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The first time was based on mind-numbing idiocy.
They were seated together on two bar stools, the younger nonchalantly stiffing a cup of hot cocoa on the wooden counter and the older typing on his laptop focused on finishing his food gastronomy report. They didn’t know why they were both seated there, in their empty kitchen, just together silently going about with their lives, it was actually quite boring. The other Tee’s were in their respective areas, some hung out in the living room, others went out to the garden, and the rest just slept in their rooms.
Maitee was the first one to settle on the stool, taking a stack of papers, two highlighters, a ballpoint pen, and his laptop. It wasn’t in his interest that Watee followed suit, casually making a cup of hot chocolate in the kitchen and proceeding to sit down just beside Maitee, who spared him a once-over and proceeding back to cramming his report, not warning to be distracted by the chocolatey goodness in front of him– and he wasn’t thinking of the drink.
Watee didn’t utter a word, busying himself with his phone as he scrolled through social media, slightly grinning whenever he finds something funny. When he finds something particularly interesting, his first instinct is to tap the other’s shoulder and bother him, the strong urge to capture his attention was penetrating his soul. Looking at him from his eyelashes, he saw a breathtaking sight of his childhood best friend, biting his lip in concentration as he tapped his pen on the laptop’s keyboard, trying to figure out a word to type in his document.
Noticing the gaze on him, Maitee turned his head, “Hm? Watee? Is there something wrong?”
Watee shook his head repeatedly, a blush forming on his cheeks, “Nothing, nothing at all.”
“Then why are you staring?”
“What? No, I’m not staring, that’s weird,” the younger continued to deny, the blush creeping onto his ears, “I really shouldn’t bother you anymore.”
He clumsily got out of the stool, and the chair was set up pretty high for an adjustable stool, and Watee slipped; his foot unable to hold on to the small metal padding to assist him down. THe said foot slid across the smooth floor forward, and he knew that he would be rewarded with both a concussion and a sprain in the next few moments.
But Maitee will never let that happen. On pure instinct, the older lunged forward in an attempt to prevent the other from falling on his head. Arms flared out, wrapped around Watee’s slim waist, and flipped their positions over, Maitee landing on the floor with a thud and the younger perched on top of him.
The only issue was, somehow, in the process of them both falling down, Watee’s lips magically landed on Maitee’s, smack-dab. You could say it was romantic, like the ones portrayed in movies, except this was not a movie– as with lips pressed, teeth also clanged, sending a jolt of pain on both their mouths. If you can think of any way that this incident could not be gross, be Watee’s guest, he’ll gladly need it.
“Are you guys okay– Oh,” Teerex quickly assessed the situation and saw the two sprawled on the floor, moaning… in pain?
“Help me up– ow! Maitee, stop, our teeth bumped again!”
“Hey! It’s not my fault! You’re the one on top!”
Teedet peered from the window, holding his garden hose, “That’s a weird way to go about it. I always thought Maitee would be the top.”
“Teedet shut the fuck up!”
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The second time, well– it was a disaster.
The both of them met up in the cafeteria at their campus. And of course, all the other Tee’s tagged along, as they finally arrived at a schedule where all of them were available for lunch. Watee’s lunch tray was now filled with all sorts of food that Maitee insisted he buys, it was like a parent breathing down on his shoulder, dragging him along his favorite food stalls, and ordering for him like he was his boyfriend.
Not like he hates it anyway.
They both settled beside each other, elbows touching and white sleeved rolled up. Watee was glad he had a best friend who provides him the most delicious dishes he could ever have, and his stomach was rumbling with the appetite set as he gazed at the colorful lunch in front of him. Maitee smiled at him from the side, feeling like he could fly right now; feeling like he could do anything right now. Teedo looked at them side to side, as he was right across wearing one earphone in his left ear, and Teedet chewing loudly on his left side. It was the right placement. Teerex sat beside Watee, minding his own business.
“Teedet, how was your exam? Did you pass or fail that flower-identifying quiz?” Teerex got Teedet’s attention, who deadpanned him.
“I guess he failed then,” turning to another Tee, he asked, “Teedo, how was your little recital?”
“It was okay,” came the reply, not really giving him enough attention. Teerex shrugged, and turned, about to ask his brother, but stopped when he saw that he was animatedly talking to the person beside him.
“Tell me more about the caviar stuff, I’ve never seen you do it at home!” Watee’s smile showed, perfectly aligned teeth glowed, and Maitee was a little distracted.
Their bodies were positioned to face each other, rather than facing the table where their semi-cold meals sat, and Maitee continued to discuss the lesson they discussed today, “Caviar is actually one of the easiest things to make in gastronomy, really. You just need oil and agar-agar powder.”
“I want to see you make it,” Watee was so invested in the topic, all sorts of ideas running in his head, he’s never actually dabbed into the world of food, so it was very interesting for him to hear all this.
On the other side, Teerex looked at the thing that Teedo was gesturing him to look at. At a distance, he saw Maetee holding a pack of bread, waving it up for him to see. Understanding the gesture, he nodded, and turned around in his seat to scratch his arms out, ready to capture the bread.
As if in slow motion, Maetee threw the pack, sending it flying across the busy cafeteria, over the heads of oblivious people. One thing about Maetee was, he was never picked for dodgeball. Naturally, the bread came tumbling down, following the laws of physics, when it was thrown with great force, it will also land with great force, and that force was targeted on the back of Watee’s head, completely missing the arrival on Teerex’s hands.
Watee’s words were stopped by the abrupt bump on his head, it wasn’t painful, but it was enough to send his upper body uncontrollably forward, and then plump lips met his own. Another clumsy placement, his lips locked on Maitee’s upper lip, but both touching nonetheless.
Both froze, Watee’s mind went blank, and he couldn’t move. This was the same for Maitee who has his eyes wide, hands on either side of Watee’s arms to stabilize him.
The bread was picked up from the floor, and it was thankfully properly wrapped. Maetee came running to them, profusely apologizing to the two, as he saw that they were still in shock, Teerex quietly told him to sit on the farthest spot from Watee because he knew they would get an earful. Slowly, Maitee came into his senses and pulled away, clearing his throat as he avoided looking at Watee. The younger slightly wiped his lips, patting down his shirt to remove nonexistent dust. He turned to look at Maetee who was cowering in fear.
“You’re dead.”
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They say the third time is the charm.
Watee had always wished that the first two kisses did not count, but he knew it did. Why does the universe seem to make it inhumanly possible for them to finally have a good kiss? It’s not like fate has the duty to give him this, but the universe could at least cut him some slack and stop giving him these humiliating excuses for a kiss.
And there, he lies on Maitee’s bed, head at the foot of the mattress, and lips puckered upwards as he made silent noises to the wall, utterly bored out of his mind. Maitee sat beside him, in an opposite position, as he scrolled up and down on his phone, trying to calm himself down as the person he wanted most in this world was literally less than one feet away from him, being absolutely adorable.
“Are you usually this boring? We used to play so much when we were kids.”
“You’re really here to criticize my personality? After insisting that ‘I should go to Maitee’s room and we should spend time alone because it’s my right as the landlord,’” Maitee rolled his eyes, and placed his phone down on the bedside table, looking at him.
Watee rose from his comfortable position, crawling up next to Maitee so he could sit beside him, “I’m not even going to start an argument with you. I used to be the boring one, but now, it seems like you don’t even want to spend time with me.”
Maitee looked at him and saw that the younger was fidgeting with his rough blistered thumbs, “I’m doing this because I get too distracted whenever you’re around.”
The other turned, “How–”
He stopped, their heads were now faced towards each other, pupils slowly dilating as they took in the gaze of each other’s eyes. Watee gulped, and whispered, “Tell me.”
Maitee didn’t speak, he continued to stare at him, his body heating up like he never knew before, but Watee was too impatient to wait. Leaning in, he gently closed the distance, and all in his mind screamed, Damn it all to hell.
The soft peck lasted for about 20 seconds, and yes, Watee counted. He pulled away, eyes fluttering open, and looked at the still closed eyelids of the other.
The third time should be the charm, right?
“Maitee?”
When Maitee opened his eyes, he realized what had just happened. And then, he did the best thing he could think of– he panicked. Standing up and dashing to the door, he reached for the doorknob, but his arm was roughly yanked away by Watee who ran to him, “Stop avoiding me, Maitee!”
“No.”
“What? Get back here!”
Maitee turned to him, and Watee paused, drinking in the sight of a very flustered man, who was blushing, even from his tan skin, the red hues can be distinguished, “I have to leave.”
“So you’re running away again after we kissed? Stop with the bullshit and tell me how you really feel,” the younger tugged his arm again, pulling him in closer as they stood in front of the bed.
“How I feel? You want to know how I feel?” His voice started to rise, “Well, how I feel right now, and maybe every single day is that I want to make out with you until we’re both kissed stupid. I want to go on dates with you and make caviar out of your favorite drinks. I want to take you to that Architecture museum you have been talking about since two months ago. If you’re asking me why I won’t kiss you, it’s because I’m afraid I won’t stop.”
Watee carefully listened to every single word, his hold tightening on Maitee’s wrist, and he leaned closer, their lips a centimeter apart. His eyes challenged the other with their heated gaze.
“Then kiss me, goddamn it.”
Unable to control himself any further, Maitee finally, finally, took the initiative and closed the gap, pulling Watee in for a passionate kiss. Hands roamed around, the younger’s fingers gripped the other’s silk pajamas, and then he was being pushed onto the mattress, lips still attached to his. Tumbling down onto the soft exterior of the bed, Watee started to moan as he felt Maitee’s hand landing on his thigh, caressing up to the edge of his own nightshirt.
Maitee continued to kiss him stupid, only briefly stopping when he landing kisses all over the younger’s face, fueled by Watee’s moans, he leaned in to nibble on his earlobe, placing soft kisses and then biting him the next. Watee was in heaven.
Soon, the heat faded, the lips got swollen, and the breaths became too labored. He separated from Watee, hovering over him, their face still inches apart. Watee bit his lip and grinned, leaning in to capture Maitee’s lips for one last long kiss, tasting the delicious flavor of mint from his toothpaste. Due to their time spent in close proximity, their scents intermingled, and Watee laughed at the thought.
Gone were his past self who would glare at the world, and he wasn’t mad at the universe anymore. Maitee landed himself beside him on the bed, putting his arm under his body as he wrapped it around the younger’s pale, semi-exposed waist.
Maybe the third time was the charm. Or maybe the fourth? Or fifth? Sixth? Watee didn’t need to count anymore. Because he can get all the kisses he wants from now on– accident or not.