Chapter Text
Rain had a major crush and he didn’t even know his name. It had started two days ago with a flat tire. Rain had panicked hard because he knew absolutely nothing about changing a tire and it didn’t help that it was late and raining like mad. Suddenly a knight on a white horse (well actually a big blue motorcycle) had appeared and helped by changing his tire while Rain held an umbrella and his helmet for him.
Now it was his first day of his freshman year at university and Rain was telling his best friend Sky all about his “big bike brother”, not forgetting to mention how handsome and cool he had been. The most famous celebrity idols couldn’t compare.
This was actually the third time he had told Sky the story, he had called in the middle of that same night when he got home to tell Sky all about it. Then again yesterday when they met for lunch and to pick up any last minute supplies they would need for their studies.
Sky was used to it, he and Rain had been best friends every since Sky had moved to Bangkok to study at 15. They were polar opposites. Sky being quiet and keeping his thoughts to himself and Rain being talkative and pretty much saying everything that went through his head, but somehow they had hit it off right away.
“Excuse me, are you Sky?” Came a girl’s voice from behind them. Sky nodded and raised his hands in greeting. “I’m Ple. We will be working together on the student council and I wanted to meet and go over a couple ideas.”
“Nice to meet you Ple, this is my friend Rain.”
Rain smiled and greeted Ple enthusiastically, already thinking of Ple as a new found friend.
“Have you met P’Phayu?” Ple asked Sky, “He is our senior advisor on the student council. He in his fifth year and is considered the star of the architecture facility. Some people even call him the god of architectural department according to my brother, P’Som.”
“Why is he called that, and how do you know him?” Rain asked more curious than anything. He wasn’t on the student council so he probably wouldn’t be interacting with this P’Phayu at all.
Ple laughed, “My brother is one of his admirers so I have heard all the stories for the past three years.” She took on a sarcastically admiraring voice, mimicking her brother. “P’Phayu gets top grades in all his classes, he has won so many awards, he is nice, kind and most importantly he is sooooo handsome.”
Rain and Sky laughed. Sky shook his head, “I haven’t met him yet but I have heard the same stories from some of the other members of the student council.”
“I bet he is not as handsome as my big bike brother.” Rain said. “Do you want to have lunch with us, Ple? I will tell you all about him on the way to the canteen.” Sky rolled his eyes at this but Rain had already launched into the story.
Once they were seated in the cafeteria, Ple pointed to a table of older students. “That’s P’Phayu, the one with long hair, and his friend P’Prapai. P’Pai is a business student according to my brother.”
Rain’s mouth dropped open in amazement. “That’s my big bike brother.” He told the other two.
“Wait, P’Phayu is the one that helped you with your flat tire?” Sky asked, Rain only nodded. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the senior since Ple pointed him out.
As if feeling Rain’s stare P’Phayu looked over at their table. There was no sign that he recognized Rain though. He simply turned back to continue his conversation with his friends.
Rain was disappointed but not surprised. P’Phayu was a campus celebrity and Rain, although considered cute, was just a junior who many people found annoying. Even Sky said so, and Sky was his best friend.
Three weeks later:
Rain shifted his laptop on his lap and tried to concentrate on his report. He resisted the urge to look at his watch again. Why was he so late? After all he was the god of the architectural department, weren’t gods supposed to be punctual?
For the past three week Rain had waited on these same steps, always with laptop or books in hand with the pretense of studying, just to get a glimpse of his crush.
Rain had overheard P’Phayu telling P’Pai to meet him after his last class and which building. Rain had chosen a spot on the steps the next building over, hoping to be less obvious.
Voices brought Rain back to the present. His heart sped up. They were coming. P’Phayu and his friends. Rain quickly ducked his head as if he were actually engrossed in the work while actually trying to catch discrete glances of the handsome senior’s face.
P’Phayu’s friend P’Pai stopped to whisper something that made P’Phayu give a heart stopping smile. For a second Rain thought he glanced his way but that couldn’t be right. They spoke for a couple minutes more then P’Phayu gestured towards the parking lot and the group moved in that direction.
Rain waited a little bit to give them a chance to leave before packing his things to go himself. He really did have to finish this report, it was getting late and the report was due tomorrow. He always left these things to the last minute, he thought regretfully.
Phayu
“Your boy is here again.” Phayu couldn’t help but smile at Pai’s whispered words. He glanced over, sure enough there was Rain in his usual spot at the end of the steps, pretending to work.
So cute. Phayu thought. That had been his first thought about Rain, the day that he had held the umbrella while Phayu changed his tire, and the same thought every time Phayu saw him. In fact he seemed to get cuter with every day.
“Earth to Phayu.” Pai said with a bit of a smirk.
“Your day is coming, I bet if you meet the right one you will fall harder than me.” Phayu countered.
“It will never happen, the freedom of a no strings attached life is best. So when are you going to actually talk to your boy? It’s not like you to not make a move.”
“Soon.” The night that he had come across Rain stranded with a flat tire had been two days before the start of the new school year. That night it had been late and standing in the pouring rain wasn’t exactly the right time and place to ask the cute boy he had just met for a date.
He was beyond thrilled when he had spotted the boy among the group of incoming freshmen on the first day, even better he was an architect student as well. Later one of the seniors in charge of freshman activities told him that the boy’s name was Rain. Still he hadn’t approached Rain or even acknowledged that he remembered him.
In a way it was because he wanted to look cool (not the god of the architecture department cool but cool as just himself). He also wanted to study Rain and see what the boy would do next.
That’s why he not so casually told Pai to meet him after his last class, along with which building and time when he knew Rain and his friends were in earshot. He could have jumped for joy when he spotted Rain sitting on the steps that first day. So cute, trying to hide behind his textbook.
Now, weeks later he knew enough about Rain to feel sure he wouldn’t make the first move. The boy seemed to be a curious mix of boldness and shyness.
Rain
“Sky you should have seen him, so handsome and cool.” Sky rolled his eyes, this was a daily mantra from Rain. Sky admired the senior but Rain was totally head over heels for him.
“If you like him so much you should ask for his number.” Came Ple’s teasing voice behind him.
“Who would dare?” Asked Rain blushing at the thought. He pointed towards the door where the senior and his friends had just entered. “Look at him, he could have his pick of any one here.”
“My brother said that he has never known P’Phayu to show interest in anyone.” Ple said. “P’Som certainly tried hard enough to get his attention.” Ple giggled a little at that. Her brother could be quick tempered but he was meek as a kitten around P’Phayu.
Later that afternoon Rain sat further back than his usual spot on the stairs so the roof would protect him from the rain. Today he didn’t even bother with the pretense of studying, just sat and watched the rainfall. It was relaxing.
He wondered if P’Phayu would be late or even come at all today because of the rain. No sooner had the thought occurred to him than he saw the senior coming this way. Rain was a little surprised because for once P’Phayu wasn’t surrounded by friends and admirers. He was by himself, walking slowly with a large umbrella to protect him from the rain.
P’Phayu walked slightly past where Rain was sitting then turned back to him. “Even waiting for me in the rain, you must be pretty crazy about me.” He smirked.
“Who…….who’s waiting for you?” Rain squeaked. He hated the way his voice took on a high pitch every time he tried to lie.
“Oh, some cute boy around here.” P’Phayu returned, stunning Rain to silence. P’Phayu thought he was cute?!?
Phayu
Phayu bit back his laughter. Rain’s expression at being called cute was priceless. The boy obviously didn’t know his own appeal.
He had thought over how to approach Rain. At one point he had even considered disabling his car so that he could play rescuing hero like the night he had changed Rain’s tire. Pai had talked him out of that one though, saying it might be a bit extreme. It could have been fun though, Phayu thought with some regrets.
In the end he had decided to approach Rain directly, but needed to ditch his fan club first. Pai had helped with this (but not for free, he said if things worked out he wanted an introduction to Rain’s friend Sky. Although he had only seen him from a distance interacting with Rain and Som’s sister Ple, Pai found Sky interesting).
Phayu moved closer to Rain and leaned down towards him,, “So would a cute boy like to have dinner?”
“With you?” Rain looked as if he couldn’t believe his luck. Phayu couldn’t help but laugh this time.
“Yes with me. It’s ok if you don’t want to……I can go alone if you are busy.”
Rain stood up so quickly he almost tripped over his own feet. “No I am free, totally free, one hundred percent free.”
Phayu extended his hand which Rain happily took. He also adjusted the umbrella to protect them both. “It’s my turn to shelter you from the rain.”
Rain stared at him, “You remembered me? I thought you might have forgotten.”
“How can I forget the boy with the umbrella? You even said that I was handsome remember?”
Rain blushed at the memory. Rain had been stunned by P’Phayu’s good looks. He had thoughtlessly blurted out “You are so handsome.” Before realizing how weird it was to say so to a stranger he had just met. P’Phayu had only smiled and thanked him for the compliment though.
“You know something?” Phayu said now. “I think I liked you even before you held the umbrella for me. When I first stopped to help I was taken by how cute you were panicking because you didn’t know what to do about a flat tire.”
Rain blushed and said shyly, “I, uh, I liked you too. I couldn’t stop talking about my big bike brother. Sky said I was annoying.”
Phayu secretly thanked the fateful event, in this case a flat tire, that had brought them together. He really hoped tonight’s dinner would be the first of many. Rain felt like he had found something in his life he didn’t know he had been missing up until now.