Sweet Christmas

7

Gun watches in amusement, taking note of the crestfallen faces of several women and men in the crowd. These people stood up so quickly, rushed to the stage so fast -  but alas, the moment Bright finished his set, he made a beeline for the table Gun currently occupies.

Correction, that Win currently occupies.

Bright beams at them as he approaches, the rockstar persona transitioning back to gentle cat. He makes a move to sit beside Gun but Gun hoists his legs up on the couch space beside him and readjusts his giant tote bag.

"I like my space, I hope you don't mind," Gun says.

"Gun!," Win hisses but it's too late, Bright moves over to Win's side and Win scoots over to give him room.

"You really came," Bright says, eyes still sparkling with some unnamed joy (although Gun was pretty confident he could name it if given the chance).

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world," Gun says, leaning back with his drink.

Win turns to face Bright. "You were really good up there."

Even in the dark, one could see the tips of Bright's ears getting redder. "You think? I was worried about the new songs. This is the first time I covered them."

"What was the first one called?," Gun asks.

"Apollo," Bright and Win say in unison.

Gun is finding it harder and harder to hide his smile. Thank god for alcohol, he was finding this whole thing entertaining, otherwise his friend and this obviously whipped singer would have annoyed him endlessly.

"You both know it? I didn't know it was popular."

Bright begins scrubbing his neck. "I actually only heard it recently. I- well - it's good though..so."

Win talks at the same time, beaming. "Gunnie! You've heard this song. It's been on my playlist for months now."

"Is that how you heard the song, Bright? From Win's playlist?"

"I uh, well, he was playing it and um. I..."

"I was?"

Bright turns to Win and gets even more flustered. "Well, yes, it was...your TV was playing the documentary remember and I woke up and..."

Win's eyes grow bigger, sneaking a panicked peek at Gun. "Never mind. Yes, I was playing it."

Gun isn't even fazed. "I bet you liked it because of the lyrics, right?"

"Huh?"

Gun smiles at Bright, innocently batting his lashes. "The lyrics. I'm sure they remind you of your crush, right? I mean I would want to sing that to my crush if I had one."

Bright looks like a deer caught in the headlights. A very handsome, very scared deer.

"Stop teasing him, Gunnie," Win admonishes, patting Bright's leg gently in reassurance. But Bright didn't seem reassured- in fact, he stiffened under Win's touch. Win quickly removes his hand, certain that he has further terrified the man.

"I'm not teasing," Gun says, voice still suspiciously sweet. "I'm just so interested in this whole crush thing. It's so cute."

"It is cute," Win agrees, smiling at Bright, hoping that he was being reassuring this time around.

"I hope you don't mind me asking so bluntly, Bright. But who is this mystery guy anyway? Care to share?"

Bright begins to cough. Win grabs a glass of water and hands it to him. Bright takes a grateful long drink.

"I hope you don't mind that I've drank from that," Win says sheepishly.

Bright turns maroon and starts coughing more.

Win gets the glass from Bright's hands and starts rubbing Bright's back, asking over and over if he was okay.
But Bright progressively got redder as Win pressed closer and rubbed faster.

"Gun, I think we need to call a doctor!"

"Or how about you move away from him?"

"What?"

"Let go and move away."

Win is confused but follows, determined to call 911 if Bright kept coughing. But Gun was right, a few seconds later Bright was back to his normal color and he seemed to be breathing better.

"Are you okay?," Win asks softly.

The muscled man in the wife beater with that tattoos and the rockstar hair nods like a little lost lamb. His eyes not leaving Win's concerned face.

"You know, I should probably get us more drinks," Gun says, starting to slip out of his side of the booth.

"We could just call a waiter."

Gun shakes his head as he puts his cashmere jacket back on and shrugs his giant tote on his shoulders. "I want to walk around anyway." He turns to Bright. "Hey Bright."

Bright looks Gun's way.

"I am pretty sure I know who the crush is."

"Uh, um..I..."

"I won't tell. But I really think it's time you did."

Win pouts. "Not fair! Tell me who it is!"

Bright rakes a hand through his hair. "I'll ask him out very soon." He looks at Win but freezes under his gaze. "You will know when I ask him out."

"Tell me now," Win pouts again.

"Soon," Bright promises, chuckling at Win's exaggerated pout. "I will be brave and tell you soon."

"You'd better!"

"That sounded like a threat."

"It is a threat. Don't try me."

A full on laugh escapes from Bright's lips. "I don't believe you can make good on any threat."

"Is that so Mr. Guntithanon?"

Gun bites back his own laugh and takes that as his cue to quietly walk away.