Guardian (RamKing)

Chapter Nine

Ram's face was starting to hurt from smiling so much. He had spent the afternoon watching King run around the garden centre, reminding him of an excited puppy exploring a new environment for the first time. Whenever King found something interesting, he would show it to Ram and begin telling him about it. Ram found that he could listen to King chatter about plants for hours, and he did.

It had been a really good day. King was happy with the new plants he had gotten, and Ram had enjoyed spending time with him. The day didn't take a turn until they were walking back to King's studio. A young man, appearing to be around the same age as them, stepped into their path. King didn't recognise him, but Ram did.

"Hello, Ram," the man greeted Ram brightly, but his empty eyes didn't match his tone.

"Hello, Matt. What are you doing here?"

"Can't I come see an old friend?"

Ram ignored that comment, swallowing his rising anger and sadness. He felt cold, suddenly realising how long it had been since he felt this way. The memories he had not thought about in a long time surged forward, slowly breaking down the barriers he had placed them behind. It was like a dark fog creeping through his mind.

King glanced between the stranger, who Ram had called Matt, and Ram. There was something about the man that seemed sinister, making King's back prickle. Ram was not saying anything, which in itself was not unusual, but King could see in his expression that he was not okay. Over the past few months, King had learned a lot about how to read Ram, since Ram didn't talk much, but he had never seen the look in Ram's eyes before. It worried King. It worried him a lot, so he decided to step in.

"Hello, Matt was it? I'm King. Ram and I are kind of in a rush so we will have to catch up later," King told the man, grabbing Ram's hand and tugging him forward to punctuate his words.

"Oh, well, goodbye!"

When King took his hand, Ram felt a soft warmth spread through his body, originating from their point of contact. The cold that had him frozen to the spot faded away. The memories didn't leave his mind, but he was no longer lost in them. It was like King was grounding him in the present. He was so relieved that he was no longer in Matt's presence and he had King to thank for that. His boyfriend had noticed his discomfort and rescued him from the situation. The wave of new feelings of affection spread from his heart, not quite washing away all of his dark emotions, but at least reducing them. There was just a lingering weariness left in him, making his body feel heavier than usual.

King gave Ram's hand a quick squeeze, trying to pull him out of his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" King asked when Ram made eye contact.

"Yeah, just give me a minute and I'll be fine."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ram gave King a grateful smile and linked their hands together tighter.

"Not today, my King, but thank you."

King flushed at the endearment, a small grin he couldn't contain belying his joy at the words.

"I'm here when you're ready," King asserted, trying to school his expression into something more serious.

Ram just nodded at the words. He really was grateful to King for being there for him, but he didn't want to think about it any longer. King seemed to realise this and changed the subject, much to Ram's relief.

"So, I don't really remember much of last night. I assume you got me home?"

With a chuckle Ram replied, "I did, yes. I helped Mek get all of you home."

"Oh, well, thank you. Was it a lot of work?"

"Mmm, at least Boss listened to us. You and Bohn didn't want to leave. You were hugging each other and apologising over and over. After Mek told you guys that we should go home, you guys even started crying."

"Oh."

Ram burst out laughing at King's embarrassed face. Drunk King had also been funny, a bit like a cute spoiled child, but this adorable red-faced King was better.

"Stop laughing at me!" King pouted, putting his bag with his new plants down just to slap Ram's chest in playful annoyance.

"Okay, okay. I'm stopping," Ram choked out, his chuckles dwindling down, "You and Bohn were being really cute last night too."

"Yeah?"

"You were talking about me and Bohn was talking about Duen. Both of you kept insisting that you had the best boyfriend and the argument ended with the pair of you saying how happy you are for the other."

"Just stop telling me," King murmured, pressing a hand to his face.

Ram let go of King's hand to sling his arm around King's shoulders and pull him closer.

"Aww, don't be so flustered, my King. It was very sweet," Ram whispered into King's ear, his tone flirty.

King groaned, blushing furiously. He had liked it though. His heart began to beat a little faster and a small smile tweaked his lips.

"You keep saying things like this."

"I'm not going to stop," Ram smirked, "You'll just have to get used to it."

King just shook his head at that, a big grin stretching his cheeks. He hoped he didn't get used to it because he really liked the feeling he would get every time Ram whispered something into his ear, but he did wish that he would not have such a visible reaction. King had been teased a lot by Ram that day; his face was still a little hot by the time they reached his building.

As soon as they entered his studio, King dropped the bag onto the floor and dragged Ram to the sofa. King had decided some payback was in order and pushed Ram down before climbing onto his lap.

"King?" Ram croaked, his eyes wide.

King leaned in slowly, nuzzling his nose against Ram's before sipping at his lips. Their breathing grew heavier as the kisses grew deeper. King slid his hand up Ram's chest, feeling the rapid heartbeat beneath. He could feel gentle strokes on his leg from one of Ram's hands while the other moved to the back of his head, softly tugging his hair. Vaguely, somewhere in the back of his head, King remembered that he had only wanted to make Ram blush, but he had gotten lost in the pleasure that was Ram.

The pinging of his phone broke through the haze of passion King was caught in and he broke the kiss, panting. He let his head fall forward, pressing his forehead against Ram's. They wore similar glazed looks as they tried to calm down. Their hearts were racing, their lips bruised, and their skin was flushed.

Feeling the heat in his skin, King assumed he was blushing again.

"Damn it," he cursed, "This really backfired."

"What?" Ram asked, still dazed.

"I wanted to tease you back," King pouted, causing Ram to look down at his lips again, "But I got distracted."

"No, that was great. You can tease me like that all the time."

"Shut up," King chuckled, hitting Ram's arm gently.

Then King brushed his lips over Ram's in a soft peck before once again giving Ram's nose a nuzzle with his own.