To See You Again [UWMA AU]

Chapter 13

Dean's heart was heavy with concern. He kept replaying the words he just heard a few hours ago. Liam's face wasn't one to be very expressive but at the time, Dean could clearly see that the man was displeased.

« ... I'm disappointed... »

He had not looked at the Thai man for the whole session and answered sternly to his questions about the lesson. Even though it was usual for the man to disappear once he was finished, Dean had hoped to be able to talk to him and apologize. But Liam had been too fast and the younger man was filled with remorse.

He sighed and silently followed his two friends out of the conference room. Fortunately, the rude man that they had fought before, had not lingered and they could not sight him any more, which was a relief.

As they were leaving the building, Dean crashed into Win who was walking in front of him.

« Shiia Win ! Don't stop like that ! »

« Look up Moron. » muttered back the blond man « You are in trouble ... »

Still annoyed at his best friend's unexpected stop, Dean shook his head and looked behind the two people in front of him. His eyes grew wide, not believing what he sighted. The thought of kissing his ex-boyfriend the night before had totally slipped his mind after the fight and more so after Liam's scolding. He never expected to see him yesterday and neither did he today at the end of his lessons. Grunting and mumbling in his breath, he walked past his friends, telling them that he will see them later and went to meet the overjoyed French man.

The brunette was waving his hand in the sky, greeting him in his exaggerated way and making everyone around them stare. Still very well conscious of the fiasco from the previous night at the party, Dean wasn't welcoming of this noisy greeting. Avoiding the hug that he felt was coming, he caught the man by his arm and dragged him toward the campus door, in the direction of a calm coffee shop around the corner. The dragged man silently and happily followed him asking loudly where they were going.

Once Dean reached the coffee shop he was aiming for, he greeted the staff and sat at one of the tables in a corner, sided by the shop front window. The dragged man, finally closed his mouth and was looking content, waiting for the waitress to take their order and for Dean to give him his attention.

« Qu'est-ce-que tu fais là Bastien ? (What are you doing here, Bastien ?) » were the first words that Dean uttered, in a low and raspy voice.

He was not really happy to find himself in this situation that he hadn't predicted at all. Although he knew for a fact that Bastien was French. Who wouldn't know when they had been dating for months ? But he was sure he told him he was studying in a southern city. The thought of letting Bastien know beforehand that he was coming to France never crossed his mind. Not even when he decided to study abroad, nor when he chose Lyon, neither when he was departing from Thailand. He just never took Bastien into account. Their story had already ended.

That made him unsettled and he rattled his brain to make sense of everything, including how he can deal with meeting with him and the aftermath of their kiss yesterday.

« Tu m'as manqué Dean. (I missed you Dean.) » said sweetly the man in front of him.

« We already broke up a long time ago. Cut the crap. »

The curt answer didn't even phase the French man, it even made him smile widely, his blue eyes ravishing the dark haired boy.

« I missed your grumpy mouth too. »

Bastien and Dean had met at the New Year party of last year. At the time, Dean had been trying to avoid the dream as it seemed to be a daily torture and an even more impossible futur meeting. Tipsy he had come upon Bastien and they drank a few too many glasses together. He had finally decided that the man was to his taste and they had ended up having sex. Upon recollecting thing on the next morning, over their hangover brunch, the brunet had announced that it was the best sex ever and proceeded to ask Dean for more. After a few nights of the repeating happening, they agreed that dating would make more sense. However, after less than half a year Bastien had had to go back home. Long distance and bad experiences pilling up, the separation was kinda welcomed, hence the break up initiated by Dean.

« You know I'm addicted to you, sweetheart. How come you didn't tell me ? About you coming here ? I was so surprised to find you at the deck yesterday. »

« And you thought that kissing me was the best greeting ? In front of everyone ?» ranted the man on the other side of the table.

« I have to admit, I was a bit drunk already ... I was confusing you with one of the many fantasies I had about seeing you again. »

Dean was angry with the man but he couldn't help to soften a bit. Even if he was troubled, Bastien wasn't a complete jerk to begin with. He might not have loved him back then, but he certainly did like him at some point.

« I realised the mistake I made, when the kiss felt more real than anything else. That's why I was stunned and couldn't help you with that guy afterward. »

Humming, Dean looked on the side not wanting to further the discussion on the fight. Guilt and regrets resulting from the earlier scolding came back to eat his heart. He was lost in his thoughts when the waitress came back with their drinks. He smiled faintly to Bastien and took a sip.

« I saw that Win is still all over you. »

« That's my best friend you are talking about Bastien ! » sternly reminded Dean.

« Right, right ! Let's not talk about upsetting things. I'm so happy to see you ! I don't want to argue with you. »

« Seriously Bastien, why are you here ? How did you even know where I was ? »

« Well ... this is my hometown. So there is no way I can't find you, when I knew about you being here. You can't escape me. »

Bastien was smiling tenderly at the black haired man, his hand moving over the table to grab the later's hand. Lost in his recollections and though Dean let him and felt his hand be tightened up. He returned the squeeze and took back his hand to round them around the cup of his hot drink. His feelings for Bastien had long gone except for friendship, maybe, and he didn't want the man in front of him to have mixed signals.

« Do you remember, not long before I had to go back, we went to that beach. It was such a beautiful sunny day ! »

« Quite different from now right ? » Dean added, a wry smile on his lips at the memorable time.

« Yeah, right ?! You might become a beautiful ice statue soon, with our winter and all ... »

Dean smiled at the teasing, falling back into a friendly banter with the man he had spent a few months with. It had not been all pink and fluffy but he had spent a good time dating Bastien and he didn't regret most of it. Bastien had been an adventure, a multicultural experience that had taught him a lot about understanding. He had learnt a lot and meeting him here could not be all that bad. He could relax and reminisce about their encounter, basking in the sunlight coming through the window.

While coming back from the restroom, Dean found Bastien on the phone and decided it was time he headed back home. He lined Win to ask him where he was and smiled at the brunet, signalling him that they should go.

Looking up after getting his vest from his chair, he found himself looking straight at dark green eyes belonging to a man that crossed the street in front of the shop. They diverted to look at the coming car and Dean took a deep breath, making his mind up in a flash. Checking which direction the muscular man took he quickly told Bastien that he had just remembered something he had to do urgently and dashed out of the coffee shop, running after Liam.

—————————————————-

What will be Bastien's role in this story ?

Don't hesitate to comment, vote or even share if you would like ^^.