Bittersweet Love // #KaoEarth AU

44 - The End

"I like you. Romantically, that is."

Earth felt like his heart would leap out of his chest and beat even quicker than before. His stomach doing weird flips accompanied by butterflies. Kao's words had come out clear and sounded so sincere, despite the older one's attempt of soft expression. 

Phi Kao likes me back? 

Had I been dreaming?

"I would like to start it from the beginning, if you allow me to."

"Beginning?" Earth repeated and tilted his head to the side, croaking out the words despite his lack of brain cells he can use to think right now. Earth had to pinch his arms and had to bite his tongue at the sharp pain he received back. 

I definitely wasn't dreaming. 

Something suddenly snapped Earth out when he came to a realization; he exclaimed, "You kissed me just now!"

Kao can't help but laugh hard at Earth's exclamation. He can't believe that Earth had just realized about that, despite their tongues clashing until the younger one was breathless?

Earth gaped like a fish for a moment before he went bright red in embarrassment. He yelped when Kao hugged him and was rewarded with a rumble from the older one's body due to Kao laughing so hard. He pouted, even if his arms circled their way into Kao's neck. Earth stated dejectedly, "I'm not funny."

"You're not," the rumble from Kao laughing has ceased to stop. There was fondness written over his face now, "But you're just too cute to be let alone."

Blush spread over his cheeks immediately like a sweeping brush paint onto a white canvas in one stroke.

Kao chuckled; his left hand ruffled the younger one's hair affectionately. "I bet you're blushing right now."

To which Earth replied with a light shove, and their embrace was released. He slightly pouted, "You like to tease me, Phi Kao. You—" He whined and was stopped by a pair of lips upon his own again, to which he eagerly replied with so much yearning and poured all of his feelings into them, wanting to convey as much of his feelings to the older one by the kiss they shared.

The kiss tapered off into something more chaste, Kao's lips lingering over Earth's while holding the younger one's hands gently. The older one pulled away after the short embrace and rested his forehead on Earth's, locking his brownish eyes to two obsidian blacks of Earth.

"Thank you."

For giving us another beginning.

Earth's lips curled gently upwards at his boyfriend's tone of voice. He stopped short of his own thoughts, and a frown showed on his face. "Are we a couple?"

Kao blinked a few times without making a sound as if he was contemplating the answer slowly inside his head.

Earth internally groaned. He could smack himself for being too greedy and eager. He should have given the older one more time to assess his feelings more. Kao had said he just realized that he likes Earth romantically not that long ago. He should have been more patient.

Maybe it was the uncertainty and anxiety written across Earth's face after the question because Kaothen cupped the younger one's face with his hands. "Earth, don't beat yourself over this question," Kao pinched Earth's cheeks lightly and gave the younger one a soft smile. "The question to which I would answer yes. I was silent because I thought that much was obvious to you, and I was secretly laughing in my head at the thought that you seemed oblivious to things related to relationships."

Earth scowled and pouted his lips, feeling slightly irritated at the older one's last words. He lightly punched Kao's chest and drew an answer, "Thank you so much for the deduction, mister 'I am so experienced in relationships'."

Kao wasn't about to laugh at the younger one's cheeky answer; on the contrary, he was stunned when he had interpreted Earth's words. "Is this...your first relationship?"

Earth was taken aback by the cautious tone the older one had used. He shyly nodded in answer.

"Your first kiss was...me?" There was a hesitant tone underneath Kao's voice when he asked that question. His eyes never leave Earth's face and movement as if trying to figure out the younger one's answer.

Again, with a shy smile, Earth nodded. Looking down at his lap, which suddenly seemed more interesting than Kao's piercing eyes.

A beaming smile was Kao's reply to Earth's blushful gesture. He laughed hard, slowly moved his face forward and placed his lips on the younger one's forehead when his laughter had subsided. He kissed Earth's forehead gently, and the two of them immediately closed their eyes to savor the blissful moment that surrounded them.

When Kao had pulled his face away, smiles began to bloom on their faces quickly. Earth looked around his surroundings; for the first time after he woke up, he finally paid attention to Kao's supposed-to-be bedroom. He frowned when he saw a few empty cups with signs of coffee if the black liquid he noticed were anything to go by. Earth suddenly giggled after something crossed his mind.

Kao enjoyed his boyfriend looking around his bedroom with appreciative eyes but was slightly startled to find the smaller one was giggling. "What was so funny, Earth?" He asked while looking fondly at the easiness on Earth's face at the laugh.

"You didn't sleep at all after you brought me here, did you? I saw all those coffee cups," Earth pointed to where Kao left the cups behind with a stern look, but soon was seen softly smiling not long after scolding his man. "I was suddenly reminded of something when I saw those cups."

Kao gulped after Earth scolded him. Don't get him wrong and say that he was afraid of his boyfriend. Quite the opposite, he was actually a little tiny bit turned on when he saw those stern looks thrown at him. He mentally whacks himself on the head and gives his focus back to Earth. "Care to tell me, baby?"

Earth turned bright red at the endearment Kao used easily on him, which the older man had taken note of to use frequently to induce the smaller one's blush. Earth cleared his throat, "I knew you really like caffe americano, despite it being bitter." Earth saw Kao nodded hesitantly as if trying to figure out where the conversation was going. "If we were to compare our love story to drinks, ours would definitely be coffee."

"Why coffee?" Kao arched an eyebrow in question and was slight—mind you, slightly surprised when Earth took both his hands in the younger one's smaller hands.

Earth gently caressed the older one's backhands and looked at it fondly. He glanced up and softly smiled. "When it is only pure coffee, at first sip, you will only taste its bitterness. If you want to solve the tangy-bitter taste of your coffee, then add sugar, milk, or even cream, and you can find different flavors in every cups by doing so. It will taste bitter if left untouched, but it will taste sweet when you act upon it."

"The bitterness is about us when we were alone, and the sweetness is about us giving our relationship a chance to begin?" Kao gently smiled at the wonder and amazing look on Earth's face, as if surprised that he found out the meaning of the younger one's metaphor. He raised a hand and caressed Earth cheek lovingly, brownish eyes gazing deep into the obsidian black of Earth's. 

"You're right, baby. Our love story resembled a coffee, a bittersweet love, indeed."

END

a/n:
I don't know how it turns out, but somewhat glad that I finally released the end chapter of this story. I didn't update for 8 days because I want to write more chapters for the already published book Beyond Relationships. I want to save a few more chapters of that story before finishing this. Maybe I will make a sequel for this story, or maybe not. I want to focus my mind on the other one. I was so frustrated on writing the SMUT or sexy scenes chapters for Beyond Relationships; yes, you read right, it turns out to be 2 chapters of SMUT, lol.

Updated and finished on the 16th of June 2021,

junijunipers.