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Tee knew he shouldn’t be so greedy. He shouldn’t have sulked like that when Por told him about it either.
He really knew that he shouldn’t have – even if it did end in him getting a lot of kisses that evening. (That had been great. Blissfully great, if he was being frank!)
But actually, Tee shouldn’t even be the one to get coaxed. The both of them had been so relentlessly busy in these past weeks, that it was absolutely fair for Por’s family to plan a small trip. Nothing grand – just some time away from all the workload and stress. Just a moment to catch their breath and get in some much-needed family time.
Tee knew after all, just how important his mother and sister were to his partner. They were close-knit, and the amount of work they had kept him from seeing them most of the time. Even on days he went home, he usually arrived so late and left so early that he barely ever saw them for more than a hello.
So when there had been a chance to get a whole week off, all schedules pushed around to offer the boys their break, Por’s mother had seized her chance.
Of course. Tee had even texted her the next morning after Por had told him, genuinely excited for them. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Por to go.
That wasn’t it.
It wasn’t that he wanted to insert himself and tag along – that also wasn’t it. Tee knew his partner’s family adored him. But he would never do anything like that. Por deserved time with his family. Por deserved time to himself.
The thing was just…
The thing was just that it was weird.
It was weird not seeing Por every day. Weird not to roll out of bed on the late mornings, knowing that in an hour or two, he would be picked up by the company van and see him there, holding out his favourite coffee order.
It was weird, when he woke up to Bangkok still covered in the colours of early dawn, not to be able to turn over and pull the other against him. Bury his nose in the older one’s neck and just fall back asleep for a few more minutes.
It was weird, not to have any schedules either.
To be left alone with so much time on his hands. He had even accepted a solo schedule on short notice, because he was already going insane on the second day.
It sounded corny, and he knew it. He used his time to catch up with his friends, call his mother for more than a few minutes, and catch up on some studying too.
It wasn’t like there was nothing to do. It was just… different.
Weird.
Tee had never realised just how used he had gotten to having Por close. Always within reach, or just one call away. But Tee had helplessly fallen into a routine that it was very hard to get out of.
He was used to see Por every day. Used to talk to him every day. Touch him every day. Just having him close, which was something very important for a person like Tee, whose strongest love language was skinship and acts of service.
(And yes, of course everyone had just called him lovesick when he opened up, thanks. Supreme hadn’t even answered, just sent him an endless barrage of laughing emojis. Thanks again.)
He wasn’t lovesick. His love life was perfectly fine. It was just weird, okay!
And despite all that, Tee did his absolutely best not to be weird about it. He tried his best not to text Por too much – they did check in with each other daily, because Por had insisted when they talked about his little family trip.
Tee had promised he would be fine even if Por was busy and didn’t find the time to check up on him, to which the other had scowled at him, his lips pulled downward.
“What if I am the one who is not fine with it?”
That had shut him up.
Perhaps, it was also the way his heart nearly beat out of his chest at that. He remembered whining at the other, babbling about Por being too cute for his own good. (Read: Tee’s health.)
So, they texted. They send voice notes too, Por’s mum and sister sometimes joining as well and sending encouragement.
But still, he stopped himself from sending minute long messages that consisted of him sulking and pouting, telling his boyfriend how much he missed him. That it was weird.
He knew he wouldn’t have to say anything else or try to explain. Tee knew that Por would understand.
He stayed strong – and just sent a pouting selfie that one time he was close to cracking.
It had been right after his solo schedule, when the adrenaline of being on stage and in front of cameras had left his system, Tee had crashed hard. His nerves had nearly gotten the better of him, his mind constantly replaying every little thing. Everything he could have done better. Every word that might have been one too many.
Not wanting to worry the older one, but still needing to somehow voice his fears, he had sent the selfie. Had added a request for encouragement.
It had been late, and he hadn’t expected a reply. Not until the next morning. But it hadn’t even been five minutes later, when a voice message had arrived.
And perhaps, Tee had cried that night alone in the practice room. Nothing new for him, but this time he had cried because he was happy.
Because the person he had reached out to had given him exactly what he needed.
Because Por, before everything, was his safe zone. The person he could tell everything, confess all his fears to.
~~
But then, something unexpected happened. It was the day before his partner was supposed to return. His flight was scheduled for the early evening hours of the 24th. So, the message sitting in their chat was slightly perplexing to him.
Landed.
Tee blinked. Shut off his screen and activated his lockscreen to look at the date. The 23rd.
He opened the chat again, and found the message still there.
Had he… missed something?
>>Huh? Where?<<
>>BKK<<
Bangkok? Tee’s brows furrowed. He was pretty sure that phones didn’t suddenly mix up dates or anything like that. His fingers started swiping over the keyboard when the screen suddenly changed to an incoming call.
Porpia is calling
He swiped to accept the call without thinking, his heart giving a painful squeeze as worry began to boil in his stomach.
“Pip?”
“I’m taking a taxi,” was the first thing he heard. The other sounded slightly out of breath and Tee immediately sat up straighter, his finger playing with the hem of his shorts.
“Pip, what’s going on?”
This was very unlike him. Tee was already debating how unseemly it was if he left his apartment in only his casual home-wear.
“It’s fine,” his boyfriend replied and then Tee can hear some voices in the background. Por is speaking to someone, and he can gather that that must be the driver of the taxi Por had mentioned.
“I’m fine. Nothing is happening, I promise.”
More rustling, and doors being closed.
“You promise?” Tee pressed anyway. There is a gentle hum from the end of the line. “I promise.”
“Okay,” Tee breathed into the phone, “Pip, what—”
“I need to see you. Now. I’ll—I’ll be there in around thirty minutes, okay?”
“Sure but—”
“Okay, wait for me.”
“Pip—”
The call had already ended, leaving only the telltale sound behind. Tee moved his phone away from his ear, looking at the screen that displayed their call time of roughly one minute and twenty seconds.
What… What in heaven’s name had that been? Tee’s whole body was tense, the worry causing his muscles to lock up. Only his hands were shaking, the urge to either call his boyfriend again or at least type a message to him an overwhelming force within him.
But Por had promised. Por didn’t lie to him.
Tee swallowed, closing his eyes and gathering up all these pent-up emotions. Then he let out a long, deep breath, expelling the tension from his lungs.
Okay.
He opened his eyes, his fingers finally steady again. Quickly, he typed a short >>I’m waiting<< into their chat, because he couldn’t just leave it like this after all.
And then he went to get a shower, as he still had around twenty minutes left, and Tee had to stop his own mind from overthinking.
~~
His hair was mostly dry when his phone vibrated next to the sink where he had left it. Tee shut off the blow-drier, and unplugged it before swiping the message open. He already knew what it was going to say, but he wanted to make sure just in case.
Pocketing his phone, he walked barefeet through his apartment and opened the door. Tee wasn’t really sure what he had expected. Not after that call. Not after Por somehow ended up in Bangkok a day prior to the actual schedule.
But it definitely wasn’t this.
The moment he unlocked the door, not even fully opening it, Por was already squeezing his way inside. The older let out a curse when his beloved Chanel bag got stuck on the door handle, and Tee watched with utter bewilderment how Por nearly ripped off one of the straps in his attempts to get it free.
A heartbeat later, the bag dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and his front door was pushed close.
“Pip?”
And then the other’s weight all but barrelled into him, arms coming around his neck to pull him into a tight embrace.
“Fuck,” Por cursed somewhere next to his ear and it was kind of strange to hear him say that. Por hardly ever cursed.
Tee’s arms came around his boyfriend without any active thought behind it. Por was warm, and his familiar scent immediately filled his nostrils, making Tee instantly relax. Por was fine. He was here. And—
“I missed you so much…”
Oh.
Oh—
Tee’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the other’s sudden confession. Por let out a long sigh, squeezing him tight for a moment before pulling back slightly, their bodies still close enough to touch but with enough room that he could bring his hands to Tee’s face and cradle it.
Dark brown eyes met his own. They searched him, flicking from his own eyes to his nose, to his mouth and back all while Por’s thumbs caressed his cheeks. Tee was sure that his face was burning under Por’s soft caresses, but he’d endure.
Por already knew too well what effect he had on him. There was no use in hiding it anymore.
“I missed you too,” he whispered back, slightly leaning into the touch of the older one’s left hand, rubbing his cheek against his palm.
Por’s gaze softened and then he simply let himself slump forward, and trusted Tee to catch his body. To hold him and embrace him. Tee’s arms tightened around his boyfriend’s frame, burying his own face in the crook of his neck.
For a few minutes, they simply stayed like this. Neither of them moving or saying anything. Just the two of them recharging their empty batteries together. Eventually though, the curiosity that had been simmering in the pit of his stomach got the better of the younger and he lifted his face a little, angling it so he could whisper to the other gently.
“Tee is happy that you’re here, but… weren’t you supposed to come back tomorrow?”
Por just buries his face further in Tee’s neck, a small noise of… embarrassment? leaving him. Tee blinked at that.
His boyfriend didn’t answer immediately, seemingly not ready to give away the reason so easily. Still, Por did turn his head a little so he could breathe the answer against Tee’s neck.
“Took an earlier flight.”
Tee shivered when the other’s warm breath hit his neck, and his brain thought tooth and nail to compute what the other had said at the same time.
Fortunately for him, his mouth always worked even without proper input from his brain.
“Missed me that much?” he teased and immediately earned a foot to his shin for that. Tee hissed, but his lips were pulled into a grin, his heart already beating in a fast, happy rhythm against his ribcage.
Por grumbled and pulled away slightly, letting Tee understand immediately that his boyfriend was out for blood. Because he was making himself small on purpose. Angling his head just like that - his eyes looking up at him like that. All on purpose.
Tee’s mouth went dry instantly. He swallowed.
“Yeah. What about it? Can’t I miss my boyfriend?”
Fatal.
Maybe Tee stopped breathing. He was pretty sure he ascended at that very moment.
“Hoei….”
Por straightened, his eyebrows narrowed as he fixed him with his gaze now. Their noses were almost touching.
“Don’t pull a ‘Duang’ on me now. You’re supposed to be kissing me already.”
Tee, who had indeed contemplated to re-enact Duang dying of Qin’s heavy attacks, immediately tossed that thought out of the window at the other’s words.
This time, Tee was the one to bring up his hands and frame his lover's face in a gentle hold. Por was pressing their bodies closer together, and the way Por was not shy to show his own impatience had his heart soaring in his chest.
Slowly, he leaned forward and brought their foreheads together. Their eyes closed automatically, the gravity of the moment intensified when all they could feel were their points of contact. Por’s hold on his waist tightened. Later, he wanted to tell Por just how much he had been missing him too. He wanted to tell him that it hadn’t been exactly hard, but weird.
He wanted to tell him that knowing Por missed him just as much felt so, so good. And Tee wanted to know if Por finds existing without him also weird.
Not impossible.
Just weird.
But for now, he had another mission.
Their eyes opened simultaneously when Tee pulled away, and Por’s gaze told him that his thread of patience was at the verge of breaking.
“On it,” he promised with a grin and then he leaned in to kiss that waiting mouth. Por immediately melted against him, pulling him even closer, and ensuring that Tee knew this was not going to be a short kiss.
They had both been starving, unfamiliar with the situation of being apart after being around each other for so long. Now they finally could fill up on each other again, the sense of familiarity, of rightness returning to them with every kiss they shared, with every peck planted against skin.
When they pressed their foreheads together again, they were completely out of breath. Their eyes were twinkling with contentment and their lips, swollen and red from ceaseless kissing, were pulled into wide smiles.
“We need to find another solution next time,” Por said, his fingers playing with the little hairs on the back of Tee’s neck.
Tee hummed.
“Yep. It was so weird, Pip.” He simply said what he thought and Por nodded.
“Mhm. It was,” he agreed with him, “Weird. Without my puppy.”
“Pip!”
Por was grinning that mischievous grin that had Tee’s heart beat faster. Of course, Por would understand.
Of course, he knew Tee’s heart.
Because they were each other’s person and each other’s safest place.
“Now let me fill up properly.”
Tee didn’t resist when his boyfriend dragged him off and into the bedroom. The days of weirdness were finally over.
He simply grinned, feeling utterly at home in their own normal.
Le fin.