After rain comes the clear sky (Kaoearth)

85. New Home

"I thought we were going on a date," Earth said as he got out of the car. All he could see was a tall apartment building.

"We are," Kao got out of the driver's seat and opened the trunk of the car. 

Kao's reply made Earth pout. He had been looking forward to the date and the current one was nothing like he imagined it to be. Such a bummer.

"Earth, come here and give me a hand" Kao beckoned him.

Sulking to himself, Earth made his way to the back of the car. He was surprised to see the open trunk of the car. "What are all these?" He questioned.

"Groceries" Kao bent forward and picked the smallest bag among the ones in the trunk. "Here take this" He handed the bag to Earth.

 "Phi, are we visiting someone?" Earth asked as he took the bag from Kao.

"No" Kao took out the rest of the grocery bags and closed the trunk. "Let's go" He pressed the button on his car key, locking the car.

Since Kao didn't say anything further, Earth could only silently follow him into the elevator.

Kao looked at Earth's reflection on the elevator door and chuckled. "What happened? You look mad."

 "I am not!" Earth huffed and looked the other way.

Ding

 The elevator door opened, and the couple walked out of the elevator. Kao pulled out a key from his pocket and opened the door of the condo.

"Whose condo is this, phi?" Earth asked as he followed Kao into the condo.

"Ours," Kao placed a pair of pink fluffy slippers in front of Earth.

Earth looked at the slippers and then at his boyfriend who was squatting on the floor, staring at him. "O- ours?" He stammered in disbelief.

"I bought this condo for us." Kao stood up. "I felt that it would be nice to have a place of our own."

Earth blanked out. His brain was in overdrive trying to process the whole situation. He felt his face heat up as certain thoughts entered his mind. All thanks to his three besties who corrupted his mind.

"Earth, why are you still standing there?" Kao set down the groceries on the kitchen countertop. "Come on in!"

"K- Khrab," Earth replied snapping out of the daze.

He placed the grocery bag that he had been carrying, next to the ones Kao brought in. His eyes fell on the wide glass wall that separated the living room from the balcony.

Dumping his school bag on the couch, he opened the glass door and stepped into the balcony. The cool evening breeze gently brushed through his face, making him feel refreshed.

"Wow! It's so beautiful!" Earth muttered as he looked at the view from the balcony.

Kao too joined him on the balcony. He hugged Earth from behind. "Do you like it?"

Earth leaned back against Kao's chest and nodded. "Yes. I like it so much."

The view in front of them was so serene.

Kao smiled in satisfaction. He had spent and lot of time and energy in finding this place. The cost of the condo wasn't small either. He had spent a hefty sum to get his hands on the ownership. "That's great to hear."

He lifted Earth's hand and placed a key on his palms.

Earth looked at the key in his palm and then at Kao, "What is this, phi?"

"Your copy of the house key." Kao tightened his arms around Earth's waist. 

"What?" Earth was expecting Kao to give him the key to the condo.

"Why are you so surprised? Didn't I tell you that this condo is ours? That means it belongs to both me and you. Isn't natural that you hold onto your key?" Kao asked as if it wasn't a big deal.

Earth was left speechless. He stared at the key in his hand.

Kao chuckled inwardly seeing his boyfriend look like a lost bunny. He stole a sniff kiss on his cheeks. "Go freshen up. I have already gotten permission from Por and Mae. You are staying here tonight. With me."

"Por and Mae permitted me to stay here? How did you do that?" Earth remembered how his parents were acting the night before. He wondered how Kao managed to convince them.

"Your boyfriend has his own means. Mae even packed a pair of pajamas for you. Go take a bath and change into it. I need a hand with cooking."

"You are going to cook for me tonight?" Earth was really excited. He always found his boyfriend's cooking tastier than anything else. 

"'We' will be cooking. You are going to be my assistant" Kao pushed Earth back into the condo.

The condo was a 3VHK apartment. Kao started showing Earth around the house.

He led Earth to the first bedroom. "This room is completely for you. You can use it for studying or whatever you want."

"What do you mean completely for me? Aren't we going to stay in the same room?" Earth pouted.

"Stop jumping the gun, will you?" Kao led him to the next room. "This room, I am planning to use as my study."

Earth started sulking as he didn't get an answer from Kao.

"And this," Kao opened the door of the master bedroom. "This will be our room."

Earth finally smiled when he heard the words 'our room'. He walked in and started checking the room out in detail. He hadn't paid much attention to the other rooms this much.

"Here, this is the bag that Mae packed for your stay here." Kao handed a bag to Earth.

Earth went through the bag and found out that his mother had only packed a pajama and not his uniform. He understood his mother's intention of wanting him to go home early next day morning before school, but he decided to act as if nothing had happened.

"Phi, do you have a washing machine here? I need to wash my uniform. I think Mae forgot that I have to wear one to the school tomorrow." Earth asked with an innocent smile.

Kao understood what his boyfriend was implying. He was happy that the younger guy had the same thoughts as him. "Of course. It's near the kitchen. Once you are done freshening up, you can put it in to wash."

"Khrab," Earth smiled and gave his boyfriend a quick peck on his boyfriend's cheeks before running off to the washroom to freshen up.

Inside the bathroom, Earth stared at his reflection, all kinds of dirty thoughts were going on his head. Him and his boyfriend alone... without his parent's supervision... in a place of their own...

He quickly pulled out his phone and texted his friends, telling them about his situation. His friends didn't reply immediately, so he decided to take a bath first while waiting for a reply.

As he came out of the shower, drying his hair with a towel, he saw that there was still no reply from three of his best friends. "Looks like I will have to think of a way by myself."

He wasn't going to let such a golden opportunity slide. He had to become Kao's.

He took out the pajama his mother packed for him and was left dumfounded. The pajamas were the most conservative one he had. The trousers that reached till the ankle and full sleeved tee. 

"Mae... you and I think very similarly, don't us?" He knew that his mother had guessed that he might try to do something tonight and was trying to stop him from doing so.