Single dad Arthit has always known Kongpob, a regular at his cafe, as a player. The latter brings in different partners every month and Arthit swears he'll stay away from him for good. However, life seems to have a different plan for him when Puimek...
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Warning: Conversation heavy and my first attempt at KA smut. To those who are uncomfortable reading smut, I've labelled the beginning and end of the smut part with a 🍋 (lemon) so feel free to skip if you're not into it 😘
"Is she asleep?" asks Kongpob quietly when he sees Arthit tiptoeing out of the guestroom, closing the door softly behind him. The older man tips his head and strolls towards where the other is, before planting himself on the couch in the living area.
It's been a long day and he's exhausted, but happy.
Happy because Puimek's safe and sound and finally back into his arms where she's always within reach. Arthit doesn't think he'll be able to do another rerun of the same episode in his life ever again. Once is more than enough.
"She's knocked out," he smiles at Kongpob, stretching his arms high up in the air. "Must be from all the tension. She's cried so much too."
"At least she's safe now," says the younger man, removing himself from the couch. He disappears into the kitchen to come out with two cups of warm milk in his hand. He plops back onto the couch, this time, right next to Arthit and hands him one of the white porcelains. "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."
The older man accepts it carefully and downs it all in one go, aware of how Kongpob's watching him intently from the side. His cheeks flush a hint of crimson as he places the empty glass on the coffee table. "Uhh... did Puimek tell you anything after you found her?"
The younger man doesn't take his eyes off Arthit and leans back into the cushion behind him. "Yeah. She mentioned about her stepbrother stepping on her turtles."
"Wait—" mutters Arthit, shoving his hands deep into his pocket to pull out a sheet of crumpled tissue, compacted into something that resembles a snowball. He pries it open to reveal broken pieces of the little girl's favourite hairband. "I found this in her dress pocket earlier."
Kongpob sighs audibly.
"Did she run away because of this?" Arthit picks up a shard. "That's very unlikely of her."
"No." Kongpob shakes his head and the older man turns his attention back to him with a raised eyebrow. "Puimek told me that she was angry after her brother broke her turtle but eventually she forgave him after he said sorry. I think it was because of what happened at the amusement park."
"What happened?"
"Her mother and stepfather kept their attention on her brother all the time. She wanted cotton candy but she ended up with ice-cream instead.. because her stepbrother wanted it. I guess a lot of things must've happened for her to be triggered to take such drastic action."
