Chapter 3 - Thank you for teaching me

Thitipoom had a great big sweet tooth, so it was not surprised that as the two households became neighbors, he also became a dedicated regular at Atthaphan's cafe. He would stop by every other day. If not, either a gloomy Tawan (who didn't enjoy anything sweet), a gentle and warm Purim or a very energetic (almost squirrel-like) Frank would stop by to bring something home. Thitipoom had tasted everything in the cafe, and if not for Chimon's persistence, the position to try new dishes would probably be claimed by Tawan's "housemate".

Thitipoom finished work early one afternoon and gleefully arrived at the 'Happy' bakery cafe. When Atthaphan brought the freshly baked pastry, he saw the soft bright-skinned man with a tray in hand, a glow plastered across his face, evidently excited to enjoy his selection of pastry. Atthaphan exchanged greetings with Thitipoom and turned back inside to himself make the latter a drink since it wasn't too crowded at the moment. As Thitipoom finished choosing his likings of the day, the two sat to chat at a table. Atthaphan and Thitipoom were the same age with similar interests, so they were becoming fast friends who could share a seemingly endless conversations. Actually, they were mostly just stories of the family members of the two, like how hard it was to pursue Jumpol, or how Tawan was clueless most of the time, or their sons' school life and friends, et cetera.

The two were immersed in their conversation until the ringing of the door bell and a large hand warmly touched Atthaphan's head and ruffle his hair that their banter stopped. He looked up and found a pampering smile of the man standing before him. Time didn't take away the buzzing happiness every time he saw that smile, just like when they had first gotten together. He couldn't resist but to throw his arms around the man's waist. Jumpol, understanding his partner as always, leaned down at the same time for Atthaphan to reach up and plant soft kisses on the former's neck.

"Papii..."

"You two do that in front of your kids?" Thitipoom smiled. Chimon appeared from behind Jumpol, face all red but still put his hands together for a wai.

"Sawadee krub Uncle New! Is P'Pluem here?"

"No! Why do you keep asking about that boy?" Jumpol, with one arm still around Atthaphan, pulled the kid to the side with the other hand. Thitipoom laughed and pretended he didn't hear anything; he did not want to play with fire that was khun Jumpol at the moment.

"Don't be like that, Papii. ^^ Mon, Lil' Pap baked you something. I left it in the kitchen, have it when you are hungry."

Chimon gave a verbal acknowledgement, took his backpack and went inside. Atthaphan waited until the boy had disappeared into the kitchen to criticize his partner.

"Papii. Why did you have to be mean to him? He was just asking a question..."

"I wasn't mean. I was simply questioning why he was being clingy when he is usually not like that." Jumpol scratched his head. Chimon was Atthaphan little baby, so everyone in a while, when Jumpol wanted to be more strict, he would get an earful.

"So he is like me, being clingy to the one we like. New's Pluem is top notch, who wouldn't like him? Right, New?"

"Um well... not really. It depends on the person. Pluem's friends say he acts so much like an old man." Thitipoom laughed it off and changed the subject. "P'Off, you and P'Tay have a badminton thing this weekend, right?"

"Yes. Why? Is he blowing me off?" Jumpol raised his eyebrows. Atthaphan had left to go check on Chimon in the kitchen. Thitipoom heard the question and immediately waved it off.

"Oh no. I was just asking coz he just all of a sudden asked Pluem and me to come with him. Frank is busy with his club this weekend so he won't come. So I thought you wanted to bring Gun and noo Mon so he got jealous or something..."

"Um... No. He is just nuts. You can ignore him."

"Well, we have to go anyway. You should bring Gun and noo Mon if you can. We can go to lunch afterward." Thitipoom actually hadn't been one to enjoy socializing much, but it seemed Tawan had gradually infected that trait to his partner, so the former was more open and liked to go out more. This could count as Tawan's biggest achievement in the years they were together.

"Yeah Papii! Gun will make sandwiches for snacks!"

"Big Pap, Mon wants to come too! Mon wants to see Big Pap play badminton."

As if by magic, the balls of cuteness appeared behind Jumpol with (seemingly) glowing eyes. The refusal to Thitipoom's suggestion at the tip of Jumpol's tongue was halted and turned back inside, simply because he could not resist the two (cute) persuasion experts. Fine, he would bring them! Jumpol would never lose at anything to that Tawan!

Weekend came in a flash. That morning, Atthaphan woke early to make sandwiches. Chimon, despite still being very sleepy, obediently helped Atthaphan pack and gather things while rubbing his own eyes. As Atthaphan placed the sandwiches in the box, he instructed Chimon to find his sports wear and shoes. Chimon dumbfoundedly asked why; he was under the impression he was just watching. Atthaphan laughed and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Didn't you tell me you've seen P'Pluem play badminton and how cool he looked? I can tell Papii to teach you so you can look just as cool, yeah?"

"... Sure! ^^"

Well, that woke the boy up; he rushed upstairs with a big smile as Jumpol was on his way down, fully and properly dressed. He clicked his tongue and made his way to the kitchen island, pinched Atthaphan's cheeks and said, "Mon is still a kid."

"... I never said he wasn't anymore. Gun wants him to exercise, you know, good for his health and all." Atthaphan blinked.

"My mind is just not at ease, and you here just... And please stop blinking, I can't focus!" Jumpol cleared his throat quietly and turned away. There was no doubt that this tiny person named Atthaphan here was the one who knew his every weak point.

"I didn't do anything. Papii don't see that Mon is so imperceptive? And I was just teasing."

Atthaphan decided to drop the topic. He was afraid that he might accidentally let it slip their boy would often run to the university to find "his Phi"; that would surely earn the boy some choice words.

When Jumpol's family of three arrived, they found Tawan's family already there and they had picked an outdoor court due to the nice weather they were having. Well, outdoor court with shade to prevent direct sunlight on the players. Tawan and Purim were warming up, and Thitipoom was sitting at a bench watching a group of teenagers playing on the nearby basketball court.

The greetings ended with Chimon approaching Purim with a smile brighter than sunlight, and Purim, as usual, displayed a gentle smile and lightly patting on the younger boy's shoulder. Tawan was busy boasting about how great his son was at badminton, and that he was on the team at his university. All that was agreed with by Chimon with his enthusiastic nodding. Jumpol was very irritated with the sight.

Atthaphan could sense the brewing storm from his Papii, so he quickly grabbed Chimon and urged the boy to go change into gym clothes so he could start to warm up. On the court, Jumpol and Tawan, after finishing their warm-up routines, had started to play each other so when Chimon returned later, the boy saw Purim being left on the sideline with his racket. He sneaked up on the older boy and placed both his hands on the shoulders of "his Phi".

"P'Pluem! You're not playing?"

"Not yet... I am waiting for my turn in a bit. Oh, how come Mon came today? I thought you just play football, not badminton." Purim had heard from his friend that Chimon was in the school's football team, and that he was often chosen to represent the team in promoting or exchanging activities because he looked really cute.

"P'Pluem don't want me to come?" Chimon gloomily lowered his hands and turned to face Purim. The older boy knew "his Nong" misunderstood; he was just as bright as a sunny morning, yet now in the blink of an eye had become bleak like about to rain. That didn't sit well with Purim; he needed to explain.

"No no. Of course I like that Mon came. I mean, badminton is really fun. As long as Mon can enjoy it."

"I've never played before. P'Pluem, please teach me?" Upon hearing that "his Phi" wasn't not okay with him being there, Chimon happily, like a plant just got watered, shook Purim's arms. And since Purim could never say so to this sweet soft boy, just by him asking and without much thought, Purim had already nodded his agreement. Luckily, he brought two rackets this morning.

Purim handed Chimon a racket and was about to take the younger's hand to pull him into the court when someone cleared his throat loudly and deliberately. Like a tornado, Jumpol appeared next to the two boys with wide open eyes.

"Where are you two going? What are you holding..."

"Papii! Gun wants to play too. Please teach Gun!!!" Jumpol didn't get to finish what he was saying when a small figured arrived in his arms, his black eyes gazed up as if gathering the clear sky in them. In just a short moment, Jumpol's skipped a few beats, and he completely forgot what he was mad about or that he wanted to stop something; the whipped man just nodded and followed Atthaphan's pull to another corner of the court, and on the way, took the racket from Tawan's hand when passing by to give his little gem.

Tawan bewilderedly asked, "Oh oh oh why you taking my racket? And who am I playing now?"

"Go play with your son!" Jumpol provided a succinct solution. Tawan, both amused and annoyed, turned around intending to look for his son but instead seeing Purim pulling Chimon into the court. Tawan was about to compliment his son for understanding but was stopped as Purim displayed a wide smile and said, "Papa, I am going to teach Nong Mon to play for a little. Also, daddy says papa should go drink some water. You haven't had water all morning."

And then the two boys went off to a corner. Tawan, being ignored by both his peng and his son, gloomily went to find solace in Thitipoom. He regretted not convincing Thitipoom earlier to play this morning.

On one corner of the court, Jumpol was teaching Atthaphan. Due to Atthaphan's small size and Jumpol standing behind and holding his arms, it looked like Jumpol was embracing Atthaphan in his arms. Actually, Atthaphan had known some basics, but at the moment, he voluntarily dropped all defenses and pretended to not know anything to enjoy the safeguard, the bias and the protection of Jumpol. Those were privileges from Jumpol that Atthaphan was the only one in the world could enjoy.

On the other corner were the boys, a clumsy Chimon with a Purim who was standing very close, his big hand holding the younger's smaller hand, showing how to swing the racket properly. And because of the closeness, and that the two were quite similar in heights, so when Chimon suddenly turned his face, he accidentally graced his lips on the older boy's ear. His nose also picked up the mint scent of the older boy's shampoo; the warm scent seemed to have filled his heart that was beating thunderously. It was as if a dragonfly had touched the quiet surface of a calm lake creating a ripple, or the first raindrop of the season awakening the seed that had been hiding itself in the soil for too long.

The weather clearly wasn't too hot, but there were two people on the court with clearly heated faces, twinkles in their eyes and smiles forming on their lips without their own selves knowing.

Thitipoom sat folding his legs on the bench, leaning on the firm body of Tawan, leisurely munching on the sweets Atthaphan brought. Tawan, feeling blinded by the love lights displayed in front of him, could only find some consolation from his "housemate" by discreetly reaching out to hold the other's hand. Thitipoom just smiled, letting Tawan do what he wanted. It was just the two families there, divided neatly into three pairs, no need to worry about anyone looking or gossiping. Each pair was already immersed in their own little world; if someone had actually been discussing them, none of them would even have the time to be bothered.

When their session ended, everybody was drenched except for Tawan who was still dry (as if he got to play much). Everyone gathered for water and was panting their hearts out, waiting for the sweating to cease so they could shower, change and head out for some food. Atthaphan tiptoed and put his arms around Jumpol's neck, softly (like a fresh summer grass) spoke, "Papii, thank you for teaching me today!"

"Oh? Just a 'thank you'?" Jumpol teased and, following the pull of Atthaphan, bent down. Atthaphan again reached up to plant a kiss on the man's cheek, but the height difference only let him to touch the side of Jumpol's lips.

Almost at the same time, nong Chimon waied and lowered his head. "P'Pluem, thank you for teach Mon today!"

The father, just coming back to reality from the soft kiss, pulled the little boy back. (No idea where his imagination had gone though.)

"Mon! Do NOT copy Lil' Pap!"

Chimon almost immediately understood what that meant, his face quickly reddened to the shade of a boiled shrimp. He stomped his foot and shrieked, "Pap!!!!!!"

Purim could not understand the language of Jumpol's family, but he found the totally crimson nong Mon really cute, so he reached to poke the boy's cheek. The heat of the boy's face, through the tip of Purim's finger, seemingly reached the bottom of his heart. Purim startlingly pulled back and diverted his gaze elsewhere, trying to ignore that irregular rhythm that was building in his heart.

Tawan and Thitipoom witnessed the ridiculous chaos and were left speechless.

Oy, would thisneighborship last?