Extraordinary

Call Me Something Sweeter

Arthit’s not hiding from Kongpob, no. He’s just chilling at a coffee shop downtown to kill some time.

    Someone – he’s guessing Alice, has been teaching Kongpob relationship related things that has Arthit on edge, and quite frankly, some diabetes inducing sweetness he’s not accustomed to.

    Lately, Kongpob has been calling him names – pet names.

    It started one afternoon after Kongpob had gotten home from his shift with a bag of food for Mr. Giggles, calling out a “Honey, I’m home,” as he pets their cat with a smile.

    Arthit had frozen to where he was – defrosting some chicken thighs for their dinner, his head immediately snapping to where his boyfriend was.

    He’s not used to pet names – never had the chance to get used to it. His parents had always called him by his nickname, and growing up they never had gotten rid of it – which he’s fine with, but hearing his boyfriend refer to him as ‘Honey’ sent a shrill of unwanted tingling through his body.

    Arthit’s in a relationship now, and he knows that couples usually refer to their partner with ridiculous pet names, but he’s not one of them. He thinks it’s ridiculous.

    So, true to Arthit’s nature, he ignored the pet name, welcoming Kongpob back home and asking him about his day.

--

“Good morning, babe,” is how he’s greeted on a Saturday morning with Kongpob’s face mere inches away from his.

    Arthit’s eyes widens, heart racing with the proximity of their bodies, scooting upwards on his bed enough to bang his head on the headboard. 

    Kongpob tilts his head. His boyfriend’s already showered – as usual, and he tells Arthit that breakfast is ready.

    “I’ll – I’ll be out in a moment.”

    They haven’t shared a bed still. Kongpob continues to sleep on his makeshift mattress on the floor, and before anyone starts scolding him on how he’s treating his boyfriend, Arthit thinks it’s still early for that.

    They’re just starting, but if Kongpob asks if he can share the bed with him, then . . .

    He shakes his head and gets ready. When he reaches their dining table he’s greeted by Mr. Giggles seemingly judging gaze that Arthit tries hard to ignore.

    Arthit swears that cat is out of this world as well.

    “Do you have any plans for today, baby?” Kongpob asks.

    He almost chokes on his pancakes. His boyfriend’s words as sweet as his breakfast.

    “Uh, no,” he avoids Kongpob’s eyes, focusing on chewing his food he finds hard to swallow at the moment. “Do you have anything in mind?”

    “Aim asked me to accompany him at the market today,” Kongpob answers, “Said something about buying fireworks for New Year.”

    Oh, right. New Year is just around the corner, and it’s a holiday the whole world celebrates. Arthit has almost forgotten about it, too high from accepting Kongpob’s feelings that Christmas eve.

    He blinks, finally facing Kongpob who has this look on his face like he’s anticipating something.

    It can only mean trouble if Kongpob and Aim were to be left alone. Who knows what those two would end up doing unsupervised.