It felt like a dream. A remarkably vivid dream. His husband's lips were currently sliding against his sick lips. Just because.
He liked being kissed just because. He liked how the hair on his skin raised when Tay ran his hand down his back. He liked how blank his mind became when his thumb caressed along the line of his sideburns. He liked the roll of Tay's tongue against his. The softness of his lips. The silky strands of his hair. The wanting moans drawn from his Ambrosian lips. He liked it all.
"The staff," Tay breathed. "They can hear us."
New shut him up with a kiss. "Don't care."
He slid his hand down the space between them. Dipped it down his husband's pants. Tay plucked his wrists before he could reach the target.
"Newwiee," He panted. "No."
"Yes," New kissed his neck. He had waited too long for this.
Tay broke contact. He held New at an arm's length. "No," Tay's kiss swollen lips were making it too hard for him to understand what he was saying.
"Are you teasing me? This only works if you're not hard as a rock in your pants. Porn teaches that much."
"Okay, come here." He dragged New by the wrist to the master bedroom. Threw him inside. New stumbled only a bit. He grinned as his husband locked the door.
"Now we are getting somewhere." He pounced on Tay. However, he could not get anywhere. The virgin held him at arm's length again. "What now, Tawan?"
"We're not going to have sex?"
New laughed. A wrong move. It resulted in another coughing fit. "Tawan," he heaved. "This cold has distorted my hearing. You know what I just heard?" He laughed again, more carefully this time. "We are not going to have sex. That would be weird if you actually said that, right?"
Tay just watched him. He crossed his arms on his chest. Arched his elegant brows.
"Right?" Nothing was funny anymore.
The brows went higher.
"Fucking hell, Tawan. Do you hate me? Do you want me to die? We need to have sex. I haven't had sex in weeks." He lunged at his husband again. But his quick reflexes put New at a disadvantage.
He spun them around. Pushed New against the door. Held him there. He strained as he spoke, "I want us to start over."
"With sex." He pushed against the restraining arms.
"No."
"Every healthy relationship needs sex." How was this news to a grown man? "We need to fuck, Tay." He increased his strength. His husband fought harder. The veins in his arms popped out. So hot, he mused. He leaned down and bit the arm gently.
"You're insane." His lips twitched into a small smile. "You truly are insane, Thitipoom."
"Oh, I'm insane? I'm insane for finding my husband attractive? Throw me into an asylum!" And because he certainly was insane, he nipped on Tay's arm again. His husband laughed.
"What do I do with you?"
"Sleep with me. I hear that helps with the brain. Chemicals, you know."
"No. We started this with sex. Look how bad it turned out."
"We did not start with sex. We went on a great date, and then we had sex."
"How good did that do us, huh? I want to do things differently. Try a different approach, without the sex."
New stopped struggling and sagged against the door. "Why did you kiss me if you had no intentions of fucking?"
"Just because." He said. "Have you only been kissed with sex as the end game?"
New ran a tongue over his teeth. He broke eye contact. Tug on his ear lobes. He would not give his husband an answer.
"Oh dear Lord," Whispered Tay. "You've never been kissed just for the fun of it." He took New's chin. Forced his gaze back on him. "You poor man."
"Oh, the virgin has a lot to say now." The virgin thing always hacked Tay off. But today, he didn't bite.
"You are deflecting."
"Don't look at me with pitiful eyes. That was a choice. Look at me, If I wanted to be kissed just because, I would've. None of them were worthy." He picked his back from the door and sauntered to the bed. Planted himself at the edge. Gazed up at his husband. "So no sex, what do we do?"
"Couple stuff."
"Like sex? Couples have sex. What else do couples do?"
"I don't know. I've never been in a relationship." It was a sad confession.
New looked down at their feet. Sighed. "Neither have I. God, look at us. A bunch of pathetic idiots."
Tay edged into his open legs. He parted his legs wider to accommodate him. "Pathetic rich idiots." he amended.
"Ah, you're right. I guess we have it better than others." He took Tay's hand. Twiddled the ring on his finger. "So, starting over?"
"Yes, I want to stop being angry. I—," he bit the inside of his cheeks. "I care about you."
New's heart was bursting with soft hues. He smiled. "Didn't hear that."
"I said—," Tay narrowed his eyes. "Don't do that. Don't mess with me. This is hard for me."
"Sorry, as you were."
"I care...what I said. Let's start over without the lies."
"Okay," he nodded. "Let us. No sex, no lies. I can do that. I still get to kiss you, right? I like the kisses." He yanked Tay forward. The man toppled over with a grunt. New laughed as he struggled to push himself up on his elbow.
"Why are you the way you are?" Reprimanding Eyes frowned down at him.
New wrapped his legs around Tay's waist. Locked him in with his feet. "The way that I am? You mean sexy, rich, witty, and smart?"
"Chaotic."
"Chaos is good." He leaned up. Swiped his tongue over Tay's chin. It surprised a laugh out of him. New beamed. "See? Chaos makes you laugh like that. Someone like you needs someone like me and vice versa."
Tay's eyes crinkled with a smile. New relished the view. "I like you a lot, Tay Tawan Techaapaikhun."
"Techaapaikhun-Vihokratana." His gaze was gentle on New's face. "I like you too, Thitipoom. And I like the kisses too."
"Look at us," New drew a line from his jaw to his lips. "A virgin and a nympho. Oddest match."
"You need to stop calling me a virgin, you know I am not."
He tugged Tay closer with his locked legs. "Or what? Are you going to prove me wrong?"
"Is that your plan, to annoy me until I sleep with you?"
"Is it working?"
"No."
"Damnit!" He laughed. His husband joined him. When the laugher waned, the playful air disappeared with it.
"We'll make this work, right?" His knuckles brushed the shell of New's ears. He seemed afraid. New was too. He wanted it to work between them.
"I don't know, Tay. But I'm willing to try if you are."
"I am. I want to take you out on a date. The first of many."
"I would like that. I have never been on a date as myself." He grinned. "I am over the moon."
"I can tell. There's a big smile on your face."
"Oh, I thought you were going to mention my boner."
"Jesus Christ, New." Tay broke out of the leg lock and rolled to the side. "We were having a moment!"
New feigned confusion. "Someone mentions his boner and a moment is ruined? What has the world come to?"
"You are insufferable."
He laughed and drifted closer to his husband's side. "Sorry. Where do you want to take me?"
"Where do you want to go?"
He was still laughing. "I don't know, Tawan. Where do people go for dates?"
"The movies? I could buy out a theatre. We could go rock climbing. Or fly to Venice for a weekend. We could go sightseeing in the Alps. A car ride through Kenya's safari plains."
New considered his options for a moment. "I've never been rock climbing."
"Me neither. So it's a date?"
He nodded. "Yes, it is. This means you'll share my bed, right? You'll eat with me downstairs and shower with me."
"Will these make you happy?"
"Without question."
"Then I will. I think we've made each other miserable enough."
New's belly was a field of butterflies. They fluttered their colorful wings. Made him queasy with joy. He brushed a hand through Tay's hair. It was not shoved away. He was allowed to touch his husband now.
Tay turned his head to the side. He pressed a kiss to his wrist. Then licked the same spot as swiftly as New had earlier.
New's 'laughing cough' lasted until Tay force-fed him some cough syrup.
**
The sick days were only mildly uncomfortable. It was physically grueling on his bones. Scratched his throat raw. But emotionally, he was a paint palette of vibrant pigments. His smiles were shaded with big brushes. Marked with broad slaphappy strokes.
Every morning, he woke up with the sun in his arms. His soft hair tickled his nose and his scent stuck with him for the rest of the day. Tay liked being the little spoon as much as he liked being the big spoon. He would pull New's back to his chest. Or curl in his arms until not even air could pass between them.
Eating at the table was not lonely anymore. Granted, he did more staring than eating. Who wouldn't if they were married to Tay Tawan? Their table-side conversations usually went like this:
"Eyes on your plate, New. Eat your food."
"I'd rather eat you."
Jennie would cough out her discomfort and Yllen would shuffle awkwardly out of their sight. The staff could hardly look them in the eyes these days. Tay said no to sex. However, there was no rule against kissing. And by the heavens did they kiss! They were as shameless about their physical intimacy as they were about their dislike for one another.
Before, the staff would try to leave the room because of their fighting. Now, they escaped because they could not keep their lips apart.
Tay caught New's cold right after he got better. This extended their one week break to two weeks. The Vihokratana heir's phone flooded with unanswered calls from his parents. It was entertaining to watch Tay avoid someone who was not him.
"Are you ready to face the 'Executive board members' tomorrow?" New asked his husband. They were in bed, just fresh out of the shower. Tay smelled like the smoky vanilla body wash he bought for him. His locks sprawled over the white pillowcases in wet curls. "You don't need to be."
The board members were made up of their parents and themselves (Just the major shareholders). After their two weeks of absence, their parents called for a meeting. Most likely to threaten to leave their inheritance to some orphans in Peru. A final parade of their munificence before they fucked off to hell. Or wherever the fuck terrible parents went after death.
"Mother dearest does not scare me," Tay said. "Not like she used to. Moreover, our project has been progressing just fine without our physical presence. I won't let them intimidate us."
"I'll be there with you. We'll go in guns blazing. They'll cower when they see us. They'll bow at our feet."
"Your ego." Tay shook his head.
"Is going to save our asses. Tomorrow will be like any normal day for us. I'll make you—coffee in bed."
Tay frowned. He pressed his lips together. "Why did you say coffee like that?"
"How? I said—coffee." New fought a smile.
"You just did it again. Why did you wink?"
"Something got in my eye."
"You're up to no good," Tay accused.
New straddled his husband. Slid his hands up his plain T-shirt. Ran them along his ribs. "Like what? What could I possibly be up to?"
"I don't know but I don't trust you." He shrieked when New pinched his sides. "You!" Tay flipped him over. Pinned his arms over his head. "Tell me what you're up to."
"It's just—coffee."
He tickled New's side with his free hand. "Tell me."
"You can't break me that easily." He wiggled in place like a dying worm.
Tay's fingers crawled higher. "Tell me."
"Enough enough." Tears spilled down the side of his face. "Mercy, please." he giggled, twisting underneath his husband. "I'll tell you. Please let go, I'll tell you."
Tay let his guard down for a moment. New took advantage and flipped him back around. He gasped as his back hit the bed. New kissed him before he could breathe out.
Tay's hand immediately eased into his hair. He moaned something that sounded suspiciously like incubus. He kissed New back. He always did. It seemed he loved New's lips as much as he loved his. There was no part of Tawan that he would not deify.
His lips. His hands. His olive skin. His smell. His voice. His laugh. He could not get enough of Tay. He doubted if he ever would. New was tempted to tell him just how grand his feelings for him were. Nonetheless, he suspected that Tay was ready to hear them yet. So he kissed him instead.
Just because.