"Porchay."
That's the first thing that leaves Kim's lips when he wakes up. His body aches. Mostly his chest. The bones inside of his body feel like they are burning from all that fire. He must have inhaled a lot of smoke. But it doesn't matter how he feels right now. What matters is his husband.
"Chay," he says again, opening his eyes, he sees that he isn't at home. He is at the hospital.
"Porchay," he says louder, but his husband is nowhere to be seen. No one is in the room with him.
Kim sits up. His instincts are telling him to go and look for Chay. He wants to go. He has to go. He looks at the bedside table—he can't see his phone anywhere. He has no way to call him.
Is Chay hurt? Did he get hurt saving him? Where is he? Where?
Just then, the door opens, and for a brief moment, Kim hopes that it's his husband. But it isn't. It's his brother.
"Where's Chay?" Kim blurts out before Kinn notices that his younger brother has awakened.
"Oh, thank god," Kinn walks up to Kim's bed. "The doctors said that you'll most likely wake up tomorrow because you need rest."
"Where's my Chay?" Kim repeats his question—he swears that if someone won't tell him right now where his husband is, he will explode! He is fine. He is fucking fine! But what about his husband?!
Kinn sits down on a chair next to Kim's bed; he looks relaxed. Kim hates how relaxed he looks.
"Chay is in the other room. Right next to this one. He hasn't woken up yet. But he will be okay, don't worry. We got both of you here just a couple of hours ago. He just needs rest just like you do."
"He hasn't woken up yet?" Kim's voice drops low. "What do you mean that he hasn't fucking woken up yet?! I'm going to see him!"
"Kimhan, calm down! It was just too much pressure on him. He inhaled a lot of smoke. It made him tired and weak. He just needs to rest. That's all! It's not like he is in a coma or anything; he'll be fine."
"Did he tell you that he'll be fine?" Kim takes off his IV despite Kinn's protests and gets out of bed. "I'll go see him, and you prepare the car. I'm taking my husband home!"
"So you aren't even going to tell me what the hell actually happened? What did Mallori want? Kill you?"
"No, divorce Chay. That idiot really thought that I would get a divorce and marry his precious little daughter. He clearly didn't get a fucking message—one would think that cutting a finger off would be enough!"
"Well," Kinn sighs, "he definitely won't be a problem anymore..."
But Kim can't hear him anymore. He is already out of the room, frantically looking for his husband. He almost kick-opens the door to the room right next to his. He finds Porsche and Tankhun standing at the window, talking quietly while Porchay—his Porchay lays in bed. He is sleeping. He looks peaceful. Looks like there's nothing wrong with him, but Kim doesn't trust his eyes, he doesn't trust his brother or even the doctors... he needs to be told by Chay and Chay only that he is fine. That there's nothing wrong with him. That they are both fine.
"Kimmy!" Tankhun smiles, relaxed when he sees him. He goes to Kim and hugs him tightly, but Kim is barely aware of it. All he can see is Chay lying in the hospital bed, and all he can feel is the fear of what if... what if Chay won't wake up? What if everyone is wrong? But in reality, it's most likely him who is wrong. He is overthinking. Worrying too much. Chay will most likely laugh once he finds out how dramatic Kim is.
"He is fine," Kim hears Porsche saying. "You can wake him up if you want to."
Kim nods and walks up to Chay's bed, gently taking Chay's hand in his. "Can you leave us alone?"
"I want to talk to my brother too, you know?" Porsche points out what should be obvious.
But Kim just looks at him wordlessly and eventually, Porsche nods, "fine, but tell him that I want to talk to him as well! I was just kicked out by his overly protective husband."
"Will do," Kim huffs and no longer pays any attention to anyone who isn't Chay.
When he hears the door click in place behind him, he leans over and presses a kiss on Chay's forehead. He lets his lips linger there until he feels Chay move underneath him.
"Kim," Chay's voice is a little bit raspier than usual, but it's still the most beautiful sound Kim has ever heard.
He pulls away, and when he sees Chay's lips curled up into a small smile and those pretty eyes alive and well looking at him as if he hung up the moon and all the stars—lighting up the pitch black sky, he feels himself to take the first real breath since he woke up. His heart settles back in his ribcage, and the rope which was tightly wrapped around his chest slowly suffocating him is now gone.
They weren't wrong. They weren't lying. His husband will be fine. Is fine. They both are.
"Hey, sweetheart. How do you feel? Are you hurt somewhere? Should I call a doctor? Do you need something? Water—"
Chay covers Kim's mouth with his palm and quietly says, "I would like some water. Thank you."
Kim quickly nods, "yeah, water, of course!" He looks around and locates a jug full of water and a glass in the corner of the room. Only now he realizes that he might need some water as well. His mouth is dry and his throat hurts.
He hands Chay a glass of water and sits next to him, "god, I was so worried, sweetheart."
Chay takes a couple of sips and hands the glass back to Kim who finishes it.
"Do you know how worried I was?" Chay sits up and takes Kim's hand, putting it in his lap. "We were married for less than three hours and suddenly you were gone. And when it really sunk in me that it was Mallori—"
Kim shakes his head and squeezes Chay's hand tightly, their wedding rings click-clacking together. "Chay, it all happened so fast. I would never be willing to leave you. Never! What you did—Porchay, you've done something that no one would ever expect. Not even me. And I have more trust in you than anyone in this goddamn world. Mallori wasn't just nobody. Wasn't just some low-ranking mafia guy. His mafia family has a status, has a power, but now when he is dead, if Miranda won't take over... it will all fall down like a house of cards."
"She... she will take over? You think she will?"
"I don't know," Kim presses his lips into a thin line. "But it doesn't matter now. Chay, you saved my life. Since I met you, you have saved me in so many ways, sweetheart... but don't do it again. Don't risk your life like this for me, please."
"And for whom if not for you?" Chay brings Kim's hand to his lips and kisses his wedding ring. "You saved me before and now I have saved you. Now we are even. Let's just stay safe from now on, okay?"
Oh god, Kim is so lucky. His husband is everything Kim has ever wished for and all that he didn't even dare to wish for. Chay is Kim's best decision. Kim's favorite obsession...
"I love you so goddamn much, Porchay Theerapanyakul," Kim breathes out and leans in to capture Chay's lips in a longing kiss. Chay feels so warm and so soft under Kim's hands. He lets Kim kiss him deeper, faster and then slower again. Kim feels Chay moving in bed. Feels with a pitch of sadness when Chay breaks the kiss for a moment, but then the sadness is gone and he can't even remember how it felt when Chay just pulls him closer, whispering a quick, "come here," before connecting their lips again. Kim wraps his body around Chay and kisses him more. Kisses him long and slow, soft and careful. He can spend an eternity doing just this. But not here. Not in the hospital. He wants to take his husband home and worship him just the way he deserves it.
"Let's go home," Kim whispers after he reluctantly pulls away from his husband's sweet lips.
"Are you okay as well?" Chay frowns. He presses his palm on Kim's chest, "what about your chest? I saw those cuts."
For a second, Kim wants to ask what cuts? But then, he remembers. Yes, there are cuts on his chest. Each cut represents one time Kim said no to divorcing Chay. Mallori thought that he could break him like this. Thought that a little bit of pain, a little bit of blood, could make Kim change his mind... would make his love for Chay disappear, and his obsession evaporate. Kim wanted to laugh back then, and he wants to laugh even more now. Mallori would never understand—nothing and no one can ever make Kim's love for Chay disappear. Divorcing Chay? Just the thought of it is outlandish! The entire world will have to divorce before Kim would even think about divorcing Chay.
Chay. His Chay. His precious boy. His everything.
Kim smiles and shakes his head, "it's okay, sweetheart. It doesn't even hurt much anymore."
"But... it looked so bad. You looked so—"
"Not the way I would like to be chained up, that's true," Kim smirks, watching Chay's face turn from concern to surprise, and then he rolls his eyes. "good, now I'm sure that you are fine—horny as ever."
"For you always," Kim kisses Chay's neck, holding him tightly. "My Chay," he whispers.
And just then, there's a knock at the door, and Porsche with Kinn walk in, "doctors are coming. You two, be decent!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that cuddling my husband is indecent," Kim rolls his eyes but doesn't really move away from Chay at all.
"How are you feeling, nong?" Porsche asks, ignoring Kim's words completely.
"I'm good, hia. You don't need to worry. I just want to go home."
"And that's where we are going," Kim nods, kissing Chay's cheek.
"The car's ready, but the doctors have to let you go first," Kinn says the moment three doctors walk in. Kim faintly remembers them. They usually take care of everyone in the Theerapayakul mafia family in case they end up in the hospital instead of the family doctor at the house.
"Khun Kimhan, khun Porchay, how are we feeling?"
"I want to go home," Chay says. "If my husband is well enough too, then I hope you let us go. Preferably now."
The doctors nod, "you both are suitable for the release. But, khun Porchay, you have inhaled quite a lot of smoke, so there might be a slight problem with breathing for a couple more days, but other than that, you are completely fine. As for you, khun Kimhan, aside from the same condition as khun Porchay, we took care of the cuts on your chest. They should be completely healed in a couple of weeks. Aside from that, we have found traces of Temazepam in your blood, which is a sleeping medication. Do you have any knowledge of that?"
Kim frowns, "all I know is that they gave me something that knocked me out, and that's how they had it easy to kidnap me. You better bet that I would kill that bastard Mallori myself if I wasn't out of it most of the time."
"Is this somehow dangerous?" Chay raises his concerns, looking from Kim to doctors.
"It shouldn't be," one of the doctors replies. "As we said—it's the type of medication which is used for insomnia treatment. People use it all the time, and as long as khun Kimhan is feeling fine, there should be no problem. Both of you are free to go."
"That's what I wanted to hear," Kim grins and gets out of bed, pulling Chay with him. "Let me take you home, sweetheart."
"Yes, please," Chay wraps his arms around Kim's shoulders, smiling from ear to ear.
⁜⁜⁜⁜⁜
"We are married," Kim feels Chay's lips ghosting over his ear as they sit in the back of their car on their way home. Kinn is driving, so they don't have to care about anything, just each other.
Kim holds up their intertwined hands and kisses Chay's ring, "now you are mine forever. You can never run away!"
"Sounds menacing," Chay whispers, his eyes flickering with love even in the darkness of the night. And Kim can't help himself—he crashes their lips together, making Chay gasp into the kiss, and melt into it right after. Chay's hands curl around his neck, and Kim just hums, pulling Chay closer to his body as much as the seatbelts allow them.
Chay giggles into the kiss, "our first time as husbands, kissing in the car."
Kim's eyes soften. He cups Chay's cheek and kisses the tip of his nose, "you want to hear something embarrassing, sweetheart?"
"About you?" Chay raises his eyebrow, "all the time."
Kim huffs, "wow, I see how it is—you just want to laugh at me."
"Funny men are hot," Chay shrugs.
Kim frowns, "hey, I'm the only man you are allowed to find hot!"
"Yeah, yeah, okay," Chy rolls his eyes. "Tell me your embarrassing story, husband."
"Well, okay," Kim nods, his mind goes back to the beginning of their relationship. "Remember that time when you left me waiting centuries until you finally texted me?"
"It was days, not centuries," Chay laughs.
"It was forever," Kim protests. "But then you finally texted me, and you even agreed to call." Kim can still remember all those feelings which were fighting inside of him. He felt like a silly little boy with a crush, and it has not gotten better since.
"Yes," Chay smiles, "you were so happy that we called... I was, too."
Kim nods, "yes, yes, I was. I was so goddamn happy that I stayed in the car even hours after you hung up, even though the car had already been standing in front of the house for a long time."
"God, why?" Chay asks, and Kim can see him trying to hold his precious laugh inside.
Yes, it's ridiculous. Kim is ridiculous. Ridiculously in love with Porchay Theerapanyakul.
"Why, sweetheart? Because it was the first time we called. You wanted to talk with me. I heard your voice through the phone, and it was as if you were right next to me just like you are now. Touching me. Holding me. I could feel your voice caressing my ear, and I could imagine how it would be if you agreed to be with me. If I could have you just like I dreamed of having you. Just like I have you now. But back then, it was just my dream. I wanted that dream to as a reality around me for as long as possible. So, I just sat there in the car for hours because that was the place where I felt like you were right next to me and I was afraid that if I left the car, that feeling would disappear.
"That's..." Kim feels Chay's hands tighten around him, but at the same time, Chay's touch softens, and he leans closer, kissing Kim's temple, his cheek, and then his lips. His lips are so soft, so gentle and then he whispers, "if I didn't know you well, maybe it would be funny or even embarrassing, but I know you, Kim, and I love you so much. I love you so much, okay?"
Kim feels like he is going to die right here in Chay's arms. The overwhelming feeling of devotion feels like it's going to tear him apart. How can possibly a person love another so much?
"I hate to interrupt you two, but we are already here," Kinn says as he parks the car right in front of the house.
It pulls Kim back into reality. He pecks Chay's lips and unbuckles both of their seatbelts.
"Yes, I love you too, sweetheart," Chay mimics Kim's voice, answering to himself.
Kim chuckles, "I love you, sweetheart. Come. Let's go to bed."
"No! I won't leave until I talk to Kim!" Kim hears a woman's voice the moment he gets out of the car. And when he looks at Chay, he knows that he isn't just hearing things.
"I said I'm not fucking going anywhere! Don't you know who I am?"
Chay looks at Kim, "Miranda..."
To be continued...
P.S. so, guys, I heard your prayers 😭 this is not the last chapter 💗 we are going for a little bit longer!