We’re home and we’ve just unloaded our bags. I’m standing in front of the counter, checking the ingredients spread out before me.
“Um, is there anything I can do?” Chen asks from beside me.
I turn to him. “Can you cut an onion?”
“…yes.”
“Here.” I hand one to him, then I start steaming the rice. After I do so, I turn to check on Chen, he’s struggling to get the knife through the onion without it rolling off the cutting board. He tries to shove the knife into it causing the onion to slide off. In his haste, he nearly chops his own finger off.
“Oi, oi, oi! Hold it like this”, I reposition his hands. “I thought you said you could cut an onion?”
“I didn’t know it’d be this hard!” He’s blushing. Man, he blushes easily. I laugh. “Hold it like this and cut thin slices horizontally…” After instructing Chen, I start cutting the carrots. Several moments later, a sudden thought hits me. I turn back to him. “Hey, sorry I forgot to warn you-” Ah, too late. His eyes are red rimmed and a singular droplet makes its way down his left cheek. “-onions make you cry.”
After a while, the vegetables are cut. I sauté them, add spices and water, and when the rice is ready, I combine the two.
“Okay, so this is sambar rice.” I place the bowl of steaming brown rice in the middle of the table. “It’s basically rice doused in a lentil and vegetable stew.” I hand Chen a bowl and a spoon. He immediately picks up a spoonful and lifts it to his lips. “But be careful because-” he shovels the spoonful into his mouth, freezes, then rushes to the sink”-it’s hot and spicy.”
Holding back a chuckle, I hand him a glass. He immediately grabs it, fills it up, and starts glugging it down. After four cups his eyes are misty and his already semi full lips are now puffy and red. I stop him from getting a fifth, “drink anymore and you’ll lose your appetite for dinner.” He turns to look at the remaining sambar rice and his face blanches.
“Do I have to finish that?”
“Come on, it’s not good to waste food. Try it with something sweet first. That usually works. If you really can’t, I’ll have it tomorrow.” I pull out a mango yogurt and hand it to him. His mouth is still open, panting. I notice his small pink tongue flicking against his bright red lips, I clear my throat and glance away. Wow the sambar rice is hot today.
“Sorry, I usually use four or five chilis for the sambar but this time I reduced it to three since you’re not used to spicy food. I guess that was still too much.”
Chen, currently in the midst of stuffing his mouth with yogurt, spares a moment to look up at me and fervently nod. He’s still misty eyed. Cute. I freeze.
Glug, glug, glug.
I come back to myself in time to see Chen balancing between a bite of the rice, a mouthful of the yogurt, and a gulp of his water.
“If you really can’t then you don’t have to.”
“No,” pant, “I hardly”, gulp gulp, “get to eat”, chomp chomp, “homemade”, pant, “food!”
I stare at him for a second. Then I burst into laughter.
“What the heck was that sentence?” He glares at me with his misty gaze while his mouth continues chomping away. I start laughing even harder. Then I pause when a thought hits me.
“How come you hardly get to eat homemade food? Do your parents not make it for you?”
I fill my mouth with a spoonful of the rice, waiting for his answer. However, after several seconds I look up, then freeze.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Chen…are you crying?”
“P’w” tlmmeq “cba.”
“Dea sbe’gf…”
“Pa’r atf bclbcr!”
“Dea atfs’gf mbbxfv?”
“Ktfc la’r atf rqlmf! Pa’r sbeg ojeia, lo sbe tjvc’a wjvf la atlr rqlms…!”
P kjamt tlw bqfc wbeatfv. Gjwc, P’nf cfnfg tjv sbecufg rlyilcur. Lbk jw P reqqbrfv ab xcbk ktja ab vb tfgf? Ktfc j oijrt bo lcrqlgjalbc tlar wf, P gfwfwyfg ws vjv mbjzlcu ws wbw.
“Chen, Chen listen to me.” I rush over to him. “It’s all my fault okay? It’s all my fault. Hush.” I pat his back. “It’s okay, let it all out. It’s my fault.”
Ten minutes later his sobs finally weaken, I’m still half crouching next to him, patting his back, and I realize what an awkward position we’re in. Ram, you’re an idiot. Why would you coax him?
I clear my throat. “Feeling better now?”
“Yeah.”
“Um…want to talk about it?” Chen doesn’t react. His head is bowed, eyes downcast, and he’s completely still. Just as I’m debating what to do, Chen speaks.
“I have no home.”
“Well, yeah, your apartment did just burn dow-“
“No. Not that.”
“What?” He doesn’t respond. My eyes widen. “Oh wow, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know-” He interrupts me with a bitter laugh.
“No, my parents are alive and well, well enough to wish they didn’t have a son like me.” I peer at his eyes, they’re shadowed and downcast.
“…Uh…” I stand there, stiff as a board. Chen doesn’t speak for several minutes and I feel as if I’m on pins and needles. Then, he looks up.
“Just kidding! I’m stuffed, I don’t think I can manage another bite!”
I hesitate whether to add something further, then decide to just keep my mouth shut. I pick up his plate and the other utensils to clear the table. I consider asking him to help with the dishes, then I push the thought away. The guy seems to be going through a lot. However, just as I pick up the sponge I hear a “wait!” I turn around.
“Let me help with the dishes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, you cooked didn’t you? I’ll do the dishes.”
“Alright, then I’ll leave you to it…wait, do you know how to do it?”
“Of course I do!”
“But…you didn’t know how to cook…”
“I never cooked but my mom always made me wash the dishes-anyway, I can do it, shoo!”
“Okay, okay.” Raising my hands in a surrender pose, I walk over to the TV.
“Hey Chen!” I turn on the TV.
“Yeah?”
“Want to watch a movie?”
“Sure!” I turn to Amazon Prime.
“Is Marvel okay?” I call.
“Sure!” I go to the search bar and type in “Endgame”.
Some two to three hours later we reach the scene where Tony Stark collapses to the ground, and Iron Man breathes his last breath. Tom Holland, dressed as Spider Man, utters his last lines to his dying mentor “You won, we did it Sir, we did it. I’m sorry Tony”, his voice shaking.
“Ram…are you crying?” Chen peers over at me. I blink my eyes rapidly several times.
“No”.
“Your voice sounds strangled.”
“…Alright, maybe a little.” I turn to face Chen. “How can you not? It’s been more than ten years, but I guess the big man’s gotta go some time.”
“The big man…as in Iron Man?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh wow, he’s been around more than ten years?”
“Iron man 1 came out in 2008.”
“And you’ve been watching it since then?”
“Of course, I’ve been a fan since I was teenie tiny. I think I still have my old posters and action figures stashed in my parents’ house.” Chen’s face breaks out into a smile.
“What?”
“I’m trying to imagine a teenie tiny Ram playing with action figures.”
“There are still adults who do that kind of thing, you know? Like, adults who collect figurines or watch animated shows-” I notice Chen’s shifting gaze.
“Speaking of which, your backpack has a key chain with a cartoon character on it, doesn’t it? Like Pikachu or something?” Chen pouts angrily.
“It’s not a ‘cartoon character’, it’s anime! And it’s not just for kids you know, there’s some serious blood and gore in some of them!”
“Okay, okay whatever you say.”
“Hey! I’m serious! Don’t treat me like a kid!”
“Okay, okay, I won’t Chen who can’t cut an onion.”
“Hey!”
“Or should I say cry baby Chen?” He punches my shoulder, then clutches his own hand.
“Ow! What the heck, it’s hard as a rock!” I laugh. “This is because I eat actual protein and workout. Speaking of which, do you exercise?” Chen pouts and looks away.
“I exercise my hands when I write.”
“Don’t you type?”
“I make notes! And sign autographs. Besides, typing is an exercise too!” I shake my head.
“Sure sure, you should seriously exercise though. It’s not good to eat like a bird and hardly move your body.”
“I don’t eat like a bird!” This time he tries to kick me.
“Owwwww!” He clutches his leg.
“I’m telling you man, you’ve gotta exercise.” I say while continuing to laugh. Frustrated, Chen finally tries to ram against me with all his might. Invariably, he ends up falling on top of me. His arm is braced against my chest, our faces inches apart. For a moment, everything freezes. Chen’s gaze flits off to the side. His ears are red.
I feel my throat grow dry. It’s as if time has slowed down, everything coalesces in that single moment. I can hear our shallow breaths and my accelerating heartbeat. I reach forward and…pinch Chen’s fleshy arm, hard. He shoots up with a howl.
“I told you last time didn’t I? You’re so skinny, you have absolutely no muscle. Come on, next opportunity that arises, we’re going to the gym.”
“That hurt!!!”
“Well if you had more muscle, you could fight back.”
“Hmph!” He turns tail and stomps to his room. I cover up my smile, how cute. Then I freeze. Ram, where the hell is your mind going right now? What the hell was that? You’re just letting him stay because you feel bad for him. Besides, you’re not even… I shake my head to clear my thoughts. Let’s go finish that analysis paper, hopefully I don’t have to pull another all-nighter.
Thank you very much🥰❤️❤️❤️
For writing? If so, thank you for reading it!
Thanks for the chapter!!
Ahhh Ram and Chen are so cute ♡♡♡
Thanks for the chapter € ^ *^)/// ~~ ♡♡♡♡♡