Clouded//TeePhu

Care

Song of the Chapter: "Hello, Anxiety" by Phum Viphurit

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Phu found himself spending more time now at Tee's apartment than he spent at his own. He didn't mind it, he enjoyed staying over with his senior, but he wanted to move in.

He was trying to find the right time to ask.

He tapped his pen against the desk and let out a soft sigh.

It had been almost a full year since he graduated college and almost four years since his senior had graduated. That meant that before this year, Tee had to endure three years of working somewhere that he didn't want in a department he not only didn't major in but didn't talk to anyone.

Luckily for Phu, he had found that Tee's company wasn't far from his own and worked closely together on a lot of projects.

This meant that Phu had several reasons to go over and check on Tee.

He remember the first time walking into his senior's office room.

The other people looked surprised but Tee looked almost relieved to see him. He remembered all the names of the people he'd introduced himself to and made sure that they knew he would try his best to stay out of their way.

Before Tee had kicked him out, he had gone to deliver lunch every day to his senior.

One time, he had been walking when he was greeted with one of Tee's coworkers.

"Oh, Nong Phu, right?" she had asked.

Phu nodded. "Sawadee, P'Earth."

She smiled back at him. "Are you here to see Tee?"

"Yes."

"Is that his lunch? Can I see it?"

"No, Phi," Phu replied, moving the container into his other hand, "It will get cold."

Earth sighed, "Aww, fine. If only I had a boyfriend like you."

Phu blushed only briefly from embarrassment and left, although he continued thinking while he went to deliver the food.

That train of thought now continued to flood Phu's mind as he stared at the blank screen in front of him.

Was she joking about the boyfriend thing? Did...did P'Tee say something?

The team leader of Phu's unit walked over to the male and tapped him on the head.

"Owh, P'Panit," Phu whined, reaching up and rubbing his head.

Panit smiled and replied, "Aren't you going to drop off food for your boyfriend or are you two still fighting?"

Phu shook his head.

"We're not fighting anymore, but he's getting lunch with his coworkers."

Panit nodded. "Are you worried? Or are you sick with something? You're staring at a blank screen too much for it to be normal."

Phu pouted and turned off the computer, pushing back in his chair and looking up at the team leader.

Panit was the first person that had talked to Phu and really made him feel welcome and at home here. He wished that Panit had been Tee's team leader, too, or at least someone with Panit's personality.

The level of professionalism that radiated off of P'Bet, Tee's team leader, was suffocating.

"I just...I worry about him," Phu replied.