To my loyal Readers,
Thanks for bearing with me when I stopped publishing for a while.
To be honest, I probably wouldn't have written anymore if it weren't for your supporting comments, so thank you.
I will try my best to see this story out till the end so that your support will not be in vain.
Enjoy the Chapter!
A quiet sound pulled Chay from his sleep, his eyes fluttering open and adjusting to the dark room around him. He sat up in his bed, trying to figure out how he got back vaguely recalling Macau telling him they were finishing training and then making his way back to his room. He frowned as more came back to him, as he remembered coming back with Macau supporting him the entire way! His cheeks started to burn as he remembered practically hanging off Macau as they got to his room and...
A gentle knock on the door drew his attention from his internal spiral as he realised what pulled him from his sleep in the first place. 'Chay? Are you awake?' a voice quietly called from the other side.
Chay buried his face in his blankets in embarrassment, not wanting to face Macau but still not wanting him to leave, 'No!' he called. He heard the door open and let out a small groan at all the memories that went through his mind again.
'Chay!?' Macau called out to him alarmed as he made his way over to the bed. 'Are you alright?! Are you not feeling well?'
Chay slowly looked up to Macau's concerned face before burying his face once more, 'The only thing I'm dying from is embarrassment.'
Macau let out a laugh, 'and what is the reason for this deadly disease?' he said with a grin.
Chay looked up and glared at him, 'You know exactly why I'm dying.' Macau only laughed and Chay groaned again, 'I'm so sorry, I didn't realise I was so tired.'
Macau put his hand on Chay's shoulder and just smiled, 'yeah, I've never seen someone try and leave through the equipment room before' he said with another laugh.
Chay laid back down and drew the blankets over his face, 'just let me die in peace.'
The blankets were suddenly ripped away and Macau grabbed Chay's arm, lifting him back into a sitting position. 'And why would I do that when I could torment you?' he said with a smirk. 'Now come on,' he gave Chay's arm a gentle tug, 'I'm making some dinner and I know you haven't had anything all day.'
'And just how do you know that?' Chay replied with a mischievous smile, pulling his arm out of Macau's grip.
Macau raised an eyebrow, 'Are you saying you knew you were late to training but still had time to eat?'
Chay let out a small laugh, 'well, I guess you got me there.' Macau smiled. 'By the way, isn't it a little early for dinner?'
Macau showed Chay his watch, 'it's almost 7 pm, you've been out over 6 hours.'
'Oh' Chay said shyly, I guess I really did need some sleep.
'You go wash up and change and then meet me in the kitchens, if you go back down the hall take the first left, it's the third door on the right.' Macau said before turning to leave the room.
Chay grabbed the back of his shirt, 'wait.' Macau faced Chay, curious. Chay got out of bed and went to his wardrobe, opening the doors. 'I don't think I'll feel comfortable wearing any of this.'
Macau went up beside him and rifled through the closet, 'gee, not even Vegas had this many suits.' He turned to Chay, 'why isn't there anything of yours in here?'
'Well, I normally go back to my apartment after training, so I mostly live there, I haven't actually used this room before.'
Macau looked at Chay confused, 'You have your own apartment?'
'Yeah, um... My brother said we can't go back to our family house since too many people know where it is and...' Chay turned not being able to look Macau in the eyes, 'he knew I wouldn't feel entirely comfortable living here, so he got me my own place.'
'Right,' Macau said looking to the floor as if in shame, 'You wouldn't feel safe.'
'It's not-' Chay started but Macau put up his hand to stop him.
'No, I understand, it would have been very overwhelming if you were to be thrown into a place you didn't know and probably hadn't heard many if any, good things about.' He looked up at Chay, sincerity in his eyes, 'I don't blame you.' He looked up at Chay's wardrobe again, 'as for the clothing situation, I can lend you some of mine if your good with that, we're about the same size so they should fit.'
Chay smiled at Macau, 'Perfect.'
Macau returned Chay's smile, 'well then, you go have a shower and I'll leave some clothes on your bed before heading to the kitchens to start with dinner.' Just before Macau exited the room, he turned to Chay, 'oh, just checking, do you like spicy food?'
Chay could barely restrain his smile before he schooled his expression, 'I don't mind them' he said nonchalantly.
Macau shook his head in amusement, a smile on his face, 'Alright then, I'll see you later.' As he was exiting the room, he called out to Chay once more, 'Remember, first left, third door on the right!'
Chay didn't know how long he stood there, staring at the space Macau had just disappeared from before he shook himself out of his daze. Chay frowned at his unusual amount of ease around his trainer as he made his way into the bathroom and started stripping off his clothes, getting into the shower, and basking in the nice warm water.
After Chay was finished, he made his way out of the steamy bathroom, a towel around his waist, and to his bed where there was a nicely folded set of black tracksuit pants and loose tank top waiting for him. He put on the pants with no problem, however, when he got to the shirt he felt it was going to be a bit big. Putting it on anyway, Chay looked in the mirror and a blush crept into his cheeks, the shirt's arm holes almost reaching his waist, exposing a lot more than Chay would normally wear. Chay looked over to his own closet debating which one was worse, in the end, he opted for Macau's tank favouring anything over the restrictive formalwear.
Chay looked around for his shoes, finding them placed next to his dresser, inwardly groaning at the fact that Macau must have taken them off for him. Shaking off the wave of embarrassment, yet again, Chay put on his shoes before grabbing his phone and making his way back down the hall. He recalled Macau's instructions, going down the first hall on the left and counting the doors he passed until he reached the third one on the right.
Chay could already smell the delicious aroma before he even opened the door and once he did, he was hit with various delicious scents of Curry. He made his way over to the other side of the bench Macau was cooking at and took a seat looking at the food he had prepared. At the end of the bench there was a container of rice, and on the stove was a big pot of vibrant red curry with what looked like chicken. Scattered everywhere else were various herbs and vegetables, some of which had been used, and some that he had yet to add to the food.
Macau smiled at Chay, 'from the look on your face I'm guessing you like red curry?'
Chay gave him a huge grin and nodded, then frowned, 'Why did you cook so much though? Surely we aren't going to eat it all.'
Macau shook his head, 'whenever I cook, I always do it in bulk so that if someone comes in for food, they can just eat a portion of this. Also, it's healthier than just noodles and if I'm making it anyway, I might as well make a lot.'
Chay looked up at Macau in admiration, 'That's very kind of you.'
Macau shrugged, 'who else is going to do it since, not to toot my own horn, but I'm one of the only decent cooks around this place.' He said with a smile as he turned off the heat and went and grabbed a plate of basil, tipping it into the pot before stirring it.
Chay loved watching people cook, it was mesmerising to him, especially since he couldn't really cook himself. Though he made a mean Ramyeon, and fried eggs on rice. Chay's mind pulled him back to the last time he made food for someone before he shook off the thoughts, focusing on the present. 'How long have you been cooking for everyone?' he asked Macau, determined to keep his attention on the person in front of him.
'Since I was a kid.' Macau replied, a sad smile on his face. 'My father was always too busy to bother to make anything for us, and Vegas was hardly around, so I had to rely on myself since, as I said, there wasn't anyone who could or would cook around here.' He looked up at Chay with a small smile, 'so I just had to learn how to cook for myself.'
Macau turned around and went to a cupboard, grabbing out two wide, shallow bowls, half filling them with rice then adding the curry. He then topped the meals with chili slices and coriander and brought them around the bench, placing one in front of Chay. Chay smiled at Macau, 'well, I guess all that work wasn't for nothing since I already know this is going to be delicious, Thanks.'
Macau gave Chay a genuine smile before gesturing to his food, 'stop talking and eat if it's so good,' to which Chay gave him a playful glare before digging into the meal before him.