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Listening to his little sister's advice, Akk decided to go to Theo's house.
Walking up to Theo's front door, he kept thinking back to his conversation with Egg. Theo was a morning person, he should have answered his phone.
Giving Theo the benefit of the doubt and trying to calm his own nervous thoughts, Akk entered the house.
"I'm his boyfriend. I have nothing to be afraid of" Akk muttered, looking at the stairs.
Akk soon entered Theo's room and seeing him on the bed, looking unwell, Akk touched his forehead.
"Are you okay?" Akk asked.
"Theo is not feeling well".
Akk turned around, not expecting to hear another voice answering his question. He found a familiar face looking at him.
"Are you a friend of Theo?"
Akk looked at Theo, unsure how to reply, just to see Theo looking up quickly at him and then looking at his friend.
"He is." Theo replied.
Akk wouldn't admit it, but hearing Theo describe him as a friend, instead of introducing him as his boyfriend hurt more than he would have expected.
"He didn't sound well over the phone yesterday," Theo's friend said, coming closer. "Will you look after Theo then? I have a video conference to get to."
Akk kept glancing between the two.
"Sun, you can go. Don't worry."
Akk felt was feeling more and more uncomfortable.
He had just sat down on Theo's bed when Sun came back to ask him to make a cup of tea for Theo.
"I brought him this tea from France."
Akk glanced at Sun's face and wondered if there was anything more between the two, a niggling feeling of jealousy and insecurity settling inside him.
"He drinks this tea when he's sick. It helps him feel better."
Akk glanced at Theo, for a second wondering if Theo was aware of how thoughtful Sun's actions were.
"Sure." Akk nodded, looking up at Sun.
The weird feeling that was haunting Akk since he had tried calling Theo this morning persisted, despite Sun's departure.
As he was taking care of Theo, his thoughts kept lingering on this unease that settled between them. Akk's attempts at communicating through this issue, hoping it's all a misunderstanding, seemed to fall flat.
Theo wasn't moved much.
Akk went to the kitchen to cook something for Theo and seeing the tea Sun left, he thought back to Theo's friend.
He kept seeing Theo and his friend frequently these days. It often left Akk feeling a bit cast aside, especially since Theo started ignoring him.
He couldn't really blame Sun, he appeared to be a great friend, but Akk also couldn't help but wonder about Theo.
Trying to cast these thoughts aside, he spent the day with Theo, taking care of him and being there even when he slept.
Theo's smiles grew more frequent and once again there was easy affection that had been missing for a while in their relationship.
Akk was feeling so much better seeing Theo like this, he was almost reluctant to go home despite the late hour.
This is why Theo's words were so jarring to hear.
"I'm going back to France."
Akk wondered for a second if he heard it well. Feeling wrong-footed, he looked up at Theo.
"Why?" He asked, his gaze searching Theo's face as he tried to comprehend this decision.
Akk's mind was spinning, wondering at the incongruence of it all.
Despite the rocky start of the day and the missed calls, Akk truly believed after spending all this time enjoying each other's company today that they've reached an understanding of sorts.
He wasn't expecting to hear his boyfriend tell him he was moving halfway across the world. No discussion, just mentioning it as Akk was going home.
He tried to listen to his explanation about his mom and the house in France, but his mind couldn't concentrate.
Akk wondered where he fit in the whole story. If he was ever considered at all.
"I can't let my mom live alone." Theo tried explaining, seeming adamant about making Akk understand.
Akk's mind brought back the image of Theo's mom, middle-aged and ambitious and independent and wondered about the real reasons behind Theo's decision.
In a daze, he heard Theo's attempts at explanation, but the reality of it didn't really sink in until Akk was back in his room.
He felt utterly miserable.
Akk spent days ruminating on Theo and their relationship. From the whole Enchanté thing that Theo lied to him about to this move to France.
Akk couldn't believe Theo didn't even talk to him about it before making his decision.
Not even talking to his older sister made him feel better.
"He already made his choice to live there," she said. "If you truly love him, you must accept it."
Thinking this through, he recalled his own words to Theo about respecting other people's decisions when they'd argued over Theo's parents divorcing.
Heartbroken, yet still Akk decided to accept Theo's decision.
The days went by and the day of Theo's departure was getting closer.
Akk was still mourning the loss of both the friendship and the relationship, but it got easier.
The first thing he did was delete the pictures. They'd just bring up the painful emotions. His mind loved reminding him, but he found things with which to occupy his thoughts.
He still attended classes and talked to his friends there. He still had work to do to improve his photography skills - he even started planning a new project as well. His sisters, too, kept him occupied more than usual.
So it was with a determined mind, yet resigned heart, that he appeared at Theo's to help him pack.
Now that exams were over, the feelings kept appearing more often.
Trying to keep smiling, Akk joked around, even promising that Theo would still be his best friend. But carrying Theo's luggage down the stairs, Akk couldn't help but notice the pain he was feeling in his chest. His mind wanted to linger on the pain, but feeling his eyes water, Akk hurried with the luggage and blinked the tears away before they had the chance to fall.
Sun was high in the sky the day of Theo's departure. Sun, the friend, was there as well, ready to take Theo and his mom to the airport.
Akk looked at the scene, at sunlight reflecting off the car, Sun driving, Theo in the passenger seat looking out the window when his sister came up to him.
"Aren't you going to see him off?"
Standing in front of the gates, he turned to his sister.
"I will just say goodbye from here. He already has someone taking him there."
Akk felt his sister's hand on his shoulder, quietly comforting him and he wondered if Theo thought of him at all.
Two hours later, Akk saw a car pull up to Theo's house. He quickly grabs the pen he was looking at and runs down the stairs.
Once he was close enough to the car, he slowed down and approached the person getting out of the car.
"He's already on board?" Akk asked, looking at that now-familiar face.
Sun was standing casually, one hand holding an envelope, another reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. Sun glanced quickly at his screen, before looking back at Akk.
"Yes. The phone should take off by now."
Akk looked back to the item in his own hand before bringing it up towards Sun.
"Can you give this to Theo?" Akk asked. "I don't think I will get to see him again."
Sun glanced at the pen quickly then focused on Akk.
"Why don't you give it to him yourself?"
"I can't take care of him better than you do. You're a better match."
"You think so?" Sun asked, with a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Well, you suck."
Ouch. Wait, what?
"I- what?" Akk asked, thoroughly confused.
"Well, you gave up on him so easily."
What the fuck.
"He broke up with me. After ignoring and avoiding me for days." Akk replied, feeling incredulous.
"Either way, I'm not moving back to France, I've moved here permanently," Sun was still looking at him, endlessly amused. "So you will have to find a way to return that pen in person."
Looking at that smile, Akk turned the pen in his hand.
"So you won't be going to France?" Akk questioned, feeling himself beginning to smile.
"No, I'm staying here permanently," Sun replied, still looking at him.
"I'll be seeing you then," Akk said, slowly walking backwards.
Sun raised an eyebrow at that, but the smile was still there.
Akk felt his face heating up.
"About the pen! About the pen, of course" Akk said, hurrying back to his house.
"Of course. The pen." Sun agreed, grinning.