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One day, they will have everything they’ve ever wanted.
They’ll start small, moving into their own apartment. It will be far away from the main family’s mansion—but not so far that they can’t visit sometimes. The apartment will have large windows which paint a beautiful picture of the Bangkok skyline, illuminated by the setting sun.
Kim will carry Chay over the threshold despite his laughing protests, because this is the first space they’ve bought together, and he is determined to make it memorable.
Chay will look around the apartment happily, planning which room will be their bedroom and which will be their recording studio and how the furniture should be placed in the living room, and Kim will just watch him silently because he’s so in love it hurts.
The apartment’s walls will be white, until Chay decides that’s too boring for them. He’ll ask Kim for his opinion, and he’ll learn that Kim actually has quite a bit of knowledge about colour theory and would love something called a statement wall—whatever that is. He’ll ask Kim about why he knows so much, and Kim will admit softly that he once wanted to be a painter. His mother was a wonderful artist, and she’d teach Kim about whatever she was doing if he asked. Chay will wrap Kim in a hug, and internally vow to make a space in the apartment for an easel.
They will spend the first night on the sofa because the bed hasn’t arrived yet, lost in the feel of each other. Kim will whisper good night to Chay’s sleeping form, and nestle between his boyfriend’s arms.
When Kinn and Porsche visit, they’ll bring an overly expensive bottle of wine, and pretend to enjoy the dinner after Chay glares at them because this is Kim’s first time cooking soup and he has tried his best.
Kim will take one taste before throwing out the soup altogether and ordering pizza.
The four of them will sit on the balcony, and Porsche and Chay will reminisce and tell stories about growing up together. Kinn and Kim will listen fondly, silently wishing their childhoods were different—that they could share the same level of closeness one day.
Porsche will insist on doing the dishes, and Chay will insist that he doesn’t. Eventually, Kinn and Kim will do the dishes, each lovingly forcing their boyfriend to relax in the living room.
Later, Chay will find Kim back on the balcony, gazing wistfully at the stars. He’ll ask Kim what he’s thinking about, and Kim will talk about growing up in the main family. He’ll mention how he always wanted to be closer to his brothers, and Chay will hold him close, telling him that it’s still possible.
One day, Chay will look around the apartment and realize that there’s not enough Kim in it. Besides the statement wall Kim wanted so badly (dark green with monstera leaves), there’s hardly any sign of Kim’s personality to be found.
Kim will insist that anything Chay chooses will make him happy, but Chay will refuse to drop the subject until Kim mumbles something about always wanting glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. He’ll play it off as a joke; something he wanted as a child but outgrew.
When they go to bed the next night, the ceiling will be awash with constellations.
Kim will try to play off the tears in his eyes, but Chay will hold him as he mourns the childhood he never had. They’ll each write their name on a star, and Chay will make a cheesy joke about loving Kim to the moon and back. He won’t know, but it will mean the world to Kim.
As time passes, the apartment will start to show signs of the people living there. Sheet music will litter the living room, and there will be a dent in the wall from the time they tried moving their sofa into the corner. Their bookshelves will hold a mixture of cookbooks, music theory books, and an impressive collection of action figures on the top shelf since Chay once mentioned wanting to collect them but being unable to afford it. The lightbulbs in the kitchen will be two different shades of white, since they bought the wrong replacement and keep telling each other they’ll fix it next week.
Their bedroom will have a small mountain of stuffed animals because their favourite date spot is the amusement park. Kim is a bit addicted to the shooting games, and Chay loves him too much to say their room is running out of space.
The only room which won’t change is the recording studio, smelling slightly of lemon from the oil Kim uses to lovingly clean his guitars. The room will be meticulously clean, with the exception of the ring on the desk from the time Chay left a water glass on it for too long. Kim didn’t care, but Chay apologized constantly for nearly a week. Eventually, Kim used a knife to carve a crude smiley face into the ring, telling Chay how he’d always have a reminder even when he's not in the room. Despite the lingering guilt, Chay will always smile softly when he sees it.
One day, Kim will come home to find Chay sitting on the sofa with a ragged looking kitten. Chay will tell Kim all about how he found it next to a dumpster outside, and beg Kim to keep it. Kim will hesitate, but Chay’s plea will make him crack. Chay will ask Kim for name suggestions, and get mock offended when Kim suggests Trash Cat.
Chay will eventually name it Pluto, and sigh in despair when it only responds to Trash Cat.
More time will pass, and the statement wall will begin to fade from the sun. There will be a permanent indent in the sofa where Pluto sleeps, and the blankets will be in a disorganized heap on the floor. The action figures will have moved to the bottom shelf, several of them with duct taped limbs. The lightbulbs will finally be the same colour, but the one on the left will flicker when it rains.
The stuffed animals in the bedroom will be replaced by a large desk, because Chay has learned he loves writing and Kim wanted him to have his own writing space instead of sitting cross legged on the sofa with his laptop. He’ll write about fantasy worlds and saving dragons from villagers, and Kim will ask him if he’s sure he has it the right way around. Chay will launch into an explanation about how the dragon is just trying to defend itself and is well within its rights to attack people who try to hurt it first, and Kim will watch his boyfriend’s animated gestures lovingly.
The stars will be gone from the ceiling, with the exception of two.
Kim will propose to Chay on their balcony, after finally mastering cooking fancy meals. He’ll consider every possible extravagant proposal option, but decide to go with the first space they shared together. Where he could finally be himself, where he finally felt safe.
Chay will cry, and Kim will cry, and the recently renamed Trash Cat will knock a glass off the counter.
They’ll work on wedding plans in the living room, Chay curled against Kim’s chest. Chay will ask what Kim thinks of a beach wedding, and Kim will agree because he doesn’t care at all where they get married so long as they have each other. They’ll both politely pass on Tankhun’s offer to style them, and Chay will lightly smack Porsche for insisting Chay would look good in a bright yellow tunic. Kinn will insist on paying for the wedding, and clear his throat awkwardly when Kim asks him to be the best man.
Their vows will be short, but no one will doubt their love for each other. Tankhun will start sobbing loudly when Chay puts the ring on Kim’s finger, but Kim will be too absorbed with Chay to notice. They’ll come back to themselves at Hum Bar, when Porsche makes a loud toast to the two of them that makes Chay cry. Later, Kim and Porsche will have a smoke outside, and Porsche will talk about how worried he used to be about his brother. He’ll thank Kim for always saving Chay, and Kim will say that it’s really Chay who saved him.
Chay won’t know why, but he’ll open his arms immediately when Kim comes back inside and pulls his husband into a hug.
They’ll drop their suit jackets carelessly on the arm of the sofa once they’re home, too preoccupied with the taste of each other. There will be a trail of clothes leading to the bedroom, and they’ll laugh several days later when they find Chay’s unraveled bowtie under the sofa where Trash Cat hid it.
Years will go by, and while the apartment will change, Kim and Chay’s love will not.
The guest room will fill with toys from the times they watch over Kinn and Porsche’s children, and the wall will have some new art from the time one of the kids was left unsupervised with markers. Kinn offered to pay for a painter, but Chay returned the next day with a frame, saying that it gives the apartment more character.
Trash Cat will have some grey fur around its whiskers, but it will still burrow itself between Kim and Chay while they sleep.
Kim will keep writing cheesy love songs for Chay, and Chay will keep writing Kim into his stories.
They’ll travel the world together, and the bookshelf will fill with trinkets and knickknacks from various countries. Chay will learn about his passion for kintsugi, and Kim will accidentally become a lot clumsier with some of their dishes.
They’ll finally agree that the kitchen lights are fucked no matter how much they try to fix them, and finally call an electrician.
They’ll love each other unapologetically and unendingly, and whisper their love to the stars in their infinity (plus two).
But for now they’ll simply hold each other, and dream of the life they’ll one day have together.