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1.
Rome met Mok out of blue and when he least expected to encounter someone, let alone a journalist who was investigating his own case of crimes. He should have done his job then, like a very sane person in existence, pulling out his gun and securing the whole magazine in his head without a second thought at the first sight of the camera, and they would all be at a good place— Mok in heaven, considering all the good work he must have done to this date, and Rome in, well in his room, with a good night sleep.
But instead, he let him click the pictures of their deal, and watched the cute little kitten being satisfied with whatever he got. Next morning, the said deal was podcasted into the televisions and radios by the locals, but what disappointed him wasn't that but the lack of name and a picture of his journalist.
“You're reckless and an idiot.” His brother, Thee would say and oh god, he was an idiot, because he would ruin many deals like these just to see the face again, just to have the man in sight again and click his own pictures this time than his stupid bodyguards.
And maybe he was the universe's favorite when the opportunity came down to his feet itself when the man in question stumbled upon him a night before his flight to Thailand, with a horrified look and shaking to his bones. Rome didn’t think Mok had seen him before, but he could've miscalculated his luck, only to be proven right when a group of men made their presence known a moment later.
Before he could have time to understand the situation, he was pulled with a force to run along with the journalist.
“I'm sorry!” He told Rome, huffing for air as they slipped into a narrowed alley and watched the men skip them to run in a directionless street. “Because of me, you’re their target, too. I didn't mean it— I swear, I didn't mean it!”
Rome let out a breath, in adoration rather than any exhaustion like Mok, as he watched him fumble through his camera, his wet bangs sticking on his forehead and the leather jacket clinging to his skin, and he got a crazy thought to erase whatever little space they had and kiss him till he could make him breathless.
“It's okay.” He told him, feeling somewhat evil-do-er when he brought his hand up and patted his shoulder, just to know what it felt like to touch something precious. “What were you doing there though? Those people looked dangerous.”
“They are,” he said, watching the empty street like the men would come out anytime if he wasn't prepared.
Turned out, he was on another investigation and wanted evidence, and while he was on it, he caught the attention of the guards there and ended up here.
See. He thought, tilting his head to look at Mok’s eyes which were busy searching the pictures in camera. Destiny.
He offered a walk back home, Mok hesitated a little, but to his surprise, nodded as an answer.
And as flirtatious as Rome was, he knew it was a matter of minutes before they would exchange their contacts, only to meet with disappointment, but at least the latter officially told his name before he went inside his home, with a lingering feeling that this would not be their last meeting, not when Rome had all accidental meetings planned beforehand.
His flight was cancelled the same night, and Thee had called him with a sigh of relief, “it's good you changed your mind.” There were muffled sounds of Mhok and Marn playing in the background. “I'll inform dad about this, okay?”
“Who said I changed my mind?” Rome sipped onto the beer, looking down at the file named after Mok, “I just won't be there this year. I will sign this deal.”
“With your blood.” Rome could feel the frustration through the phone. “You can't be serious with those kinds of people! That is a fucking trick, just how many times do I have to repeat myself?”
“I never asked for you to repeat yourself.” He spoke, hearing a small ‘P'Kian’ in the background from Peach before placing his phone on the coffee table and let his brother talk to air as he focused on the file in hand.
The Asian guy, with cute smile and little kitten personality, the pure and defenseless look in his eyes made Rome want to ruin the innocence inside, and— fuck! He would be damned if someone else took Mok away from him.
Mok looked like someone who would lose his innocence in the back seat of his car.
Next time he met Mok, it was in a cafe near a university, where he was writing an article about some thrift case in the area with headphones on, and Rome took the chance to sit in front of him, and again, he felt like a sinner to do so without permission.
“Oh!” Mok looked at him, shutting his laptop down and bringing the latte to his lips, “are you studying here?”
Rome laughed, feeling the sound unfamiliar to his own ears at how genuine he felt. He didn't know if he was supposed to tell him the truth, but he couldn't risk this little interaction between them just yet, so he lied through his teeth. “Yeah.”
“Wow!” Mok mused, leaning on the table as he tilted his head cutely, his Boba eyes curious. “Which major are you in?”
“Oh well,” Rome smiled, “business major.” He watched Mok’s eyes lit up to the answer and slowly started to talk about how he always wanted to take it too. His voice was so soothing and soft, Rome realised, he wouldn't mind being manipulated by the man if this was what he would be hearing.
And let him be serious, winning Mok’s heart was a piece of cake if he knew all the tricks and drills at the right time, and he would make that happen even if he had to stab the universe in the core and tilt the axis for it. He would do it with his own bare hands.
He just needed to learn about Mok, and Mok.
And oh god, if it was a job, Rome would be the richest in the entire universe, even God wouldn't defeat him.
He made it happen through coincidence-ed encounters in 24/7 cafes and random tips to nearby crimes. His brother would rip his skin out if he ever got to know what he was doing and just how many deals he was avoiding just to spend some time with his little kitten, but Thee could handle that much, and if this went on, he might consider dropping the Thai deal over the property in Bangkok if it ever overlapped his pretty little dates with Mok.
But the thing was, Mok wasn't the piece of cake. His walls were so up high that even though Rome practically glued his hip with him, Mok wasn't really interested in him in that way, and that was fucking frustrating because he knew Mok liked him but he wasn't confessing even after Rome made it clear in front of him after months of chasing.
Mok was shy and had crumbled into himself, Rome almost slapped himself for confessing, but the hints were clear, weren't they? Mok liked him. He always smiled, always stood with their arms linked in a crowded place or when someone approached him, men and women alike. He had never ever read anyone wrong.
The small flicker of jealousy and the cute pouts on his lips when they were together, only a fool would think they were not hints. And, apparently, Rome wasn't a fool unless it came to Mok.
So as a very pathetic and petty attempt to make Mok desperate and confess his undying love for him, he decided to leave Russia one weekend, and sign the damn deal in Thailand while he was at it.
Killing two birds with one stone or whatever the oldies said.
P'Kian:
I will kill you if you step foot in Thailand, Rome.
Kriskrit:
Sorry to inform you, brother
But Rome is already in flight. Let's have dinner together tomorrow.
His phone buzzed with another two messages, but his eyes stayed glued to ‘my lil kitty’ contact which felt like it was frozen in time. There were no new messages or updates. He felt stupid for never asking Mok for his socials, or maybe he never had any because Rome couldn't find him anywhere.
Bloody job of journalist!
As he switched off his phone and the flight took off, he wished he could have just one proper hint where he would know that Mok liked him too, he would tear everything in between then.
2.
“And well well well, what did I tell you, Rome?”
This is exactly, word-to-word, what Thee would say if he were here, but he was not. Thee was somewhere in their vacation house, enjoying the time of his life with his husband and kids, probably telling Peach what a dumbass Rome was, while he was here behind a crumbled wall with the smell of blood and gunpowder around him, with his own heart beating in his throat and gunshots ringing in his ears.
His body was only pushing forward because the adrenaline rush was high in his veins, and he was anything but someone who would accept defeat with just a few guns pointed at him. Thee would laugh at his grave, really.
He wondered if Mok would ever know what he did. Not like anyone would ever tell him anyway.
And damn it that he was thinking all about Mok, his smile, his Boba eyes that shined so beautifully, his pouts, his habit of shyly looking away, that damn camera always on his neck. He missed Mok so much that he was not even surprised when a figure rolled to his side after shooting a few men against them.
“My brother finally remembered me?” Rome said before he could stop himself, not like he even tried to stop, but the words were on the tip of his tongue when he saw the man near him.
The man looked at him, then removed his mask to glare—
“Mok?!”
Mok didn't spare him another glance as he pulled out his gun and shot over the crumbled wall, and fuck, Rome thought, he was crazy to imagine a whole person in front of him, but he was more stupid to believe he was imagining his cute kitten in place like this.
Mok would be anything— anything, but the ruthless man in front of him who looked nothing like the crybaby he had fallen for, nowhere near the journalist who was always busy telling stories.
Rome was sick, mentally, to think he must have fallen for this version of Mok even harder than he fell for the journalist, because this was the man who was protecting him against the gunshots in the battlefield where he would've died.
When the gunfire stopped and only smoke and ringing noises remained, Mok looked at him, his eyes calm and cold, and Rome was seriously pathetic because he loved how beautiful and pretty Mok looked in red, with the black leather uniform that looked like it was made for him. And with the lack of fear in his body.
Rome fell again, all the way down to a damn abyss as he stared at those beautiful eyes.
Mok stood to his height, kicking his knee with his shiny boots like he didn't just stomp over deadbodies to get here. His posture was so straight, it started to make Rome want to pull him closer and kiss him senseless.
“What?” Mok raised his eyebrow, “my puppy forgot to bark?”
3.
Mok shoved him in the passenger seat like a stack of potatoes, and didn't take another look before walking to the driver's seat.
“Mok…” he tried again, just for good measure as the man glared at him.
“Shut up.” Was what came as a form of greeting through his gritted teeth.
Now what did I do?
Mok didn’t look mad, but that was the serious case because his actions said he was beyond mad by the way he didn't spare him another glance and took out his phone, connected the Bluetooth, and called someone.
“Target secured.” Mok said as soon as the call was picked as he pulled out a pair of glasses. Rome never knew he wore them.
“You saved Khun Kritdanai.” The voice was familiar, belatedly he realised it was Alof behind the call, and he sounded like he was sure Mok would save him. “I'll connect Khun Thee with you.”
There were beeps and then AI speaking in Thai before his brother's voice came through.
“Rome, are you okay!?”
Ten seconds passed but Rome didn't answer, and when Mok looked at him, Rome shrugged, mimicking a zipping motion in front of his mouth. He expected Mok to roll his eyes, but instead, “you can speak.”
“So cold, darling, I might freeze.” Rome smiled, feeling a flicker of pain in the corner of his mouth.
Mok glared at him, but didn't shut him up this time.
“Rome!” His brother roared, “are you fucking alive?”
“Of course, I am, P'Kian. My lover saved me.” He watched Mok let out a sigh as he looked out of the window and pressed his glasses up on his nose.
Behind the call, Thee sighed just the same, then spoke, “Mok.”
“Yes, boss?”
“Bring him to our mansion.”
“Yes, boss.”
And the call was cut before Rome had time to protest at the request.
Mok started the car, pulling away from the sideway and continuing on the main road. He worked like a robot without emotions, unlike the Mok Rome remembered, but he liked him, so damn much that the versions being different didn't scare him even in the slightest, if anything, it only made Rome smile widely and run his fingers through his dishevelled hair in pure happiness.
This was his Mok.
“Mok,” he called, and Mok offered a side eye before looking ahead. “Are you shy?”
“In your dreams.” Mok countered.
“In my dreams, sweetheart, you're much more than just shy. So, let's keep this censored, shall we?”
“Shut up.” Mok glared, and if looks could kill, Rome would be six feet under.
He didn't speak then, too busy to take in Mok’s new look, and his stare must burn because Mok was gulping every now and then.
You know I want to kiss you? He wanted to say, and he wished his eyes were screaming enough to tell what he felt.
With Mok, everything was a blur, the drive, his arrival to their mansion, even the argument with Thee went over his head. He only remembered hearing ‘let's talk when you're sober’ and then he realised he was smiling like a fool all along, but he was Mok’s fool. His Mok. The crazily hot and drop dead gorgeous man he was chasing for months.
He didn't even know his brother had a bodyguard like him, if he had known, he would’ve come earlier.
But he loved whatever foot he had started on with Mok.
Khun Rome:
Can I talk to you now?
He messaged when he saw Mok sitting on the stairs outside the house with his head down and his phone in hands.
Mok looked back at him as soon as he saw it, then at the house, then scanned his body from top to toe, “why aren't you patched up?” He asked in the form of a greeting.
“My wife is out here. I can’t let anyone else touch me.”
Mok narrowed his eyes, then stood to his height. He stared for God knew how long before finally speaking, “You're not mad that I'm not the journalist you're supposed to love?”
The question made Rome confused at best and angry, as to who the hell said he loved Mok’s profession or his specific version more, at worst, but then he found himself walking to his little kitten. “No.” He said, and when Mok looked at him like this didn't convince him, he added, “I am supposed to love you. And I do.”
Mok let out a breath, and his shoulders visibly relaxed as he took a step back. “Then, have a—”
“Wait,” Rome said, “can I touch you?”
Please say yes.
Mok stared, then nodded, and— oh heavens. Rome wasted seconds before he pounced on him, making them lose their balance for a split second. He felt Mok lose his breath, felt his body tensing at the sudden contact of skin, but then he loosened it, and Rome had never felt so happy and light before.
He nudged into his neck like a damn puppy and slowly pulled just enough to look into his eyes, “can I kiss you?”
Mok looked away instantly, it would’ve been cute, really cute, if there weren't bodyguards around to make Mok uncomfortable like this.
“Should I beg?” He asked when Mok didn't answer. That at least made Mok look at him again, “please? Can I kiss you?”
When Mok still didn't answer, he pulled him inside the house, and to his room without a second thought. Not like he needed a second thought with Mok around.
“Can I now?” He asked again, and he would ask again and again, and beg and do whatever if it satisfied Mok in any way possible, but he would never do anything without his permission.
Mok looked at him in love, or he thought it was love because he stared between his eyes with the same look he saw on Peach's when he was around Thee.
“Will you ask me every time?” Mok asked, stepping closer.
“Every damn time.” He answered without any doubt, “and I wish you'd say yes every time."
Just like that, Mok crashed their lips together, grabbing his collar to pull him impossibly close like he was just as desperate as Rome. Like he, too, wanted Rome as badly as Rome wanted him.
Mok broke the kiss only to remove his glasses and let them fall somewhere on the floor before pulling him in again.
Mok fought for dominance in the kiss, and Rome, ever so down bad, let him, letting his own hands tug on his shirt and come in contact with his warm skin. Mok’s breath caught against his lips at the contact but he didn’t pull away, not until his mouth muscles started to ache and lungs started burning for air.
He pulled back, and rested their foreheads together.
“You haven't answered.” Rome whispered against his lips, “Can I kiss you?”
Mok huffed a laugh, “that kiss was a yes.”
Rome smiled, “I love it.” And this time, Rome was the one to attach their lips together. He didn't hold back as his force made Mok stumble backwards and hit the wall behind, and Rome reflexively placed his hand behind his head before Mok could hurt himself. It was a very small gesture, but it made Mok smile in the kiss so Rome took it as a win for the future.
He nibbled onto the lower lip until Mok whimpered in the kiss and Rome took the opportunity to slip his tongue. His mouth was warm, and tasted like strawberries, and Rome knew he himself tasted like cigarettes since he smoked a few hours ago.
The kiss was hungry and desperate. Rome wanted to devour Mok, to engrave him into his skin, and look only at his beautiful face.
And the lips— God, his lips tasted like a reward he was praying for centuries. Rome couldn't believe he was kissing the same person he was dreaming about.
He pulled away only when it was hard for Mok to stand still and his hands where they gripped his collar were shaking at the lack of oxygen, but he only got so far that they could breath with their bodies glued to each other.
They both breathed out in sync, with Mok’s eyes closed and hands clutching onto the fabric for a possible emotional support.
After a moment, Rome softly slid his hands under Mok’s thighs to lift him up. Mok let out a yelp, but he wrapped his legs around Rome's waist and arms circled his neck soon after.
“All night?" Rome asked against his neck.
“All night.” and Mok answered without a single doubt.