First was completely frozen. All of the emotions he had carried for the past few months had finally imploded on him. It felt like he watched a movie in another language without subtitles where he could grasp some of the concepts but it would turn out he got the entire plot wrong once he switched the language back. First never thought in a million years that the person everyone was saying Khao is in love with is him. His mind was slowly becoming foggy with the lack of oxygen he was allowing himself to take in but he tried his hardest to focus back on the conversation with Khao.
"I think..." He paused for another moment. "I think I might've jumped to conclusions a bit too soon." First embarrassingly admitted, shaking his head up and down slightly as if agreeing with his own observation.
"Yeah...I think I would agree." Khao responded, equally embarrassed.
The two shared a brief laugh together at the awkwardness of the situation. Then, Khao looked back up at First with clear sincerity. His hands fidgeted in an attempt to calm himself down from the intense situation. He cleared his throat before speaking again, hoping it would make him sound more confident about what he was planning to reveal next.
"Listen, First...the reason I paused wasn't because I didn't like you...it was because I was scared," Khao uttered.
"Scared? Why would you be scared?" First asked with confusion.
"I was overwhelmed with emotions that night. I was overthinking about a lot of things and about our relationship." Khao took a few moments to collect his thoughts. He was visibly shaking from nervousness. His eyes looked down this time, staring at the partially used tissue First had given him earlier in an attempt to find comfort from the gesture.
"I was...I am worried that I might not be good enough for you. I've been in love with you for over 5 years at this point. Yet, I have the fear that if we ended up together and one day you realize you no longer share the same feelings as I do...I just don't know if I could recover myself from that outcome." Khao stammered.
First now noticed Khao's anxious hands. He smiled endearingly and grabbed hold of one of his hands and began rubbing his thumb against Khao's skin, comforting his friend. Immediately, Khao's hands stopped trembling. They were soft and slender and fit perfectly in his hands. The connection these two shared was special, it tended to scare their coworkers with how easily they could connect their emotions through simple touches. Some cast members from their recent series, "Moonlight Chicken" remembered one moment during First's first filming day on set where he began crying the instant he touched Khao. Their bond was unlike any other.
First looked into Khao's eyes, never wavering. He wanted to give Khao reassurance of his feelings for him. "Tung, you mean the world to me. I don't think I have the words to even describe how much I love and care about you. It's true though, neither of us is in control of the other's feelings but I don't want to be with anyone else except you. No matter what we are, I want us to be together for a long time. How do you feel, though?"
Khao didn't say anything for a while. He looked worried as if anything he said would be wrong but he lifted his head and confidently responded back, "I love you too and I want to be with you for a long time as well." Another tear was streaming down his cheek.
After all these months of indecisiveness on First's part, it was his turn to move things along. He knew exactly what he wanted but he cared more about Khao's feelings in this moment. He was willing to take things as slow or fast as Khao needed.
"What do you want us to be then? Friends? Lovers? Somewhere in between?" First questioned, with a voice that sounded like it would be pleased with whatever answer Khao chose.
"What if others don't accept us? You've seen how much people initially hated us being an on-screen pairing...being an actual couple might..." Khao wasn't even sure what he was trying to say but he wanted to bring up this topic in case First was having second thoughts.
"It doesn't matter what others think. Our relationship is ours to decide. At the end of the day, it's only us two who matter the most. I know I want to be with you but I care more about how you feel for me and what you want." First explained. His words showed no sign of uncertainty, he was now fully confident to give the love he so desperately wants to share with his best friend.
Hearing this made Khao smile. He looked up at First like he hung the moon and stars in the sky as his eyebrows furrowed lovingly while his eyes glistened with excitement. The longer he stared into First's big, bright eyes, the bigger Khao's smile grew. He never thought his love for someone could run this deep and this intensely. After fully soaking in First's reassuring words, Khao had come to a decision.
"I want to be with you...as your lover." Khao finally announced.
"Really?" First asked excitedly.
"Absolutely," Khao confirmed.
The two embraced each other in a long and comforting hug. Breathing in the other's scent, their hearts felt full of love and excitement to finally lift the weight they'd been holding, off their shoulders. These two held feelings that may have run for years without notice and now that they've finally been unveiled, they could no longer hide those emotions from each other.
First slowly pulled away from Khao and looked deeply into his eyes before asking, "Can I kiss you?"
Khao looked back up at him with the same adoring look and smiled, "As long as you're not planning to run away again," he joked.
"Never," First replied happily.
First bent his head down slightly and stared briefly into Khao's eyes before he finally pressed his lips onto Khao's. It was soft, intimate, and felt completely different from all the other times they kissed on set for the various roles they played together. It was also different from the last time they kissed in Khao's home. This time, it felt carefree yet delicate. First was so unbearably happy that he felt like his heart was about to burst from nervousness. Khao was also smiling into the kiss, holding First's neck tightly so he would struggle to escape but First did not mind this action one bit. They were both so happy to have resolved these painful feelings and to finally experience something so beautiful.
The two spent the rest of the night holding each other close while laying on First's bed. They were enjoying each other's presence and discussing all the details leading up to their misunderstandings. Khao was laying his head above First's right arm and staring at him with eyes of happiness. First, on the other hand, had additional questions to ask Khao.
"I'm still curious to know...why were you at the gym with Gun?"
Khao's face grew red from hearing this question. He pulled his hand up to the back of his neck, rubbing it as a form of comfort to help soothe the embarrassing detail he was about to reveal.
"I went to ask for help about you," Khao whispered loud enough for First to hear.
"Me?" First questioned.
"Yeah, I was scared because I didn't know what to do. I couldn't reach you and I wanted to figure out how to confess so he...told me to make a grand gesture and be completely honest about my feelings for you. Actually, that reminds me...I wanted to give you this earlier. " Khao sat up and pulled out a small box from inside his outer black jean jacket. Opening the box, First could see a white gold necklace inside. There was a cute charm of a cat with the letters F and K engrained on the front and back of the item.
"I know it's a bit cheesy but I wanted to gift you this as part of my grand gesture. As a way to show how much you've taken part of my mind. I actually helped with the design of this piece-"
While Khao was busy talking about the significance of the charm and how much he wanted to get something that represented them and this special event, First was smiling from ear to ear. He felt so unbelievably happy that his feelings were reciprocated and that Khao was feeling just as nervous as he was. He immediately allowed Khao to put the sentimental piece of jewelry on his neck and placed a soft kiss on the smaller friend's cheek, pleasantly startling him. They were so glad to finally be in each other's space like this.
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Neo and Louis laughed and chatted together while walking into a coffee shop. Soon, their attention was directed toward two figures sitting at a booth together in the corner of the establishment. It was First and Khao. The pair smiled at their friends, waved, and walked up to sit in the booth with them.
There were four drinks already ordered and sitting at the table so Neo and Louis picked their beverages of choice and began sipping away.
"So...why did you guys call us out today? Couldn't get enough of me, could ya?" Neo joked.
"Actually, we have big news to share with you." First smiled.
"Really? Let's hear it, haha," Louis laughed with interest.
Neo and Louis took another sip of their drinks as they waited patiently to hear what their friends were about to reveal. Suddenly, First grabbed hold of Khao's hand, intertwining their fingers and showing their friends.
"We're together," Khao said cheerily.
"Well of course you're together. You're sitting right next to each other." Neo said, ignorant to what his friends were telling him. It wasn't until Neo took a double take at First and Khao and their interlocked fingers that it clicked in his mind.
"Wait. Your crush...the person you were in love with was P'Khao???" Neo shouted in a hushed tone while looking at First. He began to start chuckling.
"Yeah...what's wrong with that?" First said in a confused manner.
"It was so obvious! Everyone kept saying how both of you probably had feelings for each other. I even had suspicions considering how weird you both had been acting lately. Man, crazy how life works." Neo said in lighthearted laughter.
"If it was so obvious why didn't you set us up on a date sooner, buddy?" Khao smiled mischievously. He reached over to grab Neo's hand, only to squeeze it with enough strength to not break his fingers.
"Oh...Haha...you...heard...about...that?" Neo said nervously, almost scared to hear Khao's response. His face began to sweat profusely as if he was in a comedic cartoon.
"Yeahhhh...I did" Khao responded in a dark manner to purposely scare Neo, his grip on his friend growing stronger.
"Anyways!" Louis said, trying to redirect the conversation to a more cheery tone. "I believe what Neo and I are trying to say is...congratulations you two. We're grateful that you were comfortable telling us now." He said happily.
"Thank you guys." Khao and First both laughed.
First was grateful to have someone like Khao in his life. Someone to support him and listen even when he didn't know how to handle the situation. Even his presence was enough to give him the strength to step outside of his comfort zone. He was thankful that he decided to hear Khao out that one gloomy day because it gave him the chance to experience something amazing. He's finally with the person he loves and he couldn't wait to see how their relationship would grow from here.
Ending Author note:
Thank you all for reading! This is my first fanfic I've written (especially at this length). I've had an exciting/fun experience with coming up with ideas with the storyline and I hope I was able to execute it well. I absolutely love these two and their friendship holds a special place in my heart. I don't want to predict the future but I am attempting to work on a few projects featuring their other characters. Wish me luck as I venture more when it comes to writing and storytelling :)