Fah came out of the bathroom, towel-drying his hair. Lom, wearing new shorts, was laughing.

"Fah, did you look at the underwear you bought us?" asked Lom.

"No, is it the wrong size?"

"Oh, no, it's fine. It's just another tourist item." Lom stood up and pulled his pants down. Fah, turning red, looked away.

"Fah, why the hell are you getting shy now, after everything we've done? Would you look at my underwear?"

Fah tried to look at the underpants but his eyes kept getting stuck on Lom's body. Finally, he forced his eyes down. Another challenge awaited: try not to stare at Lom's bulge.

What is wrong with me? I've seen him naked before, why can't I focus?

He studied the underpants. They were light blue with the words Welcome to Thailand, Watch out for the Giant Lizard and an arrow pointing to the crotch. He burst out laughing. Lom started to laugh but it hurt too much and he winced in pain.

"Are they all like that?" asked Fah. Lom nodded yes. "Well, I guess it's...cute." Lom shook his head no, trying not to laugh. Fah finished dressing and grabbed the beer.

"Here is your beer. Where are my operating tools?"

Lom was already drinking before Fah finished speaking. He plunged his hand into the backpack, feeling around for a few seconds before he pulled out a small plastic bag. Inside the bag were medical instruments and supplies.

"Are there bullets in both wounds?" asked Fah.

"No, only my stomach."

"Okay, let me clean and dress your shoulder first. Once that's done I'll go after the bullet. You just relax and drink beer while I do this. Hopefully, by the time I work on your abdomen, you will be tipsy. I want to remind you again- I have absolutely no idea how to remove a bullet."

Lom gave him a dismissive wave with his right hand before using it once again to hold his stomach.

Putting the final pieces of medical tape over the gauze on Lom's shoulder he studied him. He was leaning against the headboard, eyes closed, a beer in one hand. The soft, gentle touches Fah used while dressing his wound combined with a bed, air conditioning, and the relief of no longer hiding, permitted him to finally relax. Although his abdomen was in pain, this was the most comfortable he'd been since getting shot.

Fah leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. Lom's eyes opened and they stared at each other. Without saying anything they continued kissing. Finally, Lom pushed him away.

"Fah, before the beer wears off I need you to get the bullet out." Fah busied himself sterilizing the tools.

"Are you going to need a strap of leather to bite on?" asked Fah.

"Why?"

"In those old American cowboy movies, they always drink whiskey and bite down on a leather strap when someone removes a bullet."

Lom tried to smile but it came out as a grimace.

"Lom, I want to do this as easily and painlessly as possible. Please help me so we can be done soon."

After he sterilized everything, Fah laid out the tools and the bandages on a clean shirt. He removed the temporary bandage that he'd applied earlier so Lom could take a shower. He'd wanted to remove the bullet first but Lom insisted on a shower so he would be clean and wouldn't get his bandages wet right away.

Looking at the wound it took everything inside of him to not vomit in front of Lom. He reminded himself this bullet was harming the man he loved. He also reminded himself if Lom died, it meant Ton won and that wouldn't be fair.

He had Lom lay down flat and cleaned the wound. Lom held onto a sweatshirt to rip if the pain became too severe. Although he regretted it, he needed Lom to use one of his own hands to pull the skin on the side taut.

Focusing on the task he worked with purpose, never stopping but not rushing either. After locating the bullet he warned Lom he was going to pull it out. Lom swallowed hard but he said nothing. Fah noticed how pale he was and the beads of sweat covering his face.

This is for our future together was the mantra Fah kept repeating in his head. He lost his grip on the bullet twice but the third time he held on tight and slowly pulled backward. He feared he would nick an artery or vein and need to sew it shut before it started spraying blood everywhere. He did it!

"Lom, the worst part is over. All I need to do now is stitch you back up and that's just skin."

"You tell yourself that. I have a feeling being on this end of the needle isn't going to be as easy as you think." He took a long swig of beer.

"Lom, you're a strong, mafia guy, how many times have you been hurt? Why would this be worse than usual?" Fah tried every way he knew how to talk Lom through it.

"Because we're doing this days after Ton shot me. I've been in pain and it's been building."

"Okay, but remember, in an hour from now, it will be over and you'll be on the way to recovering. We can figure out where we want to go and what we want to do, and we can finally live together," said Fah, his eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, sure," said Lom derisively. Fah told himself it was the pain that made him say it that way. He stitched up the wound. Looking at his work he had to admit he'd done an amazing job.

I bet his scar won't be as bad as it could be thanks to my stitches, thought Fah. Aloud, he said, "Okay, you're all done."

He dressed the wound, sterilized everything again, returned the instruments to the small bag, and put it in the backpack. Then he disposed of the old bandages and beer bottles. After he cleaned up everything, he climbed on the bed next to Lom.

"Do you want to sleep? Do you want to watch TV? Are you hungry? I don't want to take you out on the motorbike right after this. Your blood pressure needs to remain stable and I'd rather you had at least 24 hours of the antibiotic before we went anywhere. Oh, and you can't swim in the pool yet."

"Let's watch TV," said Lom. Fah laid his head on Lom's chest and Lom put his arm around him, pulling him close. "Since when did you start remembering more things?"

"Who said I was remembering things?" asked Fah.

"You remembered old cowboy movies and biting down on a leather strap."

"Hey, you're right! The other day I remembered you telling me if Ton didn't kill you it would be the cousins or rivals."

"That's fantastic, so your memories are coming back." He smiled at Fah. He was happy but his whole midsection was throbbing.

"Lom, can I ask you a question?" Fah became serious.

"Sure, anything." He turned to face Fah.

"Were you leaving? Were you really never going to see me again?" asked Fah. Lom remained quiet. Fah's eyes became glassy and he tried using his bangs to hide the fact he was going to cry but before he could, a single tear fell onto Lom's chest.

"Hey, it wasn't easy for me. I honestly was doing it for you. I was outside watching you at your house with your family. You finally had what you've always wanted: a family that loves you, friends who care about you, and Mek told me you had a job that you liked, working at his uncle's law firm. Your life was going to be perfect."

"It would never be perfect without you by my side," said Fah softly.

"I thought you couldn't remember me."

"I can't remember a lot. But when we spoke on the phone that night and you said goodbye, inside I had the feeling that I would die if you left me. It made no sense. I got it again earlier when you sounded like you weren't planning on staying with me after this. I love my family; I'm so happy to have found them. Mek is a wonderful guy, and I'm happy he's dating my brother. None of it will mean anything if I'm not with you. I thought you knew that. I thought you felt the same way..."

"Fah, I don't fit into your life," said Lom.

"Who says that? Only you. Have I ever said that? I don't have to remember if I did or didn't because inside I know I would never tell you that! Tell me, did I ever say that?"

"Well, no, but..."

"What were our obstacles? Your parents. Well, they hate me and I'm guessing they hate you as well because who tries to kill their son when he comes home?"

"Okay, we don't need to worry about them but what about your new family?"

"My father, Khun Adi, promised me he would never harm you and he would never identify you as one of the kidnappers. It was the only thing that I asked of him. He realized you were doing what your father ordered you to do. Without your parents, and with Manao as our friend, we have no barriers. My boss saw the naked photo of us that Manao took and said we looked like movie stars. So did my parents," laughed Fah."

"How is everyone seeing that photo?" asked Lom.

"Oh, you didn't know? Ton went on TV and held a press conference while my father and I were being questioned inside police headquarters. When we came out of the police station he told the press that we were the only ones who wanted to harm you and that I was a gay man who had tried to seduce you but you were straight and had to fight my advances."

"What?"

"I guess in his story I kidnapped you because I'm unable to find a date unless I shoot someone and tie them up. That night I remembered what you had told me about Manao. She was still friends with me on social media so I asked for her phone number. I called her and she sent the photo she took of us in bed to the newspapers and television stations. A little bit later our photo was everywhere. I even had people on IG asking me for dates from it."

"Oh my God! I only came out to my father, never my friends or the guys I work with," said Lom. He gasped, his jaw went slack, and he swallowed hard again.

"Lom, you can't work for your father, he wants you dead. Your mother will now see I didn't seduce her son and we were happy together. The police will realize your parents lied to them about you being straight and will wonder what else they have lied about. The guys who work for Ton won't see you again. I don't know what friends you have outside work but if they find out, it shouldn't matter to them, right? What should matter to people is how you treat them, not the gender of your lover. Being with me doesn't affect them in any way, right?"

Fah had come to terms with it over the space of one day. "I've been recognized at stores and restaurants, and you will be too. Especially if we're together. That's why I bought the motorbike and food that we could cook here. The fewer people we interact with, the less chance we'll be recognized."

"This sounds horrible," said Lom.

"Cooking here?"

"No, being recognized from a naked photo wherever we go."

"My dad said we looked great and could get a job in entertainment from it," said Fah. He began laughing.

"Your father sounds cool. I'm sorry I kidnapped him."

"There's a sentence I don't think people hear, or say, too often. Wait until I bring you home and say 'Dad, remember the guy who drugged and abducted us, he's my boyfriend' and watch you freak out." Fah laughed harder.

"You know you can never bring me home, right?" asked Lom.

"Yes, I can. Mint and my father have accepted us as a couple. I'm allowed to bring you home. Right now I want to stay away from everyone while you heal. I don't want to be in a town where Ton has people who will kill you, me, or both of us. That's why I want to make sure we have some alone time. Don't forget, I still don't remember a lot of things."

"What things don't you remember that you need to?"

"How it feels to have you inside me," said Fah, staring into Lom's eyes. Lom gasped.

"Shit, Fah, don't say stuff like that!"

"Why not?"

"How do I say this? Um, I would love to remind you of that right now, but as soon as that feeling in my stomach begins and I start to get hard, the pain in my abdomen heads straight to my groin and almost kills me. I can't think about sex with you for a few weeks."

"Oh, thank God, I thought you didn't want to be with me anymore."

"Impossible. If a photo sent to Dad of us having sex, the family splitting us up, you disappearing for a year, my kidnapping your family, you killing my best friend, me shooting you, you trying to overdose on morphine, and memory loss hasn't kept us from wanting to be together, I don't think it would just suddenly happen," said Lom. He winced in pain from laughing.

"We sure have had an eventful couple of years," said Fah. "We could turn our life into a movie!"

"At least we have the promo photo," laughed Lom, holding his stomach.