IN THE MATTER OF MONTHS

4. Once a sass queen, always a sass queen

Sarawat had always anticipated his own reaction when he will see Tine again. If he will ever see Tine again, he had laid in bed staring unblinkingly into nothingness and wondering what he would do. Maybe, take the man in his embrace again and never let go or cry and plead for forgiveness? Maybe, I would feel bliss seeing his beautiful face once again, or maybe, deep regret, for letting the boy go.

But surprisingly, all he really felt at that moment was a relief, relief like he had never felt before, as if a huge weight had lifted off his heart as if he could breathe more freely. a sense of calmness enveloping his entire being. The people around him were chatting, Mr. Teepakorn introducing Tine to Sarawat's parents, Cheryl happily giggling and pulling at Tine's arm asking him numerous questions , mouth working a mile a minute. She was elated by Tine's sudden arrival. Sarawat , he stared at Tine unblinkingly, taking his face in. trying to get over the shock that had him rooted at the spot. After all, he had always been worried that he would never see the beautiful boy ever again, the thought always kept him anxious.

But, Tine was here.

And just like that, everything was alright in Sarawat's world.

He let out a shaky breath allowing his mouth to stretch into a small grin. Eyes still trained on the other boy, he did not want to miss a single movement, Tine was smiling at Cheryl while answering her questions patiently, He looked over the table eyes landing on the empty seat next to Sarawat but then he quickly looked at Typeand went straight to sit next to him.Sarawat finally sat back down on his seat, the idea of eating already dissipating, he kept his gaze steady on the new addition to the table.

" Tine, son, have the coffee then go to your room to freshen up" Mrs. Teepakorn instructed him gently. Tine nodded, his face flushed as he threw a quick glance at Sarawat, he looked away.

"P'type ? Are you seriously ignoring me, right now? Tine asked lowly, eyes set on the coffee mug sitting in front, fingers leisurely tracing the seam of the mug repeatedly.

Type stiffened, he hated this, he hated every time Tine couldn't get by his way he tended to take the easy route, throwing Type under the bus, the little shit, Type had heard looks could be deceiving, his brother lived to prove that notion. His cute bunny-like features were just a disguise for the evil mastermind he was.

 or maybe, Type was just being dramatic.

Cheryl giggled, getting the idea about Tine's trick to get Type to talk to him.

"Type? Are you not talking to Tine? What happened this time?" Vanija asked her elder son, lips pursed in dis-satisfaction. She knew what Tine was doing, since they were little kids, Tine had used this trick to corner Type, talking to him in the presence of people, forcing Type to finally acknowledge him. And Type being Type, would always give in, not wanting to make a scene. Type cared about the people around him , but Tine only focused on how to get his brother's attention on him again. Ofcourse, he was so cocky because he knew Type would never go around and tell anyone the reason behind their conflicts, Type was a doting brother, a pain in the ass when he wanted to be but an amazing brother nonetheless.

Type sighed, accepting his defeat way too soon and looked at Tine, throwing daggers through his eyes.

"You are shameless" he vehemently replied, Tine held back his laughter but allowed himself a shit-eating grin, glad that his older brother was again talking to him, after a week of radio silence. Type was a stubborn baby but Tine had mastered all the buttons to push to get Type to work his way.

Cheryl laughed loudly, finding the exchange between her brothers amusing. She knew how much Type loved Tine, he would give him the moon, if he could. Her too. Type Teepakorn loved his siblings too much to be mad at them.