Chapter Text
"What brings you here?" The King asked as he arched an eyebrow.
Charan's fingers twitched at his side anxiously as he thought about how he could go about asking, especially when it went against what the King had initially offered.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry for coming over unexpectedly, but…" Charan's voice trailed as he composed himself and exhaled through his nose, calming his growing nerves.
He's never asked for something before.
He always did what was expected of him.
"I couldn't help but notice it's been a few months since I was taken off duty of watching His Royal Highness and…he still has yet to decide on a bodyguard and…with the competition coming up, I'm worried for his safety, so I thought…I hoped…maybe for the meantime, I could be assigned back as his bodyguard." Charan suggested nervously.
"Just temporarily." Charan is quick to reassure, hoping he wasn't overstepping, but the King didn't look opposed; he seemed to be considering his words as he averted his gaze from him and out the window in thought.
"Did Khanin put you up to this?" The King asked after a moment of silence, looking back at Charan, "I know how attached he is to you, but I know you have missed teaching art, and I can talk to him. I'm sure he'll understand."
"It's not that." Charan blurts out before he closes his eyes as he attempts to recenter himself, his hands curling into a fist and squeezing anxiously.
"In fact…he hasn't bothered me," Charan tries his best not to sound disappointed, "so much so…he seemed to be considering what you said about marriage and meeting potential suitors." He explained, "That is actually why I'm worried."
"What if one of the neighboring kingdoms is behind the attacks? Getting close to the prince could be…a way of putting him in harm's way. We don't know the motives or their intentions, for all we know is that they could want power or control or the throne,"
The King looked confused before he held up his hand, prompting Charan to close his mouth. "What are you talking about?" He asked, shaking his head.
"What do you mean Khanin has been meeting with suitors?"
Charan opened and closed his mouth.
"I saw him with another man, and he told me he was a suitor," Charan answered, just as confused, his mind reeling.
The King looked surprised, "I did have a talk with Khanin about the future…and the prospect of marriage and at some point meeting suitors, but this wasn't anything he should be focused on right now. I told him to focus on the competition."
"Who was the prince you saw him with?"
"I don't know, Your Majesty. His back was facing me…and he didn't seem interested in looking at me, only going back to their date." Charan said unhappily.
"I see." The King says. "Well, I'll speak to him about that…however, to go back to your earlier request, are you sure, Charan?"
"Yes." Charan forced himself not to answer too fast.
"Truth is, I've been worried myself…not just for Khanin's safety but he's been lonelier these days, and I was worried he might be depressed with his father…and I don't know how well he was adjusting to everything. It might be for the best, at least for right now, to have you watch him and make sure he is safe."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Charan gave a curt nod, pressing his lips in a thin line to stop the smile from pulling his lips upwards.
The bodyguard bowed before retreating from the room.
"Aren't you supposed to have a coach…like watching you and perfecting your form?" Zee wonders as he looks around the empty gym, as Khanin gets into a stance, lunging forward while wielding the sabre.
"Well, I haven't decided on a coach yet," Khanin says, breathless, as he stands up straight and turns to look at Zee, who quirked an eyebrow.
"So you haven't decided on a bodyguard or a coach?" Zee deadpans.
"And they are just okay with that, months away from the competition?"
"Well, no," Khanin reaches for his water bottle, taking a sip from it before setting down. "They nag me about it every day, and I tell them I'm deciding between a few coaches," He pauses, "I was hoping Charan would coach me, but…well, that didn't work out."
"It's not just…easy…to decide on someone. My dad was my coach for…the longest time, and…I don't really trust anyone here, and having a coach train requires that trust and comfort…" Khanin goes on to say.
Zee nods in understanding, his eyes softening as he watches Khanin continue back to his position before lunging forward, but he hissed out in pain, causing him to react, rushing to his side as the sabre hits the floor with a clatter.
"Hey, are you okay?" Zee asked worriedly as Khanin shook his head.
"What hurts?"
"My…my thigh," Khanin says between pained breaths as he lowers to the ground.
Zee follows him, and his hand reaches down to gently caress his thigh, "Did you stretch beforehand?" He asked.
"I've trained for years…you think I didn't…" Khanin huffs before his voice gives him away as he sighs, closing his eyes and trying to wait for the cramp in his thigh to pass.
"I've been kind of preoccupied." Khanin whines.
"Here, let me help," Zee says as he massaged his thigh, not letting his hand wander higher than the bottom part of his thigh.
"I used to work at a gym, and…Khanin, you're an athlete, you should know how important stretching is. Your muscles need to loosen up, and it also helps with soreness afterwards." Zee scolds, and Khanin rolled his eyes.
"How's it feeling now?" Zee asked after a few moments.
"Better," Khanin says.
The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupts them, causing Khanin to whip his head up, startled, and he looked behind Zee to see Charan, again. He was just popping out of nowhere more and more these days.
"Charan!" Khanin scrambled up on his feet.
"Was I interrupting, Your Royal Highness?" Charan asked unhappily as he formally bowed in greeting, his eyes darting towards the back of Zee's head. Recognition filled his features as he remembered how similar his build was.
"Who is this?" Charan asked.
"Oh..he's…" Khanin blinked stupidly as he glanced at Zee, who looked at him in anticipation. "Uh, he's new…just…came to my aid when I got a cramp."
"You injured yourself? Let me look." Charan says as he rushes to his side, and Zee takes the opportunity to flee and retreat out of the room, offering Khanin a thumbs up before scrambling out of the room before he's caught.
"Ah," Khanin limps as Charan is maneuvering him to sit down in one of the nearby chairs. He is bending in front of him, his hands are gentle as they run up his leg quite intimately before they land on his thigh.
"This one?" Charan asked as he glanced up at him with an intense look in his eyes.
Khanin blinked before nodding his head, frozen and unsure what to do with himself as Charan massages his thigh with more pressure, his hand wandering up higher to massage the muscle, and he couldn't help but squirm.
"Uh, that's…it feels better now. Thanks." Khanin says, and Charan's efforts stop, but his hand lingers there as if he didn't want to let go before he slowly pulls his hand away.
"I'll help you stretch." Charan is standing up and taking off his jacket, and Khanin gawks as he stares at him with wide, boba eyes.
"Huh?" Khanin squeaked.
"Get on the floor," Charan instructed.
Khanin only blinked up at him at the command.
On the floor?
This sounds like a dirty fantasy, not quite one Khanin imagined, but he couldn't ignore the sexual innuendo.
"Um, okay," Khanin manages before he slowly stands up, wishing he had decided to wear pants instead of shorts that barely went to his mid-thighs. He thought it would just be him, or rather, him and Zee. Why was Charan here? Again?
What happened to months of ignoring him?
Khanin slowly situated himself on the floor, absently pulling his shorts down as far as they could go before looking up at Charan expectantly.
Charan is settling on his knees, urging Khanin to spread his legs, which made the prince flush at this very intimate position. "Lay back," He urged as he pressed his hand on his chest, coaxing him to lie back.
Khanin didn't argue even though he was very confused about where this was going.
Charan is leaning over him before he takes Khanin's right leg and lifts it, pushing his knee towards his chest. "You feel the stretch in your lower back?" He asked.
Khanin manages a nod as he feels the burn.
"Can you take more?" Charan asked.
Khanin narrows his eyes as his mind goes somewhere else.
"Um, y-yeah," Khanin says hesitantly.
Charan pushes his knee more, and Khanin's breath hitched as he feels the burn. Khanin closed his eyes, his cheeks were a rose color, and he just wanted this to be over. He's embarrassed and way too close to him for comfort, and he kept saying things that had double meanings.
"Now straighten your leg," Charan instructed, and Khanin breathed through his nose as he did as he was told. The ex-bodyguard's hand moves down to the back of his thigh, "You should feel it in your hamstrings and your," His gaze flickers down. "glutes."
"Do you feel it?" He asked pointedly.
"Y-yeah." Khanin manages, dizzy.
"Okay, now switch legs. Knee to chest first." Charan helps him lower his leg before guiding his left knee to his chest.
"Charan, you don't have to do this, I can—" Khanin says as he holds position.
"It's my job, Your Royal Highness," Charan says.
"Huh?" Khanin looked at him, puzzled. "Your job?" He feels lightheaded from the proximity and Charan's touch.
"Mm," He only hums before urging him to straighten his leg, and Khanin exhaled and breathed, as he looked up at the ceiling, and waited for this to be over.
"I'm your bodyguard and coach for the meantime," Charan informed him, sounding so nonchalant and like he was just talking about the weather.
"What?!" Khanin sputtered as he dropped his legs and thrust his upper half off the floor, coming face to face with his now bodyguard.
"What are you talking about?" Khanin demanded.
"Yeah," Charan confirms, gauging his reaction as he watches him. "I talked to His Majesty, and…I was worried since you haven't decided on a bodyguard or a coach. Thought it only made sense since the competition is coming up and you need protection."
Khanin blinked his eyes rapidly. "But you…you can't!" He blurts out, panicked, as he thinks about Zee. How will Zee be around him if Charan won't let him out of his sight? He supposed he could just sneak around and stay hidden in his bedroom or something.
Charan didn't seem to like staying in there longer than was necessary.
"Are you upset?" The bodyguard frowned.
"N-no, I mean…I'm just confused. You wanted to teach art…so why are you offering yourself and not someone else?" Khanin wonders aloud.
"Well, you seem not to like anybody except for me, and you aren't proactive about choosing a bodyguard and coach." Charan pointed out.
Khanin scoffed, "I was just being thorough. Having a bodyguard is…personal, and…they are with you twenty-four-seven…and there has to be trust and comfort. They have to know me and…well, I was weighing my options." He lied.
"Mhm," Charan says as he settles back on his knees, not believing him.
"Well, I already spoke to His Majesty and ran your schedule with him, and decided we will train four days a week. There's also that event later this week, and I think we should alternate days from archery and fencing. On your rest days, you can spend studying and learning more about Emmaly, as well as start preparing answers journalists will ask you."
Khanin blinked at this, bewildered that Charan already had his schedule laid out and he had barely just started being his bodyguard again and now coach, too.
"Really? Is that all?" Khanin says sarcastically. "Do I even have a day to just…rest without training or studying?" He grumbles.
"No," Charan says sharply.
"You're being unreasonable."
"Why? So you can go on dates?" Charan shot back under his breath as he stood up.
"What did you say?" Khanin frowned.
"Nothing." Charan dismisses, helping the prince back up to his feet.
"Toe touches." The bodyguard didn't even give him a chance to respond before instructing him to get into the next position for the stretch exercise.
Khanin was exhausted from the workout, and by the end of the day, he was fed up with Charan yanking him around, asserting himself, and making sure he didn't have a break. He was so overbearing, which was so odd because Charan never pushed him like this.
He just followed him around like a puppy while Khanin did what he wanted, even teasing that he wouldn't listen to him and would do what he wanted. He is now wondering how it all switched, and now Charan was working him to the bone.
It was competition, competition, competition.
Khanin felt like this was over the top. His bodyguard was acting like the competition was next week, but it was six months away. It was like Charan didn't want him to have a moment to spare. The thought renders him still as he wonders if it was because of the conversation from a few days ago. Was it because he lied and said he was going on dates with suitors?
Charan wouldn't even let him out of his sight, which was quite the contrast to how it was before, and Khanin was acting that way to stay close to him.
The prince shakes out of his thought as he approaches his bedroom, putting a hand up to prompt the guards not to open the door to his bedroom. He turned to Charan, offering a nod and bidding goodnight. "You're dismissed," He says as he turns towards his bedroom.
"Already?" Charan blurted out.
"I mean, Your Royal Highness, it's quite early. Are you still hungry? I can have the chef make you a snack or—"
Khanin exhaled as he turned towards his bodyguard. "You're acting strange. What is going on?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Nothing, I just…I'm worried. You need to fuel your body since you're training. Food is fuel, and you must eat the right amount of food and enough protein to grow your muscles." Charan explained as his fingers twitched anxiously at his sides.
"This has nothing to do with me going on dates? Are you worried I'll sneak the prince over or sneak out like a rebellious teenager?" Khanin snorts.
"No!" Charan is quick to say, a little too defensive.
"Really? Because this is not like you, being all assertive and acting like you're my assistant, telling me what I have going on, and keeping me out all day long. You used to just follow me, and let me lead and do what I want." Khanin frowned.
"You're a bodyguard…aren't you just supposed to guard?"
"I'm also your coach, Your Royal Highness." Charan defended, and he sighed, "You have more on your plate now…with the—"
"Competition, I know. But that's six months away." Khanin reminded him.
"Are you purposely trying to keep me busy so I don't date?" He wonders.
"Why would I do that?" Charan redirected, shaking his head.
"I don't know, why would you?" Khanin asked knowingly before he backed away and turned and entered his bedroom as the guards opened the door before closing it, leaving the bodyguard with his thoughts as he stared after him.
"Finally." Zee exhaled as he came out of the bathroom, looking at him, confused as he gestured with his hand. "Where have you been?" He asked.
"Well, Charan sprung that he is my bodyguard and coach now, and decided to make it his mission to keep me busy all day so I don't have a moment to spare." Khanin groaned as he unbuttoned his shirt and turned away, entering his walk-in closet.
"What?" Zee sputtered as he stayed put, looking towards where Khanin disappeared.
"That's going to make things difficult, I mean…how am I supposed to help you if he is glued to your side now?" He groaned as he plopped down on the bed.
Khanin emerged from the closet wearing pajamas before moving to sit on his vanity.
"That's what I would like to know too."
"Wait." Zee sat up as he looked over at him, "You're saying he's keeping you out all day and ensuring you're busy?" A slow grin stretched upwards on his lips.
"He is jealous of you going on dates with potential suitors. That whole stunt a few days ago, with him thinking I was your date, worked!" Zee says in glee, laughing.
"What is that?" Charan asked the guard outside Khanin's room.
The guard on watch looked at Charan but didn't say anything.
Charan, not minding the two stationed at Khanin's door, stepped closer to the door, trying to listen in as he heard muffled voices.
"You really think so?" Khanin wonders.
"He's hard to read most of the time and—and, well, he was really weird earlier after you left. He massaged my thigh and had me on the floor doing these very intimate stretches; he had my knee to my chest, and he was on top of me." Khanin shares with him.
Zee gaped as his eyes widened in shock. "No shit," He mumbles before he rose from the bed. "He is so into you!" He exclaimed.
"I used to be a coach, and let me tell you…those kinds of hands-on demonstrations and guiding would get us a sexual assault lawsuit and fired from our job. He was jealous…and he got handsy." Zee says, humming.
Khanin's face flushed.
Charan froze, the color draining from his face as he heard a clear, unmistakable voice that didn't belong to Khanin or Chakri. He didn't catch what he said, but he heard him. But something felt strange.
His gaze turned sharply to the guards. "Who is in there with His Royal Highness?" He demanded, causing the guards, who were trained professionals, to cower under his intense gaze, glancing at each other.
"Uh," One stammers.
"I'm not sure." The other settles on.
"We heard voices the last few days, but…well, he sounded like you, so we assumed his Royal Highness was speaking with you."
Charan blinked his eyes.
"Well, you've been acting weird. I mean, you show up a few days earlier not wearing your uniform…stuttering and speaking casually to the prince, and now…you two are always hushed whispering and again, you are too…"
"What are you saying, Charan? I saw you. Are you sick…or…or possessed? Do you have a twin we don't know about?"
"I'm not sure what Chakri meant…I suppose my date resembles you in some ways, but I wouldn't say you were identical." He chuckled nervously.
"Have you…seen me around the palace before today?" Charan asked.
"Yes."
Charan felt terror grip him tight like a vice; his entire body turned rigid and cold.
What was going on?
He prompted the guards to open the door, who hesitated before opening it, and Charan stalked inside, and he looked around before he spotted…himself on the bed.
Khanin gasped as he rushed to his feet, and he looked back and forth at Charan, then at Zee, then back at Charan. "Charan—"
Zee was frozen, and before he could even think about explaining himself or rehearsing the same speech he told San when he found him in Non's room—holding his face and well, kissing him. He is relieved it didn't pan out similarly, or he would fear Charan would wield his weapon and harm him for touching the prince.
But suddenly, he felt his vision blur as a voice reached him. "Hia."
"Nhu?" Zee manages, voice breathy as his vision fades in and out. He sees white dots obscure his vision, and he feels lightheaded. He collapses back on the mattress as darkness takes over.
"ZEE!" Khanin shouted as he rushed to his side, checking on the unconscious man.
"Hia," Nunew mumbled in his sleep.
Only an hour had passed, and he was slipping in and out of consciousness, restless and wanting his boyfriend's warmth and the solid weight of his body pressing against him.
Zee was back in their house, and he knew immediately it was a dream, or his subconscious was responding to Nunew reaching out to him. Only in his dreams was he allowed to be with his beloved, and it pained him to the core.
"Nhu," He rushed to his side as Nunew shot up from the coach, looking around frantically as he called out to Zee in hopes he would be there and all of this was a terrible nightmare.
If only.
His face crumbles, and he bursts into tears, and the sound shatters his heart, and he bends down and tries to comfort him in ways he always did, but now couldn't.
Nunew looked in his direction, and terror filled his features, rendering Zee frozen. "Nhu?" He doesn't know what to do. "Baby?" He pleads, scared because his Nhu never looked at him with so much fear and horror.
"No…" Nunew cried, and he crawled away.
All Nunew could see was a faceless man with a deep, distorted voice; it sounded familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
"This is a nightmare!" Nunew sobbed and rushed to his feet, skidding on the hardwood floor with socked feet, "P'MAX!" He screams as he runs down the hall.
"Wait, Nhu!" Zee pleads as he rushes after him. "It's me, it's me!" He yells desperately, wanting Nunew near him and wanting to make those fears in him disappear. He never felt so hopeless.
Nunew opens the door to their bedroom, and he closes the door and locks it, backing away and trying to compose himself. "You're dreaming, you're dreaming, you're dreaming!" He sobbed, smacking his face and running his fingers through his hair.
He looked up, horrified as he watched the faceless man walk through the door like a ghost. He falls to the ground, shaking his head and crawling away. "Leave me alone," He gasped between breaths, hyperventilating.
"Please," He cries. He pulls his knees up to his chest to make himself smaller and to soothe himself as he wraps his arms around his knees, burying his face in his knees.
"Baby," Zee cried as he moved closer, not wanting Nunew to be terrified of him and make it worse for him, but also he wanted Nunew to see him, because for whatever reason, he couldn't see that it was him. It was like there was a barrier preventing them from meeting.
"Hia," Full body sobs, the nickname tearing out of his throat with so much emotion, desperately calling for him to come save him. But he was right there.
"Nhu," The distorted voice fades away, only leaving his true voice without any warped version of it, that for whatever reason was keeping him from Nunew.
Nunew gasped as he looked up, but he was confused as he looked around. His gaze settled on the faceless figure, and he stared harder. "Hia?" He blinks, his eyelashes wet with tears.
"It's me, Nhu."
"I don't understand." Nunew cried, shaking his head.
"I'm…I'm dreaming."
"No," Zee slowly raised his hand, hesitating at first before he slowly brought his hand to cup his face. "I mean, yes, but it's real." Nunew flinches and moves his head away, but as the contact hits his skin, recognition fills his features, and he gasps audibly.
"Hia," Nunew sounded so relieved, and he burst into tears.
"Nhu, please don't cry. Baby, I'm here." Zee's voice cracks as tears run down his cheeks, "Please see me." He pleaded, wanting Nunew to see him.
"I don't…" Nunew whimpered.
"Nhu, I didn't leave you," Zee says urgently, moving closer and caressing his other cheek with his other hand, both his hands framing the sides of his face and holding him close.
"I would rather die than leave you."
Tears are running fast down Nunew's cheeks as he takes in his words.
"Where are you?" He gasped. "Are you d—"
"No!" Zee says insistently.
"I'm not dead, I swear to you." Zee pressed his forehead against his, "God Nhu, I miss you so fucking much. I see you, but I don't see you, and I just want to be with you."
"Hia, I don't understand," Nunew whispered.
"There's so much I want to tell you, Nhu." Zee pulled back, sighing. "There isn't enough time, just wait for me, okay?"
"Hia, please tell me what's going on."
Zee angled his face as he leaned down, their lips brushing, and he pressed his lips against his in a gentle and yearning kiss. He pulled back slowly, squeezing his eyes shut in pain. "I love you so much, Nunew. I'm coming back to you."
"Why can't you tell me?" Nunew shakes his head.
"The key," Zee says after a moment. "The key I told you about on the phone. The one I found in the shed is not a key to the house. It is but—"
"Hia, you're not making sense."
Suddenly, the faceless features disappeared and morphed back into Zee's true face, and Nunew gasped as he took in the features of his boyfriend. "Hia!" He moved quickly and wrapped his arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
"You're here," Nunew cried in relief.
"Baby," Zee held him tightly, pressing his face into the crook of his neck and breathing him in. He pulled back and brought their mouths together in a kiss.
"Hia," Nunew's voice is echoing, sounding faraway again. Zee feels dread as the image begins to fade, and he holds onto him tighter, but he is slipping through his fingers like a mirage.
"No, no, no, no," Zee is grappling, trying to hold onto him.
"Not yet." He pleads.
"NHU!" He shouted as the image of Nunew flickered. "Don't let go, hey, Nhu, stay with me. I'm here." But the image fades into obscurity.
He is left in complete darkness, and he is running, "Nhu!" He pleaded as his face became wet with tears, and he couldn't breathe. He just had him. He just had him back.
He falls to the ground in despair.
Zee wakes up, body shooting up from the bed as he gasps, looking around, shouting, "NUNEW!" He startles Khanin and Charan, who jerk back after peering down at him.
Sadness fills Khanin's features as he recognizes the name of his boyfriend, whom he was trying to get back to, and he doesn't know what to do. Without thinking, he pulls Zee into his arms and holds him, doing the only thing he can think of.
Charan frowns at this, his jaw working as he watches the scene before him, more questions running in an endless loop as he stares into the mirror of Khanin hugging him, but not him.
"I just had him. He was there…" Zee mumbled, to nobody in particular, maybe directed at himself. He was staring off into space as tears obstructed his vision.
"I'm sorry," Khanin whispered soothingly as he rubbed his back.
"Your Royal Highness, what is going on?" Charan demanded, separating them and unable to stand Khanin holding his imposter.
Zee blinked blearily at him before he started to come back to his senses.
Nunew, return to Nunew, get Charan and Khanin together.
"Who are you and why do you have my face?" Charan demanded as he stood between them.
"I'm not from here," Zee says as he wipes his face with his forearm.
"Fuck, I don't know why this is happening," frustration seeps from his voice, overwhelmed from the dream or whatever it was. It was real, and he was able to reach for Nunew, or Nunew reached for him. Either way, he wasn't ready to say goodbye.
"I found a key in the new house we just bought. I thought it was a normal house key that went to one of the doors, but…it opened up a portal in our living room. I didn't think much of it, I didn't see anything on the other side, but when I crossed it…I entered through another dimension, and I saw a version of my boyfriend and me."
Zee exhaled shakily as he blinked away the tears, "I quickly understood the only way out was to get them together. I did that, and the portal opened up, and I was sent here. I know it sounds crazy, but for whatever reason, I'm sent here to get my boyfriend and I's doppelgangers together." He looked up at Charan, breathing shakily.
"It was you that day in the library, wasn't it?" Charan asked.
"No." Zee lied, causing Khanin to narrow his eyes at the imposter in confusion. "Khanin was on a date as he told you."
Charan frowned, his mind reeling.
Zee instantly knew he felt relieved thinking the whole date and the concept of him marrying someone else wasn't true, only to be reminded of the possibility it very well could be if Charan didn't step up, which is why he was lying.
The bodyguard cleared his throat after a moment, processing everything he was just told. His eyes flicker towards Zee, looking freaked out, staring at a man with his face. He couldn't help but be stuck on the fact that his boyfriend had Khanin's face.
"Your boyfriend…he…is Khanin's…they have…"
"Yes." Zee pulled out his phone and showed him a picture of him and Nunew kissing from his gallery, and the bodyguard took the phone and stared at the picture with the most emotion Khanin has ever seen from him.
He was staring long and hard at the picture, and it was like looking in the mirror and seeing the thought of him and Khanin together, come alive in a picture. He accidentally swiped and saw a picture of Nunew that Zee took.
"He has dark hair," Charan observes.
"I met him when he had Khanin's hair," Zee says after a beat, causing Khanin to look at the other with a flabbergasted look.
"Really? Can I see?"
Zee takes his phone back when Charan hands it over after a moment. He scrolled through his album of pictures he had dedicated to just Nunew, and he found an old one from when they began dating two years ago. He handed his phone to Khanin.
Khanin blinked as he stared at the photo of Nunew, who was sitting inside a cafe, judging by the busy background of blurred people in the background passing by, and Nunew was smiling prettily at the camera with his ginger hair that was styled similarly to his own, but different.
He had bangs covering his forehead, and Khanin was a bit uneasy about how much they looked like. Not just the hair but the style as well. He scrolled through another, and Nunew did look different, and more like Non, unbeknownst to Khanin.
But it seemed like he had bits and pieces of all of them, and they all mirrored each other or were similar in some aspect. After all, they were different versions of each other.
"Wow," Khanin manages as he hands his phone to Zee.
Charan was speechless, and he looked like he was trying to make sense of it all, but couldn't wrap his head around it.
"So that's why Chakri thought he saw me at the pal—" He froze as he considered something that made him feel that red, searing hot feeling spread across his body, and filled his veins.
"Where have you been staying? There is a guard stationed in every corner of the palace, and I would have been informed if people saw me hanging around when they knew I was back to teaching art at the university." Charan says, crossing his arms.
Khanin looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling that dread settle in as he realized where this was going.
"In Khanin's room," Zee says easily as he settles back, leaning on his hands that were pressed comfortably into the mattress.
Charan's gaze hardened, working his jaw as he stared at the other version of him that looked way too cocky and smug.
"Khanin's room…" He echoed.
"Where exactly…" Charan cleared his throat as he tried to compose himself.
"You know…when people stay in one room, it's typically the bed," Zee says as he draws invisible shapes on the mattress. "They were so right about those eight-hundred-thread-count sheets." He provoked, "and did you have any idea how hard it is to get out of a comfortable mattress like this? It's like sleeping on a cloud and also…Khanin is very clingy in his sleep."
Khanin's eyes widened and his face flushed.
Charan's hands curled into a fist as he tried to breathe, inhaling and exhaling from his nose to keep his composure.
His eyes immediately shot to Khanin for confirmation, who didn't say anything.
"You slept with him?" Charan asked.
Khanin was bewildered at the way it sounded, almost like Charan was accusing him of cheating, which was ridiculous.
"Where else was he supposed to sleep?" Khanin countered.
"I don't know, the floor, he's a stranger, Your Royal Highness!" Charan reminded him, his voice rising an octave, and Khanin was speechless that the normally stoic bodyguard was displaying so many emotions; it made him overwhelmed.
"So were we when we slept together."
"That's different—that is just, it was different." Charan fought.
"Why?" Khanin wondered.
"Because it was you and me." Charan blurted out.
Flash Forward
Nunew was by himself for the night, and he was just studying at his desk, trying to stay on top of his studies, even though his mind kept thinking about Zee, and that dream he had. He didn't even know if he could call it that. It felt so real.
Max was at the Panich's, and was being a good friend by being there for his family. Nunew had been, but he got too overwhelmed when everyone was treating him like he was a grieving widow; of course, no one believed Zee was dead. They were just trying to comfort him.
It was extremely hard being there when he saw Zee in his mother and father, in his sister, in his niece and nephew. But he wanted to comfort them and give them any answers he had, even if he didn't have much information to offer.
His niece and nephew had clung to him like koalas, and he loved how close he was with them, but it only made that ache worse when he was just reminded of Zee. He was so close to them that he visited them anytime he could. They had babysat them countless times before.
But they were a mess, as to be expected.
Nunew decided to study, desperate to have a distraction from everything. He had gone to the police station with Max two days earlier, and he was a wreck having to step foot in there, speak to the officer at the desk, and tell them who they were filing a missing person's report for.
The process was grueling and left him emotionally exhausted.
The questions the officer proceeded to ask were hard as he had to relive that day, and the last time he saw his boyfriend. He knows the officer was just doing his job and seemed to sympathize with him, not sugar coating anything, and wanted him to be realistic about the outcome, and proceeded to tell him the different scenarios and what could have happened.
"Have you thought of the possibility that…maybe Zee was fed up and wanted to start over? There have been cases of missing people who just started a new life somewhere else." The officer mentioned, and Nunew blinked at this.
"No," Nunew says firmly.
"He wouldn't do that."
"People can be deceiving, I mean, my wife of seventeen years acted as if she loved me only to run off with a younger man, and now they are married." The officer says bitterly, and Nunew shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
It was obvious he was projecting, while trying to be realistic, but Nunew knows Zee. As much as Zee knows Nunew.
"Even if Hia no longer loved me, he would be honest and would break up with me. He would never abandon his family, especially his niece and nephew. They are his entire world."
"So are you," Max added as he looked at Nunew, who met his eyes, giving him a pointed look.
"Look, we are sorry you experienced that, but Zee is not the type of person to do something that reckless. He loves his job, his family, his friends, and his boyfriend. This is so out of character for him." Max says.
"Is there anyone he had an argument with?"
Nunew felt sick at the implications.
He had seen countless crime documentaries to know what he was referring to, and usually, there is foul play involved, and the case ends with the person murdered. But Zee was alive.
"You're not listening, Hia mentioned a key,"
"Yes, a key," The officer deadpans, "How does that have any relevance to his disappearance?"
"Because he found it before he disappeared, and he mentioned it in my…" Nunew's voice trailed.
"I think it's important."
"We'll do everything to find him." The officer assured him, "But we have to rule out other possibilities, like if he had a spat that turned deadly, or if he got mixed up in other things."
"Like what?" Nunew whispered.
"Like drugs, maybe getting involved with the wrong person, we have to rule out every possibility." The officer tells him.
Nunew remembered leaving the police station, feeling even more distraught, and the case was active; there wasn't much progression, but he knew the officer had talked to Max and other people who had last talked to him that day.
Now, Nunew sat at his desk, hunched over and trying not to overthink.
There was a sound of the floor creaking as if someone was walking, causing Nunew to look up, and he grabbed his phone, wondering if Max had texted him he was coming back earlier than expected, but that didn't make sense since he had just left to have dinner with his family.
"P'Max?" Nunew called but is met with silence.
Yim and his other friends had been crashing at his house, so he didn't feel alone, but they never invited themselves in or showed up without calling or texting.
He stared at the door before he slowly moved his feet, approaching the door in a few strides before opening it. He turned to walk down the hall, but his entire body turned rigid and cold as he stared at the unfamiliar back of a man.
It wasn't Max.
It wasn't Yim.
It wasn't his friends.
And it definitely wasn't Hia.
Nunew took a step back, but the floor creaked under his weight, causing the man to turn around, and he saw an unfamiliar man with a crazed and exhausted look on his face.
"HEY!" The man shouts, causing Nunew's heart to race before he darts down the hall, stumbling into his room and slamming the door shut and locking it.
He slides down against the door, pressing his body weight against it as the man pounds on the door, "OPEN THE DOOR!" He screamed in a frenzy, and Nunew feels terror take over.
He looked over at his phone, which was on his desk.
He pressed his palms against the floor to ground himself, nails digging into the old oak wood, and he pressed his feet firmly to keep himself from skidding, but he was wearing socks. He slowly raised his leg, pressing it against the nearby dresser situated against the wall, using the weight to press back against the door. Tears fell from his face as he looked around frantically.
"Open the door!" The man repeated, pounding on the door, and every slam made Nunew flinch. He didn't know what to do; his eyes kept flickering towards his desk. The loud thuds hit the wood, and Nunew feared that the man was going to break the door off its hinges.
Nunew hesitated before he sprang across the room, slipping on his feet as he grabbed his phone and dialed Max's number.
"Nhu?" Max answered after a few long rings.
"P'Max," Nunew says in a hushed voice.
"There's somebody inside the house."
"What?!" Max exclaimed, interrupted by another harsh hit against the door. The man's voice is unrelenting as he demands entry.
"Fuck, Nhu, hold on. I'm calling the police, and I'm on my way!" Max tells him frantically, "Hide, and don't open the door, okay?"
Suddenly, the pounding ceased, and Nunew stared at the door with anticipation, waiting. But then, "I'm sorry if I scared you." The voice seemed to have calmed down.
"I just want to know what is going on. Why are you—why are you inside my home? What happened?" The man on the other side asked, it seemed like the fight was leaving him exhausted, and he no longer had the energy to pound on the door.
"Your home?" Nunew managed to answer.
"Nhu, don't talk to him!" Max says breathlessly as he rushes out of the house, pulling his keys out of his pocket as he fumbles to unlock his car.
"Wait…you're the old owner, right? The one that used to live here?"
"Used to?" The man questioned.
"My boyfriend and I bought this house a month ago."
There is a pause, and the man seemed to be processing his words, "How long was I gone?" He asked, and Nunew slowly approaches the door, staring at the doorknob.
"A year." Nunew reluctantly answers.
"Fuck," The voice curses, "It seems longer than that. Look, I know it sounds fucking insane, but I found this key in the house and…and…a portal opened up, and I spent…fuck, I don't even know, it feels like years trying to get back here."
Nunew froze at the mention of the key.
"Was it…was it in the shed?" Nunew's voice comes out shaky.
"Yes." The man confirmed.
"You've seen it, haven't you?"
"No, but…my boyfriend has, and—and now he's missing."
"He's closer than you think. He must have entered through the portal in the hallway, that's where it opens up. I can tell you everything, just open the door, okay?" The man urges.
Nunew stared at the door.
"NUNEW DON'T!" Max shouted.
Tears slipped out of his eyes as he reached for the door.
"I have to, P'Max."
"Nunew, just hold on, I'm ten minutes away, please, please, stay put, and I'll be there." Max pleaded, and he stared at his phone, which was in the console.
"This is the only way I can find out what happened to Hia," Nunew says.
"Zee?" Khanin asked as he approached the other. "Are you okay?"
"Something's wrong," Zee gasped, the room spinning, and he gripped the side of his head as his vision faded in and out.
"What do you mean?" Khanin asked, his voice echoing in Zee's ears as he grasped his chest, feeling his heart pound against his ribcage.
It felt like the walls were closing in.
"Nunew," Zee manages to gasp.
The entire room spins on its axis as he collapses to the floor, and Khanin is rushing to his side and calling out his name as Zee's world turns black.
He is transported to the house, and he is standing in the center of the living room, watching everything unfold. He sees a stranger standing in the archway where the portal was. There's creaking behind him, and the man is whipping around, and Zee has never felt so terrified.
He was frozen with fear as he watched the man run after his boyfriend, banging on the door with ferocity, yelling at him to open the door. He is rushing after him, screaming, "NHU!" He easily walks through the door to see his boyfriend using his body weight to keep the door closed.
He could only watch helplessly.
"This isn't happening," He tells himself, and he feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest as the pounding only gets louder.
Nunew is springing up and grabbing his phone and dialing Max's number.
He hates that Nunew can't even call him, and what was worse was that he wasn't even there to protect Nunew from the intruder.
He watches and listens to Nunew before the pounding stops, and the man is speaking to his Nunew, coaxing him to open the door and explaining that he was confused and disoriented.
Zee froze in sync with Nunew when he mentioned the key and the portal.
Zee's head snapped to Nunew, who approaches the door, hesitating but ready to open the door to get answers from the man. Max is screaming at him on the phone. "No, Nhu!" He grabbed his hand, and his hand didn't go through.
He moves in front of him, but Nunew doesn't see him.
He can't make sense of why he could last time, but this time it's different.
Maybe it was because Nunew wasn't sleeping?
"Baby, don't," Zee pleads.
Nunew looked down at his hand, and his breath hitched as he looked around for Zee, but didn't see him. "Hia?" He whispered.
Nunew was shocked because he usually only felt him when he was sleeping or dreaming. Except the time when he felt his hand the day Zee went missing. That means…that means it's real.
"Don't open the door." Zee watched him with a desperation he's never felt before, but Nunew seemed so lost, torn between opening the door and staying put, especially now with Zee holding onto him in a way of telling him not to open the door.
"I'm not going to hurt you." The man swore, "I, I shouldn't have run after you and banged on the door like that, and I didn't mean to yell. I was just…confused after coming back, and I needed answers…and you need answers, don't you?"
Nunew stared through Zee and at the door as he considered his words.
"You know the police aren't going to do anything. They couldn't find me, and it's been a year, you said? You can't rely on them to find your boyfriend because he is not in this world anymore. He is in another dimension, in another timeline, in the same place."
"He's here but not here." The man tells him, twisting the doorknob, and Nunew's gaze flickers down as the doorknob moves.
"Don't listen to him, Nhu."
Nunew hated feeling so hopeless and confused. He wanted to be with Zee, and he also wanted to do something instead of sitting here waiting for his boyfriend to return to him.
"I have the key."
Nunew perked up at that, and he unlocked the door without thinking.
"NUNEW NO!" Zee shouted.
The door swung open, and Nunew came face to face with the man. The stranger looked like he had aged so many years from exhaustion and stress, and Nunew couldn't help but sympathize with him. He looked down at the key the man was clutching.
"You feel him, don't you?"
"I felt my wife at times, but I couldn't make sense of it." The man says as he extends his hand and opens his palm, revealing the key.
"Why is this happening?" Nunew whispered.
"I don't know, I think it's the house…I think where the house sits is a portal." He points across the hall and at the archway. He begins walking down the hall with Nunew following.
"This is where the portal opens up." The man says.
“You see,” the man began, “from what I’ve figured out, this house exists across multiple dimensions. But it won't look the same everywhere…it changes depending on where it is. But the location stays the same, meaning we’re still in the same place."
"That’s why he can feel you. The portal always connects to this house, and whichever door it opens to becomes point B. They connect." He explains.
Zee hovers protectively in front of Nunew as he takes in the man's words, which made a lot of sense, thinking about it, and why he had such a strong connection to Nunew even though he was in another world entirely.
"What…happened when you were in the portal?" Nunew couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know if it's the same for your boyfriend, but I had to complete tasks and missions. You see, once you step through the portal, it disappears. It opened originally with the key, but you can't use it once you're through. There's no keyhole, and I figured out that the only way to leave is to complete a mission, but it doesn't tell you. It just becomes obvious why you're sent there."
"I saw different versions of myself, and I had to prevent things from happening or change the fate of the future. But there isn't just one mission, as soon as you step through, you enter somewhere new, and it's like a maze…it goes on and on until it decides you're done."
Nunew felt so defeated upon hearing this.
"Time also works differently…I was gone for a year, but in that world it felt like years." The man looked at Nunew, sighing as he saw how empty he looked.
Nunew couldn't stop crying. He ran his hands down the sides of his face in frustration as he realized he may not see Hia for a long time.
The man hesitates as he opens and closes his eyes, before dropping his head as he looks down at the key. He frowned as he realized the key wasn't moving towards the wall as it had prior, maybe because he had already completed his mission. Pushing that thought aside, he looks back at the boy who looked like he had lost his soulmate and didn't know anything anymore.
"I'm sorry." The man offers, even though he knows it doesn't mean anything.
"You should keep this. I have no use for it anymore." The man extends his hand, offering the key, "I don't suggest going through it, it's a maze and…it's exhausting, and I would just wait if I was you, but…it's your decision."
Nunew looked down at the key in his hand.
He gasped when the key moved towards him like it knew he was a new person with new missions to complete.
"Nhu, no," Zee shakes his head desperately. He tried to pull Nunew back, but the key was stronger and was gravitating towards his boyfriend.
Nunew takes the key, and he yelps as the pull of the key drags him towards the wall where the keyhole is, and his eyes widen as he stares at the keyhole that he's never seen before.
"Don't do it." The man protests, and Zee, for once, is relieved he is saying what he wants to.
Nunew stared at the wall in consideration.
"But if I go through the portal…I could find Hia."
"You don't know that."
"You could end up somewhere entirely different. There are so many doors, and you can't choose where to go. You just go where it takes you."
"NUNEW!" Max bursts through the front door just as Nunew pushes the key into the keyhole, causing the entire room to explode into blinding light, prompting him to shield his face.
"What…Nunew, what is happening?" Max asked as the light faded away, only leaving a bright light lingering in the archway of the hallway.
"What is that?"
"It's the only way I can get to Hia," Nunew whispered.
"You won't find him; the quests might be different, and you might end up in the same position as both of us. You'll be stuck, and you won't be able to get out. If your boyfriend has been in there for a while, he is already almost done. But if you go, it'll be longer until you see him again."
Nunew glances at him before looking at the light that was luring him in.
He just wanted to see Zee so badly.
He missed him.