Work Text:
A continuous thud was heard from the desk next to him. It didn't take a genius to know that it was his friend, slamming his forehead against his working space multiple times. Without looking at the guy, he slid his hand over the table to block him from hitting the desk again. This, however, didn't make the other stop until he bumped into his hand for at least another six times.
Miraculously enough, his friend did actually stop after those six times, and this made him finally look at his troubled friend. But now he just rested his cheek onto his hand while looking out of the window, so he couldn't see his face.
"If you're going to use my hand as a pillow, at least tell me what's been bothering you today, my Zon."
Calling each other theirs has been an inside joke between the both of them for two years now. It started out as a thing to be annoying since they used to hate one another, but now they either use it to grab each other's attention, to cheer the other up, or to show that they're sincere about something.
Zon let out a sigh before turning his head on the other's hand, looking right at him. His mouth formed into a pout before he mumbled his answer softly.
"I'm stuck on the next chapter of my story, Saifah. It's been progressing towards the point for something romantic to happen, something I've been avoiding to write so far."
Saifah leaned closer so that they could converse without gaining attraction from the rest of their classmates. ...And also because he was a tad curious on what the other meant.
"Something romantic?" he questioned while wiggling his eyebrows at his friend.
Zon's eyes grew wide, and he gave his taller friend a push. "Saifah!" he whisper-shouted at him. "Get your head out of the gutter!"
"What?" he whispered back, "I never said anything. Maybe you should get your head out of the gutter."
His shorter friend groaned at that, which caused all eyes to be on the two of them. Their teacher cleared their throat before asking if they were going to pay attention. Both of them shot back upright in their chairs, giving an embarrassed nod. Neither of them had realized their teacher had arrived and had started class already.
However, after a few minutes of 'paying attention', Saifah shoved his notebook towards Zon. He turned back to his teacher while waiting for a reply so that they wouldn't get into more trouble. He luckily got his notebook back soon enough with an answer from his friend scribbled under his question.
Why were you avoiding to write it anyway?
It's pretty embarrassing. Talk about it at your place after school?
Saifah scribbled an Okay with a smiley face, letting Zon glance at his answer before he tried to pay attention to his teacher again. They were lucky it was their last class of the day, even though it did feel like an eternity before it was finally over. But the bell rang in the end, and they both started to pack up their books.
"So, are you coming to my place right away, or do you have to do something else first?" he asked before he slung his bag over his shoulder.
"I'm coming with you, we can work on our homework together. I can use all the help I can get, you know my parents won't sit still if I get another failing grade. I'll just send them a text that I'll be over at your place to study." Zon's last sentence was mumbled with a distracted tone as he was searching for his phone to do as he said.
"Sure," Saifah said while slinging his free arm over his friend's shoulder, dragging him along once the other found his phone. "You've also got to tell me about your troubles writing something romantic." He whispered the last two words, leaning his face closer to that of his smaller friend, and wiggled his eyebrows again. He knew that the next push he received was deserved.
He started laughing as he tried to regain his balance. A few seconds in, he saw Zon trying to hide a smile, so he knew the other wasn't actually mad at him. Shuffling back closer to his friend, he slung his free arm around him again, poking the other's cheek with his index finger. Zon swatted his hand away from his face with an amused huff. And on their way to Saifah's dorm, they kept annoying each other, almost falling over from laughter in the meantime.
x
The door was unlocked with a click, and Saifah held it open for Zon. To this, Zon replied with his ever dramatic being. He lifted his right hand up to his heart and tucked his left arm behind his back, bowing to his taller friend.
"Thank you, good sir. Chivalry isn't dead after all!" He said, putting up a voice, before walking into the other's dorm room with a grin on his face. Saifah just shook his head with a fond chuckle at his friend's theatrics. He was happy that the other felt comfortable enough with him to act like that. Usually, people only found out about Zon's dramatic nature due to his temperament, words, and facial expressions, but most wouldn't get to see this joking side of him.
And Zon being comfortable with Saifah wasn't an understatement. He treated his dorm room as if it were his own house, immediately taking off his shoes and throwing his backpack in a corner before bellyflopping onto his bed. He let out a satisfied sigh as he felt his body sink into the mattress.
With the door now closed, Saifah let his bag fall to the ground, next to Zon's backpack, with a thud. His socked feet walked across the floor, towards the bed. He sat himself down next to Zon's legs, letting his hand fall onto a calf, gripping it reassuringly. Zon let out a hum at the touch but didn't turn around.
"You gonna tell me what's on your mind, now? With the writing, avoiding it, and all. Maybe I can help?"
Zon lifted his head up from the bed, glancing over his shoulder to look at the taller one's face, before letting out a huff as a response. He rolled his body over and sat up, pushing himself towards the middle of the bed and crossed his legs. This made Saifah copy his actions so that he could face him.
There were a few minutes of silence between them, conflict and hesitation evidently on Zon's face as he looked at everything but the other's face. So, Saifah took one of his hands into his own.
"You know, you aren't obligated to tell me anything you don't want to tell me, right?" he said softly, not wanting to push his shorter friend.
At that, Zon looked him in the eyes with an embarrassed smile and started to ramble. "It's not- It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just- It's embarrassing, alright? You've got to promise that you won't laugh at me before I tell you, though!"
Saifah let go of Zon's hands, placed one of them on his chest, and he raised the other in the air. "I promise that I won't laugh at you, no matter how embarrassing or funny it may be." This caused him to receive another smile in return.
Another few minutes passed in silence, possibly for Zon to collect his thoughts to formulate his problem. After that, he let out a short, shaky breath before he started to talk.
"Okay, so, as I said, this is embarrassing. No laughing allowed." He waited for Saifah's nod ere he continued. "You know that I'm writing a novel, right?" Another nod. "I post a chapter of it online, every week so that I can get immediate feedback. Well... The story has now progressed towards a more... romantic scene as I said before. And- No, don't fucking wiggle your eyebrows again, fucker." he interrupted himself to scold his friend, "It's just- My protagonists are... about to kiss, and I don't know what the fuck I should do." he rushed the last sentence out of him.
There was now another silence dragging between them. Zon's anxiety started to creep up, eyes darting all over the place, now that he didn't get any form of an answer. Saifah shook his head lightly as to snap himself out of his thoughts.
"What... what do you mean, you don't know should do? Just write the kiss scene?" his voice sounded absolutely dumbfounded.
"It's not that easy, Sai!" Zon grumbled out. "Whenever I write, I can somewhat place myself in the shoes of my characters. Or I can at least place someone close to me in the shoes of them. This is something totally different! I can't place myself in those shoes if I've never experienced something like that myself. I don't know what one feels when they're about to kiss someone for the first time! What do you even think about at that moment?!"
Saifah gave out a hum of understanding as he looked up at his ceiling. Zon saw hesitation flick over the other's face before it turned resolute. And so, Saifah looked him straight in the eyes, full of determination.
"Do you... Would you like to know what it feels like?"
"I- What?" the question filled with disbelieve escaped Zon before he even registered it himself.
The taller of the two placed his hands in front of him, leaning forward, closer to the other's face. "You know... So that you know what to write, how to describe it," he said softly, but still determined, while his gaze flickered between his lips and eyes a few times.
Zon placed one of his arms behind his back. His face gained a brighter shade of red at the statement. "Saifah, I swear if this is one of your stupid jokes," he mumbled out while unconsciously letting his own eyes flick towards the other's mouth.
Saifah shook his head as his answer, leaning even closer, "It's not. I meant what I said, my Zon."
Hesitation flashed over Zon's face. The taller one was sincere, and he knew it. He knew it through the other's words and through his eyes. He inhaled a shaky breath before nodding his head, "Okay..." he said softly.
The other was taken aback by that, not expecting Zon to agree. "Are you sure?" he whispered.
"Yeah." Zon breathed out as he leaned closer to his friend. To let the other know he stood wholly behind his decision, he cupped Saifah's jaw with one of his hands. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he saw the taller's cheeks redden and a small smile gracing Saifah's face.
It started with a small peck on the lips, something tentative and unsure. It was as if they gave each other the chance to pull away at any moment. Yet neither of them did do so. Heads were turned slightly, they opened their mouths, lips slotting together, and so the kiss deepened. They still were both a little cautious, not wanting to step over each other's boundaries. And because it was also Zon's first kiss, he didn't fully know what to do. His hands started to get all over the place, not certain where to place them, not sure what was okay.
Saifah smiled into this kiss, feeling Zon's frantic hands everywhere. He leaned forward, causing Zon to lean back into the mattress. He pulled away from the kiss, his smile never leaving his face as he saw Zon chase after his lips. He took the other's hands and placed them against his own neck. "Here," he whispered before dipping back down to continue their kiss. Zon locked his fingers behind the taller one's neck, resting them there comfortably. This time it was his turn to smile in the kiss.
The other took this as a form of encouragement, licking the shorter one's bottom lip. Zon automatically opened his mouth further, meeting him halfway with his own tongue. He had never experienced such a feeling, and in all honesty, he never really got the hype about it. Until now, that is. It felt strange, yet right at the same time. He felt Saifah's hands in his hair, and before he could even fully register it, a sigh escaped from him. He moved his own hands towards the taller one's back, gripping his shirt slightly.
The pressure on Saifah's back increased, making his body lean closer to the guy beneath him. His face, however, pulled away slightly so that they both got a breather. But what he saw once he opened his eyes shocked him. So much so that he immediately went to sit straight up. His hands quickly went to cup Zon's cheeks, thumbs softly caressing them. Zon started to lean on his elbows in return, still partially dazed and slightly out of breath.
"Are you okay? Did I go too far? Did I hurt you? What happened? Why are you crying?" the sentences were rushed out by Saifah, while he wiped Zon's tear-streaked face.
"I... What?" the shorter of the two mumbled while raising one of his own hands to his face. There were indeed tears to his surprise. "I don't... know? I might be a little overwhelmed, that's all," he said before letting out a soft wet laugh.
"Then... shall we stop here?" His face showed no judgement, only genuine care and curiousness. He pulled Zon into a sitting position by his hands.
"I honestly don't want to, but it might be better for my mind if we do," Zon mumbled out, feeling somewhat guilty.
"That's okay!" Saifah answered easily. "Do you... Would you like a hug?" He got a nod in return. "Before you do that, though," Zon began to talk, "Could I get... one more kiss?" He got a soft smile in return as the other started to lean down again, giving him one last peck.
They now both sat in between each other's legs, arms around the other. Saifah was the one that broke their comfortable silence, "And... Do you now know how to write your next chapter?" His heart gained speed as he anticipated the other's answer. On the one hand, he would want for Zon to have figured it out, having helped him, but on the other hand... He'd be sad if it was over just like this.
Zon inhaled a sharp breath before answering, with his face still against Saifah's shoulder. "I think I could continue writing, but... maybe we should try this again sometime soon so that I know for sure. What do you think?"
A sigh of relief he didn't even know he was holding escaped Saifah. "Yeah! Yeah, of course. Whatever you want!" The smile he had on his face while saying that could be heard through his voice. He quickly pecked the side of Zon's neck before holding him even impossibly closer. "Anything for you, my Zon."