Chapter Text
Prapai woke up slowly, stretching himself without opening his eyes. He patted his right side, but it was cold and empty. Huh? It was so weird for his boyfriend to be the first one up.
“Sky?” Prapai mumbled, rubbing his eyes until he got used to the light coming in.
When he didn’t receive an answer, he sat up.
“What-?” Prapai said out loud, choking on his words. Why on earth was he in his childhood bedroom? He clearly remembers going to sleep with Sky… Did they move later at night, and he didn’t realize? That made no sense.
Not needing to change into clothes was worse! He always slept without a shirt, so why was he wearing one? He really needed to find Sky.
“Sky!” Prapai screamed, looking around for his boyfriend to no avail.
“Pai, why are you being so loud so early in the morning?” His sister told him while suppressing an incoming yawn.
Well, that meant the gremlins didn’t kidnap his Sky... wait, why did his sister look so tiny?
“Phan, sorry, but have you seen Sky?” Prapai ruffles her hair, trying to calm his nerves and ignoring how different she looked.
“Sky? Who is that?” Phan asked, confused.
“Ha-ha, not funny, my little devil, where’s my boyfriend? Is he with Plerng?” Prapai pinched her cheeks.
“Hia!” Phan escaped his hands. “I really don’t understand… Boyfriend? Since when?”
“A year, come on!” Prapai was growing increasingly frustrated.
“What’s up with all this noise?” His brother came, rubbing his tummy, looking disheveled.
“Plerng, do you know where Sky is?” Prapai shakes his brother a bit; the anxiety was eating him up so much that he didn’t notice their height difference.
“Hia, what are you even talking about?” Plerng scoffed at him.
“His boyfriend,” Phan says teasingly.
“Boyfriend? You don’t have one,” Plerng laughed with Phan. “Unless you brought one yesterday… The sex must have been amazing for you to get hooked like this!”
“This joke is not funny anymore!” Prapai screamed, looking at their startled faces.
What was happening? Why did his siblings look much younger? Where was his Sky?!
“Hia breathe,” Phan says, very stressed, rubbing circles on his lower back.
He was having a panic attack; they weren’t an often-occurring occurrence, but after Sky’s incident, he got so angsty when he didn’t know where Sky was to the point he got them.
“Hia, please.” Plerng shakes him up a bit.
Prapai got up, roughly pushing his siblings, and ran to the nearest mirror.
“Fuck” Prapai didn’t know what else to say. There he was, a much younger Prapai being reflected at him.
“Hia!” Both siblings arrived at his side, harshly breathing. “What’s wrong with you?”
“My gremlins, how old am I?” Prapai asked fearfully.
“You’re 21.” Plerng half answer. “Phan, let’s call a doctor,” He mumbled to her.
“Oh god,” Prapai kneelt on the ground.
“Hia!” Phan yelled. “What’s wrong? Don’t worry, the family doctor won’t take long.”
“I’m a university student,” Prapai said questioningly.
“Yes you are a sophomore Hia” Both siblings decided to go along with their weird brother’s questions while the doctor arrived.
“And you guys don’t know who Sky is?” Prapai asks, losing his voice a bit.
“No, you have been home these past few weeks,” Phan tried to explain.
“So there is no way you will have brought someone with you,” Plerng added, thinking this was a conquest his brother hadn’t obtained yet.
“I-“ Prapai broke down in tears, sobbing inconsolably with all this information.
“Hia.” Both babies hugged him tight; they had never seen their brother like this, let alone crying.
“My Sky,” Prapai wailed in pain, thinking about how he lost the love of his life in the blink of an eye.
Prapai woke up with a headache; the crying had made him pass out. He tried to move, but both of his hands were being held by each sibling.
“Hia,” Plerng said, roughly looking like he cried too.
“Hia!” Phan crushed him in a hug, sobbing.
“The doctor said you had a trauma reaction,” Plerng sniffed. “What does he mean?”
“Did something horrible happen? Why didn’t you tell us?” Phan yells, softly punching his chest.
“I-“ Prapai stuttered. He paused to breathe. He needs to calm down, or his devils will get hurt from how scared they look.
“It’s okay, Hia.” Plerng joined their hug. “We’re always here for you.”
“Just like you have been for us,” Phan placed her hand on his heart. “Lean on us.”
“What I’m about to say will sound insane, but I need you guys to trust me?” Prapai said hesitating to state his conclusion to this situation.
“We will!” Both screamed in unison. “Please trust us too.”
“I have regressed back into the past,” Prapai sighed, expecting an exaggerated reaction, but both of his devils remain silent, waiting for him to continue. “I was 26, CEO, and engaged when I went to bed last night, and now well… yeah.”
“Engaged?!” Phan squealed in happiness, “With this, Sky, right?” Her eyes shimmer.
“CEO? Why did Dad step down?” Plerng asked curiously.
“Wait, you guys are just going with it like nothing?” Prapai asked.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Phan giggled a bit from his flabbergasted expression.
“You’re our Hia, why would you lie to us?” Plerng explain simply.
“I love you, my little devils,” Prapai trapped them in a hug full of complaints to be released. “And god are you little now,” He chuckled.
“Wait, Hia, but why did you react like that?” Plerng asked with concern.
“It is a long story, but I almost lost my Sky… twice, so I get quite stressed when I don’t find him,” Prapai whispered, a bit ashamed of his behavior. His Sky always complained, saying he wasn’t made of glass and he won’t disappear ever again.
“Oh, Hia,” Phan patted his hair, already wondering what could have happened.
“But you haven’t lost him yet!” Plerng says happily.
“What do you mean?” Phan asks, as if her brother had just grown an extra head.
“Sky didn’t just disappear; he is just a younger version of your lover, too!” Plerng explained proudly.
“Why didn’t I think of that?!” Prapai screamed excitedly.
“Maybe now you can avoid those hurtful moments where you almost lost him?” Phan added softly.
“You’re right!” Prapai smiled so brightly it almost hurt. “I can protect him now before that arrives,” He adds darkly.
“That?” Phan asks worriedly.
“My Sky was very hurt in the past before he met me,” Prapai ground his teeth.
“When was it? Maybe we could prevent it!” Plerng says hurriedly.
“It was when he first moved to Bangkok, back when he was in high school,” Prapai tried remembering the story he sometimes wishes to forget about his lover's suffering.
“How was the age gap between you guys?” Phan asked quizzically.
“5 years…” Prapai answered nonchalantly. “WAIT!” He screamed. “That means he is 16 now… fuck what is it this time? Before at 15?” He kept mumbling.
“Well, we must figure it out quickly. Maybe we are lucky, and he hasn’t gotten hurt yet!” Plerng explains.
“I don’t remember where he lived or the name of his high school” Prapai hit his forehead with his hand, what kind of Sky expert is he really?!
“Hia are you forgetting who we are?” Plerng tells him menacingly.
“What do you mean?” Prapai asked confusedly.
“We are Pantheeras, we don’t ask for information, we get it,” Plerng emphasized cockily.
The demeanor of Prapai instantly changed to his CEO features; he would find Sky, no matter what it took or cost.
It took less than two days to receive the information he needed. He only had to investigate Sky’s father to know the whereabouts of his lover.
“So?” Plerng asked anxiously.
“There aren’t any records showing him meeting with an older-looking guy, Hia,” Phan said, reading the copies.
“I can’t be sure, though. Sky never let anyone find out about them, not even his friends or father knew.” Prapai scratched his fingernails. “They probably met in desolated areas or late at night.”
“Then let’s go meet him ourselves!” Plerng explains proudly.
“We can’t just barge into his life asking if he has a shady-looking boyfriend!” Phan hit him.
“You!” Plerng almost hit her back, but the glare his Hia made him stop himself. “What I mean is that we spy on him; making friends with him would take longer, and we can’t risk him getting hur.t”
“My little devil, are you sure you don’t want the CEO position?” Prapai teases Plerng.
“No thanks, I hate business, I will go to art school.” Plerng sticks his tongue at him.
“Alright, let’s go then.” Phan tries to stand up, but a hand keeps her in her place.
“I thank you both for your help, but I will handle dangerous matters alone,” Prapai puts on a hoodie.
“But Hia, we can search faster together!” Plerng complains about wanting to be involved.
“No buts, just keep watch at that bastard for me,” Prapai says darkly, leaving them.
Another thing he added to his search was cameras and people surrounding Gun, that monster wasn’t getting closer to his Sky, not in this lifetime.
Prapai was astounded; it wasn’t as if Sky’s father hadn’t shown him baby pictures of his lover, but seeing him in real life was magnificent. There he was, his baby all happy without worries; his smile seemed so pure. Prapai was getting surer that his angel hadn’t been tainted with pain yet.
He watch Sky throughout the day, avoiding being caught multiple times, yes maybe he had some stalkerish behaviors at the beginning of their relationship but he was shameless about it so hiding it now wasn’t so easy.
It was almost midnight, and Sky was peacefully reading what was probably some manga. Observing his lover from afar makes him realize how lonely his boyfriend was during his youth days; those guys he saw earlier didn’t seem like good friends like Rain, and he never saw Sky chatting with anyone, not even a call from his father.
“I’m back,” Prapai announced while he entered his house.
Watching his lover until he fell asleep gave him much-needed peace, for as creepy as it sounded, Prapai had been so scared to be late that he wasn’t properly functioning these days.
“Hia! How’s Sky?” Phan welcomed him.
“He seems good, I don’t think they have met yet,” Prapai sighed in relief.
“Hia this guy needs to be put in jail!” Plerng exclaims when they enter the office.
“Plerng, I told you not to read any paper without my consent,” Prapai barks.
“I’m sorry, I just want to help you,” Plerng sniffed, ashamed of making his Hia mad.
“It’s okay, I just don’t want you guys to get hurt.” Prapai hugs him, remembering his brother is a younger, much more fragile version of his sassy older one in the future.
Now that he has everything in order and his lover is out of risk, Prapai is able to start his plan correctly.
“You guys don’t have to do it,” Prapai sighs, arguing with his siblings.
“Why not?” Phan whined.
“Yeah, it is not enough, Sky changes school,” Plerng chastises him. “We can be his friends and keep a close eye at the same time!” He grins.
“Plerng, you’re a senior, why would you change schools suddenly?” Prapai rolls his eyes.
“To defend my brother-in-law, that’s a good enough reason,” Plerng says proudly.
“Don’t you dare try to steal him from me,” Prapai threatens him, knowing how obsessed his family always was with Sky.
“I will keep him checked!” Phan announces helping Prapai relax a bit, thank god his sister liked girls, he didn’t want any more competition.
“Thank you, but what I mean is that in the school he is going to, there is someone enough to keep him safe.” Prapai smiles, thinking about the latest information he received from Rain. He wasn’t really sure when the other came to Thailand, but he was for sure glad it was two years before they started university!
“How do you know this Rain guy will protect him?” Plerng asked, pouting.
“He will be Sky’s best friend, I trust him,” Prapai explains calmly.
“Well, the more the merrier, Hia” Phan declared, making cutesy eyes at him.
“Fine, but no talks about me, understand?” Prapai says seriously.
“We know Hia, you won’t force any meeting until he is an adult,” Plerng mocks him.
“Good, go shopping for your new uniform then,” Prapai smiles, catching the two happy babies who throw themselves at him.
Prapai managed to have Sky accepted at Rain’s school; it was a private school, so becoming an anonymous sponsor wasn’t complicated, especially with Sky's pristine academic records. Not only will Sky have his bestie by his side he will also have better company than his previous sketchy ones. It was also a plus that the school required students to live on campus, so now he won’t be alone in that apartment. Prapai was concerned he might be overstepping his lover’s boundaries; future Sky would probably kill him if he knew, but he couldn’t control himself. He needed Sky to be completely safe, which meant not having a chance to meet that trash while he takes care of him.
He had acquired several framing documents that could put him in jail, but that bastard had more influence than he thought. Last time it was easy with the help of Pakin’s people to make him disappear; now he needed to be careful and destroy him slowly.
He wanted to add someone else to this revenge mix, another spoiled brat who dared to hurt his family. Dealing with Stop would be easier; he only needed to buy his father’s companies and start from there.
There was so much to do that Prapai wouldn’t want his siblings to get involved with; he needed somebody he could trust completely for the darker parts of his plan, and he knew exactly who to call for that.
“Pai!” His best friend hugged him as soon as he opened the door. “How are you doing?”
“Better,” Prapai lied; he had to fake a disease in order to focus on his first steps.
“I’m glad to hear that.” His friend let him in and went to make some tea.
“Yu, I need your help,” Prapai said, seriously accepting the cup.
“Do tell,” Phayu sipped his tea calmly. That’s why he loved his bestie, who could remain so chill no matter what.
“Do you trust me?” Prapai asks, staring at him.
“With my life,” Phayu answers with a smirk.