Melted: A MaxTul AU story

Seventy-Seven: Friends--The Family You Choose

Author's Note: The above picture is of Mint Chalida Vijitvongthong, the person I cast as Chalida.

Also neither Tul nor Max makes an appearance in this chapter, but we do get some different perspectives than what we've had before about their relationship and that set up future chapters and choices.

**

As Prin drove Tul's car, he glanced over at Tul who was completely silent. He was worried. He couldn't read Tul's mood which he usually could. Was it because he had never seen this mood before or, Prin thought again as he maneuvered around some men working on the road, that Tul's mood seemed to keep changing?

When he had walked away from Tul and Max with the others at the airport, he had given Ann his car keys, telling her that he thought it best if he went home with Tul. He had driven her and Wanna and Sukrit to the airport, but he didn't want to leave his friend to drive home alone. Frankly, he didn't want Tul do go back to his apartment alone, especially with Max leaving the country with the Tappitaks.

He and Tor had talked about it the night before while they were having dinner, Tor worrying for the first time in years that Tul would be tempted to drink.

"That apartment will be too quiet for him now, Prin. If it were me, I'd be happy to have my alone time back, but you know Tul. He's always wanted family. He was living his fantasy. Kuhn Pong was a better uncle to him than his own. Frankly, he was a better father to him in the brief time he lived there than his own father has been his entire life, and then the family? I never saw Tul look so happy in that apartment than I did the few times I managed to get over there for one of those dinners."

Prin nodded. "You're right. He really basked in that natural feeling of everyone being around and eating dinner and talking about everything and just bringing him in as if he'd always been part of it. He was fine in that apartment before probably because he didn't know what he was missing or how good it felt. But now? And now with Max going, too . . ." His voice drifted off in disappointment.

Tor looked at him with a slight smile. "Don't you do it, too."

"Do what?" Prin wondered

"I thought you'd be the one who would be more understanding of Max than me," Tor replied. "I'm the one that's always called impulsive and quick-tempered, but even I'm not judging Max."

"I wasn't judging Max," Prin said, with a slight defensiveness in his tone. "We're all wondering though why he didn't tell Tul earlier. Everyone on the team knew that he was leaving, but Tul didn't know about it until the funeral and that was only because he overheard Ann and Wanna. Ann told me that she assumed he knew and only realized he didn't when she saw the look on his face."

Prin sighed. "She told me that she wouldn't have talked about it in front of him if she knew that Max hadn't said anything to him yet. It just doesn't seem like Max."

"Doesn't it?" Tor asked, looking at his friend closely. "Prin, what do we really know about Max?"

Prin was surprised at the question. "What do you mean? You're not suggesting anything bad are you, Tor?"

Tor laughed. "Of course not. I'm the one on Max's side here."

"I never said that I wasn't on Max's side," Prin protested. He was always the one who looked at things fairly. He didn't understand what Tor was after. "I mean who is taking sides?"

Tor chuckled. "You are taking Ann's side. You're never going to take anyone else's side again. I've grown to accept that."

"Stop it and get to your point," Prin said annoyed. He waved for the waiter. He needed food if he was going to listen to Tor lecturing him.