Work Text:
A trip to Ikea with Pran always made Pat emotional. It gave him the vision of a future with Pran, where family feud would no longer be an issue. He wanted Pran in his life, as a whole, not mere stolen moments in between. Now, Pran is frowning while picking a new study for himself. His dimples popped, and Pat would like to litter them in kisses. God, Pran looked so adorable with the scowl on his face. Pat volunteered to be here with Pran, not because he wanted to put his muscles to good use. He just wanted to be here with Pran, enjoying little, fleeting moments when the chances of bumping into their parents were minimal.
Pat was planning to buy Pran shabu-shabu as lunch, too. They’ve had a busy semester, and hiding their relationship from public prying eyes was taking a toll on them. Pat wanted this freedom to last a little longer. His breath felt lighter, and their linked fingers locked against one another more tightly. Pran’s insistence on picking the perfect study endeared Pat. It was as if Pran was picking their wedding rings. Pat nearly stumbled into the cabinets on display as he dreamed of marrying Pran one day. Pran stared at Pat weirdly, wondering if his boyfriend had heard his question earlier.
“Huh? Pran? Why did you stop suddenly?”
Pran was going to strangle Pat. Why is my boyfriend like that? Pran faked a dramatic sigh.
“I asked… Would you help me build the study this evening?”
Pat nodded like an enthusiastic puppy at its treat. Of course, Pat would! What was the use of the hours he spent at the gym if he couldn’t show them off to Pran?
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Pat was not expecting this. The assembly manual didn’t make sense to his engineering instincts. Why would people position the plank as instructed? It was more logical to put it the other way around. Unfortunately for Pat, his boyfriend was a freak who followed manual instructions as if they were biblical teachings. Pran glared at Pat again, and Pat threw his arms in the air in defeat. Grumpily, Pat sagged against the couch, scrolling on his phone while Pran continued building the new study.
A few cute Golden Retriever videos later, Pat was already bored on his phone. It was their semester break, and they should spend time together before classes started again. But Pran was still building his study while ignoring Pat, how criminal! Were his muscles less attractive than a dull manual? Pat leaned against the armrest while pouting, hoping that Pran would notice how close he was to wilting without Pran’s constant attention.
Only for Pat’s plan to fail miserably.
“Praaaaaaan…”
Pran looked up from the pile of bolts and screws that came with the pallet confusedly.
“Kiss me. I’m dying without my daily dose of kisses.”
Pat pouted harder while putting on his puppy eyes to emphasise how serious he was.
Pran tsked at his boyfriend’s antiques. Shaking his head fondly, he put down the Allen key he was holding and pressed a half-hearted peck on Pat’s forehead. Seconds later, he was back to assembling his study. Pat really wanted to make Pran assemble him instead. Why was his boyfriend so attentive to a manual? Pat’s ego didn’t allow a manual to defeat him.
“Let me help you tighten the bolt.”
Pat resigned to his fate and offered to help Pran. Pran looked too pretty to be fumbling with bolts and screws. That was an engineer’s job. Also, the quicker they could finish this, the sooner he could snuggle with Pran. However, Pat had underestimated his attention span when Pran was so near within his reach. Two bolts later, Pat could no longer resist. The carpet Pran had in his living room was fortunately soft enough to cushion the impact as Pat knocked into Pran. Their lips melted against one another, and Pat hummed contentedly.
The kiss felt like heaven.
Pran bit into Pat’s lips, and Pat gasped, instinctively deepening the kiss. But Pran was swifter, taking advantage of the split second release, he pushed Pat away forcefully.
“Stop being distracted.”
It was supposed to be a reprimand, but Pran’s tone made the threat less intimidating. Pran sat up and snatched the Allen key from Pat. They were already halfway there; he just had to screw the legs onto the tabletop. Except that Pran was missing one screw. Frustratingly, Pran started searching for that screw while Pat sulked in silence.
“Romance is dead between us.”
“There’s no romance between us, to begin with, only rivalry. Shut up and help me find the missing screw.”
Pran nudged against Pat’s shoulders gently, coaxing his sulky boyfriend into helping him to look for the screw. Pat moved hesitantly, still whiny about the kiss that got interrupted earlier. Letting out a helpless sigh, Pran pressed a sniff kiss against the apple of Pat’s cheek as a motivation. It worked like magic, and Pat was back to wagging his tail. Pran’s hair was sticking out in different directions as he scratched the back of his head again. He couldn’t find the screw, which implied he couldn’t finish building his study this evening. Pat looked too happy for someone who was searching for a lost item, and that made Pran frown.
Oh. My cheeky puppy.
There it was. Pran stretched his arms and wrestled Pat onto the ground. Sweet revenge. Pran’s fingers brushed past Pat’s hairline while his free hand snooped into Pat’s pocket. Grinning victoriously, Pran removed the screw and withdrew himself, leaving a whiny Pat rolling on the floor. All Pat wanted was a kiss from Pran. It had been 15 minutes since they last kissed, and Pat was going to die from the lack of attention.
“No! I’ll make your curry extra spicy if you keep distracting me.”
Pran poked against Pat’s broad chest, glaring at Pat despite the puppy eyes Pat gave him.
“Unfair!”
Pat pouted. Who would expect the rugby captain to pout like a 3-year-old throwing a tantrum for sweets?
“Ah… Ah… Be a good puppy, and you’ll get your reward later.”
Pran gave in, just a little, leaving a peck against Pat’s protruding lips.
“One more, and I promise to be your good puppy.”
Pat stared at Pran hopefully, giving his best puppy eyes to soften Pran’s resolve. One more, Pat promised. Pran sighed. He supposed one more kiss would do, until Pat kissed him hungrily like a starved wolf. To Pat, a peck didn’t count as a kiss, and he was determined to kiss Pran breathless.
The extra spicy curry Pran made for dinner that night made Pat regret his life decisions, but he would do it again in the future. The tears flowing from the corner of his eyes were worth a flustered Pran.