[ GawinKrist ] Coffee Sweetness

9. I Got Dumbed Today

Krist has the power to always bring happiness to others, naturally and purely. Others are happy just by looking at his bright face, listening to his soothing voice, seeing him immersing in his own world. Gawin wondered if his interest for the guy sitting in front of him would fade after some time. But, for now, he really enjoyed observing Krist, not realizing that he was sowing the seeds of his feelings for the other into his heart unintentionally.

That day, the two of them did not drink wine. Placing that bottle within his reach, Krist determinedly did not let the taller guy open the cap. At first Krist murmured some small funny stories of his, and then he focused on eating, holding the bowl with one hand, he lowered his head and quietly shoveled food into his mouth.

Gawin respected the other's space. He sat quietly across the smaller guy with a book in his hand, even though his mind was not really on the words.

"I was dumbed today."

'Here it comes.'  His inner voice screamed.

Gawin raised his eyes from the book which lay open between his knees, he met Krist's gaze looking from across the table, his dark brown eyes filled with confusion and heartbreak, waiting for comfort. But as soon as Gawin stared straight into his eyes, Krist again lowered his head and focused on his half-empty bowl of rice.

"Can you tell me?" Gawin asked softly, closing the book and putting it aside, "I hope I can help you somehow."

Krist craned his head lower, playing with the chopsticks, he then lifted his head and noticed that Gawin was still looking at him. 

Krist nodded at the taller man, muttering, "You're so kind."

That night Krist stayed over at Gawin's house. When finished his bowl of rice, Krist observed Gawin cleaning up the table and then followed him when he washed the dishes, put the wine bottle back to the cabinet, and went into the bedroom to get a blanket and place it on the sofa. Krist didn't ask Gawin if he needed any help, the only thing Krist did after the late meal was sharing with Gawin everything that he both wanted to keep and didn't want to keep in his heart. 

Till midnight, Krist asked the home owner, eyes heavy-lidded, to make him a cup of hot choco, but when Gawin came back from the kitchen, Krist had already buried his head in the blanket and pillows.

Gawin usually goes to bed quite early, but today he kept moving back and forth around to the sofa, holding his cup of coffee and having a sip. He couldn't take his eyes off of the blanket nest in the living room. It wasn't until Krist's coughs startled him that Gawin finally turned off the lamp in that room, leaving only a dim light from the kitchen so that Krist would not feel scared if waking up in the middle of the night. After that, Gawin unwillingly headed back to the bedroom and closed the door.

Only then did he have time to shower. His late-nigh bathing usually only took ten minutes, but tonight he spent nearly half an hour in the bathroom, because he kept thinking about Krist, full of aimless thoughts, flickering in his mind. Until he finished showering, Gawin still didn't know what exactly he was thinking and why those thoughts about the other invading his mind.

There was a loud noise outside when Gawin was about to cover himself with the blanket. The sight of Krist falling off the sofa made him throw back the blanket, get out of bed again and rush to the living room where the noise came from.

Fortunately, Krist was sleeping soundly, on the sofa, between the thick blanket and pillows.

His arm swung over the table, dropping the stack of books and a ceramic paperweight to the ground. Gawin breathed a sigh of relief, pondering for a few seconds, and then slowly pulled the table away. The series of sounds didn't wake him up, as expected, Krist slept so deeply, his mouth was slightly open.