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“Come on,” said Kim and pressed his lips together as he was trying to get Kay to finally eat something. Anything at that point because it was already afternoon and so far Kay hadn’t eaten at all that day. All that he had was some tea, but that was about it and both Kim and Porchay were trying to get Kay to eat something. But, there was something wrong.
Kay had been more fussy since yesterday and Kim chewed on his lower lip. Kay was usually a good eater, so to see him refuse every single meal was just that more frustrating and he just sighed along, looking over to the living room, where Porchay was. He was currently on the phone, talking with Porsche, trying to ask him for advice on what to do when…
But if all would fail, then a trip to the doctor was going to be their best bet.
“Look, see, Chay cooked this,” said Kim and sighed out again, trying to remain calm, but Kay turned his head away when Kim tried feeding him once more. “It’s very yummy. See?” he asked and ate the food himself, but Kay just leaned back and started crying again. Kim just managed to calm him down and now the boy was crying again.
Kim dropped the spoon and slowly sighed, gently placing his hand on top of Kay’s head, the boy hiccuping but he managed to calm down. Still, there was something bothering Kay. Kay looked uneasy, he didn’t look comfortable at all. Probably because he was hungry and yet he refused to eat. Kim’s heart was hammering against his ribcage.
Chay managed to be somehow calmer about the whole thing, but Kim… he wasn’t.
“Do you want something else?” asked Kim and stood up, taking the plate away and as soon as he stepped away, Kay started crying again.
“Papa, papa, papa,” cried the boy and Kim quickly came back, pressing his lips together and he held Kay’s hand when he grabbed onto it, wrapping his fingers around one of Kim’s fingers and he pressed his lips together.
“Papa’s here, I’m not going anywhere,” said Kim and then he sat back down, Kay’s cries slowly calming down, tears still present in his eyes and Kim swallowed thickly, ran his fingers through his hair. “Look!” said Kim, leaning over to the bag of cookies that were Kay’s favourite and he tried feeding him that. If that failed, then Kim really didn’t know what he was going to do. He felt tired, frustrated.
When Kay was down with a cold last time, he already felt completely helpless and back then he made sure that Kay was never getting sick again. It was the worst experience, but now there they were, a few months later and Kay was again struggling. And he didn’t know what to do. As a parent, that was one of the worst feelings ever – not knowing how to help your child.
It broke Kim’s heart.
“Look, cookies,” said Kim and took one of them out of the bag and handed it to Kay.
For a split moment, Kim actually thought that Kay would like it as Kay took it into his hand, but then he threw it onto the floor and started fussing again.
“Papa,” said the boy and rubbed his eyes with his hands.
“No?’’ asked Kim and then he slowly nodded. “Okay, forget the cookies, you’re right,” said Kim and then he sighed along. Kay had started talking, now it was easier, but he was still too young to express himself, of course. That was why Kim still felt so helpless. If there was something that he could do to understand Kay better… “Bad idea,” said Kim and threw the bag of cookies onto the table and Kay giggled.
Kim smiled when he saw Kay finally smiling and giggling, but it didn’t last long and Kay’s smile soon disappeared, again fussing and whining and Kim gently placed his hand on top of Kay’s head and then he slowly took him out of the high chair. There was something that he could do. Perhaps Chay knew what to do. Maybe Porsche told him-
“Papa,” whined Kay once he was up in Kim’s arms and Kim placed a little kiss on top of Kay’s head. “Papa!” he whined again and Kim stopped in his tracks as Kay started flailing his hands around and he was again whining. It was almost as if he was trying to tell Kim something.
“I’m listening, what’s the matter?” asked Kim and he gently rocked with Kay in his arms. “Do you want to tell me something?” he asked and Kay whined. Kay kept fussing for a little while until Kim heard Kay saying something that-
“Boo boo,” said Kay and hiccuped. It seemed that he finally remembered the word. It was the first time he said it, but it was Porchay that tried teaching him the word before. “Boo boo,” he said and started crying. Kay burst in tears and leaned against Kim, who placed a hand behind his back and he felt his heart dropping to the pit of his stomach.
Boo boo.
Kay had a boo boo.
Kay was in pain.
Kim turned over to the door because he needed Porchay to be there in the room with him as well. Now that he heard Kay saying that he was in pain was what made the whole thing even worse and Kim pressed his lips together, gritting his teeth.
“Chay!” yelled Kim. “Come here,” he said and he could hear how Porchay stopped talking over the phone in the next room and he quickly ran into the room, panicking full on when he heard Kim yelling for him.
“I’m here, I’m here, what’s the matter?” asked Chay, heart falling to the pit of his stomach when he saw that Kay was still refusing to eat, the plate of food still full like before and he just stepped over to Kim, who was holding Kay in his arms.
“He’s in pain,” said Kim and Porchay’s eyes widened.
“What-”
“Boo boo,” whined Kay again and Porchay’s heart dropped as well.
“Oh… oh, no,” said Porchay. Even if he was the calmer of the two, he couldn’t really be calm anymore when he heard Kay saying that he was in pain. “Kay, shh, it’s okay. Stop crying, okay, you’ll be okay,” said Porchay and slowly took Kay into his arms once Kay extended his hands out to him and Kim placed his hands on top of his sides, glancing down.
“I don’t… know what to do,” whispered Kim.
“We’ll take him to Wang,” said Porchay and Kim slowly nodded. “Kay, where is boo boo?” asked Porchay slowly and Kay hiccuped as he was looking up at Porchay. He wanted to go over Chay because he thought that the boo boo would go away, but it didn’t, so he looked at Kim and extended his hands out to him. Kim picked him up, but the boo boo was still there and Kay just let out a frustrated whine.
“I know… I know,” whispered Kim.
“Is boo boo here?” asked Porchay and gently placed his hand against Kay’s tummy. Kay didn’t react, so Chay placed his hand on top of Kay’s head and asked again. “Boo boo?” asked Chay and Kay didn’t show much reaction. After checking up on Kay’s hands, arms, back, Porchay tried to see if Kay had a stomachache or not again. “Boo boo?” asked Chay and placed his hand on top of Kay’s tummy again and that time Kay hiccuped and burst in tears.
“It’ll be okay,” said Chay and pressed a kiss against Kim’s temple. “Wang will take a look at him, it’ll be okay,” said Porchay and Kim slowly nodded. He knew all of that and yet he still felt terrible.
“Doctor Wang wasn’t scary at all, was he?” asked Porchay softly as he followed Kim back inside of their apartment, sighing in relief. Now that the three of them were back from the doctor’s, they felt relieved to know what they were dealing with.
Dr. Wang assured them that it was just a stomach bug – they needed to make sure that Kay stayed well hydrated and he told them which foods were currently good for Kay. Kay was going to be just fine, he just needed time to rest. Kim felt calmer as well, but he still felt troubled. Somehow he felt guilty that Kay got the stomach bug, though he knew that in reality, he wasn’t the one to blame.
It was just… hard not being able to help Kay more than that. He would much rather have the stomach flu himself instead of Kay. Luckily for them, Wang told them that it wasn’t so serious. But they still needed to monitor Kay’s condition, of course.
Kay was holding onto the stuffed toy that Kim had gotten for him in the store nearby the hospital while Porchay and Kay were waiting at the doctor’s. Kim felt restless there and he wanted to do something that would at least cheer Kay temporarily up. And Kim managed to find him a stuffed toy that was more than perfect for Kay – it was a guitar, which made Kim smile when he saw it and he immediately got it for him.
Kay liked it very much.
“You’ll be like papa now, huh?” asked Chay and Kay looked at Kim, holding the guitar tightly and he cooed happily, still feeling frustrated and annoyed, but at least the toy was there to make the boo boo go away temporarily. Kay seemed happy and that made Kim as well.
“Yes,” said Kim and softly smiled.
“He loves it,” said Chay and Kim chuckled happily.
“You were right about him,” said Kim and Chay glanced at him. “One day he’ll be a superstar,” said Kim and Porchay chuckled, sighing in relief once again.
It was the next day and the boo boo still went away.
Kay was still irritable, fussy and whiny. Kim and Chay were tired. But at least, Kay finally started eating. Bite by a bite, it was enough for both Chay and Kim to feel calmer. Every bite was a new victory and Kim chuckled softly when he saw Kay trying to push away the little bow of apple sauce that he had in front of him.
“Dr. Wang recommended this, trust us,” said Chay and Kay scowled at him.
“He’s not too happy,” said Kim.
“Just one bite, mn?” asked Chay, but Kay just turned around and Chay sighed. “Just a few bites. It will help the boo boo go away,” said Chay and Kay just whined because the tummy cramps were still there and he didn’t like them. The cramps got worse when he ate.
Distracting Kay usually worked.
Kim had an idea.
“Wait here,” said Kim and Chay arched his brow when he saw Kim disappearing out of the room, only to soon come back and Porchay smiled when he saw Kim bringing his guitar with him and he laughed softly. Kay, on the other hand, was in awe and he watched how Kim carefully sat down with the guitar.
“Papa!” said the boy.
“Yes,” said Kim. “Should we sing a song?’’ asked Kim and Kay was curiously watching him. Kim eyed Porchay, who gave him a little nod. So, as Kim started singing a song, Kay distracted enough not to pay attention, Porchay managed to get a few bites into Kay.
It wasn’t much, but it was enough.
It was a long week for Porchay and Kim. That was the first night after the long week that Kay managed to sleep through it without waking up – it was a blessing. However, someone was up early that morning and decided to make his presence known.
Kay was the first one who woke up that morning. He was sleeping in the bed with Chay and Kim for the week because it was just easier that way and he looked around and saw that both of his parents were still asleep. Kay felt as good as new! The boo boo wasn’t there anymore!
For a few moments, Kay kept himself busy as he played with the stuffed guitar, but then he decided that he was bored and he looked at Chay and Kim, both still asleep. They were tired as hell, but little Kay was bored, so he leaned closer to Chay and gently smacked his cheek.
“Dada!”
Chay frowned and just turned to the other side.
“Not yet… Kim, five more minutes,” mumbled Chay and Kay puffed his cheeks, so he turned to Kim and he leaned closer to his face, grabbing onto Kim’s nose. Kay wasn’t gentle as he grabbed and Kim’s eyes snapped open when he felt someone grabbing his nose and he narrowed his eyes, but then he chuckled when he saw Kay.
“Morning to you too,” said Kim, yawned, still feeling tired, but he smiled because he could see the bright smile on Kay’s face. Kay’s condition was getting better, he was eating more for the past few days – still on a diet with light foods, but he was much better. And the boo boo wasn’t there anymore. “It’s early,” said Kim when he saw that it was 7 am on a Sunday, but Kay just cooed happily.
“Dada!” said Kay and pointed to Chay.
“Mn. Let him sleep for a bit longer, okay?” asked Kim and slowly stood up.
Kay cooed and then crawled to the edge of the bed, lifting himself up on his legs and he asked to be picked up. Kim smiled, picked Kay up and slowly carried him out of the bedroom. It was still too early, Chay deserved more sleep and as for Kim? Well, he was just going to drink extra coffee that day. All that mattered was that Kay was all better now.
As the two of them came to the kitchen, Kim yawned and started brewing some coffee with Kay still in his arms. Kay pointed to the fridge and looked at Kim.
“Papa!” said Kay and Kim arched his brow.
“Mm?”
Kay kept pointing to the fridge and Kim laughed softly because he knew what that meant – Kay would usually do that when he was hungry and Kim just placed a kiss on top of his head and gave him a little nod.
“Hungry, huh?” asked Kim, feeling even more relieved. “Not to worry, I’ll make you something. Promise me you will eat it, yes? Even if it’s me doing the cooking,” said Kim as he didn’t want to wake Chay up quite yet and Kay just giggled.
Kay was poking fun at him?
But in the very end, Kay ate everything that Kim made for him, so it truly was a miracle! And the best of it all – the stomach bug was finally gone!
“No, Kay, don’t climb up there,” said Porchay and Macau laughed when he saw Kay waddling around, full of energy. Porchay sighed out and he was about to stand up, but then Macau picked up Kay first and snickered when he saw Kay frowning when he looked up at him.
“Listen to your dad,” said Macau and Leo laughed when he saw the frown. Oh, Kay wasn’t happy at all.
They were at the minor family’s mansion, visiting and Kay was not standing still. At all. On the flip side, it was nice to see Kay running around the place like that – it just went to show that he was all better now. Chay was still gaining back the energy that he lost during the last week. It was… a long week.
“Oh, that’s not a happy face,” said Leo when he saw Kay frowning.
“Climbing up the shelves is dangerous,” said Venice when he came into the room and Kay scowled at him too. Everyone was against him! Little Kay felt framed. He just wanted to get to the shiny thing up there! That was why he pointed at it and glanced at uncle Macau.
“What’s that anyway?” asked Porchay and Macau snickered when he looked at the golden panther displayed in the living room.
“Ask my big bro,” said Macau and Vegas rolled his eyes when he and Pete came into the room after they heard all the commotion. Vegas managed to overhear Macau and he just clicked with his tongue.
“We got that on our honeymoon,” said Pete and Vegas nodded.
“It’s special,” said Vegas and then smiled when he saw Kay wanting to get a closer look at it. “The kid’s got good taste,” said Vegas, always happy when someone appreciated fine art, like him. “Here, you can take a look,” said Vegas, carefully holding the panther in his arms and Kay’s eyes widened, happily clapping.
“He's as energetic as ever, huh?” asked Pete and Porchay chuckled.
“Oh, yeah,” said Chay. “While Kim and I are still trying to… recover,” mumbled Chay and Pete sighed as he looked at Kay.
“You can leave him here sometime and the two of us can watch him,” said Pete and Porchay smiled. “Right, Vegas?” asked Pete and Vegas snapped back to reality because he was now busy making panther noises after he saw that Kay happened to like them and moving the panther around. Kay was having a blast.
“Oh, uh, yes,” said Vegas.
“Yeah, or Leo and I can babysit for an afternoon,” offered Macau.
“We wouldn’t mind one bit,” said Leo and Porchay smiled and sighed in relief. It was nice knowing that there were so many supportive people around them and he pressed his lips together. Perhaps it would be a good idea, but he would have to discuss it with Kim. For now, they would be able to manage just fine.
“Kay, do you wanna go say hi to Rosy and Fluffy?” asked Venice and Kay quickly ran over to him when Venice mentioned Rosy and Fluffy. “Paris is now with Mr. Fluffy, he will be happy to see that you came to visit him, he missed you,” said Venice and Kay happily took his hand.
Kay followed Venice, who made sure to walk slowly so that Kay could keep up with him. Paris was more than happy to see that Kay decided to visit her and Mr. Fluffy!
Things were finally back to normal.