Chapter Text
Pae woke up slowly, the surroundings registering little by little. The heartbeat and the second breath beside him, the low hum of the AC and the sun glowing through the windows. He loved waking up like this, comfy and content and didn’t want to move at all. Not only that but sensing that Tong was sleeping too, he didn’t have the heart to wake him up. So he nuzzled his boyfriend a bit more and settled happily once again. A few moments later, someone chuckled.
“You’re so cute, you know that?”
Pae blushed. Another thing beside teasing that his boyfriend liked to do was to call him cute. It used to catch him off guard before. Beside his mom, no one called him cute. Well, until now. He pressed his face even more into Tong’s chest, making the said person chuckle even more.
“Did I wake you?” He asked.
“It’s okay. Sleeping too much in the afternoon makes me drowsy for the rest of the day.Should we get up?”
“What time is it?”
“Almost 4” Tong answered after checking his watch.
“Ugh, guess I have to start preparing.”
“Want me to drive you there?”
“You sure? What time are you meeting P’Kim?”
“I don’t know exactly, but I’ll call him after I’ll drop you off.”
“Okay.”
“Go have a quick shower. I’ll get some snacks ready for you.”
“Mmm.”
Pae lifted himself off his boyfriends chest, not before nuzzling his cheek . He then stretched his body, working out the few knots he felt that formed in his back. Taking his phone from the couch he went to the bedroom, set it to charge and took some clean clothes from the wardrobe, heading to the bathroom.
While Pae went to have his shower, Tong took out the glass of coffee he bought for him out of the fridge and a few snacks then placing himself nearby the sink, he started scrolling on his phone, checking for new updates on Qin’s and Kim’s IG, their group chat and he answered his mother on the few messages.
A few seconds after his messages showed delivered in the chat, his mother’s call ID popped on the screen.
“Yes mom?”
“Son, what time you will be home for dinner? Is there anything you want in particular? I will start cooking soon.”
“I won’t be home for dinner tonight, mom.”
“No? Something happened?”
“No, not at all. I will go have a drink with Kim and I’ll stay over at Pae’s for the night.”
“Oh my,” his mother chuckled. “You’re staying with Nong Pae? How is he? Are you taking good care of him? Is he eating properly?”
“Mom,” Tong interrupted smiling. “He is well. And yes, I am taking good care of him, you know me after all.”
“Yes, yes, I know. You take after me in that regard.”
“Naturally” Tong agreed, smiling softly at his mother’s antics.
“What about dinner? Will you two dine together?”
“No. Pae has plans for dinner with a friend. As for me, I will see how things go with Kim.”
“Okay. If you don’t eat out, make sure to order something delicious. Order something extra for Nong Pae as well, okay son?”
“Yes mom” he answered, happy at how much care and love his mom and by extension his family exuded for his boyfriend.
“Okay then. I won’t hold you any more. Say hello to Nong Pae from me please. And bring him over sometimes. We all miss him.”
Tong grinned. Of course his mom would ask that. Everyone was taken with Pae’s cuteness.
“I will talk to him and see where we can sync our schedules.”
“I will believe it when I will see you both here. How many times have you said that, hm?”
“I’m serious this time, mom” Tong said, his smile widening,
“Make sure you do that. Otherwise, I will call and invite him myself.”
“Of course.”
“Take care okay? Both of you.”
“Yes mom.”
As soon as he closed the call, he heard the bathroom door opening, making way to a freshly showered Pae.
“Something happened?” He asked. “I heard the phone.”
“Mom called. She said hi. And she asked if you could come by sometimes. She misses you.”
“Oh, she did?” Pae asked, blushing. He loved Tong’s family. Every time he visited, he was greeted warmly, always the centre of their love and care. Which managed to explain his lover’s behaviour.
“Yes.”
“Mmm…”
“You’re ready?”
“Yep.”
They put on their shoes, picked their respective keys and left. The drive to Yang Noei was a bit crowded. Being the last day of the mini break, everyone was going out making the road pretty congested. Pae thought he might be a bit late so he sent a message to Jamie letting him know to which the latter let him know it was no problem and that he will wait for him in front of the restaurant.
“You will eat out as well? “He asked Tong.
“Probably yes. I’ll see what Kim will say. If not, I’ll just buy something on the way back. Do you want me to buy you something?”
“Hmmmm, something sour? I ran out of those sour jellies we bought last time.”
“No problem. You’ll get back with a taxi bike?”
“If I can’t convince Jamie to give me a drive, yeah.”
“Call me if needed, okay?”
“Oi, don’t abandon P’Kim like this” Pae giggled.
“I’m not abandoning him. Something more important might interfere,” Tong said smirking.
Pae laughed. He knew Tong was serious. He didn’t tell his friends about them either, having decided to wait until Pae will tell his own friends.
“We’re here,” Tong noted, entering the street where the restaurant was located.
“The warrior is already here,” Pae grinned, watching Jamie looking around searching for him. “I’ll see you later, ok?”
“Mmm. Take care.”
“You too,” he said smiling while opening the door.
He was greeted with a confused Jamie who kept looking in between them. As soon as Jamie’s eyes connected with Tong’s, the playful smile he had on his face dropped completely turning into a full blown glare. Jamie shuddered. A feeling of uneasiness started gripping him but as soon as Pae got in front of him and distracted him, it dissipated. When they heard the engine of the car, they both turned and wai-ed.
“So…” Jamie started.
“What?“ Pae inquired, already seeing the clogs moving around Jamie’s brain. Honestly, sometimes this friend of his was way too perceptive for his own good. Especially when it came to his friends.
“Why are you with P’Tong?”
“He just gave me a drive here,” Pae answered, turning towards the restaurant entrance. “What have you been up to?” Pae asked in turn, trying to redirect the topic so Jamie won’t badger him with more questions.
“Oh nothing much, you know me” Jamie responded laughing nervously.
“Yeah yeah. Your never ending excuse. Seriously now, are you okay? You don’t seem the usual you.”
“The usual me? In what way?” Jamie asked, scratching the back of his head.
“If you don’t want to tell me, fine. But you know if you ever want to talk, I’m here right? I’m your friend. If there is anything I can help you with, I will try, okay?”
“Since when did our young Mr Prachai became so reliable?” Jamie teased, nudging him playfully.
“You dumbass. Someone has to be there to catch you and Duang sometimes” Pae snorted, opening the door to the restaurant to enter.
They went to the closest available seat, picked the menus and ordered. While waiting for the food, they talked about what they did in the past few days, although Pae noted he was the only one detailing, they spoke about Duang and Qin, the future projects they will have and of Loy Khratong. Due to the holiday being in the middle of the semester, they will probably spend it together but they still have to wait for Duang to come back to make plans.
They didn’t stop talking not even when the food arrived, the conversation flowing naturally. Their friendship was well consolidated and although Pae wanted to ask and probe more when he saw Jamie looking at his phone from time to time, he decided against it. If Jamie hasn’t talked until now, it meant he still had to come to some terms himself and he will probably won’t while they will talk. So he will wait. If he was needed, he will be there for his friend. At a certain point, they wanted to call Duang but they decided against it especially with the time difference. And also the fact that they didn’t want to ruin the quality time he had with his boyfriend. They were both happy for Duang and teased him accordingly.in the end, it was commonly agreed between both of them that there will be time to impose on the lovebirds when they will get back.
After dinner they said their goodbyes and left each on their own path and Pae couldn’t help seeing the eagerness in Jamie’s steps. He shook his head while signalling for a bike. This friend of his thought he was quite good at hiding things. But unfortunately for him, he was quite good at observing.
The bike arrived at his condo pretty quickly. He paid and thanked the driver and went swiftly to his apartment. Opening the door, he was greeted with complete darkness. The wonders of Thailand. By 7:30 PM it was pitch dark outside, no sign of twilight. He started the lights and went straight to the kitchen, opening the fridge and taking out a bottle of water. He checked his phone again and seeing no message from Tong, he prepared everything he needed for the next day and started hunting for the sleepwear Tong left last time he spent the night.
He checked the phone again. Almost 8:30. Not expecting Tong yet, he took another shower, put his pyjama on and huddled on the couch, embracing the plush toy and starting a movie. A few moments after, the bell rang. Sighing, he abandoned the plush toy on the couch and went to open the door. He didn’t understand why Tong wasn’t using the door code despite the fact that he knew it. He opened the door, one eyebrow lifted. His boyfriend was looking at him bashfully, arms full of bags.
“Did I disturb you?”
“Not at all but I really don’t get you” he said, sidestepping to let Tong in.
“Hm?”
“You know the code. Why aren’t you using it?”
“Oh...hmm..I guess its the habit maybe? But more like I had my hands full“ Tong answered, setting the bags down by the door, separating them after taking off his shoes. He took the bags with food and snacks and headed towards the kitchen while Pae took the school bag and the rest of the items and took them to the bedroom. He put Tong’s university uniform on the hangers while setting the rest of the things on his desk. Going back to the kitchen he took his usual place at the table and stole a pack of chips from one of the bags Tong hasn’t managed to empty yet.
“So?” he asked opening the pack and munching on chips. “How was practice and dinner with P’Kim?”
“Same as usual. We reviewed a few parts and we spoke about the Freshy Night and the activities surrounding the event.”
“You guys are singing then?”
“No. We had enough credits made during the Jazz Event. But Qin will. So we will be there.”
“We will as well. If Qin is here, Duang will be there and by extension us as well,” Pae said chuckling.
“Heh, the three musketeers,” Tong snickered. “Well afterwards, we were thinking of going for dinner, all of us. We just need to talk to Qin when he gets back.”
“That actually sounds good.”
“How was your meeting with Jamie?”
“The same as usual. We caught up a bit, we ate a lot and although I tried to pry a bit to see what’s going on with him, he wouldn’t budge.”
“Hmm...is he usually like that?”
“Yeah, but if pestered enough, he starts talking. He loves to brag. But not this time,” Pae said, playing with the now empty pack of chips.
“Maybe he is not ready to talk yet?”
“Maybe so. I don’t blame him tho. I haven’t been exactly honest myself either,” Pae confessed, frowning and pulling at the pack.
Tong stopped sorting the items. They spoke a few times about how to disclose their relationship to their friends. But he wanted to do things the way Pae felt comfortable. He knew that on a certain level his boyfriend felt guilty for hiding their relationship and he tried to appease him when moments like this arose. But it seemed this time, with Jamie having his own secrets, more then usual, it hit a bit close to home. He put the food he ordered in the fridge and left the rest of things to sort later or tomorrow early morning. Right now, his lover was more important. So he took his hand, helping him off the chair and to the couch. He sat first pulling him in his arms and helped him cuddle. Reassurance was the best things that worked with Pae. And encouragement.
“You know, whenever you feel ready, we can tell them right?”
Pae felt his inner turmoil give him a headache. This was so unlike him. He never doubted his feelings for Tong. And he never doubted his friends. He didn’t understand what was going on through his head…
“You are probably right.”
“Don’t overthink. They will understand.”
“Mmmm, I know. My mind is just going places…”
Tong checked his watch. Almost nine. And by the looks of it, the lack of proper quality sleep made Pae tired enough to start overthinking.
“You know what, how about we sleep early tonight?”
“Yeah, might be a good Idea,” Pae agreed.
He got up and this time he was the one that pulled Tong off the couch and dragged him towards the bedroom. Once he got there, he let go of Tong’s hand and went straight to the bed. He got under the covers and watched his boyfriend take the clothes he prepared and go to the bathroom. Soon the water running could be heard. He sighed. Tong was right. He will tell them. And that’s that. He bundled himself further under the blanket and waited for his lover.
He almost fell asleep when he heard the bathroom door opening and closing. A few seconds later, the covers were pulled, the bed dipped and soon two strong arms pulled him into a hug.
“Still not sleeping?”
“I was waiting for you,” Pae responded half asleep.
Tong smiled. He was so adorable. He kissed his forehead and tightened his arms a bit more. Falling asleep with Pae in his arms was one of the best feelings in the world. Hearing his sweetheart’s breath slowing down, he closed his eyes as well. A new week will start tomorrow and with last exams before Loy Khratong and Freshy Night.