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Prapai is the one who actually saw it first, saw him first.
Phayu isn’t as upset about it as he probably would have been had Prapai been focused on the boy himself, and not the situation. He would probably have claimed dibs or something equally ridiculous.
“Hey,” Prapai’s tone is amused as he casually slaps Phayu’s shoulder to get his attention. “Look at that cloud.”
Phayu almost looked up to the sky for whatever cloud shape Prapai deemed interesting this time when he catches Prapai’s finger. He’s not pointing upwards, but forwards. Following the direction, Phayu spots a large dog further up the road. The dog is white and impossibly fluffy. A cloud, indeed.
It’s not the dog (or its impressive fur) that captures Phayu’s attention, however. It’s the boy at the other end of the leash. He’s a slim figure, and clearly struggling against the dog who has parked his backside to the ground and is steadfastly refusing to move. There seems to be a stalemate between them - the dog not moving and the boy clearly trying his best to make the dog move.
Phayu huffs in amusement.
Prapai laughs as the boy makes another futile attempt at tugging on the leash. “Yeah, he’s not going anywhere,” he comments.
“Must not be the owner,” Phayu notes.
He isn’t an expert on dogs, but he knows enough. The white cloud of a dog is a Samoyed, a very rare breed in tropical Thailand. Phayu has only met one other before, and according to its owner, the breed is very friendly, especially with their person, but can be stubborn and mischievous.
He is about to step forward to ask if the boy needs some help when the boy very visibly has had enough. He rolls his shoulders and walks determinedly over to the dog, gets behind it, and squats down. With an impressive show of strength, the boy hauls the dog up in his arms and half over his shoulder.
The dog doesn’t move a muscle, tongue lolling out of its mouth, clearly used to it. Also clearly enjoying it.
Prapai is full-on cackling. “Yu!” He swats Phayu several times, as if he wasn’t watching too.
Phayu does his best to keep from laughing too, but can’t help the smile. The dog is almost two thirds of the boy’s size, yet both dog and walker seem perfectly comfortable with the dog over the boy’s shoulder.
It’s fascinating to watch them, and he doesn’t move as the pair comes closer.
“You do know dogs can walk by themselves, right?” Prapai quips when the boy and the dog are close enough, uncharacteristically snide.
Phayu glares at his friend. “Pai!” he says reproachfully.
The boy stops and looks at Phayu and Prapai, eyes wide. “Sure,” he says cheerfully, “but sometimes we all need to be carried.”
Phayu smacks the back of Prapai’s head. “We’re impressed, is what my friend was trying to say, really,” he says. “A Samoyed isn’t very light.”
The boy smiles, a smile that lights up his face. “He’s really heavy,” he agrees.
The dog squirms as it realises they have stopped and the boy has to put him down on the ground. It approaches to sniff at Phayu and Prapai, tail wagging happily. Prapai immediately squats down, almost getting trampled by the dog in its excitement to greet him.
Phayu keeps half an eye on Prapai and the dog, but mostly focuses on the boy. He’s very cute.
“Not your dog?” he asks, gently.
The boy looks at Phayu. “No,” he says, shaking his head, “I’m watching him for a friend. They don’t normally live here, but had to come for a while.”
Phayu nods, reaching down to pet the dog when it comes to investigate him. It quickly returns to Prapai when he calls.
“What’s his name?”
“Hima.”
Phayu smirks. Snow. Very fitting.
Prapai, clearly having listened in, repeats the dog’s name several times with increasing excitement. The dog bounces around Prapai in joy.
“What’s your name, nong?” Phayu asks. It’s the most relevant question, honestly.
The boy blinks and just looks at Phayu for a few seconds, before he smiles again. “I’m Rain! What’s your name, Phi?”
Phayu keeps his face neutral, trying not to react to the blinding force of the boy’s smile. “I’m Phayu. We all match,” he quips. “He’s Prapai,” he adds when Rain seems confused.
Rain giggles.
There is a natural lull where both Phayu and Rain only watch Prapai, having taken Hima’s leash from Rain, playing with the Samoyed. Phayu is not surprised at his friend’s behavior. For all of Prapai’s sleek suits and rich boy energy, he is a child at heart with a fondness for animals of all shapes and sizes. Rain seems a bit amazed by it all, which Phayu privately thinks is adorable.
“Pai has that effect on dogs,” Phayu tells Rain. He pretends to think. “Also children.”
Rain giggles again. “Hima is friendly, but I haven’t seen him like this.”
Phayu nods. “Normally he’s reluctant to walk with you?”
Rain turns to face him properly, eyes wide again. “Yes!” He nods. “He’s fine for a bit, but then when I try to get him to go home, he just won’t.”
“So you carry him?”
Rain ducks his head a little, cheeks pink. “It’s the only way.”
Phayu boldly reaches out to gently nudge Rain’s chin back up. “He’s teasing you,” he tells Rain.
He emphasises with the dog. Just with this short conversation, Phayu can see the appeal in teasing Rain. He’s already naturally inclined to tease people, he knows, but Rain would make it all the more rewarding.
“Teasing me, Phi?”
Phayu nods. “With a little more firmness, he’d follow you without struggle.”
Rain looks skeptical, so Phayu whistles. It’s a short, loud whistle that makes Rain startle. Phayu keeps his eyes on Rain, but feels the pressure of a big dog on his leg within seconds.
“Yu!” Prapai complains. “I was playing.”
“Now you’re not,” Phayu says easily, still not looking away from Rain’s face.
The boy’s mouth has dropped open in shock, and he’s looking between Phayu and Hima who has obediently sat down next to Phayu, pressing his not inconsiderable weight against Phayu’s leg.
Phayu smirks and leans down to scratch behind Hima’s ears. “Good boy,” he praises.
The dog’s tail wags happily, and when Phayu glances up, Rain’s cheeks are pinker than before.
“He listened to you,” Rain chokes out.
Phayu nods. He doesn’t say anything else, but snaps his fingers and makes a shooing motion at Hima. The dog barks happily and bounces off to attack Prapai again.
“How?”
“You have to be firm,” Phayu says.
He fights with himself to not coo when Rain’s face tightens in determination. The boy might just be cuter than the dog.
Rain attempts a whistle. It’s not very loud, nor is it strong enough to command attention. Hima, good boy that he is, pauses momentarily in his playing before going back to seemingly chew on Prapai’s hand.
“That was a nice request,” Phayu offers.
Rain actually stomps his foot. Phayu bites his tongue.
Too cute.
Rain attempts another whistle, this one louder but still not strong enough. Hima stops playing and sits down, looking at Rain. He goes back to playing when Rain doesn’t issue a command.
“Good boy.”
Rain seems to freeze.
Phayu waits him out. If the comment was too forward, which he guesses wasn’t, he could always say it was to Hima.
“It worked,” Rain breathes out.
Phayu smiles fondly when Rain turns towards him, eyes bright with the success. The boy is very nearly bouncing on the spot in joy.
“Can you teach me more, Phi?” Rain asks, reaching out to grab hold of Phayu’s arm.
It’s a bold move and Phayu would have thought it a calculated one if it wasn’t for Rain’s overall sense of innocence. Even if it’s a very clever mask, Phayu would be willing to go with it. Rain is too cute.
“We could grab coffee, and I could teach you a few more tricks.”
“Could you, Phi?!”
Prapai chooses that moment to approach. “Yu here can teach you plenty.”
“Are you a trainer, Phi?” Rain asks, eyes wide. He still hasn’t let go of Phayu’s arm.
Phayu smiles tightly at Rain. “I have,” he starts slowly, “some experience with…” he pauses, “let’s say obedience.”
Prapai coughs.
Phayu, without looking, reaches out to punch Prapai on the shoulder. “Ignore him,” he tells Rain when the boy looks between them. “He’s being stupid.”
“So,” Rain says, “you’re free for coffee?”
Phayu nods. “Sure.”
Prapai makes a noise. “I thought you were helping me pick out Phan’s present!” he protests.
It’s a shallow protest. “No, you already chose that charm bracelet,” Phayu says pointedly, tone even. “Remember?”
It’s also conveniently true that Phan has been eyeing a charm bracelet, demonstratively sighing longingly at it for weeks, so Phayu isn’t lying.
Prapai’s eyes dance. “Oh right, yeah, I guess I did,” he says.
Phayu nearly rolls his eyes. He will not live to hear the end of this, he’s sure, but it’s not like he doesn’t have his own list of things to blackmail Prapai with.
“Great, so goodbye,” he tells his friend.
Phayu whistles again, lower this time and a more melodic whistle. Hima jumps to attention, fastening himself to Phayu’s leg again. He reaches down to grab Hima’s leash.
“Hima, heel,” he orders. He looks up at Rain. “Coffee?”
Rain nods distractedly but follows when Phayu starts walking. Phayu tries to push down the wave of satisfaction at having both boy and dog easily following his lead.
“Good boy.”
Hima barks happily and Rain blushes.
Prapai will tease him endlessly for this but Phayu doesn’t mind. If he gets Rain’s number and can convince the pretty boy to go on a date with him, it’ll be worth it.