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“So, Kipo and the age of the wonder beast sounds good?” Adam asks, carding his fingers through red strands in a not so subtle attempt to brush it.
It's a lazy Sunday afternoon, the type of afternoon that made Kai want to stay inside and rot away on his bed with his boyfriend watching whatever on the TV.
“Sounds good,” he replies, lifting his head from Adam’s lap to start tugging on his shirt.
The older teen only laughs a little before laying down so his clingy boyfriend can use him as a pillow, just like most times they cuddle together.
“Clingy much?” He teases, opening his arms so the younger one can fit perfectly.
“Not as much as you” Kai fires back, knowing that both of them are suckers for physical contact.
Before dating – Or during the ‘Pinning Era’ as Mira loves to call it – it was already common for them to completely ignore each other's personal space, but after they went official there was not a single moment where they weren't either holding hands or bumping shoulders.
Adam only laughs as his boyfriend lays his head on his chest so he can place his hand back on those ginger strands. It's no secret how much Kai loves using him like a pillow.
“I love you” says Adam after a while, leaving soft kisses around the crown of his head, and Kai has no other option but to melt completely.
“I love you too” he manages quietly, feeling the blush go from his ears down to his neck.
And Adam's little laugh is everything. And he's crying.
Kai has never doubted when Adam tells him ‘I love you’, he believes it– No, he knows it, deep in his bones. It’s just that sometimes he feels undeserving of all that love and admiration, he’s working on it, to let himself be fully loved without thinking if he deserves it. And Adam has been there in every step of the way.
“Love, are you okay?” Concern flashes through Adam's face once he hears his little sobs, turning his face softly so he can wipe the tears away.
And it's too much, it everything and too much and Kai only smiles through his tears. I love you so much, thanks for being in my life, you are everything I need, please never leave me. I love youIloveyouIloveyou–
“I'm okay” he says instead, looking dreamily at his boyfriend.
Adam doesn't really buy it, but he caresses his face softly before pressing their lips together, then against his cheek, then on his forehead and then he’s kissing Kai's face everywhere while he can't do anything but giggle.
“Thank you” Kai admits, holding Adam's hands around his face.
Adam frowns and sits upright like Kai weighs nothing -Thanks to his super strength he might – and brings the readhead to sit on his knees.
“Kai, we’ve talked about this. You don't have to thank me–” Adam begins
“I know,” Kai interrupts, still holding onto his hands. “I know I don't have to, but…”
But he wants to, because ever since he met Adam he has learned what it was like to actually be loved. Because Adam never stopped believing in him and Mira never stopped caring about him, he wants to thank him for every smile and compliment, for every time he saw something in him that not even Kai knew about.
The older simply sights then smiles a little “Then, thank you for also putting up with me. I know I can be a little…”
“Hot headed? Stubborn? Controlling?”
“Wow, okay I guess. Jeez”
Kai bursted laughing again while Adam dragged them back down muttering something. He felt lightheaded and he doesn’t know if it’s because of the sudden movement, but he feels happy. So very happy in a way that fifteen year old Kai wouldn't have guessed.
And right here, head on his lover’s chest listening to the constant beating of his heart, he feels loved in a way that he didn’t think possible before, and his mind wonders like it does most part of the time.
He thinks back to the long days of his parents fighting and being so cruel to each other, sometimes being cruel to him too, how scared he felt about thinking that love was meant to end like that. Even back then he understood how messed up that idea was. By thirteen years old he figured that love was something to be earned, so he tried to fulfill his parent’s expectations despite how crude their words would turn.
He learnt that jokes and loud personalities made more friends and that no one likes a crybaby, so he made himself the butt of the joke more times than not because it made people laugh. He would land videogames and have friends over to his house so they could have fun with his expensive stuff, but after that he was alone again… so he figured he would only need to try harder.
Sometimes he feels bad for that Kai, he felt bad for how much time he thought of himself as expendable and how desperate he was to find anyone to look at him and not at the size of his wallet. Sometimes he still feels like that lonely child, hiding behind his dumb jokes and easygoing attitude.
But Mira and Adam changed that. When they invited him to join their team for The Hollow Games, they wanted a replacement, but after hanging out with each other for so long he became part of the team. And after finding out that they are technically digital copies of their real selves after Vanessa cheated in a game where their memories got wiped so they didn’t know it was a game… Well, he is still getting used to this new world.
And also slowly but surely he’s making friends with Reeve, the guy he was supposed to replace. It was scary at first, the guy has the meanest resting face he’s ever seen – Only competing against his father’s – and he was pretty sure he hated his guts. But things came along fine, and they share things in common and Reeve seems like a good guy.
(Not counting the time when he threatened Kai with killing him and feeding him to the snail if he ever made Adam cry, but he understands the feeling. Hell, he would feed himself to Loui if he ever hurt Adam)
Vanessa on the other hand, that’s an easier subject, because he really likes her – Although not romantically anymore –. Sure, she did try to kill him twice and she’s basically the reason they are even aware of being digital copies, but she is sorry and has been trying to make up for that every chance she gets, even after all the times the rest of the group has told her that it’s fine, really .
Skeet was a good guy, he remembers. He’s still a touchy subject around the group, especially around Mira, but they are slowly getting over it. Because he isn’t dead, he’s just not in this digital world–
“I can hear you thinking” Adam’s voice pulls him back to reality.
“Aw, man! We’re already on episode three?” He knew he wasn’t paying attention, but damn was he out of it.
“Wanna talk about it?” The older one tries, going back to the first episode to give Kai an out if he didn’t want to.
“Just wondering if our IRL selves are like this too” He says quietly after a while. It’s a common question for all of them, on one hand it would be nice to think they’re all getting along but, the connection that they share comes from almost dying. “If you love me there like you love me here”
“I don’t think so” Adam says, after a moment of thinking.
“Why? Am I too ugly in real life?” Kai’s insecurities don’t really come up anymore, he’s been healing slowly thanks to his friends. But sometimes, they come back harder than ever.
“No, no. You are handsome in all dimensions,” His boyfriend reassured him, kissing the crown of his head. “But I love you because I got to know you, since we were trying no to die ”
“You did die , back on the game” Kai reminds him, only a little bit of guilt in his voice.
“I almost died. And you saved me regardless” Adam replies, turning the redhead’s face to see his eyes. “IRL Adam and Kai won the game and went home, Adam didn’t care that Kai was braver than him or how amazing and smart he was” He looked at him like Kai was something precious.
“And Kai wasn’t brave enough to let his friends see the real him, so he stayed alone” The redhead could only stare back, feeling loved by such a simple gesture.
“Yeah, but IRL Adam is a jerk anyway. I almost feel bad that he doesn’t get to hold you like this, almost ” Adam sees the hurt in his confession, and he makes it better. Just like he has always done.
Thank you for loving me–
“At least IRL Kai doesn’t have to hear your cheesy lines” He says instead, because Adam doesn’t like it when he thanks him.
“Yeah, because you are totally not blushing right now”
“ Shut up ”
And as simple as they fall back laughing, Adam’s fingers run through his hair while he hums a mindless tune, Kai understands that love really comes as easy as this.
Adam and his confident smile, sun kissed skin and perfect curls came to his life and single handedly changed his perception of love. By being patient, by being kind, he gave Kai the confidence to be himself and make actual friendships with the rest of the group. With all the times he told Kai that he was enough, that being loved wasn’t something to earn but rather something to find.
‘No one is born to be alone, someday you’ll find people that love you because of you. We’re part of those people already,’ Adam told him like it was nothing, one afternoon after hanging out with him, like it didn’t make him burst into tears and cling to his shirt like a baby. It was easier to make connections with the others after that, because Adam was by his side promising to never leave him. What other choice did he have than to believe him?
The rest of the afternoon is spent between giggles, soft kisses, and mindless commentary about the show. That’s the type of lazy Sundays that Kai loves as much as his boyfriend.