Crushes Fade, Love Stays

Campfire Conversations

"...Zon," started Saifah nervously once the twins were out of earshot. What should he say? Should he apologise first? But was there anything to really apologise for? Yes of course there was, or he wouldn't feel guilty for getting exposed. It was frustrating. It would be easy to blame it all on his parents for making him constantly feel he'll be abandoned if he doesn't keep up appearances. But he knew it wasn't true, and most people weren't like them. The problem was the fear is already embedded so deep in his consciousness he couldn't escape it.

Stepping over to him, Zon took hold of Saifah's hands in his. He could see worry filling those black eyes he loved so much, and it hurt his heart. He was annoyed, but he understood why Saifah hadn't told him, because he probably would have done the same. Saifah simply hadn't wanted him to worry about him.

"So, explain," said Zon gently while stroking his thumbs over Saifah's hands. "Where and exactly how badly were you injured that you still haven't fully healed after so many weeks?"

Relief washed over Saifah at seeing Zon wasn't angry with him. He felt reluctant to talk about his injuries, though he didn't really have a choice since he'd been caught out, but it didn't mean he needed to tell him everything. "I broke a couple of ribs," he told Zon while avoiding his eyes. "They are almost healed now, and I barely need painkillers anymore. Another week or two and hopefully I will be completely pain free."

Dropping Saifah's hands, Zon frowned and pouted as he thought back to all the times he'd hugged Saifah over the past week, and not gently either. It must have hurt. How had he not noticed?

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be all cautious and careful around me," said Saifah as he stroked Zon's bangs from his face. "I wanted you to hug and hold me as much as you wanted without worry. Plus, it doesn't hurt as much when I'm with you. I like feeling your warmth. It's comforting."

Huffing, Zon flicked Saifah's forehead. "I may like hugging you, but I don't like hurting you. You should have told me Saifah. What if I accidentally caused more damage and they take even longer to heal?" Zon took hold of Saifah's arm and hugged it to his chest before resting his head on Saifah's shoulder. "Besides, I can still show my affections and warmth without touching your injury. See?"

Saifah took a long slow breath to resist pulling Zon into his arms, and instead stroked Zon's cheek as he lightly nuzzled his hair. "But you're not the only one who wants to show affection Zon. I'm constantly wanting to hold you in my arms."

"Well, we both just need to show some self-restraint for a week or two, and once you're all healed we can hug as much as we want for as long as we want." Is what Zon said, but he was already finding it hard to push aside his desire to slip his arms around the waist of the man before him. It also meant cancelling all the thoughts he'd been having about tonight once the kids were asleep.

As they went about preparing and cooking the food, Zon wondered exactly how much Saifah was keeping from him, and why? He was sure his injuries were more than a few broken ribs considering how long he was hospitalised for. But Saifah seemed to not want to talk about it, and Zon knew how horrible it was to have people poking at your insecurities and weak points. Then a thought occurred to him. Perhaps Saifah hadn't fully recovered from the trauma of the accident, and so he didn't want to think about it and be forced to relive it. Realising this might be the case, Zon decided he would wait. He felt sure Saifah would talk to him about it once he was ready.

After eating and clearing away, Saifah lit the campfire as evening fell upon them. What would sitting around a campfire be without a bit of a sing song? NiNi requested most of the songs for Saifah to play on his guitar so they could sing along, and as they were mostly from children's movies and shows Zon didn't really know them. But just as Saifah had to look up the music, Zon looked up the lyrics so he could join in the fun.