Chapter Text
“So we meet again,” Phayu said softly.
What? Rain was a little lost. Why was the man smiling at him? If memory served him well, Phayu didn’t like it when someone was rude, and Rain had been swearing like a sailor.
Also, why was he leaning in so very, very close?
Rain gulped.
But the senior didn’t stop coming closer until he invaded Rain’s personal space so entirely that only he could hear the man’s dark voice whisper. “Got you, Nong Fon. And this time, I won’t let you run away again.”
A shudder went through Rain’s entire body. The gruffness of the voice made him squirm.
It didn’t help that his poor brain was still processing what was happening.
When Phayu leaned back, and Rain could see the man looking at him far too smugly, realization hit him square in the face.
Rain had just declared before the entire course that he had been intimate with the ‘god of architecture’, or whatever they called Phayu.
This had all been a trap, and Rain had fallen for it hook, line and sinker.
Looking into Phayu’s eyes, it was hard to remember why that was such a bad idea, at least, until someone close by cleared their throat.
Oh… right. That was the reason.
Sky.
He had jeopardized his best friend’s safety. And for what?
“How did you find me?” Rain needed to know.
Phayu merely chuckled. “That’s the question, isn’t it?”
~ Flashback ~
“Pai,” Phayu buried his face in his hands in resignation. “We have been visiting University after University, course after course. There is still no sign of Fon anywhere. I am starting to believe he’s a ghost. “
He was at the end of his rope, and whatever Prapai said, he was definitely not whining.
“This doesn’t sound like the Yu I know. Get a grip,” his friend told him without an ounce of compassion. “For all we know, your boy could have been in any of the courses we visited.”
Phayu glared at Pai. “Is this your way of supporting me?”
“Oh, come on. You have no idea what your little Fon looks like. He might have his reasons not to reveal himself to you. Would you even recognize the boy without his mask and hoodie?” Prapai wondered.
“Of course, I would. I’d be able to spot him in any crowd.” It sounded more confident than Phayu had any right to feel, but he didn’t care. His gut feeling told him it was the truth.
Anyway, there was still one course left, one chance to find his cute boy.
Admittedly, it was a long shot. Because, what would be the likelihood of Fon studying at Phayu’s old university? And not only that but to take the same course he had studied? The coincidence would be ridiculous.
“Luckily, you have the great fortune to have me by your side.” Prapai smiled at him with his trademark sunny smile. It wasn’t much, but strangely, Phayu felt comforted after all.
That evening, he contacted some of his old juniors, telling them of his predicament. To his surprise, they immediately agreed to help. They even sent a list of all the new first-year students, including pictures. Their support was touching.
As Phayu browsed the photos, one of them caught Phayu’s attention. It was of a boy sitting on the floor, laughing.
Phayu’s blood zinged. This had to be Fon. He was so sure.
There was even a name written under the picture. Phayu had to chuckle when he read it. The boy was called Rain.
Yes! This was his boy! This was Fon.
Puzzle pieces slid into place. Now, Phayu could understand why the boy had been so on edge about his choice of nickname. After all, fon was the literal Thai translation of rain.
It was cute.
Phayu studied the photo some more. Behind the boy’s name stood his student number. When Phayu read it, his breath stopped.
What was this? Did the universe play a gigantic joke on him?
Not only did his Fon - Rain - go to his old university - no - the boy was even taking the same course, and Phayu was his code-line senior.
How was that even possible?
The universe sure had fun playing its cosmic joke on them. Not that Phayu cared. All that was important was that he had found his cute boy.
Now, he just had to find a good way to meet him. Surely, he could come up with some kind of cover story...
~Back in the classroom~
Phayu looked into Rain’s big brown eyes. He could practically see the boy’s body switching into its fight-or-flight modus.
Which one would it be?
“Sky.” The boy turned to his friend, who was gradually losing his fight to ignore Prapai. “Tell the teacher that I am not feeling well.”
With that, he turned around and fled.
Flight modus it was, Phayu tsk-ed. There was no way he was going to let his runaway lover get away from him a second time.
Phayu grabbed the boot from the table and turned to Prapai. “Don’t wait up for me.”
The nuisance, however, didn’t pay him any mind. The man was too absorbed in looking at Rain’s friend. What was his name again? Sky?
When he looked at the boy, he was surprised to see that he was staring daggers at him. Phayu was almost taken aback by the glare levelled at him.
“I don’t trust you,” the boy snapped. “But even a blind man can see that for some godforsaken reason, Rain likes you. Also, you could have spread around what you saw at the race already, but you didn’t.” Phayu wanted to tell the boy he wouldn’t say a word, but Sky raised his hand to stop him. “You don’t need to explain. I just need you to understand that if you should ever break my best friend’s heart, I will feed you to the hellhounds. Are we clear? Now go and find Rain before it’s too late. Tell him that his fairy godmother told you it’s okay. He did well.”
Phayu stared at the boy. Did he just get the shovel talk from Rain’s best friend?
“What are you waiting for, you idiot?” Sky suddenly shouted, making the classroom gasp in shock. “Seriously, if you let Rain get away and I have to console him for one more day just because you are slow, I will haunt you. GO!”
The boy was right. There was no time to waste. Phayu turned on his heels and left the room under wolf-whistles.
In the corridor, Rain was nowhere to be seen. Where could he have gone? Phayu growled under his breath. Rain didn’t seriously believe he could run away a second time, did he? Even if he succeeded now, Phayu had his name, course, and student number. Surely, even his little runaway couldn’t believe he had a chance to hide.
On a hunch, Phayu rushed down the stairs to the atrium.
Sure enough, his boy had just opened the door to rush from the building.
This time, though, Phayu was ready to run. With quick steps, he was down the stairs and outside. Further ahead, he could see Rain walking toward the parking lot.
Alright, this was Phayu’s chance. He just had to catch up before Rain could drive off anywhere.
Phayu started to jog and managed to close the gap between them more and more when the boy suddenly ducked to the right, following a smaller path.
At first, Phayu was surprised, but then he had to smile. Of course, Rain came to Uni by bike. The boy had even told him that he was a racer.
As he was passing his Ducati, he wondered which one of these machines belonged to his boy. Maybe that black one in the middle? Hadn’t he said something about a dark bike with flames? But no, Rain continued on and only stopped in front of one of the most adorable scooters Phayu had ever seen. It didn’t quite match his description at the race, but somehow, it suited his feisty little lover. There were bumper stickers all over the back, and the closer Phayu got, the better he could make them out. One in particular caught his eye. It said: “Born to be wild” with a skull right underneath.
Rain unlocked the back’s top box and pulled his helmet out. He was just fastening it when Phayu eventually caught up.
“Where do you think you are going?” he asked darkly. “There is no running away this time.”
“P’Phayu!” Rain turned to him in shock. “I-I need to leave.”
“Why?” Phayu didn’t understand why the boy was resisting so much.
Rain bit his lip in worry.
Phayu groaned. Did the boy do this on purpose? It took everything in him not to jump him.
“You don’t understand,” Rain looked at him pleadingly. “I gave my word not to get recognized that day. It was the only rule. But I couldn’t even do that.” There was guilt in those large brown eyes. “And now… now Sky might get into trouble. I can’t let that happen. He’s my best friend, you know? If you tell people he can do magic, they’ll hurt him. I-I need to stay away from you.”
“Sky is the boy that was sitting right next to you, right?” Phayu asked.
“No!” Rain squeaked an octave too high. “That was somebody else.”
“Okay,” Phayu played along. “Then you wouldn’t be interested to hear that your friend gave me the ok to follow you, would you?! He even called me an idiot and told me to let you know that your ‘fairy godmother’ says it’s okay and that you did well.”
“He did?” Rain’s entire focus snapped to Phayu. “Sky called you an idiot?”
Phayu had to laugh. “Of course, that’s what you would pick up on.” He could see Rain wasn’t entirely convinced yet, but some of the tension had left his shoulders. “I am not interested in your friend, and I am not here to make any trouble,” he whispered and leaned in close. Rain’s lips were so plump. They were practically begging him to close the distance between them. “Can I kiss you?” he asked. Without thinking, he traced the pads with his thumb. They were so soft.
“That’s cheating,” Rain breathed. “Is it really ok?”
Phayu nodded… and then stared when the lips under his thump parted and wrapped around the tip of his finger.
“Fuck!” he groaned.
“I tho-t you do-’t like ru- boy-,” Rain chuckled. He never stopped swirling his tongue around the digit.
“Hm?” he asked dazedly. Phayu was too mesmerized by the view to really listen.
With a pop, Rain pulls off and gifts him the sunniest, most beautiful smile Phayu has ever seen. His eyes sparkled with the same intensity they had back then in the tent.
Yes! Phayu had known it before, but now it was clear as day. This was Fon, his cute, mysterious, frustrating boy. This was Rain, and he was beautiful.
The boy’s smile turned into a cheeky grin. “I said that I thought you didn’t like rude boys.”
Phayu growled and claimed those clever lips with a hard kiss.
They slotted together like puzzle pieces. They were devouring each other with the heat they hadn’t been able to taste at the races. Only Rain’s helmet bumping Phayu’s forehead stopped him from taking things further right then and there.
“Maybe we should take this somewhere else.” Phayu pulled back with great effort. He stared at the way Rain tried to follow his lips with a whine, chasing after the sweet taste with his tongue.
“Can you leave your scooter here for the night?” Phayu was suddenly in a rush. They had to get out of there and to a bed immediately.
“Yes,” Rain looked a little dazed. There was a blush high on his cheeks. Phayu wondered if it was high enough to creep out from under the mask, just like back then. It had to be. “But, how will I get to university tomorrow? My house is too far away.”
It was cute that Rain thought he would go home tonight. “Don’t worry about that,” he winked. “Just make sure everything is locked for the night.”
Rain was a flurry of motion. It took the boy less than a minute to check everything, and then Phayu couldn’t hold back and pulled him to his ride.
“It’s the Ducati from the race.” Rain looked at the motorbike as if he couldn’t quite believe his eyes.
“I told you it’s mine,” Phayu smiled. “I take good care of the things that belong to me.” It was a promise, of course. “Now, be a good boy and get onto the back.”
Rain looked at him with a twinkle in his eyes. “Maybe,” he challenged. “I could ride your bike, and you could be a good boy and get onto the back.”
Phayu stared at the cheek. There was no way he would let Rain drive him through Bangkok on his own bike.
“The only thing you will be riding is me,” he growled.
“Is that a promise, Phi?” Rain’s eyes burned.
Phayu had to laugh. This boy was going to be the end of him. “Didn’t you want to be the best rider?”
Rain chuckled. The sound was quickly becoming Phayu’s favourite noise. “Alright.” His boy smiled at him. “I’ll be in your care tonight.”
Phayu couldn’t wait for their first lesson to start. “Such a good student. But beware, when I teach, I teach to the core.”