Lion squished himself closer to the motorbike taxi driver. Both he and Inn were sharing the ride home and Lion could feel the heavy weight of Inn’s larger form pressed up against his back. Lion could feel his ill fitting borrowed shirt sticking uncomfortably to his sweaty skin.

He wasn’t surprised that Nin had asked Inn out on a date. The whole school had been buzzed when Inn had arrived as a new handsome transfer student. It made sense as Nin was one of the prettiest and most popular girls at school. She also always seemed genuinely nice and kind and there were never any worrying rumours about her.

Lion tried his best not to imagine the two of them at the mall, sharing an ice cream or maybe Inn winning Nin a plush animal from a claw machine. They would look so good together, like a couple from a drama. Lion could already hear the shopkeepers now cooing over the handsome young pair, telling them they should star in adverts.

“Lion?”

Lion jerked his head up as he realised they were no longer moving, the bike taxi had pulled up outside his apartment block and Inn was already off, handing over some crumpled green notes to the driver.

Inn and Lion walked through the door into the apartment, it smelled sweet and Lion could see a greasy stained bag of what looked like khanom krok treats on the hall table.

“Granny?” Lion called out, shouldering off his school bag and dumping it on the floor. He frowned as he walked into the living area and saw his grandmother sitting on the couch with a cup of foul scented tea.

“Medicinal herbs,” Granny stated before Lion could ask. She reached over to pick up the newspaper before coughing and batting at her chest with a wizened fist.

“What’s wrong?” Lion asked, hurrying forwards.

“Nothing,” Granny shook her head, “tea went down the wrong way. Go do your homework.”

“Okay,” Lion replied unsurely, “give us a call if you need anything though.”

Granny nodded and waved them off nonchalantly before picking up a pen and checking the lottery numbers.

“She is sick?” Inn asked as the two boys entered the bedroom.

“She has a recurring cough,” Lion answered. “I’m a bit worried about her. Do you mind if I make congee tonight for her to eat?”

“We have shrimp and pork,” Inn said thoughtfully. “But it will take too long to make, plus we have a lot of homework. I will go and buy some from the corner stall.”

“Are you sure?” Lion looked up, he hated the idea of asking Inn to run them errands but he really wanted his grandmother to have some hot porridge.

“You should go shower,” Inn nodded, “you still have a lot of mud on you.”

“Oh, right,” Lion looked down at his dirt caked form, he felt a little guilty now for clinging so tightly to the taxi driver. “I’m sorry again that I overreacted with the snake,” Lion added, staring at his sock clad feet. He was feeling so stupid and embarrassed, it also didn’t help that apparently Nin had seen the whole thing. If it had been any other creature than a snake, Lion would have been fine.

Considering the tales of gargantuan monsters that Hanuman seemed to deal with on a daily basis back in Himmapan, a weedy little rat snake paled in comparison. What must the warrior think of Lion now? If he hadn’t already perceived him as pathetic and incapable before.

“It’s fine,” Inn shrugged, tugging off his uniform to change into more casual clothes. Lion bit his lip and swivelled away, realising too late that he was now facing the mirror. He willed himself not to look as Inn pushed his pants to the floor.

The other boy’s skin was dappled with golden hues, a broad groove down his sternum to his belly button. The defined, thick ridges of his sculpted Adonis belt bracketed fully formed abdominal muscles that flexed as Inn angled himself to reach for new clothes in the wardrobe.

Inn’s biceps were impressive and veined, leading down to wide, tanned forearms and large hands. The fair dusting of hair on his long fingers caught the light as Inn rolled up the sleeves of his new shirt.

Lion blinked, wondering what it would feel like to have those fingers caress him purposefully. For those hands to press against his own smaller body, guiding him and showing him how to move.

“Is something wrong?”

Lion gasped as he realised with horror that Inn had caught him looking in the mirror. “No!” Lion exclaimed in a rush, hurrying over to pick up his towel. “I just…I mean, I thought it was interesting.”

“My body?” Inn looked bemused.

“No!” Lion flushed and groaned. “I mean just how you look like a regular human in this world, like you’re not white and furry or anything.”

Inn’s expression darkened and Lion bit the inside of his cheek until it tasted like old coins. “Sorry,” Lion murmured, “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“You didn’t,” Inn replied, but his face suggested otherwise. “I don’t know why I have not retained some of the features of my original form in this world.”

“Do you miss it?” Lion asked, pausing on his way to the bathroom and clutching his towel tightly.

“Not as much as I thought I would,” Inn replied, fixing Lion with a strange look. “Perhaps my strength, but then the enemies in this world are diminished equally.”

Lion nodded before walking across the hall and closing the bathroom door behind him. He stared at himself in the mirror, his hair had grown too long and looked wispy and messy. Sun exposure at the water park had caused the freckles across his nose to darken and stand out, Lion hated them. His frame looked unnaturally tiny in the oversized shirt he was wearing and his buttocks felt bruised from where he had fallen over in his attempts to escape the snake.

He tried to imagine what life would be like if Inn never returned to the magical world, if he stayed here in his human form forever instead. Perhaps Inn would be scouted for modelling or acting. Lion might look up to the Bangkok skyscrapers with great electronic billboards mounted on their sides and Inn’s face would be there, advertising a new car or watch brand.

Inn would probably move out, Lion shook his head with a huff, of course Inn would move out. Why on Earth would he stay living with Lion and his grandmother in their tiny apartment when he could make precious emeralds on demand?

Maybe Inn would end up in one of those new build mansions on a golf course in the suburbs. Or perhaps he would buy a luxury penthouse overlooking Lumphini Park, one with multiple bathrooms and maids’ quarters.

Perhaps Inn would want to marry, probably a beautiful girl like Nin who was even going to college to study communication arts. Lion sighed, twisting the knob of the shower as he absently pictured the two of them sharing a glass of red wine on their balcony. The sparkling lights of the neon clad city spread out beneath them.

There was a loud clunk as Lion was jerked back to reality and saw that the metal handle for the shower had fallen off again. He stared grimly at the rusted stump of a screw that it had revealed. Lion’s fingertips pinched as he attempted to turn it to gain some semblance of water pressure

“Shit,” Lion muttered angrily, resting his forehead against the tiles as the tepid water trickled down on his scalp in a lazy stream.

After scrubbing himself as best as he could, Lion left the bathroom and changed into sweat pants and a T-shirt that Inn had bought him. It was from a Japanese shop and had kanji across the front above a futuristic city skyline.

“Inn?” Lion called out, wandering into the kitchen. The other boy must have still been out getting the rice porridge. Lion scratched the back of his head as he tried to remember what school assignments had been set that day.

A violent fit of coughing interrupted his thoughts however, and Lion quickly rushed over to the couch.

“Granny!” Lion exclaimed, kneeling down beside her and patting his grandmother lightly on the back. Normally, her coughing fits would die down and turn into a rattled wheeze, however this one didn’t seem to be letting up so easily.

Lion ran back to the kitchen to pour a glass of water before going back to his grandmother and helping her to try and sip it. He swore as another set of abrupt coughs spat the water back out.

“Granny, it’s okay, try to breathe slowly,” Lion instructed, attempting to keep himself together as he rooted around for her purse. Lion pulled out his grandmother’s inhaler and helped press it to her mouth, massaging her chest as he pushed the button and willed her to inhale.

“What’s wrong?” Inn sounded worried as he entered the apartment carrying white plastic bags that were steaming from food.

“She can’t catch her breath,” Lion snapped. “I want to take her to hospital. Help me.”

Inn dropped the bags on the floor and jogged over to the couch, gently manoeuvring Lion out of the way in order to pick his grandmother up in his arms.

Lion grabbed the apartment keys as they locked up and hurried down to the street below, hailing a yellow and green taxi.

“What’s the best hospital we can go to from here?” Inn bit out at the driver, Lion’s grandmother still in his hold as he tried to better prop her up.

“Ah, maybe Bumrungrad?” the driver suggested , frowning into the rear view mirror. “But it’s very expensive yes?”

Lion panicked, they needed to be driving already, his grandmother’s coughing was getting more frantic.

“Take us there,” Inn ordered imperiously as Lion leant across him to try again with the inhaler.

The hospital was massive but the taxi parked right outside the emergency department as Inn threw a wad of cash at him. Lion shouted for the door staff, who quickly rushed forwards with a wheelchair.

Lion could feel sweat dripping into his eyes, clouding his vision as he tripped over the curb, a strong hand stopping his fall. “Slow down,” Inn growled.

“We need to follow them!” Lion protested in a panic, dashing after the wheelchair where it had been handed over to some nurses. Lion quickly told the staff what was wrong as they entered a large, spacious elevator with faux marble flooring.

The doctor that greeted them looked to be in his forties with a crisp white coat and stethoscope round his neck. He smiled at Granny, introducing himself as he placed the apparatus against her chest and listened carefully.

“Okay,” the doctor nodded, looking up to Lion. “We’ll get your grandmother a bed and start running tests. I’d like you to give me a detailed medical history.”

“Sure,” Lion nodded, trailing after the doctor and watching as his grandmother was given oxygen and lifted up carefully onto a bed.

“Lion,” Inn called out. “I will stay with her if you want.”

“Fine, whatever,” Lion shook his head distractedly as his grandmother coughed again and the doctor gestured for him to start talking.