Kongpob had always known that the only reason his father had him was so that he could carry on the family's name in some fashion. Before his mother's untimely death, she confided in him that Kiet Suthiluck had told her right out that he would only permit her to bear him children until he had an alpha or a son, not a single child more.

Kongpob is their first and only child. He was the son his father always wanted - but in many ways, he was too like his father. Male Omegas were highly sought after and they would fetch a fair bride price. It was assumed that, like his father before him, he would marry someone rich - with power and influence. Who didn't, perhaps, have the strongest of constitutions. So that when the time came, it would be Kongpob and his child or children that would inherit the family fortune and carry on the family name with the power they had strived for.

But Kongpob was tall and broad - just like his Omega father - which made it difficult to find an Alpha who would take him. Not to mention a rich one, as Kiet Suthiluck wanted.

Kiet Suthiluck sent Kongpob off to boarding school in England just to get him out of his hair - and in the hope that a European with 'exotic' tastes would take an interest in him. In Kiet Suthiluck's mind, it was unfortunate that no one was interested in Kongpob Suthiluck.

Part of Kongpob is glad that he is tall, broad, and strong to be the submissive Omega that made 'good marriage stock.' The rich Alphas he was introduced to as potential suitors made Kong's stomach turn. He thought if he had ended up with any of them seriously, he might've taken drastic measures. Which drastic measure he wasn't sure about, but he didn't know how his father could stand to make small talk with men who casually asked if his son had been tested for fertility yet. (Kongpob had been and it had been the worst experience of his life. It'd confirmed he'd likely be able to carry to term though.)

Kongpob wasn't supposed to have any say in his marriage - and indeed, his father never asked for his input.

But Kongpob knew that for every habit he had that'd make him a good Omega he had two dozen that people couldn't stand. He could cook, but only English food. He could clean, but he hated dirt so much that he wouldn't eat out of dishes that had already been used once by others. And trying to 'beat' any of these habits out of him had resulted in more than one being hospitalized. Not on Kong's part, of course, he had earned his black belt in marshal arts.

His father didn't outwardly disapprove of it - his father didn't outwardly disapprove or approve of anything Kongpob did. When he'd recently returned from England, that had been hard on Kongpob. He'd always wanted to make his father proud. But at twenty-eight, he knew that making his father proud was a pipe dream and he settled for trying to be happy himself.

Then came the proposal that his father couldn't refuse. It was one that Kongpob couldn't refuse either, mostly because the suitor never showed up in person. And so poor Arthit Rojnapat probably thought he was getting a small, demure Omega who liked to cook and clean and didn't have any opinions.

Kongpob had learned everything he could about his spouse but there wasn't much. The man kept to himself and didn't have any social media (Kongpob could relate) and he'd never been written up at work, so there wasn't much to go on. Most of what Kongpob found was about Arthit Rojnapat he had a twin, named Aroon. Happily mated to his own Alpha and with three adorable children. Arthit Rojnapat was a public defender whom Nat Sakdatorn respected. Possibly more than Kongpob Suthiluck's father, which was impressive since Nat Sakdatorn liked to fawn over Kiet Suthiluck.

Sometimes, his father smelled of Nat Sakdatorn in a decidedly not platonic way but Kongpob never mentioned it. What his father and his advisor got up to wasn't any of his concern, especially since there was no chance of it being serious. Nat didn't have enough money for Kiet Suthiluck to do anything but use him for stress relief. Both Kongpob and Nat knew that, but Nat was more likely to be waylaid by his emotions toward Kiet Suthiluck.

Other than stalking his prospective husband and future-in-laws, Kongpob didn't do much to prepare for the wedding. The Arthit Rojnapat family had already paid for his dowry and his father had gotten him situated with an outfit. His father and the Rojnapats had negotiated that the ceremony would be Catholic and more Western-styled than Thai Traditional, so Kongpob had a very nice black suit. Presumably, his husband's would match.

Arthit Rojnapat is a few years older than Kongpob Suthiluck. Not the largest age gap that had ever been discussed, but it was somewhat noteworthy to Kongpob anyways. He wondered if Arthit Rojnapat wanted a bride or if he'd been happily single and his family had just decided it was time for him to marry saying - just look at his twin.

The day of the wedding seemed to arrive both faster and slower than expected. Before Kongpob knew it, he was walking slowly down the aisle to meet his future husband.

And that's when Kongpob saw Arthit Rojnapat for the first time.

His future husband and Alpha had long, brown hair that had been carefully tied back into a loose ponytail. His suit, as Kongpob had suspected, matched Kongpob's. There was nothing noteworthy about the black, three-piece suit except for the man wearing it. His tie was a dark red(almost maroon) and someone had added a red flower to the pocket of his waistcoat. Balsam, Kongpob noted as he got closer. A prayer for a happy marriage. Had Arthit Rojnapat put it there or had someone else?

Kongpob put his hand in Arthit's as the priest went on about their vows. He was just a few inches shorter than Arthit - which wasn't an issue for Kongpob, but he had to hope Arthit wouldn't have a complex about it. He didn't seem to - right now he was placidly holding Kongpobs's hand, staring at the priest. There was no standing on his tiptoes to look a tad bit taller or crushing Kongpob's hand in a grip to show his dominance.

Kongpob's standards for a good Alpha were low, but so far Arthit was meeting them. They didn't even have to kiss for the ceremony, just exchange rings before sending everyone off to the reception while Kongpob and Arthit retired to Arthit's house.

It was now that, traditionally, the couple would cement their mating bonds as well as experience the first knotting. That is what was called 'traditional.'

Kongpob was expecting it. He wasn't thrilled about it, but he figured he could probably bear it for the five minutes it took for Arthit to get off (his father's own stories about pleasing your Alpha had led Kongpobto believe that sex was, perhaps, the single most boring thing that could be done and Alphas were clueless about everything but their knot).

They still hadn't exchanged any words by the time they were dropped off in front of Arthit's house by a Lumo that Kongpob's father had rented. Kongpob's first impression of his new residence was that it was small - even compared to the house that Kiet Suthiluck kept up in Chiang Mai. It was larger than Kongpob 's apartment though. And it was on the waterfront. There was even a small garden out front, with some flowers and various veggies.

That's when he realized he is also not at the Rojnapat Mansion. Just like his husband's twin's family.

The whole area looks so normal like a mere employee's house but he also observed that there isn't any other house near them. Like it is well hidden away from the others. So well planned.

Kongpob wondered if he should start the conversation - maybe lay down some rules for the both of them about what they could expect from this marriage. Kongpob is willing to have friendly cohabitation, just to say he wasn't sold on matrimonial duties in bed. But of course, he wouldn't mind sharing a bed with Arthit Rojnapat as long as the Alpha kept his hands to himself.

Before he could say anything though, Arthit opened the low wooden gate for Kongpob.

 "Welcome home," Arthit said, sounding just as awkward as Kongpob felt as he stepped through the gate and onto the paving stones that lined a path to the front door.

 "I hope you come to like it as much as I do." At least that seemed sincere to Kongpob. 

 "This is my garden. I have squash, chili peppers, and cucumbers popping up now. The spring veggies are drying out in the basement."

That was quaint, almost rustic. Kongpob's father could never have bothered with growing his vegetables, not even with the help of maids in the house, and here is Arthit who is sounding sp proud of it.

"And right inside the door here," Arthit held open the front door for Kongpob too and Kongpob was amused.

He was perfectly capable of opening the doors for himself, "is what Aroon calls the mud room. I just call it the shoe room 'cause this is where all the shoes are. You can take your shoes off and put them on the shoe rack right there. I've got 'never used' [as in new] house slippers for you." Arthit continued, digging in one of the closets for a bit then emerging with a pair of house slippers still in their cardboard box. They were even Kongpob's size. As Kongpob looked around, he noticed several pairs of what were probably Arthit's shoes as well as smaller sizes, as though belonging to children. Kongpob didn't remember any references to Arthit having a first marriage and children, but given his connections, it could've been buried.

"Why are there children's shoes?" Kongpod asked bluntly as he obligingly toed off his shoes and put on the house slippers, though he didn't see much of a point to them. One of his bad English habits, his father had always said.

"Oh, those belong to my nieces and nephews, plus a pair of Fiat's, I think," Arthit admitted, sounding kind of sheepish. 

 "They like to spend summers here and sometimes they come down for the weekend too, just because Uncle Arthit is more fun than staying with mom and dad, in their words. And right through this door is the living room." 

 Arthit gestured as he switched his shoes for house slippers. A much older and worn-down-looking pair.

Kongpob is amused again.

Kongpob made his way through the door first and looked around. It was a homely little living room - Kiet Suthiluck would have hated it, which made Kongpob like it a little bit more but he still wasn't going to be sitting on any of the couches or chairs before cleaning them thoroughly.

There were two mismatched couches facing an older-looking TV pushed against the wall. The other corner of the room was taken up by bookshelves - filled with a mix of books and knickknacks - as well as some overstuffed armchairs. He concluded that this house is completely maintained by his husband and no caretakers ever stepped into this place.

Just when Kongpob was about to start poking around, Arthit emerged from the mudroom. "And I see you've already looked around the living room. Both couches fold out into beds, but it can get a little crowded when that happens. Behind this is the kitchen. I tend not to make anything too fancy, but if you have any requests I can see what I can do."

"Can I cook?" Kongpob asked, interrupting whatever else Arthit was going to say about the kitchen.

Arthit blinked in surprise, then nodded. "Oh God, I didn't mean to...Kongpob, it's our house. What's mine is also yours. If you want to cook, you're welcome to. Khun Nat said that your stuff would be sent over later, but if there's anything else you wanted added, just go ahead and buy it. We'll make it work."

Which was more than what Kongpob was asking, but also that was more than he was expecting.

 "I like to cook." He figured even if that was the only domestic thing he took over, that'd be fine. 

His job as a village volunteer officer would keep him busy enough anyways.

"Then the kitchen is yours as much as you want it," Arthit reassured him. 

"There's a door in the kitchen to the outside too. You can go down to the lake or there's a grill as well. A couple of benches but I haven't had time to clean them off this year yet. Then the only things left are the bedrooms. The house has five. Two upstairs, another in the attic, and two on this floor. I use the upstairs ones as guest rooms pretty much even if the kids prefer to sleep down here in a puppy pile. Fiat has the attic room whenever he comes over but now that he's off going to college in Bangkok, it's gonna be a lot rarer."

Arthit was walking down a hallway off the living room and Kongpob followed him. "And these are our rooms. This one is mine. Unfortunately, the master bath is through here, but if you ever want to use it feel free. And this one," he patted on another door, "Is all yours. I was going to put down clean sheets and everything but Nat said you'd prefer it if I didn't. Is that true?"

Kongpobwas surprised he was even asking. "Yes, that's true. I don't like people touching my stuff." He'd spent much of the last month packing up to limit who would have to touch his stuff to take it here if it was even permitted. And it seemed like Arthit was fine with it, so Kongpob could expect his sheets.

"Any questions you have for me?" Arthit asked, apparently having concluded his show and tell.

When was the other shoe going to drop? Kongpob didn't believe that anyone was this thoughtful and kind, especially to a stranger. "Why did you marry me?"

Arthit sighed. "I'm sure you're a perfectly lovely man, Kongpob, but I've been a bachelor for so long that my parents went around to everyone who had an Omega child of marriageable age until someone agreed," he said with a smirk.