Chapter Text
Phuwin sat on his bed, drying his hair with a towel with one hand and scrolling on his phone with the other. Today was another successful concert — it had been entirely sold out and was currently trending #1 on X. He smiled at his phone, going through as many concert videos from fans as he could. His heart warmed seeing how many people loved him. But it didn’t matter to him, though. All he needed was one person’s love and that was enough for him.
Just as he thought of it, his bedroom door opened and a head popped in. His hair a mess, glasses falling down his nose, in grey sweatpants and a fitted black shirt which embraced his muscles perfectly, Pond stood in the doorway, a smile spread across his face as he showed the small cake in his hands. Phuwin smiled back at him, patting the bed, telling him to come and sit.
Pond sat down next to Phuwin and planted a small kiss on his forehead. Though they had been together for 4 years now, Phuwin still felt butterflies in his stomach whenever he was close to Pond.
“You did so good today, everyone loved it.” Pond said, initiating conversation
“Did you see the entire thing?” Phuwin asked, a slight hint of hope present in his voice. Pond tilted his head at the tone of his voice
“No, sweetheart. Why? What’d I miss?”
“Well, I may or may not have sung a little something for you?”
Pond gripped the cake tighter, his smile no longer on his face. He had told Phuwin he wanted to go public with their relationship, but Phuwin was initially hesitant. But now, without asking him first?
“Wait, what do you mean? Did you reveal that we’re together?” Pond questioned, worry creeping in
“Of course not!” Phuwin said, sounding slightly offended, “I just sang that song you like, the NIKI one, “take a chance with me”, you doofus.” Pond felt his heart rate go back to normal
“Oh, I’m sorry, love. I had to leave early for this.” Pond pushed the cake towards Phuwin
On top of the cake, there was a photo Phuwin recognised as the one that Pond took of him at the lake – when Phuwin thought he wasn’t looking, a smile plastered on his face as he fed the ducks there. Pond had said it was his favourite picture of his favourite person. On the cake, it was written “My talented man” in pink icing, right under the picture of Phuwin.
After admiring the cake for a second, Phuwin looked up at Pond, took the cake from his hand and put it on the table by his bed. Pond watched him do this, before he was suddenly on the bed, with Phuwin’s body pressed against his, Phuwin’s lips leaving kisses everywhere on his face, before they finally reached Pond’s lips.
Phuwin played with Pond’s fingers, listening intently as Pond talked about what happened in his dance class. Pond went on explaining about how there was a new girl named June, who just joined alongside her girlfriend, Mewninch, and how they had already become good friends and how they had invited him to come to Phuwin’s concert with them. The both of them laughed at this, before Pond continued on with his story. Phuwin stayed admiring him, fighting sleep, before it got the best of him and he felt his eyelids slowly shut, and felt himself drifting off into a deep sleep.
Pond noticed before Phuwin did that he fell asleep, and he let out his shoulder for Phuwin to rest on. He opened his phone and started scrolling on it, saying that he would go to sleep in five minutes. He didn’t know when five turned into ten, then thirty, then an hour as he scrolled on instagram, his jaw tightening as he did.
People were shipping Phuwin with an actor Phuwin had done an advertisement with once - Gemini Norawit. A clip of them from the concert had gone viral, where Gemini was play-flirting with Phuwin. Fans had taken that as a shipping moment and began posting that and older videos of Gemini and Phuwin interacting, spreading it all over X. Pond’s jaw locked and he felt the veins in his neck bulging. For the first time, seeing Phuwin’s name on the screen didn’t bring him happiness; it brought annoyance.
He threw his phone on the side table and turned to look at the man whose head was resting on his shoulder. The light from the lamp fell on Phuwin, enhancing his features and making him look more soft, more peaceful. A sudden relief filled him – he knew that no matter what people said or shipped, he was the one Phuwin loved. And he loved Phuwin even more.
Phuwin opened his eyes, squinting, trying to adjust his eyes to the brightness of the room. He felt soft, steady breathing on his neck, and an arm wrapped around his waist. He turned around to be met with Pond’s face barely a centimetre away from his own.
Phuwin brought up a hand to Pond face, cupping it. Pond’s cheeks felt warm, making Phuwin afraid that his slightly cold hands would wake him up. When he kept on snoring, Phuwin retracted his hand and placed a kiss on Pond’s nose before getting up to start his day. He picked up his phone, and just as he did his manager, K’Ying, called him.
“Hello? K’Ying? What’s up?”
“Phuwin, have you seen your social media yet?”
“Uh, no, why? Is everything okay?”
“Is everything okay?!” Phuwin felt his heart drop, “Phu, you’ve been going viral! Your interaction with Gemini yesterday drove all the Y-girls crazy!” Phuwin clenched the phone tighter
“Oh, really? Well that’s good, we’re both getting recognition.”
“Well, that’s the thing I wanted to talk to you about as well. We were thinking of maybe, if you’re okay with it, pairing you with Gemini for some projects.”
Phuwin didn’t speak. He turned to look at Pond, sleeping peacefully in front of him, and let out a slight sigh.
“Can I get back to you about this? If that’s fine?” He finally managed to get out
“Of course, don’t worry about it, take as long as you need.”
Phuwin put down the phone and buried his head in his hands. He had worked with other artists before, and he knew Pond would most probably be fine with it, but the shippers were the real thing bothering him. He knew how bad it could get, and he didn’t want Pond to feel insecure in their relationship.
As he was contemplating, Pond woke up and slowly wrapped his arms around Phuwin's waist, his chin resting on his shoulder. He looked up to Phuwin’s worried expression and got worried himself.
“Phu, what’s wrong?”
“It’s.. it’s nothing really”
“Come on, I can tell by your facial expressions. Tell me, love”
“K’Ying called me. She said the company wants me to pair with Gemini.” Pond’s smile faltered for a quick second before he forced it back
“That’s it?” Phuwin nodded, “Oh my god, Phu. Go for it, why are you so worried?”
“Well, wouldn’t you be uncomfortable with the shipping? You know how bad it can get.”
Pond let out a small chuckle at this, and sat up straight
“Phu, my love,” He said, taking both of Phuwin’s hands in his own, and looking him straight in his eyes, “It’s your work. It’s your choice. Don't worry so much about me. I’ll be fine.”
Phuwin stared at Pond for a few seconds before nodding. Deep down he was still unsure, but what did he have to lose?
He had to learn that the hard way.