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"Oh my god," Gap whined, flopping down into a seat at the break room table. He dropped his head onto his arms and spoke into the tabletop. "This has been the longest Tuesday ever."
Even as Pin groaned an agreement and mimicked his position, Sing said, "Don't be dramatic. You'll have lots of days that feel just as long. You'd better get used to spending holidays here now."
He moved to the fridge and pulled out a milk box, stabbing the straw in with perhaps a little more force than necessary. Tin shook his head with a grin.
"As if you aren't also annoyed that we had to stay late on Valentine's Day," he teased his friend, then cut his gaze briefly to Gap's prone form and back.
Sing made like he was going to punch Tin, even though he was actively drinking through a straw, but calmed his expression before the others could notice. Ah, him having a boyfriend made him incredibly fun to mess with.
Speaking of boyfriends, Tin pulled his phone from his pocket and checked his messages. Tol had sent him several texts over the last two hours. From an understanding response to Tin saying he'd be late, to updates about dinner that went from informative to slightly panicked. Hm.
"Anyway, I have somewhere to be." He waved to his coworkers and friends. "I'll see you all tomorrow."
"Don't remind me about tomorrow," Pin pleaded, but gave him a goodbye wave anyway.
Once Gap and Sing had also waved—and then started talking about getting out of the hospital themselves—Tin grabbed his stuff and headed off.
It was the first Valentine's Day since Tol and Tin had managed to put an end to the time loop, and they were meant to have spent the afternoon together. But emergencies and unforeseen circumstances at the hospital kept Tin at work until the sun began to set. Tol had taken the change in stride—perhaps the better word for it was 'brightly'—and Tin was equal parts excited and nervous to find out why.
Part of him didn't want to alert Tol that he was on his way, to see what Tol was up to while Tin was away. But he knew he would hate if Tol did it to him, and Tol would probably not like the lack of trust either, so Tin paused to shoot off an 'On My Way' text before getting in his car and driving home.
It turned out not to matter, because by the time Tin got home, his text hadn't even been read. But Tol's car was in the driveway. Frowning, confused, Tin headed for the door.
As soon as the front door opened, Tin caught the smell of smoke and something burnt. The air wasn't completely grey though, so either it wasn't a lot of smoke or there was a window open somewhere. Then he heard the grumbling.
"Dammit," Tol growled, and then the sound of something metal hitting the counter. "Why aren't you working?" As Tin put his bag down and headed for the kitchen, he heard, "I'm following the recipe, so why…"
In the kitchen, Tol wore Tin's only apron—it had pink frogs on it because Sing thought he was funny—and stood next to the stove, in front of a pan with something very burnt in it, scrolling on his phone with a look that he usually reserved for when he was about to punch someone.
The trash can had at least two previous attempts in it, given how full it was, both darker than the one Tol was currently working with. The counter held the remains of a pack of chicken, a mess of tempura flour, and coarsely chopped bits of green onion, bell pepper, and chilies. This close, Tin could smell the chili paste.
The dining table was set for two, unlit candles and wine glasses finishing out the set up, and Tin understood immediately.
Tol had tried to make a romantic dinner. Tin might need an echocardiogram himself with the way his heart was rabbiting in his chest.
Coming up behind his boyfriend, Tin made sure Tol wasn't near enough to the stove to burn himself and then wrapped his arms around Tol in a back hug. Tol jumped, then immediately relaxed back into Tin's hold.
"You're too early," he griped, and Tin just knew he was pouting at the food. Er, the attempt at food.
"I texted that I was on my way," Tin said, then nuzzled Tol's neck until the younger man laughed. "What's all this?" he asked. "The house smells…hm."
Tol heaved a heavy sigh. "It was supposed to be Gai Pad Prik Pao."
Tin huffed a laugh and Tol reached up to smack Tin's shoulder, hard enough that Tin actually let out an, "Ow~."
"I get it. I can't cook," Tol grumbled. "I was trying to be romantic."
With a kiss to Tol's neck, Tin pulled back so he could turn his boyfriend around and look him in the eyes. "I appreciate that you tried." He squinted at the burnt mess on the counter. "But maybe we switch courses and just order in?"
Tol glanced over his shoulder to see the food and then covered his face with a hand and winced. "Yeah."
Smiling, Tin pulled Tol into a hug again. His boyfriend was so cute that he wanted to laugh, but he knew it wouldn't be taken well. "You at least picked a good wine, right? And there are candles. That counts for something."
For a moment, Tol allowed the hug. Then he heaved another sigh, pulled back just enough to stare into Tin's eyes, and then kissed him. Tin smiled so hard that he couldn't maintain the kiss, and Tol started to smile with him.
Holding his phone up between them, Tol asked, "What do you want to eat? I'm buying."
"Gai Pad Prik Pao," Tin said and Tol gave him a playfully irritated look before dutifully looking up somewhere that sold it.
…
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