Guardian (RamKing)

Chapter Fourteen

After their talk about boundaries, Ram began to be more openly affectionate, but basically every time before he would touch King, he would ask King's permission. It started when they skipped university to go on a date the day after their altercation with Matt. Ram would ask if he could hold King's hand or kiss his cheek. King found it both endearing and irritating. It was sweet that Ram wanted to check with King, to take care of his feelings, but it was a bit annoying to have to agree to nearly every little touch. As the days went on, Ram's verbal questions evolved into non-verbal questions. Instead of asking out loud if he could hold King's hand, he would brush his fingers along the back of King's hand to indicate that he wanted to. It was then up to King to subtly nod or just take Ram's hand.

Ram was not the only one being careful of his boyfriend's boundaries. King had more experience with watching the other's body language than Ram did, since Ram did not talk much. Instead of asking, King would look at Ram's expression to see if he was experiencing any discomfort. He found that Ram disliked it when King put his arm around Ram's shoulders, but he didn't mind an arm around the waist.

Their skill in understanding the other's body language increased quickly with their attentiveness and by the end of the week they could nearly have full conversations without saying a word. It was especially useful when Ram was around people he wasn't close to and didn't want to talk. This often happened when he was with King's friends, Ram would answer if asked outright, but he wouldn't join their conversation.

King's friends were used to King having an almost conversation with a silent Ram, but that weekend they saw how close the two truly were. The group had gone out to celebrate Mek's birthday at a restaurant, also inviting Ram and Duen. King was feeling a little ill with a sore throat, so Ram had insisted that he rest his voice. The group had been chatting quite animatedly until the food arrived, then their volume dwindled as they watched Ram and King.

Without saying a word, the two were passing and serving each other food. Their coordination was unbelievable. As King placed some vegetables on Ram's plate, Ram was putting sauce on King's. What their friends didn't notice were the small gestures and expressions that King and Ram were exchanging, to let the other know what they wanted and how much.

"How are you guys doing that?" Boss exclaimed, jolting the two out of their bubble.

"Doing what?" Ram asked, talking so that King wouldn't have to since his throat was sore.

"How can you pass each other things without talking about what you want?"

"We are telling each other, just without talking," King answered, giving the frowning Ram a guilty look when he remembered he wasn't supposed to be speaking.

"What, you guys have some psychic bond?" Bohn joined in the conversation, a little jealous that he and Duen weren't as close as Ram and King appeared to be.

"No," King laughed, "Just watch."

King turned to Ram, flicking his gaze from Ram's eyes to lips then cocked his head slightly to the side. Ram smiled at the action and leaned forward to give King a quick peck. It had surprised Ram that King asked for a kiss in public, but it also made him very happy to be able to show affection in public. In the back of his mind, Ram's possessive side was enjoying being able to stake his claim on King.

"Ayyy!" Boss and Tee cheered in unison, completely distracted from the topic by the public display of affection.

The conversation then moved on as all the friends joined in teasing both Ram and King, and Bohn and Duen.

After spending a fun evening with their friends, Ram and King were tired. Once they arrived at King's studio, they immediately curled up in bed together. Ram promptly fell asleep and King was just about to join him in dreamland when his phone buzzed with an incoming text. He got a bad feeling when he realised it was from his sister. His nephew had been ill and had recently been admitted to the hospital. It was not something he had told anyone, but he was very anxious. The text told him that his nephew was negative for several possible diagnoses which was both a relief and a worry. At least he didn't have those diseases, but the question remained what did he have?

King glanced at his sleeping boyfriend and immediately felt calmer. His nephew's condition was stable, and he wasn't getting any worse, they just hadn't figured out what was wrong yet. King decided to visit him the next day and texted his sister to let her know.

It took him a little while to fall asleep since he was still worried about his nephew, but when Ram unconsciously pulled him closer in his sleep, he could finally rest.

"King, wake up!" Ram almost shouted, shaking his boyfriend.

King opened his eyes to see a concerned Ram above him in a darkened room. It clearly wasn't morning yet, so why was Ram waking him?

"What?" He groaned, wanting to go back to sleep.

"You were having a nightmare and I was so worried," Ram murmured, stroking and rubbing King's arms in comfort.

It was only then that King realised that his face was wet. He reached up and found he was crying. It must have been some nightmare, but he couldn't remember a thing.

"I don't remember it."

Ram sighed and gently wiped away the tears.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just a little stressed," King replied, telling the truth, but not mentioning his nephew.

King didn't think there was any need to tell Ram yet. The situation was not dire, and he was strong enough to deal with it alone, no need to burden Ram until it became worse. Then King may need emotional support from his boyfriend, but not yet, and hopefully the situation would not get worse and then he wouldn't have to tell Ram at all.

Ram nuzzled his nose against King as King would often do with Ram.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," King whispered, pecking Ram's nose, "I'm really sleepy."

"Okay then, I love you, my King," Ram murmured, settling back down next to him, "Sweet dreams."

"I love you too."