The Prince and The Thief

Sixteen

Kongpop opened his eyes and tried to move, but found himself stuck between Arthit's arms. The more he struggled, Arthit snuggled closer to him, making Kongpop laugh. "P'Arthit, I know you're awake," he said to which Arthit raised his head and smiled before relieving Kongpop from his hug. "You don't want to go now?" Arthit asked, seeing Kongpop gaze at him fondly. "I'm going to miss this," he said after a while and suddenly Arthit felt a tug in his heart. He hadn't given a name to the emotion he felt for Kongpop, knowing very well that the end may not be something they would want. "I'm going to miss you," Arthit said before letting out a deep sigh and felt his eyes turning moist. Kongpop, on hearing what Arthit said, turned his face away to hide the welled up tears in his eyes. To think of it, he hadn't analysed his feeling for Arthit so far, knowing very well that he never stood a chance. Compared to the prince, he was nothing.

"Kong, look at me," Arthit requested, his left palm touching Kongpop's chin. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the prince, with a smile that didn't seem to reach his eyes. As he saw Arthit lean forward, Kongpop closed his eyes, before feeling the former's lips on his forehead. He frowned feeling the lips move away, but felt his heart being stuck in his throat when those lips landed on his closed eyelids, gradually moving to his cheeks, chin and then the corner of his mouth. Feeling Arthit move away, Kongpop opened his eyes to see him look at him intensely. Both felt like their hearts could burst and soon the tears they had held in earlier trickled down their closed eyes the moment their lips met. The kiss advanced from lips to tongues with time and finally feeling out of breath, both let go, while looking at each other with mixed emotions. Kongpop raised his hands and gently wiped the tears smeared on Arthit's cheeks. The next moment, Arthit moved forward, closing his eyes, to touch Kongpop's forehead with his. "P'Arthit, please don't make me want you more. I won't be able to survive without you then," Kongpop said in almost a whisper, his face reflecting the pain in his heart. "Please let me be selfish Kong. I will die alone in the palace if not for these memories," Arthit replied as he buried his face in the crook of Kongpop's neck, letting his body collapse over the latter's. After a while, Arthit moved away and settled himself next to Kongpop, both lying on the bed for a while in silence, their eyes fixated on the ceiling and fingers intertwined until their stomachs growled. "I guess I'm hungry," Kongpop said laughing. "Me too. Do you want to shower first?" Arthit asked. Kongpop nodded his head in reply and got off the bed to walk to the bathroom, while Arthit sat up on the bed, leaning his head against the wall, doing nothing in particular to calm down his racing heart.

Sitting by a table in his cafe, Dae looked at the wallet Bright just gave him, checking every bit of it to convince himself that it was Prem's. "We found it few meters away from here. Do you have any idea where he went that night?" Bright asked to which Dae shook his head, indicating a "no." After thinking for a while, Dae's eyes widened in realisation. "Wait! I'm not sure, but there's this regular customer of mine who lives in the house at the end of the alley. Prem had said that the man looked familiar. He is the curious type. May be he was following the man that day?" Dae said to which Bright and Oak looked at each other. "Then let's go there and look," Bright said. "That man isn't really friendly. He lives alone and barely talks to anyone. How can we just go in there and check?" Dae asked. "May be we can send someone there in disguise like in movies," Oak suggested. "I'm proud of you my son," Bright said with a smile, patting Oak's shoulder as the latter beamed with pride. "But P', who among us will go?" Oak asked to which Bright raised his eyebrows still smiling. "What? No!" Oak said, understanding what his P' meant. "Can I get some soot and a pair of scissors?" Bright asked to which Dae pointed towards the kitchen, saying "there's a fireplace backdoor and the scissors is in the knife rack." "P' nooo!" Oak screamed as Bright dragged him to the back door. "Come on nong, let's do your makeup," Bright said looking at Oak, who stood as if he lost his soul. Soon Oak, who always cared a lot for his looks, looked like a homeless person, with his face and body covered in soot and mud, dishevelled hair and tattered clothes.

"All the best," Dae said, trying his best to suppress his laughter seeing Oak glare at him and Bright angrily. "Do a good job nong. P' really loves you. I'll take you shopping if everything goes well," Bright said, smiling and waving. Oak gritted his teeth before moving to the door and the next second turned to look at Bright angrily. "You know what P'? You are really biased. Kong is your favourite. I hate you," he said on the verge of tears. Bright's smile vanished at what he heard. He walked towards his nong who now looked afraid. "What did you say?" Bright asked in an angry tone. "Nothing, I...I said I'm going," Oak said, before opening the door to get out. "You better leave or I'll smack you for what you just said, idiot!" Bright warned before Oak rushed off without saying a word.

"How are you two related?" Dae asked as Bright came in. "We are brothers, but not by blood. It's a long sad story. I'm sure you don't want to hear it in the situation we are in," Bright said as he sat opposite to a nodding Dae by the table, both of them waiting for Oak to come back.