Chapter Text
It seemed like the universe really had it out for Sky this week. First he hadn’t been able to see Pai for a whole week due to his finals. Then when he decided to surprise Pai at the race track after his last final, he found himself reliving his worst nightmares. To top it all off, once safe in Pai’s bedroom at his parents house, Sky realized if they didn’t have the inevitable conversation about his past now then he wouldn’t be able to bring it up ever again, leading to an extremely emotionally draining night. Everything from the beginning of this week to this surreal moment of normalcy the morning after with Pai’s siblings had been nothing short of a roller coaster for Sky’s emotions. He was just starting to find his balance when things took a turn yet again.
It had all started when Pai was in the middle of an argument with his siblings about who among them was better for Sky. At first, Sky had watched nervously from his place at the table beside Pai. But as the argument went on and on and on — breakfast essentially forgotten — he got used to the rhythm of the back and forth banter, realizing there was no real heat behind it all. They were all talking over each other trying to get a word in when Pai’s phone started to ring. Too busy making his case, he had picked it up absentmindedly without seeing the caller id.
“Hello? Oh ma!” Pai smiled into the phone as Plerng and Phan paused mid sentence to look at him. There was maybe a moment of peace where Sky had wrongfully assumed that the argument had ended. Then Plerng and Phan dove for the phone in Pai’s hands talking over each other. Pai used his free arm to try to fend off the siblings advances but that didn’t prevent them from getting a word in.
“Ma! Tell P’Pai how good I am at taking care of people!” Phan yelled towards the phone.
“Come on, all of us are good at that! Ma tell him how I would be a much better influence on Nong Sky than P’Pai could ever be!” Plerng countered just as loud.
“Maaa! Your brats are trying to steal my boyfriend.” Pai whined into the phone trying to move his head (and essentially the phone pressed to his ear) away from Phan and Plerng. There was a beat where he was trying hard to listen to whatever his mom was saying through the line over the cacophony of noise. He must not have been successful, Sky thinks, because the next second he was covering the phone with one hand and turning to the pair of siblings to say loudly, “Guys! Quiet down! I can’t hear what mom’s saying!”
That seems to work for a moment as the yelling is reduced to whispers — the argument however still ongoing. Pai nods at something his mom says and then puts the phone on the table and hits the speaker button.
“You're on speaker now Ma”, Pai says with a grin on his face.
“Good. Now, before I lose my mind, who wants to tell me what this is all about?”
Everyone starts speaking at the same time.
“Stop! One at a time please. Pai why don’t you go first”
Pai sticks his tongue out at his siblings before he starts with a shit eating grin, “I am glad you asked mother. As you know, I am now a more responsible version of myself thanks to my darling Sky”, he paused to wink at Sky who blushed a deep red, “You know how well I took care of him when he was sick. I followed all your care instructions to a tee and looked after him the whole week until he got better. And yet! These brats are claiming they can take better care of him than me! They keep trying to convince Sky to choose them over me! Of course I know my love well enough to know how much he loves me, so that’s obviously never going to happen”, he turned to glare at Phan and Plerng who made faces back at him. Sky wondered if it was possible for the ground to swallow him up whole. “But they refuse to listen to me. Ma please tell Sky how wonderful your favorite son is so that we can settle this once and for all.” He smiled, proud of himself as he finished, clearly expecting their mom to take his side. The siblings' faces turned sour as they grimaced at the dramatics of their brother but they kept quiet as instructed.
“Wait, is Sky there with you?! Aren’t all of you at the house?” Mom asked, her voice getting high pitched.
“Oh”, Pai blinked, realizing what he had just let slip, well no backing out now, “I- yes. Yes, he is.”
“Pai, take me off speaker. Right now.”
Pai frowned. The last time he had heard his mom sound so terrifyingly calm was when he’d snuck out to his first race as a teenager, only to come home with a big nasty gash on his arm the next morning. He braced himself as he took the phone off speaker and held it against his ear.
“ How could you let my first interaction with my future son in law be over speaker phone! Without even telling me!!! ” Startled by the change in volume, Pai briefly pulled the phone away with a pained wince.
The siblings exchanged a look , both of their eyebrows raised in surprise. They must have decided to give the couple some privacy because they quickly made themselves scarce soon after.
Only having Pai’s reactions to go by on how the conversation was going, Sky anxiously fiddled with his fingers. What had he done? How could he spend the night at their family home without getting Pai’s parents’ permission first? He hadn’t even introduced himself to them yet! Would they ever approve of him now? He already had the odds stacked against him with the differences in their ages and social statuses. How could he have been so thoughtless? How many more good things would his ex-boyfriend’s presence in his life ruin for him? Why did —
His thoughts were interrupted as Pai stilled Sky’s hands with one of his own. Offering a reassuring smile when their eyes met, Pai went on to hold one of his hands, firmly intertwining their fingers together before turning his attention back to the phone. Sky sought comfort in the physical touch, even as he bit his lips nervously and tried to follow the one side of the conversation he was privy to. He was trying very hard not to let his fears get the best of him. It didn’t come easily to him.
When Pai put his phone back against his ear he heard the tail end of his mom’s long suffering sigh, “For months I have been asking you to bring him home and you do it when we are not in town ? To make matters worse, you introduce us to each other over speaker phone ?”
“But Ma, you said —”
“No, actually you don’t even do the courtesy of introducing us first . Is this how I taught you to treat your elders?”
“No, no, of course not. I —”
“It must be, given this is how you treat your aging parents”, Pai’s mom huffed. “We are coming back immediately and you and Sky are going to have dinner with us tonight where we will get to meet each other properly.”
Before Pai could protest, his mom cut him off with a, “I will hear no excuses. I’ll text you the details once your father and I find a suitable restaurant for the occasion. I really wanted to make dinner for Sky myself when we finally got to meet him but it’s such short notice that you leave me no choice. This will have to do for now. Be on time and tell your siblings to stay home. Since they have already met my son-in-law and never thought to let us know, surely they won’t mind, especially if they know what’s good for them.”
With that the call went dead leaving a resigned Pai staring at his phone. He sighed as he turned to Sky and brought their joined hands to his lips to give Sky’s hand a quick reassuring kiss to let him know that everything was okay.
“Mom wants us to have dinner with her and dad tonight. They really want to meet you. But if you’re not ready then we don’t have to. It’s your call my love.”
“Are… are they… mad that I stayed over?”, Sky asked nervously.
“No, of course not! They are just being dramatic because I brought you home when they are not here.” Pai said, rolling his eyes.
Sky’s stomach sank. It was as he had feared. If he was worried that he had ruined his first impression with Phan last night, that was nothing compared to what he was feeling right now. This was so much worse.
“Sky?” Pai frowned trying to catch Sky’s attention, “What’s wrong my love?”
Sky hesitated for a long time, not sure how to voice his fears. Pai turned towards him and just waited patiently until Sky found his words. Gathering enough courage, Sky whispered in a low uncertain voice, “I shouldn’t have spent the night without getting their permission first… What if they don’t approve of me now? Of us?”
Pai realized the miscommunication and quickly set out to make things right. Cradling Sky’s cheek with one hand, he answered in a gentle voice filled with a certainty that could leave no room for argument, “My love, they already approve of us. They are not mad that you spent the night. Trust me. They have just been asking to meet you for a long time and are disappointed that they are not here when I finally brought you home. They are excited to meet the man that tamed their mischievous son and don’t want to wait any longer. But they will understand if you are not ready yet. They already think of you as part of our family”
“Really?” Sky asked in a small voice, hope peaking through it.
“Yes, really”, Pai smiled, taking both of Sky’s hands in his.
Phan and Plerng, who had been pretending to get some more food from the counters to give the couple some privacy, felt the tension in the air dissipate and returned back to the table.
“Awww you two are just adorable”, Phan teased as she sat back down.
“So when is this dinner?” Plerng asked, taking a bite out of the apple he had just picked up from the center of the table.
“Not sure. Ma said she would text me the details once she’s made a reservation.” Pai replied, turning back to face them. One of his hands was still holding one of Sky’s underneath the table.
“Cool. Let us know when you know”, Phan said offhandedly as she took a bite of toast.
“Ha! Ma said you two are not invited,” Pai smirked.
The siblings immediately broke out into loud outraged protests while Pai laughed out loud at the dramatics. They all sure take after their parents when it comes to a flair for the dramatics , he mused.
Sky felt himself giving a small smile in return, his fears momentarily forgotten.