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It doesn’t take very long to distract Phayu into leaving the tracks, and temporarily saving Saifah and Prapai from further lectures from a protective alpha. Rain bats his eyelashes and pouts at his husband while Sariya does her best impression of a koala, her little arms tightly wrapped around Phayu’s neck, and Rain can see the second their alpha gives in. He tries to not cheer, though Phayu’s narrowed eyes tells him he didn’t quite succeed at masking his glee.
To his credit, Phayu doesn’t actually mention the bike or Sariya being on it during the entirety of their dinner. He’s being a tad more tactile with Sariya than he normally would be, though Rain doubts he actually notices. Sariya just soaks up the attention. Phayu’s focused face as he listens to Sariya happily detailing just about every single minute of the past two days makes Rain’s heart flutter.
He snaps several pictures of his two alphas throughout the evening, heart full from having his family intact again. His favorites must be one of Phayu with his nose buried in Sariya’s hair, eyes closed in bliss and Sariya’s face scrunched into a giggle; a blurry shot of Phayu spinning Sariya around while the little alpha’s face is caught mid-laugh; and one of Phayu’s broad back, Sariya’s face just peeking out from its place mashed into Phayu’s neck, dead asleep in her father’s arms.
They make it home and Phayu makes it look effortless to transfer their daughter from his arms to her bed without actually waking her up. She only mumbles a sleepy “‘night papa” before she’s out like a light again, cuddling her favorite stuffed unicorn.
“That was easy,” Phayu comments lightly as he ushers Rain from the doorway. He doesn’t close the door all the way and stops to listen for a moment, letting out a deep breath, lips curled up into a smile, when he doesn’t hear any noise.
“She was excited.”
“Big day for her,” Phayu agrees.
His husband’s pointed look makes Rain giggle and he slaps a hand over his mouth to dampen the sound. “P’Phayu,” he chides.
“You didn’t think I forgot, did you?” Phayu asks, steering Rain towards their bedroom with a firm hand on the small of his back.
Rain giggles again. “Of course not, alpha,” he says, not bothering to hide his amusement. The happiness on their daughter’s face when she was on that bike rivals Phayu’s, so Rain can’t even pretend to be sorry.
Phayu snorts but doesn’t comment further. He leaves Rain just by their bed and sits down heavily. Rain frowns at the tension in his husband’s shoulders and the mood shift.
“What was that today?”
“Which part?” Rain asks carefully. He kneels down in front of Phayu, leaning his forearms on his alpha’s thighs. He needs the contact for himself as much as he knows Phayu does. “Is it her on the bike or her on the bike without you?”
Phayu sighs and runs a tired hand down his face. Rain grabs his hands and holds them tightly. “Both?”
“Tell me,” he urges.
“She’s so small,” Phayu breathes out and Rain’s heart squeezes. He had known it was more protective instincts than actual fear earlier today, but he had thought it was more alpha-driven rather than parental.
“She is,” Rain agrees, “which is why P’Pai was holding her the entire time and P’Fah was right there too.” He smiles when Phayu inhales. “You know they wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”
“She’s our baby, Rain,” Phayu insists. “She’s the most precious thing I have.” His eyes are a little glassy and Rain shuffles closer. Phayu spreads his legs to make room. “Logically I know she was safe, none of you would have let her get near anything that you thought was remotely dangerous,” he continues, “but she’s just-” he forcefully breathes out heavily. “Both me and Fah were on bikes around her age so it’s not really that, but I don’t want her to-”
It’s rare to see his husband at such a loss for words and it makes Rain’s heart ache for him. Seeing his baby girl on a bike apparently blindsided Phayu, triggering all kinds of protective instincts for him.
“She’s growing up too fast.”
Rain huffs a laugh. “She’s growing normally,” he jokes, squeezing Phayu’s hands when his alpha narrows his eyes. “I know, it’s crazy. It feels like I was pregnant just yesterday.” Phayu’s eyes flicker down towards Rain’s body and Rain slaps his husband’s arm lightly. “Pervert.”
It’s actually flattering to know his alpha likes him no matter what shape he’s in, but Rain doesn’t want to be pregnant again for a while. The end result - their daughter - made being pregnant worth it, but Rain didn’t actually enjoy being pregnant that much. Maybe they could try for a sibling in a year or so, but Rain isn’t opposed to having just Sariya.
Their whole lives changed as soon as they knew Rain was pregnant and every second they spend with their daughter is priceless. Their daughter really is the most precious thing they have, their biggest treasure, and it does feel slightly surreal to watch her grow and know that she’s never going to be this small ever again. Rain understands where Phayu’s coming from, he does, but he also knows he can’t stop her from growing up. He just needs to cherish every moment.
“She loved being on that bike,” he whispers.
Phayu nods. “I saw.”
“She wants to learn how to ride a bike,” he shares. “I said I’d talk to you about it,” he catches his alpha’s eyes and bites his bottom lip, “convince you to teach her.”
Phayu’s eyes darken, thighs flexing under Rain’s arms. “Did you, now?”
Rain swallows and nods. His stomach swoops when Phayu licks his lips. “Mhm,” he hums, shifting his weight to sit more comfortably on his heels. He lets his hands glide along Phayu’s legs before linking them behind his back. “What can I do to convince you,” he pauses, wetting his lips, “alpha?”
“You want to go there, baby?” Phayu asks, voice low.
“I don’t know, do I?” Rain fights to keep a straight face. “Do I, Daddy?”
Phayu snorts and Rain breaks, giggling.
“You’re ridiculous,” Phayu says fondly with a shake of his head, leaning down to press a light kiss to Rain’s forehead.
It’s a whole lot sweeter than Rain expects and his giggles taper off into a happy sigh when Phayu lingers in his space, simply breathing. He knows that it’s as hard for Phayu to be away as it is for him and Sariya, he just tends to forget when he’s in his feelings and when he tries to be strong for their daughter. Phayu does exceptionally well at keeping it light-hearted when he needs to be away too.
“I’ve missed you,” Rain admits, leaning forward until his upper body is sprawled out over Phayu’s thighs again. Phayu’s hands run comfortingly up and down his back.
“I missed you too.” Rain feels Phayu lean down to press a kiss to the back of his head. “I’m sorry for being away so much.”
Rain pulls away enough to be able to look his alpha in the eyes. “I know,” he nods, “you don’t have to apologize.”
The look in Phayu’s eyes says his husband disagrees but Rain knows Phayu well enough to know he’s not going to argue. He’ll just continue to apologize for being away. It’s one of the things they’ll probably always agree to disagree on.
“Hold me, P’Phayu?” he asks instead.
The weeks of overtime and the business trip has been tough. He needs his alpha to comfort him. In another scenario it would mean getting his back blown out (before Sariya that was more the norm, actually), but right now he just needs to know his alpha is here with him. He needs his alpha’s scent covering him, his husband’s arms around him, Phayu’s presence smothering any lingering loneliness.
Phayu is quick to haul Rain up from his knees and manoeuvre them until Rain’s lying on his side, tucked into Phayu’s front. He can barely breathe from having his face smushed into Phayu’s neck but it’s the calmest he’s felt in weeks. Phayu’s arms around him are tight, the warmth of his body seeping into Rain’s skin.
“You’ll consider it?”
“What?” Phayu’s voice is soft, tired.
“Teaching our puppy how to ride a bike.”
Phayu sighs. “You know I’ll let her,” he says after a moment. “If she wants to, of course I’ll teach her.”
Rain burrows in closer to his alpha, rubbing his face along Phayu’s neck in a silent thank you.
“When she’s older, though.”
Rain huffs a laugh at his husband’s petulant tone. That’s the parental protectiveness he had been expecting. It’s fun to witness his alpha being childishly stubborn when it comes to their daughter. Normally Rain’s the one with the childish behavior, but Phayu has it down to an artform if it concerns Sariya.
“You’ll get her a bike before she’s ten,” Rain predicts.
“Eighteen,” Phayu counters.
“Twelve.”
“Fifteen.”
Rain giggles and pokes Phayu’s side. It makes his alpha chuckle and Rain’s heart sings. He’s missed having silly conversations with his husband, missed doing more than just sleep next to him.
“No more overtime?” he mumbles. His body is fully relaxed now that his alpha is back and he can feel sleep pulling at him.
“Not for a while, no,” Phayu answers. “I asked to be assigned some slower cases for a while to be here for you more.”
“S’good,” Rain sighs happily. “Miss you.”
“I missed you too,” Phayu echoes. “Go to sleep, baby, I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Rain thinks he tells his husband he loves him before sleep pulls him under, but he’s not sure. It doesn't matter. Now that his alpha is home Rain can just tell him at breakfast in the morning anyway.