Chapter 22

(Chan POV)

Saturday Afternoon - BOC Stadium

Chan hugged Tankhun as if there was no tomorrow. He realized Tankhun or maybe everyone in this lounge would think that he was overdoing it. But, did he really give a damn about what they think about him? Absolutely not! Right now, the only thing that occupied his mind was, he missed his sassy doctor so fucking much, so he would be held onto Tankhun's slender body to his heart's content. Nobody was allowed to protest.

The last time he met Tankhun was 4 days ago, and communicated with him - if their last conversation on the cellphone could be considered as communication - was 3 days ago. It didn't even take a week and he was wrecked. Chan yearned for Tankhun like mad.

You got it really bad, mister!

But no matter what happened, though minimal, Chan still had self-respect (Are You Sure!?), and he was also aware that he needed to handle Tankhun's reluctance to get into serious relationships delicately. So, he had to be able to control himself, and not make Tankhun feel pressured. However, at this moment, this very second, he just wanted to embrace this feeling without being restrained. Chan buried his nose deeper into Tankhun's neck.

Gods have mercy, he smelled so good! And the scent was very familiar because it was one of his favorite things in the whole world. Chan took a deep breath of Tankhun's scent. Well, he had to make sure that it was that scent that he was smelling and not his mind playing tricks on him.

"You smell like caramel. You're wearing something caramel-scented, aren't you, baby?" pried Chan.

"Maybe," whispered Tankhun in Chan's ear.

Chan smelled Tankhun's neck once again.

"Do you always smell like this?" asked Chan again, his head starting to get dizzy.

"May~be," whispered Tankhun again, cheekily this time. "What do you think, Caramello?"

Fuck!

He smelled so good, and he felt so damn good… How could Chan possibly let Tankhun out of his arms now?

"For your information, my Pa is here," stated Tankhun matter-of-factly, still whispering. "He's somewhere behind me talking with Pete and Kim."

Immediately, Chan let Tankhun's body out of his arms. But not completely though, his left hand was still on the doctor's waist. Chan just couldn't let go.

"Chan, are you okay? You look pale."

He just hugged Tankhun like a maniac in front of his Pa! Of course, he paled!

"Tankhun, why didn't you tell me about your Pa earlier?" whispered Chan, his voice a bit trembling.

"Did you give me a chance to talk?" argued Tankhun. "You didn't even say hi."

"That hug was my hi," Chan argued back.

Tankhun rolled his eyes at Chan.

"Is this revenge?" asked the Captain, squinting his eyes at Tankhun.

"Not even close," replied Tankhun. "Don't you know that revenge is a dish best-served cold?"

"It feels like you've already got your revenge, Doctor, believe me," uttered Chan, with a worried face. "What does your father think of me now? I gave him such a bad first impression for acting like a barbarian."

"You're overthinking," said Tankhun, giggling. "Come on, I'll introduce you to him."

"Wait!" said Chan as he quickly smoothed his hair and clothes. "Okay, do I look decent now?"

Tankhun chuckled. "You look fine. Come on."

Chan exhaled loudly from his mouth, trying to relax and preparing himself to meet Tankhun's Pa. He must have looked so ridiculous, he laughed at himself. Even in his debut match twenty years ago, when he was just a sixteen years old boy, Chan wasn't even this worried.

Chan, you got this!

"Okay, I'm ready," Chan decided as he offered his left arm to Tankhun, who then - after a while - finally wrapped his arm around Chan's. "Let's go."

(Tankhun POV)

Stop overthinking and hold his arm!

Tankhun wrapped his right arm around Chan's left arm and then flashed him a little smile. No matter what, he had already given Chan his word. Whether he liked it or not, for the next three months they were in this charade together. Tankhun needed to pull himself together.

"Let's go."

Pa stood with his back to them, but before Tankhun called out to him, Pa had already turned around and smiled broadly at both of them.

Chan held out his right hand right away to shake Pa's hand, introducing himself politely, "Sir, I'm Chan Knight, it's an honor."

"Korn Theerapanyakul. It's nice to meet you, Captain," replied Pa, his smile growing wider.

"Cap!" yelled Kim, who was standing next to Pa. "I have a feeling this match will be flooded with goals."

"That's the spirit! And I think you need to score a hat-trick for Doctor T, Cap," said Pete excitedly.

Pete's words were immediately responded to with loud cheers from Arm, Pol, and even Vegas, who had already joined the group without Tankhun knowing.

"Totally! Doctor T, don't accept less than that!" shouted Pol. Then, the rest of the team, Ken, Big, Tem, Jom, and Tay, who also joined them, immediately cheered in their approval.

"Hat-trick! Hat-trick! Hat-trick!"

The BSFC boys started chanting, and almost everyone in the room then followed suit.

"Sir, I'm so sorry for these barbarians who have no manners," Chan said to Pa. "Boys, please behave!"

"I think hat-trick would be amazing," said Pa. "Hat-trick! Hat-trick! Come on, boys!"

"HAT-TRICK! HAT-TRICK! HAT-TRICK!"

The cheers and chants grew even louder, Tankhun couldn't believe his eyes, even his Pa participated in this chaos. Kim was also stunned for a moment there before he finally chanted loudly with the crowds. Not gonna lie, seeing Pa and Kim like that, Tankhun's eyes were a little teary.

"I should have introduced myself sooner, Sir," explained Chan. "I didn't know you came to watch today's match. Please, forgive me."

"There's nothing to apologize for. I used to be like that too," Pa replied calmly. "Whenever I entered a room, the first and only person I noticed was Tankhun and Kim's Ma. Trust me, Captain, I get it."

Dear Lord... Pa~!

"OOOOOOOH~"

"EIIIIIII~"

Chan was stunned and speechless and just stood there, couldn't even control his teammates anymore. His face was getting red and gradually, the Captain of BSFC lowered his head.

D-Did Chan just blush? Can you fake blushing? What does this even mean!?

Tankhun didn't know what to think anymore, nothing like this had ever happened to him before. He was 100% sure the expression on his face wouldn't be much different from Chan's right now.

This is madness!

"Tankhun…. Tankhun," called Chan as he gently touched his arm.

"Yes. Yes, what is it?" responded Tankhun quickly, although he was aware that everyone in the room must have known that earlier, he was so lost in his own thoughts. Fortunately, nobody mentioned or teased him for it.

"The boys and I have to go to the locker room, the coaches have already called for us," Chan explained to Tankhun. "David will take you to your seats. If you need anything, just tell him."

"Noted, thanks," replied Tankhun.

"Sir, please allow me to take you, Kim, and Tankhun, out for dinner this evening," Chan asked Pa. "If it's too much of a hassle to wait for me after the match, maybe we can meet at a restaurant?"

"I think I'd better go home after the game. I haven't been out of the house all day like this in a very long time," replied Pa. "But I would love to have you come to our house for dinner when you have time."

"I would love to, sir."

Pa nodded happily, "Good luck with the match, Captain. Hat-Trick! Hat-Trick! Hat-Trick!"

"Pa~, please..." begged Tankhun, he was so close to covering his face with both of his hands.

"I'll try my best, Sir," promised Chan, who then held out his fist towards Kim, who immediately bumped his fist with Chan's.

"Crush them, Cap!" yelled Kim. "BSFC! BSFC! BSFC!"

Pa and Kim were really determined to embarrass him, and they had succeeded. He had never held himself back to this extent. Luckily at this time, the BSFC boys had already entered the locker room, so there were only four of them here.

"Have dinner with me tonight, Doctor," Chan pleaded. "Please?"

Since when did Chan have this puppy look? And asking him like this in front of his Pa and brother was really unfair!

Damn him!

"Okay," replied Tankhun.

Like he had any other choice but to agree. Besides, he couldn't avoid Chan all the time. Tankhun Theerapanyakul was never a coward and never will be!

But apparently, Tankhun's emotional test for today wasn't over yet, because Chan then held the back of his head and gently pulled him closer to kiss him on his left cheek and whispered, "Laters, baby."

He did NOT just whisper the corniest lines from the corniest movie to him, in front of his Pa!

"Fuck, you're corny," Tankhun whispered back to Chan, which made the Captain burst out laughing.

Afterward, Chan left them to the locker room, for real, and Tankhun, who couldn't take it anymore, covered his face with both hands.

"It's nice to see you like this, son," said Pa, who suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Pa?" questioned Tankhun as he lifted his head to look at Pa.

"In love."

Tankhun of course did not agree with Pa, and immediately wanted to protest, but Pa was faster than him.

"Shh... you're always overthinking and overanalyzing things, Tankhun Theerapanyakul," added Pa as he cupped Tankhun's face in his hands. "Being in love is fun, just enjoy it."

Tankhun had never tried so hard in his life to smile at his Pa as he did just now.

Mayday! Mayday! I need help!

TBC

AN: This is the fluffiest chapter I've ever written *covers my face with both hands* Hopefully, it's done right. LMAO! XD