Chapter 4: The Night They Get Too Close
It was nearly midnight by the time they finished another exhausting work session.
The campus had gone eerily quiet hours ago. Most of the lights in the building were already off, leaving only the faint buzz of fluorescent lamps above them.
Kit groaned dramatically as he stretched in his chair.
"Finally," he muttered. "I thought we'd never finish."
Than barely looked up from his laptop.
"We still need revisions."
Kit dropped his head back against the couch with a pained sigh.
"Of course we do."
Than ignored him and continued organizing his notes with painful precision, stacking papers neatly and saving every file into perfectly labeled folders.
Across the table, Kit watched him silently for a moment.
Then he laughed softly.
Than frowned. "What?"
"You're ridiculous."
"And you're irresponsible."
"See?" Kit pointed at him lazily. "That right there. That's exactly what I mean."
Than rolled his eyes and finally packed his laptop away.
"I'm leaving."
"Wow," Kit said dryly. "Such an emotional goodbye."
Than grabbed his bag and walked toward the door.
Kit followed a second later.
The hallway outside was empty, shadows stretching across the floor beneath the dim lights. Rain tapped softly against the windows somewhere down the corridor.
For some reason, neither of them immediately walked away.
Than adjusted the strap of his bag awkwardly.
Kit shoved his hands into his pockets.
Silence settled between them.
A strange kind of silence.
Heavy.
"You're impossible," Than muttered eventually.
Kit stepped a little closer.
"Oh really?" He said with a smirk.
His voice sounded lower this time.
Softer.
Than looked up instinctively and suddenly realized how close they were standing.
Too close.
The teasing grin Kit always wore had faded slightly, replaced by something sharper. More unreadable.
Than's breath caught.
The air between them felt tight. Electric.
"What are you—"
The words barely left his mouth before Kit moved.
One second there was distance.
The next, Kit's hand was lightly gripping the front of Than's jacket as he kissed him.
Everything stopped.
Than's mind blanked instantly. The hallway. The project. The weeks of arguing.
All of it disappeared beneath the sudden rush of heat crashing through his chest.
It was messy and impulsive and completely unexpected.
And somehow…
it felt like every argument between them had led to this exact moment.
Than grabbed Kit's sleeve without even realizing it.
Then reality slammed back into him.
They pulled apart abruptly, both breathing harder than before.
Silence.
Neither of them spoke for a second.
Kit looked just as shocked as Than felt, though he tried to hide it behind a crooked smirk.
"That was—" Than started weakly.
"A mistake," Kit finished quickly.
But his voice wavered slightly.
Than's chest tightened.
"…Right," he said stiffly. "A mistake."
Neither of them looked convinced and somehow, that was the scariest part.