Brick by Brick (Bxb)

Chapter 9: Mistaken Words and Feelings

Ming Kai inched as slowly as he could to the bed frame, careful not to make his movements too abrupt in case he woke Terry. He already had one leg over the edge of the bed frame when a hand shot out, grabbing his ankle out of the blue.

"Eh? Wherever are you going this late at night? Especially when you're being so careful not to wake me," Terry asked with his hand still holding on. Ming Kai looked back down, and though it was rather dark, he could clearly tell that Terry was smirking from the tone of his voice and from his barely visible facial features.

It was as though Terry understood exactly what Ming Kai was thinking of doing.

"The toilet," Ming Kai calmly replied.

"What for?" Terry teasingly probed.

This idiot was starting to annoy him. "Do you have peas for brains? What else will I be doing in the toilet other than taking a piss?!"

"You could be trying to get off by yourself," Terry smiled devilishly, which earned him a foot to his face. Now that he was awake, Ming Kai didn't have the luxury of staying in the toilet long enough to do anything in particular. He stormed out into the cold corridor, letting the freezing air cool him off as he made a left into the restroom.

When he came back, Terry had so graciously occupied Ming Kai's previous sleeping spot, allowing him to get onto the bed without having to crawl over him.

But the moment he laid back down, Ming Kai felt a pair of hands reach over to hug him. Was it just him, or did it seem like Terry was starting to get increasingly excessive with his usual fondling?

"Did you manage to get off by yourself?" He asked, not letting Ming Kai out of his grasp.

"Does it seem like I can do anything with the short amount of time I spent in there?" Ming Kai replied unhappily, trying to wriggle his way out.

"Don't be so upset. We're all guys, there's nothing to be ashamed of. It's bad to hold back, you know?" Terry teased.

"Even if I did, I would rather do it in the comfort of my own room! When are you going to let go of me?" Not bothering to turn his head, Ming Kai continued to pry open Terry's arms that were enveloping the sensitive portions of his waist. 

His skin prickled from the touched, and Ming Kai was getting increasingly worried that he might lose it if this continued.

Despite Ming Kai's strength, he wasn't able to free himself in their current position, and Terry wrapped his arms even tighter around his body.

"Don't be like this, I'm just trying to warm you up. Do you even notice how cold you are?" Terry snuggled closer still.

Ming Kai had just about enough of Terry's misbehavior and turned over to face him. "Don't you think that what you're doing now is weird? Why are you being so touchy?" He asked.

"Not at all, I'm just like this with everyone whom I'm close to."

While that much was true, something didn't feel quite right about this to Ming Kai.

"No, I've never seen you go this far with anyone else."

"That's because they aren't sleeping with me," Terry replied and instantly regretted his choice of words.

"That sounded so wrong, dude. Does that mean that you'd hug anyone who shared a bed with you?" Ming Kai questioned.

"..."

"...Not really," By now, Terry was starting to sound hesitant. He knew that he couldn't justify his current behavior within the realm of normality. Eventually, his actions will lead to a question that he cannot answer, not without giving himself or his feelings for Ming Kai away.

On the other hand, Ming Kai more or less suspected that something was strange about how Terry behaved, but he was still extremely cautious about how he should proceed. He knew that a poorly phrased question might shake the very foundation of their friendship, for better or for worse. In addition, he wasn't sure if his hunch was right, so Ming Kai decided against it.

"Let's just sleep. You have an early lecture the next morning, don't you?" Ming Kai sighed and gave up trying to escape his clutches. He flipped over on the side with his back facing Terry, signalling the end of this weird conversation. He would have the opportunity to remove those hands once that guy slept.

"Yeah...let's sleep," Terry mumbled back in reply.

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They stayed like this for a long while. Ming Kai was extremely conscious of the warmth from the other person's body lying so close to him. He knew that they were close, but it doesn't explain Terry's pseudo-intimate behavior. Unless...

But Terry IS straight, right? His excessive body contact with Ming Kai did not necessarily signify that he was romantically interested in him. Once bitten, twice shy; Ming Kai was extra wary when it came to liking someone. Or trying to find out if someone liked him, for that matter.

One wrong move with Terry and the history might repeat itself once again. Ming Kai didn't want to experience that sort of rejection another time, and neither does he want to be discriminated by those he once thought close to him.

Despite all that, Ming Kai couldn't help but be curious of Terry's sudden closeness to him. He desperately wanted to know if he meant something more to Terry than just being a 'friend'. His heart started to beat faster, his breath became more irregular as Ming Kai thoughts were thrown into disorder. 

The words he wanted to say, questions that he wanted answers to; all of it surged from inside of him but ended up getting stuck between his throat. Ming Kai's mouth was left hanging open intermittently as he tried to force himself to speak. Finally, he managed to say something in a strained, muffled voice, "...Do you really like me...the same way you would like a girl?"

The silence was deafening, to the point the only thing Ming Kai was aware of was the sound of his rapidly beating heart, pounding hard against his chest. Seconds became minutes. Seeing as there was no response, Ming Kai hesitantly turned his head, only to find Terry already asleep. An enormous sense of relief washed over him, but also disappointment. It took a lot of courage to once again say something like this, but it turned out to be for naught.

Perhaps, it might not be a bad thing. Who knows what would happen if Terry actually heard everything that was said.

Slowly, Ming Kai removed the limp hands holding his waist, another indication that Terry really was asleep. Eventually, he calmed himself and retreated underneath the comfort of the warm blanket.

Some time later, Ming Kai's chest began rising and falling rhythmically. It was at this moment that Terry eyes slowly opened. His gaze landed on the sleeping face of the guy beside him. He heard everything that Ming Kai had said to him. But as of that moment, Terry was unsure of how to respond. 

Liking a guy was something he had never thought possible for him. This sense of denial made Ming Kai's earlier question sound rather threatening. It was as though he was being interrogated, and the moment he was found guilty of harboring such feelings, Ming Kai would no longer stay by his side.

After all, he had been liberally feeling Ming Kai up from the time he started staying over. Who wouldn't be freaked out if they knew that they were sleeping beside a pervert who kissed people in their sleep?

Terry sighed, but there was nothing he could do about it. Therefore, he feigned sleep when Ming Kai turned over. Leaving things as status quo was a much safer bet. He resisted the urge to kiss Ming Kai again and tried to sleep, but his imagination refused to settle down.

He was so screwed.

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End of Chapter

*I'm sorry this chapter took a while. The semester has started and I'm going to be quite busy doing my final year project. Despite that, I'll still try to keep the story updated on a regular basis, at least twice per week. Hope you guys enjoy the story so far!

Cheers!