Days blur into weeks, and before Khánh realizes, it’s been a month and a half since the day they opened the door to Kai stumbling out of an Uber. The two of them have settled into an easy rhythm: Khánh doing their online work and streaming from the office, Kai tapping away at his laptop from the couch. Kai works several hours every day, and Khánh worries that he’s pushing himself too hard.

“This is really nothing,” Kai assures them when they fret a little too openly. “My hours before I met you were a lot worse. I was working two or three jobs to save up for all the takeout I was going to buy while recovering from surgery.” He rubs his stomach contentedly, surveying the mostly-eaten dishes on the table between them. “Luckily, I ended up not having to do that.”

“Certainly not!” Khánh scoffs. “I would never let my best friend—” If they say it enough times, maybe Kai will morph back into being just Khánh’s best friend and not the subject of their inconvenient crush “—suffer through six weeks of inferior food!”

Kai smiles gently. “Thank you, again.”

Khánh waves a hand lazily. “You know how I feel about thank-yous between friends. Anyway, tell me more about before you met me. How many hours a day were you working?”

Kai lifts an arm, winces, then raises it more slowly to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. Khánh absently notices that his regrowing hair is starting to curl. “About sixteen. It was especially hard because I don’t have a car and my bike was stolen just before I met you.”

“When you collapsed on the sidewalk…”

“Yeah, I was exhausted and the walk was longer than I thought.”

Khánh frowns and silently places an extra slice of golden kiwi on Kai’s plate.

Kai pops it into his mouth and smiles ruefully. “You don’t have to worry about me, Khánh. I’m doing fine.”

Khánh stubbornly adds another slice of kiwi, then another. “I don’t like that you had to go through that.”

“I’m okay now, though. And I got to meet you because of it, yeah?”

A smile comes to Khánh’s lips. “Yes, that’s very true.”

“Can you drive me to a real estate place?” Kai asks one sunny afternoon.

“I can, but why?” Khánh asks, confused.

“My lease is up in a couple weeks, so I should probably go look for a new place—”

Clatter!

Khánh bends over to pick up the pan they just dropped, using the time to try to calm down their racing nerves. “Surely you don’t need to go just yet?”

“I guess not, but I’d like to get started soon and get it out of the way.”

“Give me—give me a couple days,” Khánh said in a rush, mind gears whirring busily. Two days should give ample time to come up with some reason to avoid Kai leaving. “I have a stream—” Keep it together, Khánh, he knows your streaming schedule! “—I mean, a piece of finish I need to work.”

Kai’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Are you alright? You sound like you’re coming down with a fever again.”

“Very fine, so fine! I’ll just be going now!” Khánh exits the kitchen quickly and heads to the office to plot.

An hour later, they push open the office door triumphantly. Khánh can’t believe how long it took them to notice the obvious solution. They blame the ease of the comfortable relationship they share with Kai, but truly, there’s no excuse.

“Kai,” they call, standing by the head of the couch-converted-bed.

Kai pauses the cute cat video playing on his laptop and looks up. “Yes?”

They point an accusing finger right at his nose. “How long were you going to let me leave you on this couch?”

Kai freezes. “Do… you want me to leave now? I know it’s been tough on you having to take care of me—”

“No no no, we are not talking about you leaving. I mean, haven’t you gotten tired of sleeping on the couch? It’s hardly the most comfortable place, and I’ve had a perfectly good spare bedroom this entire time.” They pause, thinking of the Tetris-like structure of unpacked boxes and things they’ve shoved into the spare bedroom over the past couple years. “Well, maybe not a perfect bedroom but that’s not such a big issue—in fact, you can just sleep in my bed!”

“I couldn’t impose—wait, what?”

“You wouldn’t be imposing, you’re my best friend!” Khánh points at Kai emphatically. “You being here is a privilege, not a burden.”

Kai blushes and ducks his head. “That aside, I would rather keep sleeping on this couch than take your bed.”

“We can share, it’s not like we’re strangers or anything!”

“Your bed is hardly big enough—” Kai’s eyes widen. “Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say—”

“I can go buy a new one then!” Khanh looks at Kai with a very serious face.

Kai makes a very familiar exasperated expression. A moment later, he chuckles. Another follows, and another, and then he’s laughing so hard that he is grimacing with the pain from his chest muscles. The entire time, Khánh stands there with arms crossed.

“What’s so funny?” they demand.

“I—it’s just—oh hell laughing still hurts—” Kai forcibly takes several large breaths, and his laughter subsides somewhat. “Khánh, you really just do whatever you like, don’t you?”

“Yes?” Khánh tilts their head inquisitively. “So do you prefer the left or the right side? Or I suppose I could get one of the mattresses with adjustable sides…”

Kai bursts out laughing again.

A few days later, Khánh flings open the bedroom door triumphantly and calls for Kai. The mattress company had helped install the bed, and then Khánh had spent over an hour fixing things up in the bedroom until it’s acceptable for Kai to come see. Kai deserves nothing but the best, after all!

Kai steps gingerly into the room and gasps in shock. Khánh cheers internally. Success!

There are all new bamboo sheets and a thick duvet stitched with stylish geometric designs in various shades of green. New curtains in matching green have also been added, lightening the room considerably. There’s now a bedside table on the other side of the bed as well and a lamp to go with it. Both a memory foam pillow and a regular pillow for the both of them sit atop the sheets, and Mr. Turtle is perched on a special pillow of his own. With his addition, it’s clear that all the new decor was picked out with the intention to match him.

“Is this… your room or Mr. Turtle’s?” Kai asks.

“Don’t be silly, of course it’s Mr. Turtle’s,” Khanh sniffs. “But he has graciously allowed us both to share the space with him. Now, let me show you how the firmness adjuster works…”

That night, Khánh hums tunelessly as they fix dinner for the two of them. Setting up the bedroom had taken more out of them than expected, so it’s a simple meal tonight. A container of pork broth from the freezer, store-bought wontons, two packets of instant noodles, and long stalks of gai lan (Chinese broccoli) all go into a pot. Once everything is ready, they spoon out two bowls’ worth and garnish with green onion, fried shallots, and a few slices of chilis.

The whole meal takes less than 30 minutes to prepare, but Kai doesn’t seem to enjoy it any less despite the reduced effort. He cleans his bowl of broth and eats all of the persimmon Khánh cuts up for him too. Khánh feels their heart squeeze in relief at Kai’s improved appetite. Seeing him happy and healthy is all they really want for him.

After dinner, they watch an episode of the new series Kai has picked out, Night on Earth. Khánh clings to Kai’s arm in anxiety watching the stressful scene of baby sea turtles dodging predatory seagulls and sharks on their way to the ocean. When the featured baby makes it into the water without getting eaten, they cheer into Kai’s ear.

Eventually, it’s time for bed. Khánh gets ready first and when they switch and Kai is getting ready, they prepare their final surprise.

When Kai re-enters the bedroom in the baggy sweats he uses as sleep clothes, he immediately spots the difference.

“Khánh… is Mr. Turtle wearing custom-made pajamas that match the sheets?”

“When will you learn to stop questioning Mr. Turtle’s decisions?” Khánh shakes their head disappointingly from their position on the left side of the bed and runs a finger down the soft fabric of the turtle outfit. “He only has the best quality things. He is a CEO, after all.”

“Right, how could I have forgotten? Please forgive me, President Turtle.”

“That’s better. Now come, get in bed and turn off the light. Tomorrow’s another day!”

Kai does as instructed, and soon the room sinks into shadowy darkness. Khánh flips onto their side, back to Kai, and tucks the body pillow between their legs as usual. They do their best to fall asleep for about thirty seconds, but unfortunately, their rapidly beating heart doesn’t slow at all. They shift their legs one way, then the other. Their hands reach up and fiddle with the duvet cover. They concentrate on breathing slowly and deeply, but ultimately, nothing works. They can’t forget that just a little bit behind them is Kai. Sharing! Their! Bed!

They pull out their phone in defeat, curling up further under the covers to prevent the light from shining into Kai’s eyes. They’re not sure if he’s even facing their direction, but it never hurts to be safe. Opening the browser, Khánh starts typing in the search bar “what to do when you share a bed with someone you like but you don’t know if they like you?”

Finding a somewhat relevant Reddit post, they eventually fall asleep to the wild stories of online strangers and Kai’s steady breathing from just behind them.

*

Bonus scene:

In an alternate universe… Kai, lying on his side facing the opposite way, is also typing furiously on his phone: “Fellas, is it normal to have heart palpitations after top surgery when sleeping in a bed with someone who’s been taking care of you?”

Bonus scene 2:

Coworker: Hey, I’ve missed you! How are you?

Kai: Doing a lot better, thanks. I’ve actually been thinking about reducing my hours

Coworker: QAQ Please don’t leave me alone with the teenagers...

*