Autumn is a second spring

14. Dinner.

Earth blow-dried his hair before putting on the pair of fluffy pjs. He loved these pjs. They were so soft and comfortable to put on and above all, it was easy to take off.

He had all plans of seducing his husband for the night. He wanted to get laid. It had been too long time since he had been touched and he was longing for some.

He didn't bother to put on a boxer beneath the extremely short pj shorts. It would be one less step when he gets stripped tonight. 

Earth took a good look at his long legs which were almost fully exposed. He congratulated himself for having gotten a Brazilian wax the day before, just because he went to a salon to get a new haircut.

He spun on his toes in front of the mirror to have a look at his supple butt and proudly squeezed them. "Be ready babies, you guys are going to be smashed tonight." He said with a giggle.

When he got out of the washroom, he noticed the file that contained the divorce agreement lying on the nightstand. He facepalmmed.

"I hope P' Kao didn't see what was inside the file." He was internally panicking. "Earth how could you leave this here? Didn't you already promise yourself that you would discuss things with P' Kao and reconsider everything? You are such a fool."

He scolded himself and hid the file inside the inner drawers of the closet. 

He skipped his way out of the bedroom and found his man busy in the kitchen preparing dinner for him.

"Smells so good! What did you make?" Earth sniffed the air as he hugged his husband from behind.

"Just some Fuk Tong Pad Khai." Kao answered plating the dish.

"Wow! It's been a while since I had that!" Earth exclaimed excitedly.

Kao hummed in response and concentrated on scooping rice for Earth from the rice cooker.

Earth pouted at the lack of response. He didn't know why it was so difficult to get his husband into conversations nowadays. He knew he had to do something. 

"P' Kao, do you remember? Fuk Tong Pad Khai was the first dish you ever made for me back when we were dating." He said nostalgically.

Kao stilled for a moment. He did have that memory. He had gotten the recipe from Fluke and had made it for Earth.

"I was really surprised that day. I never expected you to even know how to cook." Earth kissed Kao's shoulder.

Kao didn't respond to that. Instead, he said, "Go sit down. I will bring the dishes over."

Earth sensed that there was something wrong with Kao's mood. He didn't want to irritate him further and did as he was told.

Kao placed the plate of rice and Fuk Tong Pad Khai in front of Earth and sat opposite him silently. He poured a glass of water and moved it across the table to his husband.

Earth silently dug in. The familiar taste hit his taste buds and a huge smile bloomed on his lips. He realised that he missed this. The feeling of having his husband cook for him. It felt special and enveloped him in a weird sense of warmth. The kind of warmth he felt reluctant to let go of.

He looked adoringly at his husband. The man in front of him was a complete husband material. He felt like a fool to even have considered divorcing him.

His eyes narrowed as he noticed the obvious discomfort on his husband's face and the first thought that came to his mind was that something must have happened at the family dinner that ruined Kao's mood.

"P' Kao, how was the dinner with everyone?" He probed.

"It was good." Kao blinked. He was contemplating if he should ask Earth about the divorce papers. "Same as usual."

He wanted to tell Earth that his grandmother had approved of their marriage. But after seeing those papers, he started wondering if Earth would be as happy as him to hear the news.

From the answer, Earth confirmed that something was going on. So he decided to probe further. "How is everyone? Kun Yay, Mom, Dad?"

"Everyone is doing great. In fact ~" Kao looked at Earth and hesitated.

"In fact?" Earth asked with raised brows.

Kao gulped "Khun Yay asked to bring you along for the next family dinner."

Earth was so shocked to hear what Kao said that he dropped his spoon and fork. "Really?" His eyes widened in excitement. "Does that mean Khun Yay..."

He didn't need to complete the sentence for Kao to understand. The latter nodded.

Earth jumped up in happiness. He ran around the table and hugged his husband. He kissed his husband's cheek.

Kao just stared at Earth. His heart was aching like hell. He wondered if Earth was actually as excited about the news as he seemed.

Noticing the way Kao was looking at him, Earth suddenly realised something. "Oh? Sorry, Phi! I forgot that I was eating." He had kissed his husband's cheeks with lips that were shimmered in oil. He hastily wiped them off.

Kao took the opportunity to kiss Earth on his lips. He forgot the reservations. He hoped that Earth would change his mind after hearing the news and give their relationship a shot.

Earth smiled and responded to his husband enthusiastically. The slow kiss was full of passion and love that they had for each other. He felt happy that he was yet to mention divorce to Kao. He would have regretted it so much if Kao told him this news afterwards.

The news alone had eased his heart, giving him the courage to hold onto the two people he loved the most in the world.

All along, he had been feeling guilty for putting Kao in a difficult situation between him and his family. Now that his grandmother had given her approval, that meant that Kao no longer had to choose between the two.

Earth still noticed the serious expression on Kao's face as their lips parted. It was as if the old was being evasive. As if he was trying to hide something. "Why don't you look happy about the news, phi? Don't tell me that you are seeing someone else behind my back, that you are unhappy that I got accepted." He joked.

Kao glared at his husband as soon as those words left his lips. The let go of the hands that were wrapped around Earth's waist. "You seriously think that I have someone else? Really Earth?"

"I was only joking, phi" Earth tried to laugh it off. He knew that he had messed up. He had brought up such a joke at the wrong time. He had completely ruined the joyous mood.

"Joking?" Kao chuckled in a self-mocking manner. "Why? Because I couldn't come home every day like I used to? Because you felt neglected?"

His voice turned hoarse and his emotions seemed to crack the strong facade he showed outside. "Do you think I didn't want to come back home every day? Do you think I enjoy sleeping on the sofa in my office?"

He had been swamped with work all year long. Even on days he managed to come back, Earth might have already gone to sleep or the latter himself might be doing overtime or on a business trip. 

"I didn't mean it like that, Phi. I was really joking." Earth was surprised to see Kao's eyes turning red.

"Really Earth? Is that divorce agreement you made also part of your so-called joke?" Kao asked.