Work Text:
Teh let’s go of the big, stuffy, mattress and it falls down on the floor of their apartment with a heavy bang. A cloud of dust puffs up in its wake. Oh-aew whistles next to him.
“Wow.”
“Huh. I guess we should have cleaned this place up a bit.”
It’s not much of a place, just one large room with a kitchenette, now cluttered with boxes and the yellow curtains Oh-aew hung up as soon as he walked through the door.
It’s perfect.
“Let’s do that later,” Oh-aew says and starts to push him towards the mattress now in the middle of their tiny apartment. Teh laughs and only pretends to put up a fight but before Oh-Aew manages to take them both down, they’re interrupted by a loud groan.
“Hey, hey, hey. Kids, please. Do not traumatize me any more than you already have.”
Hoon puts the plant he’s holding on the kitchen counter with dangerous amount of force and crosses his arms. Teh covers his eyes but he can see Oh-aew laughing and sticking his tongue out to his brother.
“You are terrible people. Alright, I’m going. Have fun.”
“Bye, bye brother, thanks for everything, come by soon!” Oh-aew shouts after him.
“Remember to call ma Teh,” is the response that echoes in the hallway.
“Yeah, yeah,” he groans but as soon as the door is closed behind Hoon, Oh-aew gives him a hard push.
He lands on the mattress with a huff of breath and then his arms are full of Oh-aew, who has jumped into his lap. Oh-aew takes his head into a gentle grip and starts peppering him with kisses.
“Oh, this is nice,” he mumbles between kisses and inches his arms underneath Oh-aew’s shirt, scratches the skin on his back. Oh-aew just hums and rocks back and forth on his lap a little.
“Very nice.”
He grabs a hold of the back of Oh-aew’s head to keep him there and deepens the kiss. Presses his body into his harder. As soon as Oh-aew slips his tongue into his mouth he moans loudly. He lifts up a little in order to throw Oh-aew underneath him but finds himself grabbing air. Oh-aew is sitting back in his thighs and pressing a hand to his chest.
“Huh?”
“I think we should get some food.”
“What?”
He doesn’t have time to comprehend what’s happening when Oh-aew is already rising up and crossing him to step on the floor.
“It’s getting pretty late. I’ll go and get something, and you can start unpacking the boxes in the meanwhile.”
“Eh-what? Now? Really?”
“It’s now or never, baby. I’ll be back in a minute!” He gives him a short kiss and grabs the keys and some money from the table.
“Wait, Oh-aew –” he starts but doesn’t have time to finish when the door is already closing on his face.
“I hate you!” He shouts after him.
Half an hour later, he’s sitting next to their very poorly placed mattress, surrounded by empty boxes, plates, spoons and a bunch of clothes, trying not to think about Oh-aew being dead in a ditch.
He’s contemplating going out to find him but where would he even start? He didn’t even take his phone with him. What an asshole.
He’s in the middle of dusting a framed picture of them giving each other hearts eyes at Phrom Thep Cape, when he hears voices from the hallway. He gets up and a bunch of stuff falls from his lap to the floor with a heavy clatter. He opens the door just enough to spy on who’s talking outside. Catching a sight of two strangers, probably his neighbors, chatting happily. He groans and closes the door as quickly as he can.
No sight of Oh-aew. He lowers himself back down on the ground, right in front of the door, spreading his legs and arms into a start shaped position. He doesn’t think he’s going to make in the city if Oh-aew has abandoned him this quickly. Maybe he should call his mother. Maybe Hoon could still turn around. Although, he was supposed to call his mother anyway.
A door banging into his head interrupts his wallowing.
“Ow!”
“Wah Teh! What on earth are you doing?”
Oh, so his long-lost lover has returned after all. He gives Oh-aew the meanest evil eye he can manage while holding onto his head. He doesn’t get up and Oh-aew has to squeeze in through the tiny space left between the open door and his body acting as the stopper.
“Well, I was thinking that now that I’ve become a widow if I should build a fortress from the empty boxes to hide myself from the world or call my mother.”
Oh-aew crosses his arms, looking decidedly unimpressed. Two takeout boxes in plastic bag hang from his arm and Teh’s stomach grumbles at the sight of them. How unfair that even his body is betraying him.
“I was gone barely an hour.”
“How would you know? You didn’t even take your phone with you.”
Oh-aew sighs and puts the food down on the table. He lowers himself on the ground as well and gives him a gentle kiss upside down.
“That was an accident. I’m sorry.”
“Hmm.”
Oh-aew brings his fingers to his brow and smooths away his fringe.
“Does your head hurt?”
He shakes his head and winds his arms around Oh-aew’s neck. Brings him down for another kiss. And another one. And anoth –
“Why does it look like a bomb went off in here? Did you unpack the boxes on the floor?”
**
Day two and Oh-aew has left him again. Although, this time he left with multiple kisses, promises to return soon and a big show ensuring he had his phone with him, fully charged and everything.
“The university building is supposed to not be too far away from here, it’ll be fine. You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
It’s fine, it’s whatever.
The problem is that he kind of wanted to go and explore the city a little as well. Get some proper food for their fridge. But his neighbors are standing in the hallway again, chattering away a mile a minute like they have nowhere better to be. He heard Oh-aew talk to them on his way out too but Teh would just rather not.
When it gets quiet for a while, he risks it and opens the door a little. Mistake.
“Hey neighbor!”
It would be weird now to shut the door, wouldn’t it? Reluctantly, he steps outside and closes the door behind him. Gives them a hesitant wai.
“Hey.”
They both bow down in response.
“I’m Karl. That’s Vlad. Welcome to the building.”
“Thanks.”
They look like they’re both around his age. Karl smiles at him politely, but Vlad looks a lot more like he’s being held hostage.
“I think we met your roommate earlier? Oh-aew?”
He nods his head a little but that feels very strange. Roommate? Well, he is that too he guesses but it doesn’t sound right at all. But it’s not like he has any desire to come out to these strangers.
“Yeah…” he tacks on with nothing better to say.
“I better get going. Nice to see you guys,” he says quickly and runs away as smoothly as he can.
As soon as he turns his back, the – and now that he’s seen them close up he knows exactly what it is – relentless bickering stars again.
**
“What are you doing?”
Teh straightens up like a spring.
“Oh, me? Nothing.”
He had been pressing his ear to the door to hear if the hallway was clear. Oh-aew squints at him. Teh shakes his head to appear less conspicuous. Leans against the door like a casual person would.
“What?”
“You’re being weird.”
Teh leans one hand against the door and adopts his best smile.
“I think you’ve said that’s one of my many charms?”
Oh-aew scoffs and crosses his arms.
“Many charms? That doesn’t sound like something I would say at all.”
“Shut up, you love me.”
“Bleurgh. Do I really?”
Teh hits him in the arm.
“Did you just bleurgh at our relationship? Really? Are we that far gone? Oh, it is true what they say about first relationships becoming stale. So sad.”
Oh-aew starts giggling and he takes it as a permission to jump him and drag them both to the mattress that’s still in the middle of their one room apartment along with all the other stuff. At least Oh-aew had found some sheets for the mattress.
Teh traps Oh-aew underneath his body, legs pressing into his hips and hands pressing his wrists above his head. Oh-aew goes pliant and it always does interesting things to him.
“Okay. I’m going to give you one more chance to take back the bleurgh and tell me how much you love me.”
Oh-aew huffs and wiggles a little.
“Oh really? And what happens if I don’t?”
“Ah, well. Then I’m sorry you’re going to have to face your punishment.”
Teh gives a pointed look between them. Oh-aew laughs.
“Okay, I think I’ll take my chances, tough guy.”
As far as project “avoid the way too friendly neighbors” is concerned, the day is a success. Less so for the grumbling Oh-aew, who ends up making the trip to the store again. Teh would feel sorrier if he wasn’t completely distracted by the sight of Oh-aew in his shirt, way too big on him, falling off his shoulders and conveniently exposing the bite marks there. His hair is a mess, sticking out in every possible direction.
Teh wonders what the neighbors will think if they happen to see him. The thought makes him smirk.
**
It gets a little harder after that. In his defense, a dinner party is just far too much.
“No, no, no. No.”
“Why not?” Oh-aew asks in between stuffing his mouth full of rice. He’s sitting on the kitchen island, his feet swinging dangerously close to Teh’s face, where he’s lying on their bed with his own bowl. His mother would kill him for eating on the bed but they haven’t really gotten any chairs yet. At least the plates and glasses finally found their way from the floor to the cabinet.
He should really call his mom.
“It’s just dinner,” Oh-aew continues, pouting like a grumpy little gremlin. Cute as it is, it doesn’t make his case any better.
“No, thank you. You can go if you want to.”
“What do you have against our neighbors?”
“Nothing. I just have better things to do.”
“Like what?”
“Like studying. Uni starts in a couple of days, you know.”
Oh-aew groans and shakes his head.
“Fine. Whatever.”
They stay quiet after that. Any explanation he could give Oh-aew stays stuck in his mouth.
But it bothers him, and he knows it bothers Oh-aew as well, which bothers him even more. So when they get to bed, Oh-aew kicks some books away from his side, whispers good night and turns his back to him. Teh stays on his back on his own side and doesn’t sleep.
It’s 2 am when Oh-aew turns towards him.
“What are you thinking about?” He asks, sleep evident in his voice. Teh looks at him, fascinated by how the streetlamp outside lights the bright red mark left by the pillow on his cheek. He touches them and finds Oh-aew hot to the touch. He wonders if he ever gets used to just having this.
A home with him.
“You.”
Oh-aew smiles tenderly. Captures his hand onto his and scratches the skin next to his thumb a little.
“Really?”
“I’m almost always thinking about you. It’s actually pretty distracting.”
Oh-aew laughs.
“Well. If it helps, I’m almost always thinking about you too.”
“It does a little.”
Oh-aew wiggles closer to him and lifts himself up enough to press a kiss onto his eyelids. When he comes back down, he looks serious.
“What’s really bothering you? I know it’s something.”
Teh looks at their hands, still clasped together between them.
“It’s the neighbors.”
Oh-aew opens his mouth in surprise.
“Fuck, Teh you don’t have to come to dinner if you really don’t want to. I was just – ”
“No, it’s not that. Well, it’s that too. I just – I don’t want to come out to them. I also don’t want to lie like. And us hanging out together. It’d be pretty difficult. So. I’d rather…”
“Avoid them altogether?”
Teh nods. Oh-aew lets out a small humpf sound but he settles into his arms. Kisses the hands he’s keeping hold of.
“I get that.”
Teh tries to crane his neck enough to see Oh-aew’s face. He staring at the wall in front of them, like he’s deep in thought.
“You do?”
“Of course. I’ve avoided talking to people because of that too. Although, it was a lot easier to avoid the topic when I didn’t have anybody to talk about.”
He lets out the breath he’s kept in for days now. It’s incredible how good it feels to talk about this and he doesn’t know why he didn’t think he could it before. He turns enough to face Oh-aew properly.
“I just didn’t realize how exhausting it was going to be. Coming out to people. Again and again and again. I’m so tired of it already.”
“I know. Me too.”
“Do you think it gets easier?”
“I hope so. It can’t get any harder can’t it?”
Oh-aew looks a little apprehensive though and Teh’s afraid that maybe it can. He’s thinking about all the new people he’s going to have to meet. Uni people. Employers. Colleagues. Real-estate agents.
Maybe it never gets easier, only that it gets easier with some people. And maybe his neighbors are pretty inconsequential anyway.
He doesn’t say any of that. Just kisses Oh-aew. At least he has this. A choice between feeling a little uncomfortable and not having this is no choice at all.
**
The next morning, he wakes up to the same cackling outside their apartment that keeps waking him up every morning. He throws out his arm and finds the space next to him still warm to the touch but empty.
He groans.
Of course. That is definitely Oh-aew laughing outside.
He gets up to wash his teeth and his face, not bothering to open his eyes on the way to the bathroom. Oh-aew must have cleaned up, he doesn’t bump into anything on his way there.
He dozes a little on top of the toilet seat, toothbrush still hanging from his mouth. Makes a decision to go and haggle his annoying boyfriend into making him breakfast.
He doesn’t bother changing his night shirt into anything more presentable, just opens the door, scans Oh-aew standing with a cup of coffee in front of Karl and Vlad. Vlad still looks like he’s being held hostage but Oh-aew and Karl are chatting animatedly.
“Heyy, did we wake you up?” Oh-aew asks, looking concerned but also so so very cosy with Teh’s oversized hoodie. He decides to stop giving a fuck and just goes to him. He nods tiredly and snuggles into Oh-aew’s side, wrapping both of his arms around his middle and lowering his head on his shoulder. He might regret this when he wakes up a little more but right now, he thinks Oh-aew looking that comfortable trumps his fear of these dumbasses standing in front of him.
Oh-aew doesn’t even flinch, just wraps his free arm around his shoulder and pets his head a little. He doesn’t bother opening his eyes to see what Karl and Vlad think of this turn of events.
“Oh I’m sorry. Should I make some breakfast for you?”
He nods again, lifting up.
“I guess we should get going as well. But call me if you need help with the chairs! It was nice to see you again Teh,” Karl says and Teh doesn’t have time to do much but wave him goodbye when they’ve already gone. Into the same apartment.
Well well.
“Chairs?” He asks.
“Oh yeah. I told them we don’t have any and Vlad said he’s got a car if we wanted to make a trip downtown to get some.”
“Vlad did?”
Oh-aew nods at him. Teh has to contemplate that for a moment.
“Did he blink?”
Oh-aew hits him in the chest.
“Ow! Well, that’s pretty nice. Maybe we should take them up on that offer.”
Oh-aew smiles.
“Come on, let’s go and I’ll make an omelet for you.”
Once they get in, Teh looks at Oh-aew whistling in their kitchen, making him food, dancing to the quiet sound of guitar strings coming from his phone and he’s filled with so much warmth, he’s afraid he might burst. He smiles as he plops down on the bed and calls his mom.
**