Chapter Text
The rain was heavily beating down on the windows besides Porchay's bed as he tossed and turned in his sleep, feeling extremely restless.
In his nightmares, he was once again haunted by the screams of a man and woman along with a child as he felt rapid jerking and his body slammed to the left, colliding with a soft body.
“I’ve got you Chay…”
That was always the last thing he heard before he woke up in a cold sweat, his body drenched in it and his face wet with tears he never noticed. Calming himself down, he leaned downwards to his right and took a large swig of cool water from his water bottle that had been resting besides his bed and looked around.
Every other child was sleeping in the orphanage and the peaceful atmosphere barely lit by the moonlight allowed his mind some security. He was okay. It was just a nightmare. Get it together Chay, his mind chided as he wiped his face with his sleeve and laid his head back on his pillow trying to drift off again.
When he woke up three hours later, he went about his normal routine and was soon having breakfast in the canteen when a young girl ran up to him.
“P'Chay, Miss. Jane is calling for you in the office.”
Chay nodded and got up, following the girl who happily skipped along the way.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Mrs. Arseni was quietly sipping honey ginger tea from a porcelain cup in the office of a slightly old orphanage. This was the same place that Mok had been adopted from and he had mentioned a young boy named Porchay who used to make this place feel less lonely for him. She had promised to come back and get Porchay as soon as she could so here she was, ten months later to make good on her promise.
A knock on the door behind her pulled her out of her thoughts and when Miss. Jane told the boy to come in, she could clearly see why Mok had been so fond of the boy. Porchay was wearing an oversized band t-shirt and worn out jeans with sneakers and had such an adorable face with his big brown eyes that exuded life but looked apprehensive at her. She had an urge to reach out and squish his cheeks but settled for smiling as sweetly as possible.
He gave her a wai, meeting her smile and walked over to the desk where Miss. Jane was.
“Good morning Miss. Jane, you called me?”
“Yes Chay. This lovely lady here is Miss. Nathlada Arseni. She adopted Mok last year and now wanted to adopt you as well so I called you in to meet with her.”
Hearing Mok's name filled Porchay with a strong warmth and he visibly perked up, his hands which were in fists at his sides loosened and he turned to Nathlada with excitement in his eyes.
“Hello N'Chay. It’s so lovely to finally meet you. Mok has told me so much about you. I wish he could’ve come with me today but he had important things to do back at the mansion.”
“You live in a mansion?” Chay looked more hyper and animated as his nervousness was thrown out of the window and his happiness leaking through his voice.
Nathlada took this as a good sign and extended her hand to Porchay who shook it immediately and told Chay that she’d bring Mok with her to visit next time. She still needed to fulfill the obligations and wanted Porchay to be comfortable enough to accept them as family.
He nodded eagerly and gave her a wai before sprinting off to the direction of the playground.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Two days later as promised, Chay was greeted by the sight of Miss. Nathlada and a young boy with glasses and stiff posture in the office.
“P'Mok!” Mok was immediately engulfed by a pair of tiny arms strongly hugging his torso and two big brown eyes spilling with tears meeting his own gaze which had softened to the likes of melted butter. He immediately squeezed Porchay's body and patted his head slowly and gently, wiping away his tears on his sleeves.
“I guess I don’t need to ask if you missed me,” Mok said with an attempt to make Chay laugh.
“I guess your humor hasn’t improved either P’,” he said with a wet chuckle and Mok laughed with him, intentionally ruffling his hair in retaliation.
“You too go to the playground while Miss. Nathlada and I discuss the adoption process and details in the office.”
Chay quickly took Mok's hand and pulled him away from the office as they walked towards the playground. On their way Chay saw a sleek, fancy, black car which screamed loyalty parked under a tree with a young boy about Mok's age with streaks of silver in his hair leaning against the door looking at them with a bored expression before his eyes flicked to their joined hands and his posture stiffened.
“Oh, that’s Rome. He’s Miss. Nathlada's younger son. They have two children.”
“Should I say hi? He looks annoyed.” Chay felt uncomfortable with how Rome was looking at him but Mok shook his head and took him over to the car.
“Hello P'Rome. My name is Porchay,” he said sweetly with a wai.
Rome looked at him clinically and his eyes darted to Mok who was looking at him apprehensively as if he was a bit annoyed.
“We’re going to the playground for a while. Come on Chay, he’ll join us if he wants to.”
Porchay looked between Rome and Mok and skipped happily to the playground with Mok walking calmly behind him. Rome rolled his eyes, put his hands in his pockets and casually walked over, standing beside Mok at the swings. Porchay couldn’t tell what they were talking about from the monkey bars but they seemed relaxed and the tense lines on Rome’s forehead vanished as he watched Mok attentively swinging and talking about something. He felt happy knowing that his closest friend had someone he could rely on. Besides, Chay always felt like Mok saw him as a younger brother to protect. That’s why he came to adopt Chay as well.
After a while, Chay felt sleepy so he walked over to where Rome and Mok were sitting on the bench just outside the playground. He gently tugged on Mok's sleeve and activated his big puppy eyes and pout of his lips as soon as he turned to look at him.
"P'Mok, I am really tired. Can you carry me please?”
Rome looked over at Porchay and had a confused expression.
“What is he doing with his eyes, what manipulation is this Mok?”
Mok ignored him and picked Chay up while standing from the bench. He slowly patted him on his back and felt Chay's body relax and his breathing becoming consistent. Mok put his finger on his lips and indicated with his head for Rome to follow him to the orphanage dorms. Soon, he settled Chay into his bed, covered him with the blanket, refilled his water bottle besides his bed and left him a note all while being silently observed by Rome. He then gently patted Chay's head twice before leaving the dorms with Rome. Once they were outside, he could see Rome’s eyes filled with curiosity glancing at him as they walked to the administrative office to meet Rome’s mother.
“Just spill it Rome.”
“I just…didn’t think you’d be good with kids.”
Mok turned to look at him.
“I’m not. Chay's an exception. I met him when I was escaping from some street thugs a distance away from a car crash. He was barely able to talk more than two words. I carried him along with me and found the orphanage where we lived for some years until Miss. Nathlada adopted me, but I couldn’t leave him behind. So here we are.”
Rome nodded slowly with understanding.
“So you’re an older brother to him.”
“Basically.”
Rome’s lips turned up ever so slightly and his eyes seemed to have a shine to them.
“We’ll take good care of him. I promise you,” Rome said with determination underlining his voice.
Mok's eyes curved into crescents and a genuine smile appeared on his face when he mumbled a quiet thank you in response.
Rome flushed in response and they both walked quietly side by side to the office. Miss. Nathlada was just shaking the lady’s hand and turned to smile at her boys.
“The process is all done. We’ll be able to take him home tomorrow morning. Where is Porchay, Mok?”
“He felt sleepy so we dropped him off at the dormitories and I left him a note saying that we’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Oh, excellent. Well then, I won’t take up more of your time ma’am. Thank you for the smooth process and we’ll be here to pick him up tomorrow.”
She left the office with the two boys trailing behind her. Mok was filled with joy at the thoughts of Porchay being in the mansion where he will finally live the life he deserves with love and respect. Rome was filled with a newfound admiration for Mok. He for one, was apprehensive about Mok at the beginning but soon realised how wrong he was. Mok had an amazing heart. He especially loved the smile and ease with which Mok talked to Porchay. It made his heart feel soft and he was excited to see more of it.