped over the sofa that still smelled like him. Pete sat down on the edge of the bed, but Ae promptly hushed him away with 'I don't eat in bed' and pointed at the sofa. He then promptly came with two plates of very chunky omelette draped over a mountain of rice and handed Pete a spoon while he grabbed himself a plastic fork.

As strange as the messy omelette looked, Pete couldn't stop himself from gobbling up the entire plate and happily smiling with full stomach. "Thank you...Uhm...are you feeling better? When you-" "I'll speak when I finish my meal." Ae said firmly. "We will have a talk, don't worry. Just go wash your plate." "But-" Ae shot him a warning glare that made Pete to promptly scurry into the kitchen to do that simple task. "So what happened after the hospital? I remember picking you up at the university and then we went to see Lisa...I think?" Ae scratched his nape as they sat side by side on his bed. He hated not remembering during hangovers, but this wasn't that case. Pete shrugged. "Nothing much. I left the hospital to get a care package, and when I came back you were passed out. Neither me nor miss Lisa could wake you up, so Jin carried you to my car and he drove us here and left. I ordered some food and left you some if you woke up, which you probably did, given that you finished it all, but yesterday you were fully asleep all day and...well I clearly stayed over. Are you mad?"

Ae had to think for a moment about his answer. Sure Pete asked before if he can come over, but he's never actually invited him here and now he was in Ae's apartment, in his bed, in his clothes. He felt his privacy violated but at the same time there was a big gratitude towards the boy he couldn't deny. "No." Ae shook his head. "What about Lisa? And my motorcycle?" "Miss Lisa is fine, they let her go home yesterday. As for your motorcycle, it's parked downstairs. Jin brought it." Pete pointed at the window. When Ae took a peek to make sure, he gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks." "Miss Lisa said you don't have to worry about the money." Pete said as he leaned against the wall. Ae didn't have to think twice as to what it meant. He knew what he earned in fights wasn't enough to cover Lisa's bill. "Did you pay for it?" Pete shuffled uncomfortably. "Did you or did you not?" Ae repeated the question that remained unanswered, even after the second time. He frowned and Pete panicked. "Only because she asked me to! She said if I offer you the money you will flip out and say you hate charity or something like that, so she asked me directly!"