The Switch {EarthMix}

7.

Me neither Vee. If I would have to pick the reacher and the settler, I would surely say that Mix settled for Nong Ming, and not the other way around. He was smart, kind, caring ... and well he was quite handsome and even a little cute. Just my objective view, of course.

"And they had some kind of talk... where Nong Ming said he also wants to sleep with other people?" I guessed, that surely would explain our talk in the bar.

"He told you about that??"

Vee almost shouted in the phone and I had to remove it a little from my ear until he had calmed down.

"I... did not see that coming... he never told anyone about it except for me... hm. You two must really be close... But yea, Nong Ming came to him one day and told him... that he wanted to change their relationship into an open relationship... where both of them could sleep with other people as much as they wanted."

"But Mix never did... that's why you were so weird back then when I talked about their open relationship... Nong Ming did use it to all his possibilities... but Mix..."

He sighed again and I could hear him moving on the other side, probbaly just him laying down on his bed.

"Yea... Mix isn't the type for something like that. But he didn't want to loose Nong Ming... so he just agreed and has been just silently accepting all of it. They... don't sleep together anymore. Mix moved his things so Nong Ming could have it comfortable in the master bedroom and is currently using that small room right next to the entrance.. They do spend some time together... but I would say 5 out of 7 nights, Nong Ming is with someone else... "

I softly sighed, thinking about how it probably felt for him. Yes, Nong Pan was gone sometimes and I had to spend a day or two alone... but five days a week? And that for what... 2 years?

Funny enough, pity wasn't the emotion that was coming up in my body, even though I would have betted that I felt pity... But no. I was angry and frustrated. Mix is a nice person and than a douchebag like Nong Ming is stepping on his feelings? He definitely didn't deserve him. But well that wasn't exactly my business. Even though we are friends.

"The worst part in that is something else though... most of the time, Nong Ming would bring his .... well the people he sleeps with, to their appartment. I came unannounced in the morning once, and their clothes were all over the place, while Mix was sitting in his room and didn't even go to the kitchen or living room, so he wouldn't disturb them..."

I could feel my fist clenching in anger.

"Why is he putting up with this shit...??"

"It's not that easy... Nong Ming is his first bodyfriend... you could say he's his first love. And we three are the only ones that really have close contact with him... "

I sighed and massaged my nose bridge with my free hand, trying to calm myself down. The last thing I wanted was to wake Mix up right now. He really deserved some rest.

"Thank you for telling me all that Ai'Vee... I have to get going now", I lied and quickly hung up after we bid goodbye.

I really needed some time to sort all the information in my brain, before Mix would wake up.

"Is... everything okay?"

I looked up hearing the faint voice, my eyes widening when I saw Mix standing between kitchen and living room.

"Ai'Mix"

I quickly got up, placing his arm over my shoulder when I could see his legs giving out a little.

"Sorry to bother you... I just heard you talking outside and wanted to make sure everything was alright", he said softly and gave me a smile.

He really was unbelievable... almost fainting earlier and looking as if every drop of life was sucked out of him and now worrying if I was alright. If there was one thing he really wasn't good at it surely was looking out for himself and, for once, putting himself and his needs first... he was too selfless.

"Worry a little about yourself too" I said softly, helping him to get over to the couch before covering him with the blanket there.

"Are you hungry...?"

I could see him contemplating and just chuckled.

"It's an easy question. If you are hungry, you say YES. If you are not hungry, you say NO. You don't have to pick the answer that would bother me the least."

He looked up to me and I could see the surprise in his eyes.

"I am", he admitted and I gave him a thumbs up, going to the kitchen and started preparing food.

It took a while, almost an hour, until I came back with two glasses in my hand, placing them on the table before the food followed:

"That looks amazing" he stared at the plate with big eyes when I handed it to him.

"Hahaha I never had that reaction before", I laughed, sitting next to him on the couch while starting to eat.

"Nong Pan doesn't like your food?"

"Well... he normally cooks for me... but I am a big foodie so... I figured that i should be able to satisfy that desire on my own without bucking other people."

He slowly nodded, before I could see a blissfull expression emerging in his face, followed by him eating the plate clean as if there is no tomorrow. I had almost forgotten that I was eating too, and focused back on it. Once we were done he started the Tv before giving me the remote control.

"Here."

I turned my head to him and raised an eyebrow.

"And you're giving me that ...why?"

"So you can decide on the movie you want to watch."

"How about you decide it?"

I softly placed it back into his hand  and looked back to the TV. But even two minutes later, Mix wasn't even looking for something on the TV, so I turned my head again, only to find him staring at the remote control.

"It's okay to choose something you like Mix. Remember, when we met the last time, we did a lot of things that I wanted to do. So now, we do something you want. That's... how it should be."

I tried to sound as soft and understanding as possible and seemingly, I hit the right point. After hesitating a little more he started a movie ... and I had to admit that he had taste.

It was a 2019 movie about two girls that had a mental connection, though living in two different universes and that eventually met one day, finding out that what they lived through wasn't their life, but rather a computer simulation to study the human psyche.

"I can't believe it ended that way" I mouthed out utterly in shock while turning the TV off.

Looking over to him... I couldn't help but chuckle recognising that he fell asleep. Slowly, I went over to his bedroom, getting his pillow and blanket and put it on the couch. My hand lifted his head and placed it on the pillow, before replacing the thin blanket with his much more comfortable one and bringing our cuttlery in the kitchen.

Having cleaned up everything, I turned off the light, laying down on the couch myself, my head with a little distance to his and covering myself with the thin blanket.

I had decided it...

I would keep him company... because as his friend, I couldn't stand him suffer like this. And I wouldn't just stand by and ignore it anymore.