Something pulls Kai back to Khanh’s place again (and again and again).

It’s definitely because Kai owes Khanh, a lot.

(Guiltily, it’s because Khanh’s food is so good and filling.)

Kai has fixed the front fence, the garden, the front gutters. He’d at least returned the bottle of aloe vera they’d given him for some reason, so that debt is off his conscience. Now, the biggest thing in the front left are the windows. He knows they let light inside to the kitchen where Khanh works, but they could be better.

And so Kai puts all his effort into cleaning the outside windows. It’ll probably be the last thing he does, because the back garden seems to be off-grounds, and wouldn’t it be weird to let a stranger (him) into Khanh’s house?

(...Nevermind that Kai has been inside to eat dinner with them.)

But it does mean that Kai needs to clean the windows as effectively and quickly as possible, so he can leave before dinner (and before his traitorous mind can daydream that Khanh will offer him something to eat). Thankfully, Kai has a lot of experience cleaning windows from past jobs, and so he gets done before the sun can go down.

He pours the final bucket of grey water down the large sink in the laundry room on the side of the house, and heads to the front again.

He spies Khanh standing by the front door, and starts, “Hey, I’m finished, so—”

Khanh turns to face him, a heart-stopping smile and with a plate of food—fried spring rolls—in their hands. “I know, thank you! It’s a bit early for dinner, but these are for you!”

Kai sucks in a sharp breath, and it sounds like a hiss. No, I’m uneven again!

“These are chả giò or Vietnamese egg rolls. Or fried spring rolls. Or, if you ask a hilariously uninformed relative of mine, imperial rolls,” Khanh says, stepping towards Kai. “It’s still light out, do you want to eat outside? Or should I pack it into a box for you? I have rice vermicelli noodles and salad and fish sauce that we can eat it with, in which case it becomes bún chả giò.”

The traitor that is Kai’s stomach grumbles. “...Yes please.”

Khanh frowns and smiles at the same time. “You’ll eat outside with me?”

Kai nods slowly. “If you let me help move things from the kitchen out here.” Which is the tiniest thing Kai can do. He needs to come up with something else to do…

They prepare their bowls of food inside—well, Khanh does, in-between asking whether each ingredient is fine: green lettuce and rice vermicelli sits in the large bowls, then is topped with fresh mung bean sprouts, cucumber slices, pickled carrots, fresh cilantro and basil, chopped peanuts, green onions, and of course, the sliced up fried spring rolls. The nước chấm—fish sauce, water, sugar, lime and chillies—is spooned generously on top.

“It’s light enough that the dipping sauce is almost a soup,” Khanh says as they spoon more on top. “The dipping sauce is called nước chấm.”

Kai dutifully repeats until Khanh declares his pronunciation satisfactory, then helps carry the completed bowls, utensils, drinks, and extra spring rolls to the table in the front garden.

Kai tries the fried spring rolls first, because it’s vaguely familiar. Except, it’s nothing like the so-called spring rolls he’s had before. These are crispy and light and the filling is deep and umami and flavourful. In the remaining warmth of the day, the sun only now starting to dip, the entire dish is like salad, but better. It’s refreshing and cool—the spring rolls are still warm, in counterbalance. It’s...amazing how good the nước chấm tastes, and Kai’s starting to think that maybe adding fish sauce to every savoury dish could be the key to great tasting food, given how prominently it has appeared in the food Khanh’s made.

Kai slurps up the last of the noodles, and the savoury liquid that has pooled at the bottom of his bowl.

Khanh smiles, propping their head against the back of their hand as they watch him. “There’s more. And if you’re not sick of mangoes, I could cut some up for dessert. With vanilla ice cream.”

“Oh, um, ah, you don’t have to…”

Khanh’s smile is entirely too disarming for their own good, Kai thinks.

“That means you do want dessert,” Khanh says. “Come inside.”

Kai dutifully follows Khanh inside. Kai mutinously does the dishes while Khanh slices up the mango and prepares two small bowls. Kai catches a glimpse of the stock-full freezer as Khanh takes out the ice cream, and the extremely packed fridge when they take out an open can of coconut milk.

Khanh prepares the ice cream, cubes of mango, and drizzle of coconut milk so prettily that Kai doesn’t really want to ruin it.

“Are you sure you don’t do food arrangement and photography?” Kai says, strained, as he turns his small bowl this way and that.

Khanh’s brows furrow. “...You don’t like coconut milk? I’m sorry, I didn’t ask—”

“No, I do!” Kai says quickly. “Thank you. Seriously. Thank you…”

“There’s no need to say thank you,” Khanh says. “As long as you enjoy it, is thanks enough.”

Kai nods in determination. Alright, he’ll enjoy everything Khanh makes!

“...But do tell me if you don’t enjoy something.”

No way, Kai’s not going to do that. He doesn’t think he’ll need to do that, anyway. He digs into the dessert, and it all melts in his mouth.

The mango is ripe and sweet, and combined with the ice cream and coconut reminds Kai of the soon-coming summer days. Kai’s eating slows as he savours the mango.

Hot summer days…heralding a surgery date that has been long coming.

Khanh’s brows twitch in askance, and Kai quickly smiles back.

“I haven’t had such good mango before,” he says. “Thank you—I know, I know, no thank-yous, just enjoyment.”

Khanh’s smile widens. “Very good,” they say.

Kai’s lips twitch up in response.

It is good, and when Kai leaves, he uses the memory to help him through his dreary work.

*

Pirate Kai crows in triumph. He’s done it! He’s found the treasure!

He pries open the chest and discovers it full of cut mango. There’s a little note on top.

Pirate Khánh, some distance away, sneezes as Pirate Kai curses them for always being one step ahead of him.

Pirate Khánh doesn’t care because they have treasure. They hope Pirate Kai enjoys the gift they left him.