On a bright morning, people were busy crowding a place that had been decorated with paintings kept for exhibition. A little girl was seen roaming around with a cookie in her hand, munching happily. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the surroundings that held the beautiful work of art.
She turned around and her face lit up with smile as she saw a familiar person approaching her. She squealed happily as she ran forward to greet the young man who had just arrived wearing a business suit. He picked up the girl in his arms and gave her a soft kiss on cheek.
"Ar'Ae, where's my gift?" Little Yim asked as she extended her hand forward to get what she had demanded. "Awww princess, I forgot to get it. It's in car, can I get it later?" Ae asked. "Okay!! Fine!! Ar Pete is over there!!" The little girl said pointing her finger towards where her uncle stood talking to some people.
Ae placed the little girl down who ran towards her father while Ae started heading towards the cute guy. Pete was instructing the staff about the arrangement and Ae tiptoed towards him. He signaled the staff to keep quiet by placing the index finger on his lips as he stood behind Pete. Everyone nodded to whatever they were being instructed and left the place leaving the couple alone.
Ae took the opportunity to slowly place his hands on Pete's waist as he leaned forward, resting his chin on Pete's shoulder. Pete was stunned at the very moment and was about to pull away when a familiar fragrance of perfume hit his nose. He leaned back making himself comfortable in the warm embrace as he closed his eyes feeling the touch.
"You are too early." Pete said in his soft voice. "Weren't you the one who wanted to see me present here early morning? How can I deny anything for my cute wife?" Ae said as he pecked Pete's cheeks. The cute guy giggled and then turned in the embrace facing Ae. "Where's mae and por?" he inquired. "They will be coming later but since it's the big day of your life, I wanted to be present here to witness everything. I am proud of you." Ae said and kissed Pete's forehead.
"Ae, it was you who gave me courage to take this step. I am still feeling cold feet over here." Pete spoke. "I'll be here with you so don't get nervous. I want you to be happy and excited for today's day so cheer up and smile." Ae said pulling Pete's cheeks.
Pete smiled at his young lover who stood in front of him, giving him courage. "Pete!! Aw Ae, you are here already!!" Patchara spoke as she approached both the boys. "Sawasdee khrab mae." Ae greeted. "Aw Ae, you are always being polite." Patchara spoke as she nodded in response.
"Where are your parents?" Patchara inquired. "Mae, they'll be coming later. I just.......... Happen to get up early so...." Ae trailed at the end of sentence. "Ae, I know you very well. You have been worried about Pete that's why you have come early. I have taken care of both of you when you were babies and you think mae don't know anything about you two? Don't think you can fool me. I have been watching you both from childhood." Patchara spoke teasing both the boys.
"Aw mae!! Stop teasing us." Pete whined making her laugh. "You still whine like a baby even though you are grown up now." Patchara stated tidying up Pete's suit. "Well, I'll go and check the arrangements; guests have already started to arrive." She continued as she moved to leave the place.
The exhibition of Pete's paintings was organised jointly by Intouch and Pitchaya families. This was a step to let the media know that both the families were getting along very well and also to give a glimpse of Ae and Pete's relationship.
Soon, the place started to get crowded with guests and media. Reporters had come to interview the young artist and also hoped to get some sizzling gossip. Ae and Pete's friends were also present at the occasion. Ae's family arrived soon and to everyone's surprise, Ohm was tagging along his parents.
Then Pete saw a familiar figure at the entrance and he excused himself to greet the person. "N'Fluke, come, I'll introduce you to everyone." Pete said as he approached Fluke. The little guy greeted him with a smile as moved to follow Pete. He guided the little boy towards where the boys stood talking to each other. Pete introduced Fluke to everyone and Tar was the one to jump in joy. Having someone like him in the gang meant a lot to him. Also it meant addition of another person to their gang.
Everyone accepted him happily and Fluke found himself getting comfortable with them. It was like meeting his old friends. Pete walked back to where Ae stood with a smiling face. "I am glad that you introduced him to the gang." Ae spoke as he held Pete's hands. "This is least we could do. I can understand what he had been through and it will be better to have some people around whom you can trust." Pete replied.
Ohm was busy going through paintings when his gaze landed on the familiar person who was busy talking to others. It had been years that he had seen the person smile and laugh. Looking at happy Fluke made Ohm's lips curved up into smile. Fluke was busy talking to Ae's friends who had already made him feel comfortable in their presence. Ohm wanted to talk to the little guy but it might cause some issue so he kept quiet. Even though he pretended to look at the paintings, his eyes were following Fluke wherever he went.
Fluke excused himself to use the restroom and he was wandering around trying to find the way when he bumped into someone. "Oops!! I am sorry. I am really sorry. I didn't see you coming. It's my fault." Fluke started to apologize. "That's fine. You are....?" The person asked. "I am Fluke." Fluke replied instantly.
"Oh, Fluke, I am Sun." Sun spoke as he extended his hand forward for a shake. Fluke hesitantly reached for the hand and had a small handshake before he pulled back. "Phi! Do you know Fluke?" Pete said as he approached the two. Sun turned his head towards his younger brother who had just arrived. "No bunny, he just bumped into me accidentally and started to apologize. He was too scared so I tried to calm him down." Sun replied.
"Phi, this is Fluke, Ae's secretary. The cute guy I told you about." Pete spoke. "Fluke, this is my elder brother Sun. He has a very cute daughter – Yim. I'll introduce you to her later." Pete introduced both of them to each other.
Fluke smiled at Sun and Sun showed him the direction towards the restroom. The little guy thanked him and then left. Sun felt that he had seen this guy somewhere but couldn't recall it. He thought deeply and then remembered seeing this face in Ohm's file. It was the innocent life that was completely ruined because of the devil.
He wanted to ask Pete if he knew about the boy but that thing will have to wait since it wasn't the right time. Fluke returned back to the gang after finishing his business. Pete was holding little Yim as he walked towards the gang. Everyone looked at the cute princess in Pete's arms. "Pete, is she your sister?" Can asked earning a smack on his head. "Awwww!" He groaned as he looked back at the person who had hit him. "Don't you know that Pete don't have sister? She will be his niece – Yim!" Pond stated.
"I'll tell Ae that you were calling Pete pretty. Let him come and strangle you." Can warned. "Hey!! When did I say that? AE!! I swear, I didn't say a single word about Pete!" Pond yelled. This time Ae smacked his head, "Can't you keep your voice low? It's an exhibition! Not our beach trip where you can fool around, you are disturbing others." Ae hissed.
"Sorry Pete, but Ae, you could have said that without smacking my head. What if you keep hitting me like this and I happen to lose my memory?" Pond spoke as he placed his fingers on his chin pretending to think deeply. "That will be good then, we all can have some piece of mind." Ae teased.
"Ai'Ae, I am hurt!!" Pond whined holding his hands over his chest. "Ai' Pond, it won't matter to Ae if you are hurt or not. You are not Pete whom Ae will come and console." Can pointed. "Why am I even here? You all are my enemies. You are jealous because I am more handsome than all of you." Pond said proudly admiring his own beauty.
"Well, you think yourself as handsome, we all think that you are a quarter Italian ghost!!" Ae shot back making everyone laugh. Fluke was enjoying himself as he saw the way the gang members were making fun of each other. It was nothing serious, just a friendly manner.
The time passed by with people coming and leaving the place, praising the artist for his work. Media interviewed Pete about the exhibition and also asked him about the future plans regarding the wedding. Ae was there besides Pete all this time so media got a glimpse of the relationship of the two.
It was a bit disappointing for the reporters since they couldn't find sizzling news that they could use to get some publicity. Both the families were comfortable with each other and Ae and Pete were all lovey dovey.
It was already evening and Ae had some plans for tonight. He excused himself from the gang and walked towards his father. "Por, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ae requested. Mr Intouch took few steps away from the crowd and then gestured Ae to speak.
"Por, I was thinking of taking Pete out for a small celebration. It's already weekend and this was his first exhibition so I was thinking...." Ae tried to explain. "Son, I haven't held you back from anything. And I also know that you are not going to return home tonight. So, good luck and" Mr Intouch said and leaned forward to whisper, "Be gentle with him." He then winked at his son who was blushing tomato red.
"Por, I am just taking him out. Nothing else." Ae tried to speak. "I got it, I got it. I will tell your mom not to wait for you at dinner. Enjoy yourself son." Mr Intouch teased and left the place. Ae then walked towards Sun to talk.
"P'Sun, can I take Pete out for celebration? I just wanted to make this day memorable ones for him." Ae put forth. "Well, I don't mind. I'll inform por and mae that Pete will be out with you tonight. And as far as I know, you both won't show up till tomorrow. Am I right?" Sun asked.
"Phi!! Why is everyone thinking that we won't be coming back after dinner?" Ae almost whined seeing everyone teasing him. "You both are too obvious. Do you want us to believe that you both will return tonight? Even your friends will tell that you both will not show your face till tomorrow. So, stop pretending to be innocent and go and talk to Pete. I'll take care of the rest." Sun spoke making Ae's face turn a darker shade of red.
"Thank you phi." Ae said as he hurried to talk to Pete. "Take care of him. And please be back by tomorrow evening." Sun teased a little more. Ae ran away from the place as he was feeling really embarrassed.
He found Pete walking towards the gang so he hurried to stop him. "Pete!" Ae called out making the cute guy stop in his tracks. Pete turned to look at Ae who was now standing just a feet away. "Khrab Ae." Pete replied. Ae moved closer and then asked, "How about we go out tonight for a small celebration?"
"But Ae, I will have to talk to my parents about it." Pete replied innocently. "Don't worry about it. I have already spoken to P'Sun and he had promised of informing mae and por about it. Now come, let's get going. We'll be getting late otherwise." Ae spoke. He didn't waste any more time and pulled Pete along with him towards the car. He had planned of spending some quality time with his fiance......