Misguided Ghost (boyxboy)

Happiness

The decision to come back to work was perhaps due to boredom of being cooped up in his apartment with Kyle. There was constantly nothing to do, except when they went out—to eat, to watch movies, or to do whatever they decided to do when they were outside.

Kyle was more than happy to hear his decision one Wednesday afternoon when they were at a coffee shop, eating donuts and drinking iced coffee.

"Really?" he had said, his voice sounding a note higher which meant he was excited. "That's great, babe."

But his face had scrunched up in question as he said, "are you sure? Or is it because you're lonely in the apartment doing absolutely nothing?"

To which Ralph had responded with a roll of his eyes and said, "Kyle, it's been three months since I came back. I'm more than sure of my decision."

Five days later, on a regular Monday morning, he was wearing a well-ironed suit; looking very presentable when he was welcomed with a stack of folders and papers that had been pending since he ran away.

Scowling, he uttered a curse as he sat by his desk and started to work begrudgingly. Though he missed working like this, he wasn't too ecstatic when he saw the pile of paperwork on his desk.

But when he saw Kyle from outside his office, smiling and waving at him like a child on a field trip, it was enough for him to make him smile for the remainder of his work.

When lunch time came around, he was already almost halfway of what had been sitting on his desk for the past few months. He could finish this paperwork within two days, so he knew he could take it easy when coming back. But that didn't mean he couldn't complain about the workload he has.

As soon as he got up from his seat, there were two knocks on his door and it opened. Kyle smiled at him as he walked inside, and he smiled back while he stretched his body.

"Come and take lunch with me?"

"Didn't have to ask me, cutie,"

Kyle outstretched his hand for Ralph to take, and which he did; intertwining their fingers together. He brought to his lips to kiss the back of Kyle's hand while they walked outside his office.

"What? Missed me?" Kyle teased, chuckling as he felt redness all over his face at the gesture.

"I might just vomit from the amount of sweetness I'm seeing right now," a new, familiar voice joined in on their conversation, making gag noises from the back of his throat.

Rolling his eyes at the intrusion of their friend, Ralph retorted with a smug smile, "you know, it's not too late to follow your own advice. I bet Enzo's still waiting for you."

"Okay, that's a fucking foul, Ralph Robert,"

"Please, don't call me by my full name, Vince Orajay,"

"Oh, but Kyle can?"

"Don't drag my boyfriend into this,"

And at that statement, Vince's eyes twinkled in amusement and mischief. He put an arm around Ralph's shoulders as they walked to the elevator, and he saw how Kyle's cheeks reddened from Ralph's words.

"You okay there, Kyle?" he asked in a teasing tone with a small smile.

Kyle cleared his throat and chuckled as he tightened his hold on his boyfriend. "Y-yeah, perfectly fine."

"You know what?"

"What?" Ralph asked, annoyed at his friend. It was bad enough that the elevator kept on stopping on all floors, making them wait a little longer as the small, cramped space gets filled with hungry employees.

"I'm really glad you're both happy," Vince said with a small, genuine smile on his face. "I'm sure it feels a lot easier to move than when you were both in denial."

Later that same day, Ralph finally managed to finish the workload he set off for this day. He groaned as he stretched his body from his seat. If he was being honest, he missed this kind of tiredness from work—the kind of tiredness when he went back home, he would just lie down on his bed and rest his stress-filled day to go on another day tomorrow.

Back when he was traveling, no matter how hard he tried to find the tiredness he was seeking, he couldn't find it. He never grew tired of traveling by himself, and he liked it because it felt liberating—completely free from the stress he had before.

Maybe, he missed traveling.

Or maybe, he just missed the feeling of being free.

Ralph chuckled at the thoughts from his mind.

Sure, he missed being free, but he wasn't happy.

With Kyle, he was happy—more than he ever felt from his whole life. And he loved that feeling.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Kyle's husky voice suddenly joined the conversation with his thoughts. "You look handsome today. Have I told you that?"

Ralph hummed in reply, frowning though he had a small smile on his face. "I don't think so. But please, do tell. I want to hear my boyfriend tell me I'm handsome."

He felt footsteps nearing where he sat, and he felt a chaste kiss on his lips. "Well, you do look handsome today."

Another kiss. "Tomorrow."

And another kiss. "And probably for the rest of your life."

Ralph frowned playfully as he thought about the last statement Kyle said. He leaned on his hands with his elbows on his desk as he said slowly, "what do you mean by 'probably'?"

Kyle's only reply was a small laugh and a pinch on his cheek, before he sat on his desk. "Are you finished?"

"Yeah, let's go,"

"Where do you want to eat dinner?"

"I'm kind of craving Asian food, but I feel too tired to cook,"

"Okay, let's eat out, then,"

Ralph smiled genuinely as he walked out of his office, hand-in-hand with his boyfriend, feeling total happiness that he had never once felt before.