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Klao hisses, the end of his cigarette resting between his lips as he digs in his pocket for his lighter. Before his fingers could close around it though, he caught sight of a certain wide-eyed boy walking towards him.
"You again", he whispered. "What are you doing here?" It was more of a statement than a question, because Klao knew Warich wouldn't answer it.
And yes, he was proven right.
"Does it really matter?" Warich whispered back, always speaking in some kind of code. The mannerisms of the older boy used to annoy Klao to no end, but now, he felt the usual spite absent from his throat. He leaned back against the compound wall, lighting his cigarette, continuing to stare at the boy in front of him.
Wa didn't say anything, only moved to lean on the wall beside him.
"Can I have a go?" he said, an easy smile on his face. Klao refused to let himself get distracted by the boy, who had his arms tucked loosely in the pockets of his shorts. He looked at Warich up and down, glancing over all of him, from his perfectly combed hair and ironed uniform, the logo of their high school stitched neatly on his shirt; not a single speck of lint or dust in sight, all the way down to his polished shoes. His own eyes drifted immediately to his own, and quickly averted upwards after catching sight of the mud stuck to the side of his heel.
"Really?" He asked incredulously, taking his cigarette with his fingers. "You of all people? The prince of our school is asking for a smoke?"
Klao felt himself smirk watching the way the corner of Warich's mouth tilted upwards in a tell-tale sign of annoyance.
"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't want to..." Warich trailed off, his expression schooled back into the usual teasing manner. He averts his eyes slowly, feigning shyness, before lunging down to take the edge of Klao's blunt dangling between his fingers in his mouth, between his lips. Klao stared at him in shock.
"Give it back, Warich," he said sternly, "This is your first time. You won't be able to handle it." He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, watching Wa chuckle around the cigarette before taking a deep breath. He coughed it out immediately, but instantaneously put the blunt back in his mouth despite his heaves. "Mm-mm," he hummed, desperately trying to keep his voice stable. "Not good enough. Try again."
"Please Warich... just give it back..." Klao continued, exasperated. Does Warich really want him to beg? He finds the answer to his question is yes when Warich shakes his head yet again, still coughing while keeping the cigarette in his mouth.
"Fine, please Wa.. could you give it back to me?" He whispers, a smile forming on his face as he sees Wa’s eyes light up in happiness at Klao’s use of his nickname. He grabs the blunt that Wa hands him, dropping it to the ground and putting it out with his feet, chuckling at the way Wa immediately bends down to pick it up to throw it away. The resulting glare he receives from Warich seemed like a challenge, but he finds himself getting lost in the heat of his gaze. He stares back, awed at the way Warich's eyes slowly crinkle as he smiles back.
"Don't you have to get back to class?" Klao murmurs, his voice so quiet he isn't even sure Wa could hear it. Wa looks away and just shakes his head, tugging on Klao's arm, pulling him down with him as he sinks to the ground, crossing his legs beneath him.
For minutes, they sit in silence, the both of them breathing deeply from the effect of the cigarette. Klao lets himself get lost in the moment, he lets himself reminisce about now and then, about the both of them. He remembers the irritation he regarded Wa with when they first got to know each other, and remembers the apprehension Wa showed him. It made sense, they were polar opposites. Perfect Wa, and whatever people in school had been calling Klao (he never really cared enough to remember). But somewhere along the way, things just stopped making sense. Red was still called red, and the ocean was still blue, but the anger that bubbled up within him at the mention of Perfect Wa’s name turned into something else, something else that was somehow warmer than the red heat of hatred, but yet didn’t burn him from the inside. Somewhere along the way, Wa stopped being afraid of him too, and the realization made the familiar hotter-than-hot heat bubble up Klao’s chest. He turns to look at Wa, not surprised that Wa had already been looking at him.
"You're so perfect, you know," Klao whispers. He thanks the nicotine for helping him put what he was struggling to verbalise for the longest time, into words. He smiles at the blush of pink that warms Wa's face and tilts his head, watching the blush spread down Wa's chest and beyond the hem of his shirt. Maybe one day, he can follow it with his eyes further, beyond the confines of whatever they currently had between them. Wa's giggle distracts him away from the thought, and he blinks.
"What do you mean-?"
"I mean, you're good at studying, at sports, at talking, everyone likes you... you're so perfect at everything, yet you're here with me," he paused for a second, trying to decipher the now unreadable expression on Wa's face. "I like it a lot, I mean, I didn't at first, but now I do... But I'm just confused. Newton, Nob, I get it. But why me?" Klao's rambling confused even him. He always regarded himself as someone confident, but now, in front of Wa, he finds himself reduced to an anxious mess. The old Klao would've been horrified, but he finds himself seeking this change further.
"Klao," Warich says. Klao had never imagined that just his name could make him stop right in his tracks. He looks up at Wa, bringing his hand to rest on Wa's thigh. His fingers splay across the expanse of exposed skin, his thumb playing gently with the edge of Wa's shorts.
"To me, you're perfect."
Wa's voice drips into Klao's ears like honey, his tone sweet and gentle, as if Klao was something fragile, something that could be broken. Klao feels the description was quite accurate, from the way his heart was suddenly trying to break out of the glass walls of his chest. He stares deep into Wa's eyes, his eyebrows furrowed, searching for something more within them. Wa hadn't continued speaking yet, but Klao suddenly feels like he doesn't need to, he feels like he could know more if he just looks into his eyes deeper, searched harder for the truth behind why Warich was sticking to him so much. At that point, he knows nothing about the answer, but judging from the shy smile on Wa's face as he stares back, Klao feels like it might be in his favour.
"You... your hair, your voice... everything. It's all perfect to me. You are perfect to me." The finality in Wa's voice shocks Klao, and he suddenly realises that Wa had been considering this, considering them for a while now before coming to such a sound conclusion. He looks down, overwhelmed by everything around him; Wa's blush, his smile, his eyes, the feel of his skin against Klao's fingers; okay, basically everything about Wa, and he sees the blunt he dropped to the floor, now in Wa's hands. Wa handles it gently, as if like Klao, the blunt was also something fragile, something to be protected, and Klao feels an notion in his chest that Wa wasn't ever going to throw it away. The thought immediately seemed ridiculous, but the image of Wa keeping something that belonged to him safe in his room, keeping something that represented Klao with him, made his heart swell with an unknown, warm feeling. He immediately thinks that he would like to give more than just the cigarette to Wa, if it meant that Wa would be reminded of him even when they were apart.
"And besides, I like who I am when I'm with you. I don't wanna be Perfect Student Warich. I want to be Wa, who's beside you. I want to be me as long as you are there with me. I don't even know if I'm making sense but it's what I feel so I hope you-"
Klao crashes his lips onto Wa's. The noise all around him, chatter from students in the canteen nearby who had probably just ended class, the school bell in the distance signaling the end of a period, everything, all faded to a low hum in his ears. Kissing Wa feels like he's underwater; Klao thinks, bringing his hands to rest on the gravel beside Wa's hips. Cold at first, then warm when Wa starts to kiss back. It feels like a warm hug, when Wa drops the blunt and brings his hand up to Klao's neck. It feels calming and peaceful, when the only sounds he can hear are the soft whimpers coming from the back of Wa's throat.
Klao pulls Wa with him, as he shifts his weight back, to kiss Wa deeper, to feel the warmth of his lips against his even more. He lets out a gasp when Wa straddles his lap, and hums in surprise to feel Wa's tongue press against his lips, a deep groan leaving his throat as he lets Wa breach that barrier and push his tongue inside. They kiss and kiss, Klao letting Wa win the battle of dominance he's heard so much about in fiction (he thinks, he would let Wa win anything, anytime), until they run out of breath and his lips sting. Klao gently grips Wa's hair, pulling him away, almost giving up halfway and letting Wa take however much he wants when he hears Wa whine at the loss. "Wait-, Wa-, We need to breathe-" he starts, then trails off. Wa makes a deep sound of disappointment and rests his forehead against Klao's, staring into his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. "When can we start again?" he whispers, a glint of light in his eye.
Klao smiles fondly as he responds, "Whenever you want."