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Chay is running late.
Again.
He thought waking up early for high school would have prepared him for university morning classes, but he was dead wrong.
Living with his boyfriend certainly didn’t help.
Er. Living with his mafia prince boyfriend in what was technically their wing of the Theerapanyakun Mafia’s Main House certainly didn’t help. Wow, is Kim clingy; he makes leaving for classes some mornings near impossible.
But Chay took much longer to get ready than his Kim, who would tumble out of bed, brush his teeth, muse his hair in the mirror, tug on whatever jeans he found first before going to the garage to meet Chay at the front to drive him to school.
And so, even though Chay had untangled himself from Kim, he was late coming out of the shower, late putting his backpack together, late trying to find his laptop charger, and now, he is certainly late for breakfast.
He runs down the mansion steps for it’s far faster than waiting for some ridiculous glass elevator and nearly crashes into Tankhun in the dining room.
“Someone’s late. Again,” Khun observes, while taking a seat at the expansive table.
Chay sighs. “It’s not my fault. Blame your brother. He’s so clingy.”
Khun snorts. “Can you blame him?”
No, no I can’t.
Chay grabs the water filter from the table and begins to fill his canister. Khun watches while he bites into a bun, fresh from a busy kitchen. “What do you want for breakfast?”
“Ahh, there’s no time! Is there-”
“Coffee?” Tankhun shakes another canister at him. “Black.”
“Thank you, Khun.”
As Chay pulls on his shoes and readies himself for the day, Tankhun shoots off his usual questions.
“Did you pack your chargers?”
“Yup, phone and laptop.”
“And your lunch?”
“I’m meeting with friends after class to work on a Composition project.”
Tankhun raises an eyebrow. “Did you pack enough food then?”
Chay ties one shoe before moving to the other. “Yes-”
“And your medications?”
He ties the other before getting up with a stretch. “I did.”
Tankhun shakes his head but pushes a small box from his side of the table to Chay. “Here, take these too.”
“Khun-”
“You need to eat in the morning. Honestly, you and Porsche both. You two are not poor anymore. I’ll get Arm to get me another box.”
Chay rolls his eyes, but takes the box. He loves these buns, and today, he would take advantage of Tankhun’s generosity. “Anything else?”
He folds his arms. “Did you do your homework?”
Chay barks out a laugh as he turns towards the door.
Tankhun rolls his eyes before taking another bite of his breakfast. “Whatever. Have a good day.”
“Bye, Dad.”
“Bye.”
A pause.
Chay freezes.
So does Tankhun.
Chay turns and meets Tankhun’s eyes. Horror pulses through his body.
“What… what did you just say?” Khun whispers. But before he can say anything else, Chay, with the box in hand, bolts from the spot he was rooted in. “Wait, Chay!”
NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. Chay runs, and he does not stop running until he’s out the front door, until he wrenches the front door of a luxury car open and sees Kim in the driver’s seat.
“Hey-”
“Drive!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“If you don’t drive right now, I swear you’ll never get another blow-”
“CHAY!”
Chay turns, and with wide eyes, sees Tankhun running towards the car from the other end of the House.
“Drive, drive, drive!”
“Okay, okay!” Kim yanks on the gear shift and tears out of the driveway, leaving a wailing Tankhun behind them.
Tankhun, unsure of what he’s feeling, walks slowly back into the house. Running towards him are Arm and Pol with concerned looks, guns drawn.
“Khun! What happened?”
The eldest Theerapanyakun doesn’t say anything, simply stares off into the distance in front of him. He feels a gentle hand on his shoulder, the kind of gesture that Arm gives him when he’s trying to convince Khun that rewatching Bad Buddy for the third time won’t change the highway robbery that was committed when there was no on-screen InkPa kiss.
“Let’s sit down, Khun, come.”
Tankhun shakes his head and walks towards the kitchen instead, which is now relatively empty besides a single worker cleaning up the minor mess he and Chay left.
“Maybe we should get Kinn.”
Pol shrugs before turning to Tankhun. “Should we get Khun Kinn?”
“No,” the man whispers.
“What’s wrong, Khun?”
“He…”
“He?”
“Chay…”
“Yes, what about Khun Porchay? Did he say something?”
“He…” Tankhun’s voice is barely audible. The guards lean closer. “I helped him get ready.”
“Yes?”
“And I gave him my last pastry.”
“Yes?”
“And he…”
Arm raises an eyebrow. “He…?”
Tankhun wails, throwing his hands up, eyes shining. “AND THEN HE CALLED ME DAD,” he shouts promptly before bursting into tears, sobbing hysterically, his head falling onto Pol’s shoulder.
The two bodyguards exchange solemn looks.
They would need to inform Khun Kim, immediately.
“Can you please make sure Khun’s watching his dramas?”
“Yes, Khun Porchay. He’s watching now. You can come up.”
Chay sighs deeply as he collects his backpack. “Okay. We can go up now.”
Kim stares at him. “And is there a reason why we waited eight minutes in the car in the garage?”
“Don’t wanna talk about it,” Chay grumbles. This morning was all he could think about. He could barely focus on whatever the lecturer was saying and didn’t take any notes when his friends discussed the game plan to tackle their project. Every moment he thought he had put the moment out of his head, his brain would remind him that he, indeed, is a fucking idiot.
How embarrassing.
“Let’s just go home.”
When they enter the privacy of their bedroom, Chay slumps his backpack off his shoulders and proceeds to lay face first on the ground with a groan.
Kim folds his arms. “Now you’re just being silly. It’s not that bad. Just tell me what happened.”
“Arm told you.”
“No, he said that I should check on you, and then I should check on Khun. Which means either he said something mean to you, or you said something rude to him.”
Chay groans dramatically again. “I wasn’t being mean.”
“So what was it?”
Chay takes a breath, which is particularly gross because he’s still face down on the ground. “He was asking all the usual stuff he does every morning.”
“Yeah, he’s been doing that since you started the meds.”
“And I said yes, and I laughed.”
“And?”
“And… and then I called him…” Chay trails off.
“You what?”
“And then I called him dad,” Chay says in a rush before moaning again. He raises his head when Kim starts howling. And when Kim doesn’t stop, Chay sits up. “It’s not funny Kim! It’s so embarrassing!”
“Oh my god, I can’t believe-” Another fit of laughter cuts Kim off. “Oh, fuck-”
“Shut up!”
Kim wipes tears from his eyes before he folds himself onto the ground. Chay lets Kim pull him in between his legs, so that his chest rests on Kim’s chest, and Kim’s back is against their bed frame. It’s hardly comfortable, but Kim feels warm and Chay sighs. “Don’t you think you’re being dramatic?” Kim asks quietly, after a few minutes of silence.
“No!”
Kim raises his hands. “Okay! Okay. Not being dramatic at all.” He hums something familiar to Chay: the same song that he hums when Chay wakes up yelling from nightmares about the kidnapping.
When he feels himself finally calm down, Chay says, “It’s just so embarrassing.”
“Can I tell you something?”
“What?”
“Tankhun’s always been like that.” Chay watches Kim lace their fingers together, the silver of their couples’ rings clinking against each other. “I was never good with shots. You know, needles.”
“Yeah?”
“I fought with every doctor. They could not pin me down. You would’ve been impressed with how many kicks I landed and how many doctors quit because of me.”
Chay turns to face his lover. “So you’ve always been a pain in the ass?”
“Yeah, sure. But there’s a point here.”
“Go on.”
Kim sighs. “I don’t remember what ridiculous story it was, but Tankhun spun something together, something so wild and crazy. He basically convinced me that the shots were vitamins and I needed them if I wanted to grow up big and strong.” When Chay giggles, Kim presses on. “Yes, so funny. But that’s what every kid wants to hear. And every year after that, I sat still through each shot, and Tankhun held my hand through each one. For longer than I can admit,” Kim adds with a wince.
“That’s nice of him.”
Kim wraps his arms around Chay. “Tankhun puts on a really good front. But he’s just looking out for you.” Chay sighs. When he says nothing else, Kim adds, “You should talk to him. I don’t think he’s angry about it.”
“I basically called him old.”
“I really doubt he’s focused on that. And plus,” Kim presses a kiss to Chay’s forehead, “Have you met Tankhun? You can’t avoid my big brother forever.”
Chay stands quietly outside Tankhun’s doorway. He debates for a minute before he knocks quietly.
“Come in,” a shaky voice calls out.
When Chay walks in, he sees Tankhun sitting on his couch, surrounded by several used tissues and an empty tissue box. His eyes are a little swollen, and the very tip of his nose is a little pink, but other than that, Tankhun shakes his head with a yelp before saying, “Hello, Chay.”
“Hello, Khun.”
“What brings you here?” He looks away from Chay, up at the ceiling.
“I, uh…” Chay sits down next to Tankhun on the couch. “I wanted to say sorry. For this morning.”
“For calling me ‘dad’ and then abandoning me?!” Tankhun wails. “How could you just leave me like that?! After! After…” He reaches for another tissue, yanking it out of the box and obnoxiously blowing into it.
Chay tries his best to explain. “I… I was so embarrassed. And I don’t know why I said that.” When Tankhun pulls away from his mess of napkins, Chay blathers on. “My parents are dead, you know? I don’t even really remember them. It’s always been hia and me. And hia is hia, you know? He’s not my dad. He’s hia, who’s always working but also plays video games with me and makes me packet ramen for dinner. And I love him. He’s the best brother. He’s the best. The best. But, but, sometimes, and I didn't mean to-”
Tankhun cuts him off. “I’m not mad, you idiot! God, I’m not mad. I just…” Tankhun’s bottom lip quivers again. “I love raising my sons.” He blows hard into the tissue again. “It’s like Kim all over again.”
Chay’s eyebrows scrunch together. “Kim?”
Tankhun grabs another fresh tissue to add to the collection in his hand. “There was one time he got a really bad bacterial infection. He was six.”
“Yeah? Didn’t doctors give him antibiotics?”
“He wasn’t getting any better,” Tankhun says softly. “He could barely breathe. They wanted to hospitalize him.” He looks off to the window. “Did he tell you about the shots?” Before Chay can confirm, Tankhun continues. “Of course, he didn’t. These hyper-masculine idiots with their leather jackets and inability to fasten buttons. He hates needles. Hates them. I think if he goes to the doctor this year, you should go with him. Because he hates shots.”
“Even now?”
“Even now.”
“That must have been scary. The infection. Especially as a singer.”
“Don’t be stupid. He wasn’t a singer yet, but he wanted to be. Oh, I should show you the videos." The smile slides off of Khun's face. "But he wasn’t getting better.”
Chay shivers. “What happened?”
“They needed to put an I.V. in him. Which is very different from a quick shot.” Tankhun looks at Chay. “Kim panicked. He screamed the whole time, even though he had no voice left.”
“What did you do,” Chay whispers, knowing full well the answer.
“Why, monkey see, monkey do. I told them to hook me up to an I.V. too!”
Chay stares at Tankhun, who stares back. “Wait, really?”
Tankhun rolled his eyes. “Of course! How else were we going to get Kim to take an I.V? Do you know who you’re dating? He’s the nosiest, most stubborn asshole out of all of us. Even at six. So I said, ‘Strap me up, baby! Stick me good!’”
Chay bites back a laugh because it’s a serious moment but Tankhun’s grinning too now, tissues forgotten. “Did you really admit yourself to the hospital for Kim?”
“Yes I did!” Tankhun says proudly. “Hospitals are gross as fuck, but I did that anyways. Because I raised that boy! And that’s my family!” Tankhun pouts. “Don’t tell him though. He doesn’t remember. I think it was too traumatic for him.”
“Oh,” Chay says slowly.
“And after! When he was finally released, I took care of him! Me! All me!” Tankhun gets up and paces the room. “And when the doctors said that you have ulcers, Chay, after the kidnapping, from the stress, I wanted to make sure my new son would be okay! Because that’s my family!” He wails again. “And then my son calls me dad, and then runs away!” Tankhun breathes out in a huff. “How would anyone feel!?”
Before Tankhun can go off again, Chay gets up and envelopes Tankhun into a hug. Chay knows that Tankhun isn’t a hugger, that he only hugs Pete, but when Tankhun very awkwardly wraps his arms around him, all Chay can think is that’s my family.
“Okay,” Tankhun sighs. But when Chay doesn’t let go, the elder Theerapanyakun bats him away. “I said okay! Let’s-”
Chay nods. “We’re okay, right?” He asks, just to be sure as they walk to the door.
“What do you think? Ridiculous question.”
Kim’s only a smidge worried when Chay doesn’t come back right away. Chay’s supposed to apologize and come right back to finish his calculus homework.
Which is just code for making out, but they keep the textbook open, so it’s sort of like doing calculus.
If calculus is making out.
Kim leaves their bedroom and quietly wanders over to Tankhun’s wing of the House. His door is closed, but he can hear his brother shouting.
“But he wasn’t getting better.”
Kim puts his ear to the door and hears Chay next. “What happened?”
“They needed to put an I.V. in him. Which is very different from a quick shot. Kim panicked. He screamed the whole time, even though he had no voice left.” After another pause, Kim hears Tankhun again. “Why, monkey see, monkey do. I told them to hook me up to an I.V. too!”
“Wait, really?”
“Of course! How else were we going to get Kim to take an I.V? So I said, ‘Strap me up, baby! Stick me good!’”
Kim sags against the door. He doesn’t remember much from that night. He remembers coughing a lot. He remembers a little red spot on his father’s handkerchief. And being scared because he coughed up yellow and green but never red. Kim remembers getting up and then hitting the ground. And then he remembers waking up and the needle coming close to him. Everything after was a blur until he woke up days later.
Kim twitches. He closes his eyes, wills himself to go back to the memory of being pushed out through hospital doors, a brother on each side of his wheelchair.
But only one of them had a bandage that looked a lot like his.
“Because that’s my family!”
That’s my family.
Kim’s eyes sting.
Suddenly, Tankhun’s door swings open.
“Kim?”
“Uh-” Kim scrambles, rubbing his jacket sleeve across his eyes. When he pulls his arm away, Chay has a soft smile, but Tankhun’s pissed as hell.
“See? I told you. So nosy!”
Chay shoots Tankhun a look. “Didn’t you eavesdrop on Kinn and Porsche while they were talking in the conference room the other day?”
Tankhun feigns innocence. “What conference room?
“Get used to it, love.” Kim answers. “That’s our family.”