Sincerely, Yours

40. A Blast from the Past

Luan barely got any sleep that night due to the time change and the stressful events the night prior. He'd checked his phone and seeing no messages from his mother or sisters, decided to spend this day readjusting to being back home and possibly starting on some school assignments.

He'd gotten ready for the day and headed out to take a walk through his small town. He saw so many people he recognized and they all stopped him to ask him how he'd been the past few years. Though he felt overwhelmed by all their questions and hugs, he also felt welcomed back. After the poor reception with his father, he felt like he needed this kind of interest into his life and welfare. 

Luan made his way to a cafe he used to frequent in high school and was again greeted by those working there. Hardly anything had changed since he left and it was oddly reassuring. He couldn't wait to bring Thoma all around town.

Once Luan was seated near the window, he ordered some tea and food before opening his laptop to see if there were any assignments he could work on while he was away. There were a few papers that he could start on early and he decided to begin on researching. 

A few hours passed and it began to get loud, much too loud for Luan to study. So he decided to pack up his stuff and take a long walk back to the hotel. It was the middle of the night back home but Luan wanted to text Thoma so he'd see it as soon as he woke up. 

He was startled to see a call coming through immediately after from Thoma.

"Hey! Why are you awake?" Luan find a secluded spot to sit and talk. 

"I missed your voice.." Thoma said, his voice deep from sleep. "How are things?" 

Luan felt very happy that Thoma was sacrificing his sleep to talk to him, but he felt equally bad, knowing that he still had work today. 

"We were gonna talk later on today. You're gonna be so tired at work today, Thoma." Luan whined and he heard rustling come from the other side.

"Cut that out right now. I'm not so old that sacrificing a little sleep to talk with my lover will kill me. Now stop fussing and tell me about your time in Japan so far." Thoma said.

God I love him.

"Well..." Luan started but he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Thoma about the situation with his father. He guessed that Thoma would blame himself somehow and he didn't want to stress him out further. But maybe it was better to get it all out now rather than surprise Thoma when he got here. 

"My sisters picked me up from the airport and it was really nice to catch up with them. We met my mom at the hospital and she seemed really happy to see me." Luan started and Thoma replied, "That's great to hear, Lu. What about your dad?"

"Uhh, well.." Luan replied and Thoma sighed, "What happened?"

"He, uh... still hasn't gotten over the fact that I'm gay. Because of it.. well he said I couldn't stay in his house. So I'm staying in a hotel for now." Luan explained.

Thoma didn't reply for a while and Luan began to believe that he'd fallen back asleep. Until he heard him breathe in and say, "Well, that makes it easier for me to stay with you." 

Luan laughed. Thoma had such a simple way of making him feel better. 

He wanted to continue talking to Thoma about the good conversation he'd had with his little sister and how welcome he felt when old neighbors greeted him, but he wanted Thoma to get back to sleep. His health was far more important than any news Luan was going to share with him.

"Hey, my handsome lover?" Luan asked and Thoma chuckled, "yes, my dear?" 

"Go to bed, okay? I love you and I'll talk to you tomorrow morning okay?" Luan said and Thoma sighed. "Fine. I love you. Have a good rest of your day, night.. not sure what time it is there." Thoma said and Luan said goodbye and hung up. 

It was only a few words, most of them seemingly unimportant, but he felt substantially better than he had last night and it was all thanks to Thoma. He felt very fortunate to have such a supportive boyfriend.

Luan's stomach grumbled and he walked into a convenience store to buy some simple food, a rather sad dinner really compared to his mother's homemade cooking. But all the same he walked home and ate his sad dinner. After finishing it a text came through from his mother showing him the shifts she'd need help with starting tomorrow. 

He felt restless after having been on the move most of the day but he knew because of the long shifts he'd be covering this coming week that he needed to sleep early. 

With one last text to his mother confirming his shift tomorrow and a goodnight text to Thoma, Luan fell into the unfamiliar bed and willed sleep to overtake him.