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Duennao leans his head against Tiger's shoulder, watching the sun go down and decorate the sky in beautiful pastels that turn dark as though the colors are being burned in the best way.
"We should probably head back home, Suer," murmurs Duennao as he plays with Tiger's fingers.
"What do you mean? Why would we head home already?" asks Tiger quietly as his brows furrow.
"Well, we're kind of intruding, aren't we? asks Duennao as he nuzzles at Tiger's throat, not wanting to show the hurt that's been echoing in his chest because he knows, here at his boyfriend's side, that he's safe enough for it to shine in his eyes. "I mean, I've met all of North's friends, but this was clearly planned for the four couples to spend time together. It wasn't meant for us. We're kind of like… Fifth-wheeling. Which I didn't think that was something I would say… Ever. But we are."
"Nao," Tiger whispers his name in an almost broken tone. "We're not intruding. You told me how excited North was to see you, and you think that we're intruding? We don't have to leave, but if you really feel like we're intruding, even though we're definitely not, we can just give them space and enjoy some time here on our own."
"I think we can have a lot more fun without worrying about thin walls if we go home though, Suer," Duennao's tone shifts, and Tiger's chuckle vibrates through him at the insinuation.
"That's not why you want to go home, and you know it, my love," murmurs Tiger in amusement as he presses a kiss to Duennao's head. "If you want to leave, we will, you know that. But we can't leave without letting North know because otherwise, he's going to sic P'Johan on us. I don't know about you, but I do not want to deal with P'Johan when he's trying to make North happy."
"Okay, I'll text him," Duennao pulls away to pull out his phone, though he presses a kiss to Tiger's cheek before he focuses on it.
It takes him a second to pull up their message thread, but then he starts typing.
Nao: North, it was really good to see you again! But Suer and I are going to head out, so we don't intrude anymore than we already have.
Nao: When you get back to Chang Mai, let me know, and we can meet up for lunch, or a gaming session. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
"He's not going to like those messages," snorts Tiger with a shake of his head.
"North won't say anything about it," replies Duennao with a half-hearted shrug. "He probably won't even see it until after we leave. But it's okay. I really want to thank you though, Suer, for bringing me to see my friend."
"Any time, Nao, you know that. I'll try to make sure you two get to spend some more time together, okay?" Tiger's tone is filled with fondness as he cups Duennao's cheek. "You let me know when you're ready to go, my love."
Duennao leans in and kisses him, soft and slow, and filled with sweetness. It's not a long kiss, but it's enough for Tiger's heart to pound in his chest as they separate.
"I love you, my Suer," whispers Duennao as he nuzzles their noses together, sounding as breathless as Tiger's lungs feel.
"I love you too, Nao, forever," murmurs Tiger with a soft smile as Duennao pulls away with a sweet grin, only to bury his face in Tiger's throat again. "You seem to really enjoy hiding your face in my neck, my love."
"Only because it's you, Suer," Duennao says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world, and Tiger just feels warm.
Tiger's cheeks are never going to stop aching if Duennao doesn't stop being the most adorable person he's ever seen.
"Nao! Ger! That had better be you two out there! Don't you dare leave!"
North's voice cuts through the softness that was beginning to melt around them, and not even the crashing waves can cover his clear annoyance.
"I told you," snorts Tiger as they turn to find North yanking Johan along as they run out to their rock spot.
"I really didn't think he was going to see it," Duennao winces before burying his face properly in Tiger's shoulder. "Do not let him yell at me over this."
"He's not going to yell, but you might get whacked in the head. I told you that he wasn't going to like those messages," sighs Tiger as he hugs Duennao close, unable to hide his chuckles as North and Johan get close enough for him to see the looks on their faces. "North is scowling, Nao, and P'Johan looks tired and amused. I think we're in for a bit of a scuffle."
"I don't want to deal with that," grumbles Duennao as he shakes his head into Tiger's skin.
"Who the hell said you were intruding, Nao? Huh? Tell me. I'll whoop their ass!" North sounds absolutely pissed at the idea of anyone saying that they were intruding.
"We weren't supposed to be here, North, so who would have told me that except for me?" huffs Duennao as he pulls away to find North.
"Well, tell your annoying brain to shut the hell up," North is full on glaring at Nao, and Tiger rolls his eyes as Nao glares back.
If he didn't know North so well, he'd be pissed and protective, but their friendship allows him to be comfortable watching this scene.
"North, you know damn well that it's a valid concern. Don't invalidate his feelings, explain why he's overthinking," Tiger's voice is soft, filled with an exasperated understanding because North is missing the point.
Even if it's amusing to see the two glaring at each other.
"Oh, right," North's glare melts into something sheepish, and Johan's shoulders shake with a quiet chuckle. "Nao, you're my friend. You could never intrude. Getting to see you today actually was the cherry on top that this getaway needed. Dao and Phoon are super excited to get to know you in person considering how often they've gamed with us. Ter wants to know your foodie opinions because you two are so serious about food it's actually insane. Nobody feels like you intruded, they're excited to get to know you outside of my words and the few times you've met each other."
"What about Suer? I don't want him to feel uncomfortable or left out either," Duennao's pouting, clearly not eased.
"I'm not uncomfortable, and I don't feel left out. There's nothing to worry about other than enjoying yourself, my love," murmurs Tiger, not trying to be heard by anyone other than his Nao because all he cares about is reassuring him.
"But Suer," Duennao looks at him seriously, pout completely erased. "You're quiet if you're not around our friends. How am I supposed to trust that you won't hide how uncomfortable you are? You were hiding it earlier, I noticed."
"Earlier?" Tiger's brows furrow, not because he doesn't know what his boyfriend's talking about but because he didn't think he was being obvious about it.
"Suer," Duennao gives him a look that tells Tiger that he's about to get smacked in the shoulder, or head, depending on the mood he's in. "You weren't going to follow P'Johan down to the chairs earlier. When we were all talking, when everyone gathered with towels, you buried your face in my shoulder and stayed completely silent. You were uncomfortable."
"I've spoken to them before, Nao," Tiger says it because he needs to make sure Duennao knows that.
"You're good with strangers, Suer, you always have been. But you were hiding, and you haven't done that in a long time," Duennao puts Tiger on blast, but his voice is soft and fond. So, Tiger pouts rather than speaking up because at least Duennao is trying not to completely out his nervousness to North and Johan. "You talked fine to P'Johan, but you were nervous when we walked up behind him too. You're comfortable being you, but you are nervous around them."
"I can be nervous and still be fine," sighs Tiger with a shake of his head. "I promise, you don't have to be worried about me, my love. I will be just fine."
"I won't let him hide, if you're okay with me taking over, Duennao," Johan's voice cuts through the soft conversation, and Tiger's head whips around to find North leaning into the older man.
They're wearing matching smirks.
"I don't like the matching smirks," Tiger narrows his eyes on Johan as his smirk seems to curve harder.
"You can help, but if you're mean, I'm going to let you hear about it," Duennao narrows his eyes at Johan, clearly meaning business.
"You can't just threaten P'Johan like that," snorts Tiger as he turns and gently pokes Duennao in the cheek. "Adorable as it is, you shouldn't do that, Nao."
"No, he has every right to," North says it easily, shrugging like it was the only true response. "But he can let me hear about it, and I'll let P'Jo know how he screwed up. That's the deal, Nao, you cool with it?"
"He's your partner, so yeah, I'm fine with that," replies Duennao with an appreciative nod. But then those eyes lock on Tiger again. "No hiding."
"No hiding," murmurs Tiger easily because he's never been able to deny Duennao of anything.
"Good, then you gotta come with me, Nao. P'Jo found massive prawns for us to grill. They're as big as my face!" North tugs Duennao up by his hand, eyes going big as he tugs out his phone to show him a picture. "See?! They're so big, it's actually insane."
"Oh, I have to see these in person. Is this an actual picture?" asks Duennao as he taps the picture, zooming in and back out again with his eyes locked suspiciously on the screen. "There's no way."
"Come on, I'll show you. I'm telling you, Nao, they're massive!" exclaims North as he pockets his phone and starts to walk back towards their home away from home for tonight. "I've never seen a prawn this big. I seriously gotta know what the hell they eat to get that big. Do you know?"
Nao lets himself be tugged along, laughing as he shakes his head at his friend, but before they can get too far he stops and turns, "Suer, bring P'Johan, and come on!"
"Right behind you, Nao," Tiger calls with a chuckle, his face splitting with his grin as he watches Nao smile before North manages to tug him into movement again. "He's literally going to kill me by being this adorable. My heart can't take this."
"You never get used to it either," Johan says it gently, sounding just as in love as he had before he and North had gotten together. "That's a good thing though, I think."
"Probably since it's been six years and every time I'm struck with how adorable he is, it's like a new experience," Tiger sighs gently as he watches them get smaller from the distance. His nose crinkles when he starts losing sight of them. "But we should go before they disappear from view because Nao is going to actually pout if we're not with them when North reaches your room."
"Yeah, we definitely should. I'm the one with the key to the room," snorts Johan as he shakes his head, dropping his glasses back into place and taking the first step forward.
"You're evil," Tiger laughs as he shakes his head while falling into step with Johan.
"Eh, it's fun to see him pout sometimes," replies Johan with a shrug as they head back to the bungalow. "Besides, he took off out of the room earlier as soon as Nao sent those messages. I had to chase him down to figure out why he was so frantically gathering the others by the check-in desk. He was so upset that it took us a minute to get him to calm down enough and explain what was going on."
"Yeah, I told Nao that North wasn't going to like those messages," sighs Tiger with a small shake of his head. "But he felt like he was putting himself where he didn't belong, and he didn't want to ruin your trip with his presence. We're working on it, but sometimes habits are hard to break and insecurities are hard to fight against."
"I can understand that," murmurs Johan as they reach the bungalow, stepping in through a sliding door. "Next time we gather up, I'll make sure to reach out and demand you two show up. I'll argue with your brother if necessary. Nao deserves to feel secure, and North will be happy to have all of his closest friends in the same place at once. Trust me, if Nao isn't part of their group chat yet, he will be before we separate to sleep tonight."
"I'd appreciate it, but let's leave P'Singha out of it, yeah? If you two get to arguing, P'Ben and I might lose our minds," chuckles Tiger as they head down the hall towards where Johan and North's room was. They'd all ended up with rooms close, but separated enough for any private activities to go unheard. His and Nao's room is actually three doors down from Johan's. "Nao will be excited to be added to a group chat, but please leave me out of them. I mute every single one on my phone except for the family chats that Nao created a few months ago. Those are the only ones that I'm not allowed to mute because Nao won't tell me anything I've missed in them."
Johan laughs, shoulders shaking lightly as they find North and Nao staring at a door pouting, and he murmurs, "That's North to a literal tee. I can't mute my group chats, even when Arthit makes me want to shatter my phone. He always huffs at me for missing important messages, even when they're actually not important. He tricks me into reading them and then smirks about it like a brat."
"Sounds about right," snorts Tiger as Nao and North turn to them, pouts firmly in place. "Nao, why are you pouting?"
"Because P'Jo has the key, and we've been waiting here for ten minutes," huffs North as he pouts at Johan. "What took you two so long?"
"You said you were coming, but you took forever, Suer," mutters Nao as he steps over to him, elbowing him gently.
Tiger snorts as he wraps an arm around his waist, tugging him into a side-hug.
"It wasn't ten minutes, and you were so excited that you took off without grabbing the key from me," replies Johan in amusement as he steps forward, tugging the key out of his pocket.
"P'Jo, you were supposed to be right behind us," grumbles North as Johan unlocks the room door. "Seriously, what took so long?"
"You took off running, North," replies Johan fondly as he pushes the door open and steps back.
North shakes his head before grabbing Nao's hand and tugging him into the room with a call, "Just for that, I'm definitely stealing our room to spend the night with my friends tonight! No discussion, P'Jo!"
"Hey, hold on!" yelps P'Johan as he hurries into the room. "You can't do that! You know I don't like sleeping without you, and I know for a fact that Hill isn't going to let Ter. Besides, even if you manage to convince Thit and Fah to let their partners go, where am I supposed to sleep?"
"You guys can share a room too," North sticks his tongue out as he slides the screen door open and guides Nao to the ice chest still sitting on the table on the stone space of their outside area. "Either way, it's not my problem. My friends and I are staying in this room, even if I have to battle P'Thit and P'Fah for it, and P'Hill can say no. But I'm dragging Ter into the room anyway."
"What about me?" asks Tiger as he walks through the room, snorting at the gobsmacked look on Johan's face as he passes him. "Do I have to lose access to my Nao for your little sleepover?"
"You will live," replies North with a firm nod. "He's staying with me tonight."
"That's not even up for discussion, is it?" Tiger sighs with an eye roll. "Nao, you okay with that?"
"I—" Nao winces as he looks at North who is now staring at with him with big, pleading eyes. "Yeah, okay, but if I end up in Suer's arms in the morning anyway, you can't be mad."
"I won't be," replies North with a shrug as he looks at him, hands hidden in his pockets. "We're all probably going to end up in the same room as our partners, but we're not starting that way. I want at least two hours of just us five together."
"I can do two hours," Nao looks amused as he turns towards Tiger when he says it.
"I am going to hate this," groans Johan as a thud echoes in the room.
"You'll get over it," replies North as he turns towards the ice chest again and tugs the lid off. "Now, back to the reason we're gathered here today. Nao, look at these things!"
"Woah," breathes Nao as he twists, and Tiger can see the way his jaw drops.
"You had to get jumbo, didn't you?" TIger asks as he turns to look at Johan who looks defeated and fond. "You're ridiculous. Give them two hours together, no partners to distract them from friend updates, then wait. After the two hours are up, I give North ten minutes before he comes to find you."
"Hey!" North exclaims loudly.
"Are you going to deny it?" asks Tiger teasingly as he turns to look at his friend, one brow hiked high.
"No, but you didn't have to call me out like that, Ger," North crosses his arms over his chest, slight grimace on his face. "If you tell me which room you're in before you disappear, I'll be at the door within seconds after the timer goes off. Guaranteed that Ter and Nao will be right next to me when I get there."
"I probably won't. You already have wine in an ice bucket," snorts Nao as he shakes his head. "I'll have called Suer to come carry me."
"That is what I am expecting," Tiger's voice is soft as he looks at his boyfriend, small smile curving his lips. "Nao is still a lightweight."
"Yours though," Nao's voice is quiet, his head ducking forward as his ears burn, and Tiger smiles at the sight of his boyfriend being shy and providing a claim no one in the room needs, but one he always gives when it's just them.
"Always," replies Tiger as he walks over to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and settling his chin in his shoulder.
"Mine too," whispers Nao as his hands find Tigers forearms, thumbs brushing across his skin gently.
"Forever, my love," murmurs Tiger as he lets himself watch those thumbs move.
"You two are sickeningly sweet," North's snort breaks the gentle moment in the way only he can, but when Tiger turns to look at him, he has to laugh. "Hey, what are you laughing for, Ger?"
"You're making fun of us, but you're sitting on P'Johan's lap," replies Tiger as his laughter swirls into deep chuckles that Nao joins in on. "Honestly, nobody can beat you two in being sickeningly sweet. There's just no way."
"Eh, everyone could if they actually… ya know, did it. P'Arthit tries but Dao won't let him a lot of the time. P'Fah is pretty close, but Phoon gets shy. Hill does better over the phone, but I think that's because he and Ter are pretty private," North slowly breaks their friends' relationships down, counting down with his fingers until the four couples have been dissected. "Oh, and then you two are right at the same level as us. You can't even deny it, so don't try. You literally passed out because he confessed and asked you to be his boyfriend, and when you woke up, you said yes and hugged him. You refused to let him go."
"Hey, that was a lot of information at once for someone who had just woken up," grumbles Tiger, though he's smiling like an idiot, his cheeks beginning to ache with it. "You try seeing Nao being all cute and sleepy and dealing with a confession like that after waiting six years for it."
"Yeah, yeah, you were yearning away for six years like a dummy," huffs North as he points a finger at Tiger. "Don't think that gives you any leeway from getting teased for passing out on Nao and scaring the hell out of him though."
"I wouldn't chance having such a thought around you, North," replies Tiger with an eye roll.
Johan hugs North firmly against his chest, pressing a kiss to his neck as Nao and North talk about a tournament that's happening in a week on a stream to promote the new edition of one of their favorite games that they just bought themselves.
Apparently, anyone who is in the stream will get access to a code to be able to join the new sessions.
Tiger just knows that their condo is going to be very noisy when this stream happens.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Johan's head turns to the door as he asks, "Did anyone lock that?"
"Nope," replies North with a shrug. "But it's probably Ter and Hill. They were coming because Ter said he'd help me and Nao grill the prawns."
"Ah," hums Johan before he clears his throat and calls out towards the door. "It's open!"
The door opens to reveal one very bouncy Ter and a highly amused Hill holding his hand.
"Ter didn't want to wait any longer after getting North's text that he'd convinced Tiger and Nao to stay," Hill's voice is just as amused as the grin on his lips, and Tiger snorts when he catches the surprise written on Nao's face as Ter walks straight up to him and hugs him. "Tiger, I have a couple questions for you, if you don't mind answering some business pointed inquiries. I know you're taking a sabbatical, but Johan, Fah, Thit, and I wanted to discuss a few things that we think you'd be interested in being part of."
"So, P'Johan knows I'll be interested, but he also knows that I'll just tell him to email it to me to get to later. That's why you're introducing the idea of discussing it, right?" asks Tiger with a half smirk as he slides his hands into his pockets. "Alright, I'm always open to discussing new business ventures, even if I'm only investing."
"He's a little too smart, huh?" asks Hill as he turns to Johan, one brow arches and a half-smirk curving his lips.
"A little bit," replies Johan with pride in his voice. "Hence why he's one of my friends."
"Yeah, that's why," snorts Tiger as he walks over to the table, settling down across from Johan. "It has nothing to do with how often our fathers had us in the same place where we were the only ones even slightly close in age."
"Well, that part too, but let's be real, Tiger, we had way too much fun messing with Singha," Johan shrugs as he grins.
"You're not wrong," chuckles Tiger as he shakes his head. "P'Singha used to be ready to kill us sometimes. I can't believe we managed to get away with it as often as we did. P'Ben knew it was us every time."
"He thought your brother deserved it too, even if he was stupidly in love with him," Johan's tone is so knowing that Tiger can't help but laugh.
"You noticed that too?" Tiger's grinning so hard as he taps his fingers against the table. "My idiot brother didn't even realize that P'Ben loved him, let alone that he loved him back. It took P'Ben leaving the country for P'Singha to get his shit together."
"Duennao is pretty similar to him, huh? Except it didn't take him more than a couple of days to chase you down," Johan's amusement matches Tiger's completely as Hill chuckles beside him. "I can't believe it took your brother years to figure it out and then months to actually do something about it."
"Those two truly are two peas in a pod," snorts Tiger with a shake of his head.
"Interesting," murmurs Hill quietly as he leans back in his chair.
"It is, especially when you take in how long I've known them. But we've gotten off track," Johan's voice still holds amusement, but he leans forward on the table as his tone turns into the seriousness that Tiger's used to seeing.
"Ah, yes, the business opportunity," Tiger nods firmly, adjusting in his chair to properly face them as the murmurs between Duennao, North, and Easter about the food they're beginning to pull together. "You said inquiries first, so lay it all out. What do you want my involvement in?"
"A few things that we're hoping to connect under a singular name," replies Hill seriously as he leans forward, fingers laced together on top of the table. "Tonfah and I bring the medical field connections. We can handle anything pharmaceutical as well as medical. Ter has his own vet medical field connections he can bring on as well. On my end, it's purely medical and pharmaceutical."
"On my end, I'd be bringing in all things gaming. North's planning to get involved in e-sports, and I fully intend to help him in any way I can," says Johan as his eyes glance over at where their partners are laughing about something that was said. "But you know the connections I have, some that you've been dying to get your hands looped into, and I can offer those."
"I don't need those to be offered, though it's definitely a bonus," replies Tiger softly as he leans back. "Arthit is doing music, and we've already connected with his father on that end. The studio he signed with in the states is actually funded by our sponsorship. Daotok and Typhoon both do art and photography. I have two gallery buildings that we could put to use. This way, everyone can be involved. I think with Nao's interest in gaming and game creation, we can definitely create, fund, and control an empire fitting for everyone here."
"I think Fah and Thit will be especially pleased to hear this," Hill sits back with a quiet grin that's all control.
"How soon do you think we can pull this off, and how will we separate necessary control?" asks Johan as he tips his head to the side, something thoughtful curling across his face.
"Control is easy," replies Tiger with a wave of his hand. "I've got the least responsibility. As long as everyone, that includes Arthit, answers their phones, I can handle the background work and find a proper face of the company for publicity. It won't take much. P'Ben would probably be glad to step in considering he's got his own mini business coup happening at a publishing agency that P'Singha is funding. I have time, access, and the ability to draw up business plans that would make sponsors weep cash that we don't even need. My father's been training that into me since he started his casinos when I was eight."
"We can bring in others that you can consult with too," Hill seems to be thinking things over, like he's got a list of people rolling through his mind at 30 miles an hour. "Fah might even be able to bring his parents in."
"That would be a very useful connection," murmurs Tiger as he sits back, fingers tapping heavily on the table.
"Okay, okay," North's voice is loud as he breaks the moment.
"Enough business talk," Easter's voice is much gentler as he walks over to the table with a tray and a gentle smile that is completely focused on Hill.
"Let's set the table," murmurs Duennao as he walks over with a tray of his own, setting it in the middle of the table Tiger's sitting at. He walks around and settles in the chair next to Tiger with a soft smile as he leans his head on his shoulder. "Typhoon and Daotok are already heading this way with their partners. They've got more food and apparently more bottles of wine."
"You're going to get drunk, aren't you, Nao?" Tiger's voice is barely a murmur as he turns to brush a kiss against his forehead.
"This is highly possible," Duennao's chuckling shyly, cheek hot as it presses against Tiger's thinly covered shoulder. "But you're going to enjoy it anyway. Well, for as long as you can at least."
"Yeah, until I get kicked away from my own boyfriend," Tiger sighs dramatically as the doors open to show Arthit, Daotok, Tonfah, and Typhoon carrying food and wine.
Dinner is served with laughter and grins, the business conversation is put off to the side until their partners go to sit by the pool together, full glasses of wine in hand. Tiger doesn't hide, Johan pulls him back in when he starts pulling back. Duennao keeps getting hugged, has been forced to switch places so that North can reach him, and is constantly being talked to by Easter, Daotok, and Typhoon when he goes quiet.
It's perfect… even when Tiger, Johan, Hill, Tonfah, and Arthit get kicked out of the room that was chosen by North for their partner's friend sleepover.