2013
(K19, A18)

It's late into the afternoon, and the sun's heat has subsided. Frisbees are soaring in the air. Kids were laughing, and running around throughout the park. Some were hiding, some were seeking, and some were just rolling on the ground.

"Heng, what's bothering you?" Miss Eva asked while flipping the skewers on the grill. Most of the food was ready. A few kids have been asking if they can eat yet. So, Miss Eva wants to finish grilling as soon as possible.

"Nothing is bothering me." Kongpob answered half-heartedly while watching someone walk across the park to the far end where his eyes can't follow anymore. He feels bad that he hasn't had time for the other.

"Does it have anything to do with your friend over there?" Miss Eva asked following Kongpob's line of sight. "You know what? These are ready." Miss Eva grabbed a huge foil tray, and lined it next to the grill. "Heng, pull those skewers off the grill. Heng!"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Here." Kongpob snapped out of his musing, and quickly removed the ready skewers before they got over-charred. Piling skewers and skewers on top of each other. There's more than enough to feed the little army.

"So this friend of yours, Arthit, right?" Miss Eva looked to Kongpob to make sure she got his name right. Kongpob nodded before she continued. "Is he a new friend? I've never heard you mention him, and it's rare that you bring anyone you're not close with here."

"Well, the funny thing is, I've met him since six. We just got to know each other more recently." Kongpob said with a shy smile. He is not even sure how to explain their serendipitous encounters. It's still mind boggling that he just got a boyfriend within the last twenty four hours.

"Heng, are you blushing? Oh my God. You're totally blushing. You're so cute." Miss Eva hugged Kongpob from the side, and chuckled. She is happy to see Heng grow up, and do something for his own happiness instead of always thinking of others. She has been with this orphanage seven years now, and she was lucky enough to meet Heng's grandpa before he passed away. She can see how much Heng takes after his grandpa. Heng even carries the weight of the world on his shoulders like his grandpa. And as much as she wants Heng to become a wonderful young man that he already is, she wants him to be just a kid for once.

"I am not! The grill is just making me hot." Kongpob retorted, but only turned another shade redder. He quickly brushed on more marinade over the grilling skewers. He didn't dare look up to meet Miss Eva's eyes.

"Fine. Whatever you say. So, are you ready for NYC? Everyone is going to miss you so much. Especially Josie. She and her not so secret little crush. It's so cute and innocent." Miss Eva said with a smile thinking about her crushes when she was little. Those silly love letters, and cringy poems she used to write. She saw Josie do all the same, plus doodling their names together. Sigh. What she would do to be young again.

Kongpob laughed at the mention of the silly little girl's crush. "She will grow out of it. I'm sure some other boy will catch her attention soon. Here, these are ready. That's the last of it." Kongpob takes the skewers off the grill, and places them in the tray.

"I hope no one catches her attention soon. Josie should focus on her studies. I would rather she keep her crush on you since you will be in NY. Besides, your friend wouldn't mind. Right? Josie is just a little girl." Miss Eva said, carefully eyeing Kongpob with a knowing smile. She loves teasing Heng, and seeing his adorable blush. It's not everyday or just anyone that can cause the oblivious boy to fluster this way.

"I don't know what you are talking about Miss Eva. All the food is ready. Should I call everyone over to eat now? Kongpob wanted to quickly change the subject. He is not used to this type of teasing, and he feels super awkward at the moment.

"Sure. Why don't you go call your friend first? He has gone off by himself for a while now. I know you're worried. I can see you checking every five seconds." Miss Eva lined up the trays next to each other.

"I'll go get him. You guys can start without me." Kongpob took off his apron and gloves before heading towards the way he saw Arthit had gone off to.

Along the way Kongpob saw Josie wave to him, but luckily Miss Eva called out to the girl for help. Kongpob had to dodge a few kids that were in the middle of some sort of chasing game. A couple came running up to him, using him as a temporary shield. He had to untangle himself before he could jog across the span of the park. Reaching near the far end of the park is a manmade pond that had a sprinkler in the middle. Kongpob stood there looking around to see if there was any sign of Arthit. There was a little slope leading down to the pond from where Kongpob was standing. Kongpob looked further, and he saw the back of whom he was sure to be Arthit. So, he quickly jogged over.

Arthit heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and the cracking of twigs and leaves. However, he didn't bother to see who was behind him. It's probably just other people passing by, or people coming to the pond to fish. It's not like Kongpob had time to come look for him. He continued to just pick and pluck on the grass beside him. He gathered a bunch of plucked grass, and just threw them in the pond. Then someone bumped his shoulder, and he looked up just as Kongpob sat down next to him.

Arthit watched Kongpob sit down, and fold his legs next to him. He gave a weak smile, and then turned back to face the pond. He picked up the stick on the ground and started poking around.

"Hey, what are you doing sitting here all alone? Are you tired? Is this boring to you? I'm sorry." Kongpob said seeing Arthit chewing his bottom lip. This is probably really a lousy date, but then again, he doesn't know what is a good date.

"No. I'm fine. I guess I'm a little tired. I just wanted to take a break. I had enough of running around with the kids." Arthit spoke while drawing circles on the ground with the stick. He still hasn't looked at Kongpob since he sat down. And he wasn't exactly lying when he said he wanted to take a break. He didn't want to hear anymore of Josie's future life with his boyfriend.

Kongpob could hear Miss Eva blow her whistle. She is probably gathering the children to start eating. "Are you hungry? The food is ready. Miss Eva and I grilled a lot of food. Thanks for helping us set up all the other stuff." Kongpob doesn't know what is wrong, or what to do. Arthit sounds sad, and he hopes food can cheer Arthit up. Food usually makes him feel better.

"So, all the kids here really love you. They are really going to miss you. Especially that Josie." Arthit pouted a little and watched a gaggle of geese swimming in the pond.

"Well, I will miss them a lot too. To them, I have been a constant for a big part of their lives. I'm like a family that they don't have I guess. My grandpa told me that growing up in an orphanage is lonely even though you have all these other kids to play with. Some kids that end up here when they are a little older suffer the most. It's harder for them because they have memories of their actual family. My grandpa never knew his parents, and never found out what happened to them. So, he didn't exactly miss them. He went through a phase feeling unwanted, but the friendships he had kept him positive. However, Jenny, my grandpa's love had lost her parents in a fire when she was five. So, she had a very tough time adjusting to life in an orphanage. My grandpa said she didn't speak the first two years here. Luckily, they had a very persistent counselor like Miss Eva at the time. That counselor never gave up, and got Jenny out of her shell.

Josie is actually very similar to Jenny. Josie came to the orphanage when she was six. Her family was involved in a tragic car accident with Josie in the car. Josie had to witness both her parents take their last breath. She had a lot of nightmares, and panic attacks when she was little. She came to the orphanage during my school break, so I was there all the time with my grandpa. The playground at the orphanage was being built at the time. So, my grandpa went to help, and brought me along to play with the kids. For some reason, Josie was comfortable with me. She didn't have nightmares on the nights I had put her to sleep. Luckily, she eventually grew out of that, but it certainly wasn't easy. I've carried her around for hours after a few of her panic attacks when she first arrived. It's amazing that she has come so far, and no longer that little girl." Kongpob sighed as he leaned back with his arms behind him.

"No wonder why she likes you so much." Arthit smiled weakly looking down. Then he dropped the stick, and leaned back mimicking Kongpob's position. "You mean a lot to her. Maybe someday you will mean even more."

"Josie means a lot to me too. She is like my little sister. I will be her brother as long as she will have me, but that's all that it would ever be. Did you hear something about her liking me?" Kongpob turned to look at Arthit with a little smirk.

Arthit nodded. "Well, actually she told me herself. She says she can't wait to grow up to be with you." Arthit finally turned to face Kongpob with a pout.

"Hmm, that silly girl and her silly crush. Don't pay attention to it. That's what I do." Kongpob can't believe Arthit is jealous over the silly girl.

"Then, why did you kiss her?" Arthit asked softly, and quickly cast his eyes down, pursing his lips. Hoping that he didn't sound jealous or pathetic. After all, the girl is only twelve. But he still wants to know why Kongpob kissed her, but told him that they shared each other's first kiss. That really meant something to him, and he really wanted it to mean something to Kongpob too. It's not like Arthit can't accept Kongpob if he had kissed someone else before, or even if he has been in a relationship before. It's just that, it's not what he had told him. Arthit thought he marked a spot in Kongpob's life that can never be taken. Now, it seems like it was a big fat lie.

"Well, it's really the other way around. It happened two years ago on Josie's birthday. Here we always kissed the birthday boy or girl on the cheek on their birthdays. On Josie's birthday, when I leaned in to kiss her cheek, she turned the last minute and our lips touched. That's about it, but she tells everyone she gave me her first kiss. I have a feeling she will regret it someday. So, if that counts as a real kiss, then yeah. I guess I kissed her, and the Italian auntie that used to live next door. That auntie used to grab my face, and just plant one on me all the time. I was only five though. Hahaha."

"Really? That's it? Why did she make it sound so special?" Arthit frowned, and looked away from Kongpob who was still laughing. Now, he feels dumb for feeling jealous of Josie. This is so embarrassing. Just act natural, Arthit. Just act natural. Arthit kept telling himself. Then he felt a hand covering over his. He looked over to see Kongpob smiling at him, and he shyly smiled back, but quickly looked away. He could feel his neck and ears getting warm.

"Maybe, to Josie it was special. I'm not going to take that away from her. She is only twelve. A couple of years ago, she still believed in unicorns. The important thing is, that it didn't mean anything to me. Please don't be upset. Okay?"

"Who says I'm upset? I'm not upset. I've heard about you, and all those girls. Why would I be upset now?"

Kongpob pinched his brows together. He was at a complete loss. What was Arthit talking about? "I don't understand. I don't know what you are talking about Arthit."

Arthit sighed. "Well, before I knew you were P'Heng, I used to hear my sister and Jane talk about you a lot. They were always talking about this girl or that girl liking you. Even my sister at one point liked you. Are you always surrounded by girls or something?"

Kongpob thought for a second. "No, I'm just surrounded by friends. I don't think about those things. I really don't know what some people see in me. Most of the time, I don't even check the mirror before I leave the house." Kongpob tilted his head, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, don't start now." Arthit grumbled, and rolled his eyes. He knew what others saw in Kongpob, it's the same thing he sees. It's not what Kongpob looks like, it's who he is, and how he treats everyone around him. Ugh, he's not half bad looking either.

Kongpob couldn't see Arthit roll his eyes, but he heard him grumbling. So he scooted over to get closer to Arthit. He looked around, and no one was paying attention to them.

Chup.

Arthit jerked for a second, and turned to face Kongpob who had already moved away like nothing happened. "Kongpob!"

Kongpob turned to his boyfriend smiling, and Arthit squinted his eyes while holding his own smile in. Apparently, his boyfriend can be sneaky too. Any negative thoughts Arthit habored have magically disappeared. At least for now.

Kongpob squeezed Arthit's hand, and got up. "Let's go eat. I can take you home afterwards. I know this must have been a lousy first date for you." Kongpob offered his hand to pull Arthit up, and Arthit happily took it. He has wanted to hold Kongpob's hand all day.

"Actually, I have enjoyed our date. I'm sorry for being silly. I just wished we had more time together. Since, it's our first date and all." Arthit said while climbing back up the little slope with their hands still joined together.

Kongpob understood what Arthit meant. All day he has been either playing with the kids, or helping Miss Eva with the food. They've barely had a chance to talk to each other or be alone. "Well, our date isn't over yet. I'll take you somewhere else later." Kongpob winked at Arthit.

Arthit instantly blushed, and felt excited. "Let's eat. I'm really hungry. I'll race you to the table." He dropped Kongpob's hand, and ran towards the food table laughing.

"No fair!"

~~~~~~
AN: Sweets, sorry for taking so long to update this story. I had written a one-shot called "My Sotus" based on the toothbrushes scene in Sotus S. Check it out if you haven't already.

Facts: During an ET interview in 2018, Krist said "What P'Sing and I do is something really normal for boys to do with each other." Then he imitated his fangirls passing out.

Lol, I think his 'normal' has progressed quite a bit since 2018. 😜