Confessions of the Night

Part 1

The warm shower was doing wonders for his overworked muscles from the basketball practice. It was fun and brutal, and Joss loved every second of it. The only downside of it was the absence of his 'Dear friend', his teammates teased him at every chance they got. He will be lying if he says he was mad about the teasing. He missed Gawin so damn much.

Joss let out a heavy sigh.

After the starlympics ended, both of them finally stepped back from the world that had been watching their every move. Away from the spotlights and fame, away from the endless noise and flashing cameras, they let themselves sink into a quiet that felt almost unreal after months of chaos. No interviews, no fanmeets, no alarms dragging them out of bed before dawn. Their days became long and unhurried, and for once, they were allowed to exist as themselves, not as the versions the world expected to see.

One thing, however, did not change. Their nightly calls remained, anchored into Joss's days in a way that felt almost necessary. No matter how tired he was or where he happened to be, he made sure his screen lit up with Gawin's name. Each time Gawin answered with that familiar, gentle warmth in his voice, something in Joss's chest loosened, as if the distance between them shrank a little more.

Most nights, they talked about nothing and everything. Small updates, family stories, quiet complaints about the weather or their recovery routines. The kinds of details that never made it into interviews but meant the most in private.

He hurried and finished his shower in his haste to call Gawin. The night was slightly chilly, and he got under the covers in his cosy pyjamas and took his phone from the nightstand.

Gawin was still in his studio when he called Joss, as expected from the night owl. They started talking about their day. Joss did most of the talking while Gawin played soft tones on his guitar and occasional stories of his own. They laughed, they teased (Gawin, mostly), sang together when that happened.

"Joss," Gawin said, after a small pause, "are you free this weekend?"

Joss blinked at the screen, momentarily thrown off by the abrupt question. "This weekend? I think so. Why?"

"I was planning a hike," Gawin replied. "I thought... maybe you could come with me."

It was not that Gawin had never invited him along before. Hiking was one of his favourite ways to clear his head, and Joss had tagged along a few times when their schedules allowed it. But something about the way Gawin asked this time felt different from all those times. Gawin was unsure of himself, Joss realised. It has been a long time since Gawin was hesitant about anything when it comes to Joss. There was no mention of anyone else joining, no casual note about staff or friends or cameras.

"Just us?" Joss asked, before he could stop himself.

"Yeah," Gawin answered, a soft smile audible in his voice. "Just us."

The room around Joss seemed a little quieter than it had been a moment ago. He could hear his own breathing, steady but a touch too aware. Outside his window, the city moved on as usual, lights blinking, cars passing by, life continuing as if nothing had shifted at all.

"Okay," Joss said, and found that his voice came out gentler than he intended. "Of course, G. I'll be there. Just text me the details."

They moved on to other topics after that, slipping back into their usual rhythm, but the thought of the weekend lingered at the back of Joss's mind.

He could not wait for the weekend to come.

The time till their planned getaway to the mountains felt like eternity. Joss was feeling giddy the whole time, and Kevin and Fai gave him that knowing, teasing smile whenever he zoned out during their talks and whenever he talked about Gawin and their routine calls, which was often.