Bittersweet Love // #KaoEarth AU

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Earth stared dumbly at what Kao had just said.

Did I damage my hearing?

Did I start imagining things?

Kao's low voice continued, "When I heard you were in danger, I felt my legs go limp immediately."

"Huh?" Earth came out of his stupor by Kao's statement. "How did you know I was in danger and to find me right away, Phi?" He was actually itching to ask why Kao would feel that way after hearing he was in danger.

"There is actually something more important that I need to say to you, Earth," Kao sounded serious when he said that. His eyes bore into Earth's as if claiming that what he was about to say is the truth. "I'm sorry for reacting the way I reacted when you kissed me."

Earth's body turned rigid upon hearing the word kiss. His mind whirlwinds to the night he had bravely—foolishly kissed Kao because he can't stand his feelings for the older one. "I, I was the one at fault, Phi. I shouldn't have kissed you that night. I'm so so—"

Earth's words of apology were stopped by a pair of lips upon his own. His eyes widened in surprise when he realized Kao was kissing him right now. His mind freaked out at the thought of Kao's sudden kiss.

After a while, and the older one hadn't let go of his lips, he closed his eyes and started kissing Kao back. He gave entrance to Kao's tongue when it probed his closed lips, and they snogged for quite a while until Earth started feeling it was hard to breathe; he pushed back Kao's chest softly.

"Ha...what...why did you...?" Earth stuttered, feeling slightly breathless after the kiss just now.

Kao's left thumb went over a trail of saliva that ran down from the corner of Earth's mouth. He gave the younger one a small smile and had a regretful look on his face. "I'm the one who should be apologizing to you, Earth."

Was the kiss to make us even?

Earth had this thought that maybe Kao kissed him so that he wouldn't be awkward to the older one after he kissed him the other day.

Kao chuckled. His right hand went to Earth's frowned forehead and stretched it, so it ceased from frowning. "I know what you're thinking. It's not that, Earth."

"What did I think, Phi?" Earth asked, feeling slightly confused at what the older one was implying.

"I didn't kiss you just to make you feel better about you were kissing me the other day," Kao smiled and took Earth's hands in his. "I was apologizing because of how I reacted when you kissed me that night."

Earth suddenly felt overwhelmed at the thought of possibilities lying within Kao's apologizing.

"Truthfully, I was so shocked that day," Kao lightly scoffed at himself rather than at the younger one. "That night, when you kissed me—"

"I'm really sorry about that," Earth blurted out immediately. "I thought you were—no, it still wasn't right for me to assume anything and take you by surprise," he looked mournful about what he was about to say next. "I don't want to ruin our friendship; truly, I'm really sorry to have kissed you. Can't we pretend it never happened?" He took back his hands from Kao's clutches slowly and crossed his arms in front of his chest to hide his anxiety. Nails digging into his pale skin from how hard he gripped them, making a slight contrast to his arms.

"Please, let me finish before you blurted out another apology," Kao asked, feeling a little bit exasperated after he cut off his words. When he saw Earth nodded slowly and eyes locked on his, he sighed. "You see, I was an idiot."