Heal Me

IV. Say Yes

Dome, in slow motion,  saw how Phoom pulled him and reached for a kiss. His reflexes, by no means, suck but he was drawn into the eyes of Pavel. Its dark orbs paralysing and sucking his soul, making him unable to resist the kiss. Or did he even want to resist at all? 

The kiss was quick. There wasn't even enough time for him to be disappointed. It was not a peck but wasn't a French kiss either. Being the nerd that he is, he summarized his observation.

Phoom's lips are soft and his breath smells like mint. If he would ever be kissed again, he'd certainly make a thorough investigation of Phoom's mouth.

He had kissed a girl before and if he compared it to Phoom's lips; they felt surprisingly the same but gave a different kind of stirrings to his heart.

When they separated,  relief enveloped him like he was being hugged tightly but no arms nor hands touched him. It felt like Phoom had put him in a spell. 

It was a quick kiss but left the deepest impression on him of Phoom. This person in front of him is gentle and bold. A person who dares the world like nothing would hold him back. In comparison with Dome, their worlds and view of it are miles apart.

"Uhm, I'm gonna finish cleaning this," he said without looking up, afraid that he might get sucked into Phoom's eyes again. His already weak heart, under any circumstance, must be guarded. For God sakes the man is in a hospital bed he can evade him for as long as he isn't moving.

"That's all? You're not angry or anything?" Phoom asked to break the silence after the kiss. He wasn't supposed to kiss the doctor but they were so close and there might not be an opportunity like this again. So, Pavel took a leap and made his intention clear. 

"I'm not gonna hurt a patient. Punching you would hurt me rather than hurt you," he said to Pavel whose body is built like brick. More like a greek god's body.

He isn't an art enthusiast but he can see that Pavel's body is made to be seen and appreciated by many.  Besides, it would be counter productive to hurt a patient he is trying to heal.  He isn't even sure if he would punch Phoom had they been in another setting.  Probably not.

The man chuckled at his statement. Pavel thought it to be a compliment.

Dome forced himself to focus and ignore the stare that he can now feel is intently directed at him.  He leaned back and tried to finish the wound dressing.  He has to replace the gauze and clean the stitches to prevent any sort of infection and festering of bacteria.

"Had a boyfriend before?" Pavel asked out of nowhere thankfully he had just finished dabbing alcohol around the stitches.

"Had a girlfriend but we broke up. I was busy with school.  I thought having a boyfriend is taboo in the military?" he asked, curious what Pavel's job is like other than the obvious fact that it's dangerous. 

"Not anymore. People have become more open about it and the seniors have no qualms so long as we do our job right," Pavel explained.

The open acceptance and awareness of LGBT relationships in the country had probably also made it easy for gay military men to come out of the closet. Not to mention the skyrocketing sales of condom, but that's beside the point.

"There's always the occasional gay jokes but that's all.  We don't treat gays any different in the military.  We train, eat, bathe, sleep together and of course we vow to die together," Pavel narrated.

Sounds like a solid brotherhood or a suicide squad. He envies that kind of relationship. A bond that's tighter than friendship but not lovers, who would protect and die for each other.

It's natural for people who went through hardship together to break insignificant stereotypes like gender and sexuality. After all, sexuality does not hinder one's desire to defend the country and risk their lives for others. There's no such stereotype in the afterlife. It follows that the living ones shouldn't discriminate based on gender identity as well.

But that's just his opinion. The rest of the population is entitled to their own beliefs.

"You treat them the same?  Why?  Are you not...gay yourself?" he carefully asked. Pavel might be a discreet gay and hasn't come out yet. 'Like you' a tiny voice in his head whispered but he ignored it.

"If I like a person then I simply like that person no matter the gender and I haven't got any experiences to say that I'm straight or gay," Pavel said to him. He gawked at the answer. 

There's no way that this handsome soldier, with a body like an athlete and a sexy mole to boot,  would not have a romantic relationship. 

"You're this handsome and you didn't have a relationship? Are you serious?" Dome is incredulously shocked.  No dating experience? Seems too good to be true. If all the women in the hospital knew about this they'd crawl towards Pavel like ants.

"You don't believe me?  I was a dwib and a lanky malnourished teenager. If you had seen my old self I guarantee you that you would have called me a loser," Pavel said.

No one could possibly believe that kind of statement. Even if Phoom isn't muscular he would have still turned his eyes to stare at him if he ever pass by.  He has that magnetism that draws anybody's eyes to him and him alone. 

"Your face alone could have attracted tons of girls," he said to Phoom. He finished changing the wound dressing. Satisfied with his work he tried to get up but was prevented by Phoom. 

The hand that held his wrist was too tight that he would surely would be lost.

"But I just want to attract you."

Dome wanted to hide. Phoom is a straightforward person. A lion likes to hunt their mate for months but Phoom guts you where he wants to hit you most---the heart.

How to respond to that? Flirting with a guy is different from  flirting with a girl, though he kind of admits that getting Phoom's attention makes his heart beat faster than doing cardio.

"Uhm. I-I don't kn-"

"Just say yes to a dinner with me," Phoom interrupted.

~TBC~