Him and I

Of fears and force

"Wow Rain!! I mean I have eaten what you have made before! But this is seriously exceptional," Pai said, as he swallowed another bite of Rain's excellent chicken parmesan. "I agree! This is out of this world! And I can't eat another bite!" Phayu sat back, feeling full and replete. He and Pai had had at least 3 helpings each of the dish, and Sky and Rain had laughed at their very major appetites. "So no dessert?" Rain asked slyly. "Of course dessert! That goes into a different part of the stomach," Phayu said, looking horrified at the thought of no dessert. "Jeez Rain! You can't keep your dessert hostage. Free them! Free them immediately! My mouth has been watering since you started making them and now you are withholding them?" Pai whined. Rain and Sky laughed at the two older men, happy to have them in their lives.

After dinner, while Rain packed the leftover chicken, Pai, Sky and Phayu cleaned up the kitchen and the dishes. "P'Phayu, P'Pai, I have packed the chicken in this box. You can put it in the microwave and have it for breakfast tomorrow. There is no point in us leaving it the fridge here," Rain said. Both of them nodded enthusiastically, happy to eat the wonderful meal. Rain put the leftover cannolis in two different boxes, one to give to the older boys, and the other to take home to the Theerpanayakul house. Just as they were about to leave the apartment so that Rain and Sky could drive back while it was still light, two things happened simultaneously. The bell of the apartment and Phayu's phone rang together. "Pai, get the door. Rain and Sky, stay back!" Phayu said as he picked up the call.

"Who are you?" a voice asked, surprised, when Pai opened the door, just as Phayu said, "Hello Dad!" "Kleun?" Rain moved forward. "P'Pai, he is my younger brother. You can let him in," Rain said and Pai immediately moved aside. Phayu stood a little aside talking to his Dad. "What are you doing here Kleun?" Rain asked. "I have been coming here since the time you were discharged from the hospital, but I never found you and Hia Sky," Kleun said, looking downcast. "We are staying somewhere else till Hia Rain felt a bit better," Sky said, patting the boy's head. "So you are better now Hia?" Kleun asked Rain. "I am okay, but we will be back here only sometime next week," Rain said, doing the same thing as Sky had done. "And who are they Hia?" Kleun asked Rain.

"This is P'Pai, and this is P'Phayu. P'Phayu is my boyfriend, and P'Pai is trying to win Hia Sky over," Rain smiled. "P'Pai, P'Phayu, this is Khabkleun, our younger brother," he added. "And he is adopted," Sky smirked. "Hiaaaaaa!" Kleun's reaction showed that this was a long standing joke between the brothers. Kleun waiied to the older boys. "I am happy to meet you both," he said politely. "We are happy to meet you too Kleun," Pai said, as Phayu nodded. Kleun then turned to his brothers. "Are you both going to be staying here tonight?" he asked. "No Kleun, we were actually just about to leave," Sky said. "But if it is urgent, of course we will stay," he added. "I just wanted to talk to you guys," Kleun said, looking sad. "Rain, Sky, why don't you guys take him with you? Dad just called and said that we should also go home. They have news, and so we can bring Kleun back when we return?" Phayu said.

Rain looked at Phayu. "Phi?" he said. "Let's worry about it when we get there," Phayu said. Rain nodded. "Kleun, what did you tell Khun Dad and Khun Lung Leo? Because it's way past school hours," Rain asked. "They are travelling, all four of them. They have gone to Japan, for Khun lung Leo's book signing event. So no one is really expecting me home today," he said, his voice soft. "And Jay?" Sky asked. "Jay is also not coming home since they left. I think she has a girlfriend," Kleun said, sounding even more morose. "Okay, okay, come with us. Phi, you guys are taking your car right?" Rain asked. The elder boys both nodded.

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"So? What did you want to talk to us about?" Rain asked Kleun, as they were driving towards the Theerpanayakul family home. "My best friend is not talking to me," Kleun said, a whiny tone in his voice. "And what did you do to warrant that situation?" Rain asked. "Why do you think it's my fault?" Kleun asked. "Because it usually is," Sky said, as both Rain and he rolled their eyes and laughed. "Hiaaaaaa!" Kleun whined again. "Okay, okay, khothot! Tell us everything, okay?" Rain said. Kleun told them everything that had happened that day. "Kleun, why does this feel like only one side of the story?" Sky asked. Rain didn't say anything. He wanted to hear Kleun's response. "What do you mean Hia? This is how he has been behaving with me," Kleun said. "I understand that. But you are telling us what happened today. We don't know what happened before that made him behave like this today, right?" Sky said. Kleun looked glum.