Picking Up The Broken Pieces Part 2 (Prapai's Story)

Chapter 2

Sky stood in the shower and let the warm water run down his face, hoping it would wash away his grogginess. He was still cursing himself for being late, but wished he could have a few more minutes with P'Pai. He pictured Prapai's long arms around him, making him feel warm and comfortable, and... loved. He smiled remembering how supportive Prapai was this morning, and how uncharacteristically nervous he was thinking about the exam. Knots began to build in his stomach again. 

As he stepped out of the bathroom, he noticed Prapai had moved from the couch to the bed. He was staring at Sky with a wide smile as he gathered the pieces of his uniform. He felt the heat from P'Pai's gaze as he quickly got dressed.

"What are you so happy about? You made me late!" Sky said. 

"I'm not the one who wanted to cuddle after breakfast!" Pai laughed. "And I'm not the one who fell asleep in his boyfriend's comfortable arms!"

There was that word again; "comfortable." But that wasn't the right word. The right word was...safe. He felt safe enough to fall asleep because he wasn't constantly having nightmares, or watching for danger everywhere he went. 

"It is your fault! If you weren't so comfy, I wouldn't be running late!" Sky leaned forward, intentionally showing his bare chest just to tease his boyfriend. He looked into Prapai's eyes and saw his reflection. The difference between now and three years ago was that he finally knew where he belonged. He knew that if he kissed Pai's lips, he'd never want to leave. So, he opted for his nose instead. 

Sky noticed Prapai's eyes drifting to his chest, but he had a sullen look on his face, and Sky knew what he was thinking. His scars, both physical and emotional, had begun to hurt less the longer he was with Pai, but Pai hadn't quite gotten over the incident with his ex. Prapai's eyes were glazing over with tears, but Sky cupped his face in his hands, lifting Pai's eyes to meet his. 

"I love you..." Sky's voice was barely a whisper. "and thank you for being so comfortable."

Sky felt Pai's arms wrap around his waist, as he was being pulled down onto the bed. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to push Prapai down and rip his clothes off. Nothing was more of a turn-on than a man who got weepy over you. 

"You really know how to drive me crazy; you know that?" Prapai was back to his old self, and Sky was glad. He smiled slyly as Pai tightened his grip. Sky nipped at his bottom lip to tease him a bit more. 

"I really do have to go." Sky said. It was taking everything he had to push him away, but he was losing time to study before the exam, and also because Rain was waiting for him and most likely wanted to kill him by now.

Pai loosened his grip, sinking down onto the pillow pretending to sulk, but kept an eye on Sky as he gathered his things to leave. He couldn't admit out loud that he was a little bit annoyed that Sky's exam was on the same day he had off, but he was grateful for the accidental time he had with him that morning. 

As Sky left for the day, Prapai could already feel the loneliness creeping in. He mustered up his strength and sauntered into the living room to watch TV. He thought the noise would make it feel less empty. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door.