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It starts one day as they’re both waiting outside of Pat and Pran’s rooms.
It’s not like they went there together but somehow they ended up alone in the elevator, all stolen glances and awkward silence.
They’re friends now, in a way. They don’t fight like they used to, or not as much at least. They can have lunch together without throwing punches but sometimes it’s a close call. They still get a kick out of provoking each other though, apparently innocuous words dropped in a conversation like they mean nothing but the look in their eyes says otherwise.
So usually they just stay quiet, eyeing each other with both curiosity and distrust.
Korn only breaks eye contact as he gets a text from Pat. "Pat says they'll be back in five," he tells Wai, putting his phone back in his pocket. He leans with his back against the wall, arms crossed and turns back to look at Wai once more.
The other hums in response and starts slowly pacing in the narrow corridor between the two doors with his head down. It doesn't even take a minute for him to get fed up, so he stops in front of Korn, still a few feets away and stares up at him, standing with his hands in his pockets in a nonchalant posture. "So," he says quietly, dragging on the vowel. "What are you and Pat doing this evening?"
Korn eyes him suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. "We're studying," he replies after a while. "Why are you asking?"
Wai just shrugs. "No reason." He goes back to pacing back and forth, forming uneven circles on the tiled floor. "So you two actually study sometimes, huh?"
The other doesn't move but furrows his eyebrows, held tilting slightly. "What is that supposed to mean?" His tone isn't exactly irritated but it's enough to make a small grin appear on Wai's face.
"I just didn't take you two for the kind who studied," he says, turning to face Korn with an obviously fake smile.
Korn pushes himself away from the wall and takes a step closer to the other guy. They're barely a feet apart. "Very funny," he says dully. "I thought we were trying to be friends."
Wai's smile gets even bigger. "That doesn't mean I can't tell the truth."
He is immediately grabbed by the collar, Korn's face mere inches from his own, their noses almost touching. "Stop being an ass," he whispers through his gritted teeth. He sees a hint of excitement in Wai's eyes, like this was what he wanted all along. Old habits are hard to quit.
Slowly, deliberately, he whispers back, "Make me."
He moves more on instinct than anything else. He feels something hot in his stomach and suppresses the need to punch him right in the face, or do something he'll definitely regret later. He pushes him away suddenly and, in the narrow hall, against the opposite wall. But somehow finds himself following him, hovering over him and caging him against it.
Wai's eyes widen and Korn can see that shiver that passes through his body. He can hear the other's trembling breathing and is about to ask if he's okay, if he got hurt when he hit the wall, when he hears footsteps getting closer and stopping not too far from them.
"What the hell are you two doing?" He hears Pat ask, confused. With his hands still on either side of Wai's head, he turns to look at his best friend and his boyfriend, hands intertwined as they hold a bag of food in the other.
Korn turns around to look one more time at Wai, who doesn't seem to have noticed his friend's arrival, instead staring at Korn with a look that he could only describe as scared in that moment.
He licks his now very dry lips and finds Wai observing attentively the motion. Finally, as if something in him had snapped, he drops his hands from the wall and turns to Pat. "Nothing," he smiles and walks towards him to drape an arm around his shoulder. "Let's go inside?"
Pat and Pran eye Wai, who still hadn’t moved, then each other in confusion but decide to let it go with a shrug.
"Yeah," Pat simply says, leaning to kiss Pran on the cheek as he looks in his pockets for the keys.
Pran shoves him away gently with an embarrassed smile. "We should go have dinner too. Right, Wai?"
Wai finally raises his head and looks at Pran for the first time since he arrived. "Huh?" He blinks fastly a few times and swallows once before answering, "Oh, yes. Let's go."
His voice is strange, lower than it usually is, almost raspy, but also slightly high pitched at the end. Pat and Korn walk past him to Pat's door and, as his friend fights with the keys, he turns around to glance at Wai one more time. He looks out of it. He's about to ask him if he did actually hurt himself earlier but Pat finally manages to open the door and all but drags him inside.
He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about Wai's face for the past few days. He's pretty sure by now that Wai must have hit his head hard against the wall but has had no way to confirm as he hasn't managed to talk to Wai yet since then.
It's weird, sure, because despite being from different and even rival faculties they ended up meeting around campus even multiple times a day while now it's been three days and he only managed to see him from afar. But it's good, he guesses, because he doesn't know how he would act were he to find himself in front of Wai.
It's just, after that occurrence, his brain deteriorated to a point Korn actually thought he was the one who hit his head. No matter what he tried, whenever he closed his eyes he would picture Wai's widened eyes looking up at him, except he didn't seem afraid as Korn remembers him being. Instead, he has an unfamiliar fire in his eyes, much different than the one Korn is used to seeing when they fight. The way it makes him feel though it's the same, almost; stomach hot and twisting, hands trembling for contact, the need for skin against skin that makes him light-headed and his ears ring.
He still feels the need to be rough, to bite, to mark his skin in blues and purples but at the same time he wants to be… gentle, in a way. It's contradicting, this feeling, and it makes him lie awake until much too late, making it impossible to remember how Wai really looked at him that day, if it was actually all his imagination.
So, really, it's not exactly a bad thing that they haven't met yet but apparently it's not a good thing either because it makes Korn distracted, it makes him attentively check his surroundings whenever he enters a room. By the third day he barely manages to stop himself in time, right before entering the faculty of Architecture's main building.
That’s why, when he catches sight of him waiting in front of one of the elevators, he skips through the crowd of students to get inside with him, earning indignant noises from them.
The elevator is spacious but it fills quickly with the swarm of students rushing to go home and rest. He reaches for Wai just in time to turn him around before he’s being pushed forward by the crowd, slamming Wai against the elevator’s wall and promptly raising a hand to protect his head from hitting it.
He curses something under his breath before looking up to check on Wai. They’re closer than they were last time so he can’t focus on the whole face and finds himself lost in his eyes. Any apology or concern vanishes as he’s met with that expression once again. It’s not exactly identical as the first but it holds Korn in place all the same. There’s something in Wai’s eyes that looks different, the fear that was clear in his face now completely dispersed to leave space for a feeling that Korn can’t quite grasp.
Unconsciously he tightens his hold on the other’s wrist and Wai winces as he breaks eye contact after what seemed an eternity and yet not enough. Korn lets go of his hand and they both come back to their senses.
While the elevator finishes its course Wai looks everywhere but at Korn, who instead is still looking at him, biting his lower lip as he thinks on what to say. The doors open to the ground floor and all the students walk out, finally giving them some space. Wai pushes him aside and walks past him rapidly but Korn isn’t going to spend any more time being avoided.
He follows him outside to grab him once again by the wrist and Wai turns to him, face red and brows furrowed in annoyance. Korn doesn’t care. “Is everything okay?”
The other lets out an annoyed sigh. “Sure,” he says through gritted teeth. He tries to yank his hand away but Korn doesn’t let go. He moves closer instead and Wai takes an instinctive step back.
Korn raises an eyebrow at that. “Then why are you avoiding me?”
Wai’s already blushing face turns even redder as he desperately looks around for someone, something, to save him from this situation. “I’m not.”
At that, Korn takes another step ahead which causes Wai to move back again. Korn leans forward with a teasing smile. “You sure?” He laughs as Wai huffs, tugging his arm until Korn finally lets him go. He turns away to leave and Korn hops past him, giving him a pat on the back with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow at lunch then.”
Wai rolls his eyes.
He's not being avoided anymore and that should be good. And it is, really. He has lunch everyday with Wai, and Pat and Pran that, even if sometimes they just look at each other as if having a secret, silent conversation, aren't like those couples that close themselves in their own world and forget everyone else around them.
It's nice and fun and Korn shouldn't have anything to complain about but whenever he turns to steal a glance at Wai, he finds him already staring and looking away as soon as he's caught. It makes his stomach turn, knowing he has Wai's constant attention on him but he isn't sure how it actually makes him feel. He isn't even sure what Wai's looks mean, he only knows it makes something in his chest burn but he knows how to extinguish the fire of instinct by now.
They're fighting again, somehow. Pat and Pran luckily aren't there to see but that's probably why they're fighting in the first place. Korn isn’t exactly sure how or why it started and he honestly doesn't care as he finds himself pinning Wai against the wall for what seemed the hundredth time.
It's just the third time, he knows, not like he's keeping count, but in his dreams he's lived this same situation time and time again. Even there it always starts with a fight but rarely finishes as such, rough hands against warm skin for very different reasons.
That's why he doesn't really blame himself when instead of screaming once more in response to Wai's insults he just angrily stalks towards him, making him back away until he hits the wall and there's nowhere left to escape. He wouldn't have thought, though, that it would affect him so much either.
It works at least; Wai shuts up and gives him that look. He gulps, breath getting faster as the fire inside him grows bigger.
Wai must notice something because his eyes suddenly gleam with realization that rapidly turns into excitement. Yet, he doesn't say anything nor does he smile or make fun of Korn. Instead, he raises his arm and places a hand on the other's chest. Korn braces for the push he knows it's coming but Wai's hand curls, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him closer.
Standing nose to nose, they stare at each other, studying every reaction the other concedes. Korn tries hard to suppress the surge of emotions he feels at the closeness, hopes that his heart isn't beating too hard for Wai to feel it with his hand.
He feels Wai's breath mix with his as he looks for any sort of answer in Wai's eyes.
"P'Korn, P'Wai, are you two fighting?" A concerned voice asks.
Does it look like we're fighting? He thinks mockingly, but still tastes bitter in his mouth when he realizes that's probably what everyone would think seeing them like this. Korn and Wai, always fighting, always hating each other.
It takes Korn's brain longer than it would normally have to associate the girl's voice to Pa. He reluctantly looks away from Wai who immediately loosens the hold on his shirt as soon as he notices Pa.
Of course .
His smile at her is a little too forced, until he realizes she's with Ink, still holding hands, and his smile softens along with the ache in his chest. "We weren't fighting, right, Wai?" He gently nudges at Wai with his elbow but doesn't look at him, unsure what he'll give away to the scrutinizing eyes of Ink if he did.
Next to him, Wai stutters as he tries to find a response. "Y-Yeah we were, huh, we were talking."
Ink raises her eyebrow. "Talking," she repeats.
Korn laughs as he pats Pa in the shoulder twice. "Yeah, we don't fight anymore, you know. We were just talking." He raises his hand from Pa's shoulder to her cheek and brushes away a strand of hair from her face.
The look Ink gives him is exactly what he expected and he's pleased to see her tug at Pa's hand right after. "Pa, we should go. We also have some talking to do."
Korn laughs at that and watches amused as a confused PA is dragged away by her girlfriend. When he finally turns to look at Wai he finds him staring at him with furrowed brows. "What?"
Wai lets out a long sigh, raising a hand to his face to rub his eyes. "Nothing, I'm just tired," he says and starts to walk away.
Korn looks at him go and realizes that, despite what he says to Pat, he might still have a crush on Pa. Oh , that explains why he looked mad at him when Ink and Pa left, he had touched Pa's hair to tease Ink but that had also made Wai jealous. Of course.
He bites his lips in thought, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. As he picks his phone to call Pat, the ping of a new notification distracts him: it's a message from Wai and it just says See you tomorrow.
It does relieve him a little.
Korn would swear that it was just a coincidence, that it just kept happening for some unknown reason. Most likely it was just the universe making fun of him and his reactions, to constantly expose him in front of who slowly became the most important person in his life.
He liked it when they could just talk and have fun, together and with their friends, no insults or punches involved, but he also liked a good fight and Wai seemed to enjoy it too.
Still, Korn had now actually lost count of how many times Wai had ended up between him and a solid wall. Whether they were fighting or playing and that one time really just walking on a narrow sidewalk, they'd somehow find themselves pressed against each other and each time Wai would look at him for a long moment without saying a word, eyes piercing his very soul.
So, really, it has to be a coincidence, because despite how much he savors those moments he knows he isn't doing it on purpose.
Wai doesn't seem as bothered as he was the first time, actually growing more and more confident each time, making jokes after they remember there's something else in the world other than themselves. And Korn can't help but go along with it, pretending it doesn't leave a bittersweet taste in his mouth every time they stop touching each other.
And if he stays up all night thinking about those moments or dreaming about them and what he wants to come after, well, he doesn't show it.
Wai has been getting more and more impetuous recently and sometimes they end up actually landing a punch or two at the other. It's nothing serious usually, at least nothing a few drinks at the pub can't mend. And Korn is actually glad, despite the looks of disappointment they get from Pat and Pran, because at least he gets to touch and the fire in his chest subsides, if just slightly.
He knows he can't turn back now. He's far too gone to pretend that it's just joking and teasing, to justify it on the hormones and the fact that he hasn't gotten laid in a long time. Thinking back, he should've seen it coming. He should have known earlier that he kept pulling Wai's hair because he wanted those eyes on him, craved Wai's attention all for himself.
Not a healthy coping method but it did the job. It does, still. At least for him.
He's watched Wai enough since it all started yet he still can't understand what he's thinking. When they fight, he can see that Wai's feelings match his own, in a way, but how far does it go? Does it do it just for the sake of fighting or is there more to it?
That look Wai always gives him flashes through his mind sometimes and he lets himself hope for a moment, before remembering how he watches Pa when she joins them and how his gaze could kill him when he watches Korn talk to her kindly. As much as he might do it on purpose just to get Wai all riled up, he still feels nauseous whenever he sees the raw jealousy in Wai's face.
Nevertheless, he's learning to live with it.
As he's waiting for Pat to finally join him for lunch, food half eaten and cold by now, when Ink sits in front of him. The look on her face tells him that nothing good is going to come out of this conversation. "Can you tell your boyfriend to stop looking at my girlfriend like she killed his pet hamster or something?"
Korn blinks at her, face blank. His brain stops working. "My, huh, my what? Who?"
Ink crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow at him, clearly annoyed. "Your boyfriend," she repeats and when she sees Korn's still confused expression, she adds, "Wai."
He almost jumps to his feet at that, straightening up on his seat and pushing down the remnants of his drink, luckily avoiding getting soaked. He laughs hysterically as he desperately dries the table with the few tissues he has. "H-he's not my boyfriend, why the hell would you think he's my boyfriend, we're- we're friends, b-barely."
Ink can't keep a straight face anymore and bursts out laughing. "Calm down, I'm not accusing you. It's just, you know," she gestures vaguely with her hand, "I thought that thing you do, slamming Wai against the nearest wall all the time was like, you guys' kink or something."
Now, Korn is the kind of person who can find sexual innuendos in a restaurant's menu if he wanted, making sex jokes like it's his job. He isn't shy nor ashamed about it. But still, as he hears that, he flushes, down to his neck. He feels seen and he wonders if she can actually read his thoughts. For both of their sanity, he hopes not. "I-it's not. We're not together. That's just… how we fight?"
Ink grins in amusement. "Yeah, that's definitely how two people fight, if Pat and Pran are your to-go example." Korn opens his mouth to reply but closes it immediately when he realizes he can't find the words to deny it. "You two are clearly into each other, stop making your life difficult and get the hell together. I'm so done with you."
"But he still likes Pa," Korn sighs, despair obvious in his voice.
In response, Ink rolls her eyes so hard that for a moment he fears they'd roll all the way back. "He likes Pa?" She raises a hand to rub her forehead. "By the way he looks at her I fear that he might blow her head sometimes. Especially when she's talking to you ."
He stares at her in disbelief with his mouth half-opened. "I think you've got it wrong."
She slams her hand on the table, then raises it to point accusingly at Korn, leaning forward over the table. "No, you got it wrong, you big idiot. Do you even know how he looks at you when you aren't looking?" Her voice hasn't raised in volume but Korn still feels like he's being yelled at, scolded like a kid who misbehaved. "Of course you don't, you don't even understand how he looks at you when you're actually looking." She leans back on the chair, tilting her head upwards. "Damn, men are really oblivious."
"You're one to talk," Pa says with a chuckle, appearing behind her and leaning down to lay a gentle kiss on her forehead. Ink smiles and stands up fastly to pull her in for a hug.
Next to them, Pat grimaces. "Go away, you lovebirds."
Ink smacks him on the arm. "As if you and Pran are any better," she says with a laugh. "We're gonna leave you two alone. Bye bye."
She grabs Pa's hand, who gives a quick goodbye before she's taken away.
Pat looks down at a desperate Korn and falls on the chair with a knowing smile. The other just whines. "I'm pretty much fucked, huh."
He knows he can't just walk up to Wai and tell him they need to talk. It's not a thing they do, talking. They either joke or they fight, the rest of the time they let their friends do the serious talking.
So it's a given he isn't sure how to approach Wai to discuss their feelings, assuming there are any from Wai's side. Pat has told him to be honest and "just like he always is", but as he walks inside the pub Wai works at he instantly forgets how he usually behaves with Wai, or people in general.
He gets a strong enough drink to build up courage, cursing his high alcohol tolerance when all he gets it's a slight headache. He watches Wai take people's orders with a gentle smile, pondering over the fact that he had never smiled at him like that, or at all honesty, if not with fake, forced smiles. He's seen him laugh, certainly, but it was never directed only at him and no one else. He swallows down the sour feeling rising in his throat as he keeps looking at him, wanting.
Korn stays until closing time and not once does Wai glance at him. He knows, he hasn't stopped watching him all night.
Finally, as the last clients leave the building, Wai turns to walk towards him. Before he can say anything though Korn speaks. "I'll wait for you outside."
Wai is taken aback for a second, then he nods. "It might take a while, though."
Korn shrugs. "I have time."
Outside the pub, he keeps checking his phone but time doesn't go any faster. If anything, it seems like it's slowed down. He paces back and forth to stop himself from running away, his heart accelerating at every step he takes.
Eleven minutes after talking to Wai, he comes out of the pub slightly disheveled. Korn's breath catches. "Thought it'll take longer," he admits and doesn’t understand his own implication until Wai looks away in embarrassment. There's not enough light to see properly but he's sure his ears are darker than they should be.
"There wasn't much to do," the other explains. He's shifting his weight from one feet to the other and he looks a second away from running. He doesn't look at Korn. "You know, I think it's better if we talk tomorrow."
Before Korn can even understand what he just said, he turns to leave. He thanks his instincts then, as he grabs him by the shoulders and drags him to the alley behind the pub. It's even darker here but luckily he can still make out Wai's face as once more, this time on purpose, he pushes him against the wall, leaning in close, caging him with his arms on either side of his head.
He isn't sure if it's the safety of the dark or if Wai simply decides to finally let go, but in his expression, the same one that made him lose his mind for months, he finds a new layer of emotions. He feels Wai's hands raise to his sides, grabbing at his shirt like a lifeline, but all he can focus on now is the sheer want in Wai's eyes.
And for the first time he realizes something important, something he's sure he'll never forget. Wai likes this. He likes how Korn almost towers over him when he's pinned against the wall, despite them being the same height. He likes feeling trapped and he likes to feel Korn so close to him. Korn doesn’t need confirmation when Wai's eyes speak for him.
The fire in his chest grows hotter than ever and he's sure his heart might explode if he doesn't do something, anything .
He moves to hold Wai's face with both of his hands gently and leans forward, until their noses are touching. He takes a few shaky breaths trying to find the words to ask him for permission but his heart is beating so fast he can't think.
He sees Wai frowning and feels him tug him closer by the shirt. "Are you waiting for an open invitation?" He asks, irritated, and Korn doesn’t wait a second more.
They kiss like they fight, unsurprisingly, rough, bruising, each trying to get control over the other. Yet, beneath it all there's a gentleness that's unlike them. It's in the way Korn' thumbs stroke Wai's cheeks as they kiss and in Wai's hands moving to Korn's back, pulling him closer until they're flush with each other.
When they pull away for air, Korn is reluctant to move even an inch away and he's glad when Wai presses their foreheads together and tightens his grip. "Fucking took you long enough," he scolds, breathing heavily. "Thought I'd have to literally punch some sense into you."
Korn laughs happily and, as Wai rolls his eyes, he leans in once more.
Pa swats his hand away as he tries to pat her head once again.
"Either you tell your boyfriend to stop looking at my girlfriend like she's a criminal or you stop talking to her altogether," Ink says, looking murderous.
Korn grins and turns to Wai sitting next to him. "Boyfriend, could you please stop trying to kill Pa with your gaze?" He asks mockingly. He raises a hand to his shoulder reassuringly. "She's just my little sister."
"Excuse you," Pat interrupts. "She's my little sister."
"But you're my best friend, so she's also mine," he shrugs.
Pran shakes his head as he laughs. "That's not really how it works."
Korn laughs too and moves his hand on Wai's thigh, squeezing gently and maybe also a little teasingly. "There's really nothing you should worry about."
Wai says nothing for a long moment, eyebrows still furrowed and mouth curved down in displeasure, hands crossed on his chest. Then, with an offended tone, he whispers, "Why don't you ever do that to me then?"
Everyone shuts up as they turn to stare at him in disbelief. He isn't looking at any of them, instead focusing on the drink on the table like it committed a crime against him. Suddenly, Korn bursts out laughing and starts ruffling his hair. "Shut the fuck up, oh my God," he exclaims as he grabs his face in his hands. "You're fucking adorable." And he leans in for a kiss.
The others just whine in disgust.