Melted: A MaxTul AU story

Chapter Thirty: Too Many Gifts

Max laid in bed that night trying to figure out how he is in the situation that he is in. He was more comfortable and cozier than he should be, enveloped in Tul's smell again. He was exactly where he had been determined not to be ever again, spending the night in Tul's apartment.

But he couldn't stand the worried look in Pongpat's face, especially recognizing how his uncle was clearly exhausted, and he had caved to his uncle's request to spend the night. He also did it because he felt a bit of guilt for not remembering that this was going to be the first night that he had the nocturnal home hemodialysis. 

The doctor had said he thought it the best treatment option going forward and would be the least disruptive, especially since Pongpat wanted to continue working as much as possible. Pongpat seemed fine when they had discussed it and did the training, but Max wanted to kick himself for not recognizing that Pongpat might be scared.

His uncle had been facing his own death so boldly and fighting to stay alive as long as he could with such serenity that it was easy sometimes to forget that this was a battle that Pongpat would inevitably lose. Max thought about how vibrant Pongpat had been telling the Metinee story, and this had continued throughout dinner.

Pongpat had been in good cheer, using Max's presence as an excuse to tell Tul more stories of Max as a high schooler. Max smiled at how Tul indulged his uncle, asking for more details than necessary. It was such a kind thing to do since Pongpat clearly enjoyed it.

Tul seemed to be particularly interested in how Max became friends with Chalida and Itty. So, Pongpat told him all about how EVERYONE wanted to be friends with Itty because of his parents, but that Itty really only hung out with Chalida whom he had known since he was a baby because their moms had been friends for years.

Max had interrupted, "I didn't even know who he was. I didn't know who half the stars that worked for his parents were either. We didn't have a television at our house in the village."

"Well, he took to you immediately, didn't he?" Pongpat teased Max but was really looking at Tul. "He was much more determined to be friends with you than you were with him. I remember you said you didn't trust anyone that rich or that good looking."

Max laughed. "A lot of those rich kids looked down on me because I was from the country, on scholarship, and a boarder. Frankly, I didn't have time for them either. I had plenty of friends at home, or at least I thought I did. And Itty was the richest and the best looking of them all. Why would I trust him?"

He noticed that Tul, for some reason was frowning, so he continued.

"Actually, Chalida introduced us. I was assigned to tutor her. That's how I came to know her. She was really nice. Itty had been away on a trip with his parents to some location, so he wasn't around when I first started tutoring her."

He paused, smiling at the memory. Pongpat watched Tul watching Max. Tul face kept switching expressions as if he couldn't decide if he were happy that Max was so happy or jealous that Max was thinking of other people. Pongpat remembered how he had left the information about Itty in Tul's lap the last time Max's friend had come up and smirked, despite his exhaustion.

Max continued, oblivious to the slight shift in mood from the other two. "Itty came looking for her after school his first day back because they usually went home together. He came in and stated making fun of her. I didn't know that this was how they always were, you know teasing each other like siblings, so I told him off. Chalida had been the only person who had been kind to me. I was ready to fight him.  Instead, Itty just turned to her and said, 'who is this guy?' And we've been friends ever since."

Pongpat laughed. "You make it sound simple. You were friends, but you almost stopped being friends with him when you found out who he was."

"I didn't want to embarrass him. I didn't know what rich people did. I thought his family would think I was weird. It didn't help that people started saying how I was only hanging with him because he was rich and I was poor."