after all . ohmfluke

aa.11

"Everyone? The food is ready. Anyone wanna help me?" Earth shouts from his place as he covers the pot.

Everyone turns to look at him, except Fluke, who is peacefully sleeping. Up rises from his seat before anyone says something. "What should I do?" He asks hesitantly.

Earth flashes a strained smile as he rubs his neck shyly. "Uh... just... get the plates out of the bag..."

"Uh, okay, I'll do it."

"O..okay,"

Up rushes up to the van, and Blue, sitting next to him, stays there and watches him.

Just as he's about to put his eyes back to the campfire he's been admiring for minutes now, he spots Ohm and Fluke on one side, holding each other tightly. While the Ohm softly caresses Fluke's hair, the latter has his face buried on the other's neck.

He takes a deep breath and tries to look away, but he can't.

"Those two really act like that." He hears a chuckle to his left and turns to face Prem, who is still gazing up at the stars. "That's normal, so you don't have to worry about anything." He adds.

"...Really?"

Prem nods. "P'Fluke is naturally sweet, while P'Ohm... well... he only likes himself... When I first met them, I actually thought they were dating or something, but they told me they're just best friends. It's actually odd that P'Ohm lets P'Fluke get close to him, but when it's us, even a second of hugging makes him cringe. I guess he's just comfortable with him but nothing more than that."

Best friends? Blue stares deeply at the two.

He doesn't know, and he wants to believe Prem, but why does he feel otherwise?

Ohm's extra soft touches and the way he looks at Fluke's face don't appear to be the actions of a caring friend.

But, whatever Ohm feels, it doesn't really matter to Blue now.

What matters is to have Fluke lie beside him one of these days.

--

"Can I have more of that salad?"

"Here," Prem reaches for the bowl of salad and immediately hands it over to Kao.

"Thanks,"

It was already late evening, and they began eating as soon as they prepared plates and utensils. Because the table was too small for everyone, some of them chose to eat sitting on a blanket on the ground.

Fluke is awake and yawns as he munches his barbecue while resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, while the latter is also busy eating.

Both unaware of the eyes that are set on them.

"Argh, why do I feel sleepy this early?" Boun mutters and yawns while watching the barbecue cook.

"Maybe it's because it's too cold in here," Up guesses.

"You're just bored because you couldn't play computer games tonight," Earth asserts, his face dreary.

"Yes, probably... But, you know, I love you guys, but this shit is so exhausting! I don't want to do this again." Boun complains, letting out a noisy sigh.

"Stop complaining and just keep grilling!" Kao grins as he tosses him a hand fan.

"But, you know, I'm really glad we were able to do something like this... Stargazing while sitting around the fire, which is keeping us all warm... Having a meal together. Everything... All the fake tears I shed while begging our head chef were so worth it. I will cherish this forever. "