"1. Storge or 'familiar love'.
Storge love develops slowly. It grows out of mutual understanding, rapport, respect, companionship, sharing, and concern. It is a solid, stable, enduring love".
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Techno turned his head to the side as he ignored what Type was yelling at him. From here, he could see the main building in the distance, where a few people were going inside for their afternoon classes. No was glad he had joined the football team on his freshman year, as now he was excused from some of them whenever they had practice.
No was in his third year of Engineering, with only two more to go. He wasn't exactly sure why he had chosen to follow this path in life, as he did not see himself as an engineer in a near future, but he was not opposed to it either, as he did not have any clue as to what he would have chosen if it wasn't this. Techno was still a bit childish, he realised, and he didn't see himself ready to be out in the working world anytime soon. How could he when he could barely understand half of his classes and spent most of his days either playing football or video games? There was still time, so he could deal with this whenever the moment came; this sounded like a problem for 'future-Techno'.
He felt a smack on the side of his head and he groaned, grabbing it with his hand to soothe the pain.
"... You are not even listening to what I'm saying, you little sh*t!" Type exclaimed, pretty clearly annoyed at his friend, who was pursing his lips and frowning as he stared at him from under his fringe. "The least you could do is listen to me, No. These freshman need a real leader, they need someone who can straighten them up, not let them have their ways every single time".
"But, Ai'Type, I don't do that. I don't let them have their way everytime".
Type frowned harder, crossing his arms over his chest and signaling with his head to his side. Techno looked at where he was pointing and saw two of the recently joined freshmen, N'Can and N'Good sprawled over the grass in the side of the field as they loudly ate a bag of chips. Techno grimaced as he turned back to Type.
"So?".
"Hey, man, come on. You can't expect me to be able to control N'Can, he's a little devil. No one would be able to".
Type rolled his eyes. "You are not able to, because you have a soft spot with him and with mostly everyone on the team. You let N'Ae leave practice earlier because he had a date, what does that tell you?".
Techno looked down at his shoes, looking exactky like a kid who was being scolded by his father. Ai'Type was kind of like a big brother to him, though, as he was always making sure Techno was ready for everything and protecting him whenever he needed help. They were on the same year, both studying the same thing. They had joined the football team at the same time, but now that it was their turn to be the captains, Type had claimed that he did not have enough time for the position, so Techno had been placed with all the responsibility.
Bad idea, if you may ask No.
No was the clumsiest person one could ever meet, and he was useless at being the boss of anything. That was why he could not find it within himself to scold someone and always ended up with the freshmen stepping all over him, like N'Can was used to doing, and had to go to Type for help, who was certainly more strict and organized than No. Besides, Techno rarely got angry at anyone, it was almost impossible for him to be upset at someone. He was just always happy and liked for people around him to be happy as well. He loved happy people, and he loved being the one to make them laugh and enjoy themselves. Techno was convinced that there shouldn't be sad people in this world, and if he had to intervene to make that happen, he most certainly would!
"I'm sorry, Ai'Type" Techno said, squeezing his hands together as he glanced up at his friend again. "I know I'm not good at this, but I am trying to be better, I swear. You just have to bear with me for a while longer".
Type looked at him for a few seconds, his frown slowly dissapearing until a regretful expression was taking its place. He the sat down next to Techno, and circled his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah. I hope you do your best this time, No. Or the team will not get anywhere like this".
No nodded, giving Type a half smile, being immediatelly returned by one from him.
"I promise!" Said No, his lips curving deeper until his eyes were barely visible.
Type laughed, rubbing No's hair.
"Good". He then stood up and pointed towards the field. "Better keep going, don't you think?".
Techno stood up quickly, his big smile still plastering his face. He was happy Type had given him another chance.
"Yes! Let's go, my friend. We have a few freshmen to scold".
& & &
Techno served the pinkish liquid inside the fancy glass, watching how every drop fell into it. When he was finished, he took out a little umbrella from under the bar and placed it inside of it as well.
"Here you go, girl" he said, offering the drink to the pretty second-year girl that was seductively smiling up at him from behind the counter. "Hope you enjoy it".
The girl laughed softly, covering her lips with her thin fingers, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.
"Thanks" she said, and took the glass. "I'm sure I will, coming from such a good looking bartender".
Techno's cheeks reddened at the compliment, and he scratched the back of his neck nervously as he grinned back at her.
"What a charmer you are".
The girl pushed back her long hair and took a sip of her drink, her eyes never leaving No.
"Only when I want to".
And with a wink, she turned around to go back to her group of friends, who were sitting in the corner of the place. When she arrived, a loud cheer could be heard as her friends told her something while sneakily -or so they thought it was- glancing at Techno from time to time.
No laughed awkwardly as he moved to the next customer. He had never been good at this types of interaction, hence the fact that he had only kissed one person in his entire life, that being when he was barely 15 years old. He still remembered the awkwardness of the moment, himself trying to seem cool and relaxed as he kissed her while only coming off as inexperienced and stupid. He was pretty sure the girl had told mostly everyone at school what a lousy kisser he was and that was why he hadn't had anymore girlfriends ever since. College was different, with new people and a brand new possibility as being whoever he wanted to be. He soon realised, though, that it was all a lie. He could not be anyone he wanted, Techno could only be himself, he didn't know any other way to be. He sometimes saw people being fake and doing stuff to try to fit in with the crowd, but for No that was almost impossible.
No could't lie to save his own life.
So now he was here, in his third year of college, with only the memory of one lousy kiss in his experience list. Techno knew this was strange for a guy his age, as mostly everyone had already done way more than just kissing, but what could he do? Techno was not faking anything, he could't do it, he didn't like to do it. He had hope he would find someone in the future who would not mind his inexperience, who would be willing to give him time to learn. He was still young, after all, he had a whole life ahead of him.
"..dude!" A voice broke Techno out of his thoughts. He mentally cursed himself for being so incapable at paying attention to what he was doing; he always got stuck inside his head at the worst times. "Hey!".
"Oh, sorry!" Techno said, sheepishly, getting closer to the tall, broad guy who was calling him -and had evidently been calling him for a while now. "Sorry, yes. What can I serve you tonight?".
The guy rolled his eyes, showing No how annoyed he was at his incompetence at doing his job, and then fixed his eyes on No's, his stare hard and challenging. Techno gulped, his brain fumbling for ideas to get out of this one without a fight. He couldn't believe he was able to make everyone pissed in just a matter of seconds; it must be some kind of gift.
"A beer, queer boy" the guy spitted at him, rudely.
No felt a clenching in his chest at the tone the dude was using with him, obviously trying to state that being queer was something wrong or something to be ashamed of. No didn't think that, though. He could never understand how could someone hate another person just because of who they loved.
No kept his mouth shut, diligently serving the drink and placing it in front of him, his eyes staying down, posed over the wooden counter.
"Here you go, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting".
"Yeah, yeah" the bulky guy dismissed him, dropping some cash in front of No and turning around to go back to his group.
No tried to stay positive, reminding himself that some people were just rude and that he shouldn't get upset because of what a person like him thought. He found it difficult, though, not to get a bit down at the situation. It made him feel powerless, as if because he was seen as less than others he was just supposed to take it. However, as he had this thought, he also realised that if he were to have engaged in a fight at working hours he would definitely have been fired. And he needed this job.
He had been working at the bar across from uni since the beginning of the year, having had realised that the freshmen at the team required much more money than what he had first expected them to. Especially N'Can; that little guy could surely eat a lot. And he also had to make sure that they had water at practice, and he had to take care of some of the equipment that they needed because he was the captain. The captain should take care of his team.
No had been drying some glasses and putting them back in their place when he turned around and was met with a pair of big, black eyes staring back at him from behind the counter.
"Oh" No let out. "Hi".
Kengkla smiled, pleased at having had surprised No, and those crinkles appeared in the corner of his eyes again, as they had done in the morning. Speaking off, Techno had completely forgotten about the incident at the supermarket until he saw Kla just now.
"P'No!" Kla exclaimed, happily, as he took a seat in the high chair next to him. "Long time no see, huh?".
No chuckled as he neared the boy, watching how Kla stared intently at everyone of his moves. His eyes were big, and they were stuck on No, and they were making him a bit self-conscious. Against the dark ambience of the place, Kla's striped, white shirt was contrasting, appearing to No as if he was glowing. Techno was not sure he had ever seen Kengkla coming in here before, not since he had started working, at least.
"Yeah" No said, smiling, and his cheeks colored slightly at this morning's memory. "Which reminds me, thank you about today. I, uh... I tend to be a bit clumsy at times. And I was in such a hurry".
Kengkla laughed, sweetly, leaning forward, as if he were trying to get closer to Techno.
"Don't worry, P!" He said. "I'm happy to help you, you know that".
Techno's smile curved a bit more as he looked down at his feet in embarrassment. From here, he could see his awful uniform holding his body, and he suddenly felt kind of underdressed compared to Kla, whose outfit was to envy.
He glanced back at him from under his fringe, a few locks of his hair falling in front of his eyes.
"You always help us" he told him. "Me and Technic, I mean. You always do a lot for us, I wish I could repay you sometimes".
Something changed in Kla's stare as Techno was talking, it felt as if a thought could be seen flashing behind his eyes, his smile faltering. He gulped as No finished, chuckling nervously while briefly looking to the side. No couldn't help but notice the slight tremble in the boy's hands that were resting upon the counter. He wondered if he was cold; it was a chilly night, after all.
"Oh ho, P'No, you are exaggerating" Kla told him, embarrassed at the attention. Sometimes Techno felt as if Kengkla looked way older than he actually was, with his deep voice and his hard stare; yet others, like right now, Kla felt like a kid, like a little boy who wanted to make someone proud. It made No wonder. "I don't do that much for you two, you don't need to repay me anything".
Techno smiled back at him as he noticed someone at the end of the bar calling him. He made a gesture as if to say he would be right with her, and turned back to Kla, whose eyes hadn't left him at all.
"Gotta take care of that, I'll be right back".
Kla nodded, and Techno went towards the customer. As he got closer, he noticed it was the pink-drink girl, smiling sweetly at him with an empty glass in between her long fingers.
"All done already?" No asked, jokingly.
"Couldn't wait for the moment to come back here, I guess" she told him, smirking.
No blushed lightly, wondering if perhaps she was flirting with him. Could that be possible? She was very pretty, there was no way she was into plain Techno dressed as a bartender.
No chuckled, grabbing the glass from her grasp and taking it to the sink behind him.
"So..." the girl started as No turned back around. "You never told me your name".
"Oh" No let out, a bit lost. "Oh, I didn't know you wanted it. It's Techno".
She laughed, leaning on the counter with her elbows.
"I'm Som".
Techno smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, N'Som. Is there anything else I can get you?".
"Well..." she said, straightening up and pushing her hair back. "I guess your number would be fine".
Techno froze for a second, stupidly staring back at the girl who was indeed flirting with him, and blinked. There was no way she was being serious; she must be playing a joke on him. He briefly looked back at her group of friends and saw a bunch of them fastly turned around, pretending that they hadn't been trying to eavesdrop. Some of them were laughing, and it made No wary.
As he glanced back at Som, whose smirk was slowly dropping as the seconds passed, he cleared his throat.
"I, uh... " he hesitated, not knowing what to say. He hoped it wasn't a mean joke. "I think I-".
"P'No" a stern voice interrupted him, making him glance at a frowning Kla walking towards them both.
Som stared at Kengkla with a raised eyebrow, her hand falling onto her hip.
"Excuse me, I was trying to talk to him" she told him, clearly annoyed at the interruption.
Kla huffed, not impressed. "You were trying to talk to my boyfriend".
And, at that, both No and Som froze, looking at Kla's certain and angry expression.
'This again?', Techno thought. Kla had said the same thing that morning at the supermarket. Was Kla trying to laugh at him as well?
Som turned back to No, her dark eyebrows coming down.
"Is that true?".
No faltered, looking in between Som's angry expression and Kengkla's. The f*ck was he supposed to answer? Kla was certainly not his boyfriend, but he must be doing that for a reason, and No had said before that he was willing to do anything to help Kla.
As he stared at Kla, he gulped, and saw his hard expression softening, a look of concern taking its place. He nodded at him, as if asking him to follow his lead as he had done previously in the day.
And No didn't hesitate any longer.
"Yeah" he told Som, who let out an indignant huff. "N'Kla here is my boyfriend".
He briefly glanced at Kla, who had a pleased smirk on his lips and was confidently looking at a dissapointed Som.
"I can't believe you flirted with me, you assh*le" she angrily told Techno.
Kla was hot on her heals, though, as he took a step closer to her.
"You might want to check how you treat my boyfriend again" he gritted. "I'm not afraid to hit a girl if I have to".
Som spluttered nonsense after that, stomping like a little child who hadn't gotten her way and promptly leaving without looking back. Her group of friends left shortly after picking up their things.
Techno gulped, not truly knowing what had just happened, and glanced back at Kla, who was happily smiling again at him, as if that angry persona that No had just seen had never been there. If he hadn't had just seen that, No would have claimed that it was impossible for Kengkla to be angry.
"Uh..." he hesitated, scanning his brother's bestfriend as if he was expecting someone else to pop out of him all of a sudden. "Uh... c-could you, like, explain to me what is this all about?".
Kla's cheeks reddened slightly, but he didn't falter, his stare still just as confident as it had been before; No kind of envied the fact that Kengkla could always look certain of what he was doing, because Techno couldn't do that in the slightest. No was clumsy, a bit useless and not very clever, so it was an understatement that he never sounded sure of what came out of his mouth.
"You said you would like to help me when I needed something, right?" He asked, slowly, and Techno nodded. "Well... there's this girl I like. She was at the supermarket and was here a few minutes ago".
Techno nodded again, not following Kla at all.
"Okay?" He said, unsure. "So... how does this involve me?".
Kengkla's smile slowly turned into a smirk, still confident, still certain. And as he kept staring at him, No felt a shiver ran down his spine at the intensity.
He had never noticed how intense Kla's looks were.
Kla took a step closer, both of his hands coming to rest over the counter; Techno was able to spot a single golden ring around his middle finger.
"I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend".
& & &
So, here's a chapter to satisfy my dissapointment of not having had KengklaTechno this week 😣.
Thanks for reading.
Also, would you like to hear a secret? ... I am pretty sure I have a kink 😂.