Chapter Text
The two men of varying heights stepped foot in front of the giant, white building, a suitcase in each hand.
“I can’t believe I’m really here,” said Artie, a young, dedicated man. He was unsure of how to feel about studying abroad in Thailand, almost as unsure as he was about majoring in architecture.
“I can’t believe I agreed to go to another country to help you move in.” Paul had long since dropped the luggage in his hands, his short stature causing him to drag it in an awkward way.
After a short rest the two people of questionable sexuality marched forward, towards the building kindly labeled “Architecture” in English.
“Sawasdee krub!” The man at the door greeted the pair, his hands pressed together as he gave a slight bow.. He was ever so slightly tall with pitch black hair that almost covered his eyes. He was surrounded by two other men, the shorter of the two, a small guy with brunette hair, was wearing the same uniform as him.
“Who the hell are these white guys?” The shorter man whispered before immediately being smacked on the back of the head.
“Language.” The taller man warned. He had an intimidating look to him and had his hair tied back in a God awful man bun that looked overgrown. As they glared at each other the two men from earlier approached.
“Hello, is this the architecture building?” Artie was very timid.
“What does it look like?” The brunette responded pointing up at the giant sign above them that, again, said “Architecture” in English.
“Yeah, that was a pretty dumb question, Artie.” Paul responded without being asked and in the distance you can hear Artie’s body getting run over as he is thrown under the bus.
“Oh! You must be the new exchange student.” The dark haired boy’s eyes instantly lit up.
“Let me introduce myself, I’m Sky and this right here is Rain.” He gestured to the brunette boy with the attitude. “And that’s Rain’s boyfriend, Payu.”
As Sky said that, Payu possessively put his hands on Rain’s shoulders and glared at Paul as if in warning. Paul shuffled slightly behind Artie.
“What the fuck.”
“Um… Do you need any help with those, the dorms are like a mile away.” Sky’s gaze fell down to the four suitcases the boys held. Artie had completely forgotten about the dorms. The two of them went from the airport, to the train station, on a train ride to another train, into a taxi, and then to the school while holding the luggage the entire time. Paul would have said something about going to the dorms first, in fact he did, but Artie had tuned him out after about twenty minutes of complaining.
“I’ll go get you a taxi.” Sky said before walking away. It seemed the only person who was willing to talk to them had left because now there was a thick silence that filled the air.
“So, are you both exchange students? I thought there was only one” Rain was the one to break the silence. Payu didn't seem to care either way, happy to just stare at the two boys.
“Oh, no. It's just me. Paul’s just here to help me settle in” Artie replied, glancing sheepishly at Paul who was already rolling his eyes.
“Stupid four-eyes, you didn't say your name. This is Art” Paul gestures to his tall partner, looking exasperated. It should be noted, said tall partner was not wearing glasses.
“Right…” Rain really wasn’t one for small talk and he could tell these two had a… special… relationship, whether that relationship was good or bad he still couldn’t tell. Whatever it was he felt like he was intruding on something. “So do you know where your dorm is?’
“Oh, umm” Artie goes to pull out his phone but it slips due to the insane amount of sweat on his hands. After fumbling with it for a second he reads off his welcome email, “It says West Blankets Quad.”
“West Blankets Quad?” Rain leaned over to get a glimpse at what Artie was looking at. “Ah, you mean West Evol Quad, that’s the same one as Sky.”
He looked even closer.
“Oh, it also says he’s your assigned buddy for the semester.”
“Buddy?” Paul was the one to speak up this time. Just as he was getting riled up, Sky returned.
“Hey Sky, looks like you’re this guy’s buddy for the semester.” There was a mischievous grin on his face as he said it. When Paul and Artie turned to look at Sky he was already frowning, but he was quick to shake it away in lieu of a welcoming smile.
“I think you’re neighbors too!” The frown was back.
Paul’s ears perked up at that. The idea of Sky being Artie’s buddy and neighbor almost sent him over the edge. The thought of him spending his time with Artie, his Artie, made him feel uneasy. It was hard enough to leave Artie behind in a different country. To leave behind nights of song-writing and easy banter. Warm summer nights spent only with each other; warm embraces that seemed to last just a second longer than they should. They had been fighting more recently, and as much he hated to admit, feelings warring between right and wrong, his feelings had continued to grow. This sudden move was taking its toll on him and it was all becoming too much. Paul’s not a jealous person but being buddies could become friends and friends can become lovers. He glanced over at Payu and Rain, the couple happily cuddling as Payu held Rain’s waist from behind. He shuddered at the thought of Artie doing that with Sky.
“Um, Earth to Paul?” When Paul’s eyes came back into focus Artie’s hand was waving in his face. During his trance Paul had begun foaming at the mouth, or, more like some sort of drooling. It made everyone very uncomfortable.
“Anyways, the taxi is ready for you guys.” Sky said. With that the two musically inclined boys grabbed their bags and walked over to where the taxi was waiting for them on the side of the road.
After Paul and Artie drove off, Sky said his goodbyes and went back to the student council room, leaving the two lovebirds alone.
“You still here, Phi?” Rain asked, pouting in front of his boyfriend’s face, trying to get his attention. His eyes had glazed over at some point during the conversation and everytime Rain checked in on him he was still zoned out.
It took a bit of nudging but Payu responded, jolting back to life.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he responded before his tone shifted. “Just thinking about what I’m going to do to you later.”
Rain felt a shiver go down his spine at the devious glint in Payu’s eyes.
The ride was long and bumpy but they eventually made it to the dorm. Paul wouldn’t tell Artie this now but one of the suitcases he was holding fell off halfway through the ride. They trudged up about six or seven flights of stairs before they arrived at Artie’s dorm.
“Well I guess this is where we say goodbye,” Paul said reluctantly. His stomach was churning at the thought of leaving him. They sat there for a minute in silence, unsaid feelings hanging in the air. Could this really be goodbye?
“You know, this doesn’t have to be goodbye.” Paul flinched at Artie’s voice.
“What do you mean?” He was hesitant, unaware of where this was heading.
“I mean, you could always just… stay.” add paul inner thought and artie
“Are you kidding me, stay where?”
“Here,” Artie said it like it was obvious. “I mean I could always take the couch and you could take the bed.”
“There’s a couch in your dorm? I thought you were poor, ‘starving artist’ or whatever.” Artie rolled his eyes.
“It’s called ARTchitecture, it’s not actual art oh my god, I’ve told you this before.” Artie exclaimed. “Also you owe me money.”
“Right, right, whatever.” Paul could feel the fight coming on and he was trying to avoid it. “So what? I hide in your dorm for the semester? Eating scraps you feed me under the table? I mean it’s not like I’m signed up for class or anything.”
“Just think about it, it’s not like you have anywhere to go.” Right after he said it a thick silence filled the air. Paul could feel his eye twitching now.
“Because you got kicked out of your historically women’s college.”
“I know why, dumbass!” The feelings were still fresh, but even through the painful memories the image of Artie comforting him was there. He considered the possibility of staying with him, turning the thought over in his head. The idea became more appealing the more he thought of it.
“Here,” He said with some hesitance, “Why don’t you take the bed and I’ll take the couch, it is your dorm after all.”
“No really it’s fine.”
“Artie it makes no sense, please, just take the bed.”
“No, cause like, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“I really don’t care, just take the bed”
“I don’t care either!”
“Why don’t we just share the bed then.”
Artie stared back in silence. Paul tensed, did he cross a line? He studied his face, trying to gauge his reaction as Artie considered the suggestion.
“Sure.” he said coolly, although he was blushing at the thought of being so close. “I call dibs on the left side, though.”
“Fine”
With an agreement being reached the two boys turned to enter the dorm. Artie’s hands were still sweaty (they seem to constantly be like that) and the keys fell out of his hands but he eventually grabbed hold of them and pushed the door open. Once inside the boys noticed two twin beds on opposite sides of the room. Not only were there two beds but there were also neon signs above them labeling them “Simon” and “Garfunkel”. Both of them stopped in their tracks, unable to process what was happening before a high pitched voice came from behind them.
“You two must be Simon and Garfunkel!” The voice from behind them sounded excited and they turned to see an older woman greeting them.
“I’m Joy, I’m in charge of these dorms” She told them before they got too confused. “You’re Simon and Garfunkel, right?”
“I prefer Paul” Paul said after the confusion dissipated. “Why is there a sign above the bed with my name on it?”
“Are you both not exchange students?” She asked.
“Both?” It was Artie’s turn to be confused.
“On the form it says ‘Simon & Garfunkel.” She turned around her clipboard and there in giant cursive letters were the names “Simon & Garfunkel”, the letters so big it took up three lines.
“Ohhhh.” The realization settled in as Artie pieced together what had happened. He explained how he had been going through the many copyright notices they had been given, the immense amount had accumulated due to them sampling as many copyrighted songs as they could in their Soundcloud demos, and signing off on them using both their names. He remembered thinking it was strange they were asking for so much personal information but trusted the legal offices knew what they were doing.
“Why would you put my information down?” Paul wasn’t even upset, more so confused.
“Well, I was going to ask you but you told me to stop bothering you.”
“Did you forge my signature?”
“You were in the shower!”
“Let’s not get too heated,” Joy chimed in. “I would hate to see two lovers quarrel on their first day.” She said almost accusingly. Her eyes narrowed as she surveyed their reactions.
“Whatever, let’s just go inside.” After everything that had happened Paul was exhausted and just wanted to put an end to today.
They walked into the room, closing the door behind them as they pushed the suitcases to the side.
“Hey, I could’ve swore there were four suitcases.” Artie counted them once and then again, even though there were still only three of them.
“Nope, always been three.”
“No because this one has my clothes, this one has my –”
“Stop thinking about it, there’s only three.” If Artie had thought about it for a second longer it would almost sound like Paul was trying to convince him, but instead he just shrugged and forgot about it.
“Wow, I’m more tired than I thought,” Artie said through a yawn as he stretched his arms out. “I think I could sleep for one william years.”