i made him cry | tincan

It started when Can turned up at Pete's door a week after his 'date' with Tin. Both Pete and Ae worried about Can, who seemed to be growing quieter and quieter as the days went on. Ae had tried talking to him but he was usually met with a quick 'I'm fine' from the smaller boy who then shuffled away from him.

Pete was happy that Tin was expressing interest in Can. Pete wanted Tin to have someone that he could trust and be happy with but after seeing Can in this state, Pete wondered if he was right to try and set them up in the first place.

Although Ae didn't like Pete talking about Tin with him, he wanted them to be friends. Pete saw an opportunity for Tin to prove himself to Ae by making one of Ae's best friends happy, but it seemed as though Can was more miserable than ever.

Now, as Can stood at his door with a sad frown on his face, Pete knew he had to step up and help his friends.

"Can?" Pete said to the boy fidgeting in the doorway.

"Pete... can I come in?" Can said, much more down-trodden than Pete had ever seen the excitable boy ever before.

"Of course," Pete said, stepping out of the way to let Can in. The boy trudged in, as if he was unsure if he was allowed to be in Pete's house.

Pete looked to Can who was awkwardly standing near the couch but not sitting down, "Did you want to talk about something?"

Can frowned even more than he was already, before dropping miserable to the couch. He nodded but showed no signs of starting the conversation, opting to instead stare at his fidgeting hands.

Pete stayed silent for about two minutes before he sighed, "I'll get you something to drink."

As Pete walked into the kitchen and started to retrieve glasses from the cupboard, he heard Can walk up next to him. Once again, the boy stayed silent, as if he wanted Pete to start the conversation for him.

Eventually, Can spoke up, 'Pete... How do you know if you want to date someone?"

Pete turned to look at Can as the boy sat on the kitchen floor and curled in on himself, "This is about Tin?"

"No!" Can whined, "Just in general..."

Pete sighed and sat next to the boy on the floor, "What happened?"

"I may have... asked him to be just friends..." Can pouted.

Pete was shocked at that. Tin genuinely liked Can and although Can had no obligation to reciprocate his feelings, Pete had assumed from the non-stop pouting and dramatic sighing that Can liked Tin back. Pete had thought, if anything, Tin would be the one to withhold his feelings, not Can.

"Oh? But I thought you felt the same way as Tin. If you wanted to just be friends with him, then why did you go on a date with him? Why did you kiss him?" Pete said.

"Cause he pushed me!" Can said, and Pete noticed that the boy was near close to tears at this point, "He just wouldn't stop pushing for more and I... I just... I don't know how I feel. I haven't had any time to think about it!"

Pete saw the way Can's face crumpled and his hands started to shake and gathered the boy in his arms, giving him a reassuring hug.

"It's okay, Can. You have time to think about it now. We can talk about it together," Pete said.

Can sniffled, "I don't know if I like him or not, Pete, but I really hurt him today."

"Can," Pete started, "You said you wanted to be just friends to him, right?"

"Mmm," whined Can.

Pete thought of a way to convince the other boy, "What if tomorrow you saw Tin with a girlfriend or boyfriend, would you still want to be friends with him?"

"I mean, I'd be a pretty shit friend if I didn't, just cause he started dating someone," Can said.

"Okay, what if Tin told you that he doesn't like you anymore but he has a crush on someone else. And he wants to start chasing that person instead. How would that make you feel?" Pete asked.

Can hesitated, "...Bad."

Pete smiled, "And why?"

Can frowned, "If he likes me, he should keep liking me! He shouldn't get over me in a day!"

"Can," Pete started, "Do you want him to get over you?"

The smaller boy hesitated again, but this time Pete could see his red eyes were shiny again, "...No."

"Why not?" Pete asked.

Can seemed to think about it for a long time, "...Because I want it to be different when he's with me. I want to be special to him."

Pete saw the moment that it dawned on him.

"Oh my god, I like him, don't I?" Can said before burying his face in his knees, hands wringing through his own hair.

Pete laughed, patting the boy on the back, "Yep. Yeah you do."

"But I'm not even gay!" Can yelled.

"You have a crush on a boy," Pete said blankly.

Can grumbled frustratedly.

...

hello all,
to celebrate the lbc s2 teaser dropping, have this tin/can one-shot i found whilst cleaning my wip folder
xx jojo