MELT HIS HEART (ROMANCE – BW AU)

Disclaimer: FICTION. Anything similar to a real-life circumstance is purely coincidental.

AN: This is actually SarawatTine. All rights of 2gether and its characters belong to JittiRain – I don’t earn from publishing this fanfiction on my site.

The plot and story of Melt His Heart belong to me. Please don’t post this anywhere without my permission.

—000—

Tyne’s dream has always been to own a dessert shop. He thinks that people deserve a touch of sweetness in their lives regardless of the bitterness life brings. 

As a little boy, he had witnessed even the grumpiest people smile whenever they had a taste of the sweet products. So he promised himself that when he grew up, he’d have his dessert shop. He’d be one of those people whose goal would always be to bring a smile to the face of even the saddest person in the world.

20 years later, he makes his dream come true. 

After graduating from law school, instead of running his own law firm, Tyne goes to Paris, enrolls in a pastry school, and comes home with a certificate. He then builds his dessert shop and turns his law degree into more of a side job. He doesn’t accept huge cases unless necessary and instead concentrates more on corporate consultancy. 

Souri, his dessert shop, is built with his own money and effort. He got his inheritance from his parents when he turned 21 and decided to pour some of it into his shop. His parents were both supportive, as well as his older brother Kavin who’s now managing the family business. From the family side—he has never had any problems at all. They just want him to be happy. They always say he should make himself happy.

So Tyne does. He buys a house in a nice neighborhood and builds his shop next to it so it’s easy for him to manage the operations even with just a few staff. With the help of his two best friends (Gunnie owns a PR firm and Pippy’s an interior designer) who live in the same village, Tyne’s able to start his business with a bang.

Gunnie invites his influencer friends to promote the shop for free and attend the launch. And Pippy has done a great job making sure the interior of the shop is as perfect as its products.

In just 6 months, Tyne’s dessert shop has done so well. It has become so popular he has to open a pop-up store in a huge mall, which is more accessible to most. This results in the village shop calming down a little in terms of dine-in customers. It’s still popular with people still dropping by to order their pastries for the day or even for the night, but peak hours aren’t as hectic now, which Tyne’s grateful for. And there has also been an increase in non-peak hours, which gives those who hate crowds the opportunity to visit. 

That’s how Tyne meets Wat—the recipient of his unplanned and unsolicited free sweet treats—if only to make the other man smile.

—000—

Smile.

Despite the lack of a smile on the handsome face, Tyne falls in love at first sight.

It’s almost four, just after the 3 pm peak hour on a Sunday, so Souri’s a little less busy with just a couple of tables occupied by a total of 4 people. Tyne’s busy arranging the mini display at the counter when the shop’s bell rings, indicating a newcomer. He looks up ready to greet the customers, but upon seeing who it is, his words die on his throat.

In front of him is the most gorgeous-looking specimen he has ever seen in his entire life, and he’s in a football uniform. Tyne stands there, gaping, as the handsome man lets in a group of rambunctious little kids inside and tells them to sit at the long center aisle table while he orders for them.

Tyne swears his heart stops beating as the man goes straight to the counter to order 11 cups of ice cream.

Up close, the man is more handsome, if that’s even possible. He has such beautiful Bambi eyes, a prominent Roman nose, the most luscious pink lips, and a well-defined facial structure framed by a shoulder-length, layered cut.

He’s sweaty obviously, but he looks and smells fresh to Tyne. In fact, he smells like the rainforest right after a shower. If that’s how he smells sweaty, Tyne can’t help but wonder just how fresher the man smells after a bath.

Let’s not go there, Tyne, he admonishes himself.

“Hi,” the man starts, his eyes on the menu while Tyne’s eyes are on him. The latter also just about melts at the slightly deep, raspy voice. “11 cups of your Souri Special cups please.”

“Uh. Right,” Tyne replies still a little distracted as he reaches for a cup they use for their special ice cream. “Erm… May I know your name, Sir?” Tyne asks. When the coach lifts an eyebrow, Tyne immediately clears his throat and explains, lifting the cup for the other to see the little box-like blank space. “So I—can put your name on the cups.”

The coach, thankfully, doesn’t make a fuss. After all, it’s also the procedure in almost all coffee shops everywhere. 

“Wat.”

Wat. A unique and nice name for such an incredibly handsome individual.

“Okay, Sir Wat,” Tyne replies with a smile of his own. “11 cups of Souri Special. That’ll be—”

Wat hands him the cash, which Tyne takes with a surprisingly steady hand. After the handsome customer has gone back to the table, Tyne tells his staff he’ll be the one to prepare the order. The two staff give him a knowing look, but say nothing and just nod. 

Tyne beams. It’s the reason why he hired Kimhan and Namcha and let them work full-time on weekends. They’re both hardworking students who don’t hover or question Tyne’s decisions. They just do their jobs well. On weekdays, he has Ajin and Tul in the morning and Maew and Tong in the afternoon—also very hardworking pairs that work well with Tyne. 

Actually, Tyne’s very picky in terms of his staff, and it’s paying off. He’s only hiring students who need part-time jobs and he trains them himself. He wants to help those who need money for their studies. All six are college students who need money to pay for their college fees. Not that they don’t get allowances from their parents, but they’re all good kids who want to help on their own.

Tyne hums softly as he carefully but expertly prepares the 11 cups. When he’s done, Kimhan assists him in putting the eco-friendly cups in the tray along with wooden spoons, but he doesn’t offer to take them to the center table. Instead, the young man joins Namcha at the counter to help with the customers who just came in.

As Tyne’s about to serve the ice cream, a sudden thought halts him. He glances back at the cups.

Oh no. Oh no, Metatyne. You are not doing this.

But even he knows HE IS doing it. HE IS going to do it. 

So before Tyne can back out from it, he goes back to the ice cream freezer counter and scoops a couple of flavors. He brings the cup to the soft ice cream mixer and allows the machine to combine the flavors. He then pours a drip of espresso on it—just a little—and places whipped cream, nuts, and chocolate chunks on top, finishing it off with a drizzle of his homemade chocolate syrup—a special syrup he also sells in jars, which is one of his bestsellers.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Tyne puts it on the tray along with the other cups and brings them to the center table. He smiles at the excitement on each kid’s face especially when Wat distributes it to them one by one.

When the only thing left on the tray is the unusual flavor, Tyne can see the confused look in Wat’s eyes as the latter looks up at him. Tyne simply smiles and tells him it’s a special flavor given to random customers.

“You can give it to another customer,” Wat says coldly. 

And Tyne almost backs out. The other man can be really intimidating with that resting bitch face and that voice. But for some reason, the happy looks on the faces of the kids beside Wat make him stand his ground.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Tyne says calmly. “If you don’t like it, you can just leave it be. I can’t serve it to another customer—that’ll be impolite. However, if you change your mind and still eat it, you can just leave a review on your receipt for us, which is actually the purpose of these random freebies. We’ll appreciate it, and the future customers will benefit from it. Thank you.”

And with that, Tyne walks away and goes straight to the counter, busying himself with taking inventory of the desserts left. Tyne doesn’t glance at the table and does not check if the man touches the cup of ice cream.

An hour later, Tyne sees the kids start standing up from the corner of his eyes. All of them wave to Tyne and say their thanks, with two even walking to the counter and thanking Tyne personally and asking for his name. 

“I like you, Mr. Tyne. My name’s Meekael Taylor, but they call me Bunny,” the little boy says. “And here’s Briar Light. You can call him Wolf,” he points to the other boy whose hand he’s holding. 

Tyne shakes the hands of the two boys and waves at them, extremely touched by the sweetness of the gesture. 

Wat on the other hand doesn’t even spare him a glance or thank him before he leaves. The man simply ushers the kids outside the shop and doesn’t look back.

Dejected, Tyne frowns. But the disappointment only lasts for a full minute before his determination comes back in full force and tells himself that if the coach comes back, he’ll make sure to give him a free dessert again.

After all, Wat has finished the ice cream. 

And that’s a good sign… right?

—000—

Good.

A one-time thing has become a regular thing.

Every Sunday afternoon, the group of boys and their coach go to Souri to get their fix of sweet desserts. And Tyne always makes sure he’s always there to get Wat’s order even though the man doesn’t engage him in any conversation other than his orders.

Bunny and Wolf always talk to him though. Bunny’s extremely talkative while Wolf’s content to just let him talk and stare at him, which Tyne finds cute.

Fortunately, the colder-than-ice coach doesn’t stop the two boys from talking to Tyne. Though he never spares their interaction a glance. The coach never looks his way. Not once. He’s ignoring Tyne, and it irritates and saddens Tyne at the same time. 

His only consolation is that despite being cold and aloof, Wat’s demeanor changes completely whenever he addresses his team. He’s gentler with the kids, and it touches Tyne’s heart. 

So Tyne being the softy that he is, even with all the warning bells telling him to slow down, continues to do what he does best—keep charming the seemingly bitter-cold man with the sweetest desserts.

And perhaps, one day, the saccharinity will slowly sip through the man’s veins.

And it’ll soften him up enough to appreciate Tyne and his consistency.

—000—

Consistency is indeed the key. 

It has been weeks, but Metatyne Wong never stops doing it. Why? Because he’s stubborn as hell. 

Every Sunday, once all the boys are done being served their cones or cups, Tyne will give the coach a free macaron or a free ice cream under the guise of asking for his opinion. Despite the warnings from his best friends, Gunnie and Pippy, Tyne pushes for it and continues to give the coach free desserts—alternately giving him ice cream and then macaron.

At first, the coach doesn’t budge. Wat accepts the free sweet treat and at least gives a nod as a thank you (or what Tyne stubbornly insists as a gesture of gratitude) but doesn’t comment about it. 

Until that day when Tyne finally finds a note scribbled on a piece of tissue containing the icy cold coach’s review of the butterscotch ice cream flavor, Tyne gave him while he was picking up the trays.

It’s short, but it’s more than Tyne ever asked for: Not for me because it’s too sweet, but it’s good in terms of flavor. Will probably be a hit for kids.

Tyne sends his staff home early that day with a big smile on his face.

Since that afternoon, Tyne and Wat have continued to communicate that way. They never speak the words out loud, but Wat always leaves a review on the receipt or a piece of tissue, which Tyne always looks forward to. 

The truth is, despite this routine starting as a way to melt the icy man’s heart, Tyne takes the reviews seriously because they are, after all, from a customer’s feedback. His two shops are doing well, and he needs all the feedback he can get.

But of course that’s just a bonus. Tyne can’t deny that his agenda, first and foremost, is still to melt the coach’s icy heart.

—000—

Melt.

Much to Tyne’s delight (and after a few more weeks of free desserts), his efforts seem to be working. The once stone-cold heart seems to start thawing right in front of his eyes. 

For one, the review gets longer every week. And then there’s the VERY FIRST verbal thank you for the free macaron one Sunday, which makes Tyne’s whole week full of rainbows and rays of sunshine. His heart actually stops when he hears the words that he forgets to even say anything back. Gunnie and Pippy, who are there to witness it, have to pinch Tyne hard before he can move.

“Oi MetaTyne Wong. It’s been 10 minutes!”

“God, you’re so fucking whipped. But can’t blame yah. That’s a yummy piece of man ass.”

“And he smells yummy! Who gave him the right to still smell like rainforest after the rain even though he’s sweaty? The fuck?”

And Tyne just ignores his best friends’ babbling. He is too happy, and he wants to keep himself inside that little happiness bubble for at least a few more hours. 

Wat’s a happy crush. There, he admits it. And he’ll be Tyne’s happy crush until he can no longer be.

Which happens sooner than later. 

—000—

Tyne has never thought of sooner or later as a bad thing. 

Time, to him, is a concept that’s inevitable, hence he always just goes along with its flow as much as he can. But this is one of those times he thinks time is probably not his ally.

Tyne doesn’t expect him to come that Saturday because it’s raining really hard. As much as he wants to see the older man, the kids shouldn’t be out in this downpour. 

“Your man ass won’t be coming.” Pippy declares, a cup of FREE ice cream in his perfectly manicured hand, the audacity.

“He’s not my man ass!” God, why are his friends so vulgar?

“It’s been a couple of months, Tyne. There should have been a development by now. And no, thanking you IS NOT  a development—it’s human decency,” Gunnie pipes in while biting into his FREE macaron. 

Again, the audacity of his best friends to come every Saturday to witness his nonexistent lovelife for entertainment and even get themselves free desserts.

“Will you two shut—”

But Tyne’s words are drowned by the sound of the bell, signaling the entrance of a customer. He glares at his best friends before facing the newcomer with a smile.

Until he sees who it is. And he almost drops the smile. Almost. Because Tyne’s still a professional. And he will treat every customer with respect regardless of what they make him feel.

Tyne ignores the concerned glances from his best friends.

It is Wat. The one he’s been waiting for all afternoon. Dressed in a casual button-down and jeans with his hair tied in a half-ponytail, making him look more gorgeous than he already is. It’s as if he plans on going out in this downpour despite how inconvenient it is.

And Tyne could’ve swooned there and then really—or even deluded himself into thinking that the coach purposefully dressed up to see him here. 

But—Wat’s not alone. He’s with someone. And that someone is a petite, elegant woman who looks so damn beautiful Tyne’s heart aches at the unfairness. 

But what makes it worse is that Wat’s eyes are focused on her, his hand wrapped around her tiny waist. He’s looking down at her like she is his moon, and perhaps the entire galaxy he’d love to conquer. 

Now Tyne isn’t one to conclude things. He knows she can be his friend, his best friend, or even his sister.  

But then—right in front of Tyne’s face—Wat pecks her lips. Softly and oh so lovingly. 

Fuck. Tyne hears something crack somewhere. It could be his heart, but he’s not exactly sure at the moment. What he’s sure of though is that it’s pretty obvious now what they are to each other.

God it would have been the perfect time to see Wat smile for the first time, and Tyne would have been happy. But instead, it hurts. It hurts that the beautiful smile is not directed towards him, and will probably never be for him. The coach has never smiled at him. Not once. And not with such a beautiful smile. Tyne has never seen the other man this alive before. 

And damn it motherfucking hurts.

It’s just a happy crush, Metatyne, he reminds himself. You said it’s just a happy crush. He keeps reiterating in his mind. The pain he’s feeling is already telling him that perhaps, this is no longer just a happy crush. 

Just shut the fuck up, Tyne, he forces himself to listen. Fortunately, his stupid self does.

So Tyne being a professional business owner still serves the couple, ice cream and a couple of macarons with a smile on his face. He tries not to look into Wat’s eyes though—he doesn’t want to.

“Enjoy your desserts,” he says, smiling at the beautiful lady, who smiles back at him before he turns his back on them and goes straight to the counter to keep himself busy.

Again, Tyne ignores the concerned glances his best friends are throwing at him. At least they know him enough to leave him alone for now. 

Though he’s pretty sure he’s not going to come out of his shop unscathed—Gunnie and Pippy will not let him leave without the talk.

Once or twice Tyne can feel Wat’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t give the other man the satisfaction of acknowledging it. They’re not a part of each other’s lives for him to show the other man that he’s this affected. Tyne’s not starring in a rom-com drama. This is reality.

Finally, after a full hour of unaddressed tension that can be felt by everyone who knows Tyne, Wat leaves with the woman without talking to the sweetshop owner. 

And Tyne reminds himself that it’s all right. Or if not yet, it will be.

As his friends hound him right after the door closes behind the guy and his date, Tyne tells himself that’s the sign that he should probably stop.

“You should,” Gunnie says quietly. He should.

“You’re not yet too deep into it. It’s better to stop now.” Pippy says.

Tyne nods. And if his best friends see his eyes misting, they don’t mention it. Instead, Pippy steals another cup of ice cream right in front of Tyne’s eyes. 

But he doesn’t even notice. 

Still, Tyne decides to stop. Before things get deeper and really complicated. 

—000—

Complicated. 

Wat and his presence in Tyne’s life—and the way he makes Tyne feel—are the complications he doesn’t need. 

Tyne hates complications because he doesn’t know how to deal with them. Hence, he always tries and simplifies things, breaking them down into little pieces until the smallest parts are no longer significant.

Tyne starts by taking away the only connection they have—free desserts. It might look petty, but it’s not. When a person wants to move on from something, he has to go back to the roots and cut the source. Or else it’ll just keep growing and growing as if there have been no steps taken forward.

Tyne doesn’t exactly know why he’s moving on, but some things don’t need a valid verbal reason. Sometimes the things that affect a person the most aren’t spoken but felt.

So yeah—Tyne stops giving Wat free dessert. 

He will never forget the shocked look on the man’s face that first Sunday he imposes it on himself when Tyne doesn’t take over the counter (which he usually does) as Wat comes to order for the kids. He will also never forget the confused look he throws at Tyne when there’s no extra cup or extra plate on the tray that Kimhan brings to the center table even though Tyne’s behind the counter. 

A few minutes later, Wat even orders dessert for himself. But instead of Tyne serving him, he calls Namcha to take the young coach’s order, with his back on him all throughout the transaction. 

Tyne swears he hears a dejected tone in the other’s voice, but he also thinks it’s probably his imagination.

That day, Wat and the kids leave Souri without a single interaction between him and the coach.  

This is the 3rd Sunday since.

“Bye, Mr. Tyne!” Bunny’s voice interferes with his thoughts. Tyne looks up from the counter and waves at the kid who’s holding Wolf’s hand, before following the others out of the shop. Bunny and Wolf have been consistently sweet. Wolf always makes sure to say hi to him whenever he requests extra water for Bunny and him. Bunny on the other hand is the farewell representative, always the one waving goodbye to Tyne.

Tyne accidentally catches Wat’s eyes, but he immediately averts his gaze and pretends to examine the shelves for dessert inventory, which looks pathetic because there are almost no macarons and pastries left since they’re about to close in an hour.

“Using the kids as shields, huh?” Pippy asks beside him just as the door finally closes behind Wat, and Tyne can finally breathe.

“Why are you here again?” Tyne asks, eyeing the cup of ice cream in Pippy’s hand. “And stop getting free ice cream. You have to pay for that. You’re richer than anyone else in this neighborhood and you can’t even pay for a cup of ice cream.”

But Pippy ignores him in favor of testing his patience. “You should just confront him. It’s better than seeing you mope like this.”

Tyne rolls his eyes and starts collecting the trays. His store’s policy is to put all cups and utensils on the tray, but the staff will be the ones to collect the trays. They take waste segregation seriously, and most customers don’t do it right so it’s better if the staff are the ones to do it.

“Who’s moping?”

“Come on, Tyne. Talk to the man.”

Tyne shakes his head. “First of all, I don’t have the right to do that. Pippy—we don’t talk at all except when he orders for his kids.”

“You talk through the receipt reviews!”

“Shut it. Second, he’s just a happy crush.”

“Happy crush, but you’re this affected.”

Ouch, Tyne thinks, but he’s not going to give his best friend the satisfaction. He hands Namcha the trays, which the handsome young man willingly receives, before facing Pippy.

“Exactly that—how will it look like if I approach him and talk to him seriously about this stupid little crush I have?” How will Tyne even explain this to the man, when he himself doesn’t even know what’s going on with him? “The answer is NO, Pippy. He is just another customer.”

And that’s all he ever will be because that’s all he needs to be.

Tyne hopes he can keep that promise.

—000—

Promise.

Tyne keeps repeating the promise in his head when Wat corners him near the restroom at the back—in all his football god-image glory. 

Well, it’s not exactly corner, but more like Tyne wants to pass, but Wat won’t budge. He’s not speaking either—possibly waiting for Tyne to address the situation.

But Tyne won’t. Nope. Never.

So instead of speaking or telling Wat to move, Tyne bows his head and tries to duck under the coach’s outstretched arm. 

But instead, he gets trapped between the arms of the man—and what arms they are. Tyne can also smell him, and it’s intoxicating. The coach smells fresh, but there’s also an underlying hint of musk, probably from his sweat from playing football all afternoon.

Tyne, in all honesty, wants to bury his face in that neck, but he’s trying to keep himself steady before he does something stupid like sniff the man’s heady scent.

“Tyne?”

The other man’s soft tone brings Tyne back to the present. This is the first time the man addresses him in such a voice. Still, he immediately takes a step back to bring some distance between the two of them. 

“Yes, Sir?” Tyne asks, trying to be formal. 

“Tyne, can we talk?”

Tyne’s surprised at the question. Talk? Why will Wat talk to him? They never really… well, talked. 

“Sir, if you have complaints regarding the services or our desserts, our staff will give you an evaluation form. We promise to take all comments seriously. If that is all, I need to go back to the counter.”

He tries to move, but Wat once again stands in his way. 

“Tyne—can you please look at me?”

Fuck. Don’t—I’m telling you, Metatyne. Don’t you fucking dare—

“Tyne, please?”

Damn it. Tyne meets his eyes. 

And what he sees there takes his breath away. 

The walls in Wat’s beautiful eyes are down. And for the first time, Tyne sees emotions swirling in those brown peepers. 

Tyne almost gives in. Well, he does, but not as much as he could have done if he’s in his right mind. 

“You have 1 minute,” he says, proud of himself for staying calm as he waits for the other man to explain.

Wat actually looks nervous, but he also looks determined as if he knows this is a chance he shouldn’t miss. 

“Tyne—”

Tyne doesn’t reply.

“I just—” he seems to hesitate at first. But when he meets Tyne’s gaze again, he takes a deep breath and continues. “The woman. The woman you saw with me. Her name’s Bea.”

Tyne feels the slight pain in his chest, but he ignores it in favor of glaring at Wat. “What about her?”

“I just—” Wat pauses again. “I just want you to know who she is.”

Tyne lifts a perfectly shaped brow. “Mr. Wat, I don’t think you need to explain to me what you and Bea have. You’re my customers, and it’s none of my business.”

Wat seems to flinch at that, but doesn’t say anything. 

“Is that all? Because I have a lot of other things to do.”

“Tyne—why are you avoiding me then?”

“Avoiding you?” Tyne asks. “Mr. Wat, I am not avoiding you.”

“But you don’t give me free desserts anymore. You don’t even look my way anymore. You even act as if I don’t exist. Did I do something wrong?”

Wat looks hurt. Really hurt. As if what Tyne did crushed him to pieces. 

There goes that traitorous heart again, Tyne thinks. He almost lifts his hand to his chest, but realizes that will look a little strange. So instead he crosses his arms in front of him and tries his best to smile at the seemingly hurt man. 

“There’s nothing to explain, Mr. Wat. I just realized I’ve been acting quite unprofessional with you by forcing you my desserts, so I simply rectified it. You are my customer. I should treat you professionally.”

“But I love them. I really do.”

Damn it. Don’t you fucking give in, Metatyne. This doesn’t mean anything. He just wants the free desserts. 

Liar.

Perhaps. But Tyne isn’t going to entertain that thought when Wat has a girlfriend. Or perhaps even a wife. He doesn’t really want to know.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wat. That promo has ended. Good day to you, Sir.”

And with that, he walks away.

Wat doesn’t stop him this time.

But Tyne swears his heart bleeds at the soft whisper he hears just before he turns the corner.

“Tyne, please.”

Tyne doesn’t look back. 

—000—

Look.

“And now you’re looking for him?” Pippy scoffs as he catches Tyne looking up for the umpteenth time just to see who entered the shop. “Tyne, you sent him away.”

“I did not!” He did.

“You did,” Gunnie replies, popping another macaron in his mouth. “What you did—that is sending him away.”

“How can that be—” Fuck, he did. But what can he do?

“He begged, Tyne,” Pippy interrupts his thoughts. “He wanted to explain, but you didn’t let him. You gave him one minute, but you were the one who consumed it, not him, you idiot.”

“He had nothing to explain.” Tyne wanted him to explain, but he felt like he wasn’t ready.

“Exactly, you idiot!” Pippy continues. “He had nothing to explain because like what you told him, it was none of your business. But he still felt like he needed to. Tyne—that meant something.”

“What do you mean?” No, Tyne doesn’t want to give himself hope. 

“That he cares about what you think, goodness!” Gunnie almost screams, causing Tyne to apologize to some of the customers who jump at Gunnie’s voice.

“Gunnie, please calm down,” Pippy admonishes him. “We have customers.”

Gunnie sighs and turns towards the customers to bow his head and smile, before turning his attention back to the quiet Tyne. “Think about it, Metatyne Wong, or you might NEVER see him again.”

“It’s been three weeks, Tyne,” Pippy points out. “He might not even come back, but IF he does—give him a reason to keep coming back. Talk to him properly and hear him out this time.”

And Tyne thinks his friends might be right. He should stop being stubborn and hear the man out or else, he might not see him ever again.

And Tyne hates that it scares him.

—000—

Scare.

Tyne almost screams as he sees said man standing in front of the dessert shop just as he’s closing it.

“Damn it, Wat. Can you please give a man some warning?”

But instead of the expected snarky or cold comeback, Wat simply bows his head and murmurs an apology. Tyne being Tyne immediately feels guilty. He sighs as he continues to lock up the shop before looking at the said man. 

“What are you doing here?”

Wat lifts his face so they can be eye to eye, and Tyne can’t help but wonder once again how in the world someone as gorgeous as this guy exists. He’s bathed in the moonlight, looking like a god that’s just sent to bring some sense into Tyne.

Tyne loves the shoulder-length hair tucked nicely in a half-ponytail. Not everyone can pull off the long-hair look, but here’s this man doing it effortlessly.

“Tyne, I just… I just really want to talk. Can we talk, please?”

His friends’ words echoing in his brain are enough to make Tyne agree. So he nods, much to Wat’s surprise. But instead of expressing it, the coach merely nods. 

“Where do you… uh… feel more comfortable talking?” Wat asks shyly, something Tyne’s not used to. The man used to be so cold and intimidating that if Tyne wasn’t who he was, he wouldn’t have been able to approach him. 

“I have a front porch. We can talk there,” Tyne replies to which the other nods. He starts walking, and he can feel Wat’s stares boring on his back. Though for some reason, they don’t make Tyne uncomfortable. 

“Oh. You live here.”

Tyne smiles at the incredulity in the voice. It’s a good thing his back is facing the other or else—

“Yeah. So it’s easier to manage the dessert shop,” he instead replies, leading the man to his front porch. He gestures to the cozy cushioned wicker chairs. “Please make yourself comfortable. I’ll just go get us something to drink.”

Without waiting for Wat’s reply, he enters his home and goes straight to his huge kitchen. He takes his time preparing the drinks to also give himself time to calm down. 

Once he feels like he can handle Wat’s presence, he comes out to the front porch bearing the tray of drinks. Wat sees him but doesn’t offer to bring the tray. And Tyne likes that. He’s not some damsel in distress. He can handle carrying a tray.

He places the tray at the top of the small table and sits beside Wat, maintaining a full foot distance between them.

“So—what do you want to—”

“I like you very much, Tyne.”

Tyne almost drops the glass he snatches for himself as he stares at the other man with his mouth agape. 

“What?” he stupidly asks.

Wat nods, but immediately averts his gaze. “The very first time I saw you.”

What?

“What?”

“That day,” the coach continues, his tone wistful, “I thought the kids deserved a reward for playing so hard during practice that I asked them what they wanted to eat. All of them were curious about the new dessert shop we passed by every Sunday and they requested to get ice cream from said shop.”

Tyne doesn’t reply, but Wat seems to have taken that as a sign to continue, so he does.

“I usually don’t pass by this side of the village because I live in Phase 1,” Wat explains, “but ever since the field where we usually practice was taken over, I had to find another field to practice, and thank goodness, the developer agreed to let us use one of the grassy vacant lots on Sundays.”

“Are you—” Tyne interrupts, making Wat finally face him. “Do you teach football at the private school in town?”

Wat shakes his head. “No, I don’t. Teaching them is actually just a sideline of mine.”

Now Tyne’s curious. “What do you—do, if you mind me asking?”

Wat shakes his head. “I don’t mind. I’m a composer. I write songs.”

“Oh.” Tyne’s surprised. “Really?”

The other man nods. “Really. I… wanted to start my own label, but due to unfortunate circumstances, that has taken the backseat for now.”

“Why?”

A small smile blooms on Wat’s face, taking Tyne’s breath away. Wat smiling makes his face light up. But seeing the small hint of hurt in those eyes makes Tyne curious.

So he waits, waits for the handsome man to start talking. Thankfully, Wat does after a few seconds of silence.

“I had a falling out with my family.”

Oh. Oh. “Oh.” Tyne doesn’t really know what to say to that. “Erm… I’m sorry.”

Wat chuckles, and Tyne finds himself melting at the husky laugh. This is the first time he hears it. In fact, tonight is a night of so many firsts, and he keeps getting caught off-guard.

“You don’t need to be sorry, Tyne,” the coach replies seriously. “My family’s issues are caused by differences in… beliefs. And things just went awry.”

“Do you—want to talk about it?” Tyne asks. Perhaps, that’s Wat’s reason for seeking him. He needs someone to listen to his problems without the fear of being judged because they don’t know the coach. And Tyne is someone he just met recently—a not-so-stranger who falls under that category.

However, instead of nodding, Wat shakes his head. “No—at least not now. And Tyne.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m—not here to talk about me.”

“Oh. So—erm—”

“I’m here to confess, actually,” the small smile is back on Wat’s face. “I’m here to confess to you.”

Oh. OH. Oh! “Huh?”

“I thought I was obvious when we last met.”

Tyne frowns. That’s something he thought “If you like me, then why—”

Wat pauses for a bit, but Tyne can see he’s not going to back out. He had sought out Tyne for a reason, and he wouldn’t waste the chance.

“Tyne—I’m confessing to you because I want you to take this as a promise,” he says after a while. 

“A promise?”

Wat nods. “I know you can’t trust me, not yet. Not when I haven’t proven anything yet. But, Tyne—please try to believe when I say it’s you. It’s you I like. Not her. Not anyone else. It’s you.”

“Wat, you don’t make any sense,” Tyne replies. “I’m not going to be a third party. Don’t ask me that.”

Wat shakes his head furiously. “Tyne, there’s no third party. You’ll never be a third party. You’re the only one. I promise. It’s just that—”

“That—”

“There are things I need to fix right now with her,” Wat says. “My relationship with her is complicated. But I assure you, it’s not anything close to romantic or any type of illicit affairs—Tyne, just let me… please… just let me fix this.”

Tyne bites his lower lip. That kiss hurt him. He needs to know what that’s about. 

“Before I say anything about this, I want to know—what is that kiss for?”

Much to his surprise though, instead of frowning or looking surprised, Wat simply chuckles. It’s not even an ice-cold laugh. It sounds genuine. Sincere.

“Tyne. I wonder if you’ve really seen what happened.”

Tyne huffs defensively. “I was there, Wat. Of course, I saw what happened.”

“Then you should’ve seen I was uncomfortable about it. And you should have seen that the kiss had caught me off-guard. She pulled me towards her—I didn’t kiss her. I’m gay, Tyne.”

There’s finality and determination in Wat’s voice that even though Tyne wants to back out from his resolve, he finds himself nodding. 

“Okay,” he says softly. “Okay. Let’s say I believe you—” The second one is to reassure himself that he’s doing the right thing. Wat won’t lie to him. He just knows he won’t. “—tell me what really happened.”

And Wat does. Without hesitations. And Tyne? Well, he’s going to listen.

“That day, that you’ve seen us,” the coach starts. “I was… about to confess.”

“What?” This is getting more confusing by the minute to Tyne.

Wat nods, looking embarrassed. “Yeah. So I was on my way to your coffee shop. I just walked to breathe some air and gather more confidence. I didn’t know she was following me, and approached me right before I turned the corner to your street.”

Tyne nods but doesn’t say anything.

“She wanted to talk to me about… something,” the man continues. And with the way Wat hesitates explaining further, Tyne thinks this is that issue he needs to fix with her, so he doesn’t question him.

“And—”

“I had to entertain her,” Wat says. “What we talked about that way was very important to me, so she asked me if we could have coffee so we could talk about it. And I agreed.”

Tyne sighs. “And you, being a gentleman, escorted her to my shop.”

“Yeah,” Wat says. “Bea isn’t… always that bad.” When Tyne lifts a brow, Wat chuckles. “What I mean is, she isn’t always an irritating person. She can be quite sarcastic if she isn’t chasing after me, and can crack a joke.” His eyes become somber as he says the next words. “That’s what you probably saw when we entered your shop. We were talking about a common person we knew, and something stupid he recently did. Said acquaintance is actually a close friend of mine, so it was easy for me to react.”

“Your arms were around her waist, Wat,” Tyne confesses. “And you’re looking at her lovingly. Now the lovingly is somewhat explained, but the waist—”

The amusement on Wat’s lips is so obvious, but hey—Tyne thinks he has the right to be jealous. He is, after all, the apple of this man’s eyes, or at least that’s what Wat claims.

“Tyne, she slipped and I had to catch her around the waist to prevent her from embarrassing herself,” Wat says. “I wish I could say it was purposeful, but she really slipped, and it’s because I accidentally tripped her—so we both laughed. I—” The coach hesitates, and he suddenly blushes, which makes Tyne confused.

“Why are you blushing?”

It takes a few more seconds before Wat’s able to compose himself, and then he lets out a deep sigh. “The moment we entered, I caught sight of you. And my world just stopped—like how it always does whenever I see you.”

This time, it’s Tyne who blushes. “Damn it.”

Wat chuckles again. “Well, yeah. That’s how stupid I react whenever I see you. I bet you think I used to glare at you because I was a cold motherfucker, but Tyne—my brain just short-circuits whenever I see you.”

“Stop,” Tyne groans. This is too much for his poor little heart, damn it.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop,” Wat says. “But—I think you now get what happens next. She probably… saw what made me act that way and—”

Tyne glares. “So she kissed you.”

“Well, yeah.”

“And then you started acting like I had the plague, and however I tried to look at it, I felt like, or more like, I hoped—that you felt the same way. That you were… jealous.”

“I was.” Tyne won’t deny it. Wat’s been putting everything out in the open. It’s only fair that he does too.

“Oh.” Wat pauses, but Tyne appreciates that he doesn’t look smug about it. He’s more… relieved. “Can I—can I come closer, Tyne?” Wat asks gently. 

And all Tyne can do is nod and drown himself in those beautiful, somber Bambi eyes. 

When Wat is just a breath away, Tyne closes his eyes. He’s not exactly expecting anything, but he’s not denying it either. If it happens, it happens.

Damn it, Metatyne. You WANT it to happen. 

Oh, yes. I do.

“Tyne?” The warm breath that smells like coffee and toothpaste, fans all over Tyne’s face.

“Hmm?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“I’m really not a third party? You’re not cheating on her?”

“Never. I promise you that what we have is nothing like what you’re thinking, but—it’s too complicated for me to explain right now.”

“Well, okay.” It’s not that hard to convince Tyne after all. 

So he just accepts it. Accepts the pillow-soft lips that taste as good as they smell. Wat kisses well—soft but not hesitant. Passionate but not aggressive. Though Tyne thinks if provoked, this man will transform into someone else that Tyne would love to get to know one day.

But for now, Tyne will just enjoy the moment he’s having with this man even though he knows that the complications he has been trying to avoid just keep hitting him in the face.

But he has to admit, this one is something he’d rather not avoid at all.

—000—

Avoid.

If anyone told Tyne a few months ago that he would avoid the coach for a different reason, he would have told them off.

But here he is, really avoiding the coach again, who looks so damn handsome in his football jersey, as he orders for the group of boisterous kids at one corner of the shop.

“Hey.” Wat says softly. Tyne hears a scream somewhere behind him, and he knows it’s his best friends, who are once again, in his shop and stealing his macarons right in front of his face.

“Hi,” Tyne says, clearing his throat. “Erm… so… erm…”

“Use proper words, Metatyne!”

“He’s blushing like a virgin when he’s no longer one!”

Tyne blushes deeper and turns his head to glare at his best friends who just smirk at him. He takes a deep breath and turns his attention back to the handsome man standing across the counter. He doesn’t meet his eyes.

“Erm… the usual for the kids?”

Tyne nods and starts punching buttons on the register. “Anything else?”

The coach doesn’t reply, but Tyne refuses to look up. He’s not this shy when it’s only the two of them together, but they’re inside his shop, and he feels like everyone’s currently staring at them.

Tyne clears his throat. “Anything…. Else?”

“Yes,” the coach replies. “Whatever the owner recommends. And—”

Tyne’s impatience when Wat doesn’t continue gets the better of him, so he finally looks up to meet the coach’s gaze—only to find him staring at him with the most loving gaze.

It takes Tyne’s breath away every damn time—how much love the other man has for him. And he hopes that Wat can see the same whenever he looks into Tyne’s eyes because sometimes Tyne thinks his love for him’s too great it’s suffocating both of them.

“W-wat?” he stutters.

Wat smiles. “Have dinner with me, Baby.”

Scream. Screams, actually. Tyne wants the ground to swallow him whole, but he refuses to let the teasing halter him from replying. 

“Are you asking me out on a date, Coach?”

Wat puts his hand on top of his head and moves closer until they’re nose to nose. 

More screams. Teasing. And Tyne could have sworn Pippy dramatically fainted, and the kids tried to help him get up.

“Baby, when you said yes six months ago, you said yes to every single date after that,” the coach replies. “And in another six months, we’re making it official.”

It’s been two years since that kiss on Tyne’s front porch. Wat disappeared for a couple of weeks after that, and when he came back, he formally proposed to Tyne and explained what happened.

Bea’s father owned the private school in town. His father granted scholarships to Wat’s kids through football. He was threatening to revoke it if Wat didn’t marry his daughter.

Bea’s father, as it turned out, was the head of the family Wat was promised to when he was younger. In other words, his parents fixed his marriage with Bea. Wat never entertained her advances but had remained polite for the sake of the kids while finding ways how to help them with the limited resources he had.

Right after Wat confessed to Tyne, he went straight to Bea and outright made it clear that he didn’t want her. Perhaps when he explained properly, Bea would have a heart and wouldn’t take it out on the kids.

But Wat was wrong. Right then and there, Bea told his father to revoke the scholarships. 

He did. Right in front of Wat. The next day, Wat received calls from brokenhearted parents. These kids didn’t have the money, hence Wat worked hard to give them scholarships, even going so far as to be their coach for free when he himself was struggling to make ends meet. Wat’s family was rich. But he had been disowned.

That’s where Kavin came in. That day, Tyne’s brother offered scholarships to the kids. The Wongs owned a private school in the city center, and it had been a quick solution.

And then Kavin introduced Wat to Thyme, his… best friend. Thyme owned a record label, and coincidentally, he needed a talented composer for their new artists. 

Wat was hired on the spot. 

A few months later, he was hired again. This time, as Tyne’s boyfriend.

A few months after that, he was promoted to fiance status.

And in another six months—

“Damn you,” Tyne says before finally crossing the small gap between their lips and kissing his fiance gently. He feels Wat’s hand fall from his head to his shoulder as the coach kisses him back. He grins when he sees his staff and his best friends try to distract the kids from what’s happening at the counter.

Ooops. He almost forgets they’re not alone. So after savoring those cupid-bow lips for a few more seconds, Tyne finally moves away from the man and boops his nose with his finger.

“Fine. I’m going to dinner with you.”

Wat grins and starts walking backward towards the table with the kids. “Thank you, Baby. Meet you here at 6. After this, I’ll just go home to take a bath and come back.”

“Hey! Your payment. This isn’t free, Sir.”

 “Put in on my tab,” Wat says as he winks. “I think this time, the promo extends to forever.”

 “Hey!”

But Wat just chuckles and shakes his head before walking back towards the kids and sitting with them. Tyne rolls his eyes as he tells his giddy employees to prepare the order for their most demanding customer.

And then he joins them. He just notices that Wat actually saves a space beside him.

And as the banter around the table continues, he hears words whispered to his ear that just about melt his heart right then. 

“I love you, Tyne.”

And all Tyne can do is say the words back. 

##