The Man I Became... Because of You (Completed)

P'Keng

"Is he your lover?" Ae asked because they couldn't be more opposite. Rather like him and Pete.

"This guy? He's my husband. We met in university. We were both in the same department and I hated him at first but we would always end up working together so I got to know him. This guy only looks perfect on the outside, but I didn't know that then. He was always treated like a precious flower, delicately. Is that how you treat Pete?"

"No. Pete is only delicate on the outside." Ae answered without hesitation.

"Good. This guy likes to be manhandled and roughed up. I didn't know it at the time but I didn't care. I wanted to rough him up because he looked so perfect."

"Like a challenge." Ae could understand. The more delicate Pete acted, the more Ae wanted to eat him up. 

"Yes. Exactly. I fucked up too because I was enjoying it without realizing I was doing all the right things and making him fall in love with me. When I did figure it out, I had introduced him to my friends and everything. I had to go to Noh for advice. Then I had to literally park myself in front of his door all night. Caught a cold and everything."

"Did you make up?" Ae held on to the name he just heard but didn't ask.

"Yep. After he nursed me back to health. He said he didn't want to tell me he forgave me when I was sick. I would have gotten better quicker. He wanted me to suffer under my cold first." Keng cackled as he remembered.

"Did you suffer?" Ae asked with a chuckle.

"Fuck yes. I hate colds." Keng growled out and had Ae in stitches. "What about you? How did you end up with that Rose?"

"Rose?" Ae was surprised that this man would call Pete a rose. He wasn't jealous though because this P' obviously loved his husband.

"He looks pretty with hidden thorns." Now wasn't that an accurate description. Ae told this P' everything. How they met, how they circled each other, how they finally got together, about Trump, the assault, Dali telling Mitchell secretly, and the separation that almost crippled him.

"Wow. Sounds like a novel. There are still people like this Mitchell in the world? Seriously?"

"Yeah. He even sent me a message yesterday. Almost did me in." Ae offered his phone.

Keng read the message and cracked up. It basically said that Ae would be that lucky son of a bitch to be saved by a pile of dog shit. It also said that he felt they were on equal footing in their love for Pete even if they expressed it in different ways and for that, he was willing to walk away.

"So you were saved by a pile of poop?" Keng cackled some more and Ae rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. I literally stepped to the side to avoid it and took a shoulder hit instead."

"What did that feel like? I've never been shot." Keng said it casually but Ae thought he looked anything but casual.

"It's like my arm exploded and for a second I actually though it had blown away but Pete was still holding me. Then I stopped feeling anything and I honestly thought I had really lost it this time. Then I looked at Pete and he seemed ok but he was shouting and honestly I only know he was shouting because I was looking at his face. Then my ears finally registered the sounds and that when I realized I was shot and that's when I really got scared because Pete was right next to me and I didn't want to see him get shot or die. I tried to do a lot of things at the same time but then Cassie took me and when I looked up I could see Nigel easing Pete safely over to his car so I relaxed and then I passed out and when I woke, they were putting me on the gurney."