[ Text | Tanai ] – Read 10:01

 Would you be my boyfriend?

You can answer me later when you are ready.

Have a sweet dream.

 That was the second time Tanai asked Runway to be his boyfriend, and at the quiet of the night, he couldn’t help but overthink. The first time around, he got no response, but he could understand, he had caught Runway by surprise. Now, though, he couldn’t stop wondering if he had been reading it all wrong all this time. Did Runway even like him at all?

 Those thoughts kept plaguing Tanai’s mind until he completely gave up trying to sleep and decided to grab his notebook. There were all the compositions he had ever written for Runway. He couldn’t exactly tell when he first realised his feelings for him, but he knew it had been love at first sight. The feelings were there from day one, it just took him time to figure them out.

 Among his compositions, there were two that stood up the most. The one he used to serenade Runway that night and the first he had ever written for him. He could remember the latter clearly. Tanai had written that on his third night after meeting Runway. They had spent that whole day together by the pool. They didn’t get in, but their feet were dangling in the water while he tried to teach Runway how to play guitar. It had been a disaster, but it was also fun and it made him feel closer to Runway than he had ever felt to anyone.

 It was with thoughts of that day in mind that Tanai finally found some peace of mind. He laid back down onto the mattress, grabbing his phone as he did so. The wallpaper was a photo of him and Runway from just a few days ago. He was hugging Runway from behind and trying to sneak a kiss onto his cheek while Runway smiled cutely. Seeing that brought a smile to his face, and Tanai closed his eyes, pressing the screen against his chest. A dreamy sigh parted his lips.

 Before he could get too cozy, though, Tanai felt his phone vibrating against his chest. Despite telling Runway that he could take his time to answer, he still couldn’t help but hope that it would be him. One glance at the screen and his hopes were shattered. Instead of Runway, the one who had messaged him was just one of his schoolmates asking about homework. Tanai typed a quick reply and then resigned to his fate. He put his phone aside by the nightstand and then laid back down on the bed. This time he pulled the covers over himself to sleep. There was no use in waiting for a text that wouldn’t come.

 -x-

 In the morning, when he woke up, Tanai went for a jog like he always did. It was not only to keep himself in form, but also a way for him to get rid of pent-up stress. He always felt better after a good jog, no matter what was currently going on with his life, and after the previous night with Runway, it only felt necessary to blow off some steam, that way he wouldn’t focus so much on the ghost feeling of rejection plaguing his mind.

 As he jogged, Tanai didn’t of anything but the wind gently blowing against his face and bare arms. The Sun was nothing but a faint light in the horizon. The towel hanging around his neck was barely registered, even as it bounced slightly with the motion. It was a perfect picture of piece of mind, and if he could, he would have stayed in that moment forever, but duty called and he knew he would have to go back home to get ready to face Runway and then go to school.

 Surprisingly, when Tanai got home Runway was already waiting for him outside. He was still dressed in his pajamas and for some reason, his cheeks were coloured by a soft shade of red. It made his protective instinct kick in right away. “Way… What’s wrong?”

 Instead of responding to him, Runway closed the distance between them and tightly wrapped his arms around Tanai. His cheek came to rest against his chest and Tanai heard a small soft sigh. His arms instinctively pulled Runway closer, and then as one palm firmly pressed against Way’s lower back, the other came to gently stroke his hair. Tanai looked down in concern and used his nose to gently nudge Runway’s head, trying to get him to look up.

 Time dragged on as they remained in that position, and even though he didn’t want to pressure Runway into talking, Tanai was growing increasingly worried, but still, he settled for waiting. Eventually, Runway shifted within his arms, head finally tilting up to look at him. Tanai, for his part, smiled encouragingly at him, hoping that that would get Runway talking, but it seemed like this day would be full of surprises.

 Before Tanai could even comprehend what was happened, Runway was standing on his tip-toes. His arms were no longer secured around the middle of Tanai’s torso, but rather placed between them, so his hands could tug on each end of the towel hanging around Tanai’s neck. There was a determination in Runway’s eyes that Tanai had never seen before, and then Way kissed him.

 The kiss was nothing major, just a soft brush of their lips together, but still, enough to leave in Tanai the wish for more, though when he recovered from it, all he could do was raise an eyebrow at Runway. It was a silent questioning. Runway only smiled at him, sheepishly, but Tanai could see how the blush had spread across his cheeks. “I will be your boyfriend.”

 Tanai felt his lips pulling into a broad smile and to celebrate, he tried to pull Runway back into another kiss, but was met with a hand pressing against his lips. “P’Tanai!!! I have to get ready for school.” Despite the attempt at angry words, Runway was still smiling as he freed himself from Tanai’s embrace and turned to walk back inside of his house, leaving a grinning Tanai behind.