Last Thank You?

When they returned from the carnival, both of them were quite tired but wholly stuffed with the local cuisine. Mei Wei had even drunk a little wine. His cheeks were still painted red. Although he was not even close to being tipsy, his eyes were a little hazy. Both of them entered Aman's suite and sat on one of the couches in the lounge. There was a pleasant silence between the two of them. Mei Wei tilted his face a little in order to look at Aman; however, Aman had the same idea as he also turned his face. Both of them caught each other's eyes; they froze for a moment before both of them burst into a laughing fit. After laughing for a few moments, silence again enveloped them. Mei Wei diverted his attention and started fiddling with the small panda toy in his hands. He poked its little nose. He was completely bemused as he giggled simultaneously after swaying his little hands. Aman supported his head with his right hand and looked at Mei Wei's actions. "My prince..." he called softly. "Hmm," answered Mei Wei. He did not pay attention to Aman but was busy shaking the panda's hand. Aman pinched Mei Wei on the bicep; they had already taken off the extra clothes due to enough automatic heating in the suite. He pinched lightly while speaking in a complaining manner, "My prince, listen to me and pay attention."

However, Mei Wei was still busy with his toy. "I am listening; you speak," said Mei Wei while he brought the toy to his face level. His face was full of a dreamy look. Aman suddenly got up and snatched the panda from Mei Wei's hands. Mei Wei came out of his trance, and he looked at Aman and complained, "Aman, give it back." Aman narrowed his eyes and said, "No, I won't. You are paying it more attention than me. I won't return it." He huffed. He leaned back as he held the panda far from Mei Wei's approach. Mei Wei also leaned as he tried to get the toy. "Aman, give it back, please?" But Aman was not having it. "No, I won't. First, you tell me why you are paying it more attention. I am not liking it."

"Aman, return it back!" Mei Wei ordered.

"No, answer me first. Why is it better than me?"

Mei Wei, who could not reach out and get his toy, was starting to get frustrated. He tried to get it again, but failed. At last he said, "Aman, give it back; otherwise, I'll tickle you badly."

Aman did not take his threat seriously and said, "Okay, but answer me first."

"Because it's our baby!" Mei Wei's eyes widened when he realised that he had spilled the truth. He quickly tried to cover it up. "MINE, my baby! It's my baby. When you gifted it to me, I accepted it as my son. He is Mr. Koala." Aman narrowed his eyes at Mei Wei's explanation and still felt that something was fishy: "But it's a panda. So, how can it be a Koala?" Mei Wei racked his brain and said, "It is mine, not yours, okay. So if I want my son to be called a Koala, I will call it a Koala. Do you have any problems with this?"

Aman held his hands up in the air as he said, "No, I don't. Here, take your Mr. Koala back." He handed the panda to Mei Wei.

"Now, you are behaving like a good boy," Mei Wei praised Aman while ruffling his hair. Aman also passed him a grin. Only after that did they realise their current position. Aman was lying horizontally on the couch, while Mei Wei was above him. Their noses were almost touching, and Mei Wei, who was taller than Aman, was almost covering his body as their bodies rubbed with friction. If someone else saw them at this time, they would definitely think that both of them were doing something naughty. Realising this closeness, a certain something was starting to get erect. Mei Wei quickly got up and closed his legs tightly, his face red from embarrassment. He coughed, "Uh! Ah! Tell me what you wanted to say." Aman also got up; he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and started saying softly, "My prince, I want to thank you. I am so grateful to you that you take great care of me." "You know, when I first came into this big city with Mr. Mei Shao, I was completely terrified. There were many things in this big city that I did not understand. Even one time, I was almost hit by a car. But he was there to save me and assure me. He told me that I could handle everything and succeed in my goal."

"And then...then I first entered the Mei Mansion. I met you, the young master, Mei Wei, whose caretakers get changed at the end of every month. Of course, you did not even spare this naive villager, you shouted at me endlessly. So much, that your head started aching badly."

Mei Wei was also lost in old memories as he spoke in an apologetic manner. "I remember. I am sorry about that. But I still remember that, even after I yelled at you so much at night, I found you rubbing a balm on my forehead silently. There was no resentment on your face. That entire night, we did not even say a word to each other. Not any of my previous caretakers were that patient with me."

Aman shook his head as he took Mei Wei's hand into his own. "From that day on, you started behaving a little nicely. And slowly, after taking baby steps, we have reached this far. My prince, seriously, I can't even imagine my journey here without you. You always take care of me. Always try to protect me. You stood against the whole world in order to protect me. Even words cannot describe what I am feeling right now."

"Anyhow, at this moment, I just want to say, Thank you so much." He said this while squeezing Mei Wei's hand.

Mei Wei also felt a warm feeling. He asked, "I understood all of this. But why are you saying this all of a sudden? Is something happening?" Aman shook his head. "No, nothing is going on. I just wanted to say thank you to you for being with me." There was a strange shine in Aman's eyes.

Mei Wei patted Aman's shoulder and said, "Okay. Enough with the sappy talk. It's getting late. You should go and sleep. We have to go skiing tomorrow. Go okay?" Aman nodded.

Mei Wei started leaving. When he was getting his windbreaker, he again turned and took a look at Aman. Somehow, he felt that something bad was going to happen.

****

The next day, both of them were ready in their skiing gear after their daily routine. The special skiing gear was provided by the resort staff. However, they faced a little problem there—none of them knew how to ski. They were a little lost. But not for too long, as Mei Wei instantly called the manager and requested that he arrange a ski instructor for them. Of course, his possessiveness could not be ignored, as he deliberately chose a quite old and kind-looking instructor for Aman. Young people cannot be trusted with beauty, he believed. However, there was no need for him to fret over his own instructor. Thus, he got an imposing woman with a no-nonsense attitude. After two hours of constant practice and, in Mei Wei's case, constant nagging, they could ski more or less. After all, they could not master this skill in a mere two-hour time span. Aman's instructor urged him to ski on his own, but only in this safe area. Aman agreed and went away. Meanwhile, when Mei Wei tried to follow him, his instructor gave him an earful. Aman was skiing slowly on the little hills, and he felt that it was a really great thing. Although he was still missing someone, "Aman!" He heard someone shouting his name. He turned and found Justin skiing his way towards him. He smiled and said, "Hello, Aman, I saw you skiing. You seem to be enjoying it greatly." He was again in his overenthusiastic self.

Aman also smiled at him and said, "Yes, it's pretty good."

Justin grinned. "That's great! Do you want to enjoy it more and ski a little higher?" He offered.

Aman shook his head and said, "No, my instructor said I should only ski here." Justin pleaded with him,

"Come with me. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. It will be a lot of fun." Aman was also happy with this new discovery. He liked skiing very much, so after a little hesitation, he agreed, "Okay." Justin jumped in happiness.

Meanwhile, Mei Wei, who was looking at both of them, found them going, and he also wanted to follow, but his instructor stopped him. Mei Wei could accept anything, but he could not leave his Aman in a dangerous place. So he directly fired his instructor and started looking for Aman. Thus, they went to one of the higher hills. There were only a few people around here. Justin said excitedly, "So we are going to ski here. Don't worry, I will be with you. See, we will only ski on the safe side, not the other. This one is the safe side, okay?" However, Aman was looking at Mei Wei, who was waving at him fiercely. He waved back and did not pay attention to Justin. He just nodded and said, "Alright."

Suddenly, Justin's phone rang, and he looked at the ID and said to Aman, while going near a sign board that was covered with snow, in order to talk, "Take your position on the safe side; I will be there after attending the call."

On the other hand, Mei Wei was also skiing towards them.

Aman took his position at the edge. He tried to take a look down, but suddenly his balance shook, and he started falling downward. One of his ski poles also fell away. He completely lost his balance. He was panicking as his brain stopped working. He could not stop himself, no matter what he tried.

There was a cliff!

And he was going uncontrollably in its direction. On the other side, both Mei Wei and Justin were shocked by the accident.

Enraged, Mei Wei turned and punched Justin. "How dare you take my Aman here? I will kill you!"

Justin stumbled and collided with the board behind him. Due to the impact, the snow fell off. They were stunned after reading the board, "Dangerous Cliff ahead. Do not ski here!"

Mei Wei lost his senses. He started thrashing Kevin desperately while a thousand emotions ran through Mei Wei's mind when he heard a bone-chilling scream.

It was his Aman's scream.