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Rain blinks his eyes open and realizes two things immediately: Sky is still awake and looking down at Rain with a smile bordering on mocking, and Sig and Por have finally left. Rain winces as he sits up, his neck stiff since he was using Sky’s thigh as a pillow, and Sky simply points to the leg of his sweatpants.
“Do you always drool in your sleep, Ai’Rain?” Sky teases him, and Rain rubs sleep out of his eyes with one hand and swats harmlessly at Sky’s arm with the other.
“No, I was just in a bad position, that’s all,” Rain mumbles. He remembers finishing his part of the essay and emailing it to Sky before closing his laptop and begging Sky to just let him close his eyes for a few minutes. But that was around four-thirty, before dawn broke, and the watery sunlight filtering in through the curtains in Sky’s dorm tells Rain it’s at least half past six in the morning now.
“You could have gotten me up,” Rain says, folding himself against Sky’s upper arm and shoulder even though he’s still typing away at his own computer on the coffee table. Sky leans over and presses his head against Rain’s for a moment and then sits back up.
“You did a great job with your section on industrial design, Rain. I figured you deserved a nap as a reward,” Sky says, and Rain hides his face in Sky’s shoulder, still not used to the praise his friend gives him so much more easily and readily now.
Rain tries – and fails – to cover up another yawn as he peers over Sky’s shoulder and scans over Sky’s portion of the assignment. It’s perfect, as always, and Rain preens a little on his friend’s behalf. When he yawns again a few moments later, Sky turns to look at him with a little smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Why don’t you go lay down in my bed for a bit while I finish this up? I’ll wake you up before we need to head out,” Sky offers, and Rain shakes his head.
“I want to help you with edits before we go to class. If we don’t do them today it’ll just be something else to do with tonight’s assignments,” Rain argues, leaning back against the firm back of the couch.
Sky huffs. “I already edited your section while you were napping. Now shoo, get some rest so I can finish this part up.” Sky practically shoves Rain off the couch, Rain spilling onto the floor like water. He feels both liquid and heavy, a week of barely any sleep finally starting to catch up with him.
“I miss being a kid instead of a university student. Back when hanging out all night with your friends was ‘cause you were having a sleepover and staying up to watch movies and eat junk food your parents wouldn’t usually let you have,” Rain moans, slowly starting to pick himself up from the floor with sluggish movements.
Sky looks up at him and Rain thinks he sees the remnants of Sky’s old loneliness etched into the corners of his eyes but it’s there and gone in a flash, replaced by another slight, private smile. “I never actually got invited to any sleepovers.”
Rain tries not to let shock show, knowing it would make Sky feel bad. Maybe even like he’s not normal; Rain knows what that feels like, those kinds of looks, and he would rather walk barefoot across burning coals than have Sky see a look on his face that suggests Sky isn’t anything but wonderful. But something inside his chest twists harshly at Sky’s admission, and Rain looks down to swallow the lump that rises in his throat.
“I… oh.”
Sky reaches over and pats Rain’s leg, sighing. “It’s okay, Rain. I know it’s sad, huh? I think because I was pretty quiet, a lot of the other kids didn’t know how to interact with me. And I was really shy when I was younger, so I might have been too scared to even go to a sleepover. What were the ones you went to like?”
Rain thinks for a moment; most of the ones he went to were actually at his aunt and uncle’s house, and he had ended up having to do a lot of nail painting and gossiping about cute boys since all four of his cousins were girls. Sky laughs when Rain confesses as much, and Rain grins with him.
“Well, you did say you liked how Hoongjoong always paints at least one of his nails, and you do gossip about cute boys, though it’s really only P’Pai and P’Phayu.”
Rain laughs and picks up the plushie cat with the angry face he bought for Sky to throw at him.
“I do like his nails! And Xiumin’s, too. And Diamond’s. And both P’Phayu and P’Pai are super cute, like… the cutest boys we know, other than me and you.”
Sky ducks his head at that, and Rain can see the hint of red that’s starting to color his ears. “Well, that does sound like fun. I always thought sleepovers had all-night movie marathons and popcorn and video games too, though.”
Rain nods enthusiastically, all ideas about curling up in Sky’s bed for a nap practically gone in lieu of waxing ecstatic about the times he stayed up all night at friend’s houses as well. “Yes! That all happens too. And this one friend in fifth grade, Nont? His family had a huge house all the way out near Lom Sai, and we actually had a campout in the backyard once. His older brother had studied abroad in America and made us s’mores.”
Rain talks at length about how it was the first time he had ever had the sticky, rich dessert, about how Nont and his other friends and him had hid under the blankets with a flashlight and told scary stories until Nont’s brother scolded them for being too loud. “And you know how I wake up and always have to pee after I fall asleep? We were out far enough from the city that when I got out of the tent, I could actually see the stars, Sky. It was so pretty.”
“You totally peed in the bushes or something, didn’t you?” Sky teases, and Rain laughs, bright and loud, and Sky smiles at him in that soft way Rain realized recently is only reserved for him. He smiles at Phayu and Prapai too, but those smiles are different. No less sweet and loving, but there is something special about the way he smiles at Rain. Something that makes Rain feel special and seen.
“Maybe,” Rain agrees easily, laughing at himself as Sky chuckles at his admission. “The point is, sleepovers can be fun when they aren’t just pulling all night cram sessions for school with friends who snore and try to shove you off the couch in your sleep.”
Sky nods, still smiling, and pats Rain’s thigh. “That does sound a lot better than the sleepovers we’ve been having this semester.” Sky pauses, getting up to gather some of their papers and put them together in a neat pile. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a nap?” Sky asks, and Rain shakes his head.
“No, I’m awake now. Let me help you finish up and clean before we go to class?”
While they put things away and finalize the last few bits of their project, Rain is already planning how he’ll bring this topic up to Phayu and Prapai later, and how they will rectify that Sky hasn’t had a proper sleepover. Sky deserves the entire world, and Rain figures starting with this is good enough.
Sky doesn’t know he’s having a sleepover when classes finish on Friday afternoon, and Rain starts getting nervous around five when he knows Sky will be on his way to Phayu’s house. Rain had skipped – something Phayu had been very cross with him about – but setting things up to make sure they are perfect for Sky was far more important than one missed day of classes.
“Come on, Phayu, lighten up. You and I both took off a couple hours early to do this,” Prapai says as Phayu frowns at him and wordlessly points to the counter where Rain has been banished to set out all the snacks. Prapai laughs and shakes his head, and sidles up next to Rain.
“You really did get all Sky’s favorites, didn’t you?” Prapai asks in wonder as he surveys the spread: dried seaweed in three different flavors, nearly half a dozen different types of chips and chili crisps, some sort of Japanese-style snack mix Sky asks Prapai to bring home to him whenever Prapai has business in Osaka. Sky is into savory treats far more than sweet ones, but Rain also made sure to get the mango jellies Sky has said are his favorites and the milk toffee chews that Sky likes a lot (and that both Phayu and Prapai actually love.)
Plus there’s a few surprises that Rain wanted to keep from Prapai; he trusts his phi not to have spilled any secrets to Sky, but making s’mores in the oven after he and Phayu looked up how to do it online is something Rain wants to be a complete surprise for Sky. He wants to see the way Sky’s face looks when he first tastes it, and see that little look of wonder when Sky is truly surprised and happy by it, the one that makes Sky look soft and so pretty and carefree.
“Sky deserves it,” Rain says simply as Prapai nudges him and calls him a very thoughtful friend. Prapai smiles at that answer, and it does something nice to Rain’s heart to see how happy it makes Prapai that Rain wants to take care of Sky, show him fun and love and all the things that he should have had long before now but that he can have in abundance now.
“Pai, what are these?” Phayu has finished putting up the makeshift screen, which is really just a vast white sheet borrowed from the drama faculty and tacked up across a few of the windows in the living room, and is looking at the boxes Prapai put down when he walked in on Phayu scolding Rain again for skipping.
“Oh, those! Okay Rain, I know you said sleepovers aren’t supposed to be extravagant,” Prapai begins, heading towards the box Phayu is holding at arm’s length.
“P’Pai!”
“And it’s not! Listen, you wouldn’t let me book the two bedroom suite at the Rosewood-”
“That’s not a typical sleepover location, Pai.”
“-But I wanted to do something since you and Phayu took care of everything else. So here: something to commemorate Sky’s first sleepover!”
Prapai opens the first box with a flourish, and Rain looks inside to see a shirt of pale grayish-blue silk with darker blue piping at the edges. He’s about to thank Prapai for thinking to bring nice pajamas – even Rain isn’t above getting expensive gifts, as homey and do-it-yourself as this night is supposed to be — but he gasps when he sees the embroidery on the pocket of the shirt.
“P’Pai, are those raindrops?” Rain asks, and Prapai laughs and nods.
“Indeed, and that’s obviously yours. I got one custom made for each of us!”
Rain immediately scrambles to pull all the pajamas out of the box, noting each one with a wide grin. A little tornado on Phayu’s. A perfect replica of the custom pin Rain sees Prapai wearing all the time. And, finally, a matching set with the pin replica on Sky’s, along with a little fluffy cloud in blue and white stitching.
“They’re perfect. Thank you, P’Pai!” Rain throws his arms around Prapai, the other man laughing as Rain’s enthusiasm nearly knocks them both to the ground. When Rain steps away, he focuses on carefully folding each set back up into the box to give out later.
He looks around the room, taking stock of everything. They have all the necessary materials to make a blanket fort – currently sitting on the edge of the sofa so that Sky can actually participate in the creation of said fort, the best part of a fort in Rain’s opinion – and dozens of other items strewn all over the space.
“P’Phayu, did you bring the sleeping bags?” Rain asks, not seeing them in the collection.
Phayu still looks a little disgruntled at Rain for skipping class, but he smiles when Rain looks up at him with mild anxiety. The sleeping bags are essential for a perfect sleepover, after all.
“Yes, my naughty boy. They’re behind the couch,” Phayu confirms, and Rain believes him but he walks around the couch to take a look anyway. They’re all there, still wrapped tightly and sitting in a neat pile.
“Thank you,” Rain says, crowding into Phayu’s space and giving him an enthusiastic kiss that Phayu helplessly and endearingly returns.
Prapai huffs, arms crossed over his chest in mock offense. “He gets a kiss and all I get is a hug?” Prapai teases, and Rain is quick to move back over to Prapai and press a very sloppy kiss to his puffed up cheek.
“All of you get kisses, but only if everything is ready in time. Sky is going to be here in ten minutes,” Rain responds, biting his lip in worry as he scans the room again. Now that he’s aware of the time, and of Sky’s imminent arrival, his doubt starts to flood in. What if Sky hates the idea? What if it makes him embarrassed because he never got invited to a sleepover, or uncomfortable because he thinks it’s juvenile or silly? Rain has gotten a lot better at being able to anticipate Sky’s reactions and feelings even before his friend expresses them.
But still… Rain doesn’t want to do anything to make Sky feel bad, or put out, or awkward. He doesn’t realize he’s making a face that shows all of his fears as clear as the sun-drenched sky outside of the windows Rain is staring at, but he doesn’t need to realize it.
Both Phayu and Prapai are beside him in an instant, Phayu’s arm around his waist and pulling Rain close to him while Prapai puts a hand on his head and simply holds it there, grounding him even with the light touch.
“You’re an incredibly thoughtful friend, Rain,” Phayu begins. “You really did plan out everything perfectly. I went to a lot of sleepovers as a kid and none of them had everything we have. It’s the perfect experience for Sky’s first time.”
“And Sky is going to love it,” Prapai adds. “I told you, after you described a sleepover to him, he talked about it with me and wanted to know about all the ones I went to. Sky adores you and how much you care about him.”
Rain swallows and nods, blinking back tears as both Phayu and Prapai keep touching him, calming him down and reassuring him just by staying close. And when Sky walks into the living room a few minutes later, Rain holds his breath for a moment as Sky takes in the mound of blankets on the sofa and the sheet hanging as a screen and the mountain of snacks on the counter.
“Welcome to your very first sleepover, Sky,” Rain says, watching Sky’s face carefully. It’s shifting through a lot of emotions, almost all of them impossible to read because Sky often has a poker face on and tries to hide them, but the expression he finally settles on when he looks at Rain is one of wonder, maybe tinged with excitement and disbelief, a dash of hope in his cautious smile.
“Is this really all for me?” Sky asks lightly, and Rain is relieved to hear nothing but cautious happiness in the question because Rain’s answer is yes, all for Sky.
“Are you sure we can’t just use plates?” Phayu asks, looking around at all the take away containers on every available surface of the coffee table.
“P’Phayu, no! Part of any good sleepover is eating a little bit of everything and eating directly from the containers! Plus, it’s less clean up after,” Rain argues for the third time in as many minutes, huffing when Phayu looks longingly towards the kitchen.
“Rain’s right. All my sleepovers were just massive amounts of takeaway and passing the food around to each other,” Prapai agrees, and Rain shoots him an appreciative look and gestures in his direction.
“See? Don’t mess with tradition.” Rain laughs and smiles sweetly when Phayu gives him a stern glance, and Sky shuffles closer to look over Rain’s shoulder at his container.
“Can I have some rice?” Rain hands the rice to Sky immediately, hurrying to also grab the plastic bag with the curry.
“Don’t forget to have some of this with it, Sky! It’s the best part,” Rain encourages, using one of the disposable spoons to gather up some of the curry. Sky takes a bite of the rice and Rain instructs him to open his mouth so he can feed him some of the curry along with it, and Sky’s eyes light up even as he rolls them in mock frustration.
He opens his mouth and Rain spoons the curry into it, watching raptly as Sky chews and then hums in pleasure.
“It’s good,” Sky confirms when he swallows, and Rain gives a gleeful little chirp and fist pump.
Rain has been friends with Sky long enough to have been able to order all of his favorites, with plenty of rice. The curry crab is something Sky doesn’t really ever order for himself even though he loves it; Rain had asked once why he didn’t get it more often, and Sky had shrugged.
“Because it’s my favorite, I don’t want to eat it too often. I want it to be only for special meals, so I’ll like it for a long time.”
Rain figures this counts, and as Prapai offers another spoonful of the bright yellow-orange curry to Sky, he watches carefully to ensure Sky doesn’t feel like this was a wasted occasion.
“Thoughtful boy, he likes it a lot,” Phayu whispers lowly into Rain’s ear, chuckling when Rain startles and nearly drops his own spoon into his lap.
“P’Phayu,” Rain whines, protesting when Phayu presses a quick kiss just underneath his ear. Prapai winks at Rain and grabs the container of moo manao.
“If anyone knows Sky even better than me, it’s you. Of course he likes it.”
“I’m right here,” Sky grumbles, and then turns expectantly back to Rain. “Can I have some more?”
“Here, Phayu, let me feed you too,” Prapai says, shuffling around the coffee table on his knees and holding up his chopsticks with some of the pork for Phayu to try. Rain gives Sky more of the curry, who hums at the taste of it, and then both of them are watching as Phayu reaches for the chopsticks.
“Pai, what the hell,” Phayu laughs when Prapai pulls the utensils back, a cheeky grin curving his lips.
“I said let me feed you; Rain’s doing it for Sky, and I wanna do it for you.”
Phayu huffs at that, and then gives a quick nod and leans forward. Rain can’t tell if there’s a slight blush on Phayu’s face or if it’s just the last of the setting sun’s light coming in through the windows, washing all of their faces and hands in golds and pinks.
“We should save room for snacks and dessert,” Rain reminds them all, and Sky’s eyes widen a bit at that. He had been amused when he saw the pile of bags and containers on the kitchen counter when he first got to Phayu’s, but he looks at it now with a bit of trepidation.
“Rain, we just had such a big dinner…” Sky says, and Rain shakes his head and reaches for Sky’s chin, gently turning it so he’s facing Rain again.
“It’s okay; you’ll probably get hungry after we finish the first movie.”
They have a selection of horror films and romantic comedies to pick from, and Rain pulls them out of his bag and urges Sky to pick one.
“You can pick,” Sky says, eyes scanning over the titles curiously.
Rain shakes his head. “No. This is your sleepover, you get to pick the first movie!”
“First?” Phayu asks as Prapai chuckles, both of them moving closer to look at the selection.
“Don’t you know, Phayu? We have to watch movies and tell spooky stories until we fall asleep,” Prapai jokes, but Rain is nodding along enthusiastically.
Phayu huffs. “I know a certain boy who won’t be sleeping tonight if we end up telling scary stories,” Phayu teases Rain, and Rain pouts at him, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m not a kid, P’Phayu. I can sleep just fine after scary movies!” Rain protests, and when Phayu only lifts his eyebrow incredulously, Rain juts his lip out further and wraps his arms around Sky.
“Sky will cuddle me if I can’t sleep. Right, Sky?” Rain asks sweetly, and Sky surprises them all by kissing Rain’s temple before confirming.
“You can share my sleeping bag if you can’t sleep.” Sky picks up one of the horror movies – a Korean film Rain had heard about from Sig a few weeks ago – and holds it up in front of them. “Let’s watch this one?”
“A doctor obsessed with ping pong kills his patients in an asylum?” Prapai asks as he scans the back of the case. “And then a group of ‘ghost hunters’ live stream from the asylum years later? Sounds kind of… silly?”
Phayu chuckles as he leans over Prapai’s shoulder, putting his chin on it so he can also look at the plot summary. “I don’t know, Pai. Are you sure it sounds silly, or are you just sc-”
“Gonjiam Haunted Asylum it is!” Prapai announces loudly, shoving Phayu back and making the other man laugh. Rain and Sky ignore their boyfriends as Sky plucks the DVD from Prapai’s hand.
“Of course it is, I picked it,” Sky says bluntly, and Rain giggles; he likes seeing Sky take charge, especially when it comes to their partners. Ultimately all three of them will do whatever it takes to make Sky happy, and Rain knows that not only does it make his heart feel like it’s soaring to get a genuine smile of delight from Sky, it does the same to Prapai and Phayu too.
Rain and Prapai clear away all the containers and pack up leftovers as Phayu gets the DVD player hooked up to the projector. By the time they’re all ready to start the movie, the last lingering remnants of the golden hour have turned into dusky lavender and pale indigo outside the windows.
“Should we get some lights on?” Prapai asks as Rain tucks a blanket around Sky’s side before wiggling closer to him underneath it, and then tugging Phayu’s hand to get him to sit closer as well.
“P’Pai, it’s a horror movie,” Rain says slowly. “It’ll be nice and dark when it really gets going. It’s atmospheric. Who ever watched scary movies at a sleepover with all the lights on?”
Prapai mumbles something Rain can’t hear from where he’s sitting on the other side of Phayu, and Rain just shakes his head and turns to whisper to Sky.
“Are you comfortable? Need any snacks? A drink?”
“I’m fine,” Sky says back in a normal volume. He sounds a little exasperated by how much Rain is fussing over him, but Rain feels Sky’s arm snake around his waist and squeeze him so he knows Sky’s not really upset or put out. Rain also knows Sky is likely feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the attention, and as the opening credits begin, he pulls the blanket over their heads.
“Just so you know, if you don’t want to do this at any point tonight, you can just tell me,” Rain offers. “I know it’s kind of silly and juvenile, but I just want you to enjoy yourself.”
Sky has pretty eyes; they all know it and even Sky himself has grudgingly admitted he thinks he has very nice eyes. But Rain thinks they’re prettier than pretty when they soften the way they are now, looking at Rain in the near-darkness under the blanket with their faces so close they could kiss.
“I really like it so far though, Rain. Thank you for doing this for me,” Sky says quietly, his own whisper so low Rain has to strain to hear it even in the little cocoon of blanket they’re in.
Rain feels like his insides become more bubbly and buoyant at Sky’s words, the way his hand tightens around Rain’s side, Sky’s eyes and face relaxed and earnest. The blanket is gently lifted away and Phayu and Prapai both chuckle at them.
“It’s starting, unless you both want to keep hiding?” Phayu teases, tapping Rain’s nose and then reaching across to do the same to Sky’s, making him blink and smile.
“You’re right, they weren’t making out. I guess I owe you twenty baht,” Prapai says to Phayu, which has Rain and Sky shrieking his name in frustration.
But by the time the last scene in the movie fades to black and then the credits roll, Prapai is the only one who’s been shrieking.
“It’s just a movie, P’Pai,” Rain says, trying to soothe him. Prapai shakes his head and groans, burying his face in Phayu’s shoulder. Sky is biting his lip and moving around the room to turn on lights, trying desperately not to laugh at how scared Prapai is.
“But that one scene. Where the ghost was just there. Not doing anything. What the fuck was that about?” Prapai argues, mouth pressed to Phayu’s shirt and the words muffled a bit.
Rain sees Sky smile when he sees them all entwined together under the blankets, Phayu holding Prapai close and letting him calm down.
“We can sleep with a light on,” Sky says as he rejoins them, snuggling back in close to Rain.
“And we can lay all the sleeping bags out and cuddle up tonight!” Rain offers, Prapai lifting up to look at him with one eye.
Before Prapai can argue further about the scary movie or confirm their sleeping arrangements, Sky chimes in.
“Wasn’t I promised dessert?”
Rain scrambles to his feet, excited to show Sky all the ingredients he and Phayu had gathered for s’mores.
“Yes! P’Phayu, can we make them now?” Rain begs, batting his eyelashes ridiculously enough that even Prapai laughs and moves out of Phayu’s hold.
“It’s Sky’s party. If he wants dessert I think it’s a perfect time for them, hm?” Phayu confirms, and the smile Sky gives him is brilliant and beautiful.
Rain grabs Sky’s hand and hauls him up, practically dragging him to the kitchen.
“We have graham crackers and marshmallows and chocolate and I even bought some honey to dip them in,” Rain says, pointing to each item in question as Sky just smiles softly beside him.
Phayu and Prapai trail in after them and help stack the supplies while Rain shows Sky how to build the base of a s’more. “Cracker, then chocolate, then the marshmallow on top. P’Pai, could you set the oven on low broil, please? P’Phayu did you move the rack to the right spot?”
Prapai laughs and salutes Rain before turning to the stove, and Phayu reaches across the kitchen island to pat Rain’s head. “Of course I did, my forgetful boy. You only checked it three times before Sky got here, remember?”
Rain flushes at that; he doesn’t mind Phayu teasing him of course, but he does feel a little silly that he forgot he already checked it. Phayu scritches him right above his ear, and Sky’s fingers find Rain’s palm and curl into it.
“I know you want everything to be perfect for my first sleepover, Rain, but trust me: this is already pretty great,” Sky says in reassurance. Prapai returns and gathers both Rain and Sky in his arms from behind.
“Sky’s right. This is already a lot more fun than some of the sleepovers I went to as a kid. Maybe just… let’s stick to non-horror movies, yeah?”
Rain laughs and swats at Prapai’s arms as Phayu grins at the three of them and takes the baking sheet of assembled s’mores to the oven. “I had no idea you were such a baby, P’Pai! P’Phayu did you know?”
Phayu shakes his head, though he’s squatting in front of the oven door to keep an eye for when the marshmallows are toasted. “Honestly I didn’t. Our sleepovers never really included movies.”
Rain and Sky exchange a look at that; it’s always been something that Phayu and Prapai don’t really talk about, the way they used to infrequently and “very casually” see each other, in Phayu’s guarded language.
“Let’s talk later,” Sky mouths, winking at Rain before craning his neck up to kiss Prapai’s cheek.
“What are you boys scheming?” Prapai asks, leaning closer to grin at them like he knows exactly what they were talking about.
Phayu looks up, always on alert for Rain potentially misbehaving, and Rain flushes a little under his gaze. They’ve never been particularly subtle about their dynamic, but lately they’ve been even more obvious about it in front of Prapai and Sky. “Are you being naughty?” Phayu says, standing up to narrow his eyes at Rain but staying in front of the oven to keep an eye on the cooking treats.
“No! We were just talking about how pretty you and P’Pai are,” Rain replies, not even really a lie because he and Sky have already talked before about how hot their boyfriends likely were together and it is known how enamored Sky and Rain are.
Phayu hums in response, looking disbelieving. “If you have questions, naughty boy, you just have to ask,” Phayu teases, and Rain and Sky both huff in response, cheeks pinkening.
Sky waves his hands dismissively in front of him, pulling free of Prapai’s arms to wander over to Phayu and lean down to look into the oven. “How long do they need?”
Phayu smiles softly at Sky and then looks up at Rain again with an eyebrow raised. “A minute or two. Just enough for the marshmallow to melt a little and the chocolate to be a bit gooey.”
And a few minutes later, Phayu is pulling the s’mores out of the oven and placing the pan on a cooling rack. When Rain immediately tries to grab one, Phayu swats him on the hand.
“Impatient thing. Wait a few minutes for them to cool down or you’ll burn your fingers.” Phayu pulls Rain against his chest with a grip on his wrist, and Rain falls against him happily but sulking a bit at being made to wait.
“We still have more things to do before the night is over!” Rain argues, and Phayu kisses him quiet as Prapai glides over to wrap his arms around Sky again.
“Other than eating s’mores and the mountain of snacks you got, what else is there?” Sky asks from within the circle of Prapai’s arms, and he genuinely sounds excited. Rain grins against Phayu’s mouth and puts his palms flat on his chest to stop Phayu from getting even more affectionate than he’s already being.
“Another movie if you want – yes, it can be something funny, P’Pai, don’t worry – or we can play cards, or board games. And we have to set up the tent, and then get into the matching pajamas…”
“Matching pajamas?” Sky’s tone is less enthusiastic and more cautious. Rain smiles sheepishly and glances at Prapai, looking for him to explain.
“Rain was adamant, and I do mean adamant, that I didn’t book a fancy hotel suite for tonight even though you all would have been treated like little princes,” Prapai says, the corners of his eyes crinkling with his wide grin as Rain sticks his tongue out at him, earning him another playful swat on the ass from Phayu. “But we wanted you to have something really nice that you could keep after tonight, too.”
“Oh…” The small way Sky utters the syllable makes concern swell up in Rain’s throat for a moment until he can wiggle around in Phayu’s hold and see for himself that Sky’s cheeks are pink. He’s also burying his face into Prapai’s chest the way he does when he’s overwhelmed because he feels like people are being too nice to him, which Rain still doesn’t quite understand because it’s as easy as breathing to want to be nice to Sky and make him happy.
“If you feel like this is all too much, we can just hang out and watch a movie like any normal night,” Phayu says gently from behind Rain. “All the other stuff doesn’t have to happen.” Rain nods along with his boyfriend’s words as Sky looks at them in consideration, but Sky’s nothing if not willing to try things if the people he trusts say they’ll be good.
He juts his chin towards the tray of s’mores on the counter next to Phayu. “They should probably be eaten while they’re still warm, right?”
Rain shakes himself free of his building anxiety at Sky’s easy words, smiling brightly as he starts plating the s’mores. “Yes! P’Phayu, can you toss the honey in the microwave for a few seconds?”
Sky takes his plate with a small smile, and all of Rain’s concerns melt away entirely when Sky’s fingers brush against his own. They’re okay, he hasn’t pushed Sky too far. Rain knows he can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, but Sky has always been honest with him and it settles something in Rain to know that he hasn’t upset their balance by going all out with the sleepover.
Prapai nearly chokes a few seconds later when he pops his entire s’more in his mouth without waiting for the honey, moaning dramatically as he swallows and Phayu shoves a glass of water at him.
“This is so good. We should make these all the time,” Prapai comments, and Sky laughs and wipes away a smear of chocolate from the corner of his mouth with his thumb before Prapai snatches his wrist and sucks his thumb past his lips to lick it clean.
“Get a room,” Phayu teases, and Prapai flips him off behind Sky’s back and Phayu rolls his eyes. “Do you want some honey, Rain?” Phayu pulls the honey out of the microwave and checks the temperature before putting the bowl on the counter in front of Rain.
“I want to feed Sky!” Rain grabs Sky’s plate and shoulders Prapai out of the way, Prapai tumbling into Phayu who shoots a look of warning at Rain for being a menace. Sky chuckles, opening his mouth when Rain prompts him.
Rain dips the corner in the honey and then feeds it to Sky who takes a small nibble, contemplating the flavor. When he finishes chewing he hums happily. “I don’t normally like super sweet things but this is really good, Rain,” Sky confirms, opening his mouth again for another bite.
“You know who else didn’t have a sweet tooth until he met Rain?” Prapai teases, and Rain briefly looks away from the way Sky is chasing after a drip of honey with his tongue to see Phayu narrow his eyes at Prapai, who doesn’t heed the warning at all. “Our Phayu. Hated sugary stuff, and then all of a sudden Rain comes along and now he can’t get enough sweets.”
Phayu mumbles something under his breath, and Sky laughs and reaches up to hold Rain’s wrist in place so he can take the last bite of s’more from his fingers. Rain’s stomach swoops a bit as Sky’s lips drag across his fingertips and then they’re gone again, only for Sky to hum in satisfaction and then look at Prapai with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
“So what else can you tell us about P’Phayu before he met Rain and you met me, hm?”
Rain has to bury his face in Sky’s shoulder to both hide his blush at the innuendo as well as to keep from laughing at the way Phayu’s expression kaleidoscopes through a series of increasingly flustered emotions.
Prapai thrives on being goaded, and he throws an arm around Phayu’s neck and pulls him closer; because Phayu is usually so dominating and Prapai is more laid-back, it’s easy to forget that Prapai is equally matched in terms of strength, and Rain’s stomach swoops again as he watches Phayu struggle a bit against the headlock.
“Hmm… What else can I tell you about P’Phayu? Well, for one thing, he’s secretly very ticklish.”
“Pai!”
“I already know that,” Rain interjects, though he does like the way Phayu is squirming as Prapai reaches for the spot on his hip that always makes Phayu jump. “We wanna know other things.”
“Rain!” The threat in Phayu’s tone is entirely neutralized when Prapai stuffs another bite of s’more into his mouth and holds his hand there; Rain can’t see what Prapai’s fingers are doing, but he has a pretty good guess. Sky laughs a bit breathlessly and then it’s his turn to hide his face in embarrassment as Phayu’s eyes go wide and then a bit dreamy as he looks up into Prapai’s face.
“Sorry, I think we derailed your sleepover a bit,” Prapai says after a beat, releasing Phayu and making him blush furiously and stalk away to go get a bottle of water out of the fridge. “Let’s keep it PG, yeah?”
Rain wraps his arms around Sky and cuddles him. “Yeah, but part of any good sleepover is gossiping and giggling about cute boys.”
He swears he can hear Phayu mutter “I am not cute” from where he’s still half-hidden in the fridge, but by the time Phayu reemerges, his expression is his usual relaxed one. “Should we play games or watch another movie, Sky?”
“Let’s watch the romcom movie,” Sky says without hesitation, smiling sweetly at a grateful looking Prapai.
“Okay. But first, let’s clean up a bit and get into our pajamas,” Phayu instructs, and Rain stomps his foot and pouts.
“P’Phayu,” Rain whines. “Cleanup is for tomorrow. Tonight is for sleepover fun only!”
Phayu crosses his arms over his chest and levels Rain with one of his sternest looks, the one Rain has started internally referring to as his Daddy look.
“Fine. Fine. P’Pai help me clean the kitchen? P’Phayu, go get the DVD player ready,” Rain demands, and Prapai laughs but follows his directions.
By the time the kitchen is clean, Sky and Phayu are settled back in the living room and the DVD is set up on the projector screen.
“We have to make our blanket fort to sleep under tonight. We should do that now before we get too tired!” Rain suggests, and Phayu gives him a little endeared smile.
The four of them work together to line up the stools from the kitchen counter in parallel, with Rain acting as foreman much to both Sky and Phayu’s amusement. “That back stool should be about ten centimeters closer,” Rain points out. Phayu laughs and responds with “Yes, boss,” and even though he’s teasing it still sounds flirty enough that Sky shakes his head and exchanges a look with Prapai, who is pressing his lips together to keep from cracking a joke.
Rain made a few blanket forts in his childhood, but he and Sky are both much bigger than he was at the age of nine, so he spent an hour or two watching tutorials online. He thinks it paid off because when the blankets are draped over the stools – and supported by a few long dowels he may have sneaked from the supplies closet in the architecture workroom – the result is pretty close in shape and size to a small tent, with enough space for Rain and Sky to comfortably sleep in and string lights clipped along the top to give it a little light.
“Are you sure you’re going to make Phayu and I sleep on the sofa?” Prapai asks, looking a bit longingly inside the fort at all the blankets and pillows Rain has taken from every other room in the house to give him and Sky a cozy nest.
“Sky deserves the best blanket fort, and you sometimes snore,” Rain says. Prapai makes an indignant noise at that, whining about Sky spilling his secrets, but Rain ignores him as he bites his lip and waits for Sky to finish laying out his sleeping bag in the fort and give his verdict.
“It’s true, P’Pai, plus this is the perfect size for Rain and me. You and P’Phayu are too tall.” With that dismissal and Sky squeezing Rain’s hand in both of his, Rain knows this fort more than passes Sky’s assessment.
“We are practically the same height,” Prapai mutters under his breath and Rain just glares at him and sticks his tongue out. Phayu is there suddenly, swatting Rain on the butt, and Rain yelps and jumps, dropping Sky’s hand who just laughs at their antics.
“Come on you bossy thing, it’s time for pajamas and the next movie,” Phayu says, guiding Rain over to the box of custom pajamas.
He opens them, pulling the first one out to show to Sky. “See? It has a little rain drops on it!” Rain chirps, showing off the soft fabric and the embroidery. Rain shows Sky his own pair last, and Sky lets out a quiet little gasp of surprise and looks over Rain’s shoulder at Prapai.
“Thank you, P’Pai,” Sky says, flustered and clearly more excited about the prospect of matching pajamas now that he’s seen them and understands their significance.
They change quickly, the four of them gathering back together in front of the projector to watch the movie. Rain pets idly at the rain drops on his pajamas throughout the entire movie, smiling happily to himself. They really are perfect and thoughtful, and Rain loves the consideration that went into them.
He loves Sky too, he knows, and Prapai. But he’s not sure he’s ready to address some of those feelings yet. At least not out loud.
“I’m still scared after the other movie. You promised we could all cuddle tonight,” Prapai pouts after the romantic comedy is over, and Phayu pulls him into a hug and then starts tickling him relentlessly for several seconds before Prapai breaks free.
“That’s payback for earlier,” Phayu teases before turning to Sky. “Is there anything else you boys want? Another snack, something to drink?”
Rain is about to answer for both himself and Sky and tell Phayu that a snack would be great, but Sky beats him to it with a wide yawn, so perfectly timed that both Phayu and Prapai laugh. Sky grins sheepishly, looking so young and carefree in the moment that it makes Rain’s heart flutter.
“We didn’t really make a dent in everything you got,” Sky says, waving his hand towards the kitchen where there’s still a small mountain of colorful cellophane wrappers and bags piled up on the counter, but Rain shakes his head.
“That’s okay! It’s supplies for our next sleepover.”
“Oh, are we doing regular sleepovers now? I could get used to that,” Prapai jokes, and Rain nods enthusiastically.
“Yes! We can have one every week, as long as Sky is okay with it?”
Sky laughs and reaches for Rain’s hand to grab it, his fingers warm like always. “Once a week is pretty frequent; I think less often makes them more special, doesn’t it?”
“Just like eating crab curry only once in a while,” Phayu replies with a wink. If Sky’s happiness makes Rain’s heart flutter, the way Phayu refers to Sky’s favorite meal in shorthand makes Rain feel warm and at peace inside. The four of them know each other so well: most loved foods, ticklish spots, the ways they can joke with each other in one second and then hug each other in the next.
It feels like home to Rain. They all feel like home to him.
“Our Sky, I brought some stuff from home for you, your toothbrush and nighttime skincare. It’s in the bathroom upstairs,” Prapai says, still sitting close to Phayu. Rain knows Phayu said he was not cute earlier, but there is something devastatingly cute about Phayu in his pajamas with the little whirlwind embroidery on the pocket, and Prapai is just as adorable next to him.
Home, Rain thinks again, then offers his hand to Sky.
“Come on, let’s wash up. I’m getting tired too.” He’s not especially sleepy this early, but if the next activity is getting to hang out with Sky in their blanket fort until one or both of them drift off, Rain’s very happy about that.
Sky and Rain brush their teeth side by side at the sink in the bathroom while Phayu and Prapai stay downstairs and make their own beds for the night on the sofa, and then they move on to their skincare routines.
“Here, let me,” Sky offers as Rain is about to put his sheet mask on; everyone knows he kind of struggles with them, getting them twisted up before he can get it over his face properly, and Rain smiles and closes his eyes as Sky smoothes the cold mask down over his cheeks and nose and chin.
“You have really pretty lips, you know?” Sky says, sounding as though this is the first time he’s noticed them and Rain’s eyes fly open at that.
He laughs a little, and hopes Sky doesn’t hear the nervousness in it. “P’Phayu tells me that a lot, but I’ve always felt they were too big for my face. Too pouty, like a girl.”
Sky shakes his head fiercely even before Rain finishes speaking, and taps his fingertips against Rain’s top lip. “They’re perfect, Rain. I know why P’Phayu is obsessed with them.”
Rain wonders if it’s possible for his blush to dry out the sheet mask and then possibly even set it on fire, but Sky is just smiling and turning back to rinse off his own clay mask, his bear ear headband something Rain kind of wants to ask him to keep on.
Bedtime prep complete, Rain and Sky head back downstairs only to find Prapai and Phayu hunched over the coffee table talking lowly to each other, heads so close it’s impossible to tell where Phayu’s hair ends and Prapai’s begins now that the lights in the living room are lower.
“Should we keep watching and see if they’ll finally kiss?” Sky jokes, and Rain squeezes his wrist hard enough to make Sky yelp, getting the attention of their boyfriends.
“Were you naughty boys spying on us?” Phayu asks with a smirk, and Prapai’s grin is contagious as Rain and Sky continue their descent, their own smiles wide.
“If I know my sweet, not-so-innocent Sky, and your not-so-sweet, definitely-not-innocent Rain, I imagine they were hoping we’d kiss,” Prapai says lasciviously, and Sky’s cheeks turn bright red at that.
“P’Pai!” Rain glares at Prapai, though it’s without heat, and leads Sky over to the blanket fort.
“Mean, P’Pai. We were just thinking how handsome both you and P’Phayu are, but now I think you’re just a pervert.”
Phayu laughs loudly at that, saying something about how “every accusation is a confession” which Rain doesn’t quite get, but he’s too busy ushering Sky into the tent and drawing the blankets closed behind him. The string lights offer enough illumination that Rain can see that while Sky’s cheeks are still pink, his eyes are sparkling.
“Thank you, Rain. Tonight was amazing,” Sky whispers as they settle into their sleeping bags and curl onto their sides. Rain wasn’t tired before but he’s starting to feel it now, comfortable and happy in the enclosed space with his best friend in the entire world.
He suppresses a yawn and slides closer to Sky, their noses almost touching. “I wanted it to be special because you’re so special to me, Sky. Did you mean it? About having more sleepovers in the future?”
Sky smiles and nods. “Yeah, I think I’d like that. But you don’t always have to go all out like this,” Sky confirms before he yawns again, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. He pulls away a little bit to roll onto his back, looking up at the ceiling of their little fort.
Rain is just about to close his eyes and maybe try to sleep when he hears Sky move again, Sky’s fingers wrapping gently around Rain’s wrist. “You’re special to me too, Rain.”
Rain blinks back his tears of gratitude and leans over to kiss Sky on the cheek, which Sky huffs at but allows with a roll of his eyes. “Goodnight,” Sky says, and Rain says it back before he’s already starting to drift.
Phayu’s always says Rain can fall asleep anywhere and anytime, and he can stay asleep even if elephants were tramping through the room. But he also relentlessly teases Rain about his small bladder and how that’s the one thing Rain seemingly can’t sleep through.
It’s dark and quiet in the living room when Rain slowly pulls back the blanket to look outside their fort, shadows stretching out across the furniture and bathing everything in inky blackness. He remembers, suddenly, the scary movie from earlier and nearly yelps when he feels Sky shift in his sleep behind him.
“Sky,” Rain whispers into the softly lit interior of the fort, the lights still on even after they fell asleep. “Sky,” Rain tries again when Sky doesn’t wake up the first time, and then he’s leaning over him to whisper into his face.
Sky startles awake and nearly bashes Rain in the nose with how quickly he sits up, eyes bleary and unfocused as he looks around to see what’s going on. “What’s wrong, Rain?”
“I need to pee,” Rain says, shifting from knee to knee as his urge starts to grow stronger.
“So go pee?” Sky replies, falling back down onto his sleeping bag with a low groan.
“I’m scared. Come with me?” Rain pleads, and Sky sighs and sits up again.
“Come on. I’m not going in with you though, I’ll stand outside the door.” Sky’s smiling a little when he says it, teasing Rain, which makes him feel less guilty about waking him up.
They navigate carefully in the darkness; as often as Rain spends the night at Phayu’s, they spend almost all their time in the bedroom upstairs after dark so he’s not super familiar with the layout downstairs. He holds Sky’s hand and leads him through the kitchen and into Saifah’s bedroom.
“Okay you don’t have to come in but can you like, I don’t know, talk to me through the door?” Rain asks; he can’t get some of the jumpscares from the horror movie out of his mind, even this many hours later and even with Saifah’s bathroom light now on, and he feels bad for making fun of Prapai for being scared.
Sky sighs, ending in a yawn, and waves his hand at Rain. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll talk. Hurry up though.”
While Rain pees, Sky explains the plot of the latest episode of One Piece, which Rain doesn’t care about in the slightest but he does like the way Sky’s tired, quiet voice sounds as he speaks through the door because he knows how much Sky loves the show.
“Did you dry your hands thoroughly?” Sky teases when Rain finishes washing them and steps out of the bathroom. Rain swipes his palms down Sky’s arms to show him they are in fact dry, and they both laugh under their breath as they walk back into the living room, Sky leading the way.
“Rain, look!” Sky says with a gasp, stopping so short Rain runs into him. He’s stumbling and thrown off balance, but then Sky’s arms are around him and Rain is being turned so he can look up towards the ceiling.
There are stars across the entire expanse of it, faintly glowing swirls of far away galaxies and twinkling, closer points of light. It’s as though the universe is contained within the room just for Rain and Sky, and Rain’s eyes sting with tears as he wonders at this miracle.
“You were right,” Sky whispers, his voice almost too quiet to hear even though his lips are against Rain’s ear. “It is so pretty.”
Rain wipes his eyes and looks over to the sofa; he sometimes doesn’t catch everything right away, but he just knows that Phayu and Prapai are behind this last surprise. They are both laid out on opposite ends, eyes closed and breathing evenly, though Rain could swear he sees Phayu’s finger go to his lips, just like he sees the arc of Prapai’s smile.
He might see the star projector on the coffee table as well, but really, in the dark it’s just too hard to tell.
“Rain, I like the fort a lot, but maybe can we lay out under the stars for a bit?” Sky asks, and Rain blinks and turns away from their crafty, clever, incredibly sweet boyfriends and smiles.
“Yeah. Let’s sleep under the stars, my Sky.”
The stars are gone in the morning, of course, washed away by the bright sun of the day that paints the walls and ceilings in white gold. It’s early, and Rain is a little uncomfortable from sleeping on the floor, but it is so worth it when he realizes he’s got Sky’s arms around him and his face pressed against Rain’s neck.
Rain smiles and tries to shift without waking Sky up, but the other boy murmurs.
“G’morning Rain…” Sky rubs his face against Rain’s shoulder and tightens his hold a bit. “Still sleepy.”
“Me too,” Rain murmurs back. He turns to see if they woke Phayu and Prapai up, and has to press his lips together when he sees them: Phayu on his side on the sofa, hair loose and spilling around his face on the pillow, and Prapai spooned around him with his arm tight around Phayu’s waist, his face tucked in the space between Phayu’s shoulder and neck just like Sky’s is with Rain.
“They’re kind of the perfect boyfriends aren’t they?” Sky whispers. “Just like you.”
“And you,” Rain answers, turning over so he can cuddle with Sky and kiss his cheek. “Our perfect Sky.”
Sky mutters a retort to that but he’s asleep within another minute or two, and Rain smiles and follows him back into slumber, already looking very much forward to the next time he and Sky and Phayu and Prapai can all fall asleep holding each other under the stars.