#you cant convince me he and Chay dont sometimes hiccup over things like this

[shou-jpeg]

Trick or treat! 🎃

Treat!

****

Chay pauses, empty chip packet in hand and bin lid open. He stands there, gazing down into its depths.

There is a black shirt in the bin.

It looks like one of Kim's t-shirts. Why is it in the bin?

He reaches down and pulls it out. It's clean still, the bin almost empty save for one empty yogurt container - Kim's favourite kind of breakfast.

He examines the shirt, looking for why Kim might have put it in the bin, but he finds nothing: other than a small cut in the bottom hem, the shirt looks almost new.

"Babe?" He calls, "Why is there one of your shirts in the bin?"

Kim rolls his chair back so he can look through the open home studio door. "I accidentally cut it this morning when I was cleaning my knives." He says. As if that clears up anything at all.

Chay tells him as much, holding up the shirt between them. "What? This?" He points at the little cut. "Phi why are you throwing out a shirt because of one little cut?"

Kim gives him a bewildered look. "Why would I want to wear a damaged shirt? It brings down the whole look and people would judge me."

"Judge you? P'Khun maybe, but Phi no one would even notice this little cut normally. And if it bothers you, you could just sew it up? It's so wasteful to throw away a whole shirt because of one imperfection."

Kim looks at him as if he had just suggested Kim walk about Bangkok in his underwear. "I can just buy a new one, Chay."

"You can't just drop 100 bhat on a new shirt every time you pull a thread or cut a hem, Phi."

"That shirt cost 1400 bhat."

"Fourteen hundred bhat!?" Chay yelps. That is far too much money to spend on a shirt.

"It's designer." Kim says, as if that makes the situation less insane.

"P'Kim, it doesn't even have a brand name on it."

"It's on the tag inside."

"But you can't even see the tag. Why not just buy a normal tshirt?"

"Polyester itches my skin. And I have the money, why buy cheap clothes?"

"Polyester isn't -" Chay stops himself mid sentence, taking a moment to breathe.

Kim comes from money, he reminds himself. This is hardly the first time they've clashed over something like this. If they keep going, they're not going to get anywhere, and Chay would rather not fight with his boyfriend.

"Phi," he starts, "throwing something away because of a small damage is really wasteful. There are people in the world who can't afford even a 100 bhat shirt. If you don't want it anymore, you should at least donate it to charity."

Kim looks away from him then, and Chay hates it. He hates it when Kim gets that ashamed look on his face, like there's something about himself he realises he doesn't like. He doesn't want Kim to hate himself for something he didn't even know to consider.

"How about… how about I fix it for you, Phi? I've been following these pages about visible mending and I've been dying to try some of the stitches. I could make it look really nice for you. And if you don't want to wear it out, it can be for home or when you visit me. I love seeing you wearing the stuff I make for you."

Kim still has that look on his face that Chay hates, but he also looks thoughtful and almost a little eager. He rarely says it aloud, but Chay knows that Kim really likes receiving handmade gifts from him.

"...Okay." Kim relents eventually, rolling himself back behind the wall into his studio. Chay follows after him, pressing a kiss into his hair and mumbling something sweet.

He backs off then, giving Kim some space to ruminate.

He has a project now, and he's getting a little excited the more he thinks about it. Maybe he will sew in a little leaf or two, or a flower or a little cloud. He really has been dying for an excuse to try some of these ideas. If this is going to be a thing for Kim - not wanting to wear clothes that look even slightly damaged - then Chay might have just found his canvas, as well as a way to put his mark on yet another part of Kim.