SOTUS - The Next Chapter

6.

Arthit's colleagues, especially Earth and Tod, can tell he is not his usual self lately because he keeps spacing out and he is even quieter. Earth fears things with Kongpob might not be going smoothly - although they looked so happy at the interns' farewell party - but she is reluctant to ask him about it, lest she would seem too nosy.

Today is no different. When break time comes, Arthit, who's barely spoken a word the entire morning, excuses himself and he is out of the office.

"Aw, and I was gonna ask him if he wanted to eat with us ..." Tod says with a pout.

Arthit hates being affected by the fact that Kongpob will be away for three whole weeks. He didn't think he would care so much but since they started living together, his boyfriend has become an even bigger part of his life than before.

In the lounge, he runs into Yong who is sitting on a chair and staring out the window while sipping on a cup of black coffee.

"P'Yong, can I sit with you?"

"Sure you can. In fact, I could use some company. Cherry has bailed out on me again to be with his chubby boyfriend. I hate to admit it but I am kind of jealous."

"Why?"

"You know, at least Cherry has his partner with him everyday. He can meet him whenever he wants.I on the other hand ..." he stops mid sentence and doesn't continue. Instead, he starts spinning the spoon inside the cup then watches the dark liquid swirl.

"So, you and Nay are ... dating?"

"I don't really know if I could call it proper dating yet ... What you did back then at the farewell party, it made me aware of my own feelings towards Nay and gave me courage to confess. I did it on the night I drove him back to Changmai. You should have seen the look on his face, it was priceless. I ... was relieved when he said he feels the same way."

Arthit lowers his head, smiling shyly.

"I just miss him." Yong adds, dropping the spoon onto the table with a loud clank. "How can we make this work if we can barely meet even once a month? Daily phone calls are not going to be enough for me. And the thought that he might meet someone younger and better than me at any given time ... I ..."

Arthit honestly doesn't know what to say to make his senior feel better so they just sit there in silence for a little while until Yong speaks again.

"Thanks for listening to my rambling. I should go back to the office now, my break is almost over. I'll see you around, Arthit."

"See you later, P'Yong."

❈❈❈

When Arthit arrives home and unlocks the door to the dark and empty apartment, he feels his heart squeeze in his chest at the realization that he'll have to come back to this everyday for the next few weeks.

The young man throws his messenger bag on a chair before he plops face down onto the bed. The fresh smell of the covers suddenly reminds him of the times he would sleep over at his boyfriend's dorm room. Since the junior moved in with him, he's been allowing Kongpob to use his favorite fabric softener whenever they wash the bed sheets.

Much later, Kongpob walks inside their shared house to find Arthit on the bed, apparently sleeping. As he steps closer, he realizes his senior is holding a couple of his own T shirts to his chest and the image is so endearing that Kongpob feels tears forming at the corners of his eyes.