Guardian (RamKing)

Chapter Eight

King groaned, pressing a hand to his head. Blinking, he slowly opened his eyes and realised he was in his bed. He couldn't quite remember how he had gotten there from the bar last night. What he did remember was him and Bohn deciding to drink to celebrate his relationship with Ram and then some vague teary apologies. Anything else was obscured by the cause of his splitting headache, alcohol.

"King?" A soft voice whispered.

"Ugh, Ram. I think I'm dying."

"You're not dying," Ram chuckled, leaning over to help King sit up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Ram comforted him, handing him a painkiller then helping him drink some water.

"Thanks," King murmured and leaned his head on Ram's shoulder, letting his eyes close.

"Do you have any lectures today?"

"Ugh, lectures? I do. Would you blame me if I didn't go?" King pouted, peeking up at Ram.

"Mmm," Ram pretended to think, glancing up at the ceiling, "You know I would, but you are so smart and do so well in university, I think you can afford a day off."

King blushed at those flattering words, hiding his grin in Ram's neck. He moved closer to Ram, wrapping his arms around him. The painkiller seemed to be working as his headache was fading a little and the warmth of Ram soaked into his body, making him sleepy. King didn't want to sleep though, he wanted to spend time with his boyfriend.

"Do you have lectures today?"

"Well, actually, no. The only one I had was cancelled," Ram answered, absentmindedly running his fingers through King's hair.

"Really?" King exclaimed excitedly, jumping onto Ram's lap.

Ram blinked, King's action had surprised him, but he recovered quickly, laughing. King honestly reminded him of an exuberant puppy, and he loved puppies. Gently stroking the side of King's face, Ram nodded in answer. It seemed that King also wanted to spend the day with him from the way he was acting.

"Feeling better, huh?"

King could feel a happy smile stretching his cheeks, he couldn't contain it if he tried, not that he wanted to. It was only when Ram shifted under him that King realised, he was sitting on Ram's lap. His eyes widened, the heat in his skin letting him know that a blush was rising up his neck at the implications of his position. He quickly rolled away, bouncing onto the bed.

Ram decided to move on as King seemed shy and instead asked, "What do you want to do today?"

King was glad for the subject change and the distraction. There were so many things he wanted to do and share with his boyfriend, but he knew he couldn't do it all in one day. Besides, they would have more days. King hoped for as many days as possible. Unfortunately, while the painkiller had started to work, he still didn't feel great.

"Maybe we could have a lazy morning and go to the cinema or something in the afternoon?"

"Sounds good," Ram agreed, laying down next to King, "I was thinking of the garden centre though."

"Ooh, instead of the cinema?"

Ram hummed, wriggling closer to King, linking their hands together. King shifted onto his side to face Ram, looking deeply into those gentle, expressive eyes. Something about them made his heart warm, his head feeling light and floaty with affection. He nuzzled his nose against Ram's before settling into the bed, his tiredness catching up to him. Ram watched King slowly fall asleep before letting his own eyes slip closed.

King woke up later alone. Feeling a little disappointed that Ram wasn't there, he clambered out of bed and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

Meanwhile, Ram was in the kitchen, finishing up making a plain breakfast, which was now brunch. He hoped King was feeling better. Glancing at the clock, Ram decided to wake King up and walked into the bedroom. He froze at the sight that greeted him. King had clearly just come out of the shower and was standing in front of his closet, wearing only a towel around his waist. Ram remained rooted to the spot, his eyes following the trail of a droplet down King's chest.

"Uh, Ram?"

Ram snapped out of it at the sound of his name, spinning on his heel, almost sprinting out of the room. Once the door closed, Ram leaned back against it, placing a hand over his rapidly beating heart. Wow. Ram had been not expecting that. He desperately tried to think about something else, but the image of a half-naked King seemed to be burned into his brain. Unexpectedly, the door behind him opened, making him stumble backwards into a now fully dressed King. Blushing, Ram stepped away, avoiding King's eyes.

It was only when they were sitting down and eating breakfast that King realised something was wrong with Ram. Ram had not made eye contact once, he was barely talking, and his face was completely red.

"Ram, are you okay?" King asked, nudging Ram's leg with his foot.

Ram just nodded, irritating King a little. He knew Ram didn't like to talk but he had asked Ram directly and still hadn't gotten an answer. Ram was obviously not okay.

"Hey, what's going on?" King demanded, grabbing Ram's face, forcing him to make eye-contact.

"King," Ram murmured, trying to get out of King's grip, "Let go."

"Tell me, then I'll let go."

Groaning, Ram told King what was on his mind, "I, um, I am distracted by what I saw earlier. When you came out of the shower."

"Huh?"

"You looked sexy," Ram blurted out, feeling his face get hotter and hotter.

King abruptly slid back into his chair, immediately releasing Ram's flushed face. He felt an answering blush appearing on his own cheeks and his mouth suddenly felt very dry. When Ram walked in as he was about to change, the thought that Ram would be attracted to him hadn't even crossed his mind. People had seen him shirtless before, like his friends, which was Ram was not. King was still not used to having a boyfriend. It was flattering how affected Ram appeared to be though. King thought about how he would feel if he saw Ram's naked chest and instantly regretted it. His imagination ran wild and he couldn't get the image out of his head.

"Damn it," King cursed, "Now I'm imagining you shirtless!"

Ram burst out laughing and just like that the awkward tension dissolved.

"Let's just finish brunch so we can go to the garden centre," Ram said to change the subject, placing more food on King's plate.

"Our first date."