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Phuwin had always known his life would drastically change once he became a father. His morning routine turned from spacing out, making coffee, and scrolling his feed before running his errands had turned into baby formulas, nursery rhymes, and just basically hanging out with his son. And he loved every second of it.
“Look at you go, little one! You’re already better at dancing than your Thun Pond”, he hears the familiar deep voice say to their child.
He rounds the corner from the kitchen to the living room where his little family is, and was left marvelling at the sight before him. There in their living room, were his 11 month old son, Permpoon, hopping on both chubby legs to the rhythm of the music playing; and his husband, who was holding up the child.
“What are you two up to, huh?” He said from the doorway, small smile plastered on his lips.
Immediately, two pairs of eyes followed his voice and beamed at his presence. Sometimes it’s creepy how in sync Pond and Permpoon are.
“Good morning, baby!”, Pond greeted him after carefully securing Permpoon on his rocker chair.
The child spewed out a stream of incoherent sounds. “Perm says ‘good morning’, too.” Pond interpreted.
Phuwin kisses his husband's cheek, “Good morning, love. Happy birthday”, he greeted.
And after that, walks to where his baby is and places a soft kiss on his forehead before he picks him up. “Good morning, my darling. Have you greeted your Dada yet?”
Permpoon started mumbling. “I think he wished you a happy birthday, too”, Phuwin turned to Pond, a soft smile playing on his lips.
“Thank you, little one.” Pond walks over to his husband and child, wraps his arms around them, and gives them both a peck on the cheek. “Thank you, baby.”
Phuwin snuggles closer to him while still carrying his son. He hasn’t always been a morning person. Years of working with an erratic schedule made him despise the early rise. But if he gets to start his morning like this, then it isn’t so bad after all. “Breakfast is ready. Let’s go.”
“What time is Mae Kae coming over, again?” Phuwin asks while placing Permpoon on his high chair. He attaches the bib, and serves him his own breakfast, while he and Pond take turns on feeding the child.
“I think at around dinner time? Knowing her, though, she might arrive earlier”, Pond replies.
“Oh. I think my mom would drop by past dinner time as well.”
Pond nods in acknowledgement. “That’s great. Perm will have lots of company later, then.”
At the mention of his name, the little boy tilted his head and shifted his focus from his pureed breakfast to his parents. They both coo at their child’s antics.
“Pond, is it really okay for us to leave Perm behind?” Phuwin sighs. Ever since Permpoon came into their lives, he’s never been away from him for a long time. Although the night’s agenda is only for a few hours and their parents will be looking over the kid, he still feels anxious about being separated from his baby.
“I can always cancel the dinner reservation if you want,” Pond offered, “but I doubt our moms would appreciate that.”
“No, don’t. It’s your birthday. You deserve a celebration.” Phuwin insisted.
Pond reached for his hand from across the table and replied sincerely, “I don’t really want one. I just need my two favorite people with me, that’s it.”
Phuwin made a face, teasing his husband. He can’t believe it’s been years into their relationship and Pond is still this cheesy. In the end, they both laughed at their silliness.
“Let’s just finish the dinner then come back home immediately so we can still tuck our baby to bed.” Phuwin suggested. After a while, he snorts at his answer.
“Can you believe we really almost ditched our own dinner date just to make it to Story Time later?” Phuwin’s laugh bubbles through his chest.
Pond smiles fondly at him, and then shifts his gaze to the little one who was busy stuffing his mouth with food. “Hey, just so you know, I happen to like Story Time! It’s like the highlight of my days!”
It was almost time for them to get ready, and yet Phuwin made no effort to get up from where he was seated at the carpeted floor. In front of him was Permpoon, who was crawling around to where his toy box is, and picking his favorites then giving it to his father. Every time Phuwin takes the offered toy he is rewarded with a wide smile. And honestly, how could Phuwin retract himself from that?
“Baby? You’re not getting ready yet?” He hears Pond walk into the room wearing a dark red dress shirt and his short hair neatly styled.
Phuwin checks the time before answering, “Oh, I guess I lost track of time.”
“You can go and change now. I’ll look after Perm while you do.” Pond offers.
Before Phuwin could even get up from his place, the little child excitedly crawled back towards him, his favorite picture book in tow.
“Oh? Do you want to read this now, darling? Or should we read this for Story Time later?” Phuwin asked his child.
Permpoon, the little genius that he is, seemed to understand what his Papa was asking and pointed at the book again.
“So we’re reading it now, then?”
Permpoon clapped excitedly while giggling.
For a moment, Phuwin forgets what he was about to do and was about to turn the pages of the book but then his gaze lands on Pond who was fondly staring at their baby boy.
He gently picks up the child and places a soft kiss on his head before speaking, “Sorry, Perm. Papa needs to get dressed. Is it okay if Dada will be the one to read to you?”
The child faces his other father and makes grabbing motions towards him. Phuwin hands him
over to his husband and watches them get comfortable on their living room floor.
As Phuwin turns around to head to their room, he hears Pond’s deep voice mimicking animal sounds and Permpoon's laugh fill their home.
Their moms arrived exactly after Phuwin was finished getting dressed. He headed straight to the entrance, ready to greet his mom and mother-in-law.
“Hi”, Phuwin welcomed them while they each pulled him in for a quick hug. “You’re early. I thought you’d drop by around dinner time?”
“Oh, we didn’t want to be stuck in traffic. And besides, we miss our little Permpoon”, Phuwin’s mom answered for them. “Where is he, by the way?”
As if on cue, Permpoon’s booming laughter came from the living room. Phuwin turned to the two ladies, and led the way to where their grandson was.
When they arrived at the entry way, they saw Pond–hair slightly disheveled from the actions, and sleeves half rolled up to his elbow–exaggeratedly acting out the animals that Permpoon points at in the picture book. Permpoon seemed to love every second of this charade.
Phuwin decided to snap a couple of shots of the two. Some mainly focused on Pond doing his silly actions; but mostly of the both of them with wild smiles, and red cheeks from too much laughter. He was even able to record a few clips (which he was contemplating on posting later once he greets his husband on social media).
Warmth spreads through his chest while he watches them play. When he and Pond met and fell in love eight years ago, they were young and under the scrutinizing eyes of the public. They did everything in their power to keep their relationship as privately as possible—afraid of the consequences once it leaks. Though he prayed, Phuwin never imagined this would be their future. One where he gets to take candid shots and videos of his husband and son roaring with laughter while they play on their living room floor.
He made his way towards them, the two ladies in tow. Upon seeing them, Permpoon excitedly crawled towards his grandmothers, and giggled once he was picked up. And just like that, his Dada was now forgotten.
“Aw, so now you ignore me just because your grannies are here”, Pond was fake whining at his son. “I was acting so hard, my hair even got messed up! Now you won’t even glance at me!”
“Once he grows a little older and picks up your dramatics I’m letting you deal with him, I’m telling you” Phuwin jokingly threatened.
“You wound me, baby” Pond turned to Phuwin with a small pout on his face, before he tried to nuzzle into his neck, “I am not dramatic.”
“Yes you are!” All three said in unison. Permpoon giggled at that.
“You two should head out now before traffic becomes worse.” Pond’s mom suggested a little later.
Phuwin nodded in agreement, “Yeah, we really should get going.”
They headed out after that, but not without a hug for their moms, and kisses for their little boy along with a promise of gifts once they came back.
Surprisingly, the traffic hadn’t been bad once they hit the road. They cruised the streets in comfortable silence with nothing but the soft hum of the radio in the background. Sometimes Pond will share with Phuwin a photo of Permpoon his mom sent or a post on X about a fan project for his special day. Phuwin would just squeeze the hand clasped in his free one while he continues to drive them to their destination.
They arrived after half an hour. It was a chilly night in Bangkok and they felt the crisp air immediately hug their bodies once they stepped out of their car. Phuwin naturally reached for Pond’s hand, trying his best to fight off the cold. Pond, then, huddled closer to him and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.
It’s disorienting for Phuwin to be able to do this in public now despite the years that have passed. Back then, just simply staring at each other would have caused havoc online so they strayed away from being too close in public.
Phuwin smiled at the memory and held Pond’s hand a little tighter while they made their way inside.
A simple meal—this is what Pond had always wished for on his birthday ever since he and Phuwin got together. ‘I already have you, I couldn’t wish for anything more’, he'd say to Phuwin. Despite that, he would always get him something—a pair of shoes he saw Pond checking out online; or a watch his eyes lingered a little longer on while they were scanning the shelves on the mall—along with the meal. Getting him a gift for this year had especially been challenging for Phuwin. There hadn’t been any clues on what Pond might want recently. And asking him is useless anyway.
“Having you and Perm is enough”, Pond replied when Phuwin asked again. They are now back at their home, and are making their way inside.
Phuwin rolled his eyes at this. “You’re so annoying”, he remarked, but it lacked any bite.
Pond just laughed at his husband’s pout.
Once they made their way inside, they immediately greeted their mothers. They chatted for a short while before bidding them goodbye and thanking them for the day.
Much later, they both settled into their bed wearing their matching silk pajamas. Permpoon was in between them, safely and comfortably nestled among their pillows while clutching a new picture book his grandmothers bought for him.
“Are you ready for Story Time, darling?” Phuwin turned to his son. Permpoon kept babbling in response.
“Okay, I see.” Pond pretended to understand what the child was saying. “So, I guess you had fun with the grannies, huh?”
The little child continued to babble, fully focused on re-telling the events of his day.
Their night time routine had always been like this—just casually talking to their child about his day before they prepare for bed. The parents know it’s kinda silly, especially since Permpoon can’t even utter words, but they’ve always loved the look on his face when he (they presume) answers their questions.
Pond nods at the sounds his baby makes. “Wow, that’s awesome, little buddy! So, do you want Papa or Dada to read this new book to you?”
It was soft at the beginning—barely above a whisper, but the reply came clearer and louder as the small child repeated it. “Da…da. Dada!”
The parents were stunned. Slowly, the shock on their faces were replaced by wide grins.
“Perm! Oh my god!” Phuwin interjects. “Can you say that again, darling?” He continued.
Pond was busy scrambling for his phone and trying to record the moment. Permpoon was just quietly staring at them, probably wondering what all the commotion is about.
“Dada?” He repeated slowly. Phuwin carefully lifted him up, before leaving kisses all over his face.
“Pond, Perm said his first word!” When he turned to his husband, he saw the tears threatening to fall. Phuwin turned back to his son, “Is this your little surprise for Dada? Is this your birthday gift for him, huh?” He continued while nuzzling their son’s cheeks.
“Papa and Dada loved your surprise, little buddy. Thank you.” Finally, Pond spoke up. It was now his turn to shower kisses onto their sons' soft cheeks.
“Pa…pa. Da…da” The commotion began again after that.
Story Time began later than scheduled that day. Permpoon didn’t seem to mind, though. He was fairly entertained with his parent’s reactions anyway.
After reading through the picture book twice, they were finally able to put their son to sleep.
Pond was still scrolling through his camera roll, rewatching the clips of Perm saying ‘Dada’ and ‘Papa’, when he felt Phuwin rest his head on his chest. “I’m gonna teach him how to say Thun Pond now that he can talk.” Pond announced with a soft smile.
Phuwin just rolled his eyes at his husband.
They lay there cuddling in silence, still rewatching the clips over and over again, hearts growing with so much affection for their little boy.
It was Pond who decided to break the silence. “Baby, can I post this clip on Instagram? I won’t show Perm’s face, I promise.”
Even before they got together, Phuwin valued his privacy—even more so after getting together with Pond. When so much of his life has been shared to the public eye from a young age, he can’t help but fiercely guard the most precious thing in his life.
Phuwin snuggled deeper into Pond’s arms, tightening his hold to the man beside him. “Baby?” the older asked. He hummed in response, “Sure, but you have to tag me, okay?”
Pond kissed his forehead before replying, “Of course, Papa.”
Later that evening, before finally calling their day to an end, Pond shares a short clip on his Instagram account. It was cropped and edited to cover Permpoon’s face—a little blurry and shaky but it was clearly their little family. It was perfect. He captions it:
ppnaravit Best birthday ever.