Secrets Kept

The Story

3 year prior

Arthit left campus after his interview with a little bounce in his walk. The interview was easier than he thought it would be. Looking at the time on his phone, he realized that he still had a few hours before he needed to head home. After a moment, he decided to go to Siam mall; he needed a haircut. His favorite salon was in the mall, plus he could grab lunch after.

~~~~~~~~

Swinging his leg over the motorbike, he paid for the ride and then headed into the mall. He took a little time to wonder the mall, looking in the windows of all the stores. Nothing really caught his interest, so he headed to the salon. He sat down in the chair at the front as there were a few people waiting in front of him.

Arthit spend the time playing a game on his phone. About 30 minutes later, it was his turn.

He always got the same hair style so he really didn't need to tell the stylist what he wanted; he was the stylist that did his hair everytime. Arthit tuned the stylist out as he talked on about mostly nothing. He was excited that he didn't have to worry about getting into university any more.

It didn't take long for the stylist to finish his work. Arthit thanked him and went to pay for the service. Pulling out his phone, he left the salon. He noticed a message from his mom, so he opened it while walking in the direction of the restaurants. He had just gotten the message open when something bumped into his left arm. The impact had him dropping his phone but he was unable to grab it before it hit the floor. He heard a clatter as something else fell also.

Leaning down to pick up his phone, he glanced up at the person he had run into. Wow. He was stunned for a moment at how handsome the man was, but then he realized what he was doing and shook himself out of his stupor.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you alright?" Arthit asked, approaching the man as he leaned down to grab his own phone. His gaze seemed to stay on Arthit's face after he had ahold of his dropped phone.

Standing up, the man glanced down at his phone as it buzzed. His expression tightened for a moment causing Arthit to glance down as well. At the sight of the broken screen, Arthit felt guilty.

"I will pay to get that replaced. It was my fault for not paying attention to where I was going." He stopped when he saw the other man shake his head.

"That's alright. I wasn't paying attention, either. Is your phone alright?" He asked, motioning to it. Looking down, Arthit turned it over so the screen was facing up. He breathed a sigh of relief when the screen was revealed to be completely in tact. He then remembered that he had caught it, so it had never hit the ground.

"It's fine. But I have to insist on paying for the repair for your phone. Or do something to make up for it." Arthit kept insisting.

"You want to do something for me? I don't blame you for the damage to my phone but if you want to do something for me, I have an idea." The man proceeded to remove a small note pad and a pen out of his pocket, holding them out to Arthit. "Can I get your number?"

This request made Arthit look back up to the man is surprise. That almost sounded like he was flirting with him. He looked at him for a moment before slowing reaching out to take the offered items. Quickly writing his number down, he glanced up.

"My name is Arthit Rajnapat. What's your name?" He said as he handed the stranger his notebook and pen back.

"I'm Kongpob Suthiluck. Nice to meet you."

Arthit nodded, then looked in the direction that he had been headed. Just before he began in that direction again, he paused.

"I was just about to go eat lunch. Would you like to join me?" He asked, not really thinking Kongpob would agree to the invite. He still felt guilty about the broken phone, so he wanted to do something else for the man.

"Sure. I was thinking of getting food soon anyway." Arthit nodded and turned again to head to his favorite noodle shop, listening to the foot steps following his path. Eventually, Kongpob was walking next to him instead of behind him, so he got the chance to glance at the attractive man. He had never thought of another man as attractive or handsome, but this man was just... Something different. He almost exuded something that Arthit couldn't put his finger on.

They arrived at the shop and immediately found an empty table to sit at. After writing down his order, Arthit passed the paper over so Kongpob could write in his order. The waiter picked up the note paper and walked away after placing their glasses of ice on their table. Arthit went ahead and poured the water from the bottle on the table into both glasses. Kongpob nodded his thanks, placing his glass to the side a little.

"So.. how old are you, Kongpob? Are you in high school or uni?" Arthit asked, wanting to know if he was older or younger, so he knew how to address him.

"I am in high school. I am 16. How about you?" Kongpob leaned forward, clearly waiting for the answer.

"I am 17 almost 18. I just sat in my uni interview today. So I am your elder." Kongpob nodded.

"It would appear so, P'Arthit. So, what are you going to uni for?" The younger man inquired just as their food arrived.

They sat there talking about everything and eating for over an hour. Arthit realized that this young man was interesting and funny, so he was glad they had met. They could be really good friends.

When they were done with their meal, they parted ways as Arthit had to get home. On the ride to his parent's house, he hoped Kongpob would message him as he had forgotten to ask for his number.

But he shouldn't have worried. Not long after returning home, his phone beeped, letting him know a message had come in. After checking the message, he smiled.

'Hello, P. I hope you got home safely. This is my number if you want to message me.'

Arthit quickly starts typing a reply, smiling as he does.

~~~~~~~~

Present day

"So that is how we met. We talked all the time from then on. Now, here is where you will be wanting to know how Fiat exists, correct?" Arthit asked, looking to his mom and dad. They had been silent the whole time, which he was very grateful for. He had seen the look on his father's face as soon as Kongpob had entered the room. It wasn't a good expression, but it was no longer present, so he hoped that meant something good. Arthit glanced over at Kongpob, who sat next to him on the sofa across from his parents.

"Yes. You said that you had him but that's not possible." His mom said, clearly confused.

"That's what we thought too, so we weren't as careful as we should have been. But we had been dating a few months when I noticed some changes happening to my body. At first I kind of passed it off as a result of the hazing, but about a week later I realized I needed to see a doctor. The doctors were just as confused at my symptoms as I was, but they kept doing tests. Eventually, they decided to do an ultrasound. This helped them see what was going on. As it turns out, during my development in the womb, there was an anomaly in my DNA. I developed normally as a male on the outside, but on the inside I developed a uterus. They informed me that day about Fiat and of course, I thought they were joking. But they showed me the ultrasound picture and explained what they had found on the ultrasound." Arthit paused here to glance at Kongpob.

"It took about a week for me to come to terms with the news of a baby, but eventually I thought Kong should know. When I told him, he had the same reaction I did; he laughed. But when I showed him the ultrasound picture, he calmed down to ask me questions." Arthit finished with a smile.