Chapter Text
The morning air was bright and clear, carrying the faint chill of an early breeze that slipped through the open window of Namping’s small apartment.
Boxes were stacked neatly by the door, each one labeled in his careful handwriting — books, clothes, plants, other stuff. The place already looked emptier than he’d ever seen it.
Namping stood in the middle of the room, hands buried in the pockets of his hoodie, eyes wandering across the walls one last time. Every corner had a memory — late-night studying, spilled tea, music too loud at 2 a.m., and especially these unique moments.
When ohms and Keng stayed at this apartment because of their water issue. This was how everything has started.
The balcony.. with all those beautiful memories between Keng and Namping.
Their first time in Namping’s bed room.
He smiled faintly. “Goodbye, old place,” he murmured under his breath. “You did your job.”
A familiar sound drifted up from the street — the low, smooth purr of an engine he could recognize anywhere. He leaned out the window and saw Keng’s white Mustang parked by the side of the street, sunlight glinting off its polished hood. A white large car parked right behind him.
Keng stepped out of the car, sunglasses perched low on his nose, sleeves rolled up, the morning wind teasing his hair. He spotted Namping immediately and waved, that small, knowing grin already in place.
Two workers stepped out of the white car behind Keng, and the two men immediately headed up to Namping’s apartment.
Keng called them to carry Namping’s boxes, to make the moving process easier.
“Ready, sweetheart?” Keng called up.
Namping nodded shyly, but he couldn’t help smiling. “Give me five minutes!” he shouted back.
Keng nodded and leaned against the car, checking his phone, completely at ease in that way that made people turn their heads when he passed.
⸻
Five minutes turned into ten, but eventually Namping came down, dragging one of his suitcases behind him. As the workers left with all boxes, his keychain jingled as he locked the door one last time.
He hesitated for half a second before dropping the keys in the landlord’s mailbox, a quiet click echoing like an ending.
Keng took the luggage from his hand before he could even ask. “You didn’t have to carry it all yourself,” he said, loading it smoothly into the trunk.
Namping shrugged, smiling shyly. “Wanted to do it myself. Kind of like… closure, you know?”
Keng glanced at him, that fond, almost imperceptible smile tugging at his lips. “You’re sentimental.”
“You love that about me.”
Keng didn’t deny it. He just opened the passenger door and gestured toward it. “Get in before I decide to carry you instead.”
Namping laughed quietly and slid into the passenger seat. The leather smelled like the car would be brand new and the faint trace of Keng’s cologne — familiar and grounding.
The younger one loved this car.
When Keng got in beside him and started the engine, the car came alive with a soft rumble. The city rolled past them as they drove — narrow streets giving way to wider roads, sunlight glinting off the windows of passing buildings.
Keng placed his hand on Namping’s thigh, as he caressed it from time to time. For a while, they said nothing. The silence between them wasn’t heavy, it was calm, filled with the quiet hum of the road and the unspoken excitement neither wanted to admit first.
Namping turned his head toward the window, watching the skyline blur by. “It feels weird,” he said eventually.” mmh ? What feels weird ?” Keng asked curiously and looked to Namping.
Namping’s fingers played with the zipper of his hoodie as he searched for the words. “Leaving that place. I lived there for years. And now I’m just… driving away from it like it’s nothing.Like those memories never meant anything..like nothing.”
Keng’s thumb stroked lightly along his thigh — comforting, steady. “It’s not nothing,” he said gently. “But you’re not running away from your life. You’re moving into a new one. A better one~”
Namping let out a small breath, watching the sunlight flicker between passing trees. “With you,” he said softly. A huge smile formed on his lips.
Keng didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he tightened his hold just a little, grounding Namping with the warmth of his hand. “Yeah,” he said finally, voice warm but quiet. “With me.”
They stopped at a red light. Keng glanced over, fully this time — sunglasses pushed up, eyes focused entirely on him. “You know,” he added, “if you ever change your mind about anything… about the room, the arrangement, living with me .. you tell me. I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
Namping blinked, startled, not fully believing his own ears. “I’m not pressured,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “I’m… nervous. But not pressured.”
Keng’s smile softened, the kind he only ever showed when they were alone. “Good.”
The light turned green, and the Mustang eased forward again.
“Besides,” Namping said, cheeks warming red, “you’re the one who insisted I move in~ And I agreed. I would never ever change my life. I can do that~ even on my own. I could handle the move fully on my own too.”
“I know you,” Keng said simply followed by a giggle. “You’d stare at the boxes, sigh dramatically, make tea, and then decide to move ‘next week’.”
Namping opened his mouth but then closed it. “…Okay, that’s fair enough..”
Keng chuckled, the sound low and warm, filling the car. “See?”
Namping turned to him fully, unable to hide the smile tugging at his lips. “You really think you know me that well, huh?”
“I don’t just think so.. I know that I do.” Keng tapped his thigh lightly. “Better than you think.”
They merged onto a wider road, the city gradually thinning as the route shifted toward Keng’s neighborhood, toward the place that would soon be their place.
Namping felt the nerves again, fluttering in his chest, but beneath it was something steadier , something that felt like relief.
“Hey,” Keng said suddenly, eyes still fixed on the road. “You don’t have to be afraid of starting over.”
Namping looked at him, puzzled. “I’m not afraid.”
Keng smiled faintly. “You are. Just a little. I notice”
He squeezed Namping’s knee gently. “But I’m right here. That’s not going to change.”
Namping swallowed, warmth pooling in his chest.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Then I’m ready.”
“Good,” Keng murmured, and the Mustang sped smoothly onward. “Because this is only the beginning of our life together now.. and I won’t ever let you leave that easy ever again”
Namping huffed a small laugh, though his pulse fluttered at the edges of Keng’s words. “You make it sound like you trapped me in your basement forever, no?..”
Keng’s lips curved into a slow, knowing grin as the car slipped onto a long stretch of road washed in sunlight. “Maybe I did,” he said, voice velvety. “A little..didnt’t I baby?”
The world “baby” echoed through Namping’s ear. It felt like he said this word for hours.
The Mustang purred beneath them, low and luxurious — the kind of sound that made people turn and look even when they didn’t know why. Wind rushed past the windows, catching the edges of Namping’s hair as the city fell away behind them.
“You’re dramatic,” Namping muttered, cheeks warming.
“I’m honest, dead honest” Keng corrected.
He tilted his head slightly, profile sharp against the glow of morning light.
“You walk into my life with those soft eyes and that stubborn little heart, and suddenly everything that was mine feels empty without you in it.”
Namping’s breath caught. Why was Keng suddenly so … sexy romantic.
Keng continued, voice dipping lower, even smoother just like he was confessing something dangerous but beautiful.
“You know what you do to me, sweetheart? Someone like me… I have everything. Money, cars, whatever I want.”
His fingers brushed higher on Namping’s thigh — not improper, just intentionally grounding him, claiming him.
“But none of it meant anything until you.”
The world outside blurred, golden and slow. It felt like they were suspended in a moment that didn’t entirely belong to reality.
Namping felt like he couldn’t breath normally, and swallowed. “Keng…”
Keng glanced over, eyes dark, steady.
“If you think I’m letting you go easily after this? After you moved in with me?”
A soft laugh slipped from him .. warm, rich, a little wicked and dark.
“Not a chance. You’re mine now. And I take very good care of what’s mine.”
The words were bold, but they carried that unmistakable tenderness only Keng ever gave him , it felt like a velvet ribbon tied around something fragile. The cherry on top
Namping leaned back into the seat, heart beating louder than the engine. Somehow, he didn’t feel trapped at all. He felt… chosen. Like he would only be alive for Keng. Not in a toxic way.. in a indescribable good way.
He looked at Keng, unable to hide the small smile growing on his lips.
“You talk like you’re the worldwide only million dollar man himself,” he teased softly.
Keng’s grin widened just a fraction.
“I might be,” he said, voice smooth as a promise. “But you’re the only thing I’d ever spend it all on.”
The Mustang glided forward, sunlight scattering over the hood like diamonds, finally reaching the house.
And for the first time that morning, Namping wasn’t thinking about what he left behind.
Only where he was going.
Only who he was going with.
This was his new life.. and he already loved it.