Chapter Fifteen.2 : He's Not The Favorite Child Anymore

On the other end of the line, Drake stayed silent and made a sound of affirmation before ending the phone call. "Hmm," he hummed and gulped down his anxiety that had been growing after causing an argument at his boyfriend's family dinner.

He lay down on a single bed in a budget hotel. He stared through the ceiling and remembered the dinner he shared with Keith's family in the hospital. It was a loud, chaotic but warm dinner. He overheard the dinner they had just had, which was also loud and chaotic but messy.

It would be a big lie if he said he didn't want to be part of Keith's big family. Kylie's acceptance made him fly to the moon. How Rio and Theo adore him made him want to be cherished more to the point of wanting to spoil the kids too.

Drake got up from the bed and placed an ice pack over his bruise; each stinging sensation seemed like a constant reminder of how greedy he had become for wanting to be loved by Keith's family. It was disheartening when reality bit him.

…

An hour later, Keith called his boyfriend.

Keith: "Babe… [sniffles] Are you there?"

As soon as Drake heard him, he knew Keith must have had a harsher fight with his family than he thought.

Drake: "Hmm. Are you crying, babe?"

Keith: "Who wouldn't cry? I'm grounded! Ma took the PC again. [sniffles] You know, I've been doing everything they wanted. [sniifles] But it still wasn't enough for them. I didn't even realize my ma bombarded me with many clubs works so that I wouldn't get enough time for {sniffles] drama club. I feel so dumb! I knew then that both of them didn't want to support me on this… She made me think it's fine with her as long as I work hard but— damn it! She's worse than pa."

Drake listened to Keith. He was silent because he couldn't think of the right words to tell Keith. Drake listened to Keith's muffled cries and interfering sniffles. He had an idea that Keith must be hurting, disappointed, or suffocated right now, but it would be presumptuous to say that he understood what Keith was feeling at that time… after all, he wasn't an honor student. Drake wasn't someone with significant responsibilities and expectations. But he knew better than anyone how it feels to be suffocated in your own home.

Keith: Babe… [hiccup] I thought I was their [hiccup] favorite. Turns out, they just [hiccup] see me as a kid. [Hiccup] I'm their last child who can carry [hiccup] their unfulfilled dreams because my sisters are [hiccup] lucky enough to pass that to [hiccup] the youngest… [hiccup] Just because I'm a boy, why do they have to place so much burden to me?

Drake: Calm down. Drink water, babe.

Keith: I'm sorry about what [hiccup] happened earlier… You shouldn't have been involved [hiccup] in my fight with them.

Drake: Don't be sorry. If I didn't call, maybe, you wouldn't—

Keith: I was waiting for your call the entire day.

Keith: [hiccups]

Aside from Keith's hiccups, they both went into silence.

Keith was the type who couldn't hide his emotions. Despite his scary exterior, he was very transparent and easy to read, whether he was feeling annoyed, bothered, or happy. When Keith was prejudiced against Drake during first-year high school, his eye rolls and cold attitude towards Drake were noticeable. When Keith recently fell in love with his seatmate, his blushing ears quickly revealed his feelings toward Drake.

In simple terms, Keith is actually more straightforward than he seems. Expressing his emotions was easy for him... just like how he could easily hide his sexuality in a strict upbringing.

When Keith cut Drake's apology and told him that Keith had been waiting, Drake felt his heart beating faster. He felt a pang on his chest, and beads of tears started accumulating in his eyes.

'He's waiting for me...' Drake repeated this in his head.

Keith: "Babe?"

Drake: "Keith Lim... Have you ever thought of changing your last name to mine?"

[hiccup*]

Keith covered his mouth and tried to muffle his scream. That flirtatious pickup line sounded like a marriage proposal.

Keith: "We don't need to change any family name even if we were to get married... We're both boys..."

"Babe," Drake lovingly called him. "What?" Keith laughingly asked.

"I'll be home soon. Even if you're not your parent's favorite, I want you to know that you're the only one for me... you're my only home." Drake quietly wiped the tear that fell on his cheek. He smiled and laughed after muttering a corny line, but he has probably never been as honest as he did today.

Keith kicked his blanket aggressively and tried to contain his happiness. The butterflies in his stomach were in a frenzy after hearing Drake's sweet nothings. When he calmed down, he whispered, "On second thoughts, can you call me Keith Ran as soon as possible?"

The two giggled and found themselves feeling a little bit better.

Drake: "Babe, have you drank water already?"

Keith: "Hmm. Later."

Drake: "How are you feeling now?"

Keith: "Slightly better than before."

Drake: "I'll come home tomorrow. I'll be there before noon. I'll cook you your favorite. I'll hug you and kiss you to make you feel better. Then, let's think about how to solve all that makes you cry."

Keith chuckled quietly, but enough for Drake to hear it.

Keith: "Okay."

Drake covered his face as he placed his palm over his eyes.

Drake: "Babe. I honestly don't know how to help you. I'm not confident with my skills in club work and school work. But I can cook you delicious meals; you should know by now that I'm also good at kissing. I smell good when you want to cuddle. I can dance and sing too if you want me to entertain you. I can..."

Keith snickered and chuckled. Hearing him over the phone was like a ride on a roller coaster. He was just mad and sad a moment ago. Now he's giggling uncontrollably.

Drake: "What? What's funny, babe?"

Keith: "You're desperately selling yourself to me. It's cute. I'd love to see you sing and dance for me when you're back."

The corner of Drake's lips tilted upwards slightly.

Drake: "Try not to get turned on when I give you a private show."

Keith let out a muffled scream.

Keith: "Drake Ran, you're such a tease. How could you seduce me when you wouldn't dare to sleep with me?"

Drake looked down and saw a bulge forming underneath his jeans. He laughed at his struggle and answered, "Babe, forgive me. It's not easy to hold back."

Drake couldn't help it anymore, and his left hand reached out to the aching member below while they were giving each other sweet talks.

Keith: Babe, tomorrow… give me a week-worth of your kisses. You owe it to me.

Drake chuckled. ­He thought, 'Baby, I'll give it to you... in return, give me yourself." He touched himself while his imagination wandered into his deepest desire.

Drake: Hmm. Anything else aside from kisses?

Keith: Let me borrow your laptop. I'll use it for Drama club works. I don't think the admin will give me the amount I asked, now that my ma obviously doesn't support me joining the drama club. I'll have to think of ways to ensure I won't eat the words I said to the other officers.

Little Drake down there suddenly felt unmotivated despite the relentless stroking. He was implying making out more just a while ago. He focused on the recent discovery that Keith's a bit perverted, that he forgot that he's a straight-A student— first and foremost— with many responsibilities.

Drake: Yeah, sure. I'll even give it to you if you let me.

Keith: I'll just borrow. I won't take it home with me…

Then from the other side of the phone, Rio and Theo suddenly climb to Keith's bed.

Rio jumped and asked, "Uncle, are you crying?"

"Huh?" Keith slightly hid his phone. "Why are you two here? It's late."

"We want to sleep beside uncle."

Drake's heart was pierced. 'Me too. I also want to sleep with him.'

"We're not going to fit in here. I'll take the beddings out first, so we can all sleep on the floor instead. Okay?" Keith rushed to make their bed since he could never say 'no' to his nephews when he had just wronged them earlier. Keith handed them the phone and pressed the speaker on. "Talk to your brother Drake here so he won't get bored.

Rio: "Brother Drake? Are you there?"

Theo: "Brother Drake! Where are you?"

Little Drake drastically got depressed. It didn't feel nice to jerk off while hearing these cute little angels. So, he went to the bathroom and washed his hands. He came back after a short minute.

Rio complained, "Uncle, you're lying. You said we can talk to brother Drake here, but he's not talking to us!"

Drake: "Hello, baby! I'm here!"

Drake cheerfully chatted with the kids.

Rio: "Brother Drake?!!!"

Theo: "I don't believe you. Brother Drake's voice is more handsome than you!!!"

The kids' excited voices were heard outside Keith's bedroom. Next to their room, Kylie wanted to scream at Keith but just resorted to sarcasm silently. "That little twat wants to hide that he's dating Drake, but he's calling him late at night. Woah, how low key."

"Huh?" Aaron looked at her with a clueless face. "He's d-dating Drake?"

"Eh? Why are you asking? Didn't you know they are dating? That's why you stood up for them and told pa that they're just normal best friends, right?"

"Huh? They're not normal best friends?"

"Oh god." Kylie messed up.

…

In the master's bedroom, Katherine and Rowan were on the bed with laptops on their lap. They were revising their exam test questions because they were told to make it easier than their standard. It was the fourth revision for Rowan and while third for Katherine. They were not in the right mood to make the exam easy. They were using all their brain cells to make their test questions easier by evaluating the common ground between the IQ level of the students and their ideal test questionnaire. However, they couldn't focus when they heard the twin's giggles from Keith's room… they were practically shouting 'brother Drake' all the time.

"I like that kid, but somehow, I feel like I lost to him." Katherine rolled her eyes.

"I don't like that kid at all." Rowan pressed the backspace key to delete the whole question.

"Why wouldn't you like him? He's rich and good at cooking."

"Honey, your EQ wouldn't understand where I'm coming from."

"Honey, do you think your EQ is higher than mine?"

"I do. After all, you're denser than salt water regarding human relations."

Katherine looked at her husband with murderous intent. "Said by the father who got ignored for the whole week."

"You're going to be ignored too."

"We shouldn't have spoiled our baby just because he's the youngest and the only boy among our kids."

"So… about his birthday next week. What should we do if he still won't talk to us?"

Katherine closed her laptop. "…"

In the end, they ended up making the test questions harder.