First Times
Summary: Life is always made up of a multitude of firsts, some easier than others, and some hard enough to make you cry.
Word count: 2,306 words.
This is a sequel to this fanfiction.
@ctl-yuejie @andwebegin @mingkit-kimcop @m34ns @bldramagalore I hope you guys will enjoy this.
Sun could remember all of their firsts. The first time they kissed, the first time they had a sleepover, the first time they went out as a couple, their first date, the first time they slept together, their first fight, but nothing could have prepared him for the first time they had to be apart. He and So were always glued to the hip ever since that night when Kao called him to invite them for a double date and they shared their first kiss. The longest they would apart spend apart after that would be a few hours and even then they would be texting the whole time. It was different now that his boyfriend had been offered a modelling gig all the way over at London. They would be in different countries, different time zones. The shop owner didn’t know how they would fare that.
“Are you sure you got everything you needed?” Sun asked as he wistfully watched So close his luggage. The response came in the form of a mere nod and a quick smile, one that he was sure we would have to cling on to for who knows how long. Okay, maybe he was just being dramatic, it wouldn’t be more than a few days, but still, he felt like a part of him was being ripped from his body and taken away. “Okay! Let’s go then.” The shop owner flashed a brief smile to his boyfriend and then grabbed the car keys from the counter. He couldn’t stop thinking that this would be the last time So was gonna be in their room for the next few days.
It was around eleven pm when they finally arrived at the airport. The drive had been silent, not as comfortable as they would have wished, but at least they were holding hands the whole way. It was just that the closer they got to their destination, the closer they got to being apart. When So moved to the check-in area, Sun accompanied him, keeping himself close, but in silence. He didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t say anything. The time seemed to tick faster after that and soon it was time for the younger one of the two to board the plane.
With a sigh, So moved to stand in front of Sun. “Promise me you will be alright.” There was certain desperation in the way the older male responded. The shop owner quickly captured his boyfriend’s face between his hands. Sun brought their foreheads together, looking intently into So’s eyes. Neither of them was aware of the curious eyes stealing glances at them, at that moment they could only see each other. “I will be alright.” The P finally said, sighing as well. He was about to pull back, but then he felt the Nong’s palm covering his own while he still held the other male’s face. “It will only be a few days.” So attempted to smile reassuringly, but honestly, both of them knew that was not going to work. “Okay! Go now before you miss your flight.” Those words held all of the longing Sun was feeling. Oh, how bittersweet it was that he actually wished that his boyfriend would miss the flight. In a last attempt to reassure the shop owner, the Nong pressed a kiss to the back of his hand, and then he was gone, too far for Sun to follow him.
The drive back home for Sun was even worse than driving to the airport. The silence was overbearing and he didn’t have So’s presence or the other male’s hand holding his to make it all feel better. Still, the time he spent in the car passed in a blur. When he got home, Sun couldn’t help noticing how empty it felt without his boyfriend there. It was like all the warmth and homey feeling had been drained from the place. Quickly moving towards the bed, Sun took off his shirt and clung to the bedsheets desperately, trying to still feel the faint trace of So’s smell or any lingering sense of warmth the other male left when he was still lying there. Soon enough tears were pricking against his eyes. Gods, he was such a mess and far too old to be acting this way just because was going to be away for a few days. He cried himself to sleep that night.
-x-
When Sun woke up the next morning, it was to an empty bed, a painful reminder that So was not there with him. Grabbing his phone, he checked to see if his boyfriend had texted him to let him know he had arrived in one piece, but a quick look at the time and he knew he would still have to wait a little longer. For lack of something better to do, the shop owner opened his camera and snapped a picture, which he immediately uploaded to his Instagram stories thoughtlessly. Only when he took a good look at the picture was that he noticed how sad his face looked. There were rings under his eyes, a clear sign of his troubled sleep. The corners of his lips were pulled down, almost in a pout and everything about it screamed pain. Not standing to look at it anymore, he locked his phone’s screen and threw it to the side on the mattress.
More or less an hour later his phone vibrated with an incoming text. He was overly eager in the way he grabbed the device to check if it was his boyfriend.
[ Text | So Loving ] – 07:06
Babe, why do you look so sad in that picture?
[ Text | Sun and Stars ] – Read 07:06
I miss you
[ Text | So Loving ] – 07:06
It’s just for a few days, babe
I’ll be back soon
[ Text | Sun and Stars ] – Read 07:06
I know
Doesn’t make it any easier, though
I wish you were here
[ Text | So Loving ] – 07:06
I know, babe
Me too L
I need to go now
I’ll call you later
[ Text | Sun and Stars ] – Read 07:07
How many hours do I have to wait?
[ Text | So Loving ] – 07:07
I’m leaving
I’ll be going up and down around the city
Then up and down again
Taking the tollway
[ Text | Sun and Stars ] – Read 07:08
Where are you going? Did you get everything you need?
[ Text | So Loving ] – 07:08
You asked it again
[ Text | Sun and Stars ] – Read 07:08
You are bad
It really took a few hours for So to call him, and the whole while as Sun waited for the call, he was moping in his bedroom. He had asked his brother Rain to take care of the coffee shop for the day, because he didn’t feel up for the task of dealing with customers. Perhaps the distraction could have helped cheer him up a bit, but his eyes were still a bit puffy because of all the crying he did the night prior and he didn’t want to see the unspoken questions in everyone’s eyes.
When his phone rang that afternoon, Sun already had it in hands. He slid his finger across the screen to accept the call and was soon greeted with his boyfriend’s face. “Hi!” He said, a little too quickly, in a breathless voice. Seeing So had quite literally taken his breath away. “Hi, babe!” The younger male greeted him back. “You’re not in the shop?” There was clear confusion plastered across the Nong’s face and it made the shop owner’s heart churn with longing as he shook his head. “Rain is taking care of it today. How is London?” So tried to smile at the question, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He was just as sad as Sun was. “It’s okay. I didn’t really have time to go sightseeing. It was mostly work.”
They spoke for a few more minutes and then So had to leave again another session. They said their goodbyes in a heartfelt way, blowing kisses for each other and promising to speak again as soon as possible. It was not nearly enough for Sun, but it would have to do.
-x-
The following days went about at almost the same pace. Sun would wake up, text his boyfriend, full of longing, and then go get ready to open the coffee shop. He would shoot one less message to let So know that he was going to work now and then stuff the phone in the pocket of his jeans. Serving costumers distracted him for the most part of the day and then around lunch time in London he would take a break to video call the younger male. They would spend around half an hour speaking and then Sun would go back to work.
The evenings would be the worst part of the day. He tried staying up to speak to So once, but all he got was a lecture from his boyfriend on how he should be sleeping, so he didn’t do that again. Instead, the shop owner would spend a good portion of the night thinking about how much he wished his Nong was there while he cuddled the human sized teddy bear the younger male had gotten for him in their three months anniversary.
-x-
When the day finally came for So to arrive back from London, Sun was antsy and anxious the whole day. He tried, in vain, to distract himself with several things. Work, music, films, friends, nothing could grab his attention for more than a few seconds at a time and he kept throwing glances at the clock on the wall, wishing for the time to tick by faster. It was to no avail. The clock seemed intent on mocking him with how slowly it was moving. It was almost like time was passing in slow motion. It frustrated him. He showered, maybe twice, or three times to waste some time. The P tried to take as long as possible to pick his outfit, over and over again.
As the clock finally struck seven in the evening, Sun felt mostly relief. He couldn’t take the wait any longer and immediately hopped into his car, speeding towards the airport. Thankfully the traffic seemed to be on his side that day and it didn’t take as long for him to reach his destination. The place was packed, as expected, and despite thinking he had a few minutes to spare, anxiously waiting again, he noticed one of the flights had come in earlier than anticipated. To his surprise, it was So’s flight.
Moving through the crowd of people was no easy task, but still, Sun gently pushed people out of his way, so he could reach the waiting area. As soon as he got there he spotted him. So was standing there, dressed in the same shirt the shop owner was dressed himself. It was a green t-shirt they had both gotten one each. They were more inconspicuous than most couples’ shirts. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself that they had both decided to wear it without even talking to each.
Each step he took towards So still seemed too slow, but he didn’t want to run, it would cause too much of a scene and he didn’t want that. Eventually, his boyfriend’s eyes seemed to find him in the crowd and the Nong smiled, warm, bright and full of longing. It was all the incentive Sun needed to start walking even faster than before. When they finally reached each other, the time slowed down again. The P threw his arm around So’s waist securely, and the younger male, in turn, wrapped his arms around Sun’s neck. At first, they just stared at each other, much like that day when they were saying goodbye. It was like there was no one around them, and no one else mattered.
Instinctively, the two males started drawing their faces closer to each other, enough so that their noses were rubbing against one another and they could feel each other’s breath fanning against their skin. There was a spark of electricity around them, a tension that had been built up with the moment and caused by all the pent up passion they had had to repress through the last few days, and then, when their lips were about to meet they heard someone clearing their throat. Both Sun and So turned to glare at the intruder that dared ruin their moment. “Gentlemen, must I remind you that you are still at a public place?” The security guard’s question only seemed to bother So even further. “No. Not at all. Now if you’ll excuse me, I haven’t seen my boyfriend for almost a week and I miss him.” Glaring one last time at the intruder, the Nong turned back to his boyfriend. Sun was looking at him in confusion, and even a little apprehension, but all that vanished when So pressed their lips together. It was nothing more than a tame kiss, a soft brush of their lips that translated everything they wanted to say to each other, that showed how much they had suffered from longing in the time they spent apart. And then it was over. Sun pressed one last peck to his boyfriend’s lips and then turned to the security guard that was still there, looking astounded and completely baffled. “We are going now.”
They turned their back on the bespectacled male with a scoff and then allowed their fingers to intertwine as they held hands. It was finally time for them to go home together. No more distance to keep them apart and make them suffer.
