Chapter Text
Phayu grumbled to himself. Why did Saifah have to drag him back inside to find his stupid Personalized 3D Glasses™, when Prapai was alone with Rain ? Who cared if it was “quintessential to the cinematic experience”? Prapai, the massive flirt that he was, was out there hitting on Rain, and his poor naive wifey was probably falling for his stupid face.
“Have you found it yet?” Saifah called from the opposite corner of their bedroom.
“No,” Phayu huffed. “Why do you even need them? You know they hand them out at the door, right?”
“But I added flame stickers to mine!”
“Even if they looked cool -- which they don't -- no one will see them because the theater is dark.”
“But I’ll know I'm wearing them,” Saifah responded, as if that made his “cool vibes” any more obvious.
Phayu rolled his eyes.
“Just…hurry up,” Phayu said, returning to his search.
“Whatever you say, lover boy,” Saifah said, and Phayu could hear his mocking grin from where he was crouched over.
“Shut. Up.”
“I'm just saying, you should stake your claim if you're worried about a certain racer snatching up your darling wifey,” Saifah teased.
Phayu knew the only way Saifah would shut up was if he had his dumb glasses. He began searching double time.
“I think Prapai would take good care of Rain, especially with how loaded his parents are. And his younger siblings would adore Rain too, don't you think?” he prattled on.
Phayu finally spotted the tacky glasses. He picked them up and shoved them into his idiot brother's hands.
“Thank you my dearest twin, my hero, my-”
“Let's go,” Phayu said impatiently.
Saifah cackled at Phayu's stern expression. Phayu ignored him and his theatrics, and rushed out the door. As expected, he spotted Prapai making a smarmy face at Rain. Without thinking, Phayu marched up to them, hooked his forearms around Rain's knees, hoisted the boy over his shoulder, and ran. Phayu could hear Prapai and Saifah chasing after them, but Phayu didn't care.
Once Phayu deemed them a safe distance, he plopped Rain down. His wifey just stared at him with those big doe eyes, filled with nothing but trust.
“Hi, hubby, did you find what you were looking for?”
Phayu knew Rain was referring to the 3D glasses, but he couldn't help but think of how his heart was constantly seeking out his wifey. Call him sappy. But he was incapable of anything else when he had just rescued Rain from the clutches of Prapai’s mangy paws.
“Yeah,” Phayu smiled at the cute boy, “I did.”
--
“Oh, of course you show up the moment I find people who actually enjoy spending time with me,” Rain snarked.
He glared at Phayu's low bun. What once was endearing and hot was now bobbing in front of him mockingly as Phayu dragged Rain behind him. Of course, the glare had no effect; Phayu didn't spare a glance back at him. He just kept walking silently. Rain then looked at where their hands were interlocked. Rain used to daydream about walking down the halls holding Phayu’s hand. But he didn’t imagine that it would happen like this.
Who did this jerk think he was? Strutting in and grabbing Rain's hand like he owned it.
Rain had half the mind to scream and struggle. He could kick the back of Phayu's knees if he really wanted to. He wanted to shove him and run far away from here. But even if he were strong enough to wrestle his way out of Phayu's grip, a small part of him wanted to collapse into Phayu’s arms and cry. An even smaller part of him was hopeful against all his better judgement. Rain tried not to listen to the whisper in his heart that claimed that Phayu would apologize, that Phayu would tell him that he missed Rain, that Phayu would beg for him to return.
But that won’t happen , Rain thought bitterly. If anything, Phayu was there to scold him. He’d call him “stupid boy” and that would be that. The days of being “hubby” and “wifey” were long gone. Phayu seemed to throw them away as soon as he could. Rain couldn’t help but think back to what had felt like the last nail in the coffin that held his heart.
--
“Rain, I was just about to look for you. I want you to meet someone,” Phayu said.
“Oh?” Rain injected a playful tone into his voice, “Who's the special someone this time?”
“This is Sum, my girlfriend,” Phayu answered.
He led Rain over to this “Sum” chick. She turned around and beamed at them, immediately moving to wrap her arms around Phayu's arm. Rain had to admit she was gorgeous. She and Phayu looked good together.
“Nice to meet you,” Sum greeted, “Khun Rain, right? My hubby here talks about you a lot!”
Hubby .
She called him hubby .
And Phayu didn't correct her. Then again, why would he?
--
Only when they had stopped in a discreet alcove did Rain snap out of the scene that was on loop in his mind. Tears pricked Rain’s eyes at the memory. Not wanting Phayu to see him cry, Rain caved to the urge to struggle and shout. He tore his hand from Phayu’s grip, cradling it against his chest as though Phayu had burnt it. With the way Rain’s blood boiled, he might as well have.
“What are you doing here, Phayu? Don’t you have your wifey to get to?” Rain spat.
“Exactly, I’m here for you,” Phayu said with pleading eyes. A rare sight.
“Cut it out,” Rain forced himself to look away. He could feel the ever growing voice in his heart weakening his resolve. “We both know I’m not your wifey. Stop joking about that.”
“I’m not joking, Rain. Please, look at me.”
Rain snuck a glance at the man in front of him. His gut wrenched at how pained Phayu looked. He turned his head fully, trying to see if there was any tell that Phayu wasn’t being serious. Rain found nothing but the same anguish that Rain had brewing in his chest for the past year. Rain decided he’d hold back the rant he had been saving, at least until Phayu finished talking. Phayu tried to grab Rain’s hands again.
Rain let him.
“You being my wifey was never a joke. To me, at least,” Phayu continued, “Even if you don’t love me back, even if you never do, you’re still my sweet boy, and I’ll always worry about you.”
“There you go again!” Rain opened the floodgates, “You keep saying things without meaning th-”
Then what Phayu said finally registered. Rain paused, the fire in his arteries extinguishing.
“Wait…love you back ?” Rain asked softly, afraid that if he said it too loudly, he’d break the illusion of Phayu saying what he had longed for for years.
“Yes,” Phayu spoke tenderly, “Gosh, Rain, I…I have been in love with you for years. I was a coward for not saying so sooner. The day that you learned what ‘hubby’ and ‘wifey’ meant, I was terrified that you would be weirded out. And then a few days later, you stopped calling me ‘hubby’. I understand that you don’t want anything romantic with me, but- gh- It hurt. It felt like our friendship had changed. But I didn’t want to scare you off.
“I tried to move on, so I started dating, but each of them could tell that I was in love with you. Every break up hurt. Not because I was losing a partner, but because it scared me that I'm incapable of loving anyone but you . I know I started distancing myself, and I am so sorry. None of this is a good excuse. Nothing can excuse how badly I neglected our friendship. Isn’t it silly? Trying to distance myself because I love you?
“But just because you don’t feel the same way doesn’t mean that I could just leave you. I was stupid to think that. The moment I learned you transferred, I broke it off with Sum. She was actually the one to knock some sense into me. She was hurt that I was leading her on, but told me to go after you. I know now that our friendship comes before any feelings I might have for you. I know I’ve been a bad friend. I will do whatever it takes to make it up to you. Just… please don’t leave me.”
Rain was, for once in his life, shocked speechless. He stared at the man, unpacking his monologue. The look on Phayu's face gradually melted from pleading insistence to somber acceptance with every second that passed. There was a lot of new information here.
- Phayu was apologizing.
- Phayu was apologizing because he distanced himself.
- Phayu distanced himself because he wanted to stop being in love with him.
- Phayu was in love with him.
- Phayu had been in love with him for years.
- Phayu thought Rain didn't love him back.
Phayu thought Rain didn't love him back . Rain's thoughts launched into a flurry of questions and exclamations and memories. A million words threatened to bubble up from his lungs, but the same reckless part of Rain that tried running away screamed over them. The moment Phayu forlornly dropped eye contact, Rain had decided.
Phayu thought Rain didn't love him back . That needed to change. Now.
Despite everything he could say, only one sentence made it past his lips.
“Can I kiss you?”
Phayu blinked. Rain could see the disbelief there. A blanket of silence covered them for what was only a few seconds, but it felt like hours.
Phayu nodded shakily.
That was all Rain needed before his hands flew up to grab Phayu's face and pulled it to his. At first it was tense and unsure, but slowly Rain felt Phayu's jaw relax under his palms as Phayu's grasp found purchase on Rain's hips. At the contact, the cacophony in his mind settled, instead fixating on the sensation of Phayu's lips on his. Rain had never kissed anyone before, save the one time in kindergarten. In the back of his mind, Rain leapt with joy that both his first kiss and his first real kiss were kept safely with Phayu. It felt like coming home.
As much as Rain wanted to melt into a puddle in Phayu's arms, Rain's rational mind pushed its way to the forefront. Rain forced himself to break the kiss, but kept his hands where they were. He could feel Phayu push against them, trying to chase his lips. Rain allowed himself to rest his forehead against Phayu's as he sorted through how he wanted to respond. Rain let out a deep exhale and backed away a bit to look Phayu in the eyes.
Rain couldn't help but chuckle out, “We're both idiots. Who's the stupid boy now, Phayu?”
Rain saw Phayu open his mouth, but Rain was quick to cut him off, “Don't answer that. I have a lot to say. I just…I needed to let you know that I feel the same way first. Can we sit?”
Phayu agreed, and they walked together to a university-run cafe with mediocre coffee. Phayu offered to buy Rain something once they sat, but Rain made a face, telling him that it was not worth the price listed. Phayu chuckled at that, and the sound filled Rain's lungs with air that he didn't know he was missing. Rain took a moment to recenter himself, fighting the urge to drag Phayu off to make out before they had the chance to talk.
“Okay, okay, so,” Rain started, “to confirm: you're in love with me, and have been for years.”
Phayu blushed at that. Rain wanted to ingrain the image into his memory. Phayu gave the affirmative and let Rain continue.
“And I am in love with you, and have been for years.”
Phayu turned redder. Rain was secretly giddy that he had the ability to fluster the usually indomitable man.
“You assumed that I didn't like you that way because I stopped calling you hubby, and I assumed that you didn't like me because you didn't tell me that we were calling each other husband and wife this entire time .”
Phayu looked like he was about to protest, but Rain shot him a glare.
“I still want to smack you upside the head, you know,” he told Phayu.
“Promise, wifey?” Phayu said, clearly trying to get a rise out of him.
Unfortunately for Rain, the ability to fluster the other went both ways. He could feel his face heating up at Phayu's teasing and suggestive tone. (No, Rain did not go into mental overdrive imagining the implications.) Rain pouted and mimed hitting him, but the only effect it had was making Phayu have to hold back his laughter.
“So…we’re good, right?” Phayu asked, some of the insecurity from earlier bleeding into his voice.
Rain was tempted to tease Phayu about it and give him a hard time, but he knew he’d have all the time in the world for that.
“We’re good,” Rain said with a smile, “Although, I have one question. Why didn’t you tell me what ‘hubby’ and ‘wifey’ meant?”
“Part of it was that I thought you knew. The other part was fear,” Phayu said sheepishly. “I’ve had feelings for you since we were little, and saying it out loud felt like admitting it. I thought you would have picked up on my feelings, and I wasn’t ready for that. I’m sorry.”
Rain interlaced his fingers with Phayu’s.
“I didn’t, obviously,” Rain stated, without malice.
“Yeah,” Phayu said with a wry smile, “I underestimated how oblivious you are.”
“Hey!” Rain pretended to be offended, “I mean, true, but hEY!”
“So,” Phayu started up again, “will you be my wifey again? For real this time?”
Now that the air was cleared, Rain let himself tease his best friend. Rain cocked his head to the side and pursed his lips, as though he were thinking. He squinted at Phayu.
“Hmm. I don't know…” Rain said slyly. “What's in it for me?”
Phayu began rubbing his thumb along Rain's knuckles with an earnest smile, saying, “I'll make sure no one ever bullies you, because I'll be the only one who teases you. I won't make you cry, unless it's tears of joy. And, you'd have the top student of our year as your boyfriend. I could help you practice your project pitches and look over your sketches.”
Phayu leaned in, scrunching his nose in that way that made Rain melt.
“So, what do you say?” Phayu finished, “You have to buy me now.”
“Only if you'll be my hubby again,” Rain said, unable to hold back his smile.
He stuck out his pinky to his soon-to-be boyfriend.
“Deal.”
Phayu hooked his pinky around Rain's and touched their thumbs together.
“You can't break up with me now, hubby,” Rain said, “Never ever.”
With a kiss to the back of Rain's hand, Phayu answered, “I wouldn't have it any other way, wifey.”