"Oh God! Don't tell me P' actually believed that?"
                          
"Thoroughly. For the next few months he went around stealing all neighborhood cacti and munching on them every chance he got. It wasn't until we needed to get his stomach pumped at one point did we realize what his daily diet contained."
                          
"Wow! I would have never guessed P'Arthit was so gullible."
                          
"Was? Oh no, he very much still believes it. It didn't help that he shot up in height the next year. Please, for heaven's sake when you have kids keep him away from their meals. His definition of eating your greens is completely crazy. And as much as I will enjoy watching you tease him about this endlessly, there is actually a point I am trying to make. Sometimes our insecurities make us take irrational actions, that often end up hurting ourselves or the people close to us. If we are lucky it is not too grave and we can eventually move on with a lesson learned. But sometimes the mistakes we make end up changing the very course of our life. Now I won't tell you to simply forgive Arthit and let things go, cause he should definitely learn to face the consequences for all his actions, especially words spoken in anger. But since you were the one he wronged, it is up to you to figure out if the path of your lives diverge at this intersection or if you plan to walk together some more. Just remember no matter what you decide, to do it without regret."
                          
After dousing me in some very heavy life advice she went back to P'Arthit's funny childhood stories which I only partially heard since my mind was so occupied with what she had said earlier. And the more the minutes ticked by the more restless I got. It wasn't until a few hours after his mom left that P'Arthit finally made his appearance, looking uncharacteristically docile like I was about to snap his head off. He went about fussing around the room, consciously avoiding my eyes. We really needed to talk about the elephant in the room. I guess it was now or never.
                          
"P' do you really not trust me?"
                          
He swung around to face me at the sound of my voice, before he let out an exhausted sigh and came and plopped down next to me on the bed.
                          
"Of course I trust you. Maybe after my parents you are the only one I do trust."
                          
"But you still just assumed that I would leave without even telling you. That I wasn't as committed to this relation as much as you were."
                          
"I.....I don't know what to say. I am so sorry I started screaming at you without even asking what was it about. It's just that when I was with Nam I could have sworn she wanted it just as much as me. There was absolutely no reason for me to have any doubts at all. And then suddenly out of nowhere one day I find out I was living in a fantasy world where nothing around me was real. I am not trying to make excuses. I know you are not her. I know you wouldn't do anything like what she did, but when I saw the paperwork, I simply freaked. Everything on there was on the company's name except the plane ticket, which had your name. And then I walked into your almost empty room, I just couldn't think straight anymore."
                          
"P' I had been telling you for over a month that my lease was almost up and our landlady wouldn't renew cause she wants to sell the apartment. You knew we had to start moving our stuff soon."
                          
"I know, I know. I should have connected the dots, but I was finding it pretty hard for logic to pierce my thick skull. I know you might not believe me when I say this, but it wasn't so much about not trusting you, and more of the fact that I kept thinking it was me who was the problem. That I was doomed to fall in love and eventually abandoned. I am so sorry I hurt you Kong, it...it really had nothing to do with your past and almost everything to do with my fears. I took it out on you when I should have just talked to you about it."
                          
Watching his silhouette while he poured his heart out to me, just like he had done multiple times in the last one year, I didn't need to ponder too hard about what my decision would be. Perhaps our past baggage would prove to be simply too heavy to ever truly stay together, but as P'Arthit's mom put it I would forever regret it if we didn't atleast give it an honest chance. Plus I wasn't ready to stop looking at him just yet.
                          
"Does it really bother you that I haven't said I love you yet?"
                          
"Well, yeah. You once claimed to be in love with one of your exes you dated for less than three weeks."
                          
"You haven't said it either you know. And I didn't think you would have believed me."
                          
"I didn't say it cause I didn't want to pressure you into saying something you might not truly feel. But you are probably right, I may not have completely believed it. So....do you?"
                          
"Ready to believe me now?"
                          
"Just tell me!"
                          
"Of course I do, what sort of a stupid question is that. I was probably in love with you after the first month I moved in. You feed me remember."
                          
"Oh!"
                          
"No, no, no, don't misunderstand. What I mean is, obviously I love you, I thought that was a given, it's just with you....with you it feels more than that. I wanted to be with you not because I was in love with you, which I am, but because it was you. I just feel like it's more than that one feeling. I don't know how to put it in words. Hmmpfff, I don't think I am making sense anymore."
                          
"No....I get what you mean. I feel the same way."
                          
He smiled at me tentatively before leaning over closer to me.
                          
"Can I kiss you?"
                          
"Hmmm..."
                          
He softly pressed his lips against mine, nibbling at them silently for a brief, short minutes before pulling back and staring deep into my eyes.
                          
"I'm sorry I hurt you Kong. I'm sorry I didn't trust you. Didn't trust us. I will try to not let my insecurities overwhelm me again. I love you. Forgive me?"
                          
I reached forward and pressed our lips together once again. God! I missed him.
                          
"I'm sorry I hid and lied to you. I promise to not do it again, no matter how inconsequential I think it is. And no matter what your insecurities are, we will fight them together. I want to be with you. Only you. I know I have been in many relationships before, but I want ours to be my last. I'm sorry I didn't say I love you when I should have. I will say it every day now. All the time. Until you believe me without a shadow of a doubt. Until you are so sick of hearing it you tell me to shut up. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."
                          
"So are we back together now?"
                          
"I guess so. It would probably be too much of a hassle to figure out who gets to keep Batman."
                          
"The poor boy has been sitting by the front door all day since two weeks, whining away, waiting for you to come home."
                          
"P' are you trying to guilt trip me?"
                          
"Maybe? Is it working?"
                          
"You don't need to. I would have probably shown up at your doorstep the next time I was sober anyway. And speaking of doorstep, you do know your lease ends soon too right? You should have been moving your stuff too instead of freaking out about where my things went."
                          
"Yeah, about that....I kind of bought the apartment."
                          
"You what?"
                          
"I...uh....I thought you were moving to China, and that we were breaking up. We had all these memories together in the apartment and I didn't want to leave it yet. And she was giving me a good deal, so....yeah..."
                          
"Wow! That's being some next level sentimentalist. P' next time we fight are you going to buy me a sports car? Just a heads up, I prefer bikes more."
                          
"Who said I bought it for you? I am going to make you pay rent every month."
                          
"Oh really? Then what's my penalty if I am ever late?"
                          
"House chores, of course."
                          
"I do them anyway."
                          
"Then I will have to think of something else."
                          
"I have tons of ideas if you want."
                          
I had slowly began inching towards him but he abruptly stood up, giving my head a playful whack before walking away packing my belongings in preparation for my discharge soon. How did the man still blush this easily after months of us sleeping together. He had almost finished gathering everything and was about to walk towards the door, when I placed my hand over my head as protection and tried my luck once more.
                          
"P'...."
                          
"Hmmm?"
                          
"Want to try crossing a hospital bed off our list?"