Arthit, " James held both of Arthit's hands in his own " You and Kong have something, people only dream of. What they don't realise is, both of you work hard for it. Cherish it. "

" See you soon..." Arthit uttered, stubbornly glaring at James to refute his statement. James just smiled sadly and turned to his best friend.

" Kongpob..." Kong didn't let him speak, he engulfed him in a hug . They kept murmuring to each other, Arthit couldn't listen but seeing Kongpob's tear filled eyes, his heart broke.

....

" Kongpob .." James tried to say something but Kong hugged him tightly. It was ironic how his brain kept screaming that James leaving was a good thing, but his heart was already missing his best friend.

" I'm sorry " James murmured.
Kong nodded " me too... "

They just hugged, throat clogged, voice choked and chest filled with all the unsaid things.

" Don't disappear on me "

" I will try ..." James said. Breaking their hug, James called Arthit close

" Come here Rojanapat " , he held both Kong and Arthit's hand in his .

" Can you do one thing for me ? Divorce the idea of divorce. " James said " People get jealous seeing your bond. Even I was one of them, what they don't realise is how hard you have worked for this relationship, this bond to grow. You still work hard, to make it work.
They don't see the wait of Arthit, how he had given you space to grow , how he had been that constant positive force pushing you forward.
They don't see the passion of Kongpob's love , who worked day and night not to make profit but make Arthit proud, to be worthy of him.

In a world where people judge each other's worth,  you are raising your own worth still consider yourself not worthy enough for your partner. They don't see the pure regard and respect you give each other.
Just cherish it .

Lastly, " James pursed his lips, his eyes glued to the ground " Thank you for showing me care, love and compassion . "

" That is what friends do..." The pure fire in Arthit's eyes made James laugh sadly " Some people are such that even their own parents can't love them. You are just too pure to see the evil, Rojanapat."

The sky filled with loud whirring of chopper... " Take care na " James waved his hand and turned his back at them, walking away without looking back.

......

Arthit stayed rooted to the spot, even after half an hour has passed since James left.

" Mee Noi ..." Kong grabbed his shoulder " Let's go..."

Arthit clubg to Kong, his face hidden in Kongpob's chest " I thought love was sunshine and warmth. It makes people cone together...but it wrenched us apart, I am not liking this ugly side of love, Kongpob."

" Love is not warm or cold Thit. It just is, We make it good, bad or ugly. We have been taught that love must be reciprocated. When it doesn't,  We don't process the ache. We don't try to understand that there was always a chance that the person doesn't love us, or will fall out of love.
But, isn't it great to be able to love someone ? To nurture them, take care of them without gains?  We never celebrate the greatness of being able to love someone. "

" But James— "

" Had finally decided to move on, to heal himself , to love himself — "

While Arthit knew all this was TRUE, he didn't comment, his brain was just not able to process it.

......
Kong knew Arthot will take much longer to process the truth and he was ready to support his love of life at every step.

But, Arthit recovered a lot earlier than he thought .

" P'Nat, P'Sam " Kong saw Arthit praying to his mentors. " I have always prayed to bless our love and you always did. Today, I want to ask you something different , please send someone who will take care of James, love him with all his flaws and show him that he is lovable .
I have realised me missing him, is selfish of me on so many levels. So from today's onwards I will pray for him to find his healing amd grow mentally, spiritually and physically.

Kong smiled . He was proud to have a lover with such a big heart.

.........
Following weeks showed rapid progress in Arthit's mood. He started tending gardens, humming tunes and cooking breakfast as usual. Although, technically Arthit was still jobless, Kong was happy to see Arthit take time to heal and rejuvenate. After working for seven years non stop, with countless extra hours, Arthit deserved a break, if he wanted one.

One such morning, Kong was surprised to see Arthit jamming and twirking to Rihanna's  'rude boy' song.

" Good morning Thit " Kong greeted, pecking his husband on shoulder.

" Morning love " Arthit turned cheerfully to kiss Kong good morning.

After a thoroughly wonderful Kiss, they parted.

Kongpob carefully put down his husband, who had climbed him like tree, midway un the kiss. He looked at love of his life through half hooded eyes " Do you want me to go to work , or not ? "

" ofcourse. Why would I not want you to go to work and slay ? "

" With that Kind of morning greeting, do you think I will be able to concentrate on task at hand ? "

Arthit smirked " With that kind of preview, won't you be more interested in doing good job to get your reward ? "

Kong chuckled " you have a point there."

" ofcourse, I have. Did you forget you are talking to Kongpob Suthiluck's handsome hunk husband with an outstanding brain? "

Kong shook his head at Arthit's antics " let's have breakfast..

" Get me out of this first " Arthit pointed at
the brown apron which had this printed in bold gold letters.

"Secret tip to keep your man happy in relationship :  Keep his stomach full and balls empty"

Kong choked on empty air.

" While I love seeing you express yourself, but We have household staff currently roaming about, Arthit ! "

" They loved this apron! "

"Oh..okay " Kong scratched his head in confusion " Let me remove that first."

" No, " Arthit stubbornly raised his nose in air " Now, I want to wear it while we break our fast "

" Thit ! "

" I want to wear it ..." Aryhit repeated and Kong sighed. " Okay " he didn't want to make a scene.

After peaceful breakfast with lots of chatter on Arthit's part amd hums and nods on Kongpob's,  Kong got up to put the dishes in sink.

Having collectd his mind, he turned to Arthit " Love, I would like a word.."

" Yeah..." Arthit turned his attention.

" In the bedroom"

Arthit pursed his lips. Did he cross the line, unknowingly? The combination of words Kong had spoken simply meant he was gonna get a private redressal or in Kongpob's words ' gently determining boundaries with firm words '.

He silently followed Kong " Yeah..."

" I think , you misunderstood me, love" Kong banded his arms around Arthit's waist and looked at him " While , I have no problem anyone else wearing that in a place where people are milling about, I don't find it pleasant if you do so."

Arthit opened his mouth to retort but Kong stopped him " There are some sides of your personality that I hold dear to me and am quite possesive about. Exactly like you don't like me wearing only boxers on public beaches. While you don't ban me from wandering shirtless, you request me to put a shirt on , do you not ? "

Arthit nodded " I do, I don't like people seeing you and and imagining weird things they would do ..."

" And while I would love to see you wear that infront of me. I don't like people seeing your amazingly passionate side and talking about our private lives behind our back."

Arthit nodded in understanding " Let this be in our private collection. "

Kong smiled " Good idea. "

" Help me take it off..."

Kong silently undid the tie and hugged Arthit.
" I thought we were gonna have a disagreement " Arthit chuckled " I was already dreaming of bed breaking make up sex."

" Good things doesn't need reason to be done, mee noi."

Arthit smiled " well said."

" Kong ...." Kong found his husband staring at him.

" Hmmm...."

" I am thinking something ..."

" What ? "

" I want to marry you again. "

Kong smiled " I have been wandering with ring in my pocket for a whole year, my love. "

Arthit narrowed his eyes " So, I will have to wear a ring from last year's collection? "

" Oh, I didnt think of that..." Kong replied flustered " let's go to the store today and order a new one "

Arthit chuckled " chill Kongpob... since when do I care about these things ? "

" oh okay then, Let's plan it, at the end of this month? I will ask Lynda to draw profiles of all the best caterers
and event planners— "

" Kongpob— " Arthit clasped his palm over Kongpob's mouth to stop his rant. " We had seven years of blissful union after taking our vows infront of sun and our friends as witnesses with a brass gear and silver ring. Do you think we need all that diamond ring and lots of people hullabaloo? "

Kong remained silent . Arthit huffed " Let me give a preview of my vows " Arthot cleared his throat and took Kongpob's hands in his " My dearest, love of my life, Kongpob Suthiluck, of all the to do list in life , that today you will pledge to do with me and for me, today, always keep me on number one thing to do. Do you agree and to do ?"

Kong burst out laughing " love, that's .... scandaloys"  he kept laughing. " You plan to proposition me infront of all that people"

" Do you want the press to record that ? "

Kong took a deep breath, biting his cheek to not laugh " I guess not" he finally replied after catching a breath.

Arthit smiled " There you go. Private affair it is. You call Mae and por and I will call the gang. "

" Shouldn't you call Mae and por? "

" You think they can't guess whose crazy idea it is ? "

Kong smiled " I will handle them for you."

Arthit smiled " you are my most favorite man on the earth right now."

Kongpob's brows knitted together " Who is your most favourite all other times? "

Arthit smirked " Me"

Kong laughed " I should have guessed that"

........

(That night )

Arthit's parents and Kongpob's close friends gathered in their garden, for a cozy, simple dinner.

" Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a rich, lost boy who had lost everything, money, family and all his hope of good life along with it. He lost his legend, dreams and he also lost hope that light will ever enter his life.
He dreamt, hoped and begged a sliver of light to enter his life, day in and day out. And  one day God merciful gave him a whole sun in the form of a klutzy country bumpkin.
A boy with bright name and even brighter smile which lighted up the whole room, a boy who was too sure of his good looks, with a big enough heart to embrace roses and thorns too. The boy, who dreamt of being best in the computer science faculty. The boy who challenged him every way. The boy who gave more than he got. And finally the man, who saw worth in the lost boy , when he himself couldn't see it.
The man who had confidently taken his marriage vows and stuck to it through thick and thin.
The man who gave the lost boy  gift of family, friendship, love, hope, inspiration and stood as a rock behind him.

I am happy and eternally prpud to stand here and call him my man , my husband, Arthit Rojanapat, who help me become the man I am.

I have only dreamt of having pure, innocent and all consuming love like a binary star. You made it possible for me. Thank you for believing in me when I couldn't believe in myself. "

Arthit sniffed hearing Kongpob's speech.
Taking the mock from Ai Knot , he frowned, chiding " Kong monkey pob, you are ruining my make up. "

Kong chuckled " Seven years ago, We robbed you of this moment, Khun Mae, Khun Por, I would like to apologize here for all those beautiful moments that our naivete of youth stole from you. Today, with your permission, I would like to hold your son's hand and make some promises that I intemd to follow through my life and beyond.

Kong walked to where Arthit stood just beside his Mae and brought him centre stage.

"Arthit, my love " Kong held Arthit's hand, I promise to hold you through whole horror movies and not complain about you screaming louder than the actors when seeing the ghost "

Arthit narrowed his eyes "During romance movies, I promise to stock up on tissues and not tease you about flooding the entire house with your tears. "

" Do you Arthit promise to order your own fries, rather than eating all of Kongpob's? " Arthit's father added.
Their friends hollered at that..

Biting his lips to not laugh out loud, Arthit cleared his throat and spoke " I promise to love you more than pink milk, French fries, KFC bucket and Ferrero rocher chocolates put together."

Kong smiled " I promise to receive your love with equal love, respect and I promise to cherish your affection forever. I promise to support your dreams, stand with you in difficulties , work hard to tackle them."

" I promise to share your tears, be it of joy or sadness."

" I renew my promise that we will never go hungry or angry  to bed. I will strive to make our home a place where you can live and rejoice."

" I renew my promise to ve your staunchest supporter and worst critic. And in turn you will promise that you only love me." Hearing Arthit repeating his old vows, nobody could stop chuckling.

" He will ever be demanding little shit ! " Prem commented from behind camera.

Arthit glared towards his direction " Don't think, I didnt listen that Ai Saat — "

" No cursing Arthit " Toota chided.

" Atleast , I am not getting death threats this time around " Bright sighed in relief.

" What ? " Prem peeked from behind the camera " It's TRUE, isn't it Kongpob ."

" He is demanding indeed" Kong chuckled " but quite opposite of the other adjectives you have used."

Bright whistled  " Big —."

Arthit frowned at Bright " My parents are here, Ai saat. Shut up. Do you want to die?"

" What did I do ?" Bright asked, confused.

Toota took the mic " Seven years has passed, their love has reached from pranking to cursing to leaving post it notes. It has survived the tests of time, long distance relationships, professional and personal turbulence and changed from the youthful flames of passionately burning infatuation to mature light of consistently alight oal, burning slowly yet steadily warming the heart aglow.

As star struck teenagers, they had promised each other forever through flowery words and pink tinted vows. After seven years, here we both stand, the pair of grooms and we, friends and family that has seen them grown together, to rejoice in their winnings and share a lesson of their failures. Let us hear the beautiful pair renew their vows and tie the knot of their union, again.

" With this ring being the symbol of how you have me wrapped around you, I promise you my life until last breath and beyond.
Once you have promised my parents to be everything that I need — a lover, friend, brother sister, entertainer, guide .
I didn't find myself worthy to promise you same. Here, after seven years, I stand before you and shamelessly steal from you, the most meaningful words someone has ever said to me " Arthit Rojanapat Sithiluck, I promise to cherish and consistently grow the pride and joy with which you have taken my name.
With same unbountiful love in my heart, I ask you and your family to allow me to take your name. I promise to bring Rojanapat name pride and glory by rightful behaviour and just conduct " Kong took few steps to his right and bowed to Arthit's parents.
They patted Kongpob's back and Arthit's  mother hugged him. " You are best partner we could ask for our son."
Tear sprang to Kongpob's eyes, he went back to Arthit and held his hand " I promise to be all that you need — lover, mother, father, brother, sister, entertainer, guide, husband and best friend. "

Arthit took out handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes " Seven years ago, I promised you to spend my youth to you. A lot has changed since then.
Then, I wanted you to be the best, I wanted your bests. Now, here i stand seven years older and seven summers mature — "
Hearing the word mature , his friends chuckled, Arthit glared
"Now, I want your worst—give me your bad hair days, your long commutes, your burnt coffee, lost keys, splashed shoes, annoying coworkers, lost receipts, broken copiers, give me your every day, and I will give you my love to make it alright. I want to grow old and wrinkly and crusty with you. I promise we will most handsome old couple."

Toota cheered and yelled in mic " You may now kiss— " Kong leaned in , but Arthit pushed Kong back by plaving a hand on his chest.

"But first," He spoke louder than crowd's chattering of confusion " promise me to not burn yourself. Promise me that you will love yourself as much as you love and care for me."

Kongpob smiled " I do."

Arthit leaned and whispered in Kongpob's ears " and do you promise, I will be first task in your to do list ? "

" You are " Bright hollered " Since 7 + years."

Arthit turned towards the crowd, horrified " How did they listen? "

" You forgot to turn off the mic love"

"Damn! " Arthit hid his flaming face in his palms."

" I do , I promise to do everything you have asked me to" Kong turned his mic off and leaned in " including you."

" Now Kiss fast, We are hungry " his friends hollered jokingly.

" Rings! " Toota hit his own head " exchange the rings guys."

They exchanged the rings and kissed.
" I divorce the idea of divorcing you ever, until you do something to  deserve it. Do you promise the same too ? " Arthit mumbled against his lips.

Kong smiled and pecked his husband's lips " I do."

......................The End ................
.......

A/N : I know it has spelling mistakes, I promise to correct them later.