Chapter Text
“Dada?” A 4 year old Wesley whispers in his sleeping father’s ear, feeling his steady breathing rise and fall against his chest.
He was currently laying flat on his stomach on top of William, arms wrapped around his torso. Wesley didn’t like feeling alone while sleeping, so this eventually became his favorite sleeping position ever since he was little.
The toddler props a hand on William’s chest to get himself up, and uses the other to lightly shake his father’s shoulder.
“Dadaaa..” his tiny voice croaking with sleep. The man beneath him stirrs, eyebrows furrowing, two big arms pulling the little child back to his chest.
“Mhm, just a little more, Wes,” he mutters without opening his eyes.
Wesley whispers almost to himself—like a detective figuring something out, “but it’s wakey time already…” He raises his head up again, looking at his Dada with a pout.
Finally, William opens his eyes, hands coming up to rub the sleep off. He looks at his son for a good 5 seconds before flashing him a warm grimace, which was then easily returned by the other, eyes disappearing in his chubby cheeks.
William puffs a cheek out, Wesley giggling at this before placing a small peck on the soft surface.
“And how does baby know its wakey time already, hmm?” William says, voice still raspy.
Wesley rolls off his Dada and sits up beside him. “Look,” he points a finger at the analog clock hanging from the wall, “baby hand is on seven, and dada hand is pointed up! And it’s Sunday, Uncle Nut and Uncle Hong are coming over!!”
William can’t help but chuckle at his son’s cuteness—voice tiny, hair tossled up, one side of his puffy cheeks red with marks from laying on his chest. “Okay, okay.. Dada is up now,” he sits up, placing a kiss on top of Wesley’s head.
He spreads his arm out, grinning widely, and Wesley immediately lunges forward to wrap his little arms around William’s torso.
“Good morning baby,” the latter whispers against the little one’s head.
Wesley nuzzles his nose in the crook of his neck, “morning Dada.”
After a few moments of rolling around the bed, the two finally washed up and got ready for breakfast.
“Are you ready for your first day of kindergarten tomorrow, Wes?” William asks, transferring the scrambled eggs from the pan to the serving plate.
Wesley—who’s now helping his Dada by carefully setting two plates and two pairs of utensils on the table—nods enthusiastically. “Yeah! Then I get to meet new kids and we play!”
His father smiles warmly at this. Seeing his son grow up, now going to be able to meet other children, fills his heart up. He will be okay.
“Alrightt, breakfast for you, Khun Wesley,” William says dramatically, carefully placing the plate of scrambled eggs and toast, a side of ketchup, a peeled tangerine, and a glass of milk.
The boy laughs at his father’s stupidity, “thank you very much, Khun waiter!” He says with a giggle, attempting to lower the tone of his voice to sound… older.
William takes his seat across from Wesley with his plate alongside scrambled eggs on toast, an apple, and a hot coffee. “Eat up now, Uncle Hong and Uncle Nut will arrive soon.”
—
“VroooooOOOoOomm!!”
Wesley was in the living room, playing with his favorite firetruck. He’s sitting on the playing mat, his Uncle Nut and Hong on either of his sides.
“Woaahh! Hurry up, Wes! The fire is growing biggerrr!!” Hong reacts, tone of voice exaggerated. Nut laughs with him, playing along with their antics.
Coming from the bedroom, William walks up to the three. He taps Wesley’s shoulder, bending down behind him, “Baby, Dada is going to the bakery. Do you want something from there?”
The toddler looks up at him, eyes going wide, “Blue bakery from down the street?”
William nods with a smile. The little ball of sunshine beams a smile, “Yay! I want cookies!! Can you pleeeaaaseee get me cookies dadaa?”
He laughs at this and plants a kiss on his head, patting his hair. “Alright. One cookie for little Wesley, coming up!”
“And what about us?” The moment was cut off by Nut, “aren’t you getting us anything, Willy?” he gives William puppy eyes and a pout which the latter always found stupid.
“If you do that one more time, I seriously won’t think about getting you anything,” William says.
Hong interrupts, “OK, that’s enough. You already know what we’re having. Just shoo, we’ll handle little Wesley over here.”
William shakes his head, smile not leaving his face, and stands up. “I’m heading out!” He shouts from the door.
“Be safe!” Hong responds.
“Please go fast Dada!!” A little voice follows.
William salutes at that and walks hurriedly to the cafe—it was a Sunday morning, so he didn’t want to be caught in a long line.
He arrives to a growing line, so he hurries to get inside.
He knew Nut and Hong long enough to memorize their orders, so he included it alongside Wesley’s cookies and his iced americano for takeaway.
After paying in the counter and claiming his orders, a message dings from his boss. He holds the paper bag on one hand and fishes his phone out, typing a reply, and at the same time makes his way to the exit.
Eyes glued to the phone, he doesn’t notice a tall figure walking past until he crashes into him.
—
Est was already having a terrible morning.
His printer won’t work to label the classroom’s drawers, he’s barely gotten enough sleep, and now—what the matcha he thought could rinse out all of his stress is now splattered all over his white shirt.
He freezes—a vibrant green covering up every white spot at the front of his top, the plastic cup a quarter full in his hand—this was not on Est’s 2026 bingo list.
What. The Actual. Fuck.
He slowly looks up at the person in front of him, who looked like he just saw a ghost.
Phone still in his hand, the man speaks almost immediately, “Oh my god, shit, I’m so so sorry,” he stumbles to reach for his handkerchief in his pocket, “here, you can use this to wipe yourself. I’m so sorry, I was too busy texting my boss and my son was asking me to hurry up. Uhmm shit what do i do..” the man supposedly whispers to himself.
Est looks at him, eyes almost firing up. He scoffs in disbelief, “Hey sir, if you don’t know what to do, at least pay for my ฿120 that you wasted.”
Pissed, he takes the offered handkerchief and starts wiping away the liquid thats already been absorbed by the cloth. Like that would change anything, Est sighs.
“I know this may sound very inappropriate at this moment, but I really don’t have any cash on me right now and my 4 year old son is at home and cannot keep his feet on the ground until he gets his cookie so I’m so sorry, can we do it another time?” The man in front of him blurts out.
This is so stupid! He’s probably just making up an excuse.
Est couldn’t help but stare—stunned, jaw clenching, mouth almost agape.
Unbelievable.
Before he could retort, the guy who just spilled his drink quickly walked away, looking back and mouthing another apology at him.
Patience.. He tells himself. You’re a teacher, Est. Get a grip. You should be used to this. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
The barista probably took notice of the situation and offered to make another drink on the house. Est politely rejects it, already pissed enough, not wanting to bother the staff.
—
William tried to get out of that cafe as fast as he could. He wanted to treat the man he bumped into, he really did.
I mean—his eyes were round, his long hair was slicked back perfectly, his heart-shaped lips looked so plump and—
Shut the fuck up, William. His thoughts interrupted by another one of his own. You literally just offended the guy.
He shakes away the rambling words in his head and was just determined to get back home as soon as possible.
Wesley and his two minions are currently in the bedroom—and according to them, Wesley can fly.
“Dada! Look!” He says in Nut’s arms, “Wes can fly!” He beams at the sight of his father.
“Come on, Uncle Nut! 3.. 2.. 1… WEEEEEE!!”
Thump.
He lands on the bed, giggling from the belly.
William blinks once.
Twice.
“…Okay, baby, that’s really cool, but I think that’s enough flying for today.”
Nut, before he could launch him again, dramatically groans. “Aww, but Captain Wesley was about to save the city.”
“And Captain Wesley is also getting a little too brave,” William chuckles, sweeping Wesley into his arms. “Come on, buddy. Let’s save the flying for another day, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Hong snorts. “You’re no fun.”
“Say that all you want,” William laughs. “I like my son without bumps on his head,” and they make their way into the kitchen.
The moment Wesley spots the familiar blue paper bag, all thoughts of aviation disappear.
“Cookies!”
He wiggles out of his dad’s arms, tiny feet padding across the floor as fast as they could carry him.
William smiles, tailing behind. “Easy, baby. They’re not going anywhere.”
He opens the paper bag, takes out the cookie carefully, and hands it over. Wesley accepts it with both hands as if William had just presented him with the greatest treasure in the world.
“Thank you, Dada!” He immediately takes a huge bite, cheeks puffing out like a little hamster.
“You’re welcome,” he says, ruffling his son’s hair.
Hong reaches into the bag next, fishing out his own drink.
“Ooh, caramel macchiato.” He looks at William with mock admiration. “You remembered.”
“I remember because if I get your order wrong, you complain for the next three business days.”
“I do not.”
“Yeah, right, says who kept whining because i didn’t ask for an extra drizzle of caramel on top,” William says.
Nut bursts out laughing while grabbing his iced latte.
The four settle into the living room, Wesley happily swinging his legs as he munches on his cookie, occasionally humming to himself. William takes a sip of his americano before letting out the longest sigh Hong had heard all morning.
“…So.”
Nut immediately points at him. “That sigh means something happened.”
Hong nods. “What’d you do?”
“I accidentally spilled someone’s drink.”
Silence.
“…That’s it?” Nut asks.
William rubs the back of his neck. “…On him.”
Hong slowly lowers his coffee. “…William.”
“There’s more...”
“Oh no.”
“I bumped into him because I was texting my boss.” He pauses. “His matcha spilled all over his white shirt.”
Nut winces so hard his face practically folds in half. “Ouch.”
“And then,” William continues, voice growing quieter, “he asked me to pay him back.”
Hong nods. “Reasonable.”
“I… told him I couldn’t because Wesley was waiting for his cookies.”
Nut stares.
Hong stares.
Even Wesley looks up for a second before deciding his cookie was more interesting.
Hong is the first to recover. “…William.”
“Hm?”
He signals Nut to cover Wesley’s ear. “You are so damn stupid.”
“I knoww…” William whines.
Hong pinches the bridge of his nose. “You basically told the poor guy, ‘Sorry I ruined your morning, but my kid wants cookies.’”
“I panicked!”
“You didn’t panic.” Nut laughs. “You malfunctioned.”
“I didn’t have cash!”
“You had a phone.”
“…”
“You could’ve asked for his number.”
“…”
“You could’ve transferred it later.”
“…”
“You could’ve literally said anything else.”
William sinks further into the couch, groaning into his coffee. “I know..” he said in a little voice.
Nut can’t hold it together anymore. He doubles over laughing, nearly spilling his drink.
“Oh, William…” he wheezes. “If I were that guy, I’d think you made up an imaginary four-year-old just to get out of paying.”
William lets out another defeated sigh. “…The worst part is…”
Hong raises a brow.
“…He was really cute. But cranky as hell.”
The room goes silent for exactly one second.
Until Nut and Hong burst into laughter so loud that Wesley startles, blinking at the two grown men cackling on the couch.
William takes another sip of his americano.
This was going to haunt him for a very, very long time.
—
“DADAAAAA!!!”
William jottles awake, immediately sitting up as two small fists drum on his chest.
“Wes! Please don’t do that ever again..” he groans—his whole being still being pulled out of dreamland.
“But Dada, Wesley go to school today!” The little toddler expresses cheerfully, pressing a good morning peck on William’s cheek.
“Mhm, and we can wake each other up without having to give them a heart attack next time, okay?”
“Sorry Dada.. I just got excited…” Wesley said, brows furrowing, lips forming into a pout, voice almost wavering like he’s scared William might say something he won’t like. His eyes start to look glassy.
William’s eyes widen at this, immediately pulling Wesley into a hug. “Hey, baby, Dada is not mad okay? I was just giving you a reminder, yeah?” He reassures, stroking his son’s hair.
“But mama—“
“Shh, no mama, baby. What did Dada tell you before? It’s okay to make mistakes, because we can easily..?”
“..correct it,” Wesley whispers.
William takes a deep breath, and holds Wesley’s head with both hands to look at him. “That’s right baby, Dada will always be here to help Wesley, okay?”
The little one nods as his father kisses his forehead. “Come on now, it’s your first day of school, you can’t be sad in front of new friends!”
The boy finally gives a smile, nodding enthusiastically as they get ready for the day.
William’s car pulls up into the driveway. He unlocks Wesley’s car seat, and they walk into the gates of the school.
Wesley, hand in hand with his father, looks around nervously. He sees other children with their moms and dads, some crying, some smiling. His other hand holds William as well, two small grips on one.
William notices this slight change of behavior. He stops by one of the corridors, bending down to Wesley’s level. “Okay Wes, how are you feeling?”
“I’m excited Dada, but I feel something funny in my tummy…”
William reassures him with a warm smile, “that means you’re feeling nervous. It’s like the little people inside you don’t know what to expect in new places like this. And that’s normal. You’ve been looking forward to going to kindergarten right?”
Wesley nods, body noticeably releasing tension.
“And what do you say when people ask about Mama?”
Wesley replies, chest puffing out, “She’s not here, so I only have my strong Dada!”
“And if they ask where she is?”
“I say she lives very far away now.” Wesley says.
“Nothing less?”
Wesley smiles, “nothing more.”
William gives an approving nod. “Good job, baby. Now Wesley is ready to go to school!”
They continue their journey to Wesley’s classroom—Room 103. William knocks at the door, ready to send Wesley in.
The door clicks open, revealing something—better yet, someone—William did not intend to see.
There by the door was the tall figure in a white button up, who William remembers with a green stain on his shirt.
Shit.
William was bummed.
“I-is this Mr. Est Supha’s classroom?” Stupid, why the hell would you stutter?!
His thoughts were interrupted by an insanely familiar voice, “Yes, it is.” Eyes staring blankly at William’s.
“Yeah,” William breathes out, “right, okay. Correct classroom,” voice holding back from wavering.
Okay… anyway.
He crouches to Wesley’s height, hand gently rubbing his head. “Dada’s going now, okay, Wes? You have fun in there,” he says with a smile plastered across his face.
Wesley nods excitedly, grin reaching his ears, “yes, Dada!”
“I love you baby,” he says before puffing his left cheek out.
The little one in front of him giggles and places a kiss on it, “I love you too!”
“Alright, parents are not allowed once classes start. Let’s head along inside, Wesley.” Est interrupts, giving a small smile to Wesley before stealing a strong glance at William’s direction.
William—finally able to put a name to the pretty face—stands up as he looks at the teacher. “Yes, Mr. Supha. I trust that you will take good care of my son.”
He doesn’t reply with more than a nod before guiding Wesley inside and shutting the door.
William just stands there for a good minute, reflecting on the current situation.
So you’re telling me that my son’s homeroom teacher is the same cutie who I accidentally publicly humiliated and didn’t compensate for?
Well… fuck.
William didn’t know whether to feel happy because he will be seeing that cute teacher he crashed into more often, or feel absolutely miserable because that is the person who probably hates his guts for spilling his drink and wasting his money.
Welp… we’ll see how this goes.