★ Oh well, oh well. I still hope for the best.
Say goodbye and send me off with a kiss farewell.
And I'll just smile, and make believe I don't feel a thing ★
.Oh well, Oh well. Mayday Parade.
★★★
Hanging from the ceiling of the studio, looking like raindrops, there were decens of little white lights, dotting the place with a calmness that Love wasn't able to find anywhere else.
Love had believed that the assignments he had been given last year had been hard: finding a mentor, teaching someone else something, the training for the yearly tournament. Turns out, on his second year, they still had to train to become The Greatest, that hadn't changed. Yet now, only a month into classes, he had been told he would have to be involved in a dance competition at some point during Winter's break. For it, they had had to divide themselves into teams, inviting students from other years to join, and had to choreograph and perform three songs to perfection. That would become a huge part of their final grades, so they had to train hard and give their best for it to turn out flawless.
As he rested his head back into the glass wall behind him, he stared at his teammates talking lazily between them, all of them tired after a long day of practice. It was ten thirty already, and everyone was beaten.
Sitting in front of him was Nuclear, one of his best friends, whom he had known since his first day here, when Love had still been a girl. It didn't bother him that much anymore, he had gotten used to being a boy now; he had made friends he would love for life, and he had gotten used to the Academy. He had had to tell his situation to his brother and mother at some point, explaining that he couldn't turn back anymore, and that this was who he was now. It had taken some time to get used to it, yet at the end, they had claimed to still love him no matter what.
His closest friends here had found out about it as well; Nuclear, Menn, P'Vier and P'Sean — which, surprisingly, had both become very good people in his life after last year's fiasco —, and P'Tangmo.
P'Tangmo was now sitting to Love's left, laughing at something P'Vier had said, his already squinty eyes squinting itselfs even more. Love chuckled with him, even if he hadn't been paying attention to the conversation.
He felt joyful today, surrounded by loads of people he loved. He felt lucky, happy.
Love yawned and let his head fall onto P'Tangmo's shoulder, snuggling further into his side.
“Tired?” P’ asked him, his right hand coming to rest onto Love's knee, squeezing.
Love nodded, humming in response.
P'Tangmo was undoubtedly the best friend he had ever had in his life. Love couldn't even remember his life without him in it, without the person he now spent the majority of his time with. The elder had many things in common with Love, ranging from music tastes, to their favourites meals and places to eat, to more important matters, like their family life; P’Tangmo only had his mother, as well as Love, and he wanted to give her the world. Ever since that first mentoring assignment had taken place, they had become close, to the point of P'Tangmo being now the first person Love turned to in moments of need. He still loved the twins, but P’ had managed to crawl his way into his life so rapidly he had barely seen him coming.
“At what time do we have to be here tomorrow?” Love tuned in to hear Menn ask. “We got here too early today. Can we take a little rest?”.
Nuclear enthusiastically shook his head. “No can do, my friend! We have to practice our asses off so we can get a good grade”.
P'Vier nodded, agreeing. “He's right, you guys need to practice. Besides, for now Tangmo, Sean and I are still free, our exams haven't started. But when they do, we'll have less time to dedicate to this”.
Love sighed, nuzzling his nose in P'Tangmo's shoulder, his skin warm under the touch. P'Tangmo smelled fruity, sweet; Love could get used to this.
“Okay, so same time tomorrow” P'Tangmo stated, the finality in his voice palpable. “We should all go to bed now, get some rest”.
They all agreed, and started leaving one by one after saying their goodbyes. P'Vier was the last one of them, who smiled at P'Tangmo and Love, a glint behind his eyes.
“Night, guys” he said, and left.
Love groaned quietly, knowing that he would have to get up soon enough if he wanted to get to his bed faster. Unsurprisingly, P'Tangmo's shoulder seemed way more appealing; his bed didn't smell fruity.
“How are you holding up, little one?” P'Tangmo asked him quietly, as if he were afraid of disturbing the calming atmosphere of the place.
P'Vier had turned off the main light on his way out, so now the studio was covered in darkness, only the faint glow of the starry ceiling present.
No sound was heard, apart from his quiet complains of pain; no music was on anymore, no one was talking. P'Tangmo's voice was a melody in itself, though, and even in this deadly silence, Love could never get tired of it.
“I'm not made for exercise”.
P’ chuckled, the hand on Love's knee giving tentative circles in it, slow, relaxing. If he were given the chance, Love would have fallen asleep right then and there.
“You just lack practice, that's all. You'll see it'll get easier with time”.
Love hummed in agreement, always liking P's pieces of advice. He was good at calming him down when he was stressed, or sad, or when he didn't know what to do. Even if he didn't have all the answers, and even if he couldn't really fix Love's problems, P's words seemed to have the right effect on him, engulfing him in a peace he couldn't find elsewhere.
“I guess” he whispered, nuzzling his nose further into P's neck, against his warm skin. The fruity smell kept making him want to kiss it, so he did. He gave it a little peck and then snuggled further again. “You are so comfy, P'Tangmo”.
P’ chuckled softly at that, the hand movements not stopping, but Love noticed when he stretched his neck slightly further, giving him more access.
Kisses weren't uncommon occurrences between them, even if others could disagree. Love didn't know when it had started, but at some point both of them had become close enough to the point of pecks and kisses not being unusual; sometimes they were neck kisses, sometimes hand kisses, sometimes forehead pecks.
And, quite often, at times like this, when they were alone, calm, close enough to feel the heat from the other, lips were involved as well. They never got too far, just lazy, plain kisses. Lips, no tongue.
Love had wondered once what they meant, because they never talked about it, but P'Tangmo hadn't given him any clues as to liking him, so Love had assumed it was just their closeness. Everyone likes kissing, kissing is nice, it relaxes you, it makes you feel comfortable. Hence, both of them liked it, so what was the problem with it? They weren't doing anything wrong.
Besides, as for what Love was concerned, P'Tangmo loved his kisses as much as he loved P's.
“You are warm” P’ said in return, and Love could feel the smile in his words. “You are always warm”.
Love hummed again, the vibrations reaching P's skin as he gave it another peck. Love swam in the fruity scent as he gave soft, short kisses to P's neck. One, two, three. And then he moved up to his jaw in a trail of other little ones, the smooch being the only sound in the room.
The hand on his knee had still, and was now grabbing it strongly, P's long fingers digging themselves there. Love kept going.
He moved his lips to P's cheek; one, two. And then down to the side of his mouth; three, four. And by the fifth, he pressed them against his, and P's hand squeezed harder.
They kissed lazily for a while, only lips moving against each other; skins still warm, the smell still fruity. Love lost track of time.
No sounds were on, the music was now their kissing.
At one strong press from P’, Love came back to reality, and slowly pulled apart. He noticed how P’ followed until he realised it was over, and moved away too.
Love was tired, it had been a long day.
Luckily, he had his best friend with him, who could always calm him down.
Love blinked up at P’ in the dark room, the faint stars shining upon his skin. P’ looked dazed.
“I guess it's time to go to bed now. We have to get up early tomorrow” Love whispered, a slight smile tainting his lips.
P’ blinked a few more times, until he nodded.
“Oh, well,” he muttered, a hand coming to brush the back of his neck. “I guess I'll… see you tomorrow, then”.
Love's smile widened, nodding and standing up.
“Goodnight, P’. Have sweet dreams”.
P’ smiled back; small, closed. He seemed tired too.
“Goodnight, Love”.
★★★
Imagine Love never found out about P's crush on him. Love is on his second years here, stuck in his male form. P'Tangmo is on his fifth.
Hope you guys like it! Please, tell me your thoughts on it.
Also, #TeamTangmo, am I right?