Father-in-Law

I miss you, darling!

It's been 18 hours since Kongpob was separated from his fiance and he misses him already. He feels sore all over from the obstacle course and the very little sleep he had earlier wasn't helping him either.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee, a.k.a. Jake and Juno, were extreme drill sergeants never leaving his side even for just a minute. With every push-up, burpees, and the course he went through, they were there shouting beside him to 'move faster' or 'get it together soldier'.

He was so close to giving up but the thought of losing his chance to be with Arthit was what kept him going. He just hopes that by the end of it all he'd get the approval from his fiance's family and prove to them that he was strong enough to fight for his and Arthit's love.

Their small group was currently resting as Ram went off to get their lunch from their house. Kongpob lounged at the base of a tree, resting his back to relieve some of the aches in his body. He took the small opportunity to close his eyes for a quick nap. The travel from their location to Arthit's house took about 20 minutes and another 20 minutes going back, so a nap was just what he needs to regain his energy for the tasks ahead.

Jake nudged his twin brother's side and pointed to the sleeping figure a few feet away from where they sat. They shared a knowing look and smiled.

"You think we were a little harsh on our nephew's fiance?" Jake asked as he twirled with a piece of grass with his finger.

Juno shrugged as he laid down to look up at the clear blue sky above. His twin mimicked his actions and they all laid in silence letting the sound of nature lull them to sleep.

-----

Back at Arthit's home, the kitchen was a mess as two people were busy moving around cooking and preparing their lunches. Four empty lunch packs and stainless steel food jars laid open at the kitchen counter, waiting to be filled with the day's menu.

Arthit was chopping up ingredients while his mother was busy stirring up the soup to accompany the afternoon's meal. He smiled as the fragrance of the soup hits his nose. He loves his mother's cooking and would eat more than one plate for every visit he makes from university or weekends off from work.

After chopping up the ingredients, his mother asked him to fill up the lunch packs with rice and ladle some soup on to the food jars.

"Once you're done, you can head up to your room and rest Oon. I'll take it from here." Pensri said as she tossed some meat on to a hot wok.

Arthit smiled and with a nod he finished scooping up some rice to the last lunch pack. Taking a marker from one of the kitchen drawers, he labeled each of them with their names. Placing the marker back to the kitchen drawer an idea popped into his mind and with a smile he wrote one final detail on to his fiance's lunch pack.

Satisfied, he capped the marker, tossed it into the kitchen drawer, and went back to his room. It would take a couple of minutes before his mother's done with cooking, so he took the opportunity to write a small note for Kongpob. His father did say they couldn't meet but he never said he could send his lover a note.

Pensri was amused when she turned around to scoop some food on to the lunch packs. Her son has already labeled each pack with his father, uncles and Kongpob's names but that wasn't what amused her. What really caught her attention was the fact that Arthit has packed more rice and soup for Kongpob than his own family and with the extra message he wrote on his fiance's lunch pack, she was sure her son was smitten with the younger man.

Sighing, she took Kongpob's lunch pack and placed extra stir-fried pork and veggies.

Arthit came down and helped his mother in packing, stealthily placing the note, carefully wrapped in clear plastic, inside Kongpob's lunch pack. He smiled thinking about his fiance's reaction when he opens his lunch.