Peace

Chapter 15: Afterglow

Bright wakes up suddenly. His eyes take in the rays of light coming through the window. There's no doubt that it is the next day already, Sunday. His thoughts run at high speed and only then he realizes that Win is still sleeping soundly in his arms. The younger man's forehead is glued to his chest, just a few inches below his neck, and his left hand is pressed against his shoulder.

The man grins at the view, and soon the smile turns to a soft chuckle. Win whines because of the sound that's disturbing his good sleep. He lightly shoves Bright's face away from him, causing his boyfriend to yelp in pain. "Ow," Bright hisses. Groggily, Win lays his back on the mattress and sighs. "How can you be that calm when you just shoved my face, Prince?"

Win giggles uncontrollably because he did that on purpose. He turns on his side to look at Bright's face. "Hey, your eyes are swollen," he points out.

"Really?" Bright lifts his hand to touch his eyes, but Win is quick to slap his hand away. "Ow, you're doing it again, Prince!"

Win impulsively grabs Bright's hand and kisses it twice. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he rests the side of his face against the older man's hand, pouting a little. "You shouldn't touch your eyes. Let them be for a while."

Both fall into a comfortable silence after that. Bright's mind is replaying the last scene that happened last night before he was taken away into the dreamland. He stares into his boyfriend's eyes and his worry ceases.

Win is the afterglow of sunset on the horizon. He bursts into a gorgeous golden color upon a canvas. Through his eyes, right now, the younger man's face is shining with the last orange rays before the day bids its goodbye to welcome the stars. Bright feels some sort of contentment inside of him after their little moment last night.

If his soul were to be taken away from his body, he would leave in peace with the memory of Win's bright smile and his autumnal eyes. The younger man is simply the visual poetry that he has been searching for all his life. "Baby..." Bright can't help but whisper that to Win.

"Hold on, what did you just call me?" Win slumps his body back onto the mattress, but he doesn't break his eye contact with his boyfriend. His hand is still holding Bright's hand. He places it close to his chest simply because it keeps him warm.

Bright scoots closer to Win and caresses his cheek with an overwhelming adoration. "Baby," he says. "You cried like a baby last Friday night."

"I did?" Win asks defensively. "When?"

"When you came home, drunk and wasted. You wanted to kiss me," Bright pauses for a second. He has a Cheshire cat smile spread all over his face now. "... on the lips," he continues.

Win's jaws drop at the story. "No, no. That's-no way!" He denies. His face is already flushed in total embarrassment. How could he do that? Talk about having some shame there.

"Tham mai khun ai? Why are you shy? Didn't we already kiss last night?" Bright raises an eyebrow at Win. Win shoves the older man lightly on his shoulder and soon their laughter erupts in the entire room. Bright pinches Win's cheek once they have calmed down. "Can you say it again?" He requests.

"Say what?" Win hooks his forefinger with Bright's, waiting for the older man to reply. "Oh..." He let out after the realization hits him. "I don't want to say it anymore," he says firmly.

Bright's face falls after hearing that. "I understand," he whispers, weakly nodding.

"I was just teasing you, babe," Win pulls Bright closer to him. His gaze is now fixed on Bright's eyes. "I love you," the younger man murmurs before pressing his lips against Bright's sultry lips. The kiss is chaste and slow. There's no rush at all in what they are doing. Their lips move in sync with Bright humming in comfort once in a while.