Chapter Text
Necati didn’t reply for a while. The hours stretched into an eternity, each second tightening the knot of anxiety in Remzi’s chest. When his phone finally buzzed, it was like a lifeline.
“Meet me. Usual spot.”
The “usual spot” was an old park bench tucked away in a quiet corner of the neighborhood. They’d gone there countless times over the years, escaping their chaotic lives for stolen moments of peace. But now, the air around it felt different—charged, heavy.
Necati was already there when Remzi arrived. He sat hunched forward, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped tightly together. His usual carefree demeanor was gone, replaced by a tension that made Remzi’s chest tighten.
“Hey,” Remzi said softly as he sat down beside him.
Necati didn’t look at him, his gaze fixed on the ground. “Hey.”
The silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating, but neither seemed to know how to break it. Finally, Necati let out a bitter laugh, his hands running through his fur.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, his voice raw. “About… everything.”
Remzi swallowed hard. “Me too.”
“And?” Necati glanced at him, his eyes filled with exhaustion and something else—something darker, more desperate. “Did you figure out how we’re supposed to make this work? Because I haven’t.”
Remzi shook his head, his voice barely audible. “I don’t know.”
Necati’s laugh this time was harsher, almost a bark. “Then what the hell are we doing, Remzi? What’s the point of any of this if it’s just going to destroy us both?”
“I don’t know!” Remzi’s voice cracked, his frustration spilling over. “I don’t know how to stop this, Necati. I don’t know how to stop… wanting you.”
Necati froze, his breath hitching. When he finally turned to look at Remzi, the intensity in his gaze was almost too much to bear. “You think I don’t feel the same way?” he asked, his voice trembling. “You think I don’t lie awake at night, wishing I could just forget what it feels like to have you touch me? To kiss me?”
Remzi’s heart pounded in his chest, each word sinking into him like a brand. He reached out without thinking, his hand resting on Necati’s arm.
“Then why are we running from it?” he asked, his voice low.
Necati’s breath quickened, his gaze flickering between Remzi’s eyes and his lips. “Because this is wrong,” he whispered, even as he leaned closer. “Because we’re going to ruin everything if we don’t stop.”
“Then stop me,” Remzi murmured, closing the distance between them.
Their lips collided in a kiss that was anything but gentle. It was messy and desperate, filled with all the frustration and longing they’d both been bottling up. Necati’s trunk curled around Remzi’s neck, pulling him closer as their breaths mingled.
Remzi’s hands roamed instinctively, gripping Necati’s shoulders, sliding down his back, desperate to feel more. Necati responded in kind, his hands tangling in Remzi’s shirt as he deepened the kiss.
Every touch, every movement was electric, a release of the tension that had been building for weeks. Remzi’s mind screamed at him to stop, to pull back before it went too far, but his body refused to listen.
Necati’s lips moved to his jaw, his trunk brushing against Remzi’s cheek as his hands gripped him tighter. “Remzi…” he whispered, his voice a mix of need and anguish.
The sound of his name on Necati’s lips broke through the haze, and reality crashed down around them.
Necati pulled back abruptly, his chest heaving as he put distance between them. “We can’t,” he said, his voice shaking. “Not like this.”
“Necati, wait—”
“No.” Necati’s voice was firm, but his eyes betrayed him, glistening with unshed tears. “I can’t do this. I can’t be the reason you tear your family apart.”
“You’re not—”
“I am,” Necati cut him off, his tone bitter. “And you know it.”
Remzi’s heart shattered at the pain in Necati’s voice, but he couldn’t deny it.
“Then what are we supposed to do?” he asked, his voice breaking.
“I don’t know,” Necati whispered, his shoulders slumping. “But I can’t keep doing this, Remzi. I can’t keep… wanting you like this.”
He stood before Remzi could stop him, his movements hurried and desperate. “I need space,” he said, his voice trembling. “I can’t think clearly when I’m around you.”
And then he was gone, leaving Remzi alone on the bench.
The cold night air felt suffocating as Remzi sat there, his chest tight and his mind spinning. He knew Necati was right—knew this couldn’t go on.
But as he touched his lips, still tingling from their kiss, he realized that letting go of Necati might be the one thing he wasn’t strong enough to do.