I.L.Y. - A MewGulf AU

Chapter 17: To feel loved

After returning to the workshop room, Gulf had given director Lee the camera with whatever raw footage was on there. If the director was surprised by how quickly the two returned to the main room, he didn't show it. Instead he just walked off to watch the clip in private. Gulf still wasn't sure how he felt about it, but he knew the kiss had been different from any of the others. He just hoped the director was satisfied with it. He wasn't particularly feeling like kissing Mew again.

When Lee returned 10 minutes later, he wasn't just satisfied, no he looked positively excited. He smiled full teeth at the duo – Mew had returned a little after Gulf, smiling at the younger as he took his usual seat – and practically skipped towards author Jessi. He showed her the clip, animatedly whispering something in her ear. Soon Jessi was wearing the same excited expression and turned towards the husbands to wink.

Mew and Gulf were definitely confused about the reaction. They knew the kiss to be better, but to get this kind of feedback? It was as if they were missing something.

Eventually director Lee turned towards the actors and spoke up. "Mew, Gulf, I want to congratulate you two on finally finding the Dee and Wai we were looking for," he said out loud, getting everyone's attention. Mew frowned, but Gulf just looked at the director with an interested expression. How exactly had they found Dee and Wai in their own discussions? Especially when it was about kissing another man.

"I love how Dee asks why Wai would kiss him when he doesn't know who he is and not him as himself. Especially when Dee puts his own heart on a plate and tell him he loves him, Wai still isn't sure!" The director spoke quickly, a glint in his eyes. "It's so pure how it voices Dee's desperation to be with Wai, but Wai's hesitance in loving his best friend."

Jessi started nodding next to Lee, agreeing. "There's a similar scene in the script, but I was never fully satisfied with it. After seeing this, I finally have a vision of how perfect it could be with you two," she spoke with the same glint in her eyes.

Gulf wanted to ask Mew how exactly they had portrayed that, but he saw Jessi already pulling out a laptop to watch the clip on a bigger screen. The nong glanced at Mew, slightly anxious.

Were they planning to play their confession in front of everyone? This wasn't going to end well!

Mew saw his nong's distress and silently grabbed his hand. He gently squeezed it. It didn't help much to calm his racing mind, but he did find it assuring. If Mew thinks it will be fine, then he guessed it was okay.

It was actually nice being able to hold the husband's hand like this, without worrying about hiding his feeling or the animosity between them. They had put their feelings out there, both Gulf and Mew, and although things weren't solved just yet, at least they knew where they stood right now. Mostly, Gulf now knew he was not alone. It was a weird realization out of their discussion and kiss just now, but he somehow felt more grounded now that his emotions had been seen and acknowledged. He now knew that even if he was stuck here for forever, Mew and him would get through it. Even if it wasn't as lovers, they could at least be friends.

Director Lee sets the laptop down, without noticing people had started moving so they could all sit behind the screen, Gulf and Mew in the middle. The director himself stood behind the laptop, still looking proud.

"Mew and Gulf were tasked to experiment on their kissing scenes more, so they decided to go for Dee's confession scene. Although the script isn't completely right, the feelings are perfect," he explained to the others. Then without waiting for a reply, he pressed the spacebar.

Gulf saw himself sitting with Mew on the bed again, room dark so the video wasn't perfect quality. On top of that, he couldn't exactly hear the first words they shared, until he finally heard himself whisper: 'Why should I work when I can kiss you?'