It had been such a long time since he felt this exhausted from work, even if it was only half a day’s worth. If Kao didn’t get there to help them, he would have no idea what he would have done. He would never forget the immense relief he felt when he saw the older standing by the counter in his suit, looking every bit as dapper as he did the night before. The command the Aide had over the situation was just what they all needed. He and Bosston made sure customer turnover was fast and organized, and Kao made the important decisions Earth couldn’t bring himself to make. If it weren’t for their help, the three guys would still probably be in the cafe, dog tired and feeling hopeless about the next day. Instead, the young man was home and getting much-needed rest.
Earth was lying on his bed, his bangs tied with a small elastic, making a fountain of hair on the top of his head, his face covered in his new favorite facial mask. He was almost too tired for skin care, but he fought himself on it. Sleep wasn’t nearly enough to have good skin, he reminded himself.
Fluke calling at the end of the day seemed so fitting. It was nice to unwind with his best friend. Usually, they faced things like this at work together, and Earth really felt his absence. It could have been that he was just overwhelmed at the day’s events, but he couldn’t stop himself from being emotional over being asked to be his Best Man at their wedding. The significance of it all was not lost on him, and he did his best to remain calm as he accepted the responsibility. He was so elated for his friend that he totally forgot to tell him about what happened with Kao that day: The way he swooped in and took charge, the way he kept stealing glances, the way the tone of his voice changed every time they talked… He couldn’t help but feel that he was becoming special to the older. Thinking about it made him smile.
It hadn’t been five minutes since the best friends last spoke, and already his phone was ringing again. Earth didn’t even bother to look at the number on the screen before picking up his phone to answer.
“You are so clingy, do you know that,” he says with his signature sass.
“Uh… Good evening, K’Earth. This is Kao… How are you?”
Earth sits up from his bed in a jolt. He was completely shocked at the familiar deep voice on the other end of the line and had to take a minute to collect himself.
“Khun,” he says, flustered. “Sorry, I thought it was Fluke, I was just talking with him… Hello, how can I help you?”
“It’s alright,” the Aide says. A smile always comes across his face whenever he is anywhere near Earth. No matter how much he prepared himself, butterflies immediately overtook his tummy. It was cute to hear him so uncharacteristically shaken. “I’m calling about the suit fitting for tomorrow? Will you be able to join us? K’Sammy closed the cafe for now, hasn’t she?”
“Uh… Yes, but… Suit fitting? I don’t know… Am I really included? To be honest, I don’t think I can afford the Royal tailor and--”
“It’s paid for. You’re part of the entourage, so it’s paid for. No need to worry about that. All you need to do is show up. It’s at ten in the morning,” Kao says, warmly.
“I see,” Earth replies, his heart pounding in his ears. “Uh, you can send me the address then.”
“No need… I can have a car pick you up. I would pick you up myself but I have to be with Prince Ohm and N’Fluke. What time should the service drop by for you?”
“O-Oh, Khun,” he says, not being able to hide the nervousness in his voice. Kao was doing one nice thing for him after another, and it was making the butterflies in his tummy go crazy. “Y-You really don’t have to do that. I can find my own way, I promise.”
“I know,” he says. “I insist.”
Earth could have sworn that the older was smiling on the other end of the line in that adorable way he had seen in the garden that night. If only he could see that he was right.
“Okay,” he replies, his hand on his chest, in an attempt to calm himself down. “Is 9:15 too late?”
“It’s perfect. A car will be there to pick you up tomorrow at 9:15 on the dot.”
“Thank you, K’Kao…”
Earth’s voice trails off and a few moments of silence follows, neither wanting to drop the call but also not knowing what to say next. Both were content knowing that the other person was on the line.
Kao clears his throat and finally speaks up. “Did you get home alright? Did any reporters bother you? I’m sorry that Bosston and I weren’t able to see you guys off. We really needed to get back to the Palace.”
“It’s alright, we understand… Yes, there were a few reporters but we stuck together going home, just like you said we should.”
“That’s good, I’m glad,” he says. The warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest grows as he realizes that Earth trusts him enough to follow his advice. “I should let you rest… You had a stressful day.”
“Okay,” Earth says, a little disappointed that their conversation was coming to an end. “Um, Khun? I don’t know if I told you back at the cafe, but… Thank you. I didn’t know what to do and you came in and saved the day… I’m really grateful.”
“You’re very welcome, K’Earth. You did a great job today,” he says. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.”
“Good night, K’Kao,” the young man says as he ends the call.
Something told him that he wouldn’t be able to sleep much tonight.
******
Earth has been standing in front of the shop, nervous about going in. That nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach was back with a vengeance. It was the same feeling that made him leave the star-studded Ball, and choose to hide in the solitude of the Palace gardens. The feeling chipped away at his confidence and left him doubting himself for the first time in his life. Somehow, it showed up every time he had to do something related to the Royals, and this alarmed him. Seeing that Fluke was becoming one of them now, this was going to be a more common occurrence. And he could already feel his usual self slipping away.
With a deep breath, he opens the doors to the shop, shaking the negative thoughts out of his head and lifting his chin up. Even if he wasn’t feeling up to it, he could certainly pretend that he was for Fluke’s sake.
“Earth!” The future Prince jumps up from his chair to greet him. “You made it!!”
The young man bows as soon as he lays eyes on the Crown Prince, and proceeds to give a hug to his best friend.
“This is so fancy,” he whispers nervously. Being there with Fluke gave him a sense of comfort but not enough to put him completely at ease. “I don’t think I’m dressed well enough to be here.”
“Huh? What’s wrong? Are you sick?” Fluke says, thrown off by the change in Earth’s attitude.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired," he replies, smiling weakly.
Earth looks around at the shop and feels even more intimidated than before. He sees the rolls of expensive fabric displayed on the walls, the mahogany and oak fixtures that surrounded him and the plush velvet seating that was waiting for them. Of course, the store was closed for them and Special Agents were standing guard at every entrance to keep prying eyes away. A small tray of snacks and other refreshments were laid out for them at the far end of the room, just in case they wanted any. It was the kind of life the young man always dreamed of but now that he was in it, he wasn’t sure why he was this uncomfortable being there.
“I’m so glad you could join us, K’Earth,” Ohm says, coming over to greet him. “Thank you so much for being here.”
“Oh, no. Thank you, Your Highness. It’s a great honor to be part of the wedding,” he says, his eyes wandering to find Kao and not seeing him anywhere.
“You don’t have to do that when it’s just us,” Fluke says, swatting Earth’s arm. “We’re all friends here. Right, P’Ohm?”
The Prince nods his head as he gives Earth a quick hug himself. “I’m not the Prince today, just Fluke’s fiance.”
Earth tries to swallow the squeal that was forming in his throat. He hardly saw the Prince at all, and this display of affection for Fluke was all the more rare. The way the two looked at each other was enough to make the young man melt into a puddle.
“See! You’re smiling! You’re just teasing me, aren’t you,” Fluke says, snaking his arm around Earth’s. “It’s so great that you’re here. They’re asking me to pick what kind of cloth I like and I have no idea. Help me…”
“Love, are you sure K’Earth is the right person to bother about these things? Let’s not pressure him,” the Prince asks.
Fluke smiles widely and it seemed like the whole store became that much brighter because of it. “Silly Prince. Don’t you know that if we had more time, I would have asked Earth to dress the entire wedding party?”
The head of the Royal tailor on the opposite end of the shop perked up at that bold statement, and Fluke chuckles apologetically.
“No offense,” he quickly backtracks. “It’s just that he’s my favorite designer and it’s always been my dream to walk down the aisle in one of his creations. But yours are great, too, of course...”
“No offense taken, young Sir,” the Royal tailor says, doing a terrible job of hiding his ire.
“Really, K’Earth? I didn’t know that about you,” the Prince says, a smile coming onto his face as well.
“Your Highness, it’s really just a hobby,” Earth replies, his ears bright red from embarrassment. “I could never be good enough to dress the Royal Wedding party.”
The Royal tailor chuckles so loudly that everyone in the shop turned to look at him. The mean gesture didn’t do anything to help Earth’s plunging self-confidence.
“Nonsense,” Fluke insists. “He’s the best; he truly is. Come on, help me pick the fabric. I’m like a fish out of water here. You came just in time.”
The two best friends make their way to one end of the store, feeling different kinds of the best textile Earth had ever encountered. It was such a dream to be here, but why was he so sick to his stomach?
Kao finally re-enters the room and couldn’t hide the smile on his face seeing that Earth had finally arrived.
“He’s here,” the Prince tells him. “Thanks for arranging this. Fluke’s mood changed drastically when he came in. It’s good for him to have his friends around. The adjustment must be so hard on him.”
“Of course, Sir,” he replies, his eyes glued to the back of Earth’s head. “Has he been here for long? Apologies, I had something else to take care of about today’s schedule.”
“Relax, Phi. I know,” Ohm says, laughing at Kao’s sudden change of pace. “I’ve never looked for you when you disappeared. What’s wrong? Or are you upset that you missed someone’s arrival?”
“N-No, Your Highness,” he replies, flustered.
“Okay,” the Prince responds, knowing to back-off from teasing the Aide too much. “You should let them get your measurements, too. You might be too busy taking care of everyone else that you forget that you’re part of this.”
“I will, Sir,” Kao says, still flustered. Having Earth there was making him nervous as hell, and the Prince’s chides were no help at all. “Uh, they’re calling you over for a fitting, Your Highness.”
Before the Ohm walks off, he whispers into the Aide’s ear. “Don’t be so nervous, P’Kao. You got this.”
Kao takes a seat at one of the store’s plush sofas, pretending to be busy on his phone. The truth was, he didn’t have anything to do. He just didn’t think that he could handle being sociable with Earth and Fluke who were making their way to him at that very moment.
“Hey, Phi,” Fluke says, taking a seat beside him. “You remember Earth, right?”
“Of course,” he smiles, politely. “Hello, K’Earth.”
“Hello, Khun,” the young man replies, shyly.
“What’s with the formalities? You’re both our best friends, so you should be able to talk comfortably. No more of this ‘Khun’ business, okay?” Fluke says, smiling at the both of them. “Oh, they’re calling me, too. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
WIthout another word, he walks over to where the Prince had disappeared to, leaving the two best men to themselves. The awkwardness between them was almost comical. Polite smiles were exchanged so many times that it started to become weird. Someone had to say something, and fast.
“Did you run into traffic getting here?” Kao asks, immediately regretting the question as soon as it left his lips. He was never good at small talk.
“A bit… There’s always some traffic when it’s rush hour,” Earth replies, awkwardly. “How about you guys? Have you been here long?”
“Just a few minutes before you,” the Aide responds.
Kao makes the mistake of looking directly at Earth as he spoke and it made him all the more nervous. His palms sweat as he looks into the young man’s soft brown eyes and wonders if it was possible for anyone to have eyes as alluring as Earth’s. Just like that, he lost all the words to say.
The pair sat there, their eyes locked on each other, without actually saying anything. It took all of Earth’s strength to break away from staring at the older man’s perfectly chiseled cheekbones, his plump lips and his expressive eyes. He knew that if he didn’t do something soon, Kao would probably think that he was some sort of freak. The young man reached into his bag, pulling out the one thing that he knew he could rely on to anchor him: his sketchbook.
Kao watched as he handled the notebook with so much care, his fingers gently flipping through the pages, revealing a hidden world that was only meant for Earth’s eyes. All he could make out from this angle were flashes of color, and it fascinated him.
“What’s that?” He blurts out.
“Oh,” Earth replies, startled that anyone noticed. “Nothing… Just my sketchbook. Being here is exciting. I just wanted to make some notes of what I saw. Is that okay?”
“Of course, it is,” he says with a smile. “What’s in it?”
“A few of my sketches… I design clothes, too… Here,” Earth flips the pages open for the older man to see. “This is what I wore for the Ball… And here’s what Boun wore… Oh, and it was my sister’s graduation but we couldn’t find a dress for her at the mall. Can you believe that? Not a single one that suited her, in all of Bangkok. So we made this together, I’m really proud of how great it turned out. And this one, P’Sammy wanted a new dress for her birthday, so…”
Kao is enamored as Earth’s demeanor shifts completely. He was speaking a million miles a minute, and his eyes almost sparkled as he talked about his designs. It was nice to see that young man he saw at the Ball again - the one who was animated and full of life.
“Earth?” Fluke calls from the other end of the room, interrupting their conversation. “Could you come here for a minute, I need some help.”
“Hold on,” he replies, smiling awkwardly at Kao. “Duty calls… I’ll be right back.”
He leaves his sketchbook on the couch, its pages open for Kao to look through. The Aide takes out his phone, and takes quick photos of the sketches that he liked the most, and immediately makes a call afterward.
“Hello, Phi? This is Kao. Yeah, are you still looking for interns? I think I may have found one for you. I’ll send you the photos soon.”