D&B5

21

Day sat on the sofa, with Brick following him to sit next to him. Brick leaned against the strong frame of his lover because he felt tired from their previous intimate moments. Day wrapped his arms around Brick's waist, while Salmon quietly watched cartoons on his phone. Day didn’t object since he knew Salmon had just started watching. The sound of rain outside continued to pour. Brick gazed out the window just as lightning flashed, accompanied by a rumble of thunder, causing him to flinch slightly. Day hugged him tighter.

"Salmon, come sit with your uncle," Brick called to his nephew, noticing that Salmon had jumped at the thunder. Salmon quickly moved to sit next to Brick, leaning against his uncle once more. Now they had all formed a cozy chain leaning against each other, and Day didn’t mind at all.

"Hey Day, do you think those two will really get into a scrubbing dirt session?" Brick asked his lover quietly, using the same term Nick had said earlier about "scrubbing dirt."

"Why do you want to know?" Day asked back in a normal tone. Brick chuckled softly.

"I just feel a bit annoyed by Nick. I wonder when the electricity will come back." Brick brought up the topic of the power outage again.

"It'll be back soon; someone has probably called the electric company by now," Day responded. It was a normal conversation. The two continued chatting while Salmon sat quietly watching cartoons. After a while, Neil and Nick came down from upstairs.

"Hey, you look a lot more radiant; I guess you must have cleaned up well," Brick teased his friend.

"Cleaned my intestines too," Nick shot back playfully. Day and Neil could only shake their heads helplessly at the two friends who refused to back down from their banter.

"Okay Day, I’ll probably need to head back to Bangkok tomorrow. I have some business to take care of," Neil announced.

"Can I stay longer?" Nick piped up. Neil immediately frowned at him.

"We agreed to go back together, Shorty," Neil replied in a slightly stern voice. Nick scrunched his nose at his lover, feeling a bit annoyed.

"Fine, I’ll go back then," Nick agreed begrudgingly. They chatted for a while longer until Salmon yawned. Brick allowed him to nap on the sofa for a bit, planning to carry him back upstairs when he fell asleep. After Salmon drifted off, the adults continued their conversations until the electricity returned, at which point they all split up to their rooms. Day also carried Salmon upstairs to sleep.

.......

Day and Brick spent another three days in Kanchanaburi before returning to Bangkok. They went back to their regular work routine, always with Salmon by their side, as the little boy loved learning about cars from his uncle.

Then came the day the doctor scheduled for them to bring Phim to have her embryo implanted. Everyone was quite excited, especially Brick. Day drove Brick, Phim, Frank, and Salmon to the hospital while the others waited at Grandma's house. When they arrived at the hospital, Day contacted the doctor and had a brief discussion before allowing Phim to go inside.

"Hey, if you feel any pain or anything, make sure to tell the doctor, okay?" Brick said to Phim as they walked her to the embryo implantation room. Phim let out a soft laugh.

"The one who should be excited is me more than you," Phim replied with a smile at Brick's anxious demeanour.

"Well, I’m just worried," Brick confessed.

"You don’t need to worry; everything will go well," Frank said to reassure Brick.

"I don’t know how to thank you both for doing this for us," Brick said gratefully, and Frank smiled in response.