HE, HIM, AND US (Complete ✅)

Tawan is starving

"Hey, I'm better than him. I don't break into your house or stalk you." Tay raises a brow and holds his eyes. Okay, maybe he did break into his house and stalked him a little. "Come on, Tay likes it when I talk."

"I am not him." He starts to walk out.

"Did he break your heart? Is that it?"

Tay turns on him. A finger is held to his face. "One more word. I dare you to say one more word."

New holds his lips together. The look on Evil Tay's face is somewhat like Teh's. Riled up Tay. He lets the quiet stretch for a few moments. He lets the tension build. Annoying Tay is his favorite sport. "Why did he break your heart?"

Tay blinks. "I don't like you." He breathes. "You and Thitipoom and every version of you." He turns around and clumps into his bedroom. The door slams on New's face.

******************

Tay cannot sit still. He fingers the collar of his shirt every two seconds. His left leg bounces under the table.

"Is this your first date?" New lifts his eyes from the menu to ask. "Relax."

"People can see us. When you said to go out, I didn't think it would be this public."

"Are you ashamed to be seen with me?"

A look passes over Tay's face. He stares at New for a long time. "I've never been ashamed of you, Thitipoom." He enunciates the words. "You know our jobs—," he sighs. A large hand sweeps over his face. "I don't want to talk about this."

Oh but New does. Has his counterpart and Tay's evil twin had this conversation before? Is this why they fought? He is curious to find out why. Maybe then he would figure out how to get back home to his Tay. However, he takes pity on the joyless man. "Fine."

"Thank you."

New is pleasantly surprised by the softness of his voice. He smiles. "Anytime. Let's order, shall we?"

Their meal is arranged before them 40 minutes later. Tay digs right in. New reckons it is to avoid further conversation. He does not look up or make eye contact. New finds it hilarious. He pulls out his phone and records a short video of his companion for his Instagram stories.

Tawan is starving, he captions it.

Tay eschews dessert. "I don't eat dessert." He grunts. New orders a big slice of cream cake. Tay looks at the dessert like it hurt his mother.

"Do you want some?"

"No."

"You sure?" New takes a bite. He hums around the forkful. "This is better than sex." He digs the fork into the cake. Holds it to Tay's face. "Here, try it."

"I don't eat dessert."

"Come on, you don't like dessert or you don't eat dessert?"

"It's the same fucking thing."

He holds the fork to Tay's lips. "Just try it. If you hate it, I'll leave you alone forever."

Tay narrows his eyes. "You would?"

He nods. "Cross my heart."

Tay opens his mouth. New smirks and pokes the tip of his nose with the cake. The attack leaves white frosting on his nose. It is the funniest thing New has seen in this universe. A grumpy Tay with icing on his nose. He laughs and laughs.

Tay is not entertained. His jaws move as his teeth grind. His hands are fisted on the tabletop. New does not care for his irritation. He laughs some more. When he stops, he grabs a paper napkin and dabs the icing off Tay's nose.

He is still sulking an hour later. They are in New's car, stuck in traffic. Tay has not said a word since they left the restaurant. He hasn't looked at New. New keeps his eyes forward. Only because he breaks into laughter whenever he sees Tay's face. This only further angers the man.

The silence is broken by Tay's ringtone. He cannot get over the fact that evil Tawan uses an iPhone.

"Gun." He rasps into the phone. New's ears perk up. He glances to the side at his best friend's doppelgänger. "What?" He says. "No." He looks at New. Gives him a disbelieving look. "Okay, I'll look. Bye."

"What did Gun want?" New questions. It comes out a little too harsh.

"Thitipoom," Tay is tapping on his screen. "What have you done?" His eyes go wide. "Every version of you is impulsive and stubborn." He turns his phone to New.

Tawan is starving is trending at number two on Twitter with over 200k tweets. He takes his phone and goes through the tags himself. There are blurry photos of them in the restaurant. There's one that looks like he is feeding Tay. One, of him wiping the icing off Tay's nose. And a video of them walking out of the restaurant.

New was irresponsible. That he is in a different universe does not alter the modus operandi. He should've waited until they left the restaurant to share the video. Perhaps he shouldn't have shared it at all. The headlines are ridiculous.

Tay Tawan Vihokratana and New Thitipoom Techaapaikhun seen together for the first time since 2019.

Gloves in. Cakes out. Tay and New are seen eating cake instead of each other's fists.

Tawan Vihokratana and Thitipoom Techaapaikhun bury the hatchet over a romantic dinner.

New scoffs. Nothing about that dinner was romantic. There are messages from Singto, Jack, Jennie, Nook, and many others. He elects to ignore them. Tay is a more pressing matter.

"Are you upset?"

"Do I look upset?"

He did. "Yes?"

"So why do you ask?"

"Sorry?" The traffic light turns green. He is grateful to have something to distract him. And also not to have to look at Tay. "What's so wrong about us being together? Friends fight and make up all the time."

"You weren't here. It was—is a big deal. You should've asked me first."

"You share videos with Off, Arm, and Gun. Why does it have to be differ—,"

"They are not you, New! It is not the same. You can't come here from your spaceship and—,"

"I have never seen a spaceship in my life."

"I don't care!" He yells. "I couldn't give a fuck, New. Things are different here! I don't give a shit if you and I—him were best friends who braided each other's hair and gossiped about boys. We aren't like that. I remember what happened. I felt—," he breaks off. His voice catches. "I feel what happened. It might be just a video with your face in it. But It is my life. It is our life."

New takes his eyes off the road for a second. Tay looks shaken. "I could understand you better if you told me what happened." He lays a hand on Tay's knee. It is meant to provide comfort. The man swats it away.

"Stay out of it. Stay out of our life."

Typical. "You may never see New again. Are you okay with that? Aren't you mad that you're stuck with me? I don't know you or share your history. You must have cared for him at some point. Don't you worry? Aren't you scared he's gone forever?"

"I—," he shakes his head. "Thitipoom will be fine. That man is like a cockroach. He can adapt to any condition. The one you should worry about is your Tay."

He is worried about Tay. He is doing all of this to go back to him. "That doesn't answer my question. Don't you miss him?"

"No, I don't." Tay looks out the window. His Adam's apple dips and rises. "I'm glad that psycho is gone."

New can tell he is lying. He drives in silence.