Chapter Fourteen

Author’s Note: This story is set in an alternate universe, in an imaginary town and country, and during an ambiguous time period.

Adisa followed behind Kazir into his apartment, holding his share of the groceries  they had bought together and looking around with open curiosity. As they stepped into the apartment, the warm, familiar scent of Kazir’s home washed over them.

“Your place is nice,” Adisa commented, his eyes sweeping across the living room. 

“Thanks.”

“So many plants!” He marveled before he turned and faced Kazir. “And it smells amazing here.”

“Thanks. This way,” he ushered Adisa to the tiny kitchen.

“I see where your smell comes from.”

Kazir’s heart stuttered at the casual remark. “Huh?” He paused and looked at a grinning, innocuous Adisa. He quickly brushed it off, forcing a smile. “It’s all the plants. I’ve got a lot of them.”

Adisa chuckled as he set the bags down on the kitchen counter. “Yeah, I noticed. You have a lot and it’s amazing. How do you keep them all alive? They look so healthy.”

Kazir smiled, feeling a little more at ease now. He meant nothing by commenting on his smell. His house smell probably clung to him. 

“My parents are what some would call big horticulture fanatics. I guess it rubbed off on me.”

“That’s awesome,” Adisa said, his eyes bright with interest. “Do they work in that field?”

Kazir shook his head, laughing. “No, they’re—well, my mother’s passion rubbed off on my father and they’re both just really passionate about gardening.”

“Do they have a large garden?”

“You're in for a shock.”

“I’d like to see that,” Adisa mused.

Kazir’s heartbeat stuttered at Adisa’s casual comment.

As they began to unload the groceries, Adisa looked thoughtful. “Your parents must be retired by now, right?”

Kazir paused, considering his answer as he placed a bag of vegetables on the counter. “Kind of.”

“Kind of?” Adisa pressed.

Kazir chuckled and nodded.

“Well, elaborate.”

“On what?”

“You can’t be “kind of” retired. Do they still work?”

Throwing Adisa an amused glance, Kazir said, “My dad’s fully retired, but my mom, she’s sort of still working. She had always been a remote worker.” He shrugged. “She’s continued. She likes to be busy.”

“Like my poppa. What does she do?”

“Children’s book illustrator.”

“That’s amazing. Anything I’ve read?” Adisa said, genuinely impressed. 

Kazir looked at him again, the corner of his eyes crinkling in his merriment. “I don’t know, but maybe. You’re young, I keep on forgetting.”

“Only three years younger than you.”

Kazir laughed, his mirth contagious. “Alright. I’ll stop teasing.”

Swallowing his chuckle, Adisa added, “And what did your dad do before he retired?”

“You have a lot of questions.”

“Just making conversation.”

Kazir sighed, but he answered. “He’s a certified gardener now,” Kazir joked, unable to resist the teasing smile on his lips.

Adisa laughed, clearly enjoying the banter. “A certified gardener, huh? What did he do before that?”

“He was an engineer,” Kazir answered, his tone softening.

Adisa’s eyes lit up. “Following in his footsteps?”

Kazir shook his head, a small laugh escaping him. “Not exactly. My dad worked on building theme park attractions, so it’s a different kind of engineering. Nothing to do with IT.”

Adisa’s face transformed with awe, like a child hearing about something magical. “That’s even more amazing! Have you ever been to one of the attractions he helped create?”

Kazir grinned. “Yeah, a few. You probably have too, if you’ve been to any major park in the country or outside of it.”

Adisa let out a low whistle, clearly impressed. 

“Your parents sound amazing.”

Jaejong shrugged, but his chest swelled with pride.

They finished setting out the groceries when Kazir fixed Adisa with a curious look. “Enough about my family. What about yours? Since you’ve been grilling me about mine.”

With a sheepish grin, Adisa scratched the back of his head. “What do you want to know? You don’t ask me a lot of questions, so I’m just trying to figure you out.”

Kazir’s cheeks flushed at the implication, the heat rushing through his body as he tried to suppress the embarrassment. He’s just being friendly, he reminded himself, trying to calm the butterflies that Adisa’s smile stirred. He decided to tease back. “Are your parents even close to retirement, considering how young you are?”

Adisa laughed, shaking his head. “Three years,” he reminded him of their age gap. “But no, they’re not retired. My poppa’s always been a homemaker. Now that my youngest brother’s heading off to college soon, he’s talking about going back to work or picking up more volunteer opportunities. He hates being idle. And my dad’s an elementary school principal.”

Kazir raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that.”

Adisa laughed again. “What, I don’t seem like the child of a principal?”

Kazir smirked. “I can see it, actually. The confidence, the leadership… yeah.”

Adisa grinned, clearly enjoying the conversation. “Thank you. You’re too kind,” he said, in mock gratefulness, clutching his chest with a childish grin on his face.

“Genuine complement,” Kazir reminded him, feeling the need to reprimand him.

“Wait, your parents are both…males?”

“Primary gender, yes,” Adisa commented noncommittally. “My dad’s a beta and my birthing dad’s an omega. You?”

Kazir nodded, feeling a bit more at ease now that Adisa had shared. “Same pairing, just different primary genders. Are you the only alpha in your family?”

Adisa shook his head. “Four of us five are alpha.”

Kazir let out a shocked gasp.

Adisa laughed. “That seems to always get the same kind of reaction.”

“Well,” Kazir stuttered. “That’s a bit…rare.”

Her shrugged. “Not in my family tree, apparently. My father was the only beta in his family of seven.”

“Wow. You do come from large families.”

“You could say it runs in our DNA,” Adisa winked. “My poppa is one of five, too.”

“My goodness.”

Adisa laughed. “What about you?”

“Two omegas and one beta.”

There was a comfortable pause between them before Kazir clapped his hands together, breaking the moment. “Alright, enough chit-chat. Go take a shower. I’ll finish setting things up here.”

Adisa nodded, but instead of heading to the bathroom, he began helping Kazir with the groceries. “I’ll help with this first.”

Kazir waved him off. “It’s fine, go shower. I’ve already put out clean towels for you. Let me know if there’s anything I forgot.”

“But—”

“I want to shower before we start cooking, too.”

Adisa eventually relented, smiling as he disappeared down the hallway. Kazir let out a soft breath, the quiet of the apartment suddenly making him aware of how much space Adisa had taken up. It was strange having him here—comfortable, but strange.

As he continued unpacking the groceries, his mind wandered back to the odd shift in their dynamic. Adisa wasn’t just a colleague anymore. He could now say with confidence that he was now a friend, even if being with him made him feel strange and made his heart race like it hadn’t in a while, not since he was in university and…

He stopped his brain from going there.

 The friendship was good. Adisa was so open and easy to talk to and his smile seemed to disarm him at every turn.

When Adisa came back from his shower, Kazir hated how he couldn't help but drink in the sight of him. He smelled like his body wash, though his usual scent still clung to his skin, a hint of zesty lemon. He looked irresistibly cute with his damp bangs hanging down his face, wearing gray sweatpants and a matching gray shirt. Catching himself, Kazir handed him the task of prepping the vegetables while he went to take a quick shower himself.

It felt strange to be in the bathroom after Adisa. 

It was clear he had been careful not to move any of Kazir's things, and the bathroom was dry and clean. Yet, it was as if Adisa's scent had infused the room with his smell, lingering even after his shower. Kazir wondered if Adisa had sprayed cologne or brought his own body wash—but then he remembered that Adisa had smelled like his body wash.

Probably cologne, Kazir thought as he methodically scrubbed down in the shower, the water sliding over his body.

Kazir reflected on what he was doing. This was strange, indeed. However, he realized how easy it was to be swept up by Adisa and match his pace.

By the time he returned, Adisa had almost finished all the work he left for him. He felt Adisa’s eyes trailing on him, and when he slid up next to him, he noticed the way he took in a sharp intake of breath and the slight step he took, moving away from him. Kazir decided not to comment on it. It was probably nothing.

Kazir offered Adisa something to drink.

“I have juice, tea, and, hopefully you’re old enough, alcoholic beverages?” Adisa laughed at his teasing. “You can get tipsy since I’m the one dropping you home.”

Adisa laughed again. The sound light. He had taken an uber to their usual meet up place that morning with his bike, knowing that after cycling he would be going grocery shopping with Kazir and then promptly to his apartment.

“I’ll take a beer if you’re drinking, too.”

“You want me to drive drunk?”

“One drink shouldn’t have you drunk, and I can take a taxi back home.”

Kazir took out two beers from his fridge. By the time they were done cooking, even if he had gotten tipsy, he would be completely sober, and one beer wouldn’t have him anywhere near drunk.

“Thank you,” Adisa said after Kazir handed him the can.

“You’re welcome.”

They soon settled comfortably into the kitchen, cooking together like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The afternoon passed in a blur of laughter and conversation, their hands busy chopping, stirring, and tasting as they prepared the meal together. Adisa, despite not liking to cook, seemed to enjoy the process, eagerly learning as Kazir showed him the ropes.

They were both full of good food and contentment. Adisa stayed late into the evening, and neither of them seemed in a hurry to end the day.

As they made their way out outside of Kazir’s  apartment, walking beside Kazir, Adisa turned to Kazir with that same impossibly charming smile and said, “This was the best cooking lesson of my life.”

Kazir laughed and said, “and the only one.”

“I can still tell it was the best.”

 “All right. Well, I hope you enjoy your leftovers.”

 “I will,” he declared with an unmatched certainty. He paused and then he said, “I hope we can do this again sometime? Soon?”

Kazir smiled back, feeling a warmth settle in his chest. He regarded Adisa like a puppy. A cute, charming younger brother. 

“Yeah. I had fun, too.”

This had ended up being one of the best Saturdays he had had in a long while.