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“Hey.”
Aou tapped Boom’s shoulder, who immediately turned to look at him with a bright grin, his eyes twinkling. Aou gave him a warm smile.
“Aou!” There was delight, and surprise, and joy that laced Boom’s voice. He immediately pulled Aou into an embrace, his arms wrapped tightly around Aou’s lean figure. “You came.” He breathed out a sigh of relief.
Pulling away, Boom’s face lit up with an appreciative smile.
“I’m glad you could make it, Aou,” Boom had said, extending his hand out to gently pat his arm. Aou eyed the gesture before bringing his eyes back to meet Boom’s larger, prettier ones. His smile grew bigger. Those eyes… they were still as pretty, as enchanting, perhaps even more so than they were years ago. Aou could drown in those eyes, live in them even. “Thank you.”
Boom appeared dashing, as he always was. His hair was longer now, styled in a way he had a few strands of hair cascading down his forehead and barely above his eyes. He was dressed in a neat black tuxedo, befitting of his slim yet built figure, one he had always yearned to hold and never let go.
He was… ethereal. Aou couldn’t pry his eyes away.
“Of course I would, Boom,” Aou said, but his voice trailed off into a distance as his gaze fell on the arm that was steadily wrapped around Boom’s slender, slim waist. “It’s your wedding. How could I ever miss it?”
He looked up again.
A bitter, acidic taste crawled up Aou’s throat, but he swallowed them down before they could reach his tongue.
“Congratulations, the two of you!” He feigned happiness, his eyes turning into crescents as his lips curled into a smile. He almost couldn’t hear anything else but the beating of his own heart, and the screaming in his head.
“Thank you, Aou,” Gawin reached out to give Aou a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. “Boom told me a lot about you, I’m glad to be able to finally meet you.”
Aou rubbed his nape sheepishly, nodding awkwardly and uttering a quiet, ‘yeah, nice to meet you too’.
Boom turned to look at Gawin with a radiant smile, and somehow, Aou could physically feel the knot forming in his heart, painfully twisting and churning, and even more as he continued to stare. That smile, that darned, stunning smile which often made Aou be at loss for words. His nose habitually scrunched up, forming a smile Aou could remember forever.
Boom shifted his gaze to Aou who was embroiled in his own emotions, asking so innocently, “Will you join us for the after party?”
Aou never wanted to spend another second there.
But Boom’s voice was hopeful, beaming with a childlike excitement that made Aou’s heart ache even more.
“Ah, I’m afraid I can’t,” Aou politely declined. “My flight back to Vancouver is in six hours.”
Aou saw Boom’s lips forming a sulky pout and he imagined himself leaning in and capturing those lips with his own. He’d always wondered how those of his would taste like, before he looked down and lightly shook his head.
“Baby, Mom’s calling me — I’ll be right back,” Gawin gave a quick peck on Boom’s lips, and a small apologetic smile towards Aou. “Just a moment.”
Both Aou and Boom nodded in understanding.
When there were only the two of them, Aou could finally breathe. Seeing the pair together, as beautiful and perfect as they seemed, felt like being punched in the gut repeatedly. He felt like a sore loser, with a stupid smile and a broken heart — pretending that he was fine through it all.
“I wish you could join us,” There was a hint of disappointment in Boom’s voice, as he heaved out a soft sigh and pursed his lips into a thin line. “Pond mentioned that you just arrived yesterday. I really thought you’ll be back for a while so we can finally catch up. It’s been two years since you last came home, Aou. Why can't you stay longer?”
Boom looked hurt. The expression on Boom’s face reminded Aou of the distance he had created with Boom — the invisible, insurmountable gap that Aou had purposely left to linger around and engulf their relationship. Ever since that afternoon back in high school, Aou never spoke of his feelings towards Boom anymore.
He knew Boom felt the same then, and now too.
“I came back just for your wedding, you know? I should receive some sort of reimbursement. Or, compensation.” Aou tried to lift up the mood, chuckling as he teasingly nudged the sullen male. Boom couldn’t help but to laugh, rolling his eyes in between.
"You're seriously asking for a reimbursement for coming to your best friend's wedding?" Boom threw Aou a dirty look, giggling after.
The sound of Boom’s ringing laughter felt like music to Aou’s ears, and he had just realised how much he had missed this. Him.
He remembered the stupid jokes he would crack and the embarrassing dances he would make just to hear Boom laugh, and sometimes Boom would try not to, but Aou knew him so well that even the slightest twitch on his face was enough to tell him how he was feeling, and what he was trying to hide.
Oh, how he envied Gawin. He could listen to that every day now, and even in the most secluded time of the night, he could.
Aou felt stale, and a brief silence befell upon them before Aou finally spoke again, his voice tender. "I would love to, Boom," He said, which almost sounded like the truth. "But I have a seminar to attend the day after tomorrow, and next week I'll have to fly to Hong Kong for a business trip."
Boom let out a dejected sigh, his lips downturned.
“Boom, I—” Before Aou knew it, he was engulfed in an embrace. Boom held him in his arms, holding him tightly as if he was a fleeting moment that might slip away very soon. Aou froze momentarily, his arms hanging in the air, before he shut his eyes close and pulled Boom closer into the hug, his chin resting on the taller male’s shoulder.
He took in a deep breath, sinking into the hug.
“I’ll miss you.” Aou whispered into the air, yet loud enough for Boom to hear. He could feel his lips starting to quiver, his eyes getting heavy with the incoming tears. He didn’t think he could hold them in any longer.
“I’ll miss you too, idiot. Take care,” Boom said, before finally pulling away. “And don’t forget your way back home.”
Home? Aou looked down with a solemn expression, blinking his tears away.
I can’t possibly come back to an already occupied home, can I?
“You too,” Aou lifted his head to take one last look at Boom. He didn’t think he would be able to do so anymore. “Take care, Boom. And send Gawin my regards.”
I love you.
*
“Aren’t you tired, Phi? You just arrived yesterday and now you’re already catching a flight back to Vancouver. I would be so damn exhausted I could collapse if I were you.”
Pond grumbled as he helped Aou with his luggages.
Aou chuckled, looking at Pond with a bittersweet smile.
“Well…” His voice grew quiet, his eyes dropping onto the ground.
“Try running after someone who doesn’t love you.”