Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Thanks for helping here, little brother. I'm sorry for asking you to come during holiday season..."

First turned to look at his brother Frong, who was taking good care of the bouquets planned to be sold today, for this first week of the year.

"No problem, P'. I'm glad to help anyway."

First nodded in a satisfied air as he could see that his brother looked indeed sincerely happy to give a hand to him in his flower shop. It would have been hard for him to say no anyway, since he knew how First was short-staffed, whereas orders, on the other hand, had increased significantly in the last few days, due to the festive period.

"By the way, where has your part-timer gone?" Frong asked as he looked around out of curiosity, encouraging his brother to turn and glance at him.

"You mean King? He has taken a one-week vacation."

"At such a moment of the year?" the younger man asked in amazement.

First smiled at his brother in return. After months of hard work, he could not blame King for being absent for a few days, but he could not hide the fact he had been quite surprised by the sudden decision. Nonetheless, when he took a look at his calendar, and saw what period his absence would cover, he understood a lot better what was going on in fact.

"Normally, that young man is rather hardworking and always ready to help. You know how he's attached to plants after all" First explained as he looked over his vitrine, observing the sun starting to rise more visibly outside. "But this time, since he had the choice between spending the New Year with a lover and being stuck at work with me here... I guess it was just natural for him to let me down."

Frong bit his lips and bowed while his brother was laughing sincerely next to him.

"Young people are so lucky..." First commented as he looked down with a tender look. "It's nice to be in love."

His young brother, who was arranging a bouquet of flowers calmly, suddenly froze on the spot when he heard the group of words 'in love' and, for a second, without expecting it, the face of a certain someone crossed his mind, just as benevolent and bright as usual. And just like every other time he was confronted to this image, Frong found himself unable to refrain the growing feeling of sadness which was invading his heart as soon as he was reminded of the one he admired secretly.

"Yeah... Probably" the young man admitted in an uncertain voice, believing that it was, indeed, certainly a lot more enjoyable to hear than being called a 'brother'.

"...?"

It only took First a glance to see that his brother looked suddenly under the weather. Which might be the reason why he cut the stems of the bouquet he was arranging so irregularly. His eyes followed Frong, as he placed the flowers prominently in the window, almost slipping on a few pieces of wrapping paper that had fallen on the floor when he unwrapped the cardboard boxes a bit earlier. First could not help but find this attitude rather suspicious, since it was relatively rare for someone as quiet and conscientious as his little brother to behave so clumsily...

"Anyway" the young brother said suddenly in a louder tone, as he felt rather unsettled to feel his brother's questioning eyes fixed on him. "Do you have things to deliver? I can take charge of them if you want."

"You have done enough for today, don't worry" First assured in a quick nod. "I'll take care of them myself. Go see mum. Even if she says the contrary, she probably feels lonely with nobody by her side, at the hospital, at such a time of the year..."

"The hospital..."

As he saw him twist his mouth at the mention of that particular location, First looked at his brother with a thoughtful air.

"Right. As you go there, could you give that to her?" he questioned after a moment of silence, as he indicated the big bouquet of white roses nicely decorated with ribbons and cute Christmas characters he had prepared especially for their mum with a jerk of his head. "Tell her I'll visit her tomorrow since it's my rest day. Okay?"

"Hm. Fine."

Seeing no particular reaction on his brother's face, in spite of his affirmative answer, First lifted an eyebrow in doubt.

"Are you okay, little brother?" he asked as he put a hand on his shoulder compassionately, which caused Frong to immediately snap out of his reverie.

"Oh... Yeah... Yeah. I'm fine."

"Is that so?"

As his brother studied his features while pouting skeptically, Frong could feel a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead, having the uneasy sensation that his brother was now dangerously getting closer and closer to the truth.

Surely, going to the hospital now represented quite a challenge for Frong, and not because of his mum's condition, which had, fortunately, improved a lot recently. Rather, it was more linked to the potential presence of someone else in her room... Someone he did not really want to mention in front of anyone right now.

"I am! I'm totally okay, I swear. Then... I'll go now" Frong hurried to say as he pointed at the exit door, in a way he hoped enthusiastically enough to convince his brother, who finally replied in a hesitant nod.

"Hm. Be careful on the road" he said in a brief smile, which made Frong himself smile, more broadly.

"Yeah, see you later, P'First" he answered as he took the beautiful, and quite imposing, bouquet under his arm.

When the little brother left the shop, with a smile stuck on his face, First let out a long sigh and scratched the back of his head with quite a confused expression on his face.

"That's strange," he murmured while looking at Frong, whose smile had now faded, as he turned left to take his bike he had parked against the wall. "I thought he would be pretty happy to go to the hospital to see that handsome doctor... I wonder what happened."

————————————

Following his initial plans, and as he did not want to disappoint his older brother, Frong took a deep breath before finally getting into the hospital. Even if he had news from his mother almost every day on the phone, of course, it was not the same thing than seeing her in person. Especially, he felt like meeting her at this period of the year was particularly important. It was often said that the mental state was very important for a sick person to recover more efficiently. And he wanted his mum to get well as soon as possible. His brother's gift, just as Frong's presence, might be a precious help which he did not want to take the risk to miss. Having the opportunity to see his mum's face light up, and smiling happily when she would receive her surprise was something he really looked forward to seeing. And also, he hoped secretly that the flower bouquet he had brought with him would be enough to hide his face in case he would bump into P'Thara somewhere around here.

Even though the hospital was a relatively large place, the young man thought he had had so little luck until now that an accidental encounter with the young doctor,  who was center stage of all his thoughts, could be likely to happen today.

As Frong walked toward the corridor leading to his mum's room, memories started to come back to him in waves, just as painful as ever. He was torn between his wish to see Thara again, which would certainly cause his heart to jump in joy in his chest, and a certain feeling of fear, because he had that impression that, every time their eyes met, the words Thara had said during the volunteer camp with their university's friends would echo in his head to remind him of that sad truth, according to which they were 'brothers'. Just brothers.

Since it happened, nevertheless, Frong and the senior had obviously continued to talk to each other, but mostly via text messages, now that they knew each other's IDs. Thara had been rather busy in the last months with his job at the hospital and his thesis to write for his faculty. And the fact they were not studying in the same building, not even the same campus area, was not something Frong was going to complain about. Even if he was not proud of it, the slightest excuse to avoid meeting the doctor was always good to take for him. For many reasons.

The student let out a long sigh. For sure, he felt hopeless. And this uneasy feeling only reinforced when he looked up and saw that the one he wanted to avoid at all costs at that precise moment was a few meters away from him, in front of a patient's room. Frong swallowed hard, being unable take his eyes off Thara, while the latter seemed deep in conversation with a pretty nurse. The young man felt a sudden pain in his chest and immediately turned around to hide behind a wall, without making a single move anymore, hoping that he had not been caught red-handed by the young doctor.

How pathetic, he thought. So a single infringement of the rules he had implemented expressly for himself, for months, had been enough for him to feel that bad again.

Until now, Frong had always carefully chosen to visit his mother at the hospital based on Thara's days off, on Mondays and during some weekends occasionally. And the rest of the time, he was absorbed in his notebooks, to study. To forget, also. But he never forgot, not the slightest thing, to his dismay.

Frong furrowed his brows when he heard the clear feminine laugh coming from behind him. For how long would Thara and that unknown girl keep up chatting casually like that, in the corridors?

The brown-haired young man turned his head to the left, out of curiosity, and his whole body froze when he saw Thara's gaze, full of benevolence, fixed on the young woman who was taking notes in front of him.

Straight after he caught this image, Frong looked away without thinking. Having to face this scene made him feel quite irritated without reason. And sad.

For sure, those contrasted feelings he kept secretly in his heart would not fade away by magic. On the contrary, today, he realized that they were just becoming even stronger than before. And more painful, as well. Just like it was painful for him not to be able to talk to Thara and spend time with him like anybody else. But Frong was pretty convinced that, regarding how clumsy he had become, if he opened the mouth in front of him, he would spoil that fragile link that still remained between them, to which Thara seemed rather attached nonetheless.

The young man looked down, believing that it was really better to stay away and look at him from afar. For every one's sake, and for Thara's, particularly. He did not want to annoy him with his confused thoughts. They would probably lead to nothing, anyway.

But as he kept bending his head forward, he happened to touch the nice scented bouquet with his chin, which did not remain without consequences. Soon after, he started to feel his nose tickling as the quite strong scent of the fresh flowers started to reach his nostrils. He shook his head, hoping he would get rid of this disagreeable sensation this way, but the inevitable seemed meant to happen anyway.

And indeed, just as he feared, his body's reaction was instantaneous. Under a second, without being able to stop himself, he sneezed loudly, strong enough to almost drop the big bouquet he was holding on the tiled floor. It had happened only once, but it had been nonetheless enough for a tense silence to fall in the corridor right after.

Hesitantly, he slowly moved his head to the side, to glance at the people who were still present at that moment, and caught Thara and the nurse staring in his direction, both frozen to the spot.

Frong bit his lips and, taking his courage in both hands, gave an awkward smile to the young doctor who kept blinking questioningly a few meters away.

After this, Thara moved his gaze from him to the young woman, to seemingly tell her something. Following his instructions, she immediately bowed her head. She gave him a last wave of her hand before leaving, to which the young doctor responded by a friendly nod. Once she was left, the dark-haired young man turned again to look at Frong, who had been left no much choice but to take a few steps forward to reach him. And start a semblance of discussion.

"Hm... Hello, P'Hmo..." (note: 'hmo'/หมอ means 'doctor' in Thai)

"Hi, Frong" the doctor exclaimed with his eyebrows raised in surprise, while the other young man arrived to the height of Thara, quite slowly and hesitantly nonetheless. "Are you here to see your mother?"

When Thara pointed at the bouquet of roses he had in hand, Frong slightly looked down to it and forced a smile.

"Hm. Kind of..."

"I heard from a colleague that she would get discharged soon."

Frong looked up to the kindly smiling doctor, feeling his heart warming at the thought that he was concerned about his mum and still sent for news of her regularly even though she was not his patient anymore.

"Yeah" the younger man confirmed in a tense smile. "If things go well, she should be able to leave the hospital in a few days."

"That's good news" Thara claimed while gently patting on his Nong's shoulder. "This way, there will be no need for you to come here and worry anymore."

"Hm..." Frong simply mumbled, nodding hesitantly, not sure of what he should reply to this.

Thara gave him half a smile in return, before looking in his back with a thoughtful look, as someone had just called his name from afar.

"I'm sorry" he said as he pointed at another doctor who was waiting for him at the entrance of a room, at the other end of the almost deserted corridor. "I have to go see my patient, now. In any case, we'll get to talk again soon, I guess."

Frong glanced at him with his mouth half-opened, and tried his best to articulate the clearest answer he could give.

"Right... We'll get to talk again soon...."

Thara's smile broadened significantly hearing that second response, and he gave a last pat on Frong's shoulder, but this time, he kept his hand in place.

"It was good to see you today, Nong" he said in a soft voice tone, causing the younger man to blush without being able to control himself.

"Hm. Same thing for me, P'Hmo..." he murmured before the dark-haired young man turned to walk toward his colleague, leaving Frong, and his heart that was now beating chaotically, on their own.

He could never imagine how the young doctor's words, that they were probably just a display of politeness, had warmed Frong's heart in a way that had not happened for a long time.

A simple smile or banal greeting like that was enough to make his day. That was how things were. Frong could not help but still having hopes.

Rightly or wrongly... Only time would tell.

Chapter Text

King turned his head when he heard Frong watering the plants at the back of the store. It seemed to him that it was already the second time he did it today for these species. Knowing that some of them were quite sensitive, to water and light in particular, it was something King would not miss to notice. He stretched his neck a little forward to see Frong's expression behind the shelves.

He seemed to be immersed in his thoughts. Just like at the beginning of the day. The two students did not talk much, since they did not really see each other in their daily lives. They only met from time to time when Frong replaced his brother First, the florist, like today, and usually, they only exchanged a few words.

Frong was not exactly the talkative type and did not necessarily have any affinity with others. He deliberately placed himself in this position, which he did not really suffer from, because he was a basically a solitary person. On the other hand, although they were not particularly close, King could easily realize that, today Frong looked different than usual. He seemed lost in thought, and while they occasionally exchanged banalities about their studies or family, today, it was simple, Frong had not said a word, except for mumbling a brief "hello" at the beginning of the day.

King sighed. Maybe Frong was worried about his mother, who should be out of the hospital this afternoon. Probably it was not innocent in all this. But maybe there was also something else, coming in addition to his already numerous concerns. Whatever it was, at least, he did not seem to want to talk about it. Even with his family. Apparently, according to his brother, Frong had been in this state of mind for a few days and no one knew why.

As he was finishing preparing some colorful bouquets to display in the window to celebrate New Year's Eve, the attention of the young plant lover was drawn to the sound of the little bell ringing above the door. Immediately, King showed his most beautiful smile, the kind he reserved for the customers, and gave an enthusiastic "welcome" to the young man who had just entered, who answered with a traditional Y sign.

"Oh. It's been a while, P'Thara", King claimed in the same polite greeting, while the other young man started to look around the newly decorated shop he had not set foot in for a while.

On hearing the name "Thara", Frong's eyes widened and, as his hands suddenly felt like jelly, the student unwillingly dropped his small watering can at his feet. The noise drew King's attention to him and he apologized to his client to go and check what was happening to the brown-haired young man who was turning his back on them.

Seeing that he now seemed rather shaken, as the few drops of sweat on his forehead could testify, King suggested Frong to take a break if he needed. But as soon as he heard his proposition, Frong immediately turned to his colleague to show his disapproval by shaking his head firmly.

"It's going to be all right. I'll take care of this customer."

"Are you sure?" King asked while lifting an eyebrow skeptically.

"Yes, I'm... I'm sure," Frong repeated, while he himself did not seem so confident about what he was wanting, and going, to do.

King silently stared at him as he took a deep breath, sticking out his chest as if ready to go into battle, before the plant lover shook his head and bent down to soak up the small amount of water Frong had spilled on the tile floor, really wondering what was going through his head at that moment.

He glanced in the other young man's direction and gave a faint smile seeing his almost robotic gait. Thanks to Thara's presence, he seemed to have regained his speech and energy. King had even been rewarded with a smile...

"Sawasdee krap, P'Hmo" Frong said while taking a few steps towards Thara, with a nervous smile stuck to his lips. The older young man immediately smiled back, but in a much more relaxed way obviously.

"Sawasdee, khun. Are you the one running the store today?"

[*note: 'hmo' means 'doctor' and 'khun' means 'you' - in a polite way - in Thai.]

"Hm. I am, exceptionally."

"I haven't seen you at the hospital these days. Is everything okay?"

Due to this inquiry, a sensation of embarrassment grew in Frong's heart, causing the young man to bite his lips, as he tried to think of the most appropriate answer, and above all, the one that would be likely to betray his feelings the least.

"Ah... My mum is scheduled to be discharged today," he explained while scratching the back of his head. "My brother went to get her."

Thara nodded his head when he was informed of the good news.

"Oh, really? I didn't know it was today," he exclaimed with a gentle smile, which only fastened Frong's already quite feverish heartbeats caused by the presence of the one he secretly admired.

"Yeah," the younger man replied, lowering his head with a nervous smile stuck to his lips.

"I guess that's why you have a smile on your lips, then," Thara commented cheerfully, which had the effect of making Frong raise his head immediately, with red cheekbones as a bonus.

"Uh... Yeah... That's exactly that," he pretended as he nodded his head sharply, in an attempt to hide his embarrassment and the fact that he was not himself really convinced by his own words. "What about you, what brings you here?"

The subtle change in conversation got him a laugh from King, who passed behind the counter to collect some tools, in view of cutting the last pieces of stems that protruded from the bouquets he had composed, while the discussion between the P' and his Nong continued.

"Ah... For me as well, you can say it's a family affair, I imagine," Thara admitted in a lower tone.

"What do you mean?" Frong asked while blinking in surprise and then, the doctor's smile froze.

"I've come to buy flowers for my dad."

"..."

"Today is the anniversary of his death."

Whereas the doctor was still smiling with his eyes closed, Frong looked down, feeling in deep sorrow regarding what the doctor was certainly going through right now.

"Oh... I'm... I'm sorry," Frong murmured confusedly.

"It's okay. Don't worry," Thara assured in a quick move of his head. "You couldn't have known, after all."

A pain grew in Frong's chest hearing these words. As the senior had said, of course, he could not have guessed something like that. Therefore, there was no reason for him to feel guilty. It was something too personal, after all... Which only reminded him that once again, there were many things he did not know about his P'... And this just kept widening the gap that was already separating them a little more.

Nevertheless, so as not to worry him, Frong merely smiled back. And acted as if nothing had happened.

"Your store closes at six o'clock, right?" Thara asked all of a sudden in a more relaxed tone, which actually surprised Frong.

"Yes," the latter confirmed in a blink of his eyes. Why? Do you think you won't be able to decide what flowers you want to choose by then?"

Frong's joking tone seemed to amuse Thara, who let out a small laugh.

"Well, no," he denied with a calmer expression, while pointing to the flowers he had selected, which helped to reassure his junior in some way. "I wanted to ask you to come with me, if you have no other plan."

At these words, Frong stopped his gesture, while he was cutting a nice transparent paper with golden touches he was about to use to wrap the floral arrangement chosen by the doctor.

"Pardon?"

"I mean, in order to visit my father's grave."

Frong's face froze as the doctor continued to stare at him, waiting for some kind of reaction. After a moment, the junior dared to try to smile, but carefully avoiding crossing the dark eyes of the one who was facing him nonetheless.

"Oh... But... Wouldn't it be better if you went there with your family?" Frong suggested, as he resumed his bunch-wrapping business, hoping Thara wouldn't notice his hands shaking on the counter. "I'm not sure this is the place for a stranger like me... Right?"

When he met Thara's eyes again, he believed that he had perceived some glimmer of disappointment, or perhaps even sorrow, in them, but he did not have time to wonder about this, because two seconds were enough for the doctor to start smiling again tenderly, with perfectly relaxed features, as usual.

"Yeah. Of course. You're right," he said as he looked at the flowers Frong was arranging into a nice bouquet. "Besides, you said your mom's coming home today. I guess the timing is not really good. I wouldn't want to monopolize her youngest son."

"Hm..." Frong limited himself to reply with a brief smile, before handing the doctor the bouquet that he had just sealed with a ribbon.

But instead of taking the flowers, Thara continued to let his gaze wander through the store, until he reported his attention on the window that had just been set up by the other employee behind his back.

"I'll take these too," he claimed for the attention of King, who was busy with the final touches. "Wrap them up nicely, please."

After he nodded politely in response, King came closer to the two other young men, with a big bouquet of white roses, which he placed on the counter to assemble them as best he could, according to Thara's instructions, and under the confused look of Frong.

"But..." the latter mumbled, without taking his eyes off the roses. "These flowers..."

"They're for your mom," Thara explained with a sweet smile. "Give them to her for me, okay?"

King turned to glance curiously at Frong, who kept his mouth half-opened, with no sound coming out, as he did not know what to say to these unexpected yet sincere words.

"...Thank you," he finally dared to whisper, keeping his gaze fixed in Thara's, who smiled again, this time with satisfaction.

Then, the dark-haired young man picked up his order and after a last greeting and a friendly "see you soon" to the two young employees of the flower shop, he left the store, making the bell above the door ring one last time.

Once the silence fell again around him, Frong continued to watch the senior walk away through the window, and sighed as soon as he disappeared from his field of vision, encouraging  King to look pensively in the same direction.

"This P' smiled. But he looked sad."

These words, whispered as if for himself, caught Frong's attention enough for him to turn to King with his eyes now wide open.

"What?"

"It looks like that he really wanted you to go with him. He seemed disappointed with your answer," the top student remarked with a hint of concern in his voice, which Frong had no trouble interpreting.

"You're wrong," the brown-haired young man murmured grumpily.

"Well, if you say so," King simply answered while quickly shrugging his shoulders. "I guess you know him better than I do."

Frong glanced at the top student with both sadness and hope in his eyes, whereas the latter decided to head to the back of the store, in order to finish his tasks of the day.

Frong looked down to his feet, thinking back to King's words. Deep down, he knew that the latter was probably not wrong.

Just because someone was smiling did not mean that he was happy or that everything was going well in his life. Sometimes, people smiled for the others. Not for themselves. Frong knew that very well. He had had that bitter experience himself.

He clenched his fist, suddenly feeling guilty for having refused the doctor's invitation and for having probably hurt him, when all he wanted to do was not to bother him in the first place.

But after all, as Thara had claimed a few months before, the two of them were "brothers".

The least the younger student could do was to support him. Even though he did not feel the same way about him, the doctor still cared about him a lot.

At this thought, Frong raised his head in one motion. He had to go talk to him.

He needed to clear up any misunderstandings. And above all, he needed to see him.

Right away.

He grabbed his jacket that was hanging on the coat rack and left the store in a hurry, only taking the time to put on one of his sleeves. He stopped on the sidewalk to look around and check if he could distinguish Thara's familiar silhouette somewhere in the area. But it was his bike that he finally spotted a little further away, still parked against a wall, indicating that its owner was still around, which gave him an intense feeling of relief.

When Frong saw the other young man getting on his super cool vehicle about which he looked so proud in the past, he could not help but smile and then, he started a short stride to join him, to make sure he would catch him before he left the street.

But when he was just about to call out his name, the junior's smile instantly faded away. Soon, his pace also started to slow down. As he saw clearer. Little by little.

He found himself a spectator of a scene that only left him nailed in place, unable of any more action.

Thara was not alone. He was talking to someone. A girl. With a ponytail. Who looked slightly younger than him. Frong squinted to better make out her face, but if was only to confirm what he was already certain of.

She was that pretty nurse. The one he saw last time. It was when he visited his mother, before she was allowed to leave the hospital, that he got to realize how close Thara and that girl looked.

A sad expression crossed Frong's face when he caught the doctor taking the girl's hand to help her get on the bike behind him, in a delicate gesture, as if she was as fragile as a porcelain doll.

Frong, who kept his blurry eyes fixed on the girl without being able to resist, could see that, with one arm she was clutching Thara's waist and with the other she was holding a bouquet of flowers. The same bouquet that Frong had carefully taken care of just a while ago.

He lowered his head with a pensive look when he heard the sound of Thara's bicycle wheels squeaking, announcing that he was now ready to take the road. At least that's what Frong imagined, because he didn't have the courage to look in his direction anymore. Or rather, in their direction. The two of them, the pretty nurse and the handsome doctor. They were too perfectly matched. Objectively, it would be quite naive to imagine nothing was going on between them.

Frong's eyes started to flood with tears, bitterly feeling like, as the bicycle was going away, it was all his hopes that were vanishing.

Once again, it was probably the proof that Thara and he were indeed nothing more than brothers...

Chapter Text

Frong sat up nonchalently in his bed as he heard his cell phone ring for the umpteenth time. He rubbed his palms into his tired face to try to chase away his sleepy feeling and turned to his right towards the bedside table to take his phone. He sighed as he brought it close to his ear, covered by his messy hair, without even taking the time to check the caller's name.

"Hello?"

"Hi, P'Frong. It's Duen. Do I bother you?"

Hearing the name of the young man for whom he previously had some hidden feelings, Frong's face froze.

"D... Duen? No, you're not bothering me, of course" he said with a nervous smile, while sitting cross-legged on his bed. "What's the matter?"

"Hm, sorry to call you so early, but I have to go to class afterwards. And I didn't want Bohn to hear me. You know how he is," the dark-haired young man commented with a somehow ironical laugh, which caused Frong to grit his teeth as he recalled some of the tense moments he could have faced in the presence of Duen's boyfriend in the past...

"Yeah..."

"Anyway," Duen said, clicking his tongue, "I wanted to ask you if you have some time today, after school? I'd like to talk to you about something."

An awkward silence followed, before Frong deigned to utter a word.

"Uh..."

"Are you busy?" Duen questioned in a worried tone, but Frong promptly swept away his fears with a brisk shake of his head.

"No, no, I'm not, don't worry. I'm off at four today. If you're free after that, we can meet. Or even later. In the cafeteria, for example."

"Oh. Great, my course usually finish around 4:30. I'll meet you there then!"

"Okay. That works for me."

"Thanks, P'Frong," Duen said in a long sigh, "that's a big help."

"You're welcome," the dark-haired young man replied, laughing with a sense of incomprehension nonetheless, facing so much mystery, so much so that his friend called him at 7am to tell him he suddenly wanted to see him. "See you later then, Duen. Study well."

"Hm! You too!" Duen claimed in his usual enthusiastic and warm voice tone, which had that ability to bring a smile to the face of anyone around him. "Have a good day!"

It happened to be the case for Frong as he hung up and put his phone back on his bed, with half a smile playing on his lips. Then, he let his head collapse against the pillow and ran a hand through his hair, sighing loudly.

It had been a long time since he had last talked to Duen. At the beginning, he had tried to get closer to him, because he quite liked him above all, but then, at his contact, his feelings were gradually transformed. Or rather clarified.

Before, he would have thought that he had feelings for Duen. But now, he could not see him as anything but a friend. And it was not just because he already had a boyfriend, a rather jealous and protective one by the way, but mainly because now, someone else occupied the student in management's thoughts. It was pretty simple. He thought of this person every day, well, rather several times a day. While this was definitely not the case for the other people he considered close to him, like his few friends from university. Apart from his family members, there was no one else but that particular man who was so dear to his heart. And it made him feel good to think about him. But it also hurt. A lot.

Because it all seemed so hopeless.

He shook his head, trying to get the negative thoughts out of his mind. He got out of bed and headed into the bathroom, next door, to take a quick shower.

As he walked out of his room, he passed his older brother First who was coming out of the bath with a towel over his shoulders, and gave him a friendly smile.

"Oh. Frong. You're up already? Weren't you starting at nine today?"

The question made Frong a little uncomfortable, thinking that decidedly, there was nothing he could hide from his observant big brother, but he tried not to show it too much.

"Right, P'. But I was awake so I figured I didn't have time to waste."

"You've been working hard lately," the older brother remarked, frowning slightly. "You're going to bed late, getting up early..."

"That's true, P', but we have a lot of work to do with university... That's why."

The truth was, he was also having trouble sleeping at night right now, so he tended to extend the time he spent on his homework... But he did not want to worry his brother about that.

"It's good that you get involved like this," First told him, patting his shoulder in a show of support. "But don't overdo it though. I think you look a little tired."

"No, P'. Don't worry," Frong assured him, shaking his head. "It's only temporary. It'll get better soon."

As his little brother continued to smile at him, First finally relented.

"Okay. I trust you, little brother," he answered, patting his shoulder, before walking down the stairs, presumably to get breakfast alongside their mother.

As soon as he was out of his sight, though, Frong's smile faded, as he thought about what he had just said to his brother.

Was it really 'temporary'? He was not that convinced of it. The more the days passed, the more doubts he had, actually.

Would the relationship between him and the doctor he was having thoughts for ever change? Maybe there was something to be done. But what?

No one knew it. Unfortunately, no one.

He sighed and went to the bathroom, which was now unoccupied, thinking that he just needed a fresh shower right away, to refocus and to be ready to face this day, which promised to be quite long...

Chapter Text

Thara sipped his coffee as he walked quietly, keeping his eyes stuck to his phone screen. He had gotten into the habit of going through the slides the teachers e-mailed to students after class, whenever he had a free moment. It was a way for him to better memorize the content, before reviewing his notes again once he got home. This is what an average day of class was like for him, especially during exam time. The rest of the time, he was often too busy at the hospital and too exhausted from his long days to have the courage to put his nose again in his notebooks. That was why he had to study more than usual during this period.

But today, he could not go home immediately as usual. He had to go and get a book to complete his review first. Consequently, he had to make a long detour from his faculty building to the science library.

He walked past several other buildings of the university, after the medical one, including the engineering building, the arts building... And also the cafeteria, which seemed to be calling to him, now that his coffee cup was hopelessly empty. He thought that an extra dose of caffeine to face the rest of the evening would not hurt, therefore, he walked through the door of the store, and once inside, and spotted by a waitress in uniform, he ordered a latte and sat at the counter bar waiting for his order to be fulfilled.

He put his phone down in front of him, and continued to scroll through the screen to keep reading the document sent by his teacher, before his finger froze as he heard a familiar laugh coming from the back of the cafeteria.

He turned, intrigued, toward where that voice was coming from and his eyes widened as he recognized Duen, his cousin. Or rather, the person who was accompanying him and was quietly laughing at his side.

It was Frong. His Nong (*junior)...

Thara pursed his lips as he continued to watch the relaxed face of his junior, who was quietly joking with Duen.

Apparently they were looking at something on their cell phones. It seemed to be something funny. Thara would have liked to know what was making Frong so happy right now.

He was quickly interrupted in his reverie, nevertheless, due to the sound of the coffee cup being placed by the waitress on the counter he was leaning on. He thanked her by a polite nod and she replied with a smile, before turning not to be caught blushing because of the handsome features of this new customer.

When Thara brought his cup to his mouth, although, he stopped as soon as he heard the door open behind him to let pass the figure of a man in a hurry, not to say brutal.

Thara followed with his eyes the one who had just made a smashing entrance and noticed with surprise that it was towards Duen's table that he was running. Thara's cousin's face immediately went blank as the person in question began to raise his voice. Frong immediately got up from his seat to meet the wary gaze of the other young man facing them, and as his profile was now slightly visible, Thara's suspicions were confirmed as to his identity.

And it did not sound good, to say the least. With the way they were looking at each other, the situation could very well get out of hand. Very quickly.

Thara did not hesitate for a second. He put down his coffee cup and left his bar stool to go to the table that had become the main center of interest for the few customers present in the cafeteria at snack time.

It had to be said that Bohn was not a guy known for not doing things by halves, nor for being discreet...

"What are you doing here alone with that guy in the middle of the afternoon?!" he started yelling in Duen's ears, who closed his eyes in apprehension. "I was looking for you and you, you were just here having fun with another man!"

"P'Bohn, it's not what you think..." the dark-haired junior tried to explain in a small voice, but Bohn was not listening.

"Oh yeah? Well, you two seemed to be having a good laugh! What were you talking about? Ah, but I guess you can't explain it, since it's a secret! Like your little meetings there."

As he pointed an inquisitive finger at Duen and Frong in turn, the latter frowned and put his hands on either side of the table to face him.

"You're imagining things, Bohn. Come back down to earth. Duen just wanted me to check some homework he had done..." retorted Frong, trying to remain as calm as possible in front of the young engineer, who immediately responded with an ironical laugh.

"Homework? What kind of lame excuse is that?"

"P'Bohn, it's the truth," Duen said in turn in a tone of both apology and concern. "I skipped a class the other time, and since Frong is taking the same course as me, he explained to me what I didn't quite understand. That's all..."

"Skipped a class? Come on, you're a model student, you literally never skip class!" Bohn exclaimed, implying that Duen was also trying to swindle him and in a totally poor manner.

In reaction, Duen shook his head in despair. His senior should have known better than anyone that he did not know how to lie. It was the reason why he thought this was precisely the time for him to set things in context.

"Oh, it did happen, and not just once. And you are not innocent in all this, actually..." the latter grumbled.

"What do you mean, I'm not innocent?!"

Bohn thought to himself that it was really a topsy turvy world. He was the one being criticized now, and without any reason, on top of that.

"You know what I'm talking about," the dark-haired junior retorted, while avoiding his gaze. "Some mornings, it's impossible for me to get out of bed... And you know very well why that happens, even more so since we've been living together, P'Bohn..."

Bohn thought for a moment before realizing what Duen was referring to, now that his face had reddened in embarrassment. Nevertheless, it did not seem enough for Bohn to recognize his wrongdoings, since the young man kept turning the head to avoid the annoyed glance of his boyfriend. Instead, he preferred to have his heart set on Frong.

"Anyway. In fact, it does not change anything at the problem. You have to stop covet Duen, now! I have no will to laugh right now."

Frong was dying to tell him that it was better to laugh or to smile than to be depressed, but considering the state of nervousness of Bohn right now, he thought that the best thing to do was to simply put an end to this conversation, and as quickly as possible.

"I'm not coveting around him, mind you. You're the only one who believes that."

"I only believe what I see!" Bohn declared, widening his eyes. "And just now, I see that you two are close. Too close for it to be innocent."

Frong bit his lips to restrain himself from saying all the bad things he thought about the outlandish suspicions of the man who used to be his rival in a way in the fast, before taking a deep breath to try to keep some semblance of composure.

"Geez, are you dumb or what? I'm not interested in Duen! Anyway, there's already someone else that I..."

"That you...? What?"

"..."

Frong pressed a hand against his mouth, figuring he had already talked far too much in that moment, but Bohn did not seem to think the same. On the contrary.

"Who are you talking about?" the brown-haired senior asked, twisting his mouth with an unconvinced look, while Frong's eyes kept moving, unable to decide where to linger as a feeling of nervousness was growing inside him.

"Are you okay, P'Frong?" asked Duen of an air of concern.

As he rested his hand on the arm of his friend out of compassion, Bohn raised his eyes to the sky  due to all these demonstrations of affection.

And since Frong had apparently decided to retreat himself into silence for good this time, Bohn, who decidedly could never trust him, did not wait to show how annoyed he felt by shaking his head vigourously.

"Ha", he sighed while crossing his arms. "I knew it, that person you talk about does not exist..."

"Yes, he does. He's even behind you."

Once these words were uttered just right behind their backs, the three students turned around all at once in a perfectly synchronized way, challenged by the familiarity of this male voice whose calmness was the trademark.

Duen immediately opened his mouth large with an amazed look, discovering who had just appeared from nowhere, to take part in that conversation which was at a cross-purposes, and already much complicated with only 3 people involved...

"Oh. P'Thara?!"

Chapter Text

"What's that senior doing here?" grumbled Bohn, looking at the young doctor who had turned up just like that with suspicion, as if he was the victim of a bad joke.

The person who was now the center of the attention approached quietly the table that Bohn shared with Duen and Frong, having a broad smile, inseparable from his character, stuck to the lips.

"Nong Bohn," he began calmly. "You wanted proof that Nong Frong didn't have bad intentions toward my cousin, right? Well, you have it now."

Once he uttered these words, Thara came to rest a hand on Frong's shoulder, to the great surprise of the latter who felt his heart jump in his chest in reaction to this tender gesture, which proved him that he was not in the middle of a dream right now.

"This Nong is with me," Thara continued, glancing at Duen and the latter's boyfriend successively, trying to set the record straight once and for all.

"Is that so?" Duen questioned with wide open eyes, as if he had just been confided the best scoop of the century.

But it was not just Duen and Bohn who were confused by all this story. Frong also, was in the same state of amazement and incomprehension, so that his mind had become completely blank now.

"Satisfied?" Thara asked. "Now, you'll excuse us, Bohn, but we are really big fans of the hustle and bustle of public places. We prefer quieter ones."

In order to make things even clearer, Thara leaned forward slightly to whisper the rest of his words into Frong's ear.

"Am I not right, Khun?" ("Khun" is a polite way to say "you" in Thai.)

The young man with brown hair was astonished, to say the least, to be suddenly called by the senior, whose unexpected presence did not necessarily put him very at ease, to say the least.

Eventually, the time he had spent away from the handsome doctor had not helped his mental state to improve. Even a tiny bit.

Just by hearing the sound of his voice echoing around him had completely shaken him. And now that man was whispering sweet things to him, as if it was only natural...

Really, did he have to go overboard like that, in front of all those people, known and unknown?

Consequently, as he found himself unable to do otherwise, Frong came up with the first excuse that he thought of, even if it was not the best one, probably.

"But..." he tried to say while his gaze had become shifty all of a sudden. "I was helping Duen with his homework..."

"His boyfriend seems to want to take care of him," Thara replied, pointing to Bohn in a quick jerk of his head. "He can help him with this little exercise, can't he?"

Bohn pouted vexedly due to this cutting remark, which showed well that the engineer was not of the most happy to be put in his place like this, nonetheless, he abstained from any unpleasant comment towards the one who was still part of the family of his precious boyfriend. It was out of question for him to get on the wrong side of one of them, especially knowing how it had been complicated for him to win Duen's trust.

He was not going to ruin everything over some trifling matter.

"Hm... Of course," he answered simply, which seemed to satisfy Thara, since the latter adressed him with a contented nod soon after.

"You see, Khun?" he said to Frong, who still had not left his seat for his part, as if he had become a statue. "We can leave without any problem now."

The young management student blinked at the doctor, but instead of giving more details regarding what he truly had on mind, the latter merely replied with a mysterious smile, which Frong was not sure what to think of.

"Uh... Okay," he finally said, still feeling a little overwhelmed by the very, almost too, quick evolution of situation.

Once he was up from the table, Thara immediately came and placed a hand on his hip, guiding him towards the exit, as if it was something usual for him to do in his presence. As if they were heading to a date planned for a long time, like any kind of couple.

A couple... Him and Thara?

Frong felt like he had missed an episode. Or rather, tens. But objectively speaking, following Thara was currently the most secure way to escape for him.

It was not as if Bohn was not going to start making a scene again if he stayed longer, and close to his boyfriend. Even if he was motivated to help Duen with his school work... Frong also knew Bohn too well. The latter had always been particularly skilled to look for trouble for no reason whenever he was around. Today was no exception, apparently.

By the way, it was as if Thara had read his mind and had turned up just in time to prevent him from having an umpteen headache because of a bad relationship with some of his acquaintances.

But why did the doctor decided to help him, exactly?

"See you later, Duen," Thara suddenly intervened, which snapped Frong out of his reverie automatically.

The younger man thanked him of a small friendly smile, before waving at him enthusiastically.

"Hm, bye-bye P'Thara!"

Bohn watched the strange duo formed by Thara and Frong make their way to the exit of the cafeteria, and once they were out of his sight, he could only shake his head wearily.

"What's this all about?" Bohn stammered as if talking to himself. "Is there something going on between them? Anyway, let me see your exercise, Duen, so we can finish it and go home right after."

"P'Bohn!" exclaimed the black-haired young man out of the blue, which caused his boyfriend to startle in shock. "Thank you so much! From the bottom of my heart!"

Bohn glanced skeptically at his hands that Duen had now taken in his, before looking up at his lover again in disbelief.

"Huh? What for? Because I graciously accepted to help you with your homework?"

Duen rolled his eyes in response. Sometimes, even though Bohn was older than he was, he really saw no further than the end of his nose...

"Come on, no, it's not that at all. It's because thanks to you, now I know the secret of P'Thara!"

"What secret are you referring to?" Bohn questioned, forcing a smile which looked more like a grimace actually, showing that he was having trouble following him, but Duen did not wait to share what he thought deep down.

"I'm talking about the relationship between him and P'Frong, of course! Damn, so that's why my cousin has been off his game, lately! It all makes sense now!"

Bohn stared at his boyfriend as he gloated over the unexpected yet rejoicing news. He had brought his fists close to his mouth as if to keep himself from screaming with joy, and bring the attention of everyone around them back to them.

"Do you really believe in their story?" asked Bohn, who had some tenacious doubts for his part.

But Duen, known for being very positive and encouraging as soon as he was told one of his relatives or friends found themselves a lover, was ready to try to convince his boyfriend by all means, as stubborn as he could be.

"Of course, you didn't see how they looked at each other?" he said with stars in his eyes. "It was just like a romantic movie!"

"I don't know," Bohn admitted with a shrug. "I never watch romantic movies."

"But still, it was just obvious!" assured him Duen in fine connoisseur.

After all, he had seen Ram, his best friend, falling for someone in front of his eyes... It was impossible to fool him anymore.

"If they don't go out yet," he went on, "in my opinion, it won't take long before they start to do so! Oh my, I can't believe it yet, I'm so happy for them..."

"Yeah... Me too," Bohn finally said, mostly to please him and not to spoil the mood that had finally become better between them, after they got confronted to an umpteenth couple quarrel.

And also because he was not unhappy to have one less rival to face, now that Thara seemed to have set his heart on Frong and that the latter looked pretty receptive.

The question was, could Bohn really rest on his laurels now, though...

Chapter Text

"Thanks for earlier, P'Hmo." (*P'Hmo = P'doctor in spoken Thai.)

"Hm?"

Thara turned to Frong with a puzzled look on his face as they both walked quietly through the park, under the warm late afternoon sun.

The senior had offered to walk Frong back home, and they both figured that a short promenade in the fresh air would not hurt, especially after spending most of the day cooped up, one at the hospital and the other in his classroom.

"I mean," Frong went on, "thank you for having told that we were together. The two of us. By saying this to Bohn, you got me out of a tight corner."

Thara let his gaze wander on his face for a moment, while Frong gave him a polite nod of thanks.

"Is that why you think I did it?" the older man questioned absentmindedly.

"Sorry?"

Due to the surprise he felt, Frong stopped walking, now finding himself face to face with the doctor, who had also halted. He immediately plunged his gaze into his. A look that was both worried and sad. Almost disappointed. One of these looks that the management student had rarely seen in the senior's eyes.

Not to say never.

Frong swallowed his saliva, finding hard to utter any answer to Thara's words, which could have so many meanings. Nor did he want to imagine things that were probably impossible anyway.

Although, before he could make any decision, he noticed that Thara's gaze on him seemed to have suddenly changed, to become softer, putting an end to the strange atmosphere of confusion that had been reigning between them for a few moments.

"Forget it," said the young doctor in a gentle smile, closing his eyes briefly to assure him that everything was fine.

Frong forced a smile in response.

Everything seemed to have come back to normal. But since P'Thara looked particularly eager for conversations today, no one knew until when Frong's heart could be safe...

"Anyway," Frong claimed just in order to break the silence. "I just wanted to say thank you because... Every time I need, you are always here to help."

The young student could not help but smiling as he kept repeating these words in his head. He could have counted on the doctor a lot of times in the past. When his mum was sick and he needed comfort. When he had lost his precious necklace. Whenever he felt that his life was crumbling, P'Thara never let him down. And he wanted him to know that. Even if it did not lead to anything in the end. He just wanted to tell him how grateful he felt deep inside.

"I think that I'm quite lucky to have such a guardian angel in my life."

As if he just heard some crucial news Thara glanced at the young man who had resumed his walk next to him with an amused gaze.

"Normally, this is the role of a 'lover', to support you like this," he commented.

"Huh?"

Frong turned to the senior, only to see him smile gently.

"I mean, earlier, you mentioned someone you like, didn't you?"

The young man immediately looked down as soon as the curious question reached his ears.

So... When he was at the cafeteria with Bohn and Duen... The doctor had heard that part, also?

"Ah... That's... just an idea that came to me, to try to calm Bohn's suspicions... I wasn't talking seriously," he lied, trying to put an end to any ambiguity.

But when he said this, he definitely did not expect Thara would seize the opportunity of a loophole that he himself was not even aware of at first.

"If that's so," says the doctor in a dragging voice, a bit teasing. "Should I conclude that you are not taken?"

"Pardon?"

"..."

Thara did not answer this, he just looked toward his junior with an intrigued look, which could only mean one thing in Frong's head.

No way. Was he... really interpreting things the right way here?

"P'... Why do you want to know that?"

"For no particular reason," Thara said, scratching the back of his head, looking everywhere around except into Frong's eyes. "I was just thinking..."

"What?" Frong hurried to ask, his heart suddenly full of hope.

"That..."

"Yes?"

"That... if you had someone, Bohn would probably be less suspicious of you trying to flirt with my cousin every time, like today."

The younger man's enthusiasm faded as quickly as it had come when he heard Thara reveal his true reasons.

"...Ah. Yeah. Of course," muttered Frong, lowering his eyes, not without a touch of disappointment.

'Of course' was the word the most adapted to his situation, really.

What had he imagined? It could not be otherwise. Maybe it was the lack of sleep which affected his cognitive abilities? In addition to his emotions. It was proven once again here.

He hated himself for being so naive sometimes.

"You used to have feelings for my cousin, didn't you?" Thara then asked casually. "That's why Bohn acts so hard on you."

"Hm... It's true," Frong admitted, as he shook his head, "but that's all in the past. I prefer to focus on the present time, now."

"The present time?" repeated the doctor with an interested air.

"...Yes."

(Author's note: this implies you, P'Thara! x))))

"I think you are making the right decision."

The smile the doctor gave him was a solace to him, who had been through all kinds of emotions today, positive as well as negative ones.

Even if his feelings were not reciprocated, he knew that he could count on the doctor to support him whenever he needed it.

Like a true friend.

"...I hope so too," Frong ended up answering, attempting a slightly shy smile.

The doctor smiled him back, before glancing at his watch, which gesture caused him to quickly raise his eyebrows with a surprised expression.

"I won't bother you any longer, Nong," Thara told him, as he noticed the late hour. "I have to go back to work."

"Oh, is that so?" Frong asked.

He thought that since he walked him back home, it meant that the doctor had time to kill. But in fact, not surprisingly, he was rather busy. He was busy and still, Frong thought a bit bitterly that he had bothered him with his little problems when he had much more important things to deal with, with his patients.

"Yeah. Actually, I'm on call tonight. "

"I see. Well... Good luck to you, then," said the younger of the two men in a brief bow. "I'm sorry to have delayed you."

"Oh no. Don't worry," the doctor cut him off right away, waving a hand in the air. "It was really nice to spend some time with you. It's always pleasant to talk to someone you feel close to."

"...I know that."

Although their notion of "close" may not have been quite the same, Frong mused inwardly, without expressing it.

He simply nodded his head in agreement, to which Thara reacted by giving one of his knowing, reassuring smiles that were so typical of him.

"By the way, if you still need someone to play your boyfriend, don't worry. You can call me," he said with a wink, which earned him a chuckle from Frong.

"Thanks P'Hmo. But that won't be necessary, I think. I won't ask you to lie for me again."

"Oh. But I wasn't lying."

"Huh?"

Frong startled due to this unexpected answer, the meaning of which he was not sure to understand clearly. But Thara did not fail to come and clarify the substance of his thought immediately afterwards.

"I don't mind it, I mean. Having to play your boyfriend."

"........."

The color of Frong's cheeks turned crimson as soon as his gaze met that of Thara, forcing him to look away immediately, while a smile full of benevolence did not quit the handsome face of the doctor.

"I'll get going," the latter announced, before readjusting his bag over his shoulder. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

He then gave a friendly pat on the arm of his junior, who quickly nodded in response.

"Hm. You too. See you later, P'..."

Thara waved goodbye at him, while the doctor was heading off in the opposite direction. After watching him walk away, his eyes fixed on his broad back for a moment, Frong forced himself to look away, and set off for home.

His heart felt desperately heavy. And his head was even more full of questions than before. Especially one, for that matter.

The doctor had said that he did not mind playing boyfriend, and not just to give him a hand. Did he say that as a joke... Or was he really serious? It was impossible to know what could hide behind that enigmatic smile of Thara, which never left him whenever they met.

Frong sighed as he thought about the strange status that characterized their relationship from the start.

First, a strained relationship, then a more peaceful one of patient to doctor, which eventually turned into a junior to senior relationship. And now, perhaps a little more than that?

Even if it was still confused in his head, Frong still could not help feeling that something between them seemed to have changed somewhat, thanks to the misadventure of today, which had for him, at least served to bring them a little closer, in a way... Certainly, in confusion and in uncertainty. But it was a rapprochement all the same.

And that could only be a helpful thing to lift Frong's mood, as he definitely needed some good news more than anything at the moment.

Chapter Text

As he stepped through the doorway to his home, a pleasant smell reached Frong's nostrils. His mother, who was busy cooking the meal in the kitchen, turned as she heard the front door close, before welcoming her son with a warm voice.

"Oh, you're home, son?"

"Hm," he merely answered, in a faint smile, before putting his belongings on the coat rack. "The teachers always give us more time to study when the final exams approach, so now I have less class time."

When he reached the sink to wash his hands, next to him, his mother put down her ladle, with which she was stirring the soup, to focus again on her son's case.

"Speaking of which, your brother told me that you've been helping him more and more at the flower shop, as you have more free time. But make sure you don't overdo it. Okay?"

The young man turned to his mother when he noticed the concern in her voice and tried to reassure her with a gentle smile.

"Don't worry about it. It's not a very tiring job and I'm happy to help him. If several of us are needed to serve the customers, it means that our business works well."

The middle-aged woman let out an amused chuckle hearing this remark.

"Yes, it seems that we have had more customers, lately. So, I was wondering if that was the reason for you to invest yourself so much," she said, handing him a towel so that he could dry his hands. "Or if it was something else."

Frong's hand stiffened on the spongy fabric facing her mother's innuendo. She did not know how right she was.

"You know I'm not very sociable," commented the young man, putting the towel back in its place. "I don't talk that much to the customers, P'First is the shopkeeper, if you compare the two of us."

"Your brother told me that there was one person in particular with whom you talked quite often, though," his mother said with a hint of mischievousness.

Frong bit his lip, thinking that his brother was really too talkative at times.

"Who?" he asked, pretending to be innocent, whereas in fact he knew very well who the customer in question was.

"A nice, caring doctor. Handsome, too, which is also good to know," added the long-haired woman with a touch of humour.

Frong replied with a smile.

"You seem to like him a lot," the son remarked as he took the plates out of the cupboard in order to set the table behind them.

"I think I'm not the only one who likes him."

"Hm... He's quite popular at the university, and also with his patients, from what I heard," Frong admitted, trying to do as if nothing had happened. "Besides, he's a loyal customer of our shop."

"That's the kind of client you have to treasure," she said, patting her son on the shoulder.

In her eyes, Frong could read a certain playfulness, which spoke volumes about what she was really thinking of the situation.

"That's why I treat him well," Frong told her in a joking tone. "So that he doesn't think about visiting the competing stores."

"Hmm... You're quite right. Ah, also, you don't have to put three plates on the table, it's just the two of us tonight."

Frong raised an eyebrow as he was about to put the first plate on the table.

"Really? Where's P'First? Still not back?"

"Hm" his mum nodded to confirm. "He's spending the evening with some of his friends from the university. He won't be home until tomorrow."

"Oh. But in that case, why did you make so much food?"

There was enough provisions for a whole regiment. Dishes, desserts, and even drinks, like if she had a reception to organize.

"Oh, about that..." the dark-haired woman said a little apologetically. "I thought your brother had told me that he was going to invite his friends to eat at our place tonight, so I got a little carried away. I'm kind of ashamed, but I guess we misunderstood each other on the phone. I think the meds have an effect on my reasoning sometimes..."

Even though she was laughing, her words were still tinged with bitterness, which Frong was quick to notice.

Of course, his mother had still not fully recovered, even after months of rest. She had to follow a strict treatment, which still made her very tired, not to say exhausted, at times. She kept saying that she could not wait to get back to work at the flower shop. But her sons firmly opposed to it. They would certainly not allow her to work until she felt fully recovered. Although they said it was no problem at all for them to keep the shop, she still could not help but feel guilty, putting them through all this, making them work hard in her place, and for such a long period of time. Nevertheless, she had nothing to worry about, Frong thought. On the contrary, for him, the most important thing was for her to rest, as properly as possible, so that she could get back on her feet more quickly in the future.

The thought prompted Frong to place a comforting hand on her mother's shoulder, to let her know that she had his full support just like always.

"It's not a problem, mum," he said while shaking his head. "The two of us can just have a feast together instead."

This suggestion drew a smile from his mother.

"But you don't have much of an appetite these days, son..." she said, stroking his cheek, with some concern.

"...I'll make an effort, I promise, mum, you know how much I like it when you cook stew, don't you?"

His mother let out an amused chuckle, remembering that when he was little, he was never eager to share the casserole with the others.

Those were the good old days, when Frong's father was still here with them.

"Hm," said the mother, shaking her head thoughtfully. "I do, but considering the quantity, I won't be able to store everything... And I won't be able to keep all this for too long either. Oh, I have an idea. Maybe tomorrow, you could bring some of this to your friends?"

"I don't have that many friends, mum," Frong reminded her with a half-smile.

"I was thinking of one in particular, actually."

"...One in particular, you say?"

The dark haired woman's smile widened as soon as her son's question reached her ears.

"Exactly! I was talking of Dr. Thara, of course!"

"..."

Frong gave her a sidelong glance, thinking that one of his acquaintances was going to have his ears burning soon...

"It's perfect," his mother went on, as if she were now the only one keeping the conversation going, since her son had suddenly become mute with shock. "Besides, he has a big family. They can all enjoy the food together."

"Mum, I'm not sure if..."

"It's decided," she cut him off, in a wide smile brimming with enthusiasm. "I'll pack everything in lunch boxes for him tomorrow."

Frong watched her as she already began rummaging through the cupboards for the boxes in question, to put her cleverly orchestrated plan into action straight away.

"Mum," Frong repeated, hoping that this time she would deign to give him her attention. "You know, P'Thara is very busy..."

"Oh, I know," her mother assured, nodding her head briskly. "That's why I want to get him some food. With the pace of work a doctor has, it must be complicated for him to eat properly every day."

"There's no doubt..."

"Besides," she added, "since you've been working in that library, the one of the faculty of medicine, quite often lately... Maybe you could make a detour to the faculty that's close to it?"

The young man sighed, since he could see exactly what his mother was getting at.

"Mum..."

"You can do that for me, right? My dear, lovely son?"

As his mother had placed her hands in prayer, pleading with a wet look on her face, Frong looked up to the sky, searching for a way out.

And apparently, there was only one available to him at the moment.

"He has no class tomorrow morning," said the young man, shaking his head in defeat.

"You're well-informed, tell me. I see that you even know his schedule," his mother remarked mischievously.

"..."

"Anyway, you have his number, I think? So you can invite him to eat with you at lunch, at the university, if he's free before his afternoon classes, right ? That way, he can taste my food before the rest of his family."

Frong pursed his lips facing his mum's strange enthusiasm. The more he thought about it, the more his mother's request sounded like a real date.

If he wrote all this to Thara... How would he take it?

"You're really stubborn, do you know that?" he commented, raising an eyebrow.

His mother looked at him with compassion, before nudging him, this time with a more joking look.

"Come on, son. I'll pack your lunch too, just to say thanks. And I'll put plenty of sauce on your rice, I promise."

The wink the long-haired woman gave him made Frong smile in turn. His mother had always known how to coax him when needed. But today, she seemed particularly inspired. Her son wondered what was going on with her, all of a sudden...

"Okay," he finally said while looking away. "I'll send him a message to ask him."

"Oh, thank you, Frong," she replied delightedly. "I'm lucky to have such a devoted son."

When she came to place a hand on his cheek, tenderly, the young student smiled and nodded to let her know that there was no problem.

Well... He had said yes, but now... He had no idea what he was going to tell Thara in his message.

Chapter Text

"Oh. Khun!"

Frong looked up as he heard the familiar voice of the man who was the only one to call him by that name, which immediately brought a smile to his previously inscrutable face as he waited at a small table outside the cafeteria, enjoying the early afternoon sun.

"Hi, P'Hmo."

Thara grinned back at him, once his things were left safely on the back of the chair.

"I was a little surprised by your message," he admitted, sitting down at the other end of the table. "Regarding that lunch box thing, I have to say that I wondered if you didn't text me by mistake, at the time."

Frong gave him a tight smile. Most of their text exchanges were usually quite brief, without much interest, and rarely at Frong's initiative. The fact that the young man had even initiated the invitation had actually amazed Thara, who was more than eager to get a real explanation for all this.

"Ah... That's because of my mum... She had made too much food and was looking for a way not to waste it... She thought of you right away, since you have a big family... Well, you know how she is, she insisted a lot that I come to see you..."

"Oh. You mean if she hadn't, you wouldn't have invited me?"

The doctor's blunt question left the other student speechless for a moment, before he began to speak again, or rather, stammer.

"Oh, well... No, of course, I did not plan to... Err... I mean, I... ... Huh..."

Instead of finishing his sentence, Frong finally preferred to end it before making things even worse by really talking nonsense.

Thara seemed to read the discomfort in his eyes, so he nodded as if to show that it was not necessary for him to say anything more.

"Anyway, it's really nice of her," he said with a smile. "You'll thank her for me."

This attention brought a smile to the corner of Frong's lips too and he shrugged.

"Last time, you gave her flowers. That's an eye for an eye."

"It's true. I'm really lucky to have people like you as my friends."

Frong replied with a brief smile to thank him for the compliment, though the word 'friend' was a bit hard for him to swallow, as it reminded him of a certain scene in the past when they had started to get closer at the volunteer camp, only to end up sticking to a relationship of 'P' and 'Nong' (senior and junior).

Still, the young man was so happy to be by Thara's side today that a lot more would be needed to dampen his good mood. In a slightly nervous gesture, he readjusted the collar of the shirt he had specifically purchased for the occasion, and let out a sigh that drew Thara's attention back to him.

"Should we try the food now?" Frong suggested, pointing to the lunch boxes with a jerk of his head. "There is quite much, so we should start eating quickly."

"You're right," Thara replied. "My class is beginning soon, at one o'clock. And I think yours too, am I correct?"

Frong blinked as soon as he heard the last part of his sentence.

"Ah. How do you know that?"

The question made Thara smile as he moved his spoon aimlessly in his bowl.

"I asked Duen for your schedule. That way, when we need to meet, it'll be easier for us to organize."

"Oh, is that so? I see..."

Even though he had opted for indifference in saying these words, it had not stopped a smile from growing on Frong's face, despite himself.

Even if the doctor had not said much, it had been enough to warm his heart in an instant. The mere mention that he wanted them to see each other more often, even in all goodness, like two friends, filled his heart with joy.

However, hearing the mischievous laughter of the person in front of him, Frong suddenly came down to earth.

"Why are you laughing, P'Hmo?"

He wondered if the look on his face at that moment was hilarious enough to cause such a reaction, but actually, the problem was elsewhere.

"No, that's because... you have sauce on your face."

"...Ah!" exclaimed the dark-haired student. "Damn."

He immediately put his hand over his face in search of the trace in question. He had been too busy getting excited on his own to even paid attention to the way he was eating. Him who wanted the doctor to notice him had finally succeeded... Even though it was not really what he had planned initially.

Thara shook his head as he saw him move his fingers around his chin hesitantly, to let him know that unfortunately, the stain was still there.

"Here, let me wipe it for you."

"Huh?"

Frong was about to say something to dissuade him, but it was too late, Thara had already moved his handkerchief close to the corner of his lips, to remove the rest of the food that had stuck there, and brought his face closer to better see the extent of the damage.

"This is a stubborn one," Thara concluded with a frown.

In desperation, he ended up using his thumb directly to remove the trace. A gesture that froze Frong in place.

As he felt his face turn as red as a beetroot, he jerked back when he heard some snickering and shouting coming from the table behind them.

A group of girls were watching them excitedly from where they were, clapping enthusiastically before exchanging their cell phones, which made Frong guess that they were actually taking pictures of them.

Thara turned briefly in the direction his junior was looking before sitting back cozily in his seat.

"Hasn't this already happened once before?" the doctor pointed out, as Frong instinctively brought his fingers to the corner of his mouth.

"What? What are you referring to?" he asked while his mind was still a little off.

"I mean, that kind of scene," Thara said, pointing to the bunch of girls full of energy behind them with a quick move of his head. "When Duen had invited me on a date with you and Bohn. Some girls had thought we were a couple too."

"Oh. Right. I... remember. Kind of."

Seeing him hesitate, Thara's expression changed from joy to concern.

"Don't worry, Nong. It's not like it's the truth, after all."

"Sorry?" Frong asked in astonishment, not seeing what the doctor was getting at.

The latter sighed for a long time before going on.

"Last time too, when I introduced you as my boyfriend to Bohn, you seemed to be embarrassed. But I wasn't serious, you know. So don't feel bad about it. Okay?"

Nonetheless, these words, which were apparently intended to reassure him at the base, had the similar effect as a bomb in Frong's heart.

Obviously, Thara had just interpreted his silence as embarrassment. He probably imagined that it bothered him that they were thought to be a couple today, just like the time before, when he had helped him out of a jam because of Bohn's paranoid delusions, but he was not bothered. Not at all, in fact.

It was so impossible for him that the doctor would think such a thing that Frong ended up not being able to hold back words that he would probably never have said under other circumstances.

"You're wrong," Frong told him in a tone of voice that surprised Thara, as the latter was more used to seeing him react calmly.

(Author's note: except in the early days, Thara... When you two met, at the beginning, Frong was always getting mad at you, remember... ^^')

"What do you mean?"

The young student in management pursed his lips before going on.

"I don't feel bad. I mean, even if... Even if those girls or anyone else believe that we're together... I'm okay with it."

"..."

Thara continued to listen intently, saying nothing, a position that did not necessarily make Frong very comfortable, but now that had started, he could hardly stop in his tracks.

"There's no shame in being with someone like you, right? You're kind and honest, you help others willingly... I don't see why I should feel embarrassed."

This last sentence seemed to make Thara particularly satisfied as the smile already visible at the corner of his lips suddenly widened significantly.

"Thank you, Khun."

Frong looked down once these soft words, which reassured him, reached his ears, while the girls behind them had just gotten up from the table to go pay their bill, giving them a moment's respite that was very welcome to Frong's heart.

"...It's only the truth," he murmured modestly.

Thara smiled at him again before turning his attention back to his food, which he had barely touched as time passed but was admittedly really good.

"How's your mum, by the way?"

Frong, who had been taken aback by the sudden change in conversation, looked up at the doctor before nodding.

"Oh. She's fine, thanks. She is still on medication, actually, so a little tired though. But I'm hopeful that she'll be fine in a few weeks."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that," said the doctor sincerely. "Tell me when I can visit her, I'd like to see her again."

"..."

"I mean... If I am welcome."

"Of course," Frong confirmed at once, to the doctor's surprise, and the words that followed surprised him even more. "You're welcome to come home."

"...Really?"

Facing Thara's delighted look, who had obviously interpreted his words from a certain angle that he was not sure he could fully assume yet, the young man in front of him found himself a little embarrassed when he had to find a way to justify himself.

"Uh, I mean..." he said, scratching the side of his head in an instinctive gesture. "My mum will be happy to hear that. She likes you a lot, after all."

The doctor seemed to appreciate this set answer, however, as he gave Frong a tender smile in response.

"Hm. I like her a lot too."

As he had said these words while looking into Frong's eyes, the latter could not help but start to smile back, in spite of himself, like an idiot. As soon as he realized this, he hurriedly looked away, though this action did not really help to calm his heartbeats.

This meal definitely had a different flavor than the others... A very special one, even.

Chapter Text

The doorbell finally rang, to the delight of Frong, who had been waiting for this moment to happen all day, so much that he even had trouble to find sleep the night before. That was how excited he was to have such a special someone coming to visit his house today.

He ran towards the front door, his heart beating in anxiety and impatience, because he knew very well who he would find behind it.

He held his breath when he saw his guest stand in the doorway, looking just as attractive and likeable as always.

"Hi," Dr. Thara said in his usual calm and appeasing tone.

Appeasing was the right word. Even if at this moment, Frong was far from feeling appeased, as the way he started to stammer as soon as he met the senior's gaze could testify.

"Oh, h... Hello, P'Hmo. Right on time, as I see," he only managed to say, while scratching the back of his head in an attempt to distract his attention from the doctor's bright smile which always made quite an effect on him.

"I didn't want to be late knowing you were waiting for me," his guest told him humbly, with his legendary bluntness in front of which Frong could not help but smile, a bit clumsily, as he invited him to take a step forward to join him inside.

"Here. I brought some cakes," Thara announced, handing him a bag from a local shop that the junior knew well, as it was not among the cheapest ones.

"Oh, that's nice of you," he said, examining the gift before giving him a polite bow in thanks, a little embarrassed by so much attention. "But you didn't have to, you know... "

"Oh, do you mean that you don't like this kind of pastry? " Thara asked when he noticed the confused look of Frong

The latter realized straight away that he had just, once again without meaning to, created a misunderstanding between them because he never knew which words to choose when it was his turn to say something to the doctor.

"On the contrary, you made a perfect choice, doctor," a female voice suddenly intervened in a casual tone behind them.

The young management student did not feel the need to turn around when he felt the hand of this person resting amicably on his shoulder. Her mischievous laugh was identifiable enough for him to knew who just joined their conversation by surprise.

"Mum, you were here..." he murmured with a tense smile, while the person in question seemed delighted to receive a visit.

"You didn't tell me that Dr. Thara would be here so early, son! Did you try to keep him for you only or what?" she questioned in a teasing tone, knowing very well that the inquiry would embarrass her son.

"Sorry..." the latter simply answered while avoiding her determined gaze that he knew could read him like an open book, while he was already feeling uncomfortable enough.

"Anyway, we'll talk about that later" she said while waving her hand in the air quickly. "There are more important things to consider now, doctor."

"Hm? What do you mean, mother?" the senior asked in curiosity, while the only thing that raised Frong's attention at the moment was the fact that Thara just called his mum "mother" as if it was the most normal thing on earth.

"Hmph" the mother giggled as if she was about to reveal a decisive secret information. "Frong won't admit it, but he loves the cakes from this bakery. And I'm sure they taste even better if it's such a handsome man who comes to deliver them to us."

"Mum, please..." Frong called in a low voice, trying to remain discreet.

"What?" she questioned while feigning indifference.

But even though she was playing innocent, her son knew very well what her words actually meant.

"I also love these cakes to tell you the truth," Thara claimed, in a slight nod of approbation. "I guess we have a lot of common points, my junior and I."

The word "junior" brought a tight smile to Frong's face, as it was related to some uncomfortable memories, as well as the fact that the relationship between the two of them was strictly friendly, at most.

"Hm... Probably..." he simply said, without much enthusiasm, that caused his mother to raise her eyes to the sky, as she thought the discussion would go nowhere if she did not take control of it right away.

"Come on, doctor, don't be shy, come in," she said as she guided the doctor to the living room, not to waste any more time. "I was just about to prepare some tea."

"Nice," Thara claimed in a grateful nod. "It's exactly what I need as I just got off a long shift."

Upon hearing this information, Frong's mother patted him on the shoulder with a compassionate air on her face.

"Oh. You must be tired, then. Are you sure you don't want to go home and rest instead, then?"

"Don't worry," the doctor assured, as he shook his head to reassure her. "In your company, I already feel better, mother. "

A wide smile appeared on the mother's face due to these sweet words, which made her blush slightly, and encouraged her to nudge her son, who remained stubbornly silent at her side.

"Oh, this young man is really charming. I wish I had another son like that..."

"Mum..."

He implied that his mother would make their guest feel uncomfortable by saying such things, but the guest in question did not seem to share his point of view contrary to what he was sure of.

"Your son is pretty charming, too" the doctor answered without hesitation, to the greatest despair of Frong's heart, that skipped a beat automatically as soon as their eyes met.

"Oh! Can you hear that, Frong? He just gave you a compliment..." his mother whispered excitedly in his ear, which only increased her son's nervousness.

Fortunately for him, he started hearing an insisting robotic melody coming from behind the three of them that he could not help but consider as salutary.

"Your phone's ringing, Mum," he hurried up saying, instead of giving her an answer, showing the room behind them in a brief jerk of his head.

"Ah, you're right, excuse me for a moment, I'll be right back" his mother apologized in a quick nod, before heading to the kitchen to pick up her phone.

Seeing her walk away from Thara and him, Frong let out a long sigh before letting his hand run over his face in dismay, now that she had finally allowed him to take a breather.

"...Sorry," he stammered as he invited Thara to sit with him around the small table of the living room. "It's been a long time since we've invited anyone home, I believe she's overexcited about it."

"Don't worry," the senior said as he shook his head. "On the contrary. It makes me happy to be welcomed so warmly. "

"Ah... "

Thara's tender words immediately drew a smile from him, a tad silly, before he lowered his head so as not to be caught in the act, under the pretext to want to serve him some tea.

Contrary to him, Thara always found the right thing to say. He always had the words to please him, making him feel as unsettled as happy.

But while he was on cloud nine, lulled by Thara's smile full of warmth and benevolence, an exclamation of surprise coming from behind his back brought him back to reality rather abruptly.

"What's going on, Mum?" he immediately asked, sitting up from his chair with a start. "Are you okay?"

Hearing her scream, he suddenly remembered with dread all those times his mother had had health problems and that he had had to call the hospital at any hour of the day, because of her serious illness, finding himself completely helpless and in a panic of not knowing what would happen to her with each passing day if he did not make the right choice.

"Son..." murmured the dark-haired woman uneasily while keeping her phone in hand, which was, in Frong's mind, a sign that she had undoubtedly just received some news which had stressed her in some way.

"What? What's the matter? You're scaring me," he dared to admit, as he began to tremble at seeing her all confused.

But when his mother looked up to give him a very wide smile, it was Frong's turn to suddenly feel utterly confused.

"This is my friend Namtam! I haven't heard from her in such a long time! I feel so touched that I don't know what to say anymore."

Frong had a hard time realizing what she was blabbering about right now, as could be seen in his suddenly dumbfounded expression.

"...Huh? What... what friend?" he stammered without understanding.

"Oh, son, I'm talking about Namtam, our former neighbor!" exclaimed his mother as if it were obvious. "She suggested that we check out a new shop in town. Oh, apparently, they've got all my favorite brands of clothes... And they're having a special offer to celebrate the store's opening! If I don't go right away, I'll miss that out..."

Frong wrinkled his nose as he thought his mother was really quick at changing her mind when it came to discounts and shopping.

"Mum, can't you just go tomorrow instead?" he asked, daring a glance in Thara's direction, who was still smiling just as friendly and peacefully as before. "We have a guest here, just to remind you."

This comment brought a smile on Frong's mother, as she approached her son, rubbing her hands together with a mischievous expression that did not looked good to the young student.

"Oh, that's the point, actually! It's a good thing so that you two will get more intimacy!"

"What... What do you mean by that? " the young man asked in a nervous laugh as he was not sure he really wanted to know what she truly meant.

The middle-aged woman bent slightly forward to confide in her son's ear what kind of brilliant plan was on her mind right now.

"Anyway, Frong... You asked your brother to replace you at the flower shop today, just to stay with the doctor, I guess it's because you have a lot to tell him, or to do with him. Right?"

She had said this last sentence while looking towards Thara with an amused expression, to which this one answered by a quick nod, although judging by how he kept blinking, he did not seem to have understood very well what this little secret mission was about.

Frong, on the other hand, could see very well what his mother's sparking eyes hid, as his cheeks quickly flushed in an uncontrollable way.

"Mum," he sighed, frowning slightly whereas she gave him a little wink which seemed to mean 'you will thank me later for that.'

"Anyway, I don't have time to discuss this any further," she exclaimed while clapping in her hands like a little girl who was about to receive her Christmas presents. "I can't keep my friend waiting, after all this time. I'll leave you young people alone!"

"I understand, but..." her son tried to say in an attempt to reason with her, but she had already took her bag from the coat rack and opened the door before he had time to stop her.

"If you understand me, I'll see you later, son! " she contented herself to tell him with the same triumphant smile as before, as she stepped out onto the landing with an expression that showed how delighted she was to have made her plan successful. "And hope to see you soon too, dear doctor. "

"Hm" the latter answered in a polite nod, "thank you for your hospitality".

His humility and courtesy were no longer a secret and when Frong's mother closed the door behind her, she told herself that she was leaving her son in very good hands...

Chapter Text

"Ah... I'm sorry, P'Hmo," Frong apologized as he watched his mother drive away through the living room's window. "My mum is the one inviting you and still, she's leaving before even having tea with us. I didn't think she was such a shopaholic..."

He came back to his seat, in front of his guest, hoping very much that P'Thara had not heard what his mother had told him before leaving, which was, to say the least, revealing the depth of his thinking...

"It's no big deal," Thara assured, shaking his head slowly so as to reassure the junior. "She needs to see her friends once in a while. Plus, it also means that she starts to feel healthy enough to make these kinds of plans by herself."

Frong could only agree with this analysis, as he could himself testify that his mum has been, for his greatest joy and relief, looking much better recently than just a few months ago.

"Probably. I might tend to overprotect her a bit... After what happened to her... I guess it's kind of inevitable."

"Hm. Of course. You got so much worried for her. But now, you can slow down a bit. Okay?"

As every time Thara addressed him this way, with a soft and comforting voice tone, Frong could not help but nod thankfully, which made the doctor smile in return when he spoke up again.

"I can tell you that your mother looks radiant, Khun. She's got that same adorable smile as her son back on her face. You can tell you've taken good care of her."

Frong twisted his mouth clumsily in front of this umpteenth compliment, to prevent himself from smiling widely like an idiot.

"...Yeah, well... I was not the only one helping, you know" he confessed modestly, while he brought his cup of tea to his mouth, in order to soothe his throat that felt suddenly a little bit dry. "My older brother too, was here for her, you know..."

Hearing him trying to find all kinds of pretexts to minimize his role, Thara briefly laughed through his nose, as he could not help but find Frong lovely. Keeping his cheeks reddened with embarrassment in mind, the senior lowered his eyes toward his cup of tea, to take a sip in turn, under the watchful eye of his host. Frong swallowed his saliva when he detached his wet lips, tighten and glisten, from the cup, drawing the doctor's attention back to him all of a sudden, due to his clear lack of discretion.

"Hm? What's the matter, Khun? Why are you looking at me like that?" Thara suddenly asked with interest, which caused Frong, who had unintentionally brought his face a little closer to better appreciate the view, to back up sharply against the back of his chair, seeming to realize only now what kind of road he was going to take just before.

"Uh... it's nothing..."

"Really? So there is really no problem?"

"No... No problem at all..." Frong repeated in a voice that nonetheless suggested otherwise.

It was all because of his mother's innuendoes, that she would have better defined as "precious advice". She may have thought she was helping him by leaving him and the doctor on their own today, for an undetermined duration, but in fact, she had only managed to make her son feel even more nervous and lost. It was complicated enough for him before to simply have a conversation with Thara, and now, he could not even keep his cool with the doctor.

"There is no problem, but there is still something, right?" Thara insisted, as he could see very well that Frong was hiding something behind his strangely tight and persisting smile that remained stuck to his face while there was no particular reason to rejoice at the moment.

"Huh..."

"You know you can tell me anything."

"I can... tell you everything?"

"Yes. Since I'm a doctor," the senior confirmed in order to try to make his interlocutor feel secure. "I am bound by professional secrecy. You can keep a cool head about it."

Frong kept silent instead of giving a proper answer to this, as he was not so sure for his part that, in depth, it was really a good thing to "tell Thara everything". What was on his mind, or rather on his too fast beating heart, right now was not something he could really "keep a cool head" about either. Otherwise, he would not have been in that chaotic state, keeping torturing himself with all these questionings for months now.

Thara had said he did not mind him confiding in him. But it was only because he had no idea what he was about to hear. His mother had done a really good job of bringing that sensitive topic up... Now he did not know what to do, or how to deal with his feelings, which he was finding increasingly difficult to hide as time went by. And if it was the case... there was one and only solution to put an end to all this.

As he was invited to tell the truth... Should he just confess? Just like that, out of the blue?

Was this really a good idea? Maybe doctor Thara would diagnose him as a crazy man and would recommend him a good psychiatrist among his coworkers...

Or maybe not.

Anyway, now that he had gotten into this discussion... Maybe it was a sign that, this time, it was now or never.

Frong took a deep breath and mustered up all his courage, before getting ready to embark on what seemed to him an insurmountable challenge.

"Actually, P'Hmo," he forced himself to say, while his sense of apprehension was easily noticeable through his words. "I wanted to tell you..."

"Yes?"

"I wanted to tell you... that I..."

"Oh, I'm sorry Khun," the doctor suddenly cut him off, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "I just got a message."

"Ah... Yes... Of course."

"Of course" was the most appropriate word to define the current situation, thought Frong. As further proof that it probably still was not the right time. Once again.

Which made the young student believe more and more that it would be probably better to remain silent forever at this state.

But Frong did not have time to ponder this further, as a soft laugh came out of the doctor's mouth as soon as his dark eyes fell on his phone screen.

"What's going on, P'?" asked the junior as he could note that his features had suddenly softened, probably because of the person who had just texted him.

But the more he looked at him watching at his screen so affectionately, the less Frong was sure he really wanted to know the identity of that person who made the doctor smile that way.

A smile that hurt.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just Nat worrying for nothing."

"Nat?" Frong repeated with astonishment, as it seemed to him that this was the first time he had heard such a name.

The doctor nodded to confirm.

"Hm. She and I work together at the hospital."

The word "hospital" echoed in the student in management's mind, in which a number of memories suddenly began to come back, most of which he would have preferred to forget.

"Could she be... A girl with a ponytail? In a nurse's uniform?"

"Huh? Yes, that's right. Why, do you know her?"

Faced with the surprised look of the doctor, Frong then quickly realized his mistake, and took the same dumbfounded expression.

"Ah uh... no, uh... well... I... " he began to stammer, looking for a way out as he continued to speak, not making much sense of his words. "Actually, I ran into her once or twice while visiting my mother when she was still hospitalized."

"Ran into her?" Thara asked him with a puzzled look, but he did not have time to ask more, as Frong believed it was high time he changed the topic of the conversation.

"So... what did that Nat want from you?"

After holding his gaze for a moment longer, Thara took his cup of tea in hand to finish drinking it.

"Oh, it's just the routine," he claimed in a shrug. "She was asking me why I changed my work hours today."

"I... see..."

The routine... It meant that they often asked each other this kind of question... between colleagues, after all, it was not that surprising. However, Frong could not help but think that there was something else behind this message. Otherwise, Thara's eyes would not have lit up at the mention of this young woman.

Exactly like that time Frong had caught them chatting in the corridor of the hospital, both laughing heartily, exposing their obvious complicity to the whole world without trouble.

"Hm? Is there something wrong, Khun?" Thara asked in concern as he noticed that the young man in front of him had been staring his empty cup of tea blankly for several long seconds already.

"Oh, no, there's nothing like that," the latter assured, forcing a smile. "I was just thinking that... you two look pretty close."

"Of course, we are. She's my little sister."

"Huh?" Frong exclaimed in a much louder tone than usual, his eyes bulging with surprise.

"Huh?" Thara then copied his reaction, having now the same dazed look on his face, not knowing what else to say, not really getting the reason for Frong's sudden state of shock at this moment.

The latter cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable to have, perhaps, a little overreacted. But since the surprise was rather big, it could hardly be otherwise. Especially knowing that he had spent weeks wondering about the relationship that bound up this mysterious girl with the handsome doctor.

And all this, apparently, was done for not much, in the end...

"Is she really your sister? Or do you call her 'little sister' because she's your junior at the university or something?" the dark-haired young man felt pushed to ask, just to make sure he had not misunderstood the situation, since that had become a bit of a specialty of his especially, in the recent days.

Nevertheless, as Thara quickly shook his head in denial in response, it gave him the proof that, for once, it was not one of those speculations of his imagination.

"Hm, no, she is my real little sister, a member of my family," Thara claimed, so as to clarify the doubts that seemed to linger in Frong's mind about her, though he did not really understand why her identity intrigued him so much. "Well... More exactly, she is my stepfather's daughter. But to me, she's just as important as my other siblings. And since we work at the same place and have the same passion... necessarily, we get along very well."

"Is that so..." Frong murmured as he looked down, seeming suddenly just as thoughtful as confused, as he had just woke up from a very long and tiring dream. "A little sister... That's why the other day, she came with you there..."

He was referring to that time a while back, on the anniversary of the doctor's father's death, when Thara had taken this girl with him to accompany him to the cemetery. At that time, Frong had thought that they must really be close, because it was not a thing you would do with a mere acquaintance or colleague.

But he did not expect her to be a family member. Instead, he rather thought she was...

"It seems to have surprised you oddly enough."

Thara's sudden intervention took him so much by surprise that he raised his head in a sudden jerk and almost hurt his neck.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"The fact that Nat and I are related, of course."

Frong pursed his lips as he could notice that the doctor's tone was suddenly tinted with amusement. Sometimes, he wondered if Thara did not have the ability to read his mind, and at the most embarrassing times for him, as if it was not enough.

The more he knew him, the more he thought he was a little too fine a psychologist for his heart to handle.

"I just thought it was a small world... That's all," he simply explained, but his brief answer did not seem to be satisfying enough for Thara, whose broad smile made it clear that he was not done with his questions.

At least not quite yet.

"Did you think she was my girlfriend or something?"

Frong dared to glance in his direction, and seeing him raise his eyebrows as a sign of impatience, he found more appropriate to look away quickly, pretending instead to be searching for the teapot to serve himself a new cup.

"Oh... Not at all. I didn't believe that at all. Absolutely not," he claimed, although the more he talked, the less convinced he was himself...

"Are you sure? You look pretty tense."

"I..."

"Hm?"

Frong swallowed his saliva as he took the time to think for a moment, before ending up nodding quickly for the attention of Thara, as if he had just found the miracle solution to save the situation.

"I was worried about your sister, that's why," he pretended while trying to keep a smile on his face. "I mean, she looked like she needed your help just now..."

"Oh?" the doctor questioned him in surprise. "Why is that? Are you interested in her? »

Frong's tense smile broadened in despair, as he realized that he was actually making error after error while trying to keep his face.

"W-what are you imagining, P'" he defended himself, waving a hand in the air in a nervous gesture. "Of course I'm not interested in her..."

"In who then?"

"Huh?"

Frong's heart skipped a beat when he met P'Thara's gaze, pretty unsettled by the fact his voice tone, as well as his expression, had become a lot more serious out of the blue.

"Who are you interested in, if not her?" asked the latter again, without letting himself be disconcerted.

"..."

Seeing the junior's face freeze after this question, a half-smile appeared to the corner of Thara's lips.

"Could it be in me, perhaps?"

This time, Frong could not hold back a laugh, at first suppressed, before letting it burst out, leaving his nervousness aside, at least for a few precious seconds.

"Pfft... What are you talking about, P'Hmo?"

"Ah, I just saw a little smile appear on that face," the doctor remarked in satisfaction. "That makes me feel better. I had the impression that my presence made you uncomfortable."

"Of course not, P'," Frong hastily denied, as a feeling of confusion rose inside him and gradually made him lose his words. "I'm glad you're here. You know that I like spending time with you. Ah... no. That's not what I mean... Well, yes, I do like being with you. No, not in that way, uh... I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm saying anymore."

Seeing him huffing and puffing in front of him, tired of trying to sort out his muddled thoughts, a tender smile grew over Thara's face as he could not help but realize how much happier he was by this person's side.

"Me too. I love it when I am with you, Khun."

"..."

"I wish we could spend even more time together, actually."

"Sorry?"

Once he uttered these words, the doctor came to put his hand on Frong's, which left the latter totally speechless.

I wish we could spend even more time together...

Had Frong heard correctly?

Or was he still in the middle of a weird dream resulting from his unlimited imagination?

Otherwise... Why on earth would Thara say something like that?

The younger man swallowed his hot drink in a go, as if it was a shot of alcohol, as he listed all the possible explanations, each one more far-fetched than the last, that came to mind, until only one remained eventually.

They were both in his house. All alone. In this strange ambiance, the doctor thought it was the best moment for him to take his hand. And at that time, he addressed him with such gentleness that his heart almost melted as soon as his soft voice had reached his ears.

Still, it could not mean that...

"You want to spend more time with me... As friends... Is that it?" Frong suggested as he put his cup back on the table for more safety.

"Friends?" his interlocutor repeated without really understanding, removing his hand from the junior's, prompting the latter to rephrase things more clearly as soon as their confused looks met again.

"Or should I say... Like a junior and his senior, if you prefer?"

The smile on Thara's face froze as he met the younger man's gaze, which suddenly seemed particularly speaking. Enough to make him want to dig into things a little deeper than he had originally planned.

"Hm... Let me think..." the doctor said, tapping his finger on the corner of his mouth, as if deep in thought. "I don't often hold hands with my friends, or my juniors for that matter, I have to admit."

"Huh?"

In front of Frong's doubtful air, Thara tilted his head slightly to the side with an innocent smile on his face.

"Is it possibly your case?"

"Ah, how could it be... As you said... That would be pretty weird, indeed" Frong ended up claiming, holding back a nervous laugh, so much preoccupied with not saying any more stupid things that he did not notice right away that Thara had just taken his hand again in his, squeezing it a little harder this time.

"It makes me feel better to know that it's the way you think," the doctor confessed softly and sincerely as he watched both of their hands tangle in a tender smile.

"..."

When Frong looked up at him, Thara took the opportunity to confront him again with his gaze and opt for a more direct tone.

"We've already spent quite much time as friends, don't you think?" he asked the young student, whose fingers instinctively tightened due to the sensation of the doctor's caresses. "Maybe it's time to move on... If this hand is free."

"..."

When Thara lifted his hand slightly, making this funny scene look like a marriage proposal, Frong's face suddenly took some colors, which did not escape the doctor, who held back from laughing as he met his exorbitant gaze.

"Your face is all red, Khun."

Frong pursed his lips as he was once again presented with a fait accompli in the worst possible situation.

"I... I'm just a little hot, that's all," he said, supporting his discourse by pulling on the collar of his brand-new shirt. "Spring is awfully sunny this year..."

"I'm getting hot too," the doctor admitted as if it were nothing, even though for Frong, this answer was not exactly innocent.

"I'm going to turn up the air-conditioning," the management student suddenly decided, as he got up from his seat, a salutary decision that he was sure would finally allow him to escape from this conversation that was starting to take an increasingly dangerous turn.

"Khun."

"..."

When Frong was about to turn toward the one who was calling him with concern, he froze on the spot as he felt strong arms gently embrace him by the waist, from behind.

"What did you want to tell me earlier?" asked the doctor, whose face was now very close to Frong's, so close that he could feel his warm breath tickling his neck, until it gave him shivers.

"What?" asked Frong without really listening to him, somewhat taken aback by the situation he had put himself in just because, once again, he never weighed his words correctly when the senior was involved.

"Earlier," Thara resumed with his legendary calm attitude. "Before Nat sent me a text message. You looked like you wanted to confess something to me."

"..."

Frong suddenly remembered his failed attempt at a love confession, which he would have preferred to forget, and which he did not think Thara would have the sense to bring up again any time soon.

"Am I allowed to know what it was?" the doctor asked, though, much to Frong's chagrin, who turned slightly toward him with growing apprehension.

"..."

"Please, Khun."

Frong bit his lips as he realized that they were now just a few centimeters from his.

"I don't know if I should... " murmured the young man, turning away slightly, in order to keep a minimum of composure. "Also because... I don't want to lose... your friendship."

Thara was silent for a moment, before placing his hand against Frong's cheek to encourage him to look in his direction again.

"But the problem is," he said, looking at him with a hint of regret, "that I can't be your friend anymore, actually."

"..."

"I want more."

"..."

Frong, who almost stumbled when he heard these words, was barely caught up by Thara who held him by the arm.

"Are you okay?" the doctor asked, pulling away from him slightly as he helped him regain his balance, wondering if he had said or done something wrong based on his reaction.

"Ah... yeah... I'm fine" then answered Frong by moving back a step, still a little dazed, which did not fail to notice the senior in front of him.

"Are you sure?" he worried, before taking the initiative to check the temperature of his forehead, to make sure he had not made himself sick or something. And this gentle touch, full of warmth, confirmed to his junior that he was not dreaming right now.

"I just... thought I heard wrong," Frong babbled without even realizing it when their eyes met, with an intensity he had not expected. "It just seems so... unreal."

Reading the confusion in his eyes, Thara wrinkled his lips in a brief, compassionate smile.

"I couldn't believe it either at first," he admitted, looking down with an apologetic expression. "And to interpret what I could feel."

"..."

The doctor smiled more broadly at him before sitting back down on the couch, quickly followed by Frong, who came to sit beside him to listen to the rest of his speech.

"When our path crossed at the beginning... you intrigued me, because of your background, your personality" explained the doctor by remembering a time which felt like yesterday.

The unexpected memory of their first encounter made Frong's heart flutter. When they first met, he had no idea why he felt so uncomfortable and stressed in front of this person. This explained why he tried to avoid him at all costs after that... whereas he kept thinking about him more and more often. Now he realized that the sight of his smile was one of the most precious things that happened in his life.

One thing he would never forget nor try to run away anymore.

"I was thinking, I want you to know me better..." Thara resumed softly as he seemed to be diving into rather agreeable memories. "At the same time, I also wanted to know you better... And this sense of curiosity ended up becoming stronger. A little more every day. Until I realized that the moments we spent together were among the happiest moments of my life. And that I wanted to keep them for myself. So that they could last forever."

"..."

As Frong remained silent, looking at him with a lost air, Thara let out a little laugh to put an end that strange tense atmosphere he was himself greatly responsible for.

"It must seem weird to you that I'm telling you this out of the blue," the doctor conceded, feeling a little ashamed that he may have spoken a little too much. "I'm sorry."

"..."

"Khun?"

The one who was nicknamed so puckered his lips as he met the doctor's worried gaze, before lowering his eyes again, a little hesitant about what he was about to say, which let Thara imagine the worst.

"Yeah. It feels weird," Frong admitted in a whisper. "But not for what you think."

"..."

When he said these words, the young management student came to place his hand on Thara's, who startled due to this unexpected yet pleasant contact.

"It's because... I do feel all these things you mentioned too" he admitted, looking the doctor straight in the eye this time.

"..."

Thara did not answer anything, a little stunned by what Frong had just confessed to him, then, the latter took advantage of it to share what he really meant deep down, as long as he still had the courage to speak to him without saying a word of wrong or stuttering like he usual did in his presence.

"Besides... I didn't think... you were interested in me in 'that' way."

Thara then gave him a faint smile, before holding his hands more tightly in his, to show his indefectible support.

"I regret... I had not been honest with you from the start," he said gently, stroking the back of his hand with his thumb in a circular, calming motion. "When all I wanted was for you to be happy."

"You don't have to worry about it, P'Hmo. I really am happy, now."

"Really?" inquired the doctor, who seemed more than relieved by this announcement. "You're not mad at me, then?"

This sudden enthusiasm earned him a brief laugh from his host of the day, which immediately intrigued him.

"What are you laughing at, Khun?"

"I just thought we looked a lot alike, in fact," Frong confessed with a slightly emotional smile that touched Thara's heart as soon as he met his tender gaze, that was more speaking than a hundred words for both of them.

"Khun..."

"Actually... We had the same concerns, we were worried about the same things... I was also afraid of your reaction. So how do you expect me to be mad at you?"

"..."

Frong looked down at his fingers tangled with Thara's, the sight of which made a smile he could not control grow on his now relaxed features.

"And besides... Who wouldn't be happy to hear such gentle words? Of course I am."

Upon hearing this confession, Thara felt more than delighted, as evidenced by the broad smile he now addressed the younger man sat next to him.

"I'm glad too. Really. I mean... There's just something missing for my happiness to be complete" he confided with a slightly mischievous air that surprised Frong.

"...Really? What is it?"

"Not much, you can be reassured," said the doctor with an indifferent shrug. "Just a little cure."

Frong held back a laugh in front of his casual attitude.

"A cure? Aren't you the doctor here?"

"Yes, but in this precise case, I need a special treatment," Thara explained with a suddenly much more interested look.

When he bent forward slightly to whisper in Frong's ear, as if to tell him a secret, the younger student shivered as his soft voice suddenly took on a much more sensual tone.

"It is even 'very' special, since it can only be administered by you."

"..."

Frong bit his lips as the doctor recoiled slightly to look him squarely in the eyes again, with an air of defiance.

"Do you think you can do something about it?"

The half-smile Thara gave him immediately made Frong chuckled briefly in amusement.

"If it's a request from a senior, I don't see how I can refuse. It's a question of respect, after all" he said humbly, with a smile that immediately comforted Thara.

"This is one of the only times I don't mind being called P' (senior) by you," he admitted with some pride, moving a strand of hair that fell over Frong's eyebrow, to better examine his eyes, which were now looking only at him.

And in a way he never thought he would see one day.

Frong welcomed with the same pleasure the lips of the doctor that came to place on his, very softly, in delicacy, so as not to rush him in any way.

Under such conditions, Frong did not have much of a problem being considered his "junior" either.

If that was how Thara saw things... it seemed to him that it was even something he would have no problem enjoying, and so, very likely for a long time to come.

Chapter Text

"Is it my cousin that you are texting, P'Frong?

The latter, who had been keeping his nose stuck for a good 10 minutes on his smartphone, took his eyes off his screen, open on a conversation window, to look at Duen, who was staring at him doubtfully in front of him.

"How... do you know?" he asked, finding himself a little stupid all of a sudden for getting all excited just because of a random text message exchange.

Duen squinted to show that nothing could escape him at times like this, which earned him a tense smile from the other student.

"You have that little sparkle in your eyes when you look at him... just like P'Thara when he looks at you" he confirmed by gawking like an idiot to illustrate his words, a slightly exaggerated imitation that made Frong laugh heartily.

"Oh, but you know, P'Hmo is used to being nice to everyone, not just me."

As he listened, Duen suddenly took on a serious air that made Frong think he had just put his finger on something decisive.

"It's true that he's a kind person who always has a nice word to say," Bohn's boyfriend recognized as he finished his cup of coffee. "But he doesn't treat everyone the same way... when my cousin's sister, P'Nat, told me that he had changed his work schedule to spend time with you, for example... I was quite surprised."

This last sentence left Frong so speechless that he almost choked with his own hot beverage.

"...Huh? Did P'Hmo really... changed his working hours?"

"For him to have chosen to spent a moment with you rather than doing his job, it means that it was pretty important," commented Duen with a half-smile. "Or better, the person he had to see must have been the one 'important'..."

The mischievous look on Duen's face left little doubt as to who he was referring to with these quite flattering words, inciting Frong to turn away quickly so as he would not meet his insistent gaze again.

"You're blushing, P'," he noted, facing the embarrassed silence of the management student.

"Not at all," Frong grumbled, still without looking at him straight in the eyes. "It's because of the coffee. It makes me hot."

"Oh is that so... I thought you finished it a while ago."

"Anyway, Duen..." Frong claimed, clearing his throat loudly enough to let his friend know that he had no intention of keeping going with this rather awkward conversation any time soon. "I thought we were meeting to study for the upcoming exams. You were the one complaining that Bohn couldn't explain the notions properly."

Being reminded of this little detail, Duen let his upper body collapse on the table and let out a long, weary sigh.

"Oh... don't remind me of that. He becomes so touchy as soon as I ask him to reexplain something that he doesn't want to help me with anything anymore now..."

"By the way, did you tell him that we would meet today?" asked Frong, putting his papers in order in front of him.

"Of course, I wasn't going to keep it from him," Duen moaned in dismay as he could very easily imagine what would have been Bohn's reaction if he had not.

Frong twisted his mouth as he heard this, remembering the fuss Bohn had made the last time he had spotted him and Duen hanging out together, even if it was only to do some homework...

"If that's so, knowing him, he might show up any minute to see if the both of us are really just studying," he said with some apprehension, which Duen immediately chased away by shaking his head in an assured way.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm sure he has understood what's going on between you and P'Thara too, so he shouldn't bother you anymore now."

An unsure smile appeared on Frong's lips, as he told himself that news traveled very fast in this small circle of friends...

"I... see..." he merely answered, even though he could not himself really define what kind of relationship the doctor and him were in, in fact.

"Oh, by the way, you can be reassured, P', I give you my blessing as P'Thara's cousin, anyway."

Frong let out a slightly sarcastic laugh as he saw Duen raise his eyebrows in the most suggestive way possible in front of him.

"What... What blessing are you talking yet? P'Hmo and I aren't dating yet, or anything..."

Although he tried to feign indifference, the fact that he was babbling did not deceive anyone as to what he really thought of the situation, and especially not Duen who was one of the first people to have noticed that something seemed fishy between his cousin and Frong, just as the way he was fluttering eyelashes.

"It's just like you said, P'. 'Not yet'. So that means it is going to happen soon, right?" the younger boy insisted, coming to put a hand under his chin, showing that he was all ears regarding the recent developments of this new story, just as unexpected as captivating to him. "I bet something happened between you two for you to tell me something like this..."

Frong puckered his lips at the thought of having betrayed himself so easily. Now, he really had no choice but to tell what kind of unbelievable development he faced a few days before. Three days and 5 hours before, more precisely.

The student in management placed two fingers between his furrowed eyebrows, as he just realized that he had even memorized that zero hour, linked to "this" moment in particular.

Well... could have it been otherwise anyway?

"It's just... that we... happened to kiss, the other day" he admitted in a low tone, while Duen's mouth opened wide, proving that it was much more than the mere detail he was describing.

"Happened to kiss, are you kidding?" the student in medicine exclaimed, stars in his eyes. "I didn't think you were already there!"

"Me... neither," Frong could only admit, still a little confused about everything that had happened lately between Thara and him, about which he was the most surprised one actually.

"Well," Duen intervened in a drawling voice, as if he had just put his finger on a crucial element that until then had escaped him. "I was sure that something had happened, since P'Thara seemed completely out of it for a few days."

"How, out of it?"

Frong blinked in astonishment, since the doctor was usually a down-to-earth kind of guy.

"That's what I'm telling you! Although he is usually so attentive, I'm pretty sure that he has bumped into more pieces of furniture in the last few days than in his entire life. And there's more! Yesterday, he called to say he would come by my house to pick up some stuff and when he got there, he couldn't remember what he came for!"

"Really?" worried Frong as Duen continued to nod briskly to confirm what he testified.

"Seriously, I had never seen him like this. I mean... except when he talks about you."

"He...talks about me?"

Duen winked at him when he saw his friend looking dumbfounded, although for him, this kind of thing was part of the routine.

"Maybe you should ask him directly, if you're so intrigued, P'Frong."

Instead of answering, the latter chose to report his attention on his pile of handwritten notes immediately.

"...Maybe after our study session."

Duen giggled silently when he caught him blush once again, before shaking his head, thinking that, decidedly, those two had found the perfect match for the other.

Frong did not make any more comment, for his part, as he was convinced he had said more than enough for today. He simply went back to his statistics lessons. Even if they were not particularly interesting, it was still better than giving details on the intimate details of his personal life.

About thirty minutes passed as silence reigned around the table. Frong could only hear the countless thoughts, all related to a certain person, that kept running through his head every time he went through a line of the notes he had taken in class. At this rate, he was going to completely fail his exam the next day.

When he closed his notebook after greeting Duen, who had decided to home first not to make Bohn wait for too long, he sincerely hoped that the exam would not be about the last lessons, because no matter how much he read them on the paper, not a single word had managed to reach his brain.

(Author's note: I can relate, I was just the same when I tried to focus on my notes for the upcoming exams xD when I had something in mind, I read but could not remember a single line...)

Duen had pointed out Thara's recent clumsy and unusual behavior, but Frong could only concede that he was not better.

And that it was probably not going to get any better as time would pass.

He let out a long sigh, before getting up from the table he and Duen had shared, just in front of the library. Afterwards, he gathered his things and headed for the university parking lot to go take his bike, when he received a call from his mother.

"Frong? Are you still at the university, son?"

"Sorry, Mum," he said as he started walking in a faster pace, realizing that his daydream had lasted much longer than he had initially imagined, and wanted too. "I left later than planned, but I'll head for the store right away, don't worry."

"No need to rush, son," she reassured him. "Since I'm already there."

Frong halted briskly when this information reached his ears.

"What?" he exclaimed in a tone of mixed surprise and concern. "Mum, I thought we agreed that you weren't supposed to go back to work yet."

"I was sure you'd say something like that," she sighed on the other end of the line. "But I'm not here working all alone. Your brother is with me too. You don't have to preoccupy for this. He's been worried enough for both of you already."

"But..."

"It's okay, son. I'm fine. And it feels good to go out of the house a bit. You know that it's something I need."

Frong pursed his lips as he remembered that these same specific words had been uttered by Dr. Thara when he had come to their home a few days earlier.

Now that her condition had improved this much... it was only natural that Frong and First's mother would want to get back to living a normal life. The young man's worries calmed down progressively as he thought he could not refuse her to do that forever.

After all, all he wanted was for her to feel good.

"Alright..." he conceded in a sigh. "If P'First is with you, then I guess I don't have my say..."

"Of course, it's alright," the dark-haired woman exclaimed emphatically. "And instead of worrying about me, answer me instead."

"Answer what?" the management student asked in response, without hiding his surprise after this sudden change in their conversation.

"Well, I just wondered if something happened, since it's not your habit to hang out after school..."

Her mother's slightly teasing tone drew a nervous laugh from him.

"Ah... No, actually, I was studying for the exams with a friend and our study session happened to get a little... extended."

All this was due to an obvious lack of productivity. What should have been completed in less than an hour took twice as long. But Frong had no one to blame but himself on this point...

He was not really in the mood nor the condition to study anymore, after all.

"A friend?" his mother repeated in a louder voice.

As usual, she did not fail to seize the opportunity to emphasize this descriptive, which seemed to have particularly caught her attention all of a sudden.

"Could it be the friend I'm thinking of?" she went on.

This question brought a smile to Frong's face, for he knew very well that his mother only took this particularly cheerful tone when talking about a certain senior in his small circle of friends.

"It wasn't Dr Thara, Mum," Frong chuckled. "It was Duen who I helped, as we follow the same optional class."

"Oh... I see," he replied in a slightly disappointed tone. "When you told me about some 'extended session', I imagined that it meant..."

"Mum," her son interrupted her with a grunt, not sure he wanted to know what the dark-haired woman had thought he was doing, nor with whom either.

"Anyway," she said with renewed enthusiasm. "If you happen to see your P' again, let him know that I'd love to have him visit our home again."

'My' P', Frong could not help but say to himself on a loop, and this appellation improved his mood instantly.

"You like P'Thara a lot as I can see, Mum."

"Hm. Of course I do," she answered tit for tat, surprised that her son could still doubt it. "He was so helpful and nice to me when I was hospitalized. And he knows what it's like to have a sick loved one. He is the kind of person who understands his patients better than anyone."

"Yeah. He's great," her son approved, with noticeable tenderness through his voice, as he was well aware of the fact that he was extremely lucky to have met, and be close to, even, such a remarkable person. "As a friend, too."

"As a friend, are you sure?" the woman on the phone pointed out in a drawling voice, sensing that behind his words, her son was not telling her the entire truth.

"And as a doctor of course," Frong simply added, but his mother did not seem as convinced as he was.

"Is that really all? You admire him as a professional and that's it?"

"..."

Faced with an awkward and long silence that was speaking enough for her to get that she had aimed right, Frong's mother's voice softened, in order to warm up the atmosphere.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you. You don't have to answer me if you don't feel like it, you know, son. "

"Actually, Mum..."

Frong forced himself to try to give her a proper explanation, but he changed his mind immediately before telling what he had kept for him for so long.

Because he was not so sure of what it was, in fact. And nor was he ready to assume it.

His reaction brought a smile to his mother's face, as he could hear through her gentle words on the other end of the line.

"You see... I feel concerned," she finally confessed in a more serious tone. "After all, you took such good care of me when I was sick. You even put your life on hold for me, just like your brother. You didn't have time for you anymore. So I hope... you manage to live a happy life from now on."

"Mum..."

"And if there's someone to cheer you up and stay by your side... that would be more reassuring for me, you know."

What his mother implied made Frong's heart fill with emotion. He who was not sure of the direction he wanted to follow suddenly felt the burden on his chest becoming much lighter, knowing that his mother would not turn her back on him, whatever his choices could be.

"Hm. I got it," he said in a low voice. "Thank you, Mum."

"You'll do your best, right?" she asked just to make sure, but now, her son was totally ready to play fair.

"Obviously. I'm a good boy. I always do what my mum tells me to" he declared, using an intentionally lighter tone to show her that she did not need to worry anymore.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now you hold all the cards, son. I hope things will work out for you."

Frong's face broke into a larger smile, full of gratitude, as she uttered her heartfelt words, which showed the unwavering support she always had for her children.

"Thanks, Mum. I'm going to do everything I can to make it work."

"I'm counting on you to keep me in the loop," the woman on the phone warned, but her tentative of intimidation was too exaggerated for Frong not to giggle.

"And I'm counting on you to ask me to tell you everything anyway."

"You know me so well," she had to admit before bursting out laughing.

"See you later, Mum."

"Okay, son, see you. Take your time on the road, be careful."

Her good mood was instantly passed on her son who, in turn, began to laugh heartily. For sure, he knew her well. But she also knew him, for her part. Very well, even.

He kept an eye on his photo screen for a moment longer, smiling, before hanging up and putting his cell phone back in his pants pocket.

As he raised his head to avoid hitting the bumper of one of the cars in the parking lot, still a little, in spite of himself, in the middle of his daydream, he noticed a person who was standing close to where he had parked his bicycle. The silhouette was still quite far away from where Frong was, but it was not a reason for him not to recognize the person in the second, inciting him to accelerate his walk to join him, as quickly as he could. As if it had become the only thing that mattered to him at the moment.

When the young man in question turned and felt his presence, and his features became more visible, Frong's smile broadened and his heart started to beat faster as he met the incredulous gaze of the one who had such a special place for him.

"Hi, P'Hmo," Frong said in a whisper as he arrived to his height, fidgeting with the handle of his backpack in a nervous gesture.

"Hey, Khun," the doctor greeted him with his usual polite attitude. "Are you done with your classes for today?"

"Hm. Indeed... What about you, P'? A... Are you alright?"

Frong turned away right after asking this question, finding that it was probably not the best option he could have chosen. But there was nothing he could do about it, getting his thoughts in order when he was face to face with the handsome doctor and his sweet voice, which was usually already particularly challenging, happened to become more and more challenging as they got to know each other.

The more they talked and became close... the less he managed to keep composure.

"Much better since I saw you" admitted the doctor with a certain contentment that accentuated the tense smile on the junior's face.

"Ah..." the latter contented himself to answer. 

He preferred keeping it short this time, so that he would avoid saying another stupidity.

"Do you want to go for a drink?" Thara suggested, as he showed the parking lot exit with a quick jerk of his head. "Well, it will be alcohol-free, because I have to work tonight. I was thinking we could have a soda instead. Will it still be okay?"

Frong remained silent for a moment, as his mum's words gradually came back to his memory. She said he could take his time to go home but still, if he hung around again... she would probably bombard him with questions. Especially if she happened to know who would keep him company on the way back.

But at the same time... Thara had just made this proposition to 'him', out of every people, and so considerately in addition. In these conditions, he could hardly refuse. Well, more exactly, he had quite much difficulty to refuse whenever the senior suggested him to do something or go somewhere. Especially since they had not had the opportunity to see each other again or even to really have a discussion again, these recent days.

Not since... the said kiss.

Frong had been more than impatient to see his face again. He had suffered in silence, in wait of this moment they would meet again for days, and with the doctor's busy schedule, it might not be so soon that such an opportunity would happen again. He could not procrastinate forever under these conditions.

His mother had said it well, after all. He held all the cards now.

"Uh... Fine for a soda then" he ended up saying in a quick nod, trying to sound as convinced and happy with the suggestion, before the other man would change his mind.

"I'm glad," Thara stated with a large smile, a little too bright for Frong's heart to handle.

"Huh? That we can have a drink?" the younger student asked, not even sure of what he was saying anymore at that point.

The sight of his dazed expression drew a small laugh from Thara, making him understand that he was not quite on the right track.

"Well, not exactly," he chuckled, as he shook his head slowly, as if he was trying to keep some suspense before confessing what was truly on his mind. "Above all because it will be our first date."

"Huh? But we've been on this kind of outing before, together," Frong reminded him with a slightly confused air, in front of which Thara's eyes lit up.

"Hm. That's true. But it wasn't quite in the same context, from what I can remember, Khun."

"Right..."

His innuendo regarding the recent evolution of their relationship earned the doctor a shy smile from Frong, which seemed to particularly please the older young man.

"Then, shall we go?" he then proposed to him. "Do you have your bike with you, too?"

"Huh, before we leave, P'..."

"Hm?" asked the latter, slightly titling his head to the side, with an innocent air while Frong tried to gather the courage needed to ask this question that had been haunting him since the day their relationship reached another level.

A lot more serious and important level.

"Can we say that... we're together now?"

The question seemed to take Thara aback, by the way he had raised his eyebrows in one go.

"Isn't it already the case?" he asked back, and the unexpected question made his interlocutor just as confused as he looked.

"Yeah, well... I don't really know, actually. I must admit that all this is quite new to me, you see..."

Thara smiled as he heard his confession, as he seemed to find it pretty charming.

"You want me to ask you out properly, perhaps?" he said, moving slightly closer to his junior, to examine his reaction with the utmost attention.

"Huh? Ask me out?" Frong repeated incredulously.

"That might be better, actually" the senior added in a slightly provocative way that rather surprised the other young man. "That way, at least, I'll be sure that no one will dare to chase you anymore"

As he saw him look around, probably in search for some witnesses that he thought he would happily taunt by doing so, Frong could not restrain himself from laughing amusingly.

"I'm not sure there are that many people after me," he confessed with a half-smile, while scratching the bottom of his face in a slightly nervous gesture.

"You still posed for the university fan pages, from what I can remember, like a real model," Thara remarked, letting his gaze wander from the feet to the head of the young man in front of him.

"Hmph. How do you know that? "Frong questioned him, holding back a laugh, whereas he himself had almost forgotten this experience, which had not been among the most pleasant ones, since he had to share the limelight with Bohn, who had always considered him as a rival, that time.

(Author's note: This is a reference to one of the first scenes of the TV show 'My Engineer', episode 1, for your information ;))

"But I know a lot of things," Thara claimed, pulling him gently by the waist in order to get all his attention. "Mostly because... I always look for information about what interests me."

"Oh," Frong exclaimed, lifting his chin slightly. "What interests you, you say?"

"Indeed. And I just need to make sure we are interested in the same thing, now" the doctor specified with a faint smile, in front of which Frong held back a laugh, of astonishment and also, he had to recognize it, of excitement.

"Tell me what it is and we'll see what can be done for you."

"In that case..." Thara said as he tightened his grip slightly around Frong's waist, bringing his face a little closer to his in a completely assumed seductive move. "Can I ask you to be my official boyfriend this time? Not just pretending?"

When their noses touched, Frong let out a small laugh, before shaking his head in defeat.

"I can hardly say no to you," he admitted. "Actually... I don't want to leave you to anyone else either."

As he met his slightly moved gaze, Thara's heart swelled with pride, as evidenced by the delighted expression that had appeared on his face.

"I knew that we looked much alike, you and me" he commented while coming to place his forehead against that of the young man in front of him, who let him do with pleasure, too happy to be pampered by the one who showed him, once more, in the clearest way that he was not dreaming.

And that it was indeed to him that this person intended all his affection, all his words and his tender looks during this time being suspended.

Thara slightly moved back, in order to better enjoy this moment which they were sharing together exclusively. When his intense glance met that, a little confused and shaken, of Frong, the latter slightly opened his mouth, with the intention of saying something, but no word came out when he realize that it was now on his trembling lips that Thara had turned all his attention.

And when the doctor got the idea to place a furtive kiss at the corner of his mouth, the cheeks of the junior automatically flushed in a wave of colors, as he suddenly did not know at all what to do with himself.

"Are you okay?" the senior asked, apparently just for the pleasure to tease him.

"You... surprised me" Frong muttered as he was rather taken aback that this initiative, though his tone sounded in no way like a reproach, much to Thara's satisfaction.

"If we hadn't been in public, I probably would have kissed you somewhere else and for a lot longer though," he declared, still as frank as ever, shrugging his shoulders.

Frong addressed him a pout which he wanted to make look sulky, before giving him a small nudge to make him move back and give him some air after this rather unexpected interlude.

"You're lucky that I'm far too happy right now to worry about anything else," the junior said with a grunt, though a smile was, despite himself, stuck to his face as he said these words.

And at the same time, it could hardly be otherwise. At that moment, he did not care about what the others could think. Or of looking a little ridiculous. All this seemed so superfluous all of a sudden. And knowing this seemed to delight Thara judging from the smile filled with affection that he gave him in return.

"I am happy. Very happy, even. Frong," the senior confessed, totally meaning it.

His eyes were so speaking at that moment that the younger student had no doubt about how he was feeling inside.

It was... just like he was feeling himself, deep down.

And the sense of euphoria that the dark-haired young man was already having trouble to handle was further reinforced by hearing Thara call him 'Frong'.

He could not believe that he had just used his first name. Not that generalized nickname he was used to, Khun, which reminded him every time of the fact they were simply an acquaintance for the other.

Hearing his senior's soft voice calling his name almost never happened in the past, and the fact that he used it at a time like this had a particularly special flavor for Frong that he was sure would remain engraved in his memory for a long time.

"It doesn't mean that you are allowed to skip work" the latter warned him nevertheless, in a tone which left the doctor dumbfounded for a second, before it earned him to burst out laughing.

"Haha... I got it," Thara promised in a wink. "We will have plenty of time to talk about the rest anyway."

Meeting his gentle gaze, Frong could only nod, enthusiastically enough to show that they were completely on the same page at the moment.

"Indeed. We have plenty of time."

Time to spend with each other. To share things. To get to know each other better.

To be happy, it was that simple.

For now, there were no obstacles remaining in front of them both, for them to continue their journey together. Not as a junior and a senior, but as two people who had a much more meaningful, and beautiful, relationship to build from now on.

Chapter Text

While he was burying himself in his revisions for the upcoming exams he had many reasons to stress about, Frong closed his textbook as a reflex when someone approached his table, situated in front of the library, where he would have easier access to the resources he needed for his studies.

When the young man raised his head to find out who just arrived, the person in question greeted him with a bright smile. One he was always happy to face, whatever the circumstances.

"Can I sit here?"

Doctor Thara's gentle voice was just as pleasant to hear for him as in his memories, but Frong refrained from saying it as it was a bit embarrassing. Instead, he declared in a short laugh:

"It's a public place, P'. Of course, you can."

He then showed the vacant bench at opposite end of the table and Thara thanked him in a polite nod.

"So... what were you doing?" the senior asked as he put his bag next to him to make himself a bit more comfortable.

Frong bit his lips to prevent himself from smiling even broader, and cleared his throat hoping that Thara did not notice his presence was making quite an effect on him.

"Oh, nothing much. I was just reviewing my notes... for the exams, you know."

"You are always so serious," the doctor remarked admiringly, which made the other young man's cheeks flush even harder as he was not very good at dealing with compliments.

"Not at all, P'... I'm like the others. The exams are in a few days, so I have no choice but to study..."

"Oh, is that so? I shouldn't bother you, then."

When Thara sat up in view of leaving him alone, Frong immediately grabbed him by the arm to prevent him from making another move, as if he could not control his body at the moment.

"No, P', please stay."

"..."

When he saw Thara raise his eyebrows, staring at him with a dumbfounded look on his face, Frong immediately moved back and tried to smile at him to relax the atmosphere, even though the result was more awkward than reassuring actually.

"I mean... you don't bother me," he stated, still hesitantly. "But... What about you, P'Hmo? Don't you have work?"

His not so subtile attempt at changing the subject seemed to work with the understanding Thara, as he sat back and shrugged his shoulders casually in response.

"Well, I'm just having a short break. I have appointments with my patients planned later in the evening."

"I see..." his boyfriend whispered, deep in thought, which suddenly made the doctor realize something.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't call you much these days, we have been quite busy at the hospital" he said as he placed his hand on Frong's on the table in sincere apology.

The latter was rather touched by his attention and shook his head to show him that he totally understood his situation.

"Don't worry, P'Hmo. Your job is important."

"I wouldn't say that it is more important than you though," Thara declared in half a smile, though Frong had trouble considering it was just a simple joke.

Nevertheless, he could not help but find the senior quite funny when he said these kinds of things, bluntly. So he did not miss to let him know what he thought of his provocative attitude with the same amused tone.

"If you say something like this, I won't be able to focus on my revisions anymore," Frong teased, while threatening him with a pencil he pointed to him, which earned him a good laugh from Thara.

"Haha, sorry, it won't last long. Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

"What do you need, P'?"

"Your schedule in two weeks."

Frong blinked confusingly facing this answer, uttered tit for tat, that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Sorry?"

Thara scratched one side of his head, looking a bit unsettled, which only aroused more questioning from his junior.

"Actually, I will have a week off at that period, so I thought... if your exams are over and you don't have other plans... we could go somewhere, together?" he asked while gritting his teeth, glancing at Frong in uncertainty.

He was definitely not sure what he would think of the idea, as since they started dating, they never had many opportunities to spend time together. This was also the reason why he had hesitated to ask. He wondered if it was appropriate at this level of their relationship.

For sure, one whole week to spend with just the two of them would be quite a first. However, if Frong did not expect such a proposition, he nonetheless never said that he would not be interested. On the contrary.

"Like... a trip?" he asked again, to make sure that he interpreted his request correctly, and Thara nodded quickly to confirm.

"Yeah, I haven't travelled for years actually. Well, apart from when we went to the volunteer camp last year. And I quite miss it."

"Hm... and it will be... just the two of us?"

"Oh, no... not exactly."

"..."

Reading disappointment on Frong's face, Thara gave him a large smile that exposed his bright teeth.

"Cupcake, my lizard, will come to."

"Ha... hahaha... of course..." Frong said while keeping his mouth open, quite relieved he did not misunderstand anything, and that they would, indeed, be able to enjoy this moment without being surrounding by their friends.

Frong liked them a lot, but this time... he was really happy they weren't invited to join.

"Actually, I think it could be a good thing to take the time rest for a few days, in another context" Thara said thoughtfully. "Sometimes you need to escape. You know, to be even more productive and motivated when you come back."

Thara winked at his junior, to make it clear that it was not the only reason for him to look forward to this week of vacation, though Frong found it more amusing to play the game.

"Oh... if it's for you to be more efficient at work, then I guess I can't refuse," the student in management stated flatly, like if he was in a formal context, and Thara thanked him by joining his hands in a grateful and cordial "Y" sign.

"I knew we would find an agreement easily."

"...You are my senior. I can't possibly disobey," Frong remarked in a chuckle, to which Thara replied while moving his eyebrows to show how interesting his words sounded to him.

"I like it when you talk this way."

"..."

Frong pursed his lips instead of answering, though the large smile that had grown on his face was enough for Thara to judge the effect he had made on him.

"So... I will call you later to give you the details," he said before sitting up, his bag on his shoulder, ready to go back to work. "Oh, and if you want to visit a particular place, don't hesitate to let me know. I'll try to see what I can do. Okay?"

"It's okay, P'" Frong assured while nodding so that he would not doubt his statement. "Anywhere will be fine."

The other young man looked at him affectionately when he , before commenting, as straightforwardly as usual:

"So conciliatory."

"I told you, P'. You are my senior... but also... my boyfriend, after all."

When Thara went around the table to come closer to his junior, the latter shivered as he did not expect him to bend forward to whisper a sentence that sounded particularly meaningful to him in his ear:

"And you are mine."

Not just Frong's ear, his whole face got some colors as soon as the older young man's breath came to gently caress his cheek, then his neck, in a quite suggestive way that his heart could barely handle.

"I will go back now," Thara said once he put some more distance between the two of them, which made his boyfriend snap out of his reverie instantly. "I still have to grab something to eat for tonight, when I'll be on call. I'll text you a bit later."

"You don't have to, P'" Frong mumbled confusingly, while he desperately tried to lower his body temperature by pressing his cold hands against his reddened cheeks. "You can leave your phone aside to focus on work..."

Thara smiled hearing him being considerate again, but shook his head to show that this time, whatever argument he could find, he would not have the last word.

"I need to wish you a good night, it's an inevitable condition. Otherwise, I won't able to concentrate."

This remark made Frong chuckle without being able to control himself, so much that he almost forgot how embarrassed he was feeling just a few seconds before. Probably another secret power of Thara, among many others.

"Pff... if you want, P'," he said in a jerk of his head to encourage him. "Work hard."

"Study well too," Thara answered in a sweet smile, before waving briefly at him. "Don't think about me too much."

Frong nudged him gently hearing this last sentence, that was probably more like another joke of his, which did not prevent, nonetheless, the junior to smile widely when he met Thara's gaze, noting with certain amusement that the doctor did not seem keen to leave his side so soon.

"Thank you for the proposition, P'Hmo. I look forward to this trip... with you."

"So do I. Frong."

When the senior came to place a kiss on his forehead as a way to say goodbye, Frong realized, with resignation but also some excitement, that there was now little chance he would manage to focus on his revisions...

That handsome doctor was decidedly full of surprises. But this was also one of the reasons why he loved him so much.

Chapter Text

"Who's sending you all these messages?"

"Huh?"

Frong turned to the driver of the car, whom he thought was too focused on the road to care about him so far, not having heard him say a word since they had left their town about an hour ago. He and Thara were planning to go to the seaside, but the senior had kept the exact destination a secret. This move had not displeased Frong, quite the contrary. He loved it when his boyfriend kept the mystery going. It was precisely his mysterious side that had made him fall in love. Partly, because obviously, the reasons were multiple. And new ones were added to Frong's list with each passing day.

"We haven't talked much since we left home," Thara said. "So I was wondering who could be that person monopolizing your attention so much that you aren't paying attention to me at all."

Frong held back a laugh, thinking that this was exactly the kind of thought he'd had about Thara just a moment ago. Sometimes he believed they were very strangely connected.

Like when the handsome doctor had just suggested that he go on a trip with him. It was as if he had guessed that this was exactly what he wanted.

"It's from my mom, P'," Frong then said, resting his cell phone in his lap, this time reserving all his attention for his boyfriend, whose voice sounded tinged with a little jealousy. "Well, to be perfectly accurate, it's more me texting her than her texting me. She's asking me to stop worrying about her health and forget about her for a few days so that I can only think about myself."

Frong's good mood was slightly impacted as he considered that it was easier said than done, nononetheless. He knew that P'First would look after their mother very well while he was away on a trip, which was only scheduled for a short week anyway, but that did not exactly ease his apprehension. Even if she was back home after a long period at the hospital, it didn't mean that there was no risk of her relapsing. It had already happened once and if it happened again while he was not by her side... no, he should not think that way. Not today.

After all, his mother had insisted that he agree to leave for a few days with doctor Thara. Because she knew that Frong dreamed of this jaunt with the one who had captured his heart. Even if he had not admitted it explicitly in front of her, his mum had no trouble understanding him. After all, she knew her son on her fingertips. And also... she somewhat felt that, deep down, this trip was something Frong needed.

"It's a natural thing for you to worry," Thara stated, making his boyfriend snap out of his thoughts. "What she went through was very tough, and stressful. You and your brother have spent a lot of time with her over the past few months. Family is sacred to me so I can only understand how you feel."

Briefly meeting the doctor's sympathetic gaze, in which he could for some time now read something other than simple benevolence, of the kind he might have shown to one of his patients or friends for example, Frong could only smile radiantly.

"I know you understand."

"Oh yeah?" asked Thara without taking his eyes off the road, even though his face showed all the curiosity, and excitement, he was feeling at the moment.

"I do," the junior confirmed, still smiling, happy to please him. "But I don't want you to feel like I push you aside or something."

"There is no problem," the doctor assured with a brisk nod. "I wasn't serious when I pointed out that you were spending a lot of time on your phone. Especially now that I know it wasn't a potential rival you were texting."

This humorous remark made Frong chuckled slightly, something which was accentuated by the mischievous smile he caught on Thara's face.

"I don't think you should worry about that, P'," he reassured him. "I'm not very sociable anyway. Not many people approach me. Unlike you."

Thara laughed lightly through his nose as he perceived a hint of reproach in the last sentence his lover had just uttered.

"People can come to me, but honestly, there are few who manage to enter my circle. I don't trust my acquaintances that easily, contrary to appearances," the doctor explained casually.

It was something Frong had understood long ago, having experienced it himself once upon a time, nonetheless, hearing it from the doctor, especially in the current context, was definitely tasting different. Knowing that they had been much more than just 'acquaintances' to each other for some time...

"I know, P'. You're a thoughtful person. That's what makes me feel safe with you too, I think. If it wasn't for you, I would never have agreed to leave my family even for a few days. Even though I must sound childish talking this way..."

Frong was a little ashamed to say something like this, and expected Thara to make a comment, but as so often happens, the doctor reacted in a different way than he expected at first.

"Not at all," said the older young man at once. "I feel privileged to hear that. And I'm going to do everything I can to make you feel good these days too."

When he placed his hand on his and tapped lightly on it, Frong's fingers tightened slightly and as he felt Thara's gaze rest on him, puzzled, he finally said:

"Actually, I'm a little stressed about this trip..."

"Because you're worried about your mom?" the doctor asked as he slowed down for a red light.

"Well, not exactly... it's just..."

"Hm?"

"You'll soon discover that I don't have much to say if we're alone together for a long time..." the management student warned in a pout, even though it was probably a trait of his personality that Thara had already noticed, since they had known each other.

Except that in his presence in particular, words could even have more difficulty making sense and sometimes, struggled to form even sentences... Which would lead to more embarrassing moments, for sure.

"Oh, but we don't have to talk if we don't want to," Thara stated, not seeming to mind their one-on-one exchanges at all. "We can do a lot of other things."

"Of what kind, for example?" asked the other young man, blinking in disbelief.

"........."

He had not expected this perfectly innocent question, which had come to his mind on a whim, to unsettle Thara in any way. He, who was always so calm, seeming to have himself under control... did not seem quite focused on the road all of a sudden.

As proof, when he was about to stop, the doctor braked much harder than he should have, something Frong was quick to notice as the shock made him bounce a little on his seat. He had pressed the brake at the last moment, in a careless manner that did not look like him, in Frong's opinion. The doctor, who was usually delicate in his manner, and known for being someone particularly attentive and careful... suddenly seemed miles away. And as he persisted in remaining silent, waiting for the light to turn green, Frong murmured with some bitterness:

"You see, you don't have a clue either..."

Hearing his voice raised beside him, Thara came back to earth abruptly and regained his seriousness.

"Yeah, well, that's not really why I didn't respond immediately..."

"Hm? So why?" asked Frong, more because he was concerned than intrigued by his reaction, which the doctor noted, so he turned to him with a warm smile that immediately reassured him.

"I just thought you were so adorable to worry like that," the doctor said with a casual laugh, causing slight dimples to appear on his face, giving him a lovely childish look in front of which it became challenging for Frong's heart not to melt instantly.

For reasons of safety, the latter turned away as soon as he felt his cheeks begin to flush, while the doctor restarted the vehicle and drove off quietly.

"You don't have to worry about it, you know, Frong," Thara said, glancing to his right, satisfied to see from the road signs that they would soon reach their destination. "Wanting to change because we're together or anything. Just be yourself and it will be fine. Okay?"

When he glanced at the young student, with that tender and sincere look, the latter could only think that he was very lucky to have him by his side and especially that the senior had reserved a VIP seat for him in his so-called 'circle'.

"Hm. I got it, P'. Thank you," he said with a smile that expressed the same feeling his boyfriend had, just being happy to share this moment with this special someone, quite simply.

Thara nodded quickly in response, pleased with the reaction, before focusing his attention again on the road, looking for their hotel, before hearing his cell phone ringing briefly next to him.

"Can you check my phone, please?" the doctor asked as he looked around for directions. "I think I just got a text."

Frong was rather taken aback by this request, and a question came out of his mouth before he even realized it:

"Oh. Surely I can, but... You're okay with that?"

Thara giggled seeing the other young man keep his mouth wide open, before shaking his head:

"Of course. You said you felt safe with me," he reminded him calmly. "I want to prove you that I have indeed nothing to hide."

Frong smiled as he heard him once again give him his full trust, even over small details like this that looked trivial for many people. Although, in Frong's heart, the tiniest thing was important, if it was Thara's initiative.

Only if it was him implied.

"Actually, I was already aware of that, P', Frong confessed in a whisper before taking the phone in his hands, once Thara had given him the unlock code... Which happened to be the junior's date of birth, oddly enough... another reason for Frong to gloat about how he was going through one discovery after the other, with that doctor who was taking a bigger place in his heart as time went by. Which was another reason for the young student to appreciate spending more time in his company exclusively.

Nevertheless, when Frong started to laugh on the seat next to his, breaking the most romantic atmosphere that had settled between them, Thara raised his eyebrows, and smiled in turn automatically, without seeming to understand a thing though:

"Hm? What's so funny? Is this a message from Duen?"

"No," Frong replied, holding back to let out a louder laugh as much as he could, by keeping one hand close to his mouth. "Not at all. It's from my mom, actually."

And the contents of the message could only fill Frong's heart with joy and pride, so that he hastened to read it to Thara, as soon as he opened the conversation, even before the senior had requested him to do so:

"Dear doctor, I entrust my little boy to you."

Chapter Text

Frong took Thara's hand as he got out of the older man's car, a big smile plastered on his lips as soon as he met his benevolent gaze. The thrilling sensation between them was palpable as they arrived at the parking lot of the hotel where they would be spending a short but surely memorable stay. A light breeze ruffled their hair as they continued to stare into each other's eyes, wordlessly, standing opposite each other. Frong felt his mind grow fuzzy as the eye contact between them prolonged, until he had to look away from the handsome doctor's, who let out a slight laugh in response. And when Thara brought his large hands up to his face, his heart jumped for the umpteenth time in his chest. It was almost as if he was a protagonist in a movie, the postcard landscape in the background helping to make the mood all the more romantic.

The young management student tried to control his shivering body as he closed his eyes in anticipation of what he thought Thara was going to do, more anxious, or rather, more impatient than ever. Except Thara did nothing of what he had anticipated. After brushing away one of the strands of hair that fell across his face, the doctor placed his palms against his eyelids and invited him to turn, silently. Frong allowed him to do so, though he had absolutely no idea what he was up to, he just put a confused smile on his lips, while Thara seemed to be guiding him to a specific destination, which he had no knowledge of either. Which made the situation all the more intriguing for Frong, whose heart was racing and legs were shaking with every step as Thara led him into the grounds of what he suspected to be their hotel for the week, or rather, 'their' week of vacation, for just the two of them.

They walked up several steps, which Frong managed to avoid thanks to the doctor's recommendations, made in his soft voice to which the younger man had no problem obeying. At some point, Thara halted and invited Frong to do the same. The latter moved his head slowly to the side, still unable to see anything, and then, he heard Thara laughing through his nose behind his back. His breath tickled his neck as he whispered in his ear, still without removing his hands from his eyes:

"Are you ready?"

Frong parted his lips, ready to answer, the problem was that he did not really know if he was actually ready or not. Especially in the dark, like this, he felt like his reasoning ability was in a worse state than usual. They were already quite limited when Thara was around... But anyway, it was too late to step back, no matter what was expecting him, so he finally nodded:

"Yeah," he said, though with great conviction.

He swallowed hard when Thara breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly withdrew his fingers that were covering his eyes, so that Frong could finally find out what all this scenario and organisation, which looked a lot like a surprise, were hiding. And well, it was quite a surprise, indeed.

Once he was used to the light again, Frong's eyes opened wide, as if he was trying to use all his visual capacities to make sure he could see clear what he had in front of him. It was far too beautiful. Much too amazing to be true.

He put a hand to his face, which had suddenly become hot, and stammered, as if in a daze:

"What is all this?"

"Isn't that obvious?" the senior who had walked past him asked in turn, just for the pleasure of admiring his reaction, up to what he had hoped for.

Frong then abruptly turned to him, eyes glowing, and the doctor could not help but smile as he faced his stunned expression.

"This is our first real one-on-one date as boyfriends, Nong."

"..."

"Do you like it?" questioned Thara again, placing a hand on his shoulder, a gesture that brought him back to reality all at once.

Frong looked him in the eye and in turn placed his hand on his. He was not very expressive in his words or the way he addressed someone in general, he never had been. But he hoped that his gestures would be more meaningful. He wished it with all his heart. That through them, Thara would understand how much he had touched, shaken him, even, deep inside.

The doctor smiled as he felt his hand clasp his, and invited him forward, with his other free hand, along a path of rose petals, to the table set in the middle of their suite, upon which had been placed a candlestick and golden tableware glistening in the late day sunlight.

Thara pulled up a chair for Frong to sit at the table decorated with an off-white tablecloth, before sitting down opposite him, quietly taking a bottle of a fine wine. He then poured his boyfriend a glass, as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do for him. Then Frong could not help but murmur, confused, when his senior handed him his glass:

"That's way too much, P'..."

The latter smiled back at him, as if he expected this kind of reaction from him, before explaining:

"I wanted to make things right. I know these past few months have been complicated for you. I wanted you not to have to worry about anything, for once."

Reading concern in his eyes, Frong then shook his head.

"Still, this wine, this suite with the sea view... it must have cost you a fortune... You didn't need to do all that, P'Hmo..."

"You don't have to feel embarrassed," the senior interrupted him, raising his eyebrows briefly, in a teasing manner. "Just seeing you happy is enough to pay off all my expenses."

Frong could not help but smile hearing this, before lowering his head slightly and whispering.

"I'm also happy to please you, P'."

"Then everything is fine," Thara rejoiced, before inviting him to toast with him.

Frong nodded in agreement, before tasting his drink, without taking his eyes off the doctor, who seemed more seductive than ever.

"Is there a problem?" worried Thara, feeling his gaze on him, causing Frong to panic and run out of arguments in order to justify his contemplation, too long to look innocent.

"Huh? Oh no... it's just..." the young man stammered, "uh... I'm not really used to... wine... right! Wine! So, if I collapse after ten minutes, you'll know why...!"

Thara watched him as he laughed nervously for a moment, obviously at himself and at the lack of credibility in his retort, before replying, with a chuckle:

"Good thing the bed's right next door, then, Nong."

Frong's smile widened as he realized that behind Thara's back there was indeed a king size bed, perfectly arranged and looking particularly comfortable as if it was simply waiting for him, or rather, for them, to try it.

When Frong's gaze fell on Thara and he realized that the senior looked suddenly particularly happy holding his drink in hand, the management student laughed again, though he did not quite understand what was crossing the other young man's mind at that moment.

"What do you want to eat?" said Thara, pointing to the numerous appetizers aligned in front of his boyfriend, spoilt for the choice.

Thara knew that his junior was far from being picky about food, but just in case, he had planned a dozen different suggestions. Nevertheless, despite his best efforts, the other young man did not seem too thrilled with the meal.

"Don't tell me you're allergic to something?" the doctor suddenly worried, and as soon as Frong realized that he just created an umpteenth misunderstood between them, he shook his head vigorously.

"Oh no, not at all," he replied with a smile to please him, before taking a plate to put on a brave face. "But you know, I'm not very hungry, actually."

"..."

"Yeah, well... It's because... I'm a little nervous... you see..."

"But so am I," Thara then declared, which was far from the answer he expected.

"Really?" gasped Frong, who could not help but think that it did not show at all, and seeming to read his mind, Thara chuckled and nodded quickly.

"Actually, this is the first time I've done this. The first time I invite someone on a trip. But not only that. It's also the first time I've wanted to spoil someone so much. I've never wanted to be with anyone so bad until now."

"..."

Thara took another sip of wine, then set his glass back on the table, looking thoughtful, before going on:

"So maybe it's a little bit exaggerated... but it's because the way I feel about you is unique that I want to do something a little unique for you too... Yeah, it's not 'maybe', it totally sounds cliché."

"It doesn't sound cliché."

He looked up at Frong and noticed that his cheeks had now slightly turned red, and obviously not just because of the alcohol.

"I mean," the younger man stammered, running a hand through his already pretty ruffled hair, "if... if it had been someone else, that's maybe what I would have thought, but..."

"..."

"As you are the one talking... things are different."

"...”

Thara looked at him, surprised, before flinching slightly as Frong took his hand on the table.

"It doesn't seem like overkill at all... to make the person you love happy, right?" the management student murmured, and even though his voice was very low, the doctor had no trouble hearing each of his words.

Especially the last part of his sentence.

"The person you love?" he repeated with wide eyes, as if that group of words had caused some harm to his brain.

And Frong's reaction, biting his lips in uneasiness, did not help to improve his condition.

"Well yeah... that's the way we feel... right? At least, in any case... I love you, P'Hmo."

Thara paused for a moment, before resting his eyes on their now entwined fingers.

"...I love you too, Frong. Very much."

And it was not just talk. He meant it. He had never felt like that before. But now that he did... he knew that in the future he would have a hard time living without it. Especially if Frong was looking at him this way. So captivated. As in love.

"And when I say that I love you, I mean not just as a junior," Thara clarified all the same, mostly in an attempt to add a touch of humor to their discussion, which did not fail to delight Frong, who nodded to show that the message could not be clearer.

"Thank you, P'Hmo," he said as Thara poured him some water, after noticing that his glass of wine had emptied, faster than his by the way.

"Oh, come on, I'm not going to force you to drink. I'm a doctor, but I wouldn't want to see you get sick from my carelessness," he joked, so the other young man shook his head and laughed softly.

"No, actually, I meant... thank you for saying that... you love me."

"Do you possibly want me to say it again?" inquired Thara, making his boyfriend's laughter suddenly become much louder and also much more nervous.

"No, it's okay," Frong did not lose time claiming, which earned him a slight chuckle from Thara.

"You're right," said the doctor, pouring himself some water in turn. "The words might lose their meaning if we use them too often."

"No, but, P'Hmo... That's not why..."

Frong puckered his lips and rubbed his hands against his jeans as Thara turned his eyes on him again, his glass of water suspended in the air, which was, just like its owner, frozen on place.

"Hm?"

Aware that he may have talked a little too much right now, the junior tried to distract Thara with a smile, a tad tense, but there was no use, the doctor remained focused on his lips that he died to see open again. Feeling deeply disturbed by the doctor's piercing gaze, which did not allow him to take the time to think of a good excuse, or rather to think at all. This finally prompted Frong to say, without taking his eyes off him:

"I mean... if you keep saying things like that... I'm really not going to be able to swallow anything."

"..."

Seeing Thara's eyes bulging once he heard this revelation, the younger man immediately went on, waving his hands in front of him so that he would not start overthinking his words.

"That's true, look, everything must be so delicious... It would be a shame to waste it. Knowing that you've organized it all by yourself..."

"Oh, but you don't need to worry about that, you know," the doctor told him against all odds, sounding surprisingly pleased with Frong's reaction, who replied, with his mouth rounded as a sign of his utter confusion:

"What?"

"If that's the only problem..." the older man resumed, pushing his plate aside as if it were an obstacle between them. "It's still early. We can always eat later. You might have more appetite afterwards, depending on what we do before..."

"..."

"The evening has just started."

Frong looked down, following Thara's gaze as he now had rested his hand on his bare forearm, stroking it gently with his thumb, which made the junior startle immediately.

"...What do you suggest we do, then? In the meantime," the latter asked hesitantly, looking him in the eye again.

Thara's pupils shone with a strange glow as he heard this question. He seemed to have a clear idea in the back of his mind of how to occupy both of their time, and the fact that he had stopped his caressing moves on Frong's skin, as if bewitched by his gaze, made Frong's heart flutter once again. It was definitely in the grip of many torments today... and it did not seem to want to end so soon.

When the senior opened his mouth to speak, Frong held his breath, more than ready to hear the proposal he had been waiting for him to make for weeks. And with this little romantic getaway being the perfect opportunity for the two of them to get a little closer, the prospect of it happening had not allowed him to grab any sleep the night before.

Except that Thara was unpredictable. And again, Frong learned this the hard way, when the dark-haired young man decided to suddenly let go of his hand and got up from the table, looking all perky:

"I forgot Cupcake in the car."

"..."

(Author's note: you are the best, Thara, I just adore you... ^^')

Frong was stunned at the mention of his pet. To be honest, he had almost forgotten himself that he was also part of their little romantic getaway. In fact, he did not expect that the animal would pop out in their conversation. And especially not at a time like this...

Seeing him remain immobile, his mouth wide open, unable to speak or even decide how to react, the doctor took the initiative to speak up again, for his part, looking as excited as a child who had got a pet to take care of for the first time in their life:

"He must be getting a bit lonely in his cage and hungry too... I’m gonna get him. Will you wait for me?"

Drawn by his enthusiasm, Frong could only reply, with a less delighted smile nonetheless:

"Uh... sure... You are right, take good care of Cupcake, then..." he said, trying to hide his disappointment, though he was aware that his voice did not sound very natural at the moment.

"I will," the doctor stated confidently, before leaning towards Frong to whisper, in a much softer, almost sensual, voice tone this time: "And after that, you are the one I'll take care of. Good care of, even. You can count on me."

"..."

Frong's heart skipped a beat as he looked up at him again and met his eager gaze, coupled with a radiant smile, in front of which he kept silent. Then, he was brought back down to earth when the doctor placed a kiss on his lips, and whispered against his mouth a few words with heavy meaning:

"See you very soon, Nong."

Frong flushed instantly due to this unexpected initiative, and as soon as Thara closed the door behind him, he put his hands to his face, burning, to try to calm himself down. He knew he probably looked absolutely ridiculous covering his face like a teenager in a girl's manga, but even so, it was impossible for him to reason with himself and bring down the excitement that had invaded his heart. And as if it was not enough, in the silence of the large room which looked just like a bridal suite, Thara's tender promises kept echoing in his mind whenever he dared to close his eyes. And imagine what they would imply...

For sure, he was not going to sleep much tonight either.