New sighed as he carefully watched his son from afar.
“How is he?” Tay appeared beside New
“Not good. I don’t see the point of bringing him along with the court session but the judge said I needed to bring him and now look where that led to.” New caressed himself as he proceeded to watch his son, staring off into space.
“Do you mind if I talk to him?” Tay requested and when New nodded, he gave the older a small smile before walking up to Pluem, who was sitting at one of the tables outside of the café. It was a long shot but seeing Pluem made him remember his childhood.
Tay heaved a deep breath before slowly approaching Pluem. When he’s sure that the boy noticed his presence, he gave a small smile.
“Hey, Kiddo. Mind if I sit with you?”
Pluem slightly moved the chair across him towards Tay’s direction and Tay took this as a sign. He sat down and enjoyed the silence the surroundings offered.
After a few minutes, he slowly brought out three solid, coloured, plastic cups from his pocket and set them on the table, lid down. He dabbed the bottom part to make sure there were no holes. He then took out a red Ping-Pong ball and placed it under one of the cups. He started slow-moving the cups from left to right then stopping. He peeked in one of the cups and sighed as there was no ball.
He mixed the cups again, this time a bit faster than the first one and he sighed as he got the same result as earlier. He put on his determined look before mixing the cups again, much, much faster this time. When he stopped, he stared at the cups long and hard. When he was about to pick a cup, he noticed small finger-pointing on the cup to his left.
Tay looked at Pluem. “Are you sure?”
The little boy nodded. Tay slowly took a glance and then threw his hands in the air as the red ball was indeed there. He peeked at Pluem, who was feeling a bit proud that he had guessed correctly. The truth is Tay wanted to see if he could force a reaction out from the boy. He pretended to guess wrong, hoping that Pluem would willingly take part.
“Hey, Kiddo… are you mad at your Papa?” Tay deliberately started the real questions but continued to shuffle the cups to keep the boy's interest.
Pluem shook his head, pointing to the right. He guesses correct, again.
“Are you happy he’s with you?”
Pluem nodded.
“Are you sad?”
Pluem then nods again, pointing at the middle which, again, had the ball.
Tay let out a long whiff. Talking to kids can be complicated and one wrong move might possibly worsen the situation.
“You know your Papa loves you very much. He doesn’t want to see you hurt. Do you love your papa?”
Pluem nodded frantically.
“But Papa hurt the cause of me. He cried at night.”
‘He spoke.’ Tay sucked in a breath to mask his shock. “Did you tell Papa this? You’ll never hurt your Papa, Pluem. You make him happy but right now he is sad because…” He motioned his two fingers separating. He wasn’t really sure if the boy understood but he made sure to speak slowly and as simply as he could.
“Daddy gone. Is he coming back?”
“Yes, your Daddy left and I don’t know if he’ll come back. Your Papa is… doing what he can because he loves you very much.” Tay nodded in the café and Pluem looked inside; despite New’s worry level reaching up to the heavens, he gave his son a small smile. “Hey Kiddo, what would make you feel better?”
The little boy made his cheeks puff, looked back at New then back to Tay, then back to New. “Hug from Papa. And kiss.”
“Your Papa would feel better with that too. Would you like to do that now?” Tay gently motivates the boy and he watched as Pluem hopped down from the chair and ran inside to give New a hug and a kiss.
New carried Pluem and showered him with kisses all over his face. He looked to where Tay was and mouthed a ‘Thank you.’
He suddenly understood that his questions and doubts were indeed answered over time. And just as Toptap said, he should just let it flow and enjoy where it takes him.
New watched the sunset slowly as he went down from putting Pluem to bed. He deeply sighed. He hates his mind for remembering silly little moments. It may be little things but sometimes those are the ones that hurt the most – silly and little but important, at least for him.
---
New chuckled as he was being carried bridal style inside an empty apartment. He kicked until his husband let him down after a series of pecks. “Wow! This is a nice view!” He leaned against the big window that showed the colourful sunset that teased the sky.
The husband came up behind New and hugged him tightly. “It is. Do you like it?”
“I love it!” New looked to the side and raised his head, silently asking for a kiss to which the husband obediently gave. When they pulled apart, they both continued to watch the beautiful view before them. “Do you think everything will be okay?”
The husband kissed New’s temple. “It will be. We’ll make it work. It’s just you and me.”
He in his husband’s arms, watching the sunsets with little ones running around seems perfect.
And New never felt more certain in his life.
---
He sighed again as he carefully prepared two mugs. These past few weeks though he’s been feeling all kinds of fuzzy and warm. Tay has helped him a lot lately and he’s got to admit he’s really starting to like the guy. He also loves the fact that Tay adores Pluem and Pluem, him.
He peered at Tay again, who was engrossed in working and let out a dreamy sigh. He wasn’t really sure of where things are going between Tay and him and really he’s afraid because the last time he opened his heart, it got stomped on and left to bleed but Maybe it’s time to replace old memories with new ones. And maybe this time it’ll be different.
Hopefully.
New brought the mugs over to Tay’s table. “Excuse me Sir, is this seat taken?”
Tay looked up from his laptop and smiled widely.
“For you? Never.”
“Flirt.” New gave a teasing smile before placing the mugs down and taking a seat next to New.
“Is this Café Au Lait?” Tay asked after taking a sip.
New clicked his tongue and glared at him. “You savage! That’s Café Latte.”
“Isn’t that the same thing???”
“No! Café Au Lait is made with pressed coffee. Latte is with an espresso shot with more milk.”
Tay drank some more and he nodded in agreement. “Mm... I get what you mean now.”
"Tay, thank you for what you did earlier. If you hadn't talked to him, he wouldn't have the courage to tell me what he's really feeling. I really owe you big time for this."
The Older smiled before closing his laptop. He's the type to usually just keep to himself but somehow being around New made everything simple and easy. If he was planning to stay in their lives, he might as well start opening up. "I know how it feels like to be a loner kid - no one to talk to and no one to play with. Growing up, my parents were busy working and my brother was busy with his studies. On some days I just really wanted someone to sit beside me and ask me how I was doing but alas, there was none. Seeing Pluem reminded me so much of my younger self. I'd never want any kid to feel that."
New reached out and gave Tay's arm a squeeze. "Thank you. I'm glad you're here."
"Me too."
The loud thumping of his heart made New withdraw his hand. He coughed a little before starting a conversation that may or may not be a good idea
“Arm told me you’re looking for someplace to stay?”
Tay raised his eyebrow at the younger before leaning back on the chair.
“Did he?”
New nodded and licked his lips. Tay don't know what New meant but he just played along.
“Um… if you haven’t found a place yet, we have an extra room here? It’s not much but it’s a place to stay.”
Bingo! Tay thought.
'What good deeds I did in my past to have such a great best friend like ARM!!'
The older darted out his tongue to the side and tilted his head. “Are you offering me an opportunity to flirt with you all day, every day?”
“Uhhh…” New started to become embarrassed. He had not thought of that. NOT. AT. ALL. He just wanted to offer the room since Tay’s been helping him out a lot. He barely ever wanted to repay the older’s kindness
‘WHY DID IT COME TO THIS?!’
Tay smirked. “Okay. Done Deal! So can I move in tomorrow? I’m going to pay of course!”
“Wa-wait! I haven’t thought of the details yet.”
“Doesn’t matter! I’m still moving in. Well, I think it’s time I go.” Tay packed his things.
New, who was obviously panicking, was taken aback at his suddenly leaving. “Where are you going???”
“I have to get my stuff ready. I’ll be here around 8 am tomorrow. Is that okay?”
The younger could only nod. It barely even registered in his brain that Tay leaned into peck his cheek and whispered “I can’t wait to live with you, Sweetheart. Oh, the things that we could do…"
Tay winked before leaving the now blushing, baffled New.
‘Oh Dear God… what have I gotten myself into?’
+++
H
ahaha Tay won't let go any chance of flirting with New