Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Earth shattering. That was exactly what Ram felt when facing the worst image he never dreamt of seeing. Somehow, watching his father enter that hotel with his former childhood best friend didn’t even compare to his present scene. As he was watching everything play out in front of him, he experienced the pain of someone taking a hot rod and torching it deep into his sinking heart. His body was on the brink of breaking down completely, had he not known that he had to be the stronger person in the situation.

Before this, they had gone out to dinner to celebrate the ending of their last final exam. Ram had offered to treat King as gratitude for tutoring him in math all these months. Though King insisted on a different reward, which Ram agreed to, he still took his boyfriend out for a celebratory/’thank you’ dinner.

But their trip back to the condo was opposite of their laughs and smiles. Ram was standing in the doorway and staring at King, who was centered in his living area in shock of the devastation. Like a construction site, dirt was scattered everywhere on the floor and furniture. Most of his plants had been stripped from their pots and shredded on their graves. Every plant that had been hanging had been thrown down. Nothing had survived the wrath of whoever came. It looked like a giant tornado had come through with plants as its only target for destruction.

The silent boy could see tears filtering the eyes of his boyfriend as he stood amidst the turmoil of his beloved plants dispersed throughout his condo. His hands balled into angry but defeated fists, and a faint sob croaked past his quivering lips. Hanging past his blurred eyes were his raven bangs as he lowered his head, not wanting to look at the mess any longer. From the top of his head, a white streak of moonlight peeking from the window stamped across.

Slowly, he fell to the ground onto his knees and scooped a pile of soil into his hands. Fingers rubbed together as he allowed the victimized ruins to shower back to the rug. Along with the dirt, wet drops rained from his face and dotted the dark rug.

Ram wanted to be angry. There was a fire bubbling deep within, waiting for the okay to explode. Desperately, he wanted to find the culprit that thought it was a brilliant idea to ruin King’s precious children, and ravage them until they turned the darkest shades of black and blue. As much as he wanted to erupt, he knew he had to refrain himself for now. His support to King was more valuable than focusing on total scum.

Not being able to stand watching any longer, Ram shut the door and rushed to King’s side. A strong arm wrapped around the waist of the trembling male.

“Kwang!” he wailed, pulling the concerned boy closer and wrapping his arms around his neck for comfort.

As King cried against Ram’s neck, Ram rested a gentle hand on his head and pet the top of his head, mimicking what King had done to him when he was upset. His free hand rubbed soothing circles on his back, allowing him to wet the crook of his neck.

“Sh,” Ram hushed him as he calmly rocked them on the floor.

For ten minutes, they continued to bathe in the mourning silence of his condo. Only weeping from the saddened parent filled their home, echoing against the now barren walls. Each suffering moment was slower than molasses for Ram, having to hear the excruciating whimpers that croaked in his ear. His boyfriend’s body trembled against his stilled one, prolonging a point of relaxation.

After more time had passed, Ram sensed him easing into his hold and heavily resting on his body. Warmly, he nuzzled his face on the top of his head and pressed a firm kiss to it. He gently hoisted them up and kept a hold of King’s waist, his limp body too upset to find strength within itself. They shuffled across the room and into his bedroom.

Just as they entered, King turned back to face the battleground. Ram knew what he wanted to do. The brokenhearted senior was aching to clean up the mess and say goodbye to his precious plants.

“P’King…” Ram uttered lowly.

King stared longingly behind them and then refocused his attention to his bedroom.

Ram knew this was challenging for him. Heck, if something had happened to one of his dogs, he knew he would’ve reacted the same, if not worse. For King to calm down as quickly as he did showed true strength. Ram hoped that he also aided in his body’s recovery.

“Let’s go to sleep. We can deal with that tomorrow,” he said in a consoling voice, tracing mini circles on the side of his waist as they stood there in the doorframe of the bedroom.

Hesitantly, King nodded and removed himself from Ram’s grip. Ram’s eyes followed the weak boy to the washroom. Disheartened, he went to get ready himself.

Mostly, King was silently crying as he completed simple tasks like brushing his teeth and changing into his pajamas. All Ram could do was get ready and painfully watch his boyfriend drown in his troubles.

Once the couple had finished their nightly routines, they had gotten into an efficient system for bedroom preparation, they snuggled up into the bed and turned the lights off. Rolling around, they faced each other in the middle of the bed. Eyes puffy and red, King looked helplessly at Ram, as if to say, “Please, comfort me.”

Without second thought, Ram embraced King wholly, draping his arms around his waist and drawing him closely against his body. King tucked his head under Ram's chin and pressed his face neatly against his chest. He hugged Ram tightly, like a koala holding onto a branch for dear life.

“It took me three years to grow them...do you know how expensive it’s going to be to replace all of them?” King sniffed.

Ram sighed and stared at the wall ahead of him. “Sleep,” he whispered.

Instead of protesting, King did as directed and squeezed his eyes shut. Maybe once they woke up, they would realize this was a terrible nightmare. Kwang would be peacefully hanging in her respective pot, as would the rest of her siblings. There wouldn’t be a giant brown mess to remove from the carpets in the morning, and all would be well.

Once Ram was certain that King was deep in sleep, he quietly peeled himself from him. As hushed as possible, Ram went to the living room and spent hours cleaning the aftermath of the intrusion. He didn’t want King to deal with this more than he had to. So, he filled trashbags up with the dirt and set them at the front of the doorway. He then placed every plant in their respective pots, empty and lonely. He knew that King would still want to give a rightful parting to each of them.

When he finished the job, he washed his hands and returned to bed to see that King was in the same position that he had left him in. He crawled onto the mattress and settled his arms back around King, wanting him to feel comforted if he woke up first. He sweetly kissed the top of his head before dozing off steadily.

Chapter Text

The next morning was not like the wish that King had made last night. He found himself entangled in Ram’s arms and glanced up groggily, wiping his eye to see that, yes, his terrarium on his desk only had a lifeless plant inside. With a heavy heart, he ascended and left for the kitchen.

Soon after, Ram woke up and noticed that King was gone. Anxiously, he struggled out of the bed and rushed out of the bedroom. To his surprise, King wasn’t crying again. The boy was in the kitchen, making breakfast for the two. He was doing what they usually did, as if nothing had happened.

That reaction raised suspicions from Ram. It was impossible for King to have been okay so early on in the mourning stage. The cool face strode across the room and hugged King from behind, peering over his shoulder to see that he was making omelets.

King didn’t say anything. It was unlike him to not greet Ram with a cheerful, “Good morning,” and shove him aside so he had free range of motion. Strangely, he allowed Ram to cuddle him while he made their first meal of the day. He didn’t even seem perturbed.
Ram pulled away and decided to take out the trash while it was still morning. With hands full of garbage, not with the bags of dirt because they could be useful later, he opened the condo door and made his way down the hallway.

“I know. It’s crazy,” a feminine voice rang down the hall. Ram frowned and tuned in to the conversation.

“All of my flowers were damaged too. I never would’ve thought someone would be stashing money in their pottery,” a male voice added.

“I have to start from scratch. I hope they catch the jerks that hurt my petunias,” she said with ire.

“You heard what P’Sharp said. It was an unknown gang. At least with some lead, I’m sure the police will catch them,” he said assuringly.

Ram gulped the angry lump that had formed at the top of his throat from the start of the conversation. A gang had broken into the complex in search of hidden money in plant pottery. That would explain why only the plants were destroyed last night. Badly, Ram wished he could figure out which gang had done this and make it the largest regret of their lives.

Irate, Ram stormed down the hall and headed towards the dumpster. A new determination was set in his mind. Soon after he slammed his trash in the dumpster, he headed to security to greet a special security officer that worked at King’s condo.

Not even bothering to knock, Ram tore the door open and saw P’Sharp typing away at his computer. Confused, he glanced up to see the most furious foreigner he’d ever seen at the entryway of his office.

“Can I help you?” he asked, puzzled by the extreme reaction.

Silently, Ram approached his desk and sat in the chair across. “I need to see last night’s security footage,” he demanded.

Ram really hated talking to people, but in this case, he had no choice. This person had something that Ram wanted.

“Unless you’re the police, I’m afraid I can’t release that to you,” P’Sharp said apologetically.

Ram leaned over the desk, coldly staring into the man’s oak orbs. There wasn’t an ounce of kindness in the boy’s eyes. In fact, though eyes were the window to the soul, there wasn’t any given indication that he was desperate. His eyes were dark and showed a fire that burned brightly from the pits of a volcano readying to erupt.

Not long after the distraught boyfriend stapled the victim’s tie to his desk and made some comments not suitable for young ears, he was reviewing last night’s footage from the camera that cornered their hallway.

Skimming the video, he stopped the motion when noticing three dubious men with identical black masks hooding the bottom halves of their faces approached their door. Little clicks were made as he zoomed in on the blurred image, examining for any insights as to who these people were. The screen was maneuvered to focus on one culprit that wore a dark tee-shirt exposing his biceps. Stamped on his upper arm was a fierce dragon with red and orange shadings. The distinctive depiction of the mythological creature clued Ram to this person’s identity. It just so happened that a student in his math class had a matching tattoo, which was of no coincidence. The lucky winner of Ram’s wrath was none other than Lek Somporn.

Fuming, Ram just about smashed the mouse in his hand but withheld his anger. He’d save all of his vexation for the erroneous man who’d made the worst mistake of his life. Heavily, his heart was thundering in the depths of his chest, waiting for the destruction of lightning to accompany its rage. Unbeknownst to Lek, he had poked at the wrong bear. This was a bear that was a boxing champion, and he used his success to his advantage.

Ram shoved the mouse away and went to pry the staples out from Sharp’s tie. He could tell from the security’s body language that he was more frightened of him than their initial encounter. That told Ram that his fire was burning brightly. Just one image had brought all the ammunition he needed.

Chapter Text

A powerful rumble rippled underneath each step that bustled from the irate male. His vision was blinded blood red from the boiling inferno simmering in the pit of his stomach. Anger may start a fire, but true wrath was the gasoline. As he charged around campus in search of his burn victim, people rushed away from the petrol trailing behind. No one dared to approach the heat that radiated from the usually iced student.

There were plenty pollened rumors that buzzed from the bees at school, always recounting the tall tales of Ram’s wrath. Though he hadn’t been in many altercations, the ones he had been in were nothing short of infinitesimal. Admittedly, he often went easy on his opponents, aware of his potential that could extirpate more than just the body. Bohn was even fortunate to not meet Ram’s full capacity. He also had a leg up considering he was dating his best friend, but that was besides the point. Point was that not one person, not even Duen, had witnessed Ram in a state of pure rage and for good reason.

That was when he saw him. Right across the yard, laughing with his friends as if yesterday didn’t exist was the crooked face of Lek Somporn. He was the one who dared to even let the thought enter of hurting the person Ram cared for most. And what a fool he was in doing so.

“Hey!” Ram shouted, clapping harshly against the ears of his enemies from feet away. His stance was stiff as he stood there, fists choking the air by his sides as his steely eyes drilled into Lek’s.

A confused expression contorted the culprit’s hideous face, not aware of what his beef with the guy was.

“And you are?” Lek asked with a smirk, paying no mind to Ram’s aura. Evidently, he wasn’t up to date on the University’s new favorite couple. Either that, or he didn’t bother to acknowledge it.

“Your nightly activities should clue you in,” Ram responded coldly with a tinge of warmth sizzling from the dragon’s breath.

After sitting there and staring at him stupidly for a moment, everything seemed to puzzle in his mind.

“Oh!” He snapped his fingers at the recollection. “That’s right. You’re the freak screwing that brainiac senior. Those plants are his, aren’t they? You don’t seem like the type to do girly stuff like that,” he sneered. Behind him, his friends cackled and high fived each other.

The audacity this dunce had to insult the love of his life after destroying his beloved children? No one messed with Ram’s family, and he was about to learn just that!

Without warning, Ram pounced onto his prey with a full swing cracking against his jaw. They slammed into the grass with Ram landing perfectly on top. Lek had no chance, as Ram was already starting his second blow right to the left cheek, breaking the smooth skin and watching it spill with blood.

Lek cried for help, but his friends had no desire to follow in pursuit of the erupting Pompeii. Instead, they watched back in awe like spectators in a theater, waiting to see how the scene would pan out.

No words were uttered by Ram. One would expect such an explosion to be of not only physicality but vocality as well, but Ram’s hits said more than words ever could. The force of his flying arms landed mightily, as if all the force of gravity had densely compacted into the balls of his hands.

Before he knew it, he was being pried from Lek after only three hits to his face. Lek stumbled up and rubbed his reddening face, trickling faintly with blood.

Ram tried to fight the pair of arms grasping his waist, but the strength was doubled on the side.

“Stop!”

He heard a voice he recognized and peered over to see a disappointed look on Duen’s face. Instantly, his fire was extinguished as reality set in to what he was doing. Duen had prevented the outbreak from a hospital visit to what could’ve been a visit to the morgue.

His muscles relaxed into his hold. From the other side, he saw Bohn struggling to keep him hoisted. It took a few minutes before the couple trusted the beast to be freed from captivity. The boy dusted himself off once released.

“What were you thinking?!” Duen scolded.

“He broke into P’King’s condo and destroyed all of his plants. And just now, he insulted him!” Ram argued.

“Then you go to the police. But you don’t correct evil with more evil! Violence is never the answer,” he said with a tear streaming down his face, clearly distraught over his friend’s outbreak.

Ram could tell that Bohn wanted to say something as he sweetly embraced his crumbling boyfriend, but he was in no position to scold him for his violent choices. He’d sound like an idiot considering Bohn had a worse reputation regarding his anger issues.

Feeling guilty, he hung his head lowly.

“P’King wouldn’t want this. You should be thinking of how to console him, not get revenge. He should be more important than that jerk,” he sobbed into Bohn’s chest. Bohn rubbed his head and kissed the top of his fuzzy hair.

“You’re right. I’m sorry...thank you for stopping me,” Ram murmured.

“You’re forgiven. Now go worry about P’King!”

Chapter Text

Seven grueling days had passed since the incident involving Ram’s fists of fury and the unlucky burglar. Since that time, Ram’s heart had been peeled piece by piece as he witnessed the sullen expression that never left King’s face once. Desperately, he tried to make him smile but to no avail. King didn’t smile at any of his jokes, at being tickled, or even when Ram told him he loved him. With each new sunrise, Ram’s hope had lessened. Time was supposed to be the best healer, but it appeared as if time were only slowly worsening the harm.

All Ram could do at this point was console him. Whenever King was about to rant, Ram would hold him and hush the saddened boy. If they passed by a garden, Ram would grab his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. Every time a tear was spilt, he was there to capture it. There was nothing he wasn’t willing to do to alleviate his grievances.

Ram was never a person to ask for favors. Whenever someone did something for him, he had to repay them as quickly as possible. Otherwise, this little voice in his head would remind him that he owed them. For him to make a request from Duen was very out of character. Duen knew that King had to have been his entire world for him to suck up his pride like that. So, when Ram asked him if he and Bohn could distract King for the day, he didn’t hesitate to say yes.

The plan was not made with haste. In a short period of time, Ram was able to think of his course of action. His execution was what he was not as confident about, but he did his best. He took advantage of every second he had away from King to follow through.

That night, King entered the apartment with a new sight. Ram was centered with every pot filled with soil. Stuck to the fronts of each were photos of different plants, many of which he recognized. Not only were there photos of King’s favorite plants, but there were photos with plants that Ram had grown to love too. Confused and dazed, he ventured around the museum and admired every photo.

“Did you?” he asked breathlessly.

“I know they aren’t all exactly the same, and they can’t ever replace what you’ve lost...but I thought it’d be nice to grow our own family,” Ram gently replied with a thick coat of rose painted on the buds of his cheeks. He hadn’t replaced every pot with new plants but seeded them.

The once empty place in his heart was now overflowing with a joy that he’d never felt before. The thought of him and Ram growing their own family together was the kindest gesture that anyone could’ve ever proposed. Somehow, in the midst of his horror movie, something beautiful came out of it.

Not able to control himself any longer, King lunged forward and grappled the back of Ram’s neck. He firmly planted a thankful kiss to his heated face and pulled away with his mouth carved from ear to ear.

“They’re going to have the best dads. I know you’ll take good care of our children,” King said cutely.

How had no one snatched him up before him was a question beyond Ram’s comprehension. He was easy to please and eager to please as well. All of his reactions were adorable, once he let his walls down and allowed himself to be. And his attractiveness was beyond ordinary. Ram hit the jackpot with this one.

He tenderly snaked an arm around his waist and gifted him a soft smile. “Do we get to name them together?”

King smirked. “I already have a list of names saved on my phone, but I’m sure I can spare you a couple.”

Of course King would’ve already had future plant names written down. That was just like him.

A small shake of his head told King he disagreed. “You can name them all. I’m not as creative as you.”

“Okay!”

King pulled away and ran to his bedroom. He came back with a black marker. Around the room, he went to each and every plant and wrote down their new names on their photos.

By far, Ram’s favorite was King naming the Venus Flytrap, “Gorgeous Prince.” He explained that the gorgeous came from Ram’s name meaning beautiful, and prince stemmed from King’s name. His other favorites included Prem, Kwarang, and Ping Ping.

When he finished, King glanced at Ram with look of approval. “If we break up, you better not file for custody.”

Ram frowned. Breaking up was the last thing he was thinking about. On occasion, King accidentally said dumb things.

Realizing that he misspoke, he reached for Ram’s hand and huffed. “I’m just kidding. I won’t let you break up with me.”

Nice save.

Ram yanked him into his chest and stole a quick peck of his lips. “I would never break up with you. Families should stay together.”

His father’s actions had made Ram recognize just how important family was. Family was the person or group of people that you loved more than yourself. Family was about being selfless. If you were selfish, it took away its entire meaning. Seeing his dad and former best friend told Ram that he was willing to sacrifice his relationships for a meaningless fling. That was the biggest betrayal. A good time was not worth losing a good thing.

“We will stay together. A family is like gardening. In order for it to work, you have to have the proper soil and take care of it with sunshine and water. Over time, with the right love, it will grow into the most beautiful plant. Everyone gets to admire it. As long as it’s nurtured, it won’t wither. It will stay strong forever.”

King and his plant metaphors never ended.

“I love you too.”