"I still think it's going to blow up if you keep dating her." 

He really does think that, it isn't just that he's — 

"You're probably right." He smooshes his head into Chen's shoulder. "You're such a good friend."

He cradles Ben and very quietly glows. 

(If he knew, he wouldn't say that. Still.) 

He feels-- better, having told someone and not having them judge him.

It feels like a load off his mind.

"If I break up with her will you hold me afterward?"

"Of course I will. — I'd hold you even if you didn't, you know that." 

"I know! You're really sweet."

"I try." Ben's hair is very soft. 

Ben breaks up with Audrey.

She cries. She stomps her foot. She calls him awful names. She says that she'll never love anybody ever again, and then she says she'll date Chad, and it might be to make him jealous but honestly the thing he feels is relief.

And that night he curls up in Chen's lap and cries into his shoulder and shakes and falls apart and doesn't say anything at all.

He cradles Ben and pets his hair and sings, very quietly, just so Ben has something to focus on, and holds him firmly together and lets him fall apart, and doesn't say any of the things he's thinking. 

"Your voice is beautiful."

"Thank you." Hairpets. "— if you want I can switch to English." 

"No, I like it. I just wish I knew what it meant." Maybe if he wraps his fingers around Chen's and doesn't comment on it Chen won't comment on it either. "Maybe I should try to learn Chinese."

"I'm not the best teacher but I've heard having native speakers around helps." He won't comment but he will squeeze Ben's hand. 

"I can say"-- he switches to Chinese-- "'hello, I'm so glad to be here in the wonderful country of China.'" His accent is atrocious.

He laughs a little, not unkindly, and corrects the pronunciation. 

Ben eventually gets it right!

His smile is huge.

He's so good. He's so, so good. Chen never wants him to stop smiling like that. 

He will just have to keep cuddling Chen and then he won't!

An excellent solution all around. 

The next morning, once Ben has gone off to class, Asher appears in Chen's room.

"Can we talk?"

He doesn't know what this is about. 

(He has a sinking feeling that he knows what this is about.) 

"Yes, of course." 

"Ben likes you. A lot."

"And I like Ben a lot." 

"--Ben is the most important person in my life."

"He's very quickly becoming the most important person in mine."