Chapter Text
Some people said that if the words "I love you" were said too often, they would lose their meaning. Peem had never believed that. His parents told him they loved him all the time, and the phrase was common among him and his friends. After Phum? He might need to find the person who first said that and fight them.
Phum said "I love you" with their shirts off, as earnest as the dog he transformed into. He said "I love you" while they were joined in the most intimate of ways, between peppering kisses on all of Peem's exposed skin that he could reach. He said "I love you" in the afterglow, once they'd cleaned up. He said "I love you" over dinner, with the light of bioluminescent algae casting his face in magical light. He said "I love you" before they fell asleep, Phum wrapped around Peem as securely and wonderfully as ever.
And every single time, the words lit up a part of Peem so deep it had to be his very soul.
Peem said it back just as often, and meant it just as much as the first time.
…
…
Morning light filtered in through the curtains they had forgotten to close the night before. It hit Peem's eyes and he groaned. Too bright. Reaching up, Peem covered his eyes with a hand and contemplated, for a moment, going back to sleep like that.
Bright light.
Morning.
Phum.
The clock on the side table read eight oh six in the morning. Peem hurriedly rolled over, even as he registered the arm still draped over his waist.
Phum was still asleep, his eyes gently closed, a slight upward tilt to his lips. His auburn hair fell over his eyes in scrunched up waves, as if he'd rubbed his face into the pillow or Peem's back or something during the night. Peem cautiously reached up, fully dislodging Phum's arm, to gently touch Phum's face. His very human face.
The feeling of Peem's fingers caressing his cheek caused Phum to stir. A frown line between his eyes, a downturn of his lips. He inhaled, sighed it out, and then opened his eyes. Immediately, his face broke out in a beatific smile.
"Hi," he greeted, his voice still deep from sleep.
Peem swallowed. "Hi," he said back, his thumb still slowly caressing Phum's cheek. "It's past eight."
Phum's eyebrows furrowed for an instant, and then he shot up in bed, his eyes darting from the clock to the light outside. Peem sat up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Phum glanced over his shoulder at him, back to the windows. His body under Peem's hand began to shiver.
"You wanna go outside?" Peem asked.
With a mute nod, Phum slid out of bed. He walked slowly to the front door of their villa, Peem following behind, then paused with his hand on the doorknob. He swallowed, his Adams apple bobbing, before opening the door and stepping outside. The sunlight on the porch was already warm, even that early in the day, but that didn't stop them from standing in its rays.
Phum reached out into the air, more and more of his skin coated in light, curled his fingers as if it were something he could hold. He looked around with wonder and awe at things Peem saw as ordinary, and Peem tried to imagine it from his viewpoint. The world of day seen through human eyes for the first time in over twenty years—and from six feet up, at that. The clenching in Peem's heart probably couldn't even begin to compare to what Phum was feeling.
A small, disbelieving laugh, full of childish joy, and then Phum turned around and wrapped Peem in a tight hug. Peem's arms immediately came up to hold him in return.
"I love you," Phum said into his ear. Peem's hold tightened. "I love you, Peem. I love you."
Tears pricked at Peem's eyes and he pressed his nose into the crook of Phum's shoulder. "I love you too."
...
...
Phum wanted to take a train back to Bangkok, but the closest station was in Surat Thani and would've taken over fifteen hours, and Peem might love Phum, but he did not love fifteen-hour train rides. So they took a plane back, just like on the way down, except that Phum got to experience an airport working at full capacity.
"I don't like it," he decided, once they had found their seats.
Peem snorted. "We can take evening flights from now on, okay, puppy?" he teased.
Phum looked at him with the same wonder that he had been taking in everything that day. Was it the pet name? Was it the promise of future trips? Peem didn't know, and he didn't get to ask because then someone accidentally dropped their carryon right on top of Peem's head, and the moment ended.
Other than that, the flight was boring, typical. Phum spent the whole flight staring out the window.
"Fang's picking us up," Peem said as the plane began preparing for descent. Phum hummed. "Have you two seen each other? Since, you know?"
Since they could be human at the same time.
Finally tearing his eyes from the outside world, Phum nodded. "Uh. He came over for dinner," he said. "He made spaghetti. And he apologized a lot, as if any of this was his fault." The last bit was said with a bit of vitriol, but not aimed at his brother. Phum shook his head. "We've had dinner a few times since then."
The look on Phum's face told Peem that each dinner had been a little awkward. As much as Peem wished it weren't so, that made sense. The brothers hadn't been human at the same time since they were four and five years old. Sure, they talked through texts, voicemails, and the like, but it wasn't the same as being in the same room together. It must've been like meeting a longtime online friend for the first time, except worse.
Once they'd disembarked, they met Fang near the entry doors. He stared at Phum for several seconds, his eyebrows furrowing and eyes glistening, before closing the distance between them to wrap Phum in a hug. After over a minute, he finally pulled back enough to smile and nod at Phum, to clap him on the shoulders and sniffle.
"I'm really happy for you," Fang said at length.
Phum nodded back. "Thanks." His gaze drifted to Peem, and his lips immediately began to lift—which meant, of course, that Peem's own lips started to smile. "I'm happy too."
…
…
The house was large—far larger than Peem had expected. Phum's complete lack of hesitation when spending money had told Peem that his family was loaded, but the house cemented that fact. Fang parked the car out front, while Peem craned his neck looking out the window at the expanse of building.
Should he be there? Would Phum's family be mad that someone of Peem's socioeconomic status was the one to break the curse? He and Phum loved each other—obviously—but what if they thought he wasn't good enough? What if they were disappointed? Phum liked his mom. What if Phum's mom didn't like Peem?
A hand over his tore Peem's attention from the house to find Phum smiling kindly at him. "It'll be fine," Phum assured him. "Just be yourself and she'll love you."
Peem took a deep breath and turned his hand over in Phum's to card their fingers together. Giving Phum's hand a squeeze, he nodded. "Mm."
He still wasn't confident, but he would try to be.
"I'm nervous too," Phum admitted. He glanced past Peem to look at the house, then smiled at Peem again. "But if you're with me, I know it'll be okay."
From the front seat, Fang pointed to the scooter parked closer to the side of the house. "Tan's here too."
Even as he said it, Tan looked up from where he was leaning against his ride, spotted them, and began to wave excitedly. Peem rolled his eyes even as he smiled. He gave Phum's hand another squeeze.
"Uh, okay. Let's go."
Inside the house, the floors looked like marble. Were they marble? There was a wide staircase with a landing going up to a second floor—and did it keep going up to a third?—with glass railings. Entire walls were made of windows with thick curtains tied up at the edges. An accent wall was decorated in stone, and columns extended up toward the ceiling, giving the entire open area a grandiose feel. On a leather couch facing away from the front door sat an older woman with black hair tied in a low ponytail.
The door shutting behind the four of them caught the woman's attention. She glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes went wide. She practically tossed her tablet aside to get up and come around the couch, throwing her arms around Phum with a quiet wail.
"My son," she cried. "Oh Phum."
Oh. That was right. This was the first time she was seeing Phum during the day since he was a child.
When she pulled back, Phum's mother held his face in her hands, staring at him with teary eyes. "When did this happen?" she asked, breathy and wonderous. "How?"
Phum reached up to place his hands over hers, his eyes just as wet as his mother's. "Last night," he said, his voice thick. "Mom." And then he pulled her into another hug.
Beside Peem, Fang sniffled, his eyes glistening, but he did not cry. It only took a moment before Tan gently pushed Fang forward, nodding toward Fang's mom and Phum. That was all the encouragement Fang needed to go join the family hug.
"Tch," Tan let out, crossing his arms and leaning closer to Peem, though his eyes never left the crying family. "How come we never hug like that? Huh?"
Peem rolled his eyes and knocked his shoulder into Tan's. "We do. Every time we have a Glows and Blows, you cry and hug everyone like it's been years and not a few weeks. You're so clingy."
Tan let out a hurt gasp and turned his attention on Peem. "Peem, my friend! I cling because I care!"
And then he wrapped himself around Peem like an octopus and made kissy motions toward Peem's cheek. Peem jerked to the side to avoid a cheek kiss, but with Tan's whole body weight on him, he overbalanced, sending them both to the floor with a pair of 'oof's.
"Ai, Tan!" Peem groused with a wince.
Tan gave a little laugh. "Sorry." And at least his apologies were always sincere.
"And who are these…gentlemen?"
Both friends snapped their attention to where Phum and Fang's mom was now staring in their direction, the noise having interrupted the family hug. Peem's heart jumped to his throat. Great first impression.
"Mother," Fang started, coming over to help Tan stand up. "This is Tan."
Their mother's bewildered expression softened considerably. "The one who broke your curse?" she asked. When Fang nodded, she said, "It's lovely to meet you at last."
Tan gave a hasty wai. "It's nice to meet you, too, Mom."
She smiled at the title, then turned her attention to Peem as he stood up. Phum was already at his side, helping him brush invisible dust from his clothes until Peem smacked his hands away, nodding toward Phum's mom. Once Phum stopped touching him, Peem gave his best wai.
"Hello, Auntie," he greeted.
"Mom, this is Peem," Phum introduced, placing a hand on Peem's shoulder. He stared at Peem more than his mother when he said, "I love him."
A flush broke across Peem's face and he stared at Phum with wide eyes. Phum lifted an eyebrow as if to ask 'What? You going to deny it?' Peem pressed his lips together and nodded, accepting. With a soft smile, Phum leaned their foreheads together.
A soft hand on his other shoulder made Peem pull away and turn to find Phum's mom before him, her lips in a quavering smile. "Thank you," she said. Peem's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Thank you for loving my son."
"Oh," Peem felt his blush coming back. "No problem. It's," he cleared his throat, "He's pretty easy to love."
"Oh? Am I?" Phum let out, his entitled tone making its first appearance in days, and Peem knew he would never live that statement down. He'd worry about that later.
For now, Phum's mom shook her head, her smile a tad humorous. With a sigh that wasn't sad, she said, "That makes all three of you." She pat Peem's shoulder once before glancing at Tan and Fang and then motioning toward the living room. "Come on. Let's call your older brother."
…
…
The man who picked up the video call wore a doctor's white coat over a lavender button up. He had Fang's facial structure, but with a softer jaw, and Phum's hairstyle, though in black. The reddish-brown Lài dog from the photo album.
"Mom!" he greeted brightly. "How are you? I'm on lunch right now."
"Oat, there's someone you should say hello to," Mom said.
"Oh? Who?"
Mom turned the camera to show Fang and Phum sitting beside her. They both gave little waves—Phum's more awkward than Fang's.
"Hi, Fang," Oat greeted. His eyebrows came together. "Who—" His eyes went wide. "Phum?!" The phone shook as Oat grabbed it with both hands, as if he had taken Phum by the shoulders and was shaking him. "Are you really Phum? My little brother, Phum? You look just like your pictures, man!"
The exuberance had Phum blushing. "It's me."
"That's great," Oat said on a happy exhale. "Wait. Does that mean that everyone's been cured? The curse is done?" he asked with a befuddled frown.
Mom turned the phone back to herself and shook her head. "Not everyone."
For a moment, Peem wondered if Phum's father was somewhere upstairs, a dog. Then he remembered that Phum was the only family member who transformed during the day. More likely, their father was out doing business.
"But the ones who matter," Mom finished with a small smile.
There was a moment when the whole family paused, and Peem wasn't sure if their frowns were because they were mourning their father's state or simply remembering the long years of transformations.
Then Oat said, "So? Do I get to meet the lucky people who love my family?"
Phum waved Peem and Tan over, and they each took up space behind Mom. She pointed at them as she introduced them. "This is Tan, your brother Fang's lover, and this is Peem, your brother Phum's lover." They both gave little wais to the phone.
Oat's whole face was made of innocent joy as he gave a half-wai back. "I hope we can meet in person soon."
Mom waved her hand to dismiss the idea. "You're busy in Viangpha Mork."
"I can take a few days off to come down to Bangkok to meet my new family," he insisted. "Hey! I just realized. All of us…"
He trailed off, looking a little guilty. Before Peem could even lift a curious eyebrow, Mom said, "Yes. All of my sons have found male lovers." She sighed, but it wasn't an unhappy sound. "You all have been freed from your father's avarice. I'll accept anything else, as long as my sons are happy." Her lips pulled up again. "Besides, I have a curse to prove their love is true. And yours for them."
"Mother," Fang murmured, his cheeks darkening. Phum smirked, lifted his gaze to Peem, and winked.
Shaking his head, Peem said, "You're near Chiang Mai?" When Oat hummed his affirmative, Peem continued, "My family is in Chiang Mai. So we can go stay with them and visit you while we're up there."
Just as Oat opened his mouth to answer, a voice called out, "I have an order of sticky rice for Dr. Oat, who has waited so patiently!"
Oat's whole face brightened. "I have to go, but yes. That sounds great. Let me know when you're coming up!" He said goodbye to his mom and everyone, then hung up the phone.
Even as Mom lowered the phone to her lap, Fang shook his head. Mom sighed. "He's still so shy about letting Inspector M talk to me."
"Because he does nothing but butter you up," Fang told her. "Oat gets jealous."
He shot Tan a look, who pointedly mimed zipping his lips shut and throwing away the key. Yeah, Tan would be buttering up their mom soon. Peem would bet money on it.
Mom shook her head like Fang was being silly, then put her hands together. "Let's eat. I made—" She paused for a second, and then gave a moderately embarrassed smile. "I made some food for Fang and myself. I'll order more delivered, so we can all eat together."
"While we wait," Tan said, holding up a finger, "we can plan that Chiang Mai trip. I haven't been to Peem's in forever and I miss his mom," he whined. "I need to introduce her to my babe as soon as possible."
Everyone except Mom groaned, but they all had smiles too, so Tan wouldn't take it to heart.
…
…
After meeting Phum's mom and brother, Peem took Phum to his house to be properly introduced to Auntie Pui. She reacted in her usual enthusiastic way, complete with hand gestures and badly veiled innuendos, until Peem finally dragged Phum upstairs to his bedroom instead.
"Your aunt," Phum hedged as the door closed behind him, then stopped.
Peem shook his head and then lightly thumped it on his bedroom door. "It means she likes you. That's just how she is."
When Phum didn't answer right away, Peem looked up. Phum was slowly walking around the room, looking at everything on Peem's many shelves and desks, his easels, as if they were the most fascinating things he had ever seen. The intense scrutiny made Peem flush.
"Uh, yeah. So. This is my room. Sorry for the mess," he said clumsily.
He hadn't cleaned before running away to Railay with Phum, and hadn't been home since then to prepare his room for a guest. With his art supplies all over and three easels holding work in different stages of completion, it looked like a small twister had gone through recently.
Then Phum stopped in front of a painting. Of course, it was the painting. The handprint painting.
Phum's large hand—with a base color of red filled in to look like natural skin, partially covered by Peem's blue-based one, lotus petals blossoming from between their fingers. Phum's heat and Peem's coolness. And Peem's thumb lightly locked with one of the nails of Khaophan's shadowed paw, almost like they were making a pinkie promise but with the wrong finger. A sunrise just breaking in the background.
"Is this the canvas we put our handprints on?" Phum asked, awed. "It hardly looks the same at all."
With a smile and a light sigh, Peem nodded and moved to stand beside Phum. "I originally intended to use it to confess to you, you know."
Phum blinked at him. Then he grinned. "Confess?"
A nod. "Yeah. But then you had to go and transform in front of the couch instead and ruin all my plans," Peem said, chastising.
Phum leaned in close. "You confessed anyway," he pointed out, as if he'd won something. Peem supposed he had.
"So did you," he pointed out with a grin. Then he gave a sad sigh. "I suppose you don't need this painting then, though."
He made as if to pull the canvas off the easel—as if he would throw it away—and Phum hurriedly grabbed at it, holding it in place. They stared at each other, both with hands on the edge of the painting, for a few seconds.
Then Phum said, "I'll hang it in the condo."
"Oh?"
Phum nodded and puffed his chest out. "On the wall by the door, so I'll see it every time I come home."
Peem scoffed. "What, not across from your bed, so you see it every time you wake up or go to sleep?"
Grinning, Phum gave a shrug. "Eh, there's a bookcase in the way."
Peem laughed.
…
…
Q ┌П┐( ▀ ̿Ĺ̯ ▀ ̿ ̿)
- Party at your place? Saturday?
- Can't. I have plans.
- Plans? With whomst? ʘ‿ʘ
- Phum
- You and your boyfriend are making me and Toey look like 'just friends' with how much you hang out. You realize this right?
- Asshole 🖕
- Where's he taking you this time?
- I'm taking him to Siam Amazing Park
- You?
- You hate theme parks
- Phum's never been to one tho
- come again
- Phum's never been to a theme park before?
- I already bought our tickets.
- What?
- You're going too?
- Why?
- If it's just you, he won't get the full theme park experience. You'd only take him on the calm shit.
- Asshole
- ┌П┐(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)✿
…
…
Siam Amazing Theme Park was as busy as expected. Peem preferred quieter places to hang out, but he was determined to let Phum do as many of his missed childhood experiences as possible. And though the plan had been to go, just the two of them, after Q found out, it had become a whole Thing. He'd invited Toey, who invited his friend Matt, and then Q had told Chain, Pun, and Tan, who all decided to join, and Tan invited Fang. When Peem groused about it to Phum, his boyfriend only got excited and texted an invite to his friends Beer and Mick too. So instead of a chill date, it was a whole extended family outing.
They'd gone on the Astroliner movie ride, the Double Decker merry-go-round, the Giant Drop, and the Monster spinning ride. Phum had even ridden the Twin Dragon boat ride—and then tried to play off how he'd clung to Peem the entire time with his eyes closed. It was cute. He was cute. When they'd gotten to the Vortex roller coaster, however, Phum's eyes went wide, his whole body stiff with obvious fright.
Without hesitation, Peem loudly declared, "I need a break. You guys go on ahead," to their friends.
"You scared?" Q asked, lifting a challenging eyebrow.
If they were there alone, Peem would've ridden the roller coaster immediately, but they weren't, so Peem just shrugged. "Maybe I'll ride it later." He waved toward the line. "Go. Enjoy."
Shaking his head—though Q's expression was amused enough that Peem was sure he knew Peem's real reason for not going—Q headed for the line.
Toey grabbed Matt by the arm. "Let's go!" he yelled before heading off after Q.
Matt hurriedly grabbed Mick, who grabbed Pun, who grabbed Chain, and soon they looked like a little train on their way to the rollercoaster, all with varying levels of panic on their faces. Shaking his head, expression fond, Beer waved to those staying behind and then leisurely made his way after the pack.
Peem cast a sideways glance at Tan. "You didn't want to ride?"
Tan shook his head, wearing a nauseas expression. "No thanks. I'd rather ride the log flume, and I don't like getting wet."
Beside Peem, Phum wore a shirt that said "The Only Circle of Trust You Should Have is a Donut" that he bought literally the day before at an outdoor market. While Peem watched, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, which he slipped on his face with all the air of the rich boy he was. He looked stupidly attractive. It wasn't fair.
"Is it always this hot?" Phum complained, pulling the shirt away from his chest to make waves of air to try and cool off.
"Mm," Peem said with a short nod. "Most of the time."
"There are good and bad days," Fang said. His own rich-person sunglasses had been on his face all day.
"Any day is a good day with my Babe," Tan announced easily before wrapping his arms around one of Fang's and draping his chin over Fang's shoulder. "You make me warm on cold days and cool on hot days," he cooed.
Fang rolled his eyes and looked away, but he didn't shove Tan off despite the heat, and the smile on his face was entirely too fond to have his ire be believable. When Peem dragged his gaze from them to Phum, he saw the calculating look on Phum's face.
"Don't even think about it. I'm already sweating," Peem warned. Phum's pout was, again, way too cute.
He wouldn't push Phum off either, if the other man decided to try his luck. But Phum didn't need to know that.
"After this, we should get some food," Fang suggested. "Somewhere inside."
Nodding, Peem pointed off to the side at the observation deck ride piercing the sky. "The tower has a food place at the bottom of it. And then we can go up after we eat."
The others agreed, and then they found seats under a tree with minimal shade to wait for the rest of their friends. Only about sixty seconds later, Phum leaned over until his body pressed all along Peem's side. He looked up at Peem from beneath his bangs, silently asking if it was okay but with a quirk to his lips that seemed to dare Peem to push him off. Peem just rolled his eyes and tilted his head sideways to lay on top of Phum's.
The air was hot, and they had already gone on more big rides than Peem had planned, but he couldn't say the day had been a bad one so far. He loved hanging out with his friends, and he loved hanging out with Phum, and he wanted his friends to like Phum and get to know him better. So, actually, he was having a great time. Sweat or no sweat.
"What are you gonna tell them?" Tan asked after a long while.
They all looked at him, unsure who he was talking to. Tan motioned to Peem and Phum.
"About the dog," he clarified. "Peem obviously isn't dog sitting anymore, right? You wouldn't be able keep that lie going very long, anyway. So…what are you gonna tell them all when they ask?"
"Did you have an idea?" Peem asked.
Tan had never told anyone that Fang had a dog, so he didn't need an excuse as to why there suddenly wasn't a Thai Ridgeback following him around. Had he thought of one just in case?
He shook his head. "Nah." He grinned when Peem scoffed. "But I need to know what your story is so I can back it up. I can be your alibi, you know?"
Phum let out an amused breath. "You only need an alibi if you did something wrong."
Even as Tan stuck out his tongue, Fang said, as easily as if talking about the weather, "Our mother was feeling lonely because our father spends all his time at work, so Phum let her have Khaophan to keep her company."
Phum shrugged, which felt weird against Peem's side. "I have plenty of pictures of myself as a dog. So if anyone asks to see how he's doing, we'll always have something to show. And in a few years, we'll say he got sick, and she had to put him to sleep." His voice got strange at the end, no doubt because he'd started talking about how to fake his own death. Sort of.
Reaching over, Peem ruffled Phum's hair, making his boyfriend look up at him again. "Look at you. So prepared. You did good, Puppy Phum."
Phum's eyes sparkled, and he beamed up at Peem. If he were a dog right then, his tail would be wagging wildly.
"Hey," Phum said, his voice pitched low. "Have I told you yet today that I love you?"
A heat completely unrelated to the weather flooded through Peem, but he put up an unaffected front. "Hm. No. I don't think you have."
Phum pushed himself off of Peem and leaned his face in close to Peem's, so close that Peem almost had to cross his eyes to keep looking, but not quite. "Peem. I love you."
He couldn't help the way he started to smile. He dared anyone to be loved by this man and not feel lucky and thrilled to hear those words.
"I love you too," Peem said back.
"Ugh, we get it." Phum and Peem turned their heads—but did not separate—to watch as Matt led the group returning from the rollercoaster. The younger man rolled his eyes, exasperated. "You're a couple. You're hot. You're in love. Save some pity for us single folks, alright?" And he crossed his arms over his chest.
Peem glanced behind Matt at Toey, attached to Q's arm like Tan was to Fang's; at Chain staring at Pun with stars in his eyes, their hands linked, while Pun watched some kids nearby play with bubbles; at Mick with his arm hooked through Beer's even as he played some game on his phone. Then he smirked.
"Sorry, Matt. I think you're the odd man out on this one," Peem said.
Jolting, Matt flipped around to take in all the couples behind him. He groaned out a, "This is so not fair!" that had the others chuckling.
The air was hot, the sun high in the sky. The theme park was crowded and loud. Peem's friends all wore joy like a crown, and Phum could smile in the daylight and laugh along with them. Peem could see the future clearly, with more days like this. Their extended friend group meeting up for drinks and food, to run through Beer's scavenger hunts, to go to the beach, to celebrate Loy Krathong together in Q's chosen shirt pattern of the year. And Peem would take train rides with Phum, take him to Chiang Mai, to Railay Beach, to museums and markets and tours that only ran during the day. Peem would have an art show all his own someday, and Phum would bring him flowers and say, "Congratulations," and smile.
He liked that future. Maybe one day he would paint it. For now, he took Phum's hand, and they stood up, and their whole group made their way toward the Tower for food and more adventures.
…
…
fin