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It had taken a lot of time to truly earn Pi's trust, to make him understand that this wasn't a silly game for Mork. That he cared for the younger, that he wanted to be near him, spend time with him, cherish him.
It had been a journey not only for Pi, but for Mork as well. He had fucked up a few times along the way, hadn't understood where Pi came from, why he didn't easily trust people, and had pushed Mork away. Mork had been selfish, pushing Pi too much and had hurt him in the process.
His vision had been blurred by want, so much so that he hadn't even considered taking a step back and trying to understand the other. He had wanted too much, too early, too intensely and now it was crystal clear for him that he had come on way too strong considering Pi's past and the way he had been hurt by people he had trusted.
Now Mork still wanted, of course he did, he wanted so much that it sometimes still overwhelmed him. But now he knew that love wasn't only about taking, it was about giving, too. Giving Pi a shoulder to cry on, giving him the opportunity to get to know Mork, give Phi space if needed.
All he wanted was to see Pi happy and content, he never wanted to be the cause of sadness and hurt again, not ever. Even the mere thought of making his lovely boyfriend cry was bordering on being unbearable.
He hated himself for ever having been the cause, even though it had never been intentional.
He had learned from his mistakes, had apologized, more than once, and he was so very happy that Pi had forgiven him and that they had been able to move past the hurt, together.
Now Mork basked in the feeling of simply being with his boyfriend. He didn’t need any big love announcements in public to know that he was loved, that Pi enjoyed being in his presence just as much, and needed him, too.
They knew they could depend on each other ─ even on bad days. Whenever Mork was in a bad mood or stressed out from his work, just coming home to Pi made him feel better already.
He didn’t know for sure, but Mork intently hoped that he had the same effect on Pi, since he also wasn't as good as his boyfriend at the whole cheering up thing.
Pi was just naturally more bubbly than him, and of course just really cute, so it was logical that he didn’t need to do much to lighten Mork’s mood on a bad day.
But unfortunately, bad days happened to Pi, too. Mork would be lying if he said there wasn't a small part of him that grew irrationally angry at everything and everyone for putting a frown on Pi's face. He was so overprotective of his boyfriend, even he himself found it ridiculous at times. After all, Pi was a grown man and he could fend for himself, had so his whole life. But still, Mork couldn't help worrying.
So when Mork saw the crushed expression on Pi's face when the latter came home from late classes and a long day, his mood immediately changed. Mork had waited for him, dinner ready and excited to maybe watch a movie together, to chat and laugh and cuddle like they usually did.
Mork also had the habit of always assuming the worst, especially when it came to Pi. His head immediately started filling with images of Pi being insulted and pushed around just like that night in the club, as the smile dropped from his face and he started rushing over to the entrance.
"Hey," Pi greeted, a tentative smile on his face, probably in an attempt not to concern Mork. Too late for that.
After taking the bag from Pi's shoulder and swiftly checking him over ─ looking for bruises or other injuries and fortunately not finding any ─ he lifted a hand to his boyfriend's cheek, meeting his eyes with a worried gaze.
"Pi, baby, what's wrong?"
"Do I not even get a proper greeting?" The small smile on Pi's face was honest now; teasing Mork for his antics seemingly one of his favorite pastimes. But Mork couldn't help but notice that the expression still didn't reach his eyes.
Mork pressed a gentle kiss to Pi's forehead before looking at the younger again, a questioning look in his eyes. Pi's smile slowly faded again before the words came flooding out of his mouth.
"I don’t know, this whole day was just shitty. I overslept and came late to my classes, constantly dropped stuff, nothing was going right in the lab and to top it all off, some dude from my faculty called me a slur. Or us, I guess."
The sadness and upset in Pi’s voice made Mork want to wrap him up in a blanket and never let him out into the world again. To find the asshole that dared to insult him and to, Mork was certain, let Pi doubt himself in any way. What a cruel, horrible thing.
As much as Mork wanted to storm out and find the guy who hurt Pi, to give him a piece of his mind and make sure he never even looked at Pi the wrong way again, Mork took a deep breath and tried to calm down. This wouldn't help Pi now. He tried to control his facial expressions from angry to understanding and reassuring and looked back into Pi's deep brown eyes.
"Why don't you freshen up and I will make you a nice hot chocolate and we can talk or watch a movie or do whatever you want, okay? Are you hungry?"
"That sounds great, thank you. And no, I'm not really in the mood to eat. You probably made dinner, right? Sorry," Pi answered, averting his gaze in a sorry motion. As if Mork could ever be upset with Pi about such a trivial thing.
"Don't worry about it, it's fine. We can have it for breakfast or as a midnight snack or whatever. No worries." Mork released Pi's cheek and took a step back.
"I'm gonna get you a towel."
---
When Pi stepped out of the bathroom, he made his way to Mork's bedroom to get some new clothes. They both still lived with their parents, but since Pi didn't have a lot of privacy at home due to sharing a room with his brother, he spent a lot of time at Mork's house.
It still made Mork embarrassingly happy to see all the clothes his boyfriend had left in his drawers. It made the whole relationship more serious, in a weird way, reassuring Mork time and time again that Pi was there to stay.
But today these happy thoughts were far away as he noticed the frown still on Pi's face. He had probably dwelled on the experiences of his day while showering, ever the overthinker.
Mork put the mug of hot chocolate down on the table beside the couch and quickly went to the family living room to get a blanket. Even though it was as hot as always in Thailand, he believed that on a day like this, what mattered most was comfort. So he had turned up the AC, put on a sweater and was now making his way back to his room, ready to cuddle Pi up in the blanket.
That still couldn't protect him from the cruelty of the world, Mork was aware, but hopefully it made it a little more bearable for a short period of time.
When Mork entered his bedroom again, he saw Pi already on the couch, mug in hand, eyes fixated on the opposite wall while he absentmindedly chewed on his lower lip. Mork quickly went over to him, draped the blanket over Pi's shoulders and sat beside him. As if they had rehearsed these movements, Pi scooted down the couch a bit and leaned into Mork's side who hugged him closer with an arm over Pi's shoulders. They relaxed against each other, into the familiarity of this position.
Despite the circumstances, Mork felt happy that Pi trusted him and was the person he went to for comfort. Of course right now, he was more worried and focused on Pi's feelings instead of his own, but still, a small part of him basked in the feeling of being loved.
Maybe he was still selfish after all.
A few minutes of silence passed, only interrupted by the occasional sound of Pi sipping on his chocolate.
"Do you want to tell me what you're thinking about?", asked Mork finally, breaking the quiet.
"I don't know. It's stupid that it is even on my mind anymore."
"It's not stupid. Is it about the guy from your faculty?" Pi nodded his head in answer.
Mork couldn't believe it. That guy was damn lucky Mork wasn't a violent person.
Pi took another sip before elaborating, his worries seemingly all pouring out at once.
"It's not even about what he said specifically. I know what people say about people like us, and it's not particularly the words that hit me. But it's just so damn unfair that they think they have a right to insult us just because we are two men. There's nothing wrong with that. It sucks so much that we are still the odd ones out, that we still have to listen to people verbally assault us. I just want to feel like I belong."
Mork noticed himself suck in a harsh breath at the confession.
As much as he wished he had an answer to that, some kind of consolation, he didn't. It was unfair and it did suck, and as much as he wanted to change that, he couldn't. He would give everything, do anything, to make this world different, to make it a safe place for all queer people, and ultimately Pi.
In this moment, he felt so sad and helpless, because there was nothing he could do, nothing he could say to erase the fact that some homophobic asshole thought he had the right to say a single negative thing to his precious boyfriend. To think he could put himself over Pi.
"I'm sorry this happened to you. If I was able to undo what he did to you, believe me, I would." He pressed a little kiss to the top of Pi’s head. "And I’m sorry that I have no wise words or a solution. I just know that you do belong and that asshole had no right to make you feel any differently."
Before his next words, he took Pi's free hand into his own, interlaced their fingers and hugged Pi a little tighter against his side.
"In the very least I know for a fact that you belong right here, next to me, okay? And no one can take that away from us. I know it's hard, but let them talk. What matters most is us, together."
Pi slightly turned around in their embrace to press a small kiss against Mork's chin, the highest point he could reach.
"Thank you, Mork. I know you can't do anything, I just needed to vent. Normally, things like that don't really bother me anymore, but today it was just the last straw. I'm happy you're here, though."
"Always, Pi, you know that," Mork replied.
Pi leaned forward to put his now empty mug away and turned around to look at his boyfriend.
"Yes, I know," Pi smiled a little at Mork, reassuringly, before looking at him with pleading eyes. "Can we lay down? I just need you to hold me right now."
"Of course, baby. Anything you want." And Mork meant it. He would do anything in his power to make his baby happy. And holding him was more than possible. A pleasure, really.
They both quickly went into the bathroom to brush their teeth, sending smiles to each other through the mirror. I'm so happy I'm here, too, Mork couldn't help but think, remembering Pi's words from earlier.
When they were finally comfortable in bed, facing each other and Mork's arms wound around Pi's abdomen with their legs tangled, Pi let out a little sigh that finally sounded somewhat content.
"Sorry I've been such a downer tonight, Mork. This is probably not what you had in mind."
Again, as if Mork could ever be upset with Pi about something like this.
"No, none of that. Don't you dare apologize for feeling emotions. I want to be with you, always. Not just when things are good. I'm in it for better or worse. What matters most to me is you."
To underline his statement, Mork started peppering small kisses all over Pi's face. His forehead, his nose, his cheeks, his eyelids, the corners of his lips. The giggle he received in anwer was like music to Mork's ears. He planted a final kiss against Pi's lips and hoped the younger could sense all the feelings poured into the touch. All his love and adoration and validation.
Pi reciprocated instantly and as always when they kissed like this, it felt like there were sparks flying. Mork was certain he would never get sick of it. When they broke apart, only inches since they were still in a tight embrace, their eyes met and Mork was elated to find that the sadness he had noticed in Pi’s eyes earlier was gone now.
"Thank you, Mork." Pi untangled a hand from between their bodies and lifted it toward's his boyfriend's face to move aside a strand of hair that was dangerously close to falling into Mork's eye. "I love you. I'm feeling much better now."
"I'm really glad then. And I love you, too, so much." Mork couldn't suppress a smile. All he ever wants is to see Pi happy. "Try to sleep now, love, you look tired."
It was moments like these that showed Mork time and time again that what they had was precious to him. Just being able to be there for Pi after he had had a bad day, to help make the world bearable again for him, just by holding him and listening, was enough for him.
"You should get some rest, too. You had a handful to do tonight after all," Pi answered with a chuckle. Mork couldn't help but beam back at him. "You know there's nothing I like doing more than taking care of you." He pressed another tender kiss to the corner of Pi's mouth before they finally said their goodnights and got comfortable.
Mork scooted a little closer, positioning himself so that Pi's head was tucked underneath his chin, face to chest ─ one of his favorite positions. Holding Pi close by the small of his back, thumb rubbing small circles into his skin.
While listening to Pi's breathing getting slower as he fell asleep, Mork felt himself be pulled into unconsciousness as well.