Work Text:
*
".. because the chicken retired" giggled Lhea. Win chuckled good-naturedly though the joke wasn't very funny and he'd only listened to part of it. But it reminded him of a joke Bright had told him that morning and W snorted again.
"You really liked that one" smiled Lhea.
*
"It was funny" said W, a tad guiltily. He made up for his wandering thoughts by being extra attentive to Lhea for a while. They were on a date after all. Their fourth one, to be precise.
Lhea clearly liked him a lot. And W liked her enough to have dated her for over a month.
*
Lhea had hinted she wanted to take their relationship to the next level.
W didn't know what that meant. And he didn't know why he didn't want to find out. Just like the others before her.
She was pretty and sweet and insisted on splitting the bills whenever they went out.
*
She was an archi major and they shared a lot of interests. Including one particular interest which had resulted in their being in that bar.
"Thanks again for bringing me here, Win. I can't wait to hear him live" gushed Lhea. She was a fan of B's.
"Anything for you" smiled W.
*
W wondered if that was true. If he'd do anything for her. Would he let her eat from his plate? He wasn't sure. B ate from his plate all the time, but that was so they'd have fewer dishes to wash.
W liked her more than the ones before her, he was sure. So if not her, then who?
*
"It must have been tough to get such good seats" she said, impressed.
The bar was booked solid. B had spoken to the manager to get a two seat reservation for W's date that night.
But only after W promised to do the dishes for a month.
"I have best friend privileges" smirked W.
*
Lhea laughed lightly and crossed her long legs attractively. She wore a little red dress that hugged her curves just right without being vulgar.
W wondered if she expected to spend the night at his place. He'd have to make arrangements. And tell B.
*
The only time he'd seen B truly angry was the morning after W had brought a girl back to their apartment for the first time.
B had made coffee and toast for her and seen her off at the front door, before he'd turned to W with black thunder twisting his usually calm features
*
"I don't ask for much, Win. But I do expect the courtesy of being informed before you decide to bring a sexual partner into our combined living space."
W'd been stunned. "This is my home just as much as yours, Bright. I don't need your permission to invite people into my room."
*
B's eyes had become colder than chips of ice. "I could hear you fucking her. I had no choice in the matter, the walls are thinner than paper. That's an invasion of my privacy. I'd like to have the option of not being a front row witness to your fucks from now on."
*
W'd gone red with embarrassment and apologized profusely to his roommate of seven months.
That was 2 years ago. Since then, B'd never been home when W said he'd have a girl over.
W had always been home when B returned alone after his dates, never bringing a boy back to his room
*
There was movement on the small stage at the front. The area was purposely shrouded in darkness to allow the band to set up.
W and Lhea were seated on high stools at the bar and had an excellent view.
W squinted and smiled as he recognized one very familiar shape.
*
"You're so lucky. You've probably seen him perform a million times" sighed Lhea, tracing circles on W's arm with her finger.
W ran his hand through his hair, leaving Lhea's finger hovering in the air.
"This is the first time I'm seeing him onstage, actually" admitted W.
*
He felt strangely nervous at the realization. B had never invited him, and W had never asked.
"I'm glad I get to share this with you then" smiled Lhea. W wondered why he didn't like her as much as she liked him.
It had always been that way with W. Many girls, no girlfriends.
*
The lights all around were dimmed. Except those at the bar and the spotlights that revealed the band in all their glory.
W whistled and hooted loudly with the rest. He felt proud of the thunderous welcome his best friend was receiving from the crowd.
B looked spectacular.
*
W winced as Lhea and every other girl in the room screamed.
He caught himself gaping at B, his stage presence magnetic and commanding, his aura exuding raw sensuality.
The way he stood, so sure, so confident. His eyes riveting, irresistible.
Searching. Seeking.
Finding.
*
W's breath caught in his throat as B's stare held him from across the room, unrelenting and frank, challenging him to break away first.
W found himself growing warm. His cheeks burned, his palms were decidedly hot and his stomach tightened in a way it never had before.
*
W caved, lowering his long eyelashes. He could barely hear the introductions over the blood thudding in his ears.
"What the fuck was that?" thought W.
He chanced an upwards glance, and sighed relieved that B's eyes were no longer boring a hole into his soul.
They were on Lhea
*
Just the briefest of appraisals, furrowing for a brief second at her closeness to W, before withdrawing to the audience at large.
W felt unsettled. B was different, aggressive, cocky as he worked the audience.
Not the soft-spoken, gentle, always considerate bestie he knew
*
B on stage was a magician who breathed life into the music he performed. W's voice went hoarse from singing loudly along to the songs the band played. They were all his favorites.
The mountains of dishes he'd have to clear for being there tonight were totally worth it.
*
"OMG, he's so handsome. I'm so jealous you get to see him every day. Too bad you're not into boys" gushed Lhea. W nodded, swallowing a mouthful of whiskey.
"Yeah. Too bad" he said, frowning. Right?
"Our last song tonight is a Tina Turner classic" said B in his smooth voice
*
W snapped his head so fast, it cricked audibly. "No way" he breathed.
B's bandmates looked confused but recovered quickly as B exchanged his electric guitar for an acoustic one.
W had told B only once, three years ago.
"He remembers" whispered W and his heart skipped a beat.
*
The day W had moved into B's apartment in response to a "Roommate wanted" flyer, he'd opened up a bottle of scotch and a big packet of chips and insisted they get to know each other better with questions off a stupid app.
"What would make you say yes to a confession of love?"
*
B's fingers caressed the strings of his guitar, teasing out the notes that swirled around W. His voice was velvety, soft.
"I call you, I need you, my heart's on fire
You come to me, come to me, wild and wired"
B crooned, W trembled.
This wasn't Tina. It was all Bright.
*
All the times they'd rushed to the other's side, dropping everything instantly - when W failed his architect's license exam, when B's cat had to be put down, when W got into a brawl at a pub, when the record label cut B's song from their album after he'd poured his soul into it
*
"Oh, you come to me
Give me everything I need"
B'd spent countless hours of revision with W the next time he took the exam, W'd sat with B all night as he held vigil at the vet's office, B got three stitches after the fight, W posted B's song online and it became his 1st hit.
*
"Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams
Speak the language of love like you know what it means
Mm, and it can't be wrong
Take my heart and make it strong, babe"
B had sung for and with W before. On rainy afternoons and lazy Sundays.
But B was serenading W now.
*
"You're simply the best
Better than all the rest
Better than anyone
Anyone I ever met"
"How are you still single?" moaned W as he wolfed down B's pancakes with strawberry and cream one morning.
B smiled and wiped cream off the corner of W's lips. "I'm waiting" he'd said simply.
*
"Oh, I'm stuck on your heart
I hang on every word you say
Tear us apart
Baby, I would rather be dead"
"Get out. Now" W'd shouted at his homophobic cousin who'd come to visit. Said cousin had found himself out on the street at 1 AM.
"He can't have me without you" W said simply
*
"In your heart, I see the start of every night and every day
In your eyes, I get lost, I get washed away"
Sunrises and sunsets seen together from their balcony, endless conversations, picnic lunches, moonlit walks. Every day began with B even if some nights ended with others.
*
"Just as long as I'm here in your arms
I could be in no better place"
Waking up next to B was not new to W. He'd drift off watching a movie, his head on B's shoulder, the rise and fall of B's chest lulling him to sleep.
B had always made sure they never missed movie nights.
*
"You're simply the best
Better than all the rest
Better than anyone
Anyone I ever met"
"I like you more" said W when an unwell B asked him why he'd cancelled his date.
No matter how hard W tried, or how much he wanted it to be more, the girls were temporary. B was his constant.
*
"Oh, I'm stuck on your heart
I hang on every word you say
Tear us apart? No, no
Baby, I would rather be dead"
"I thought you loved him" said W when he heard B had broken up with First.
B had glared at him. "Is that why you agreed when he asked you to move out? You know nothing"
*
"Each time you leave me, I start losing control
You're walking away with my heart and my soul
I can feel you even when I'm alone
Oh baby, don't let go"
"You've never come to a gig before. You must really like her" said B quietly.
W'd just shrugged. "She likes you"
"I see"
*
B looked only at W as he sang, the intensity of his gaze making W feel hot again. His heart thudded against his Adam's apple, his breaths came shallow and quick.
He licked his parted lips with the tip of his tongue and he could swear B moaned. Or maybe it was just the song.
*
"What would make you say yes to a confession of love?"
"Mom sang The Best to tell Dad she loved him. I wish someone would do that for me" sighed a tipsy W. B's attentive gaze never left his face.
"What about you?" slurred W.
"Just say it out loud to me, so I can say it back"
*
"Oh, you're the best"
The last note hung in the air along with B's love confession to W. W knew it now. B had always loved him.
And the emptiness W'd always felt inside magically disappeared, the space now filled with a realization of who he was.
"I was looking the wrong way"
*
"Win, what - what are you doing here?" asked B when he entered the green room backstage.
B watched breathlessly as W asked the rest of the band to give them five minutes alone, and locked the door.
"Hi" said W, turning to B.
"Hi. Where's your date, uh Mia?" blabbered B
"Leah"
*
"Right, of course. Leah. Did- did she like the seats?" stammered B.
"Yeah, thanks. Prime seats. Great view of the stage and everything. She took lots of photos of you" said an equally flustered W.
"Cool Cool Cool" said B, withering by the second.
"Bright, I- I'm not straight"
*
"Ok." B took a step closer to W, who looked extremely vulnerable and exposed.
"I don't like only girls. Or maybe I don't like them at all. I don't know. I found out like literally five seconds ago, so there's a lot to unpack there" whimpered W, and melted into B's open arms.
*
"It's ok. I'll help you through this" said B, rubbing soothing circles on W's back.
"All this time, I thought I was broken. That I never had a chance at love" sobbed W.
"Oh, Win" sighed B, holding him closer. Tighter.
"I'm not broken, Bright. I CAN love. And I love you."
*
"What? Win, you don't have to say anything right now" said B, pulling back to look at W's tear streaked face.
W lowered his eyes and nodded. Tears stood like pearls on his lashes.
B spoke gently. "Win, you're feeling emotional right now. I get it. It's raw and scary. It's ok."
*
"You may say and feel a lot of things right now. Things you've never experienced before. You can trust me to not take anything you say out of context. You don't have to be scared of saying the wrong thing or hurting my feelings. Feel free to let it all out" continued B soothingly
*
W frowned, irritation mounting.
"Are you saying I don't mean what I just told you?" he demanded.
B swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry. I- I got jealous and like an idiot, I forced my feelings on you tonight. And somehow that triggered your realization and it's a confusing time -"
*
W's palm over B's mouth cut him off.
"Listen very carefully. Yes, my world is spinning out of control right now, but you're the only thing I'm absolutely sure about. I feel right with you. Always have.
This is me saying I Love You so you can say it back to me.
If you want to."
*
W cupped B's cheeks in his hands as tears spilled out of B's eyes in silvery tracks.
"I love you, Win. I've loved you since the day I met you. I've been waiting three years for you to see me. I'd easily have waited a lifetime" whispered B, arms around W's waist.
*
W half-sobbed, half-laughed as he rested his forehead against B's.
"Thank you for waiting while I searched in all the wrong places. I've never felt so complete, so content before. It's you. It's you, Bright"
B touched W's cheek with the back of his fingers tenderly, lovingly.
*
He held W's chin and tilted his head slightly as he leaned forward. He stopped a whisper away, his breath hot on W's lips.
W closed his eyes and parted his petals, sighing as B covered them with his own.
Their mouths moulded perfectly around each other's, like jigsaw pieces.
*
The kiss was soft, sweet. Intimate enough to tell W he was loved. Gentle enough to assure him they would take things slow.
"Thank you for that. It's actually the first time I've done that. Kissing a man" said W, shyly.
"This is new for me too. Kissing the man I love" smiled B.
*
"I think we should practice. A lot" said W and kissed B again, smiling into the union of their eager lips.
B peppered W's face with many small, fluttering, barely there kisses.
"We should let the band change now, my love" he said, brushing W's hair off his eyes with a smile.
*
"You're simply the best
Better than all the rest
Better than anyone
Anyone I ever met" sang W.
B laughed and hugged W. "I love you so much. I can't believe you're finally mine, my love."
W kissed B's shoulder. "I love you too."
"You still have to wash dishes for a month tho"
*
-- THE END --