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Gulf's POV

I was in the kitchen trying to help P'Mew fix ourselves some lunch.

While I was helping him by fetching the ingredients for him from the fridge, I was entertaining some envious thoughts about Art. He was so lucky to be able to get out of the building for a second day in a row. I was straining to go out and see the outside world and taste and smell precious freedom even if it was for only half a day.

After I brought all the ingredients and placed them on the spacious kitchen counter beside the kitchen sink, I asked P'Mew what else he needed me to do.

He studied my face for a while.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

"Umm... why don't you go to the living room, watch some TV while I cook?" he suggested. "Anyway all the ingredients I need are here."

In other words, he thought that I wasn't going to be of much help to him in the kitchen. Worse, I was just going to slow him down. He was probably in a hurry to fix us lunch because it was almost two in the afternoon. We had allowed the others to use the kitchen first. We did not want to be in their way while they were trying to fix their own lunches. By the time that the others had finished cooking and had eaten, it was almost two in the afternoon.

"Okay, P', just let me know when lunch is ready," I said with mixed feelings. I could not decide whether to feel resentful or to feel relieved that I did not have to work in the kitchen.

I had just settled myself comfortably on the couch and had just pressed the TV remote control when Art burst into the living room.

He looked horrible. He had a tear stricken face. Actually his tears were still flowing and his face was contorted in acute distress.

I was on my feet in an instant.

"What's the matter?" I could not help asking and approaching him.

He flung himself into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"AJ... AJ... AJ... " he was saying between sobs, his chest heaving against my chest.

"What?" I could not understand. "Who or what is AJ?"

"My... my boyfriend..." he was sobbing even more uncontrollably.

"What about your boyfriend?" my curiosity was now piqued.

"He... he... he is getting married to his childhood sweetheart!" Art was now crying even more loudly.

"Shit," I could not help muttering under my breath. I felt so sorry for the poor guy.

"Come," I said, breaking away from him and leading him to the bathroom.

His shirt was stained with some dirt and he was sweating all over.

I took off his shirt and wet a face towel under running water in the sink. After I wrung some of the water off the towel, I started cleaning his face with it. Then I rinsed it under the faucet, wrung off some of the water some more and then started wiping off the sweat from the side of his neck.

After another rinsing, I used the face towel to start rubbing off the sweat and grime from one arm and then the other. Another rinse of the towel and I started wiping his chest with it. I rubbed the wet towel gently from left to right, going down slowly to his torso.

As I was doing so, I happened to glance at his face. He was looking at me intently and I unintentionally stared at his face, realizing for the first time what an attractive face he had. 

I tried to slow down my heartbeat by taking a deep breath. Shit, I'm not attracted to him, I'm not getting attracted to him. I scolded myself over and over.

Suddenly P'Mew burst into the bathroom, his eyes looking like they were ready to burst out of their sockets.

He was speechless for a few seconds before he yelled, "Gulf! What the hell kind of bloody mess is this!!!"

"P'Mew!" I yelled back, "it's not what you're thinking!"

"P'Mew!" Art had yelled at almost the exact same time, "it's not what you're thinking!"

I felt my wrist getting grabbed and then P'Mew yanked me out of the bathroom.

"I am over there in the kitchen, slaving away to make you some lunch and here you are cheating on me!" he cried. "How many more times am I going to catch you cheating on me and with whom?"

"Calm down, you dumbass!" I scolded him. "He came in looking very distressed, his face dirtied with dust and tears, and his shirt and the rest of him sweaty and grimy, so I took pity on him and decided to clean him up!"

"Oh yeah?" he challenged me, "and you didn't take him into your arms to comfort him?"

Oh, shit, I did take him into my arms. No, wait, he flung himself into my arms, his chest heaving against my chest. One arm of mine had automatically circled his waist. And then I found myself gently rubbing his back up and down to comfort him.

"Well?" P'Mew interrupted my thoughts.

I found myself blushing.

"P'Mew," I said in a tone meant to placate him, "what would you have done in the circumstances?"

"I would have just minded my own business," he replied.

"Yes, because you are one cold uncaring sonofabitch," I said, turning away to walk towards my room.

I was no longer hungry for the garlic butter steak and caprese salad that he had prepared for me.

For some reason, P'Mew no longer appealed to me. I could easily remember many instances where he had shown some kind of insensitivity toward me but because I loved him I had easily overlooked those instances. 

Also for some reason I felt sorry for Art. He seemed to be the kind who needed to be cared for and attended to. I could just imagine P'Mew turning a blind eye to Art's needs during the times that they had been with each other.

Art needed someone who would be loving and caring and attentive to his needs. I could easily be that someone.

Wait, what in actual bloody hell!!! I found myself slapping my own face just before P'Mew grabbed me and started pulling me into the kitchen.