2013
(K19, A18)

Kongpob nervously shifted from one foot to the other. He doesn't even know why he's so nervous. It's not his first time meeting Krystal's mom. He has seen her plenty of times over the years. She used to give them rides every now and then, but now that Aim has a car, it hasn't happened for a while now. It's funny how all these years he has never met Arthit through Krystal though. He whips his head to the side to make his loose bangs go up. Both his hands are holding bags of piping hot food. His mother really went overboard knowing that the food is for his boyfriend's family. She says she is helping him make a good impression, and earn some brownie points for rainy days. Kongpob can only roll his eyes. Why is his mom like this? Is she normal? Are other moms so extra?

He takes a deep breath, and carefully raises his right hand that's holding bags that must be containing bricks inside to ring the doorbell.

Ding Dong. Ding Dong.

"P'Heng! Come in!" Krystal happily greets Kongpob.

"Hi Krystal." Kongpob steps inside, and tries to balance himself with all his bags while he toes his shoes off.

"Oh, that's a lot of stuff. Let me help you get some of those bags." Krystal reaches out to take the bags in Kongpob's left hand.

"No. They're really heavy. Just show me where to set them down."

"Oh, the kitchen. Follow me." Krystal quickly leads the way to the kitchen.

"Here. Just put them on top of the counter. P'Heng, how are we going to finish all this food? This is too much. Let me get some plates." Krystal grabs a stack of plates from the cabinet.

"Yeah, I was going to cook, but my mom insisted on cooking instead. She made all her popular dishes. I hope you guys will like them."

"Oh, I love your mom's food. That's why we eat at your restaurant so often." Krystal is really excited about the food. There's even dessert Fak Thong Gang Buad (pumpkin sweet soup). This beats ordering pizza again.

"Hahaha... I'm sure my mom would be happy to hear that. So, how's auntie doing?" Kongpob asks as he looks around to see where Arthit could be.

"Oh, mom is resting in her room. I'll go get her. She should come down and eat before the food gets cold." Krystal can see Kongpob looking around, but she purposely doesn't mention her brother who is in the bathroom.

"Oh, I can plate these while you go get her." Kongpob offers.

"Sure! I'll be right back." Krystal leaves Kongpob in the kitchen alone.

"Krystal, do you know what you want for dinner? How about noodles from Somsong? If we get pizza, I want pineapples on it." Arthit walks inside the kitchen looking down at a paper menu in his hand.

"Arthit!" Kongpob smiles seeing Arthit step inside the kitchen.

"Kongpob!" Arthit tosses the paper menu, and rushes over to hug his boyfriend. He misses Kongpob so much the past few days. He wraps his arms around Kongpob's neck so tight that Kongpob starts to choke.

"Arthit! Arthit! I can't breathe...ghah ghah." Kongpob hugs Arthit back despite having difficulty breathing.

"Kongpob! What are you doing here?" Arthit loosens up a little, and bounces on his heels in excitement. He can't believe Kongpob is here.

"I brought you guys dinner." Kongpob says half chuckling.

Arthit doesn't care about dinner. All that matters is Kongpob is here. But wait! Is Kongpob mad at him for not calling or texting him for so long? "Are you mad at me for not calling you? I'm sorry."

"P'Heng, oh Arthit, you're here too. Mom is outside, let's bring the food out." Krystal speaks like she doesn't see her brother clinging onto Kongpob like a koala clings to a tree.

Arthit quickly let's Kongpob go. His face immediately blushes a light shade of pink. He has completely forgotten that anyone can walk in on them in the kitchen. "Mom came downstairs? I thought she would eat in her room."

"No, she wants to join us tonight since we have company. Come on, and bring out the dishes." Krystal grabs two of the dishes, leaving the rest for them.

Kongpob takes a whole lemongrass roasted chicken out, and places it on a plate. No wonder why those bags were so heavy. His mom went all out. There's prawns, pork neck, and several veggies dishes too.

Arthit looks nervously at Kongpob with a slight frown, chewing his lip. He doesn't know if Kongpob will be okay with the fact that he told his parents about their relationship. He didn't have a chance to tell him before his phone was taken away. "Kongpob, are you ready to meet my mom?"

"Oh, I know your mom. Can you manage to get those plates? If not, I'll just make another trip." Kongpob takes the dishes out.

What? Arthit quickly grabs the remaining two plates, and dashes out of the kitchen.

"Heng, sweetheart, it's so nice of you to visit me. I hate that you have to see me like this. Krystal told me your mother made all this food for us. I've never met her, but I'll have to pay her a visit when I feel better. Please thank her for me. Everything looks delicious." Arthit's mother pats Kongpob's shoulder.

"It's nothing Auntie. My mom loves cooking. I just hope you feel better soon." Kongpob smiles at Arthit's mom.

"I'm actually feeling a lot better already. I don't feel dizzy anymore, and my bruise is healing nicely. A couple of days ago, half my face was still pinkish purple." Arthit's mother draws an invisible line on her face indicating where the bruise was before.

"That's good. It's going away fast. I can barely see it now." Kongpob says, examining closely at Arthit's mother's face.

"P'Heng, just tell my mom she will look just as beautiful as ever." Krystal teases.

"Of course. The most beautiful Auntie I know." Kongpob says. Arthit's mother looks a lot younger than any mother her age looks. She has the same big doe eyes that Arthit and Krystal share.

"Oh, please! Stop being ridiculous. I'm ancient and wrinkly. But I appreciate your kind words sweetheart. Let's eat before everything gets cold." Arthit's mother blushes at the compliment.

Arthit is standing there at the end of the table watching the conversation between the three people in front of him. Arthit can't believe this. He can't believe his eyes. His mother really knows Kongpob. How is this fair? It's not fair! How long have they known each other? Does everyone know Kongpob?

"Mom! How do you know Kongpob?" Arthit comes closer with a pout on his face, and places the two dishes on the table a little harsher than expected.

"Arthit baby, what are you talking about?" Arthit's mother looks at her son confused.

"Him! How do you know him?" Arthit points his index finger at his boyfriend for emphasis.

"Oh, I've known Heng for a long time. Maybe eight or ten years since he was a little boy selling ice cream with his grandpa at the park. He is Krystal's friend and Aim's best friend, right?" Arthit's mother looks to Krystal for confirmation, and Krystal nods.

"So you knew Kongpob all along, and you never told me?" Arthit is getting visibly upset. How can everyone know Kongpob but him?

"Arthit, I think Auntie only knows me as Heng." Kongpob tries to explain.

Arthit's mother takes a moment to absorb this information. She looks at her son, and then at the young boy Heng. Heng is Kongpob? Kongpob is Heng? So, the two are the same. Huh. "So Heng, you are my baby's boyfriend? Am I understanding this correctly?"

Kongpob awkwardly turns to see Arthit's face that still looks angry, and slowly turns back to face Arthit's mom. He slowly nods. He really didn't think this through before coming here. This is quite embarrassing, and he doesn't know what Arthit's mother thinks of their relationship yet. He didn't know that she knew about them. He was only visiting under the pretense of being Krystal's friend, which really isn't a lie. But he didn't expect Arthit would have such a reaction.

"Well, this evening has gotten a lot more interesting. Let's sit down and eat first. Heng, you can sit right here." Arthit's mother sits at the head of the table, and gestures for Kongpob to sit next to her.

Kongpob politely nods, and he tugs at Arthit's sleeve to make him sit next to him. If he isn't so nervous at the moment, he would for sure think Arthit's pouting face is cute.

The rest of dinner consisted of small talks about Kongpob's pending departure for his study abroad, and awkward silences. Arthit's mother did not ask any further questions regarding their blossoming relationship. Her son was sulking for reasons beyond her understanding, but she didn't want to chide her son in front of company. Arthit pretty much ate in silence while Kongpob kept putting food on his plate. He grumbled a thank you here and there, but he didn't engage in any of the conversations. Krystal sitting across from them tried really hard to control herself from laughing at her brother's childish behavior.
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"Again, Heng, please thank your mother for me. Everything was delicious. I will go take a rest now. Please stay a little longer, and make yourself comfortable. Goodnight." Arthit's mother gets up to leave the table.

"Goodnight, Auntie." Kongpob says with a polite smile.

"Uhm, Arthit, I can do the dishes. Why don't you two go relax or something." Krystal smiles, and collects the dishes from the table. She wants to give the lovebirds a chance to spend a little time together. Maybe tonight she will be able to sleep better without her brother's moping.

"Thanks." Arthit says, and grabs Kongpob's hand to drag him straight to his room.

"Arthit, are you mad at me? I'm sorry. I didn't know you would mind me coming over. I was just coming over as Krystal's friend. I hope I didn't cause you...mmm"    

Arthit pulls on Kongpob's shirt, and seals his mouth with his own, cutting him off from whatever apology he was trying to make.

It took a moment for Kongpob to respond. He cups Arthit's face in his palms, and pulls him closer. They've only been together for a very short period of time, but he has to admit that he misses Arthit very much. They continued to kiss until they were tired and needed air. Breaking apart, they rest their foreheads against each other's, holding each other by the waist.

"Kongpob, it's just not fair. Why did everyone meet you ten years ago, and I've only just met you? Why? And you have to leave soon. It's not fair."

Kongpob pulls away with a soft smile on his face, he kisses Arthit's forehead and then looks at Arthit's face. Arthit looks up through his lashes, meeting Kongpob's eyes. Arthit knows it's nobody's fault, but it feels like fate is playing a cruel joke on them.

"Arthit, we didn't meet because we weren't meant to meet yet. Maybe if we had met long ago, we wouldn't feel the same as we do now. Maybe you wouldn't like the dorky me when I was younger." Kongpob chuckles, and rocks Arthit a bit to cheer him up.

"No, I remember how you used to look. You looked just as dorky as now." Arthit pushes Kongpob away from him, and sits on his bed.

Kongpob smiles at his silly boyfriend. It's not like there's anything they can do about the past. He looks around Arthit's room. It's a little smaller than his own room, but there's a lot of cool robot models and figurines. There's also a bookshelf full of mangas. He walks over to the bookshelf to checkout the selection.

"So, you want to tell me why you haven't called or texted me?" Kongpob asks without turning around. Krystal said he should ask Arthit himself.

Arthit nervously chews on his bottom lip. Kongpob isn't supposed to find out. He was planning to get his phone back, and call Kongpob to tell him that he was sick for the past few days. Kongpob isn't supposed to be here. What will Kongpob say if he tells him he has been sneaking out to see him? Will Kongpob be disappointed in him? Will Kongpob be upset that he lied to him day after day? Kongpob is such an honest person, will he break up with him over this? Arthit's scared to tell him the truth.

~~~~~~
AN: Sweets, sorry for the late update. There's been so much going on in the world. If you are reading this, then I believe you must support KristSingto too.

Fact: We are all human, so we all make mistakes. Krist and Singto are no exceptions. They made an insensitive joke, and they've sincerely apologized. Here's a clip of them helping a passed out fan. Do they look like bad people? No. Let's not let haters drag Peraya down. 🤟🏼

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Curtsy,
Lana ❤️