Chapter Text
On their way back home, their home, one's footsteps slowed down a little. Of course, King noticed it immediately. He was always aware of every detail of his boyfriend. He quickly started to match his own pace to that of Ram's again, in the hope that the other won't get pulled out of his thoughts.
King gazed at his boyfriend's face and following where the other's eyes looked afterwards. Ah, we're walking past an animal shelter. Of course. He let out a light chuckle as he looked back at his boyfriend's face. The other returned his gaze once he heard the sound, and raised his eyebrows as to ask what's so funny? That only made King shake his head lightly with a smile. As he didn't get into it, they eventually picked up their pace again.
King rambled on about the plants that just got shipped in at his work, and how they're going to take care of them. About which soils they would use when they'd repot them, where they'd eventually plant them, and went into a lot more details. Ram just nodded and gave him a few smiles so now and then to let him know he's listening.
That went on until they were almost at the apartment complex they lived in because King suddenly went silent and stopped in his tracks. A shaky hand of his reached for Ram's arm and gripped it tightly. Ram gave him a worried look and started to open his mouth to say something once he saw King's eyes fixed on something, but before he could even utter a sound, King pulled him in front of him. With the older man behind his back now, he started to look for the cause. His eyes landed on a person that walked their way. ...And that person held a leash with a dog connected to it. That explains his behaviour.
Ram reached his free arm behind his back to hold one of King's hands, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He nodded at the person with a smile once they were close, seeing their slightly confused face. They just gave him a nod back and walked past them, not wanting to be involved with anything they were doing.
After a minute had passed and the individual was far enough, Ram turned around to look at his boyfriend. At seeing that the other had his eyes shut tightly, he had a soft smile forming on his lips. "P'..." he started in a soft voice, receiving a small squeeze as an answer letting him know that the older one had heard him. "They're gone now."
King slowly opened his eyes at those words and looked around him immediately. He let out a sigh of relief once he noticed that the threat was indeed out of sight. The relief that was displayed on his face quickly faded into embarrassment. Just because they were together for three years, and known each other for four, didn't mean that it got any less embarrassing for him.
Ram quirked an eyebrow at him as he noticed his change of mood. He let go of the hand he was holding and placed it onto his boyfriend's face instead, forcing him to look at him. He stared at him for a few seconds, hoping that his thoughts came through on his face, but he soon decided it might be better to be clear about this. "You're okay, P', it's alright." He let his thumb stroke across the other's cheek as a form of comfort.
Once he got a small nod in return, he pulled his hand back and pried King's hand off his arm with it. He offered his hand once he saw the small pout form on the other's face. King gladly took his hand, as it was still a rare opportunity to get in public, and intertwined their fingers.
His embarrassment from earlier faded away, and a smile took its place when he looked at their hands. He gave their hands a slight swing before they started to walk the last part of their route towards their home. With his worries gone now that he's holding his boyfriend's hand, he's back to happily chatting about his work.