Work Text:
"So kiss me where I lay down
My hands pressed to your cheeks
To be loved and to be in love
And all I can do is say
That these arms were made for holding you"
i.
Gemini is late again.
He’s running from one place to another in their small apartment (Fourth’s. It’s actually Fourth’s; but Gemini spends so much time in there that Fourth starts calling it theirs in his head), a toast secured in his mouth as he tries to grab everything he needs before leaving for his morning classes.
He eats up his toast in two bites and puts on his shoes, cheeks still stuffed as he munches. He looks like a hamster, and Fourth’s chest swells with affection. He adores watching him eat, and if he had more time— if he had woken up earlier, if he hadn’t cuddled Fourth until it was too late— then Fourth would’ve sat on a corner and watch him eat his breakfast for over an hour.
Fourth stares at him as he skips over to the entrance, hair still a mess and tie undone. There’re crumbs on his nose and his shirt uniform isn’t even tucked into his pants. He literally couldn’t be a bigger disaster, and he’s so adorably gorgeous Fourth wants to kiss his cute face and beg him to stay.
“Your tie,” Fourth says.
Gemini runs a hand through his hair— his long bangs get into his eyes, but he doesn’t want to cut them off and so he keeps trying to take it off his sight. Fourth finds the repetitive act endearing, as much as when Gemini uses Fourth’s hairclips and hairbands to pull the unruly hair off his forehead.
“I’ll do it in the car,” he says. The crybaby rainbow keychain Fourth gifted him jiggles on his backpack as he turns around to leave.
“Not while driving,” Fourth admonishes.
Gemini chuckles, looking over his shoulder to grin at Fourth. His smile is toothy and boyish and all sorts of warm and fond, and Fourth really wants to kiss him.
“Yeah. Not while driving, my protector,” he echoes, as a promise.
Fourth bites the inside of his cheek at the usual nickname— he’s not getting flustered over something Gemini has called him over and over again, he’s not.
“Have a nice day,” Fourth mumbles, embarrassed nonetheless.
Gemini’s smile softens, but his eyes sparkle even more than before. He throws an air kiss and waves goodbye, silly and cute. “You too, babe.”
Fourth bites down the giddy, enamored smile that threatens to show up on his lips. He looks down, hands fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater and— ah. That’s when he notices: Gemini’s car keys are resting on the counter of his kitchen.
Unsurprising, given Gemini keeps forgetting them everywhere inside Fourth’s apartment, but definitely a problem if he has to get up all the building again just for them.
“Gem, wait—”
“Hm?”
Gemini has his hand on the doorknob already when Fourth jogs to him.
“What’s wrong?”
Fourth stops in front of him, looks up. Gosh, he’s tall. Actually— did he get even taller than last summer? Fourth has to tip his head back to meet his eyes.
He breathes in, ignoring the way his heart jumps in his chest when Gem bends down slightly to be closer to him.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he asks.
Gemini tilts his head— like a confused kitten, “Eh?”
Fourth is meant to sound teasingly scolding in his question, as he’s told Gem multiple times to keep the keys on his bag, but Gemini must confuse his tone with a flirty one, because his eyes scan Fourth’s face for a second before he has the same exact reaction he’s got every time Fourth delivers a cheesy pick-up line: the quirked eyebrow, the slight tilt of his mouth, the fond amusement in his eyes, the suppressed giggle bubbling at the back of his throat; like he’s trying very hard not to smile.
“Oh,” he says, nodding. Something in the way he pouts after— playful mirth etched in every single one of his features— tells Fourth he didn’t get what he meant. “Right.”
Fourth arches both eyebrows. “Right?”
He’s about to push the keys into Gem’s chest, but Gemini takes a step closer to him and makes Fourth freeze on the spot, like a deer caught in the headlights, an alarm going off inside his head.
He’s too close, he’s too close, he’s too close; his heart chants.
“U-Uh—”
He’s on the verge of asking ‘what are you doing?’ when Gemini decides to cup Fourth’s face.
Fourth blinks— once, twice; too many times to count. He’s as equally surprised as he is delighted and absolutely mortified with the gesture. His pulse skyrockets to the moon, hands shaking at his sides.
Gemini caresses Fourth’s cheeks with his thumbs softly, the rest of his fingers delicately brushing the sides of Fourth’s face— adoringly so; almost reverently in the gentleness of his ministrations.
Fourth is so absorbed into the moment he doesn’t even want to ask what’s happening anymore.
Gemini’s thumbs slide down Fourth’s face to his lips, and the mere contact is electric— tender and sweet— enough to send goosebumps down Fourth’s spine and his toes curl; enough to make his ears buzz.
Fourth looks up at him through his eyelashes— watches as Gemini bends down and feels as his stomach flutters alive and wild.
Gemini kisses his own fingers, there over Fourth’s mouth. His lips barely brush Fourth’s in the space between his nails, but even so— the gentlest meet of their lips make Fourth downright malfunction.
Wha—
Gemini steps back too fast; warmth lingering after him like a trail who follows him everywhere; like something he carries with him as he is warmth itself. Fourth stands there; flustered and agitated and giddy, still trying to process what just happened.
“There,” Gem says, all giggly and teasing and criminally cute. “What I forgot. Bye-bye, FotFot.”
It takes the entirety of five seconds for Fourth to realize what Gemini meant by that.
He blinks.
“I—” he croaks; his voice nowhere to be found. “I—”
He clears off his throat, licks his lips. Gemini’s presence tingles on his skin. He looks down, then up again. Gemini is oblivious to the mess that’s happening inside Fourth’s body— the zoo having a party in his stomach, the hummingbirds flying around in his chest.
I didn’t mean a kiss.
“I meant— I was talking about your keys— your keys,” Fourth manages to say. He can feel his cheeks burning, and his ears getting warmer by every passing second. “But, uh… yeah. Mmn.”
He hums awkwardly, looking everywhere but Gemini’s eyes as he pushes the keys on Gem’s arm, aimlessly.
There’s a pause, a beat of silence where Gemini must be connecting the dots.
“Oh,” he utters.
Fourth looks up.
“Oh.”
He looks embarrassed. A tad bit shy, too.
Fourth wants to kiss him again; no hands involved.
“Dummy,” Fourth says, a chuckle reverberating in his chest— at the absurdity of the situation, or maybe at the myriad of butterflies inside his body.
He prods Gemini with the keys again; smiles sheepishly but reassuringly.
“You’ll be late,” he says, soft.
Gemini stares at him, then lets his head fall into Fourth’s shoulder. His forehead thumps in the slope of Fourth’s collarbone. Maybe he wants to recharge; maybe he wants to hide away his embarrassment; maybe he just needs Fourth’s touch for a second.
He’s warm; cozy and soft. Fourth doesn’t want to let him go.
“You’ll be late,” he says again; barely a whisper in the quiet of the room.
Gemini hums in response. “Five more minutes.”
Fourth’s fingers slide up Gem’s side, fingertips drawing the tiny waist and the curve of his ribs over Gem’s clothes.
‘Five minutes?’ Hah.
I’d give you my forever, Fourth wants to answer. But he can’t.
“Gem,” he says.
His hand sneaks inside Gemini’s untucked shirt, tentative. No response outside of a slight tremble from Gemini’s part. Fourth carefully brushes his fingers up and up and up— touch featherlight on Gem’s skin. His index finger traces the column of Gemini’s back tenderly, and something inside himself aches.
He’s beautiful.
“Gem,” he says again, trying to ignore the way Gemini sighs into Fourth’s neck when Fourth’s hand spreads all over Gemini’s bare shoulder blade. “You’ll be late.”
He kisses Gem’s temple, a soft press of lips before he’s gone.
And perhaps Fourth is a bit delirious, because it seems like Gemini leans into the touch.
“Yeah, okay,” he says, taking the keys from Fourth’s hands and stepping away.
Fourth already misses his warmth.
“See you later, FotFot,” he says. There’s a hint of faint pink on his cheeks, and Fourth smiles. He’s benevolent enough to not point it out.
“See you. Drive safely.”
Gem nods, then opens the door and goes out.
Fourth breathes in after the door is long closed, then claps his hands into his cheeks a couple of times, trying to get back to reality and crush whatever hope ignited inside himself into ashes.
That wasn’t something. Gemini was just joking around.
Yeah, just— a slip.
Nothing more.
(He can’t help being bubbly all day, though.)
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ii.
Fourth is passed out on his couch when Gemini steps inside his living-room. It’s probably past 11 pm, and he just came from the studio his band is renting for practice during the week.
Fourth winces, half-asleep as he listens to the creak of his wooden floor and the door clicking closed. He doesn’t even need to open his eyes to know it’s Gemini— it’s not even because he’s the only person besides Fourth who has a key to his apartment— but Fourth would recognize him anywhere. He’d recognize his steps in the middle of a thunderstorm; so familiar with his sugary scent and warm skin he’d recognize him by touch alone, blind and deaf. He’s so attentive to him he’d notice the smallest changes in Gemini’s eyes; pinpoint the sound of his breathing and heartbeat inside a room full of people.
He rolls on his side, hands under his head in an improvised pillow.
Gemini walks inside the room and crouches in front of him. He doesn’t say anything, but Fourth can feel his presence— around him, in the darkness of the room, tickling in Fourth’s skin.
He’s wondering why isn’t Gem doing anything when he feels the surface of the couch sink at his side, like weight has been pressed into it. A second later, Fourth realizes Gemini supported his arm there as he leaned towards Fourth.
There’s the softest press on his lips, and Fourth opens his eyes to see Gemini’s face a palm from his. He’s kneeled down in front of the couch, forearm pushed in the couch as he ducks his head down—
It’s not his lips on Fourth’s, but his fingers again; the index and middle finger cover Fourth’s mouth as Gemini leans down to kiss his own knuckles.
He’s so close Fourth can count his eyelashes; so close his breathing tickles Fourth’s cheek, and the hair falling over his eyes brush against Fourth’s forehead. He’s very tempted to just grab Gem’s wrist and pull the hand away— maybe just kiss back, even if it’s Gem’s hand.
But he doesn’t. He relishes in the calmness of the moment— in the warmth and the intimacy of being too close he can feel Gemini all-consuming presence embracing him.
Gemini’s eyes flutter open as he leans back, and realizes Fourth is staring at him. He doesn’t panic, though, and Fourth doesn’t either— as much as he’d like to ask multiple things. He’s too sleepy and afraid that if he asks he’d realize this was just a very nice dream.
“My prince,” Fourth mumbles, smiling. He tries to be cheeky, but he’s too drowsy his voice comes off throaty and a tad bit slurred.
Gemini seems to find it endearing, smiling back softly as he brushes Fourth’s hair off his forehead.
“Goodnight, Sleeping Beauty.”
Fourth thanks the darkness of the room so Gem can’t notice the blush on his cheeks at the pet name.
“Were you trying to wake me up with a kiss?” he teases. “Sneaky.”
Gemini crosses his arms on the couch and rests his chin over them to look back at Fourth. He’s close again, even if not as much as before, and Fourth can distinguish his dainty features even in the pitch-black darkness.
“It was a goodnight kiss,” he corrects.
Fourth laughs, endeared. “Was it?”
Gemini hums, tilting his head back. It seems like he’s trying to get a better look of him laughing.
“Did you have dinner, FotFot?”
Fourth breathes in, chest fluttering. Gemini is using his soft tone of voice— the one he only ever uses with his mom, and most times with him. The honey-dripping, saccharine voice. As if he was talking to a baby. He’s caring and tender and affectionate, and Fourth wants to listen to him forever.
“Mhm,” he nods. “Did you?”
Gem pokes his cheek with one finger, a fond grin curling up his lips. “The guys ordered take-out, yeah.”
Fourth hums, “You should sleep then. What time is it?”
Gemini’s thumb brushes over the shell of Fourth’s ear. Fourth makes a flimsy attempt to hide how much he likes being touched.
“Almost midnight, I think.”
That makes him frowns. It’s too late…
“Aren’t you working too hard?” he asks, worried. “You’ve been practicing too much. What about your asthma?”
They’ve been on that studio for hours, for days. No rest after classes. Fourth knows they got a relatively cheap deal for it and they’re all putting extra efforts to make the best of it, but—
“It’s okay,” Gemini’s face softens as much as his voice. Like he’s touched Fourth is concerned about him, “I’m okay, don’t worry.”
“You sure?”
Gemini chuckles, then smiles. “Yeah, FotFot, I’m peachy.”
“Hmm,” Fourth squints. “You should take care of yourself.”
“I am,” Gemini’s smile curls up with fondness and adoration. Fourth stares at him, mesmerized; heart dancing in his chest.
Gemini is breathtaking; absolutely and irrevocably bewitching.
Fourth wants to kiss him. He wants to kiss him breathless— until his lips are swollen and the only taste he remembers is Fourth’s.
He wants too— abundantly, in fact. But more than anything, he wants to protect Gemini from everything— from illness and bad health; from sadness and sorrow. He’d do anything to keep that smile on Gemini’s face.
“Please take care,” he repeats.
Gemini’s eyes are impossibly gentle. “I will. Don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay,” he mumbles back, reaching up cup Gem’s face.
Gemini leans into the touch, “You should go to bed,” he says. “You’ll wake up with a sore neck sleeping on the couch.”
“Mmn,” Fourth scrunches up his nose, drawls, “Too sleepy to move.”
Gemini laughs— breathy and amused, as fondly as ever when he sees Fourth sulk.
“Okay,” it’s the only thing Gem says before he lifts up Fourth without warning.
It happens so fast Fourth barely has time to react— he feels Gem’s arms sneak under him, one at his back and the other below his knees and thighs. Then, he’s up in the air and bumping against Gem’s chest.
“W-W-Whu—” he stammers, flustered beyond repair as he feels Gem move, “What are y’doing?”
His voice is high-pitched, almost a squeak as he clings to Gem’s shirt, arms wrapping around his neck. The top of his head rests on the curve of Gem’s shoulder, his cheek and ear pressed against Gem’s chest. He can listen to Gem’s steady heartbeat like this, almost like a lullaby, and the simple fact that he’s able to listen to it somehow flusters him more.
“I’m carrying you,” Gem says, simply. Like it’s nothing. Like Fourth is not exponentially losing his mind.
“Eh?”
Gemini is so deliciously warm that Fourth could drown in how wonderful it feels.
“To our bed.”
Fourth splutters. Our—
“You—”
Fourth hides his blushing face into the crook of Gem’s chest and neck, shy and fidgety and fluttery all over.
“I’m realizing this is easier than a piggyback.”
“Gem.”
“What?”
A pause. Then, Gem is laughing as he gives a soft squeeze to Fourth’s leg.
“Are you embarrassed?” he giggles. “You’ve carried me many times before, FotFot.”
Not bridal-style!!! Fourth wants to yell.
“Ngh,” he’s down bad so horrendously, it’s not even funny. He wants to kiss Gemini so bad he’s going stupid. He wants to be carried like this until the end of times. “You’re a menace.”
Gemini laughs again.
God. Fourth wants to keep that sound inside his heart; to play it over and over again like a broken record whenever he wants.
Gemini’s happiness, it’ll be titled; along with the many memories he basks on from his best friend.
Ah. Sometimes he wonders if Gemini has something like that in his heart reserved for Fourth. The thought makes him happy.
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iii.
“Gem.”
Fourth tilts his head, tries to meet Gemini’s eyes as he stubbornly looks away.
“Gemini.”
Gem purposely ignores him, apparently too interested in something on his phone instead.
“Ge-mi-ni,” Fourth singsongs, stepping closer and into Gem’s personal space. “Tee-rak.”
Nothing. That usually gets a reaction out of him…
“Ai’nhoo,” Fourth tries again, reaching out to hold his waist. His fingers rest on the small of his back, thumb dipping into Gem’s hipbone. “My baby.”
Gem blinks at the pet name, lips puckering into a cute pout, eyebrows furrowed. But he still doesn’t look at Fourth.
“Hey,” he says, gentle. “Buttercup.”
Fourth is careful with his touch, yet arches into him to make Gem realize just how deeply he wants them to be close. He bumps their knees together, chin up, searching for Gem’s eyes. He hooks his fingers behind Gemini’s back, wrapped around his waist as he pulls Gemini closer.
“You do realize that if you don’t tell me why you’re sulking with me, I can’t make up to you, right?” he says; his voice sweet. He rubs circles on Gemini’s back, tenderly. “Would you tell me, please?”
Gemini scrunches up his nose, which makes him look even more cute. Very distracting in Fourth’s current task to make him happy. He kisses Gem’s shoulder in an attempt to calm down the cuteness aggression that overcomes him.
He’s not sure why, but Gem has been strangely quiet since yesterday— and not quiet-tired, but moody. Like something was bothering him. Fourth doesn’t want him to upset with him, especially not before a concert. He wants Gem to enjoy his time on stage freely.
Problem is, as much as Fourth was very accurate reading Gemini’s different moods and sulky states most times, he has no idea what got into him right now.
“Maybe it’s because of our fans drooling over you?” Ford offers, a couple of steps away, checking on his keyboard, clearly distracted by Gemini and Fourth’s conversation.
Fourth looks over his shoulder to him. He doesn’t let go of Gemini, though.
“What?” he frowns, confused. “Drooling?”
“Do you remember that yesterday, you were helping us carry the equipment early on? Before the concert?” he says. “Well, apparently some fans saw you and they started asking about you on our socials.”
Fourth quirks an eyebrow. Really? He was just carrying instruments to the stage and helping fans get to their booths correctly and in time. He’s been a helping staff in Gem’s concerts a few times by now, but usually backstage and not involving fans. They’ve been short-staffed recently, though, so he wanted to help as much as he could.
What was the problem there? What were the fans asking?
As if reading his mind, Ford says, “‘Who’s the cutie backstage?’, ‘What’s the name of the hot staff?’, ‘Is he single?’ Things like that.”
Fourth blinks. Then, he starts laughing, “What? Are you serious?”
Phuwin looks over at him from where he’s sitting, leaned back on the small couch of the backstage room, his bass resting on his lap. He smirks, amused, “Yeah, Heartthrob, you’ve stolen many of our fans’ hearts.”
Fourth can’t stop laughing.
“Okay, but even so, what’s that gotta do with anything?” he asks, entertained.
Ford and Phuwin stare at him blankly.
“That can’t be the reason,” Fourth says. He’s met with dead silence, Ford’s skeptic eyes and Phuwin’s quirked eyebrows, like they can’t believe Fourth is so slow on the uptake. He frowns, laughter cut off.
He turns around to look at Gemini, who is finally staring back at him.
“What, is that why you’ve been so grumpy?” Fourth asks, playful, poking at Gemini’s back.
Gem juts out his bottom lip, eyes annoyed.
“Oh-hoh?” Fourth teases, cheeky grin curling up on his lips. “Are you jealous, sweetheart?”
Gemini doesn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”
Fourth blinks, caught off guard by Gem’s unfiltered sincerity.
“I mean,” he continues. “You’re really beautiful so I knew this was gonna happen at some point, but—”
Fourth blinks again, fast and many times, cheeks warming up at the sudden compliment, heartbeat erratic in his throat.
“People are looking at you and asking about you—” Gem mumbles, visibly irritated. “And saying all kind of things about you and I— I don’t like it.”
Fourth stares. Gemini looks down, sulking, pout shaking as he clicks his jaw.
“Gem…” Fourth starts, gently.
“Sorry,” Gemini mumbles, looking at him through curvy, thick eyelashes. Almost like he’s embarrassed he let all of that out of his chest. “I know it’s childish.”
Fourth smiles fondly, “It’s really cute, actually.”
Gem’s face mellows out, like the edges of marshmallows in hot chocolate.
Fourth knows what getting jealous is— god, does he know. Gemini is fairly popular (due to his looks and outgoing personality, as much as his kindness and bright charm), so he had a long line of people wanting to date him. He’s also friends with many pretty, fun, nice girls, and his fans are cute and love him a lot, and many of his phis like to pamper on him. Needless to say, Fourth is incredibly happy Gem is loved and supported by many people. It just— sometimes, it gets too him, when they’re too close or too friendly or when people keep telling them how cute of a couple they’d be.
He knows.
He ponders about it, trying to get an idea on how to make Gemini less upset about the situation…
Oh.
Fourth’s voice is soft. “Gem, where is your jacket?”
Gemini blinks. “My jacket?”
Fourth nods. “The one that has your name on the back?”
Gemini scans Fourth’s face like he’s trying to decipher what does this has to do with anything.
“It’s in my bag…”
Fourth grins, “Great. I’ll be right back.”
He detangles himself from Gemini to rummage through his bag, then comes back with the jacket on. It’s black, with the band’s logo on the back, crowned by Gemini’s name in big, bold, cartoonish letters. It’s a bit baggy on him, but he doesn’t care. It smells like Gem, and it’s as cozy as Gemini himself.
“Here,” Fourth says, showing himself off. He turns around as if to make it clear that that’s Gemini’s, then glances at Gem. “I’ll wear it all the concert.”
It’s a very simple gesture, and a very cheesy one, but it’s all he can think of to make Gemini feel better.
It might not be grandiose but it’s there, subtle and sweet, etched in the neat calligraphy stamped on Fourth’s back, like an announcement to the Gem’s fans— to the world.
Yours. I’m yours.
I’m his.
Gem blinks, staring at Fourth. After a few seconds, his eyes light up, as if realizing what Fourth means.
A toothy grin slowly tugs up Gemini’s lips— he’s effulgent; vivid and so, so pretty. The unfiltered joy cards on his face, cheery and radiant. He’s so gorgeous it hurts.
He runs to Fourth— and Fourth knows he tends to romanticize most of his life, but it truly does look like a romantic film scene, with Gemini bumping into Fourth to hug him, the sweetest smile on his face as he steps back to look at him.
His eyes flicker down to Fourth’s lips for a brief moment— lingering a bit too long that it makes Fourth ridiculously self-conscious of how close they really are. Fourth’s eyes dart down, then up, and he gulps. Gem’s warm, starry-eyes stare back at him with so much affection yet doubt.
Fourth’s yearning grows so big inside his chest he wonders how is he able to store it all there.
Gem smiles, then tips his head forward to kiss Fourth on the corner of his mouth, lips grazing Fourth’s just by the end— like he missed.
“Thank you,” he says.
At the back, Phuwin makes a teasing sound at them.
“You two are gonna give me diabetes,” he complains, yet he’s grinning when they both look back at him.
Gemini sticks out his tongue in a non-verbal response, then holds Fourth’s hand into his and pulls him along to keep him company on his rehearsal and soundcheck.
He smiles the rest of the day.
(Everything he does seems to card back a meaning— the intertwined fingers, the head on Fourth’s shoulder as he goes over the lyrics of his songs, the sweet smiles, the intentional eye-contact during the concert, and the many lingering touches everywhere— on Fourth’s knees and thighs and waist and arm and face— echoing back an answer to Fourth’s aching soul.
Mine.
Mine; mine; mine.)
.
(There are tons of photos of them after that day in their band’s socials— with people spotting them holding hands and Gem being adorably clingy and Fourth wearing his jacket, rumors about them dating spark curiosity among their followers. Yet, that kind of things doesn’t seem to bother Gemini at all.
If anything, they make him happier.)
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iv (+i)
“Oh? This one’s interesting. You have to kiss the prettiest person in the room.”
Fourth, sitting on the floor at Gemini’s right side, blinks at the words; throat too tight.
Something pulls at his stomach— hard enough it feels like he’s gonna throw up. He wants to get up and get out of there. He doesn’t know if his legs will fail him.
They’re in an afterparty of some of Gemini’s college seniors. Most people here know him as Gem’s best friend, and everything they know about him is just by ‘how much Gemini talks about him’, quoting their words.
Thing is— Fourth is not really so fond of parties. He doesn’t like being around too much people he doesn’t know, and he’s bad holding his liquor. He likes drinking with his friends, going out to eat, or karaoke nights. He likes talking to people, and music, and dancing— but he was too shy or too awkward when he wasn’t in his comfort zone. A party with a bunch of strangers didn’t sound that appealing.
But Gemini insisted, going on a ramble of how much he’d miss Fourth if he didn’t come along, and he just couldn’t say no to him.
Here he is now, sitting in a circle of people on the floor, after two hours of mindless chatting, watching them pull up cards from a box with a bunch of ‘dares’ in them.
It was supposed to be fun. Now Gemini’s senior is reading Gemini’s dare in front of everyone and Fourth feels so dizzy he might actually pass out.
Funny enough, the first thought that comes to Fourth’s mind at the dare is ‘impossible. He can’t kiss himself’, then a second later he’s hit with the horrifying realization that Gemini is about to kiss someone. In front of him. Someone he considers pretty — the prettiest — and the simple idea is so dreading that Fourth wants to disappear and never be found.
“Ah,” Gemini utters, looking both shy and flustered.
Fuck.
Someone is going to kiss Gemini tonight. Someone is going to kiss Gemini before him— someone is going to be so lucky as to kiss Gemini’s cute, blushing face.
Fourth looks to the circle of people with blurry vision. It’s probably the girl on the other side— the one with pretty, long, hazelnut hair and pretty brown eyes, and pretty smile. The one that’s sweet and smart and very, very cute. The one their seniors keep teasing Gemini about.
Fuck.
He blinks his eyes a couple of times, tears prickling at the edges. He doesn’t want to cry in front of these people, nor in front of Gemini, but he can barely hold back the heartbreak that’s crumbling inside himself.
He doesn’t want to see this. It’s not even about the girl, or about anyone who Gemini chooses. He just can’t do this.
“So, nong?” the senior speaks up again, jesting and cheerful. “Are you gonna do it or are you gonna get punished?”
Fourth pointedly stares at the floor, head casted down as his eyes are fixated on his lap and fidgety hands. His heart thunders inside his chest, cracks and fractures like a bone that has been crushed.
He’s not gonna see this.
Gem lets out a nervous laugh— something between a chuckle and a self-conscious giggle, and then he’s moving. Fourth tenses, eyes firmly glued to his shaky hands. His bottom lip trembles, and his shoulders are so rigid he can’t even move.
“Ah, um,” Gem utters, and Fourth can feel him shifting at his side. “Mmn…”
He scoots closer to Fourth, thighs pressing together as he tilts his head, probably trying to get a glimpse of Fourth’s face.
Fourth does not look up.
Gem’s voice is surprisingly soft as he says, “Fourth?”
Fourth blinks.
He knows it’s not possible, but the entire room seems to fall silent — as if a spell had been casted on them and they were all holding their breath; like the entire world was holding its breath — when Gemini reaches out to hold Fourth’s chin.
He tilts Fourth’s face up, hold gentle as he meets Fourth’s eyes with an earnest, genuine gaze.
Maybe it’s the insecurity in his eyes, or the way his hand trembles slightly as he holds delicately Fourth’s face, or the way he seems to stop breathing as he gets closer to Fourth—
Either way, Fourth realizes. The honesty in his eyes, the earnest and sincerity in his movements.
Gemini chose him. Him. In front of everyone.
He tucks Fourth’s hair behind his ear, brushes it off his eyes and leans so close he almost sits in Fourth’s lap.
Fourth blinks, stunned; his heart doing all sort of gymnastics inside his chest.
It’s happening.
It’s—
“There.”
—Except it doesn’t, or not exactly.
Gemini doesn’t kiss him on the lips, but on his forehead instead. A soft press of lips on his skin.
It leaves a lingering warmth, and Fourth’s skin tingles all over, even if the kiss was on another side he expected.
Gemini chose him.
The prettiest.
He’s getting dizzy.
His cheeks heat up, mind a fluttery mess.
“Aow,” someone says. Their voice sounds muffled, like they’re underwater. Maybe it’s the buzz in Fourth’s ears. “That wasn’t a kiss!”
He brings his fingers to the spot where Gemini’s lips touched. It very much felt like a kiss.
“It was, phi,” Gemini laughs. “The card didn’t say where.”
Fourth side-eyes him. There’s something off in his laugh, and his voice. Fourth can tell.
“But—”
Gemini stands up, hands clinging to his pants. “I think I need to go out for a bit.”
He doesn’t say anything more as he storms out the living-room. Fourth calls after him, but he doesn’t hear him over the music.
He turns around and gives everyone an apologetic, hopefully kind smile.
“Uh,” he says, standing up as well. “I’ll— I’ll follow him outside, phi. I need fresh air too.”
Gemini’s senior offers him a sympathetic smile. “Sure.”
Everyone’s eyes seem to trace after him as he follows after Gem, but no one gets up to interrupt them.
As he steps outside the house, he finds Gemini standing a couple of meters away, face buried into his hands. Fourth walks closer to him, but the sound of his steps doesn’t seem to make him flinch or move.
“…Are you okay?”
Gemini is quiet for a moment— too long that Fourth wonders if he even heard him.
Then, he turns around so he’s facing Fourth. His face scrunches up and his eyes are red, like he’s about to tear up. The sight is so incredibly soul-crushing it pulls at all of Fourth’s heartstrings.
He takes a step closer, arm already reaching up to hold him, “Hey…”
Gem’s lips tremble. “I’m sorry.”
Fourth shakes his head. “Why?” he asks, voice soft. “You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”
“I do.”
“Not really,” Fourth insists. “Why would you?”
His fingers wrap around Gemini’s arm, touch delicate.
“Because you thought I was the prettiest person in the room?” Fourth offers, trying to light up the quiet mood with teasing.
Gemini’s face softens— he gives out a watery laugh; like he’s choking between laughing and crying.
“You know, I should be flattered,” Fourth says, taking another step closer. His thumb moves up and down across Gem’s warm skin. “There were many gorgeous people there.”
Gemini’s eyes look back at him, so impossibly adoring— saccharine and affectionate and ever so fondly. It seems like they’re holding the entirety of the stars in the universe in them.
“Yeah,” he whispers back, voice gentle. His eyes mellow, lips curling up in a sincere, tender smile; it’s small, but it’s there. “But not like you, Fourth.”
Fourth’s chest swells— with his love and his longing and his burning ache— with his fluttery heart and the tons of butterflies living in there, all at once.
He breathes. “…Do you mean that?”
Gemini’s voice is the softest he’s ever heard it before. “Yes.”
Fourth exhales, shaky. He feels like a sizzling pot, about to explode— warm and bubbly and fizzy. Buzzing from the inside out.
“I—” Fourth can’t find his voice, “Gem… Can I ask—”
He pauses. The answer might break him.
“Why do you keep kissing me but not… actually kissing me?”
Gemini looks back at him. “Because I don’t know if you really want to be kissed,” he says. “Sometimes I think you do, but others I’m just— I don’t want you to be uncomfortable around me.”
Fourth breathes in again, deep. It feels like it isn’t enough for his lungs, trying desperately to get air as he tries to keep it together.
“But you do want to kiss me.”
Gemini presses his lips together, gives a small nod.
It’s enough. It makes Fourth’s stomach go wild.
“Why?” he chokes.
Gemini’s answer seems eternal— everlasting and ineffable.
“…Because I like you,” he says.
They’re four simple words, but they feel huge; overwhelming as their meaning hit Fourth right like a Cupid’s arrow into his heart.
Because, the thing is… loving Gemini Norawit is incredibly easy — as easy as breathing.
Having Gemini in his life meant to love and be loved back with the same fiery intensity and gentle adoration.
He knew. He always did.
Gemini is made of love and music and pastel tones. He’s made of bubbly laughs and vibrant smiles and sunset skin. He glows like a supernova and is made of stardust — like a starry sky eclipsing everything else around him. He’s made of all the beautiful things in the world, and Fourth loves him. He loves him in this life, and prays to meet him and love him all over again in the next. And the next. And the next.
Because he’d recognize him in another lifetime — in a different body and in different times. And he’d fall in love with him in all of these — love him in all his forms and shapes — until the very last star in the sky could burn out into oblivion.
And so he does.
He reaches out, cups Gemini’s nape and pulls him closer; bleeding, craving, burning — no hands between them, no people around — just them.
And they kiss — under the moonlight and night sky, with their hands brushing against each other and their heartbeats dancing in sync; with their bare souls chanting each other’s name like a prayer; like they’ve waited forever for this, and like they’d never let each other go; tasting home and comfort in their mouths.