Chapter Text
Fluke wipes the counter-top and softly whistles under his breath. He halts his movement when he hears the head maid, Ploy urgently calling for his name from the living room.
“Natouch!”
Fluke rushes out the kitchen, “Yes, P’?”
“Can you come with me to get some groceries? Please, this is urgent! The chairman asked us to prepare some special dishes for lunch, there’s not much time left!”
“Okay, sure. I’m done with my work anyway,” Fluke states, confused but he doesn’t ask much as he can sense the urgency in her voice. He excuses himself to put the wet rag away.
The head maid thanks him and then leaves the room, sighing in relief as she walks away to retrieve the car keys and her wallet.
She had asked a few other maids earlier but they were all busy with their tasks, thank goodness Fluke is free.
“Clarissa is asleep, right? Please watch her for me, P’Jane. I’m not sure how long this will take so if she wakes up and starts crying, you can give her some snacks, I think she’ll be quite happy with snacks. If it doesn’t work, please give me a call, I’ll rush back home as fast as possible,” Fluke says, leaving a long reminder behind to the other maid in charge of cleaning the second floor.
He isn’t used to leaving Claire, shortened from Clarissa, behind. The two-year-old can be quite a handful if she doesn’t get to see her ‘papa’ in front of her eyes whenever she wakes up from her nap, leaving it almost impossible for Fluke to leave the mansion and whenever he does, he will always bring her along; which is rare as he almost never steps a foot outside the place he now calls his ‘home’.
“Is someone coming? Why is Grandpa Kit asking us to make other dishes? I thought yesterday he told us to make his favourites?” Fluke asks the head maid he now considers his older sister, strapping the seatbelt in the passenger seat.
Though he is reaching half-fifty, he still doesn’t have a driver’s licence, deeming it no use because he won’t ever get a car in the first place, opting to go by public transportation more.
Ploy reverses the car and mutters while her eyes are on the side-mirror, “He told me that a special guest is coming, I recall him saying about his grandson abruptly coming home from abroad. I think he will be staying with us later.”
Grandson? Fluke has heard the old man talk of his grandson before. He knows that the said grandchild is currently living abroad, managing the family company’s brand in New York.
“Oh, I see… So, what are we making?”
Ploy lists out the dishes they have to make, along with some questionable ones such as chocolate cake and bubble milk tea?
“Wait— we have to make bubble milk tea too? And chocolate cake? How old is this grandson again?” Fluke interrupts, suppressing his laughter and shakes his head in disbelief.
Deep down in his heart, it tinges of unnoticeable pain. The dessert and drink remind him so much of someone he used to know.
Somehow, he cannot help himself from wondering, how is the latter doing? Is he eating well? He feels sorry but he immediately shakes off the thought.
He doesn’t deserve to know.
“Oh no, dear. We’re buying the bubble tea at the store later,” Ploy says, snapping him out of his thoughts. “—but you’re making the chocolate cake, okay? You bake some mean chocolate cake, even Grandpa says so,” she continues.
Fluke nods, understanding. “Sure thing.”
Fluke enters the manor with a bag of groceries in each of his hands, quickly making his way to the kitchen to put them down on top of the counter-top. They’re quite heavy and he feels like his arms might fall off soon if he doesn’t get the extra weight away.
He heaves a sigh and leaves the kitchen to help Ploy with the rest of the bags.
“Papa!” a tiny voice calls from the top of the stairs.
Fluke looks up and his mouth blooms into a bright smile. His little princess is up and Grandpa Kit is holding her hand. The little one excitedly makes grabby hands to the old man, demanding to be picked up and brought down.
The mahogany stairs are too huge for her little waddling feet. Her papa had always reminded her not to go down by herself.
“Hey, princess, did you have a good nap?” Fluke greets her, picking her up. “Now wonder you wake up so well-behaved today, grandpa is here.”
He smooches her cheeks repeatedly until the toddler is a giggling mess.
“P-Pa..pa, sto-stop..! Papa twickles Clay,” she giggles with her little lisps, wiggling left and right in her papa’s hold.
She had just turned two last month, her pronunciation still a little off just like other kids her age. Therefore, little Clarissa calls herself Clay.
“When did you get back, grandpa?” Fluke takes his chance to ask the old man, though his eyes are still fixated on his daughter.
“Just now,” Grandpa Kit replies, his eyes also looking at the two figure with adoration.
“So, what did my little Claire do while Papa was away, hm?”
“Clay play with grandpa!” she exclaims excitedly.
“Really? Was it fun?” Fluke asks and turns his body to face the old man, grinning mischievously. “Is Grandpa Kit much more fun than Papa?”
“No! Papa more fun. Clay loves Papa,” she brings her hand beside Fluke’s ears and whispers none-so-discreetly.
“Grandpa heard that Clarissa,” Grandpa Kit chimes in, faking his tone to sound stern.
“Oh no! Grandpa angry— Papa, put down Clay, put down!” she gushes restlessly, and Fluke does so.
The little girl approaches Grandpa Kit and tugs on his trousers, looking up with sad eyes and extending her hands forward, asking for a hug, “Grandpa don’t be angry, Clay is sorry. Clay loves Grandpa.”
Grandpa Kit lets down his facade. He crouches and brings her into his arm, admitting his defeat. He can never win against those doe eyes.
“Look at you, how can I be angry at you, little darling.”
“Grandpa not angry anymore, okay? Clay wants to play with Mochi, grandpa lets go!” the toddler excitedly beams. Her tiny hand grabs the wrinkled hand into her hold— well not exactly hold as it can barely wrap around Grandpa Kit’s pinkie.
Mochi is a Maltese puppy that Grandpa had bought for her birthday when she claims to be lonely with no friends. Fluke had insisted that there is no need to get her a puppy and don’t spoil her so much.
But of course, Grandpa Kit, as a chairman of a mega-company can be quite adamant when he wants to— it was in his nature as a businessman. Fluke could only shake his head when the Maltese was brought home the next day.
Clarissa is spoiled rotten by his kind employer, and he doesn’t want her to be adjusted to this kind of lifestyle because no one knows what might happen in the future.
He feels a bitter taste in his mouth when he realises that he could get fired if things ever go wrong in the future later although, the generous old man had told him many times that he will never fire Fluke and he does not mind spoiling his daughter.
He is more than indebted to the old man; Grandpa Kit had saved their life. He doesn’t even want to imagine what would happen to him and Clarissa if they hadn’t met Grandpa kit in that one fateful meeting.
“Princess, let’s let grandpa rest first, alright?” Fluke speaks up and smooths down her hair, patting her head adoringly when she juts out her lips unhappily. She wants to play with grandpa!
“How about you play with Secretary Kao first?” the grandpa offers when he sees tears brimming in the little girl’s eyes.
Fluke tilts his head. Secretary Kao is here? Oh, grandpa must have invited him to lunch. It wasn’t anything unusual to see the secretary at the mansion. He is, after all, the chairman’s personal assistant.
Clarissa’s face instantly lights up and she nods giddily, “Clay wants to play with handsome Phi!”
“Go, your handsome Phi is in the garden, I think.”
The little girl did not wait much before skipping away, dashing off without looking back at her papa and grandpa. She can’t wait to play with handsome Phi and Mochi!
“Be careful, baby girl!” Fluke shouts.
They can hear her calling for the secretary who has worked for the chairman for nine years and is one of Grandpa Kit’s most trusted employees.
“That kid… she left me for a handsome man, who did she take after, huh… couldn’t be me for sure,” Fluke scrunches his nose distastefully and blows on his bangs.
Grandpa Kit laughs wholeheartedly at the words. “She has always loved Kao more than anyone else.”
“Grandpa don’t laugh!” Fluke stomps his feet playfully and frowns before he quickly brings his arms together, crossing them on his chest. “Have you taken your medicines today?”
The old man’s laugh abruptly stops and he scratches his head guiltily. By the face that the old man is making, Fluke knows that he is yet again, trying to run away from taking his medicines.
“Grandpa, I don’t know if anyone has told you this, but you are an old man . You have to take your medicines! What if you get rushed to the hospital again?” Fluke places his hand on his waist and scolds the old man sternly, worry evident on his face.
Even the almighty chairman cannot do anything else but cower under the younger male’s displeased gaze.
It might also look comical to the ones watching because Fluke is actually a head shorter than him.
The maids nearby also shake their head, the two are back at it again, they figured.
“Geez, Natouch. Spare this old man some break. I’m a very fierce chairman at work, okay? Imagine what would my workers say if they see me get scolded by you…” the chairman tries to work his way out with puppy eyes.
Fluke would’ve gotten swayed if he doesn’t find the situation remotely hilarious. This old man is giving me puppy eyes!
The chairman of a multi-billionaire company is known to be one who hardly smiles, let alone be someone who actually knows how to make puppy eyes! He should snap a picture, send it to the tabloids and make millions from it!
Fluke quickly schools his expression, hiding the smile that is threatening to come out at the old man’s antics. “You should have eaten your medicines if you don’t want your workers to see you get scolded by this housekeeper, Chairman Kit.”
“Okay, okay… this old man is sorry, I will take my medicines now. Jane, can you get my bag from my office?” Grandpa Kit solemnly says and takes his seat at the head of the dining table.
Fluke follows him from behind and stands next to the chairman. Grandpa Kit eyes him weirdly and mutters.
“Natouch, you can go now. My grandson is arriving soon, have you baked the chocolate cake? I think it will take some time right? Don’t worry, I am just waiting for Jane to bring my bag.”
Fluke smiles sweetly and shakes his head, “Oh, it’s okay. I’ll go once I see that you have taken your medicines. The chocolate cake doesn’t really take that much time to make.”
Fluke watches him with hawk eyes, from the second Jane places his bag onto the marble table and excuses herself to the kitchen, to the way Grandpa Kit is hesitantly taking out the bottles of pills from his bag.
“Natouch, I think it would be great if I have lunch first, don’t you think s—”
“Grandpa.”
And that one word is all it takes for the old man to unwillingly gulp the pills down his trachea.
Fluke nods, satisfied. “Okay, good job grandpa, I’ll be off to work now. You can now rest, I will call you for lunch later.”
Fluke taps the old man on the back and excuses himself. He sighs once he reaches the kitchen, what would he do with the chairman... Even Clarissa takes medicine better than you, grandpa.
Fluke places the chocolate cake he had cut into smaller pieces onto the table and claps his hand silently, happy with the way the cake turned out to look and taste great. Around the dessert are a bunch of other special traditional dishes that Grandpa Kit had ordered them to make for his grandson who is arriving in less than 30 minutes.
Grandpa Kit is excitedly waiting for his grandson that he had not met for a long time; the last time was when the chairman had flown to New York for an important meeting, where a year had already passed.
No one in the household had met the chairman’s grandson before, considering that Grandpa Kit had only moved to Thailand less than 2 years ago. Before, he was residing in Australia, only monitoring the company from afar but certain circumstances had forced him to move back to his mainland.
The maids and servants are currently lined up near the main entrance, waiting for the young master to arrive, Fluke included when suddenly a cry resonated through the hall.
Clarissa, in her white frilly dress comes into view. Fluke had placed her onto the sofa in the living room and she was sleeping when he left, exhausted after playing with Secretary Kao who had left to pick up the Young Master at the airport, it seems like she had accidentally woken up from her nap.
She stands on her little two feet before she ditches walking and decides to crawl instead, all the while crying her hearts out.
“P-pa.. papa.”
Fluke apologetically glances at Grandpa Kit, and when the latter nods, he excuses himself.
“Yes, papa is here, sweetheart,” he picks her up and pats her back, softly humming a tune that he always uses to put his daughter back to sleep.
“Grandpa, I will put her to sleep first.”
“Alright. Call us if you need anything,” the old man says in a fatherly tone.
Just as Fluke is about to climb the stairs, he hears a loud honk from the main door. He considers waiting to join them and greet Grandpa Kit’s grandson, it will only take a while but when Claire whines into his shoulders, Fluke decides to go upstairs instead.
He doesn’t want Claire to start acting up in front of Grandpa Kit’s grandson.
Ohm looks out the window and takes a mental note of the changes that happened to the city of Bangkok.
There’s not much change, after all, he was only gone for two years. He looks to the front and calls for the man in the passenger seat.
He knows Kao had worked as his grandfather’s personal assistant for almost a decade.
“P’Kao.”
“Yes, Young Master?”
“Please drop the formalities, I am younger than you.”
“I don’t think Madame Lin would like that, Young Master,” the 33-year-old man coughs, uncomfortable as he recalls what the mother of the man in the back seat had said to him once.
“I know that my father-in-law does not care how you address him but with my family, address us properly.”
“She’s not here, it wouldn’t be a problem, P’Kao.”
“Alright, I’ll try, Khun Ohm.”
Ohm rolls his eyes, he guesses that’s the most he could get out of the older male.
“Is grandfather doing fine? How is his diabetes?”
“He is taking his medicines well, Khun Ohm,” the secretary answers. Thanks to N’Natouch, he adds in his head.
“That’s great to hear,” Ohm responds and then silence fills the car. He closes his eyes for a while, worn out after being in the flight for almost 20 hours.
Though he had flown back with the most expensive seat available, almost a day inside an airplane can be very suffocating
“—Ohm, Khun Ohm, we are here,” the secretary calls as soon as the high-rised amber gate of the RP Mansion comes into view.
Ohm’s eyes flutter open and he scans his surroundings, slowly coming back to his senses. “We’re here?”
“Yes, Khun Ohm.”
They entered the gate and everything around him still looks familiar though he hasn't been there for at least seven years.
Ever since his grandmother passed away a few years back, his grandfather had brought himself to Australia to expand their company, leaving the huge villa empty until he decided to come back 2 years ago, just in time Ohm had flown to New York.
They only got to meet a few times in those years Ohm was abroad and the young male truly worry about his grandfather, more once he learned that the elder has very chronic diabetes.
That is why after two years of working far from home, he decided to come back
He decides to face the future.
Thinking of the past breaks his heart, still, but he is not going to mope around forever.
Moreover, Grandpa Kit is living alone and he feels sorry that the old man had to live by himself for so many years before.
Ohm’s parents are now residing in France; his father working hard to expand their business to Europe, and his little sister, Calista is studying fashion designing in South Korea.
It seems like when grandfather was away, everyone was in Thailand and ironically, when he decided to come back, his family had all left the country.
Ohm steps out of the car, thanking the driver for opening the door and pockets his sunglasses.
The door opens to reveal his grandfather, still looking as youthful as he was a year ago and he is immediately engulfed in a hug.
“My grandson!”
Ohm grins, showing off his pearly teeth and quietly mutters, “I missed you, grandfather.”
“Ohm, why did you get so thin? I think you got thinner than last year,” the old man says, turning him around, closely scrutinizing his only grandson.
“I’m fine, grandfather. What did you prepare for lunch? I am famished.”
“I prepared your favourite dishes for you, I hope it still doesn’t change. Who knows, you have become westernised and only eat hamburgers now,” the elder man teases.
“I don’t think so, grandfather. I still enjoy my Pad Thai and Tom Yum Goong,” Ohm retorts back.
“What are we still doing outside? Let’s go inside.”
Ohm takes off his shoes and enters the door. He stares in shock when suddenly, he has a line of maids and servants bowing before him, chorusing;
“Welcome home, Young Master!”
“Grandfather… what is this?” he whispers tightly to the old man, not holding back his confused expression.
“I didn’t ask them to call you that, this must be Kao’s doing, ask him…” Grandpa Kit defends himself.
Ohm eaves a heavy sigh, his chest heaving up and down in annoyance.
That secretary… really.
Before he can tell them to drop the title, a woman in her 30’s comes forward and introduces herself as the head maid.
“We are happy to serve you, Young Master.”
“Oh— okay then. You all are dismissed, get back to work.”
Once they are settled at the dining table, Ohm gaps at the rays of dishes beautifully presented on the table.
“Why did you make so much?” He turns to ask his grandfather.
“Well, I wasn’t exactly sure of what your favourites are, so I asked them to make everything I thought you might like,” the old man shrugs nonchalantly and begins putting small portions of each dish onto his grandson’s plate. “Eat a lot, you are too skinny— and you could’ve told me what you wanted to eat if you didn’t forget to tell me you’re coming home until I have to find it out through the HR from New York..”
“I apologise, I totally forgot to give you a call and I wanted to surprise you.”
Ohm almost wheezes when a maid emerges from the kitchen, holding a cup of bubble milk tea before placing it beside him. “You know me so well, grandfather. Thank you for this,” he shakes the drink and takes a sip.
Lunch went by smoothly, and Ohm could catch up with his grandfather; sharing stories of his life abroad and updating the chairman of how well their business is going in America.
Lastly, he takes a spoonful of chocolate cake and puts them in his mouth. He stops chewing at the familiar taste.
How can a chocolate cake taste so similarly? The second I come back to this country, everything reminds me of you… He chuckles bitterly and continues his bite.
Well, at least he could taste what used to be his favourite cake that was made by a particular person after years of longing.
“Grandfather, who made this cake?”
“Child, stop the ‘grandfather’, you are too formal for your own good. Call me grandpa, it makes me feel younger, okay,” the old man scolds jokingly. “That chocolate cake is made by Natouch, he works here as a housekeeper.”
“Oh…”
“Why are you asking?”
“Nothing… it just tasted painfully familiar,” he whispered under his breath.
Noticing the abrupt change in his grandson’s tone, he does not ask further.
Ohm flops his whole body down the soft mattress, sighing in pleasure when his back hits the mattress.
He is beyond tired and he wishes nothing more than to just sleep his exhaustion away.
Realising that he hasn’t showered for more than 24 hours, Ohm forcefully drags himself off to the bathroom. Perhaps a warm bath can help soothe his tense muscles.
An hour later, freshly out of the shower, Ohm changes into a sleeveless shirt and shorts and heads for bed. Just as he is about to crumble into the pleasure of sleep, his ears catch the sound of… a child crying?
Alarmed, he immediately sits up. He doesn’t recall having any other siblings except for his little sister.
Or did his grandfather remarry and have a baby?
That sounds unlikely because the elder would’ve told him if he ever remarried and… a baby at that age? Ohm doubts that.
Or was this house left empty for so long that another being had decided to occupy this mansion?
He takes careful steps down the corridor, searching for the source of cries and finally finds his answer when he sees a baby girl, crying and whimpering in the middle of a king-sized bed in one of the rooms with its door left open.
Ohm takes a peek inside and finds no one else there except for the baby, who looks nothing older than 2 years old. He bravely comes closer and inspects the toddler.
It really is a baby…
He tries patting her on the back, humming a tune so special to him and surprisingly succeeds when the baby flops back down on her tummy, her cries now reduced to whimpers only.
When the baby has turned quiet, only the sound of air-conditioning resonating in the background, Ohm pulls back his hand and quietly tiptoes to the door.
He must get to his grandpa as fast as possible and ask him who the baby is.
Just as he is one step away from leaving the door, a cry is heard again from the bed.
Ohm sighs and makes his way to the bed again, repeating the same cycle again except this time, the little girl is on her back, her tiny fingers wrapped tightly around his finger.
It seems like this little girl does not want him to go away.
Left with no choice but to carry her downstairs to grandpa, he carefully pulls her up and places her head onto his shoulder, his arms holding onto her little body securely.
He has never held a kid before, let alone a baby.
The baby circles her small arms around his neck and dozes back to sleep.
Ohm continues humming, patting her back on instinct as he makes his way down the corridor. He wants to call for his grandfather, who he is sure is in the living room monitoring their stock prices through the big screen of the television, but is restricted since he has her in his arms.
He cautiously goes down the stairs, one by one, as if one slip of his movement might injure the baby.
Suddenly, his feet are glued to the ground and every single cell in his body feels like shutting down. It takes every single strength in his body to hold her up.
His whole body trembles as he comes face to face with someone he never thought he would meet again.
“Natouch, you should’ve met the Young Master! I swear I’ve never seen someone so good looking, that man looks like he stepped straight out of the Vogue magazine!” the head maid, Ploy gushes eagerly.
Fluke chuckles at her enthusiasm and playfully nudges her shoulder, “Oh-ho, I see you’ve got your eyes on the Young Master already?”
“No, no, no! In my defense, I was just admiring God’s creation okay,” Ploy clicks her tongue.
Although their age gap is huge; with a ten years difference in age, Ploy is such a young soul that she doesn’t look or act like someone who is supposedly 35 years-old.
“Besides, the Young Master is still young, he’s just twenty-eight. Secretary Kao told me,” she adds chirpily, her hands busy wiping the plates Fluke is handling her.
Fluke closes the water tap and reaches out for a cloth, drying his hands before moving towards the fridge to check if there are any remnants of his chocolate cake.
“Young Master ate a lot of your cake too, Nong~ I told you they are to-die-for.”
Surprised, he opens the fridge to see that there are only a few pieces left. He thought Ploy was bluffing but it seems like she isn’t.
“Are you sure the Young Master ate it all? Did you check if grandpa had any?”
“I was watching the whole time and I can assure you that the chairman did not even have a lick of your cake. That old man is diabetic, he’s searching for trouble if he eats sweet things.”
“Then did he reall—”
“Natouch!” Samantha, the youngest gardener interferes, breathless; perhaps from running.
“Yes, Sammy?”
“I was in the garden and I think I heard Claire crying.”
Since he always leaves the veranda a bit open for fresh air even when the air conditioning is on, it might be possible that Clarissa’s shrill cries are heard from the garden. Besides, his room is facing the garden.
“Really? But the baby monitor is quiet though?” Fluke questions with a wrinkled nose.
“Oh, maybe it was just me, you can go check her up if you wan—”
Something clicks in his mind and he remembers not turning the baby monitor on since he had to change the battery earlier. “Oh my god! I forgot to turn it on!”
He quickly rushes out of the kitchen, slamming the fridge shut in panic.
How long has Clarissa been crying? Oh god, he feels terrible.
Fluke hurried steps come to a halt when he spots his daughter in someone ’s hold.
Someone who he wished to never meet again in this lifetime.
Someone who he had hurt badly.
Someone who doesn’t deserve any of the pain he had given.
Someone who deserves his utmost apology.
Ohm, his ex-fiance is standing there in the middle of the spiral stairs, carrying his little Clarissa.
“...O-Ohm?” he croaks out with difficulty.
“Fluke?”
“H-How—”
“Oh, I see you have met each other! That’s great! Natouch, this is my grandson, Ohm Thitiwat,” Grandpa Kit comes out of nowhere and introduces them to each other.
“Ohm, this is the one who baked the chocolate cake, Natouch, the housekeeper and my personal caretaker… he can get very mean when he wants to force me to eat my meds,” Grandpa Kit lightly jokes, not realising the tense atmosphere among them.
“Natouch?”
“Pa..pa?” Clarissa awakes and softly calls.
When she becomes aware that the one holding her is not her papa, her bottom lips trembles and she looks around with glassy eyes, locking eyes with her papa who is standing at the bottom of the stairs.
Straightaway, she bursts out crying and calls out for her papa again.
Fluke storms forward and Clarissa exchanges hands. The little girl immediately wraps her arms around her papa, burying her face into his neck.
“Papa is here, baby,” he comforts, rubbing her back to calm her down.
However, Fluke is anything but calm. His heart is beating like crazy and his stomach is doing somersaults at how close he is standing to Ohm.
Especially more since he can feel Ohm’s menacing gaze boring holes into him.
With how close the distance between them is, he can smell the cologne and the distinctive smell of Ohm’s lemon aftershave.
Nothing has changed. Ohm smells the exact same like he did two years ago.
Fluke closes his eyes and looks down, preventing his teary eyes from getting seen by the taller.
He turns around and faces Grandpa Kit instead. “Grandpa, Young Master, I will excuse myself first, I think Claire is a little bit sleepy.”
As he passes by Ohm, he feels the latter grab his arms, firmly holding him but not hurting him, “I believe we need to talk, Fluke Pongsatorn.”
“Later. Let’s talk later,” Fluke whispers with bated breath and leaves before his ex-fiance can respond.
Ohm breathes in heavily, trying to contain his emotions by fists into a ball. He squeezes so hard that the veins on his forearms start popping up.
“What was that?” his grandpa questions obliviously. “You guys know each other?”
“Oh, we do know each other… we knew each other so well, grandpa…” Ohm murmurs defeatedly.
What sick twisted game is fate playing?
In his room, once he puts Clarissa back to sleep and ensures that she is deeply asleep, Fluke slides down next to the huge vase of fresh baby’s breath. He pulls his knees together and buries his face in it, curling to make himself as small as possible.
He cannot believe that out of so many people in this country, he has to get involved with his ex-fiancee’s grandfather.
He laughs in disbelief.
Everything is his fault.
How can he face someone he had hurt so much?
Is there even room for forgiveness in Ohm’s heart?
Unconsciously, beads of tears slowly make its way down his cheeks.
Now, what should he do?
Should he leave?
All sorts of thoughts are running through his head and he pulls his hair frustratedly, trying to make them stop.
Fluke doesn’t remember how long he stayed in that position, the soft knocks on the door are the ones snapping him out of his thoughts.
He hastily wipes the traces of tears away— or at least, tries to wipe the traces away. His red face and eyes are a dead giveaway but Fluke still tries to make himself look as presentable as possible.
Though it is obvious who is behind the door, Fluke wants to give himself the benefit of doubt, who knows it might really be Grandpa Kit that is calling for him.
He smooths down his shirt and fixes his hair that has gone haywire from his constant pulling.
With a deep breath, he opens the door.
His breath hitches once he comes face to face with the grandson instead.
What was he expecting?
Of course, it is Ohm; his lover who he left without proper explanation two years ago.
“Let’s talk.”
Fluke silently follows behind his past lover to the third floor where the gym and open roof swimming pool are.
“Sit.”
Fluke sits down at the end of the swimming pool’s lounge chair without any words; afraid that if he opens his mouth, he will make the taller angrier.
Though, Ohm looks surprisingly calm as he studies the smaller male who keeps on fidgeting in his seat.
Ohm then takes a sit on the chair opposite of the smaller.
“Do you want to talk about it yourself or should I ask?”
Ohm purses his lips when the younger only nods. “What is it? Will you tell me yourself or should I ask?” he repeats.
“Forget it, I’ll ask instead,” Ohm says sharply.
“Who is she? Clarissa ?” he starts.
Fluke looks down and plays with his fingers, “M-My daughter…”
“Don’t lie to me, Fluke Natouch . Funny how you changed your name but you’re still the same you .”
Annoyed, Fluke looks up and scowls defensively, “I am not lying, she is my daughter.”
Ohm smirks when Fluke panickingly looks down again after they accidentally locked eyes. Can Fluke get any obvious?
“You can’t have a daughter alone, Fluke. Where is her mom ?”
“I told you that she is mine! Mine and only mine!”
“Oh, really? When did you give birth to her? I bet you looked sexy pregnant, care to share some pictures? Clarissa is at least two, so if you’re pregnant then she must be mine, right?” Ohm provokes, leaning forward to tilt the smaller male’s chin up.
Fluke’s eyes wander around, avoiding looking at Ohm at all cost and his hands start to sweat profusely. He weakly pushes Ohm’s hand away from his chin. “S-Stop the n-nonsense… I’m a man…”
“You told me she’s yours, was I wrong?” Ohm leans back and crosses his arms.
When Fluke keeps his mouth shut, Ohm suppresses his sigh and clasps his hands together. “Alright, let’s move on instead. Why did you leave me?”
When he hears the question, Fluke wants to do nothing else but melt into the ground. He feels worse when Ohm asks him so nonchalantly, his tone very light and casual.
What is this? Why is he not angry? Fluke wonders.
A voice deep in his heart tells him that Ohm might have already moved on. It has been two whole years, what was he expecting? Fluke swallows his saliva with difficulty, his throat feels like sandpaper.
“Why did you leave two years ago?” Ohm asks again when he gets no answer as Fluke seems to be lost in his own thoughts.
Fluke cowers and keeps his head down.
Ohm runs his fingers through his hair frustratedly. He exhales loudly and stands up.
“Stand up,” he orders. “I said stand up, Fluke.”
Fluke gradually stands up and he gulps nervously as he eyes the infinity pool just a few feet beside him.
Fluke presses his eyes shut when he feels Ohm stepping closer to him.
Is he going to kick me into the pool? I cannot swim!
All of sudden, instead of finding himself deep inside the pool, he is gathered into a warm embrace instead, his face buried into the familiar chest.
“W-What—?” he lets out a pathetic squeak.
“ I missed you so much. ”