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Phillip suggested they all meet up one last time before life gets in the way. Before they have to say goodbye until who knows when. Bas is usually never that sentimental about these kinds of things, but he's grateful Phillip suggested it. One last time with the guys who've been his best friends for the past couple years before he has to go off on his own and create a new life sounds perfect to him.
Mod, Phillip, and Kai show up at the beach the same time he does. They're all just waiting on Oh-Aew and Teh to show. Kai jokes that they're probably late because they're busy fighting somewhere.
Mod carries the joke saying, "Teh probably pissed off Oh and now they're wasting time with Teh trying to make it up to him."
Bas chuckles and shakes his head. Knowing Teh, what little he does know of him anyway, that sounds exactly like something he'd do. If he’s honest, he doesn't know why Oh puts up with it, but with a history like theirs he guesses it's something he'll never truly understand.
"I wonder what Teh did this time?" Phillip asks.
Kai elbows him in the side. "Who said Teh even did anything? We're just joking."
"Does it really matter if Teh did something? Oh's just going to forgive him anyway. He's easy," Mod shrugs.
Anger rises in Bas's chest. "Don't talk about Oh like that," he grits out, sounding more angry than he realized.
Mod throws his hands up in surrender. "Calm down man. I was just joking. I didn't mean anything."
"What if Oh heard you talking like that? You think he'd feel good finding out his friend thinks he's some kind of doormat?"
"Bas," Kai says, stepping between Bas and Mod.
It's then that Bas realizes he's stepped closer to Mod and that his fists are balled up. He's not one to get angry over throw away comments, but he can't help that he’s protective over Oh.
Bas takes a deep breath and unclenches. "I'm sorry," Bas says. "I didn’t mean to get upset, but don't say things like that. It's not kind."
Mod bows his head. Thankfully he has enough sense to look chastised. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to be funny. You guys know I don't think badly of Oh-Aew."
As if on cue, Oh turns up then.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," He waves.
Bas notes that his hairs mussed and his cheeks look a little flushed. He guesses he must’ve ran here after being so late.
Teh pops up just a few moments later, looking just as flushed as Oh. Bas can see that he's missed one of the buttons on his shirt causing it to buckle.
"I'm surprised the two of you didn't show up together," Kai says. "You've been so attached at the hip these days."
Oh duck's his head shyly and glances over at Teh. Teh raises an eyebrow and shrugs one shoulder. "We're not always together, you know. Only most of the time,” he says lowly but just loud enough for Bas to hear. He smiles over at Oh. Oh doesn't respond, just simply hums in agreement before he smiles back.
Bas looks back and forth between the two. Something is different between them. Bas is unsure what, though he has an idea. He feels a pang in his chest when he thinks about it. As selfish as it is, he hopes what he's thinking isn't true.
Bas looks to the rest of the boys, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever they might be thinking on their faces, but if anyone's thinking anything, they're doing a very good job of hiding it. Maybe he's thinking too much. Maybe he's seeing something that's not there. He desperately wants to believe that he's really not that good at reading people, especially not Oh and Teh.
After eating and chatting for a while, they all wind up running towards the sea- shoes, socks, and shirts being haphazardly discarded on the run over. Mod hits the water first. He dives in deep and stays down for a few seconds before breaking back through the water, a huge smile on his face.
Bas smiles as watches his friends flick water back and forth. Phillip suggests a game of chicken. Bas looks at Oh, but Oh's already looking at Teh, so Bas has to pair up with Kai.
Bas sits atop Kai's shoulders and does his best to knock Mod off of Phillip. It takes a little while, but eventually he catches Mod off guard and manages to push him hard enough to send him toppling off into the water. Bas doesn't know exactly what happens but while Mod’s down there, he does something to Kai and drags him down into the water with him, which of course means Bas goes flying into the sea too.
Bas pushes his hair out of his face and tries to catch his breath. When he finally does, he looks up and sees Teh and Oh playing a short distance away. Oh's floating in the water on his back flicking water at Teh as Teh floats his hands through the water underneath Oh. Bas can hear them laughing and Oh has the brightest smile on his face, one that's all teeth with his eyes nearly scrunched shut. Teh pulls a hand from the water and places it on Oh's arm. They stop laughing then. They simply stare at one another as Teh pushes his other hand through Oh's hair.
"Are you guys playing or not?" Bas yells interrupting.
They both jump and Oh sinks into the water. He stands back up quickly and shoots a look that Bas can't read in Teh's direction before wading over closer to Bas.
"Come on, let's play," Oh says, as he puts his hands on Bas's shoulders and turns him around, pushing him in the direction of the rest of the gang. Bas looks back just in time to see a look of unease cross Teh's face as they wade over to the rest of MoRaoYuLok and Bas can't help the smug feeling that jolts through him.
****
Bas wakes sometime later, opening his eyes to the sun starting to set. They'd played in the water for a while longer before throwing themselves onto the beach to soak up the last minutes of sun.
Bas doesn't remember falling asleep, but he guesses he wasn't the only one who was ridiculously tired, seeing as Kai, Phillip, and Mod are all passed out to his right.
Bas sits up, turns to his left and he's surprised, but also not surprised at what he sees. Oh-Aew and Teh are cuddled up together, Oh's head tucked comfortably between Teh's neck and shoulder. Oh's arm is wrapped tightly around Teh and both of Teh's arms are wrapped tightly around Oh's middle. Oh probably couldn’t leave his embrace if he tried. Their legs look perfectly entangled and Bas watches their chests fall up and down, perfectly in rhythm like they're synced up with each other.
They look content. Perfectly at peace. Bas has to face the facts. This clearly isn't the first time this has happened. This clearly isn't just two best friends cuddling up because it's a little chilly. No, it's clearly much more than that.
They're together now
He's known for a long time that Oh has feelings for Teh and he's suspected that Teh had feelings for Oh for even longer, but he's never been sure. Teh always seemed intent on pushing Oh away and Oh had told Bas he was okay with simply being friends with Teh, that friendship was all he needed, but now, it's clear as day that something has changed. Clearly the universe has shifted, putting them both on the same page and leaving Bas a page behind.
Bas lies back down on his side and watches the two of them silently. He doesn't know how to process this. It wasn't long ago that he and Oh-Aew were together. He let him go not because he wanted to, but because it was the right thing to do. He briefly wishes that he'd held on to him. That he'd been selfish. That he'd never taken him by the restaurant that day, but he quickly realizes that it wouldn't have mattered.
The way the two of them gravitate towards one another? It didn't matter how long Bas dated Oh or how long Oh and Teh were apart, they would gravitate back towards each other eventually. Bas knows he never stood a chance. He's lost Oh. Oh picked the man he wanted. It’s not him. And it hurts.
Bas feels a tear slide down his cheek. He wipes it away quickly, embarrassed that he's once again crying over Oh-Aew, though he was all alone in his room the first time. He turns over to his other side, not wanting to torture himself any longer, and he meets Kai's eyes.
Kai mouths, "I'm sorry," with soft sympathetic eyes and Bas's dam breaks. He covers his mouth as he cries silently not wanting to draw any more attention. Kai scoots over without a word and hugs him tight to his chest.
Bas pours out all his sadness and anger into Kai's shirt that's still damp from the water. Minutes later, when he's all cried out, he feels a little guilty that it's going to take even longer for Kai's shirt to dry now. He untucks his face from Kai's shirt and smiles apologetically, both for wrinkling his shirt, and for leaving his tears and snot all over it. As materialistic as Kai is, he's sure this shirt must have cost him a decent amount of money and he's probably just ruined it. "Sorry," he whispers.
Kai smiles and whispers back, "Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for."
Bas nods and let's go of Kai before he sits up and wipes his face into his own shirt. He gives a glance back over to Teh and Oh-Aew who haven't moved an inch. They're still in their own world, oblivious to his pain.
He's startled when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks back and Phillip, Mod, and Kai, are all staring back at him. They gather around him. Mod puts a hand on top of Bas's head, which Bas normally wouldn't allow, but it feels grounding somehow. Bas closes his eyes and breathes in a deep breath. When he opens them, they’re all still there with him, having managed to surround him on all sides, their arms wrapped around him in what has to be the most bizarre hug he's ever had.
A weight feels like it's been lifted off his chest as he awkwardly hugs them back. It hurts now, but he knows it won't hurt forever. Bas looks back at Teh and Oh-Aew one last time, and smiles.