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Tine handed him a red rose. Sarawat, confused, looked at it and back at Tine. "What's this?"
There was no answer from Tine. Sarawat noticed Tine was both avoiding eye contact and blushing and, as much as he loved the rosy look in his cheeks and how it somehow made him glow, he was confused as to why Tine would give him a rose out of nowhere.
Tine cleared his throat, "A rose. It's for you."
A little smile appeared on Sarawat lips, "I guessed as much, but why?"
He was confused. Why would Tine give him a flower? Did he want something? Was it his birthday? No, it wasn't, that had already passed like two months ago. Was it a special day? Sarawat was sure he kept track of all of them and today wasn't one of them.
"I just... wanted to give you one. Is it that weird that a boy wants to give his boyfriend a flower?" As sweet as that was, Sarawat knew Tine was lying. He decided to not press since it didn't seem like Tine wanted to tell him and accepted the flower.
"Hmm, it isn't." He closed his eyes as he smelt the flower. "Thanks, I like it." Sarawat felt Tine look at him and quickly made eye contact. "Not as much as I like you, though."
Sarawat's smile grew as he noticed that, even after all this time, Tine still blushed at his random confessions. "Shut up."
Before Tine complained, Sarawat quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek. He cut Tine's whine before it happened, "I'm gonna go put it in some water, don't miss me too much, little buffalo."
"You wish," Sarawat knew the words carried no malice, both of them knew Tine was the first one to text Sarawat an I miss you text with a line of sad and crying emojis if they spent more hours than usual apart. Sarawat smirked and went downstairs, his brain trying to come up with a reasonable as to why Tine would give him the rose he held in between his fingers.
The second rose surprises Sarawat. They were alone in the Music Club's band practice room, Sarawat deciding to stay behind to practice a new song CTRL S was going to perform in a few weeks and Tine tagging along because he was supposedly bored (Sarawat knew it was because he missed him, as he did as well after a long day of barely seeing each other), and Tine had supposedly gone to the bathroom. Sarawat paid no mind and kept playing until he saw a glimpse of red in front of him.
Sarawat looked up at Tine, slightly confused. Tine wore a shy smile on his face. "For you."
Another one? Sarawat was a bit shocked, Tine wasn't one to give him material things, the endless kisses at the wee of the night and the words spoken softly below their blankets being more than enough for both of them, so getting roses for two days in a row made him feel loved in a completely different way he had experienced before.
"I... Thank you, Tine." His voice coming out in a softer tone than he expected.
There were butterflies in his stomach and his smile came a little easier as he looked between the rose and Tine. Was this how he made Tine feel when he gave him the bracelet? The same bracelet that rested on the wrist that was handing him the rose. He moved the guitar aside and took the rose, touching the petals with extreme care. He didn't want them to tear off and break Tine's gift.
"You're welcome, Wat," Tine smiled as he sat down next to him.
Sarawat wanted nothing more than to kiss those beautiful rosy lips, so he carefully set the rose on top of the guitar and did so.
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth roses all happened during the same timeframe: right before they went to sleep.
During the first two, Sarawat guessed Tine simply forgot to give it to him and remembered just as they were getting cozy in their bed, but as the fifth and the sixth roses came the following days, Sarawat figured that was just going to be when Tine would give him the roses every day until he eventually stopped doing so.
Sarawat wasn't stupid, he knew there was a reason to the roses. He had tried to ask Tine, but his ears turned a bright shade of red and he just said it was a gift. It didn't sound right to him. Yes, Tine could give him gifts, but they both weren't materialistic people and had already talked about that while they were getting to know each other (and Sarawat entered Tine's heart like he owned the place). The last gift had been the bracelet they shared and that happened almost 11 months ago, back when they official moved in together and they were still in that phase of a bit of uncomfortableness between them when it came to being completely public.
That had been so long ago, but Sarawat remembered everything clearly. Every word, every touch, every smile, every tear. There had been some obstacles in the way but they had passed through all of them and were still together now. He had been loving Tine for so long, he barely remembers a time he didn't. His last year of high school being filled with endless searches of the boy he had seen, so bright and full of passion for the music he felt, and endless stares at the only photo he had of him, the only way he had of knowing that he was real and he was beautiful. That was followed by his first year of university, when Tine found him and gave him the chance of a lifetime, a chance to be his pretend boyfriend. Sarawat was over the roof. How could that happen to him? Was praying to god as useful as Man had told him? He didn't care, because he found the boy and he would make sure to never let him go. The school year had ended with them going to sleep for however many hours they needed at their shared apartment, the one they had gotten a few months back, because they were officially dating and they were exhausted after having studied for countless hours for two weeks. And now, on their second year of university, they were better than they had ever felt.
For Sarawat, loving Tine was so easy, so natural, so normal. He wanted to drip Tine in his love, make him feel it all, drown him in it. He wanted to give Tine everything, and if it took him his whole life to do so, then he would because he loved him, every tiny bit of him loved every tiny bit of Tine.
The seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth roses all happened during the same timeframe: right after Sarawat woke up.
The change had at first confused Sarawat, wasn't Tine supposed to give them to him by night? Why was he greeted with a rose in the kitchen?
His confusion must've been visible because Tine just smiled and kissed his forehead.
"You have to eat quickly or else you're gonna be late, sleepyhead," Tine told him as he gave him the seventh rose in a row for a week. "I made something but I wouldn't recommend eating it, so there's leftovers on the fridge if you don't want to lose more time."
Tine grabbed his wallet, his phone and the keys to the car his mom had gifted him after he finished his first year and as he was about to leave, he walked to where Sarawat was sitting, still looking at the rose like it had grown a head, and told him he was going to meet his mom today, followed by a light kiss on his lips, a 'see you later' and the door closing.
Sarawat's brain was a bit too slow to process everything as he was still zombie-like, and when it caught up to everything, Tine was already gone, he had a new rose on his hands and he was about to be really late for class. So he heated up the leftovers and went upstairs to change his clothes, not without first putting the rose on the glass of water where he kept the other six and reminding himself to change the glass for a bigger one and water them as soon as he came back home.
Sarawat thought that after the tenth rose, Tine would stop giving him roses.
He honestly had no reason as to why other than 10 seemed like a good round number. The best things were tens: good grades, high charting music, Tine. So when Tine didn't give him a rose right as he woke up on the eleventh day, he wasn't as surprised as he thought he would've been.
What he did feel, though, was a bit sad. Sarawat wouldn't admit it to anyone else other than maybe Tine, but he had gotten a bit used to the roses. They were all so pretty, and Sarawat was known to have a weakness for pretty. For example, Tine. He was as pretty as pretty could be, and Sarawat had found himself staring at Tine so many times he had had to stop himself from looking at his boyfriend countless of times because Tine just looked that fucking beautiful.
Just as Sarawat thought of how beautiful Tine was, he sat next to him on the cafeteria. Sarawat looked up and the familiar sight of Tine's fingers holding a bright red rose made him smile.
"Another one?" Tine nodded and he took the rose. "Well, today I'm not taking it as a gift because I actually have something in return."
Tine looked very confused and Sarawat tried to suppress his smirk as he handed him the Blue Hawaiian he had bought along with his Americano.
"It's not as beautiful as you are, but it's something," Tine's cheeks tainted themselves in a light pink as he took the drink.
"Thanks, dumbass," Tine murmured those words and had a sip, obviously shy after Sarawat's little 'gift'. Even after all these months, Tine got extra shy when Sarawat flirted and complimented him on public. Sarawat couldn't stop his smirk from showing, their eyes locking as he got closer to Tine's face.
"Aw, are you shy, baby?" Tine's eyes widened at the pet name. He had only used it in very few occasions and he knew how much it affected Tine. Sarawat felt proud of the bright blush on Tine's cheeks, he knew how much power his words had on him and every time it appeared he felt like giving himself a pat on the back and saying 'Well done'.
Tine lightly punched him in the arm as he tried not to smile. "Shut up, dumbass, don't use that word on public," Sarawat's smirk grew and he took the opportunity of being so close to Tine to kiss both his cheeks, feeling how hot they were on his lips.
"Yes, Mr. Teepakorn, I will never do that again," Sarawat joked and Tine couldn't help the smile from blooming in his face at his boyfriend's stupid acts.
A while after that, their friends joined them at the table, and all throughout the half an hour they could spend together, Sarawat's hand rested on Tine's thigh as Tine played with a loose thread from Sarawat's jacket.
For some reason, Sarawat couldn't sleep that night.
Tine was deep asleep next to him and he didn't want to wake him up, knowing how tired he had felt after cheerleader practice. So Sarawat started thinking about the 11 roses Tine had given him.
He was sure there had to be something behind it. Tine refused to tell him what they meant and insisted they were 'only a gift'. Only a gift, my ass. Tine was someone who forgot things, be it to bring his jacket, his books in the library after he was almost home or his phone in the locker of the cheerleader's changing room. For him to remember to give Sarawat a rose every day for 11 days straight, even as early as before Sarawat woke up (he would never understand how Tine could be a morning person), was a tiny bit suspicious.
So he went to his last resource: Google.
He grabbed his charging phone from his nightstand and opened it, the brightness blinding him a bit until he lowered it. He guessed searching 'what do 11 roses mean' wouldn't give him a definite answer since Tine could give him one the next day and it would then make no more sense, so he opted for 'flower meanings'. That should work, Sarawat thought as he pressed the 'Search' button.
The first thing that showed up were pictures with different types of flowers in them, which wasn't what he was looking for, so he skipped them. Next, there were links of websites from who Sarawat guessed were people who knew a lot about flowers, almost all titles having the words 'meaning', 'colour' and 'symbolism'.
<Flower Meanings by Type, Name, Color and Occasion - The Flower Expert>, the first link read. Sarawat thought it looked legit so he clicked on it. He started looking through the flowers to see if the red rose was there.
After a few weird but lovely flowers, he found the one he had already familiarized himself with and started reading the brief information the website gave.
Rose symbolizes love. It signifies love in its various forms.
Oh.
He scrolled down a bit to see if the website gave more information about roses other than that and, just as he was about to click on a recommended link about the meaning of roses, he saw it.
Did you know? 12 roses as a gift implies the "ultimate declaration of love", 25 roses convey "Congratulations!" and 50 roses express "Unconditional love"
Was Tine- Was Tine trying to tell him something? What did 'ultimate declaration of love' even mean? Sarawat was confused. He wanted to wake Tine up and ask him, but he knew better than to disturb an exhausted Tine. Instead of doing that, he decides to click the link he previously saw.
[...] Red roses convey deep emotions - be it love, longing or desire.
Okay, Sarawat had understood that. But why would Tine give him so many? He already showed how much they liked each other on a daily basis, be it with actions or kisses. He would have understood one but why- oh.
[...] The number of red roses has special romantic meanings associated with them. 12 red roses is the most popular of all which conveys "Be mine" and-
"I love you," Sarawat whispered.
...Tine loved him?
Sarawat felt his heartbeat speed up and a need for air
They had been dating for long now, their one year anniversary being around the corner, but they had never said those words to each other, Not because they didn't, but because they were strong words, and they didn't want to throw them around like that. Sarawat just never thought Tine would be the first to say them. Well, Tine hadn't directly said them, but the flowers did in his behalf.
At the moment he had only 11 of them and, for the first time since Tine had started giving him flowers, he felt nervous as to receive the next one.
The next day was a Saturday, which usually meant they would go on a date somewhere where food was at close reach and the views were pretty at sunset, but today was storming and it looked like it wouldn't stop, so Sarawat, trying to get more sleep as well as some morning cuddles, rolled to Tine's side, only to find it empty.
Right, Sarawat thought, morning person.
He sighed and sat up on his bed. The only ways of completely waking up he had would either be to have Tine enter their room completely naked (or in some nice lingerie, Sarawat could get into that if Tine liked it) or if he took a shower, and since the first one seemed improbable, the shower option was the only one left.
He got up and looked around their room for some new clothes, hearing the T.V. from downstairs and smiling. Of course Tine was watching a stupid drama. As soon as he got everything, he got into the shower and after 5 minutes, he was ready and wide awake.
His phone made a sound and guessing it was Earn asking him about a doubt she didn't have the time to ask him the day before during practice, he checked it.
Reminder: 1 year with my little buffalo <3
Oh shit.
Thankfully, he hadn't seen Tine yet, so he didn't know (although he hoped so) if Tine remembered it, and Tine didn't know he forgot it was today.
Sarawat, being the kind of person to plan ahead of things, had already bought his gift for Tine a month ago, knowing that their first year anniversary was somewhere during the following month. Present Sarawat internally thanked past Sarawat for being like that. The gift wasn't much, an empty black and white photo album for Tine to fill with the photos he took on his camera. He had bought one two months prior and took it with them on every date and almost every time he went outside. Sarawat always wanted to see the pictures he took, but Tine was always too shy to show them. He hoped that, through this photo album, he would become confident on his photography skills to have them displayed somewhere, even if it's in a really basic photo album that cost a little bit too much than expected. He did request the shop to add a 'S + T' on the cover, so maybe that didn't help.
Sarawat went to check where he kept it and he saw it was safe and still wrapped in that dinosaurs wrapping paper he had found laying around some boxes back when they first moved in. Okay, now it was time to go downstairs.
As he saw Tine from afar laying down on their sofa, a soft smile couldn't help but show up on his lips. Tine's eyes were fixed on one of the dumb American dramas he watched religiously and didn't seem to have noticed Sarawat had even woken up. Sarawat decided that the best way to make his presence known was to throw himself on top of Tine, and so he did.
"Saraleo!" Tine screamed as he was crushed by his wet-haired boyfriend. Sarawat laughed and hugged Tine's chest tight. He kissed Tine's t-shirt right above where his heart was and looked at him, supporting his chin in Tine's chest.
"Good morning to you too, babe," Sarawat could feel how fast that made Tine's heart beat and he smiled. Pet names and their effect on Tine, he would never get tired of that.
"Hm, good morning, babe," Tine's ears were a bright red and he could still feel Tine's heart racing, but now his was racing too.
His smile grew even more. "That's my boy," Sarawat gave Tine a kiss on his chin. Tine apparently didn't like that, because he had a pout on his lips. Sarawat raised his eyebrows. Tine pouting was a rare thing, as he only did it when Sarawat didn't give him something, and it was kind of a universal rule that Sarawat would give everything to Tine in a heartbeat if he asked.
Now was one of the little times where Tine pouted and it melted Sarawat's cold, soft heart. It wasn't fair, Tine was so fucking pretty already, how could he also be this cute? It made no sense.
He was too pretty and too cute for his own good, so Sarawat chose to tease him.
He got close enough to kiss him, and when Tine closed his eyes, he kissed his nose.
Tine opened his eyes and he looked like Sarawat had just betrayed him. He's so dramatic.
Tine pouted once again. "Alright, alright, I'll kiss you. Someone's needy today, huh?" Sarawat once again got close to Tine enough for Tine to close his eyes, and kissed the corner of his lips. Tine frowned and opened his eyes, held Sarawat's face in between his hands and kissed him. Tine wasn't really the one who started the kisses, but the one who made them continue for hours, so moments like this where Tine started the kiss (and such a needy one) made Sarawat feel like he was in heaven.
They kissed for what seemed like hours, Sarawat's tongue exploring Tine's lips and his mouth like it was the first time he did that. Tine sucking on Sarawat's tongue and making Sarawat think unholy thoughts at way too early in the day. He sucked on Tine's lower lip, fully knowing that affected him even more than the pet names he threw around, and gladly took his gasp as another chance to explore Tine's mouth with his tongue. His stomach had other plans, growling loudly and making Tine smile. Sarawat tried ignoring it, but another sound came seconds later and Tine broke the kiss with a laugh.
If anyone asked Sarawat how he liked Tine the most, he would say right now, post-make out with slightly bruised lips and glossy from how many times Sarawat had run his tongue along them, smiling because of Sarawat. Tine was a view Sarawat knew he would never get tired of.
"Wat, just go eat something. We can continue later," Tine's voice was low and it truly didn't help that they had just kissed like that, Tine was making his mind and heart race.
Sarawat hid his face on Tine's neck and groaned. God damn it, stomach, Sarawat thought. Why now?
He left a kiss on Tine's neck and made a move to get up, only for Tine to get him back down and kiss him one more time on the lips.
"Okay, now you can go," Sarawat smiled and quickly pecked Tine before getting up, his stomach making another sound and making Tine laugh again.
It was almost 10 in the evening when they decided to sit on their little balcony.
The balcony in their house wasn't as big the one Tine had back in his old dorm, but it made do for the few times they decided to come outside and play the guitar until they got tired or cold. Sarawat found it a perfect moment for giving Tine his gift, so when he went upstairs to get his guitar, he hid the photo album behind the the guitar as best as he could and he went downstairs.
What he didn't expect was that he'd find a red rose between Tine's fingers.
The twelfth rose.
Tine looked at him as soon as he passed through the door and just one look at him could tell him how nervous he was. Sarawat was nervous as well, he knew what that rose meant, but he did his best not to show it at all. He tried to give Tine a comforting smile, and it looked like it worked a bit because Tine's face softened a bit.
Sarawat sat next to him and tried his best to keep the photo album between his body and the guitar. The borders hurt a bit but he had no other way of hiding the present until the moment was right.
To distract himself from the slight pain and to calm Tine (and himself) down, he started playing Together by Scrubb. He knew this song's chords by heart by now, having heard the song on all the Scrubb concerts he had gone to back then to look for that beautiful boy, and he having played the song for said beautiful boy at least a thousand times since they both knew of each other. So much time had passed since then, so many good and bad memories came to mind when he thought of the Sarawat who had gotten his foot stepped on and his heart stolen at the same time. Tine had changed so much too, Sarawat noticed it at times. He liked some of the groups Sarawat listened to and even went to concerts of bands Sarawat didn't know of by himself or with his friends, he ate things only Sarawat used to, he wore more shades of dark clothes but still never leaving those pink shirts and sweaters that made him look like the cutest person on the world. They both changed in such a short amount of time, and Sarawat liked to think it was for the better.
The last chords of the song brought him to the present with a still very visibly nervous look on him.
"Tine-" "Wat-"
"You say it first," Tine told him, playing with the rose's stem.
Sarawat hesitated, but Tine looked too nervous to start speaking so he did. "Tine, is everything okay? You look a bit out of it. Want me to get you a blanket?"
Tine shaked his head. "I'm fine, Wat." Sarawat, of course, wasn't convinced.
"Are you sure?" Sarawat asked.
Tine nodded, "Yes, Wat, I'm fine. Don't worry that much, it's gonna make you look old."
Sarawat laughed and they fell in a comfortable silence.
"Wat?" Tine asked quietly.
Sarawat looked at him. He looked nervous once again and it unconsciously made Sarawat nervous too. "Yes?"
Tine took a deep breath. "Aren't you curious as to why I gave you roses for these past 11 days?"
"You know I am, Tine, I asked at least twice every day these past two weeks," a little smile showed up on Tine's lips.
"Yeah," Tine chuckled, "you haven't asked today yet."
"Well, if you insist Mr. Teepakorn, may I know the meaning behind all these beautiful roses Mr. Teepakorn has been giving his really amazing boyfriend for 11 days in a row?" Tine's smile grew as he lightly pushed Sarawat with his shoulder.
"So dramatic, Mr. Guntithanon." Tine chuckled. "But you are right. Mr. Teepakorn's boyfriend sure is really amazing."
Sarawat smiled. "I'm sure Mr. Teepakorn is even more amazing."
A light blush appeared on Tine's cheeks. "Shut up, I'm trying to tell you something and you're distracting me."
"Then I won't speak until you're finished, deal?"
"As if that ever stopped you," Tine smiled. "Deal."
Sarawat made a gesture that mimicked zipping his mouth and allowed Tine to speak.
"You know how sometimes I'm not the best at words and I can't express myself as well as I would like to?" Sarawat nodded. He knew Tine struggled with that, but he had been trying to get better and he was really proud of his boyfriend for doing so. "Well, this was one of them. Do you know what roses mean and what they symbolize?" Sarawat shaked his head even though he knew already, he didn't want to explain to Tine how he knew. "My mom explained it to me when I was little and it amazed me. I never knew flowers were more than beautiful plants, I never knew they could be so much more than that, that each one of them had their own thing. The red rose was always my favourite. It means love, any kind of it. I always wished I could give one of them to my partner, to show them much I loved them. To show them my true feelings," Sarawat's heart melted. Tine was such a romanticist at heart and he found it so cute.
"Knowing you, I guess you can already see where this is going." Tine took a deep breath and turned to Sarawat. He handed him the rose, "For you, the last rose."
Sarawat was speechless. His boyfriend, who he loved with his whole heart since the moment he first saw him, loved him back.
Sarawat felt like he could cry. He probably already was and hadn't noticed.
He took the rose and smiled at his boyfriend. "Can I speak now?"
Tine chuckled. "Yeah, you can."
"Tine?"
"Yeah?"
Sarawat took a deep breath and smiled. "I love you, too."
Tine's eyes widened a bit and if Sarawat wasn't seeing wrong, they looked a bit glassy.
"I have ever since I met you, ever since I first saw you. You stole my heart that day at the Scrubb's concert and it's been yours ever since."
And now Sarawat was sure he had seen a tear roll down Tine's cheek. He used his thumb to get rid of it and another one fell down his other cheek.
"I love you, Wat. I truly do," Tine gave him one of the smiles he reserved for these moments with Sarawat, and Sarawat could've easily been in heaven right now, because he felt like no one that bright and beautiful couldn't be a human.
"I know, Tine, I know," Sarawat smiled back at him and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
A comfortable silence fell between them, Tine resting his head on Sarawat's shoulder and one of Sarawat's arms around Tine's waist. The only thing making any kind of noise being the wind swirling and the cars on their street.
"I do have a question, though." Sarawat broke the silence.
"Ask then."
"Why 12? Why not 10 or only 1?"
Tine took a bit of time to answer, Sarawat leaving Tine sort his thoughts out before having a good answer.
"Well, for starters, 12 roses is the usual 'I love you' bouquet," the butterflies on Sarawat's stomach fluttered at Tine saying I love you so casually, "and we've been dating for a year already, so it seemed convenient to give you one for every month we've been dating."
Sarawat nodded, it sounded rational. "Happy first year together anniversary, by the way. I kind of forgot to tell between the giving you the rose and the tears," Tine giggled.
"It's okay," Sarawat kissed the top of Tine's head. "Speaking about that, I have something for you."
Tine raised his head from Sarawat's shoulder and looked at him with confusion clear in his eyes. "For me?" Sarawat nodded. He moved the guitar and left it carefully on the floor, the dinosaur wrapped gift on full view and his ribs finally freed from the pain the edges gave them.
"Happy first year together anniversary to you too," he put the gift on Tine's lap and waited for him to open it.
Once Tine got rid of the wrapping paper, he stared at the cover. It was all black with a white S + T on the top part. Tine looked at him like he was asking him if those letters meant their names, so Sarawat nodded. Tine started to look through the photo album, only to find it empty except for the one photo Sarawat had added on the first page. Their first ever photo together, back when Sarawat didn't really understand Scrubb's songs and Tine wasn't as interested in Sarawat. Tine was wearing that ridiculous wig and those enormous fake ears. Even then, Sarawat thought he looked good.
Tine looked at him even more confused than before, and it was Sarawat's time to explain. "I know you're wondering why it's empty, and that's because I want you to fill it with what you want to remember the most. I know you take a lot of photos on your camera, but I haven't seen a single one, so I don't know what you find beauty in. I started it with our picture because it seemed fitting to have a photo of us in it as it's the gift I'm giving you for being being with me, but you can fill it with whatever and whoever you want. Think of it as a happy memories dump."
"What do you think of it?" Tine was looking at him like he had hung the moon for him and it made him blush a little bit.
"I fucking love you, Wat."
Sarawat's blush brightened and the butterflies returned to flapping uncontrollably in his stomach. "I guess you liked it?" Sarawat smiled. "I love you too, Tine."
Sarawat got closer to Tine's face and Tine, wanting to kiss him as much as seemed to, closed the distance between them.
It had taken them a few months of knowing each other and a whole year of dating, but they had finally those three little words.
I love you.