Inching Closer To You

Approval

Gulf blinks his eyes in disbelief. "W-What are you t-two doing here??"

His mother grins then walks up to her son for a hug. "For your birthday!"

"That was yest--"

Gulf's dad interrupts. "We were planning to arrive yesterday. But there were some delays, so we decided to just come today."

"Oh.."

After recovering from his shock, Gulf's eyes immediately shift toward Mew's direction. "P' Mew..."

Mew awkwardly chuckles as they all grab a seat at the dining table again. "Welcome back, Gulf~"

Gulf's mom smiles as she takes a seat next to her husband while Gulf goes across to stand beside Mew.

"Oh, we've been talking to this nice, young gentleman while you were away. He's lovely!!"

Gulf stares apologetically at Mew's eyes. "Oh.. hahaha... yeah, he's great.."

His mom seems oblivious of the awkward tension and continues to speak. "Well, Gulf. Go wash up! Dinner is waiting."

Gulf is about to turn around to head to the bathroom but stops when she speaks up again. "Mew darling. Do you mind helping me bring these dishes to the table?"

Mew immediately stands up to help her. "No problem."

His eyes catch Gulf staring worriedly back at him. Mew smiles reassuringly and nods his head as if telling Gulf that he is fine.

Gulf's dad, who was sitting at his seat the entire time, spots their silent interaction. A meaningful smile appears on his face.

[6:45 pm]

The four of them sitting at the table are already halfway done with dinner. After every few bites, Gulf's parents would throw out random questions here and there to catch up with Gulf's life. Somewhere along the way, Gulf managed to squeeze in a question asking where they will be staying for the night. His parents were a little hurt that their son didn't want to be with them for longer, but they answered that they will be going for a late night city stroll and crash at an old friend's guest house.

Not knowing why he feels relieved, Gulf tries to make his voice sound calm. "Oh.. I see."

His mom clasps her hands together. "Alright, enough talking about us!"

She turns her head to look at Mew and warmly smiles. "Tell us about the person you're dating, Mew~"

Mew stops his motion of bringing a piece of food to his mouth while Gulf shortly pauses the chewing of food in his mouth.

Mew puts down his chopsticks and drops his hands down under the table as he forces a smile at her direction.

"Haha.. hah... uhm.."

While trying to answer her question, Mew suddenly feels a hand creep slowly onto his lap under the table.

Knowing that the hand is from no one other than Gulf, Mew gains a burst of confidence.

"He is one of the most precious people in my life. With him around, I can truly be myself. I feel comfortable... I feel loved... I feel grateful... to have him by my side. My life is really at its best state ever since I met him."

During Mew's sincere speech, Gulf's ears can be seen growing more and more red. Both of his parents smirk after spotting this.

His mom is the first to speak up. "Oh, my dear! Why do you look so shy??"

Gulf jerks his hand off Mew's lap and sits up straight. "H-Huh? N-No, I'm not!"

Mew turns his head to look at Gulf and is surprised to indeed see how red Gulf has become. He smiles to himself.