Work Text:
When Teh first learned Oh-aew was gay, he was delighted. He had been wracked with worry all day about Oh-aew not trusting him, not wanting to be closest with him. He remembered what Oh-aew had said, that day on the beach, about not being sure if they could be as close as they used to be again. It had seemed like they had been on the way to being that close, though, right up until Oh-aew invited their other friends to intrude on their time together and told them a secret Teh had thought had been just for him.
But being gay was a real secret, much more important and deep than being a virgin, which most people their age were anyway. You didn’t tell people you didn’t trust that you were gay, Teh was pretty certain - and Oh-aew had said he’d never told anyone about it before, meaning Teh was the first! Oh-aew must have forgiven him, must really trust him again, to tell Teh something like that first out of everyone in the world.
It also just seemed so cool of Oh-aew, to be gay. Cool, and exciting, and kind of exotic. Teh wasn’t that way himself, obviously, but he liked gay people. He watched gay movies, sometimes, and they always made him cry. He was definitely an ally.
The whole crush part of Oh-aew’s secret was less exciting - it might take away time that Teh could spend with him, depending on how things played out, and besides that, Bas was just so boring and bland, Oh-aew could definitely do better. But Teh made up his mind to be supportive anyway. He would definitely show Oh-aew that he deserved the trust that had been placed in him.
Becoming and staying Oh-aew’s closest friend was more important than anything else, Teh was sure. He had made the mistake of letting other things get in the way of their friendship before - he wouldn’t do it again.
In the years after they had stopped being friends, Teh had always felt like there was something missing in his life. It was like being little again, feeling that nothing he could do could ever be good enough. He tried, and tried, and did everything he was supposed to do, but when he was alone, he always felt there was something intangibly wrong about himself.
But with Oh-aew back, when they were together, he didn’t feel that wrongness. Together, everything felt the way he remembered it did when they were kids - free, warm, and happy. So he couldn’t lose Oh-aew again. It would mean going back to the way the world was without Oh-aew in it, and that was out of the question.