Through Ups and Downs [SarawatTine AU]

Chapter 13: The Forgotten Oath

November 2021

Tine had no idea how he managed not to fall off the motorcycle taxi he opted to take instead of their car, after realizing there would still be traffic. He felt nauseous and uneasy the entire ride, not because he was dizzy, but because he was beyond terrified and shaken. Sarawat. His saraleo. His handsome prince. His other half. His person. The love of his life. Had almost died. Almost left him. For good. Things couldn't get any worse than that.

Well, the died part was a bit of an exaggeration because the nurse did assure Tine that the singer only suffered minor injuries, before dropping the call. But still, accidents are accidents. No matter how lucky Sarawat and his team got, they had a brush with death. And nothing can shake your core and throw your balance off like a near-death situation does.

The law student refrained himself from running and pushing everyone away that came his way in the emergency room as he anxiously looked for where his saraleo was. He was a lawyer in the making for gosh's sake. He was expected to keep his composure at all times.

The patients in the room were separated by hospital curtain partitions, making it harder to look for Sarawat and his team. The place was also not as chaotic as he expected it to be, considering an accident nearby just transpired. And just as Tine was about to turn another corner, he faintly caught on a familiar voice two curtains away from where he was standing.

"---reached my boyfriend yet?"

"Khun Aekaranwong is not answering his phone, Khun."

"Have you tried again? Please get him through the phone, he must be so wo--"

"Wat..." Tine called out, his voice cracked and rasped as he pushed the partition open. And there was Sarawat sitting on a hospital bed indeed, looking relatively fine except for a bandage on his forehead and a brace on his left wrist. Traces of dried blood were evident on the side of his neck and clothes.

While Tine remained glued to the entryway of his room space, Sarawat softly urged him to draw close, his expression going gentle. "Tine... Come here, baby. I'm okay. I promise,"

Like mentioned earlier, Tine knew from the beginning that his saraleo was alive and quite well... But seeing the latter right before his very eyes still stunned him. He wanted to thank the universe all over again for sparing his handsome prince, as he walked closer and let his eyes raked all over the other man's body to inspect any other injuries he might have missed. He had yet to utter a single word, immensely afraid that once he did, he might just bawl and never stop. He was also irrationally terrified that once he broke his silence, the universe might snatch this moment and reveal it to be merely an illusion.

Sarawat, on the other hand, simply opened his arms to let his nuisance see better that he truly was okay, because he knew Tine was assessing him from head to toe. He slowly reached his unsprained hand out, wanting physical contact, to which Tine immediately and tenderly held onto. Wat then took this chance to pull him closer between his legs, looking up to him... And finally gazing into each other's eyes, Tine shakily caressed his saraleo's cheek with his free hand to which the latter leaned on, subtly purring like a cat.

"I'm fine, baby. I promise. We all are. Say something, please." But Tine remained silent, only squeezing Wat's hand tighter in response as his eyes began to water.

"How did you find out I'm here? The nurses said they couldn't reach you..."

"Ca-- I called all the nearby hospitals, asking for you..." Tine faintly muttered, "What happened, Wat?"

Sarawat's expression grew softer at how his buffalo sounded so vulnerable and proceeded to explain. "I was gonna take my phone with me but P'Air pushed us to the ambulance too soon. She was hysterical over the blood. Thought I was dying or something."