Alpha's Human Mate

Unpacked

It was the weekend on Sunday, and Gulf was fully immersed in his power nap, still lazing around until the afternoon while relishing his solitary time before he had to tackle the mountainous task of sorting out his belongings. As he was busy browsing on his phone, a double knock echoed from his door.

"Come in!"

The door creaked open slightly, and a head peeked inside. It was Thanayong, who then pushed the door fully open and leaned on the frame, grinning at his son, who regarded him with a peculiar look.

"Aren't you going to come down and have lunch with us?"

"Why does your action speak louder than your question right now? And what's with the peeping before entering?"

"Well, my son, I had to peek to avoid catching you 'in action'. Imagine how embarrassing it would be for me to witness that!"

"Huh? 'In action'? What's with the air quotes? And why are you the one who's embarrassed and not me, the one who's supposedly 'in action'? What a weird pho."

"Hey, I'm not weird! I'm a considerate pho. You know, the kids say I'm 'the cool pho'!"

"O-kay. Anyway, I'll come down for lunch, but I need to shower first. Give me five to ten minutes."

Gulf shooed his pho out of his room, locked the door and then rummaged through his luggage for a simple Hawaiian shirt and shorts. He strolled leisurely to the bathroom and, eight minutes later, emerged fully dressed with his towel draped over his shoulder, looking hotter than the sun itself.

He tossed his towel aside and styled his hair into his preferred fashion before heading downstairs to the kitchen, where his parents were seated.

"Ahh, the prince has arrived!" Thanayong teased.

Gulf rolled his eyes at his pho and adopted a fake British accent. "Afternoon, my queen, my king. This prince has been lazing about, for there are no royal duties to attend to today!" He took his place at Thanayong's left side at the table.

Midway through lunch, Thanayong asked, "My prince, have you unpacked your things? I noticed they're still in boxes and bags." He glanced at Gulf, who was happily munching his food.

Gulf smirked, knowing his pho was just being playful. Leaning into his pho's childish antics, he replied, "My king, we arrived late yesterday, and I was leisurely lounging this very morning. I'll take care of it after lunch."

Ampha, the third wheel in this comedic family dynamic, couldn't help but chuckle softly and label them both as 'weird' as they pretended to be British aristocrats engaging in some sort of fine dining etiquette, fumbled British accents and all.

Thanayong glanced at his wife, 'properly' wiped his mouth, and in his broken fake British accent declared, "My queen, I'm wounded by your statement!"

Backing him up, Gulf dramatically clutched his chest with his free hand. "Our queen, that's harsh! Ouch! My poor heart!"

Ampha shook her head in disapproval. "Tsk tsk. You two are driving me nuts!"

With some unchewed food still in his mouth, Gulf hastily interjected, "No, no! We can't have a crazy queen, can we?! Pho, let's find a new candidate to replace our queen!"

With a sly smirk, Thanayong seized the moment to tease Gulf. "Before that, I think we need to change our prince first, don't you agree, my queen Ampha?" At that, Gulf stopped laughing, his mouth half full of food; his expression betrayed shock as he looked at his pho before rolling his eyes and giving a dramatic 'tsk'.

"Geez, and here I thought we were a team," Gulf said, chewing his food while pouting.

"We are, but your mother is more important than you."

"She is, isn't she?" Gulf murmured, joining in their fit of laughter.

"Okay, okay. Enough of that! Let's finish our lunch and continue unpacking before Gulf heads off to his new university tomorrow."

"Oh, yes! How do you find the university? Did you check it out?" Thanayong asked.

"Nope! Not going to look it up, because that would only raise my hopes. I've heard the rumours about that prestigious place. Whatever comes my way tomorrow, I'll just dodge it like a ninja!" Gulf added, striking a ninja pose that erupted laughter from his parents.

"That's my boy! Worry less and let fate do its thing," Ampha said, smiling at Gulf, who beamed like an excited child. "I hope you'll find your partner at this new university."

"Mae, I'm still young! There's no rush. Besides, I need to earn my doctor title first before I get all tied down. If, only if I settle down," Gulf added, his voice trailing off playfully at the mention of the Dr title.

"Don't worry, darling. If fate is on our side, he will find his mate. Just let fate work its magic, as you said earlier; 'worry less and let fate do its work'."

Their lunch wrapped up with the men tackling the washing up while Ampha lounged in the living room, indulging in a variety show.

After helping Thanayong with the dishes, Gulf scampered upstairs to his bedroom, eager to tackle his monumental task: fully unpacking his belongings and decorating his room to meet his lofty aspirations. He still had a few more boxes, along with his main suitcase, which was bursting at the seams with clothes that he had haphazardly rummaged through earlier. Luckily, everything else was set up, from his bed and wardrobe to his bookshelf and study station – despite the chaos, it was beginning to look like an actual room instead of a tornado's aftermath.

Hours slipped away as Gulf busily dismantled boxes one by one, completely oblivious to the fact that it was now dinner time. It was only when his beloved bowl of pho came knocking at his door, reminding him to come down for a meal, that he realised he had been at it for a while.

After a refreshing shower, he headed down for dinner, indulging in family time before retreating to his haven of unpacked chaos. As he entered his bedroom, he glanced up at his bedside digital clock, which cheerily announced it was 8:12 PM. So, that cheeky two-hour break for dinner and lounging in front of the TV had been a well-deserved intermission.

With a renewed spirit, Gulf dove back into the fray, determined to conquer the last box until everything was set, organised, and arranged just the way he liked it. Sweat still clung to him from his earlier unpacking marathon, so he quickly grabbed a towel, dashed to the bathroom, and took a lightning-fast shower.

Emerging from the bathroom, he got dressed, organised his things for tomorrow on the table, and then flopped down onto his freshly made bed. As he sank into the new bedding, he grabbed his phone and began scrolling through social media, replying to texts with the grace of a seasoned multitasker, all while maintaining the serene air of someone lounging like a pro on a Saturday afternoon.