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“Are you sure about this?” Ae asked for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour.
Pete didn’t even bother to turn to face him, busying himself with taking a stack of plastic cups out of their wrappings and piling them onto the countertop instead. “I’m very sure,” he said, just as he had every other time Ae had asked. “Your teammates said they wanted to watch the game that’s on today. And well, my television is pretty big. You’ll all be able to sit around it and still see the screen.”
Finally looking to Ae, he smiled in hopes of easing the frown lines between his brows. “Football is important to you. So it’s important to me too.”
Ae squished Pete’s cheeks between his palms and said, “but you’re the most important to me” as the two of them dissolved into fits of giggles.
Before either of them knew it, Pete’s apartment was filled with the engineering faculty’s football team. While everyone was polite, they were also all very much men’s men. They were rowdy, shouting in varying degrees of fuming and joyous at the television.
Pete found it all very amusing, watching from behind the kitchen island. He was constantly refilling plates with a variety of different foods his Par Jiew had prepared and sent over the day before.
He handed Champ his plate back with a smile. The senior took it, beaming back at him. “You’re the best, N’Pete. If you ever get tired of N’Ae, just know that I’m single and very open to mingling.”
A balled up napkin hit Champ in the side of his head. The obvious culprit glared at him. “In your dreams, phi,” Ae said, motioning for Pete to come over to him. He complied, squeaking softly when he was pulled down into the chair beside him. It was too small for both of them to sit on their own, so Pete ended up halfway on Ae’s lap.
“Stop serving them,” he told him, arms wrapping around Pete’s waist from behind. “If they want something, they can get it themselves.”
“I’m trying to be a good host,” Pete defended himself.
Ae pressed a kiss into his shoulder blade. “You’re the best host. Just sit here and watch with us, yeah?”
Pete couldn’t find it in him to complain. Ae was a fantastic cuddle buddy, and it was nice to sit rather than run back and forth from the kitchen to the living area. So he sat back and watched, even though he hadn’t a clue about football.
He went to cheer Ae on at his games, and he’d picked up the basics. But his knowledge was nothing compared to that of the boys in his room. He didn’t understand a word of their commentary, but it was nice to see them all so excited over one common factor.
Especially Ae. This was a side of his boyfriend he didn’t get to see, and just as he said, what was important to him was important to Pete too. Seeing him get worked up when the ball was stolen from one team to the other or light up when a goal was scored made Pete’s heart go all fluttery.
“Which team do you want to win?” Pete asked.
“The red one,” Ae answered, eyes not moving from where they were transfixed on the game.
Pete snuggled back against his chest, curling low enough to where he could nudge his head underneath Ae’s chin. “Then, I want them to win too.”