My Moon, Chapter 26 pg 4
My Moon, Chapter 26 pg 4
Panli continued recounting the events. He told Klaijai about how Kant had spilled the secret after Phii Dom interrogated him, about confessing and opening up to Phii Dom at the condo, about learning he was the one who saved Klaijai from that incident, about secretly watching Klaijai too, about being the one who left milk and bread for him every Wednesday morning, and finally, about how he couldn’t help but confront Thot in the presentation room, which led to learning that Merk was planning to come back for Klaijai again. That was why he ended up getting into it with Merk.
Panli did his best to convey every story and every feeling to Klaijai completely. With every second he spoke, Klaijai’s expression shifted, though it was almost always tinged with surprise. Even at the final moment of his story, Klaijai still looked slightly shocked and confused.
“That’s all the stuff I struggled to tell you, KhunKlai...”
“...”
“That’s everything. I’m not hiding anything from you anymore, KhunKlai.”
“...”
Seeing the surprised expression turn calm, Panli decided to continue, “I’m not asking you to understand everything about me.”
“…”
“You don’t need to try to understand why I asked Phii Dom to keep this a secret.”
“…”
“You don’t need to understand anything at all…”
“…”
“But I only ask… if Panli ever accidentally does something to upset KhunKlai, or makes KhunKlai feel bad…”
“…”
“Please forgive him a little… not completely, just as much as your heart can manage.”
“…”
“That’s all I ask…”
At that moment, Klaijai’s almond-shaped eyes glistened with more tears than usual. And in just a fraction of a second… Panli could no longer read his emotions, as the feelings usually clear in his gaze were obscured by a veil of tears.
“KhunKlai…”
When Panli called his name, that veil of tears broke, and clear droplets streamed down both cheeks. Panli admitted to himself that he was so shaken he could barely keep his composure. But then his heart raced as a sweet smile appeared.
Those same eyes began to sparkle as if filled with countless stars. A slender hand reached up to cradle his face, and Klaijai began to speak…
“How could I not forgive you Panli?”
“…”
“Even though you deliberately hid everything, despite knowing the truth.”
“…”
“But I shouldn’t even be angry with you.”
“…”
“Because how many people would go to such lengths for me… and there aren’t many who’d choose to start over like someone with a crush.”
“…”
“Panli said he didn’t want to take advantage of Klai’s feelings by approaching him too easily, knowing that Klai already liked him.”
“…”
“There’s no need to try to understand this reason at all.”
“…”
“And when you said… you wanted us to take it slow, we really have been like that all along.”
Every word from Klaijai stirred a whirlwind of emotions in his heart. A massive wave of feelings gathered into a heavy knot in the left side of his chest. Panli felt so overwhelmed he couldn’t speak. All he could do was raise a hand to wipe the tear stains from the smooth cheek. Klaijai sniffled lightly, offering a sweet, gentle smile before continuing…
“But there’s one thing that doesn’t seem quite true…”
Panli furrowed his brows slightly, his thoughts racing. “What’s that?”
“When you said… you wanted us to slowly build our feelings until they were equal, that’s not really true.”
“…”
“Because it feels like we’re always competing.”
“…”
“Competing to see who can love the other more.”
“…”
“Right now, I don’t know if you love me more, or if I loves you more…” Klaijai laughed through his tears, then added, “…because we both love each other so, so much, don’t we?”
Panli, listening, gave a soft smile and nodded lightly. His eyes burned as he saw Klaijai smiling despite the tears. All this time, he hadn’t known how many times the person he loved so deeply had cried, or how much pain each of those moments brought. But this time, Klaijai’s tears seemed to be distilled from overwhelming happiness.
Panli leaned closer to the smaller man, tightening his arms around Klaijai. He rested his chin on the other’s shoulder, gently rubbing the slender back.
“I love you Klaijai.”
“Uh, mmh…” Klaijai responded, pausing as if trying to steady his trembling voice.
“…”
“I love you Panli too.”
The smaller man replied, returning the embrace. Panli loosened the hug slightly, slipping both arms loosely around the slim waist as usual. The two gazed into each other’s eyes for a long moment before Panli asked…
“So, what does you want to tell me?”
The one asked laughed softly. “You already said it all for me.”
“…”
“At first, I was going to confess how long I’ve secretly liked you Panli.”
“…”
“But I guess I don’t need to say it now… and I already said ‘I love you’ just earlier.”
Panli smiled.
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