Work Text:
When I can’t find a place to stand
When I’m lost in a storm
The people that have given me unchanging love
and courage, I send my gratitude to them
Sometimes there were times when I felt that I was alone
Looking at me crying so much in those past days
How heartbreaking and hard must it have been for you?
Only now do I think I can understand
Rain stretched, looking over at his husband. Every single day he thanked God for not really getting hit by a car, but the fact that getting hit by a car allowed him to meet this beautiful amazing man.
Phayu smiled sleepily without opening his eyes. “Why are you awake so early? We don’t need to be at dinner until 5.”
With all of the stuff that had happened since they first met, with Phayu’s family and everything else, as well as the massive changes Inverzion had gone through, Phayu was a part of Rain’s family and he never looked back in remembrance of his own.
However, Nobutoshi met a man that caused him to do some digging. After uncovering some VERY surprising information, he discovered that Phayu apparently had some distant relatives that he never knew existed on his mother’s side.
Earlier that month in Tokyo:....🗾🗾🗾🗾🗾🗾🗾🗾
Himura Nobutoshi had been bidding on a new shipping contract and, as was his usual way of operations, made sure to learn everything he could about the competition. He was sitting at a large table in one of the preliminary meetings when a man walked in. Sucking in a breath of surprise, he studied the man a little more. He looked uncannily like Rain’s husband. This man was clearly older and walked with the smoothness and deadly grace of a jaguar, and Phayu didn’t have that appearance of violence simmering just under the surface, but the resemblance to young Storm was remarkable. The two men quickly realized that they would work better together than against each other, and made plans to circumvent the current offer and present a joint one of their own.
Nobutoshi invited the man to his office, wanting to find out a bit more about him face to face. He’d already done the background check on the man and found out about his family and his loyalty to them. What he was curious about was why he was so physically similar in features to Rain’s husband.
Nobutoshi's secretary let him know that his next meeting had arrived, and he told her to send them in. He looked up as the door opened, locking eyes with a man in a crimson velvet suit who moved with the grace of a predator. Following behind him was another man, this man had a much rounder face and an affable expression, but if you looked in the eyes, you could tell that he was just as dangerous as the former man, just in a different way.
Nobutoshi stood, walking to greet them. With a bow, he said, “Khun Theerapanyakul, it is nice to see you again.”
Vegas Theerapanyakul coolly assessed the Japanese man in front of him. He had been very impressed with their earlier dealings and was a little bit surprised when the man sought him out to foster an agreement between the two of them.
He gave wai and said, “Nobutoshi-san, it is nice to see you again as well.” He turned to the man at his side. “This is my husband, Pete Theerapanyakul.” Pete gave a bow to the Japanese man and Nobu bowed back. He gestured to a table with chairs in front of it that had already been set with tea.
“Have a seat gentleman.” For the next couple of hours, they negotiated different shipping routes between Bangkok and Tokyo, who got what territory, and other minor details. Pete was very insightful and had a lot of information from other sources that he provided, which helped the other two men definitely iron out an agreement that was beneficial to both of them.
Nobutoshi turned to Vegas. “Thank you for being such a fierce competitor and now colleague.”
Vegas smiled sharply. “Thank you to you too.”
Nobutoshi looked at the two men. “I know that you are far away from home, and as a show of hospitality, I would like to invite the two of you to a meal at my home. If of course, you are comfortable with that. “
Vegas looked at Pete and some sort of unspoken communication went between them. He turned back to Nobutoshi and bowed his head. “We would be honored.”
“Good. I will let my Queen know that we are having guests for dinner.” Shaking his head and smiling, he thought, This man is very much like Phayu and it is amusing
Taking out his phone, he sent a text to his wife.
Nobu: My Queen, are you at home?
My Queen👑:. You know damn well I'm home. You know where I'm at all the damn time. Why? How did the meeting go?
Nobu: The meeting had surprising but lucrative results. I have a couple of guests I'm bringing by for dinner.
My Queen👑: Oh?
Nobu: Yes. New business partners.
My Queen👑: 👀well okay then. I’ll make something special.
Nobu: I love you, see you soon.
My Queen👑: I love you too
Nobutoshi looked up as he finished. “My Queen will be expecting you.”
Vegas and Pete nodded. They were not as familiar with the workings of the Yakuza, but they knew that every king had a queen.
Nobu handed Vegas a card. “Have your driver come to this address.”
Vegas took the card and bowed. “Perfect. We'll see you there in a couple of hours.”
When Nobutoshi walked in the door, the girls immediately ran to meet him. Since moving from the US and back to Japan, they had thrived. They were among family and even though they didn't quite look like their Japanese relatives? They were welcomed as twin princesses with open arms.
“Daddy Daddy!” Mei said, “Mama said we have people coming for dinner?”
Mika nodded. “Yep. So she said we have to be really really good.”
The two girls looked at each other. They knew that they were mischievous but they also knew that they needed to behave when Mama and Papa had guests.
Nobutoshi slipped off his shoes and walked into the kitchen, where Sasha was stirring something spicy and fragrant in a pan.
He slid up behind her and kissed the nape of her neck, nuzzling the skin and wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Hello my love.” Sasha melted. How could she still love this man after all of the shit they've been through? Yeah. She loved the fuck out of this man. “Hello back. What time will our guests be here?”
“In a couple of hours.”
“Perfect!”
Nobu leaned in closer and gave his wife another kiss. “What are you making?”
Sasha turned and pecked her husband on the mouth. “We’re in Japan and I'm sure that they have had plenty of Japanese food, but they don't get Creole food. I'm making etouffee and beignets for dessert.”
With another quick kiss, Nobutoshi went upstairs to get changed into some of the more traditional Japanese clothing that he wore around the house. Even though his clan was firmly settled into modern times, meeting as a clan leader would always involve some of the traditions of the past.
Sasha finished dinner and took the girls to go put on their kimonos and put on one herself. When Nobutoshi had guests over that he “specifically” called guests? They put on their “yes this is my husband and these are his children” clothes so that she could spot even an INKLING of racist behavior around her children. She could, and had, decimated people verbally and physically if they even THOUGHT shit about her Blasian princesses.
She was setting the table when the doorbell rang. Nobutoshi went to open the door, Vegas and Pete stood on the other side.
Nobutoshi bowed to the two men and invited them inside. Pete handed him a bag and Nobu motioned towards slippers for he and Vegas to put on.
Vegas looked around the house. “I really like your home.” Pete nodded. “It is very unique?” He looked at Vegas to make sure he said the right word.
“Yes, unique is the right word pet.”
Nobutoshi smiled and thanked Pete for the bag. It was a very good Japanese whiskey. “Thank you, my wife’s best friend in the world is married to a musician that also has a degree in architecture. He helped design this when we moved from the United States back to Japan.”
Vegas turned as he heard little shuffling feet and felt a presence come up behind him.
Turning, he saw two adorable twin girls. They bowed and said, “Konichiwa, welcome to our home!”
Pete’s eyes widened. He whispered in Thai to Vegas, “Oh my gosh they're beautiful.”
He bowed carefully to the girls and said “Sawadee Khap. My name is Pete and this is my husband Vegas.”
One of the girls giggled and said, “He talks like Uncle Rain! My name is Mika and this is my sister, Mei.”
Mika was in purple and Mei was in pink so it was easier for guests to tell them apart. Vegas had determined quickly that the girls were of mixed race. Their little kimonos were perfect and their hair was in matching puffy ponytails.
Hearing a sultry feminine voice Vegas turned. “Y'all? Come on in here and quit standing in the doorway like y’all don't have manners.”
Pete's eyes blinked and Vegas looked at his husband. The voice was distinctly American. Pete wasn’t the best with English, but he was getting better. Even Vegas looked surprised. It hadn’t occurred to either of them that Nobutoshi was married to an American.
Nobutoshi inclined his head. “Follow me.” They went into the living room and Vegas looked at the statuesque beautiful black woman standing there. She turned around with a smile and said “Hello, I am Himura Sash….” and stopped. She narrowed one eye and slowly walked forward, stopping right in front of Vegas, who was reared back.
She said to the man, “Who are your people?”
Vegas blinked, not used at all to feeling so off-kilter. “My people? My name is Vegas Theerapanyakul and this is my husband, Pete.”
Sasha looked at Nobutoshi and then looked back at Vegas. Turning to her husband she said, “Who are his people, because you know exactly damn well who he looks like.”
Nobu smiled. “Yes. Yes I do.”
Sasha reached out and grabbed Vegas’ chin, turning it this way and that. Vegas was stunned into stillness, not used to A. someone as forward as Sasha and B. That someone literally not being a bit scared of him and grabbing his face.
Pete cackled at the look of shock written ALL over Vegas. Sasha was a force of nature and one that he had never been exposed to before. She was like a tsunami and a tornado all at once, wrapped in a beautiful exterior.
Sasha peered closer and said, “Yep. Yep you are 110% kin to my Daddy Storm just walking around older and with a slightly different face.”
Pete could not follow along at ALL. “Who?”
Sasha reached into the pocket of her kimono and pulled out her phone. She pulled out a picture of Phayu and showed it to Vegas.
His eyes widened. “Who… Who is this?”
“That's my Daddy Storm.”
Pete and Vegas were both really very confused. This was a married woman and she was calling another man Daddy?
Sasha took a look at their expressions and started laughing, her laughter infectious. “No no no, let me back this up. She pulled her phone back and flipped to a picture of Rain. “This little gum drop of goodness is my best friend in the world. My ride or die. My platonic soul mate. The person that tells me if they need a shovel or a bat? I'm there.”
Pete laughed. He liked this woman.
“So, Storm, also known as Phayu, is my baby's husband.”
She flipped to a picture of the two of them together. Pete nodded. He wasn't the best at Japanese and he could understand English, but did not speak it nearly as well as his husband.
“I see,” he said.
Sasha looked at Pete, “You are freaking adorable!” She turned back to Vegas. “So, basically I'm looking at your face and I'm looking at my daddy's face and I'm seeing like half the same face so my question is do you have some long-lost cousins or something out there that you don't know about?”
Vegas shook his head. “Not that I know about? I'm very confused as to the resemblance myself. It's uncanny. Can I see that picture again?”
Sasha said, “I'll do you one better, come with me.”
They walked into the living room, and Sasha went over to a bookshelf and pulled out a photo album. It was pictures of Rain and Phayu at their wedding in Jeju, along with other pictures of the two of them from when she did their impromptu after wedding shoot from their courthouse elopement.
Vegas said, “Yeah, it's kind of uncanny. Do you mind if I take a picture?”
“Absolutely not!”
He pulled out his phone and took a picture, sending it to his brothers
Vegas: I want you to do some digging
Vegas: Attaches picture
Cousin Caterpillar: Who is that and why do they have your face?
Rock Star Brat: Wait a minute, I know who that is. Why did I never notice the resemblance between the two of you?
Cousin Caterpillar: Who is it?
Rockstar brat: He goes by Storm, but he has a different given name. He's part of a massively successful K-pop band.
Cousin caterpillar: Since when did you start liking K-pop🤔🤔🤔
Rockstar brat: It's not about liking K-pop, it's about keeping my eye on the pulse of music.
Cousin Caterpillar: 🙄
Vegas: Anyway, I'm wondering if somehow one of our fathers or somebody in the family sowed a few wild oats and we were left unaware?
Cousin Caterpillar: That would not surprise me at all.
Rockstar Brat: 💯💯agreed. Let me do some digging and see what I can find out.
Vegas looked at the couple in front of him. “'I’ve sent a message to my cousins, Anakinn and Kim Theerapanyakul. They are going to make some inquiries and find out if it's possible that this boy is related to us somehow.”
Sasha said, “I'm just letting you know? I got a hundred dollar bucks that he is. From some side of the blanket that y'all don't know about.”
The twins yelled, “DOLLAR BUCKS!!” and poor Pete was having trouble keeping up with everything, so Vegas translated it into Thai for him.
Sasha surprised him by saying in fluent Thai, “Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you understood! If it's more comfortable for you to speak in Thai, I am happy to do so.”
Pete looked so surprised his face almost fell off. Vegas looked startled as well.
Nobutoshi smiled. “My queen is a woman of many talents.”
Sasha threw a wink at Vegas. “Daddy Roulette? That's your new name just so you know, Daddy Roulette.”
Vegas threw back his head and laughed. Pete smiled, it was rare for his husband to laugh like that, especially with someone he had just first met.
Vegas looked at Sasha. “You are a gem.”
“Yes. Yes I am. I tell people all the time that my presence is their present.”
She translated for Pete as she had been speaking English to Vegas and Pete laughed once more. He really really liked this woman.
Mika and Mei knew that they weren't supposed to interrupt the adults, but they also really wanted to be included.
They were also sneaky and ridiculously cute little girls, and they knew exactly how to get what they wanted.
Somehow, while Sasha was finishing up dinner, the girls had convinced Pete to play Uno with them, a game he had never played before and the girls were literally annihilating him. “DRAW FOUR UNCLE PETE!”
Poor Pete was about to get the Uno Reverse and he had no idea what was coming,
Nobutoshi and Vegas watched the girls and Pete, and Nobutoshi patted Vegas on the shoulder, “Your husband has absolutely no idea what he got himself into.”
Vegas watched the two little girls with a considering eye. “Those two? Oh they are going to be dangerous.”
Nobutoshi smiled at his princesses. “They already are.”
Sasha came into the living room and said, “Dinner is ready!”
They went into the dining room, and Vegas looked around at the beautiful exposed beams that were a mix of traditional Japanese architecture and functionality, and American design. It was reminiscent of some of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes that were in Chicago.
Instead of seating on the floor, the table was a beautiful Japanese wood, inlaid with resin that looked like cherry blossom trees. They sat on low benches and Sasha brought in the meal.
She looked at her dinner guests. “I don't know how spicy you like things, so I made one batch mild and one spicy. She gestured to the covered dishes on the table. “And I’m assuming that since nobody said anything prior, that there are no allergies?”
Pete and Vegas shook their heads. “Good! This is a traditional shrimp and sausage etouffee, one is spicy and the other mild.”
Pete’s eyes were gleaming at the thought of spicy. Vegas looked at him and said, “Pete is the one that likes spice. Some of the stuff he eats we actually use for bodyguard training.”
Sasha served the meal and Pete pushed around the shrimp and sausage mixture. Picking it up he took a bite and covered his mouth in delight. “Oh! This is very good! It is not something that I have ever tasted before!”
“It's my mama's recipe! I keep her memory alive by cooking all the things she taught me.”
They ate, with Vegas and Pete asking questions about their family and Sasha cackled at the surprise in the man's eyes when she told them that both she and Rain were fluent in multiple languages, and she was a literal astrophysicist and basically a brilliant bitch.
Once the dinner dishes were cleared away the girls yelled, “MAMA!! FRIED DOUGH TIME!!”
Sasha motioned Pete over to where they had a deep fryer installed in the kitchen island. “Now, beignets are little donuts that we serve with coffee or other toppings. Vegas, you look like you make a good strong cup of coffee so you come over here,” Pete laughed at Vegas being given kitchen tasks, “And Pete, you come over here with the girls.”
Sasha took the dough out of the refrigerator and showed Pete how to help the girls drop a perfect beignet in the hot grease. They squealed and jumped back, Pete fascinated with the cadence that Sasha was speaking in as she fried the hot dough. She slipped into some of the words that came from her long gone grandmother and great grandmother. Pete asked, “What is that you are speaking?”
Sasha smiled at the man. “Creole. We need a whole night to go over that history suga.”
Pete helped the girls pull the hot dough balls out of the fryer and Sasha sprinkled some powdered sugar over one and urged Pete to take a bite. He did and grinned. “These are wonderful!”
The girls (and Pete) finished frying up the dough balls and Sasha let them each have two before it was time for bed. Sasha raised one eyebrow and the girls ran up to Vegas, and startling him, hugged each of his legs. “Good night Vegas-San!”
Vegas leaned down and stroked both girls on their heads. Smiling softly at the young princesses he said, “Good night young ones.”
Pete looked at Vegas with his heart in his whole eyes and Sasha smiled. That man was WHIPPED and she loved to see it. The twins turned to Pete. “Good night Pete-San! Thank you for helping us cook!”
Pete giggled as each of the girls jumped up and gave him kisses.
Nobutoshi swooped in and hefted one little girl over each of his shoulders, listening to them squeal and giggle as he walked them over to their mother who kissed them each and said sternly, “ONE story!”
Mika protested, “But Mama…!”
“I said ONE.” Vegas snickered when he heard one of the twins whisper to the other, “that means one each.”
Vegas and Pete cleared the table while Sasha ran hot water for the dishes.
Pete, trying to work on his English said, “Thank you very so much for inviting us to your home.”
Sasha pinched the man’s cheeks and said, “Ghattdamn you’re adorable!” She went and added some dishes to the hot water. “It is not often my husband brings strangers to our home, and especially around our children. So he must have seen something in the two of you that he liked and trusted.” Just then, Vegas's phone dinged.
Rockstar brat: Well I found something
Cousin Caterpillar: What?
Rockstar brat: A long ass convoluted family tree…
Vegas: Hold on. Three-way call me and I'm going to put this shit on speaker.
Vegas looked at Sasha and Pete. “So, my younger cousin is, for lack of a better word…” Pete interrupted, “An unrepentant sneak?”
Vegas laughed. “He has the ability to find out all kinds of things for all kinds of people and he's like a damn ghost.”
Sasha archbrow. “Oh?”
Pete shook his head. “Yeah. How the fuck you can be a ghost yet be an international rock star at the same time? I've never been able to figure it out….”
Sasha said, “You're going to have to tell me more about that.”
Vegas's phone rang and he picked up.
“Hello?” He hit the button for the speakerphone and both Kinn and Kim's voices were heard.
“Hello brother dear. Hello asshole. Hello cousin. Yeah yeah yeah. Get to it brat. “
Pete cut in. “Hello Kinn. Hello Kim, we also have a guest.”
Kim's dulcet tones replied, “Oh?”
Sasha’s sultry female voice caused the two men overseas to raise their eyebrows in surprise.
“I'm assuming that if you are as you say you are, you probably already know who I am. But I'll go ahead and introduce myself for posterity's sake. I am Himura Sasha, basically the queen of the entire universe and one of the most amazing people you haven't met yet.”
Kinn’s laugh cracked through the phone. “Well modesty is not something you're short on?”
“Why the fuck would I be modest. I'm perfect.”
Kim laughed. “Why yes. In digging up information on the very interesting young man that bears an uncanny resemblance to my cousin, obviously other information fell into my lap. Your husband is a very very intriguing man.”
Sasha winked at Pete. “Don't I know that. Every single night. And multiple times on the weekend.”
Right at that moment, Nobutoshi walked back into the room. He raised an eyebrow as he heard the laughter of four men who could barely breathe because of whatever out of pocket statement had just come out of his wife’s mouth.
He walked up to Sasha and looked at Vegas. “We are on a phone call?”
Kim said, “The gangs all here!”
Vegas looked at Sasha and Nobutoshi. “Nobutoshi-san, please meet Anakinn and Kim Theerapanyakul, my cousins.”
Nobutoshi nodded and replied, “I am Himura Nobutoshi and I see you have made the acquaintance of my queen and wife, Sasha. It is nice to meet you, albeit virtually. We have crossed paths a time or two in the past and I am very well acquainted with your business interests.”
Kinn hummed thoughtfully. “I am not nearly as well acquainted with yours but I can see we have an opportunity to rectify this.”
Kim broke in. “Okay gentlemen, let’s sit down and figure out the biggest red string genealogy chart ever.
“Well it's pretty clear that neither of our fathers was the best at I don't know, keeping shit in their pants?”
Vegas looked at Pete with a curl of his lip. “Now I'm going to have to burn my eyelids. I don't want to imagine any of that shit.”
Kim, “Exactly. Well it was no secret that both Gun and Korn stepped out, and the shit didn't fall far from the family tree. Their father and his father was just as bad.”
Kinn, “I remember when Khun and I were younger seeing women come and go but not until after mom died.”
Kim made a sound of assent. “Yeah, the stuff I found was from way back. So gentlemen, our Great Great Grandfather, a man by the name of Apollo Theerapanyakul, had a wife and a mistress. Well, the wife and the mistress got pregnant at the same time and well, we couldn’t have that.”
“However, the wife’s baby sadly didn’t make it but the mistress? She had identical twins. So a plan was hatched involving two very drugged up women and a shitty old guy and a great switch.”
Sasha piped in. “Ut uh. Aw hell naw. PLEASE don’t tell me what I already know what you’re gonna tell me. AIN’T THAT SOME SHIT in advance. Continue.”
Kim laughed, “Yes, some shit in advance. Great grand-sperm gave one baby to his wife, never letting on that she had a stillbirth. He drugged the OTHER one enough so that she never really KNEW she had twins, it was a fever dream and nobody else knew either. That baby was still a Theerapanyakul in name but not really, so G-Pop set up a nice trust for the baby who grew up and had a kid, who then had a kid who married a man who used her for her money to start a company called SecureTech…”
Sasha said, “So basically you're telling me that Daddy's Storm's piece of shit mother, may she be unrestful and not at peace, is the grandkid of y'alls great granddad?”
Kim said, “Yep! So our great grandparents were identical twins. Which means that technically, you’re second/third cousins? I add the second/third in there because of the statistical probability of genetic similarity having been the descendents of identical twins. Which also means that this Phayu is also related to us.”
“Well holy Aunt Jemima.”
Nobutoshi looked at Sasha. “Well, we didn’t dig that far back past the founding of SecureTech, so we uncovered none of this. It definitely makes things very interesting.”
Kinn said, “Yes. We had no idea that we had any other family. And as I'm sure you are aware, our family is rather prolific as it is.”
“I am aware of you and your brothers, your cousins, and all of their significant others.”
Kim said, “I’ll send you the stuff I’ve found, it seems that G-Pop set some photos and files away that are at the manor Kinn. It all corresponds with what I’ve found. Apollo made sure his second kid was cared for, but never acknowledged.”
Vegas shook his head in disbelief. “I had no fucking clue. Now I’m wondering who ELSE might be out there in the world?”
Sasha waved a towel in front of the man, sending him stepping back. “No! Don’t you bring that bad juju in here. No long lost family after this, we don’t need no more crazy!”
Kinn said, “Agreed. My husband just came in and told me what juju was.”
Pete and Sasha had moved on to looking at family pictures and said, “OHHHH! OKAY IS THAT MY LUXURY DADDY??”
Kim hollered. “If you mean my pain in the ass brother in law Porsche, then yes?”
Sasha moved closer to the phone. “Okay. I’m going ahead and making this a thing right now and manifesting it. After seeing all y’all, we are going to have a Meet the Robinsons Thanksgiving at your house Daddy G-Money. Don’t worry, I’ll help too because we don’t want strictly colonizer fare. Daddy G-Money I’m gonna need you to get with me and Auntie Ti for the menu okay??”
With that, the woman wandered back over to Pete who was clearly asking her what Meet the Robinsons was and to explain the Thanksgiving thing.
Kinn said resignedly and Vegas could feel his expression through the phone. “Well, I guess we are having Thanksgiving at the manor?”
Nobutoshi looked at Vegas. “I think that is a guarantee.”
Vegas gasped….. “Oh no….” at the same time that Pete gasped… “Oh YES!!!”
At the same time they both gasped, “Sasha…and Tankhun? In the same place?”
Nobutoshi narrowed his eyes at the two men. “This is a concern... why?..”
Pete pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture of Tankhun on a regular Saturday. Which meant that particular Saturday he was dressed as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
Nobutoshi’s eyes twitched. “Okay. I have been warned.”
Sasha and Pete were squealing as Sasha showed the man something on her phone. “Okay, now that we have numbers exchanged I’ll message you with what Auntie Ti is going to bring along with what I’m bringing.”
Sasha let out a holler. “MASS THANKSGIVING AT THE MAFIA MANOR!”
Nobutoshi looked at Vegas. “You have been warned as well…”
At the end of the evening, Nobutoshi and Sasha walked Vegas and Pete to the door.
Vegas bowed, “Well we thank you very very much for your hospitality and we will definitely keep in touch.”
Sasha linked her arm with Pete’s. “Daddy Roulette? And you Cutie Pie? Oh, well now that we found out we’re basically related, you aren’t getting rid of us!”
Pete blushed and Vegas laughed at the dimples that popped out on his husband’s face. Sasha pinched Pete’s cheeks and made kissy noises. “I’m surrounded by nothing but men that like other men except for my amazing husband in there and I’m sure at least TWICE daily he’s relieved by that fact. So Daddy Roulette, your Cutie Pie over here is safe from my clutches unless it’s in fanfiction and I make no promises as to whether there might or might not be some written after tonight.”
Vegas was shocked into silence and Nobutoshi said, “You get used to it….”
They saw their guests into the car and Sasha was bouncing off the walls as soon as they closed the door. “WE GOT MORE FAMILY TO ADD!!”
Meanwhile, in the car Vegas held Pete’s hand and said, “I’m not surprised at ALL that there are some more of us out there, but that this one is some kind of pop star? I have to deal with another one?”
Pete laughed. “Yes, and this one seems to come with an entire circus of his own!”
Until the end of my life,
until the end of this world
We will be together forever
Like little hearts gather to become a great strength
I believe we are one
Together we create happiness
’till the day when we become light in the parched world
I love you
The next morning, Sasha sent a message to her bestie.
Queen: Bestie bitch!!!!
Bestie Bitch: Hello!
Queen: I miss your face!
Bestie Bitch: I miss yours too! I'm glad you messaged, when are you guys coming back?
Queen: Well, funny story. We're actually going to be in Bangkok this weekend.
Bestie Bitch: 💃🏽🥰
Bestie Bitch: Great! Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple of weeks and I know that we celebrate it but they don't, not in the same way.
Queen: Exactly, and that’s KIND of what I needed to talk to you about…
Bestie Bitch: WHAT??
Queen: So…. we MAY, as in we are lemme quit playing with hypotheticals, MAY be invited to a MAFIA MANOR FOR THANKSGIVING.
Bestie Bitch: Whut.
Queen: Okay to tell you WITHOUT telling you we’ve been invited to a big ass Thanksgiving dinner.
Bestie Bitch: At some family’s house that we don’t know…….
Queen: Not yet…………
Bestie Bitch: SASH, DID YOU PUT UP SOME SORT OF ADOPTION AD TO GET US MORE FAMILY???
Queen: NOOOOOO! THIS IS DIFFERENT AND STOP ASKING QUESTIONS I’LL TELL YOU IN TWO DAYS.
Bestie Bitch: 🤬SINCE WHEN DO WE KEEP SECRETS???
Queen: THESE ARE EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES OKAY??
Bestie Bitch: These extenuating circumstances better be GOOD.
Rain had been pouting for almost 48 hours.
Pouting. And nothing Phayu could do would remove that pout. Had Sasha really NEVER kept a secret from Rain? Phayu had been dealing with Rain talking to himself, rationalizing Sasha's secret, trying to find out what the HELL said secret was, and more. He’d even stooped to asking Phayu to ask Sasha, and if she wasn’t budging for Daddy Storm? That shit wasn’t MOVING.
Rain was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed, one swinging in agitation, as well as with his arms crossed, picking up his phone every 5 minutes. Finally it buzzed.
“Are you on the ground?”
“Good. What is your ETA.”
“GOOD AND YOU BETTER HAVE PRESENTS FOR ME SINCE I’VE BEEN WAITING TWO WHOLE DAYS!”
Phayu rolled his lips inward to keep from smiling. “Sasha’s on her way?”
Rain pouted. “Yes. And AREN’T I THE BEST BESTIE in the world making sure she has lunch and wine waiting for her?”
Rolling his eyes, Phayu went up behind Rain and kissed his earlobe. “Yes, you are the bestest bestie in the world baby.”
Not 30 minutes later Phayu heard the gate open and a car pulling up to the front door.
Very few people had the code to open the gate, and the transponders consistently shuffled the numbers so nobody was getting through that gate that wasn't supposed to.
Rain was busy trying to arrange himself on the couch to provide the most effective pouting face. Phayu just laughed. He'd gotten used to the hijinks that these two had gotten up to over the past year.
After Inverzion fully went under Lambda entertainment, the K-pop world damn near imploded.
Idols being accused of all sorts of shitty activity, one major group ended their contract with a member, two other groups imploded due to management and personnel tiffs and more. Allegations of chart manipulation and plagiarism while concert ticket prices spiraled out of control. Prism refused to work with the constraints of Ticketmaster, and Bette had been instrumental in helping to write a program for a new ticketing app that basically made it impossible for “bots” to buy tickets. They were testing it in small venues now, but hopefully, it would be big enough one day to give those monopoly companies a run for their money.
Prism had been fielding phone calls for weeks from idols who weren't under contract anymore that were looking for a new home, idols that were close enough to their end of their contract to be looking at what's next, and a whole lot of people wanting to buy into Prism.
However, Prism entertainment was not only grateful to its artists, but its shareholders as well. Every single artist that Prism signed was given stock. Obviously the older groups were given a bigger award and they get more stock awards annually, But the day that every single artist signed their contract, they got stock. And every year afterwards until the end of their initial 5-year contract. If at that point they wanted to continue with the agency, great, if they wanted to leave no harm no foul and they get to take their stock with them.
Prism entertainment is 45% artist owned. 50% is split between the board and the CEO, and the last 5%? The last 5% is a secret. That 5% would only come out in case of an emergency, which hadn't happened to date.
Phayu stood back as the front door flew open. “RAIIIINNNNN!!”
He glanced at his husband who was doing his level best to look mad. He was trying really really hard to look like he was put out.
Sasha dropped her coat and keys and Nobutoshi walked in the door after her, sighing and bowing hello. He picked up her coat and keys and set them aside, watching his wife as she barrelled into the living room and leapt on Rain's lap.
“Damn it Sash! What the heck! You're like 6 inches taller than I am get off me!””
Sasha was grabbing Rain's shoulders and saying “Oh my God I have news I have news I have news and now I can finally tell you!”
Pushing Sasha off, Rain looked at her. “So you had to wait until we were in person for this news?”
"YES. THIS WAS NEWS THAT HAD TO BE GIVEN IN PERSON."
Sasha reached inside her tote bag and grabbed out her iPad.
“Pretty boy, we need bigger than a phone screen for this, hold on.”
Pressing a couple of buttons, she pulled up a picture of the 3 Theerapanyakul brothers and their cousins.
Rain frowned, “Okay why am I looking at this family?”
“Hold please…”
She pulled up a picture of Vegas pushing his hair back and Rain almost swallowed his tongue. “Wait a minute, who is that?”
The tone in his voice got Phayu's attention. He immediately got up to go see what his husband was looking at.
He saw a picture of a man with longish hair, with sunglasses on and pushing his hair back. He was a little older but still in great shape and very good looking. “Yes…..who is that….?”
Sasha flipped to another picture. Rain looked at her and looked at Phayu and then the iPad, then did it all again.
“Okay who are these people??”
Nobutoshi gestured toward the iPad, “If I may?”
With a couple of keystrokes he very quickly pulled up a family tree.
“Phayu, this concerns you actually.”
Phayu and Rain sat fascinated as they heard about Phayu's great great grandfather and the fact that there were twins separated at birth, and what?
Rain said, “Hold up. Wait a minute. So you're telling me that my husband, my P’Phayu, is related to straight up Thai Mafia?”
Nobutoshi said, “The Theerapanyakul family has been doing things very similar to mine. We will always have our fingers close to the ground, but the rest of our businesses we are lifting from the shadows. They are doing so as well, however it's proving to be a little bit more difficult.”
Rain knew all about Nobutoshi’s family from early on. Sasha and Rain were pretty much a package deal from the day they met.
Phayu ran his fingers over the family tree. “So all this time, I had a family that I didn’t know I had?
Sasha yelled over her shoulder while she and Rain looked at pictures, “Not just a family, a whole ass tribe! We’re gonna need flash cards. Oh wait a minute!! Nametags!!”
Rain turned to his best friend. “So this is why you said we were going to Mafia Thanksgiving?”
“Yes! When I tell you I did some googling? Daddy Storm damn you're related to like, royalty!”
For the next hour, Sasha and Rain poured over the internet, watching YouTube videos, appearances, charity events, anything they could find out about the Theerapanyakuls.
Phayu looked at Nobutoshi. “And you're sure they want to meet me?”
"Absolutely. From what I gather the family was told yesterday and members are already trying to make it be Thanksgiving already…”
The previous day….☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Vegas called a meeting. Which was odd because Vegas hardly ever called meetings for anything. He was usually running away from meetings.
But not this meeting. All of the heads and their spouses were there, and Tankhun and the ever-present Arm and Pol and Chan because this basically concerned him too.
He stood up in front of the family and started. “So, not that you guys care about this boring part, I have been in some negotiations in Japan with individuals over some shipping routes. While I was there I met a very intriguing man who introduced me to his absolutely fascinating wife who decided that I look very much like her best friend's husband.”
“It turns out, we are related. All of us. To him. Cousins”
Porsche nodded like he knew what he was going on but he really didn't but that was fine he'd catch up later, he was just "resting his eyes."
He did wake up when he heard, “cousin?”
Kinn, Kim and Vegas all looked at each other. Kim spoke, “I've researched, I've dug everything up, it's true. We are related to this Storm kid.”
Tankhun was very excited about the prospect of more family but stopped dead in their tracks. "Storm? Which Storm? Who do you mean Storm? Is this a Storm that I know? A Storm that I'm going to want to know?”
Kim sighed, no more keeping secrets. "The only Storm that you're thinking of."
The screech that came from Tankhun's mouth probably shattered all of the glass downstairs in the manor.
“Are you serious? Are you serious serious? Like that Storm serious?”
Tankhun immediately launched into a medley of Inverzion’s hits. “They have five members but they might need a 6th. Maybe?”
Porsche was 100% awake now. Tankhun was in rare form, even for him.
Porsche leaned his head on Pete's shoulder. “So they found some long lost cousin that kind of looks like Vegas but is a pop star. Is that what I missed?”
Pete padded Porsche on the head. “Basically. We're going to meet everybody at Thanksgiving.”
“Okay good. Wake me up when it's Thanksgiving.”
🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗
When Phayu told all of his brothers about his long lost family, Min Jun and Dae were as shocked as Prapai and Sky.
Min Jun said, “Okay this woman is literally brainwashed into thinking she only had one baby, what did she think happened to the baby daddy?"
Phayu said, "Apparently she knew that she was the side piece and got the heck out of there. She took the money, she clearly married up a little bit because she came with a decent amount of money even though she already had a kid, and since she moved to a completely different city where she ended up doing okay what she'd been left with, she never looked back. She had her baby, she had some money and she got a husband out of the deal.”
Prapai whistled. "Yeah, the family? Wow. It's a family.”
The men of Inverzion spent the afternoon looking over pictures of their leader's newfound family and wondering how interesting their first multicultural joint Thanksgiving was going to go.
Since both Sasha and Rain were big fans of teaching the truth, this Thanksgiving was going to be filled with family stories, the truth about Christopher Columbus, and a more historically accurate dinner. Between the two of them and Auntie Ti, the cooks and housekeepers at the manor had NEVER been more entertained.
Vegas had tried to run interference as much as he could, and he finally had to call in reinforcements to keep Tankhun from reenacting the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade across the front drive.
🦃🦃🦃Thanksgiving Day 🦃🦃🦃
Rain woke up like he was a child on Christmas Day waiting to open Santa gifts. His eyes flew open and he heard a low chuckle. Phayu you had his chin in his hand, watching him sleep.
“P’Phayu! What are you doing watching me?”
The older man laughed, leaned over and gave his husband a kiss. “I'm watching the cutest person in the whole wide world sleep and I also knew said cutest person in the whole wide world was going to be like a sack full of kittens today if we didn't get up and get going.”
With a peck on his husband's lips, Rain bounded out of bed. The first thing he did was grab his phone and text Sasha.
Queen: Yes I'm already up damn it! You'd think this is bigger than Christmas according to the girls.
Pretty Boy: It is! We get to meet a whole different side of P’Phayu’s family that he didn't know?
Queen: And that side is hot as fuck too.
Pretty Boy: Are you cheating on Daddy Storm?
Queen: There is no way I would ever in a million years cheat on Daddy Storm. However, The buffet at the daddy daddy's house? Let me just tell you.
Queen: I'm firmly convinced that there is some kind of secret breeding program over here because all y'all should not look this damn beautiful.
Rain walked out of the closet in the master bedroom, watching Phayu carefully. He knew his husband well enough to know that he was nervous. The man was adored by millions around the world, but he was nervous about meeting strangers..
Rain slipped in front of Phayu and smoothed his collar. Phayu was wearing a navy blue suit with a crimson shirt underneath. He was also wearing a lapel pin that was the mockup of a new design submitted by their Aeros. It was a beautiful cloud with the word Aero across the surface in flowing script. They’d prototyped a light stick and the little cloud looked like it was experiencing a different weather phenomenon with each press of the button, AND they made it so that it would be rechargeable.
Rain was wearing a long shirt that was shorter in the front, bright white with a tiger and a dragon embroidered across the back. He was also in pencil slim pants and embroidered ankle booties. Auntie Ti was determined to make sure his Korean heritage was never forgotten.
Rain looked at him, seriousness on his little face. “They're going to love you. How can they not?”
Phayu gave Rain a rare glimpse at his insecurities. After being basically ignored by one family, and then said family also tried to kill him, he was feeling understandably a little bit skittish about widening his circle and bringing in new people.
Phayu closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. “I’ve gone my whole life without knowing these people. If it doesn't work out okay….”
Rain lifted on his toes and kissed him softly. “Sasha said that they already passed her test…”
Phayu blinked back some unexpected tears. “Well if Sasha says they passed, then what else do you need?” His voice softened once more. “What…what if they don’t like me?”
Rain’s heart shattered a bit right there. This amazing, beautiful, compassionate and caring man felt scared.
“My only love, they are going to adore you almost as much as I do.”
Are you dreaming the same dream as mine?
Are you really looking at the same place I am?
That thing only can heal every pain in this world
As long as we can cherish each other
’till the end of my life
’till the end of this world
We will be together forever
They finished getting dressed and Rain grabbed the gift. He wanted something unique but also fun. So, Rain made an “Inverzion fan basket” and filled it with some of the most ridiculous items the boys had been brand reps for. There was candy, coffee, snacks and more. Rain also put in a small photo album of PC’s, from what information he’d gotten there was one member of the Theerapanyakul family that would love it.
They had decided to go to the house a little bit early in order to do introductions, so that in the chaos of so many people being there Phayu getting to meet his long lost family wouldn't get overwhelmed.
Rain settled in during the drive and thought back to their Jeju weddings. Rain and Phayu, as well as Prapai and Sky would be able to put their names in the family registry next year, but Dae and Min Jun still couldn’t. South Korea hadn't quite caught up as fast as Thailand, but luckily Min Jun was an American citizen and legally, Prapai's father had sewn up everything between them so tight they might as well be married. It still made Rain a little bit sad though, but he knew that his adopted brothers would be happy for one another no matter what.
Phayu pulled up his phone and called Prapai. He answered, trademark smile in his voice. “Hey fearless leader, how are you holding up?”
Phayu inhaled deeply. “I’m good? Cautiously optimistic?”
Rain could hear the love in Prapai’s voice. “Rain? Tell this man that you all will just have another family fighting over you. Let's just face it, by the time we add the little rainbow and the others? We could find a whole new income stream just having people hang out with Rain and Sasha.”
Rain laughed, “Actually now that you think about it…… that would be an amazing reality show OR MAYBE A TRAVEL VLOG!” He pulled out his phone to text Sasha and Phayu said, “See? See what you did? Now they’re going to get some sort of hare-brained scheme and I’ll have to hide the cat.”
Rain heard Min Jun’s voice and smiled. “Hello Hyung!! Are you excited?”
“Yes little one I'm excited. A little nervous but excited.”
Dae’s slightly deeper voice came through the speaker. “It's going to be great. They're going to love you. And Junie will finally get to eat. He and Sky were trying to see who would hold the world record for eating chair cushions because they said they were SOO STARVING.”
Phayu replied, “Well we need to be on our best behavior, apparently these are long lost cousins with a name and a reputation a mile long.”
Prapai spoke again. “But for real though? I talked to my dad about them. He said in the old days? The two that used to run the company, the old heads? They were bad. Super bad guys. But once their sons took over the business, they've really been dismantling a lot of the stuff that they did in the past. But don't get me wrong, they're still the guys that you want to call if somebody needs to get disappeared in the night.”
Dae said, “Yeah, just like Mr. Nobutoshi.” Rain agreed. “There are a lot of things about Nobo-San that do not get spoken of. And I am sure it is the same with this family. “
Are you dreaming the same dream as mine?
Are you really looking at the same place I am?
That thing only can heal every pain in this world
As long as we can cherish each other
’till the end of my life
’till the end of this world
We will be together forever
Like little hearts gather to become a great strength
I believe we are one
Together we create happiness
’till the day when we become light in the parched world
I love you
Rain gasped when they pulled into the Theerapanyakul driveway. The gate was at the end of a long road and Phayu drove up while Rain looked at the grounds. When they got a glimpse of the house, Phayu said, “Okay Pai we’re here. See you all soon.” He was already fascinated with the architecture when he pulled the car to a stop. He opened his door and a very handsome older man was there to help them out of the car. With a slight smile he said, “My name is Chan, it is very nice to meet you.”
Rain and Phayu gave wai to the older man and introduced themselves. Chan gave Phayu’s keys to another man and beckoned for them to follow him inside. He said, “Come this way. The Kings and Queens are waiting for you in the study.”
Rain giggled at the term Kings and Queens. He whispered, "It was Colonel Mustard in the study with the lead pipe.”
A smoky voice made the hair on the back of Rain's arms stand up. “And here I always thought it was Miss Scarlett in the kitchen with a knife.”
Vegas Theerapanyakul walked forward and fixed his eyes on the young men. Phayu, never one to bow before or be intimidated by anyone, fixed his eyes right back.
Rain stood there, eyes ping-ponging back and forth. It was uncanny. As if in tandem, each man shook his head and smirked, bringing his thumb up to stroke his bottom lip.
Rain clapped his hands and bounced in place a little bit. “That was a mirror. That was a whole freaking mirror thing!”
With a low chuckle Vegas held out his hand. “I'm Vegas.”
Phayu shook the man's hand and introduced himself. “I'm Phayu and this is my husband Rain. And I guess it looks like we're related huh?”
“I guess so?” Vegas laughed. “Well we definitely want to get you to meet the others before the rest of our guests arrive.”
A soft voice was heard whispering, “Damn it!” And then an open-faced very handsome man came walking down the hallway toward them. “You didn't wait for me!”
Vegas's whole face softened and every person in that room saw it. It made Rain feel a lot better that somebody really loved the scary guy.
Pete came through the door smiling. “Oh my gosh it's you.” He stopped right in front of Phayu and cupped his cheeks. “You are very very handsome and yes you look a lot like my husband.”
Vegas rolled his eyes and pulled Pete's hands back; Rain giggled because that was peak possessive Phayu.
“I'm Pete. It's nice to meet you. And yes, that grouch over there belongs to me. Let's go meet everyone else.”
They kept walking down the hallway toward the study, and then unceremoniously the doors were flung wide open.
In front of Rain was a vision. A vision of absolute awe-inspiring.. wait …was that orange?
Rain was pretty sure he had seen that outfit when they went to see the World of Coca-Cola…Orange pants, an orange scarf, a billowy shirt that said “I’m FANTAstic” on the front, and giant orange sunglasses.
The vision opened their mouth and went straight to Phayu. “You? Gorgeous. You take care of your skin, I can see.”
Phayu was struck dumb and just blinked and nodded. The vision in orange continued, “Whoever picked out this suit for you? Absolutely. And you..”
Rain found himself the target of the vision’s attention. The vision pulled their sunglasses down and said, “I’m the eldest Theerapanyakul brother, Tankhun. But actually right now it’s Fankhun!”
Rain’s mouth hijacked his brain and he started humming the Fanta jingle "wanna Fanta...don't you wanna wanna Fanta" just as Tankhun squealed, “finally SOMEBODY gets it!! Come this way!”
Holding hands, Phayu and Rain followed Tankhun into a large room that looked like a library, but with very fancy executive desks.
There were men seated at beautifully upholstered couches that stood when they entered. One of them, darkly handsome with winged eyebrows and he literally LOOKED the part of a mafia head, walked over to the two and said, “My name is Anakinn, or Kinn Therapanyakul. And this is my husband Porsche.”
Rain gazed at the two men. They were stunning. Porsche looked at Phayu and smiled. “Yep, definitely a mini-Vegas. I’m glad we didn’t meet you years ago because imagine what would have happened had we had TWO of them?”
Vegas just rolled his eyes at Porsche, who laughed as a few other people walked into the room. Two men in casual suits walked in, one with glasses and one without. Orange Fanta Princess Tankhun said, “Rainbow? And Mini-Vegas? This is Arm, and this is Pol. They are my confidants, my bodyguards, my right and left hand.”
The two men gave wai to Rain and Phayu. Rain said, “It’s nice to meet you all. I’ll bet you spend a lot of the day on your toes!”
Pol laughed. “On my toes is not exactly how I would phrase it. Hanging from my fingernails over the side of a 50-story building? Yeah that's about it.”
Tankhun narrowed his eyes in a mock glare. “I see you. Don’t think I don’t.”
Finally, the last of the brothers arrived. Long-legged with leather pants and boots on, a poet's blouse and a scarf, Kim walked in the room every inch the rock star he was as his alter ego. He locked eyes with Phayu and grinned.
Phayu nodded his head and said, “Well, it’s you.”
Kim laughed. “Yeah, it’s you too.” Phayu turned to Rain, who was confused as hell and put him out of his misery.
“A few years back we did a tsunami relief concert and we were both on the list of performers. Everybody assumed that we just knew each other because we were both Thai, and we’d actually never met each other before. It was so chaotic that “our people gave his people” our information and we just never found the time to connect.”
In a totally bro-code type of way, Kim and Phayu clasped hands and drew each other in for a back slapping hug. Kim smiled, “It’s nice to meet you cousin.” Right behind the rockstar, a face popped up and it was the single most Corgi face Rain had ever seen. The boy didn't look much older than some of his students but he had to be. The young man stuck his hand out and said, “I’m Chay. Porchay but everyone calls me Chay because Porsche over there is my big brother and who wants to say Porsche and Porchay.”
Rain giggled. Yep he was just as effusive as some of his former students. “It's nice to meet you Chay, I'm Rain.”
Chay bounced up to Phayu. “I love LOVE your group. I was at the benefit concert you all put on to find blood donors.”
“Oh really?”
Chay looked a little apprehensive. “So, you all really still have contact with those kids?”
Rain nodded. “Yep, we try to keep up with every single one of them we can. One was adopted by my cousin, and others we’ve helped with adaptive equipment, school, all sorts of things. We’ve lost a few over the past year and that never gets easier, but we do everything we can to support the families. Whether it’s sending meals, sending someone to help with household tasks, you name it.”
Kim grasped the nape of Chay’s neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making Chay blush like a high school girl. “I’d like to get involved in that too.”
Kinn called the room’s attention to him. “So young Phayu, as you can see, you have quite a bit of family here.”
The man in question had to sit down for a moment because the thought that he had 4 cousins in the room blew his mind.
Kinn continued. “I know that everyone has seen things in the news about our family and business, but as with all stories, there is a lot left unsaid. And I know that you, in your own life, have had plenty of occasions to be in the public eye as well.”
Vegas walked up to Phayu and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “I’m glad you had someone that had your back when it counted.” He was referring to the kidnapping and subsequent hospitalization that Phayu had experienced. When Vegas looked into the shit surrounding Inverzion after he’d found out that Phayu was family? Let’s just say that there might be a few more former SecureTech people going missing.
Phayu sighed. “Yeah, it was hard growing up like that. Hated and ignored until they finally figured out they didn’t want me around, much less alive.”
Pete went to sit next to Phayu while Rain kissed his husband on the head. “Trust me when I tell you, we can appreciate shitty backstories. In one way or another most of us have had one. But we're here, we're family, and would love to make a spot for you however you want to be here. We don't want to overwhelm you or force you into anything.”
Chay shook his head. “Absolutely not! I know we’re a lot and we can be overwhelming at times, but we’re glad you’re here.”
Rain gripped Phayu’s hand as the older man looked at the ceiling in an attempt to blink away sudden tears. He cleared his throat and said, “Thank you. Thank you.”
The room was somber for just a little bit, every single man in there having known what both Phayu and Rain went through to get to where they were that day.
Kinn’s phone buzzed, “It looks like our other guests are here?”
Rain smiled brilliantly and Porsche shook his head. He said to Kinn, “That one right there? How could you ever tell that one no??”
As soon as Rain stepped back out into the hallway, a once in a lifetime event occurred. An Extinction Level Event. Something so profound, it would be talked about for ages.
Tankhun had taken a step down the hallway as soon as Sasha walked in the door.
They immediately looked at each other and sized each other up. Sasha was wearing a t-shirt that said Christopher Columbus was a directionally challenged asshole, bell bottom jeans and her braids were up in knots on the top of her head. She pulled down her giant sunglasses and looked at the Fanta princess.
“Okay? This is a whole ass mood. Go ahead, turn around and let me see what you got in the back.”
Tankhun turned around and Sasha noticed their white heeled boots. “Okay those white boots are serving. Who are you and no I already have one best friend but I can have a best friend 2.0.”
Tankhun immediately fell in 17 kinds of love with the tall black woman. He literally walked on clouds over to her and they grasped hands and started talking about everything. Sasha pulled a package out of her tote and said, “EVERYONE GETS A NAME TAG but they’re cute.”
Tankhun squealed at the blinged out name tags but stopped to gasp, “STOP IT. RIGHT NOW. THERE ARE TWO OF THEM. OH MY GOD I NEED.”
Every man in the house became immediate mush as Mika and Mei came in with their father. They didn’t get to see children that often, much less tiny identical chocolate princesses.
They were dressed in leggings and boots, and each of them had an anime jersey on top. Mika was Nezuko from Demon Slayer and Mei was Anya from Spy x Family.
The girls gave wai and said in unison, “Sawadee Kha! I’m Mei, and this is my sister, Mika.”
Mei looked at Rain. “Uncle Rain! Did I say it right??”
Rain scooped up his might as well be niece. “Yes my little love, you said it perfectly!”
Chay was entranced by the girls, as was Porsche. Pete had already found himself the center of their attention and they didn’t forget. “Uncle Pete! We brought games to play again!”
Pete groaned and Vegas laughed. “These two will fleece you faster than a casino in Singapore.”
Mika was loving seeing all of these new faces until one in particular caught her eye. Drawing herself up to her 6 year old height she walked over to Kim.
“I’ve seen you on the TV before. You were singing and Mama said you shouldn’t play guitar like that unless you want to have somebody’s baby.”
All conversation stopped. And then Kim started cracking up. He was laughing so hard he had to sit down in the middle of the foyer, tears running down his eyes. He could not breathe, and soon the rest of the room was joining in.
Mika's big eyes looked around at all the adults and she had an expression of what did I say that was so funny? on her face. Mei sidled up to her sister. “Remember Mama ALSO said don’t tell anybody what she says when she’s watching pretty men on TV?”
That set the men off into even bigger gales of laughter. Finally, Porsche said after wiping his eyes, “Jesus. I cannot. You are going to fit in just fine.”
Nobutoshi said hello to Vegas and Pete once more, and introduced himself to the others. Kinn said, “I know this is not the time to talk business, but I will be reaching out.”
The Japanese man nodded. “Good. I have a feeling we can come up with something mutually beneficial.”
Finally, the car holding the members of Inverzion pulled up.
Rain literally bounced over to the door to see his pseudo brothers. They got out of the car, Wind first, followed by Sky, then Dew and finally Mist. They walked inside and started to introduce themselves, but Mist was immediately commandeered by Tankhun. “You? You are stunning. Absolutely stunning. Your bone structure. The way you move. Yes.”
Tankhun looked at the other four men. “And I am really really, really really gonna need to get somebody's stylist's number because this is some bullshit. Y'all look good.”
Sasha laughed. “They just needed an influx of somebody with some taste. AND NO CULTURAL APPROPRIATION!” Tankhun gave Sasha a high five on that one. He looked at her closer. “So what you're telling me without telling me is, that there might potentially possibly be an opportunity for me to, I don't know, maybe style something myself?”
With a wink she replied, “Rainbow and I? We stand on good authority when we say we could probably make that happen.”
The twins cracked up laughing when Tankhun literally went into a case of the vapors. The girls waved a towel over his face and tried to make him wake up and he kept faking that he was passed out. Mika looked at Sasha. “OK, we like him.”
“Me too, baby!”
Tankhun could not stop squealing in fangirl long enough for the weather boys to get in the house. Finally, Arm just wrapped an arm around his waist and picked him up, moving him bodily out of the way.
Kinn, Porsche and Vegas looked at the group of young men that had just arrived.
Porsche said, “We haven't had this many pretty people here in.. well… ever.”
He strolled forward and, sensing a kindred spirit inner gremlin in Wind, immediately drew him into a conversation on who knows what as Sky looked on and rolled his eyes.
The final car pulled up and out came Rain's parents and Auntie Ti.
Sasha said, “I'm just warning all of you right now. Those who don't know that little tiny Korean Tasmanian devil? You will know her. You will love her. And you will fear her.”
With great difference and manners, Chan escorted Rain's parents and Auntie Ti into the house.
Phayu walked forward and said, “Mom, Dad, Auntie Ti? These are my cousins, Anakinn, Tankhun, Vegas and Kim.”
Rain’s mother gasped. “All of you fine handsome young men are related to my boy here?”
Phayu grinned. “Yes I just found out I have an entirely new family I didn't know anything about!”
Rain's dad shook everybody's hands and then Auntie Ti, giving peak Auntie Ti energy, started the evening with a wallop.”You, over there with the fox face. Yeah, you.” Vegas pointed at himself and said, “Me?”
“Yes you come over here and get beside my great grandnephew.”
Vegas and Phayu both leaned in together and Auntie Ti squeezed their faces together. Sliding her glasses down her nose and peering over them at both men she said sagely, “Yep. Somebody was fucking somebody they ought not to be fucking.”
Sasha hooted, Tankhun hollered, Rain’s father sent a prayer up to the heavens for patience and not to offend these nice Mafia people, Porsche almost fell on the floor, Rain covered his eyes and muttered, “Oh my God,” Kim was startled into a laugh so deep Chay got a jump scare and then HE started laughing. Nobutoshi (who was well acquainted with Auntie Ti by now), just told the girls, “Don’t repeat those words.”
Kinn and Vegas stood there, unable to speak.
Rain said, “I'm going to go ahead and give one blanket apology for anything that may come out of anybody's mouth this evening. That's as good as it's going to get.”
Auntie Ti took a look around at all of the gorgeous man flesh surrounding her. “If I was just about 30 years younger? This would be the biggest whorehouse you'd ever seen.”
Rain's father grabbed his aunt and said, “Okay….. Where is the dining room??”
Rain overheard Tankhun and Sasha whispering to each other. “Does she drink?”
“Yep.”
“Is she even better than THIS when she drinks?”
“Yep. You should have seen her at the wedding reception.”
The two of them slid their oversized sunglasses back up and slowly strolled into the dining room. Rain immediately put his teacher's voice on and said, “If you get her drunk? Our friendsgiving spa day is OFF. And you CAN’T INVITE ANYONE ELSE.”
“Damn it you never let me have any fun!”
Finally, everybody was in attendance and Sasha and Rain, along with Auntie Ti who had somehow found a cherry red scooter with flames up the sides, began to help serve the thanksgiving meal. Since Thanksgiving was more of an American holiday, Sasha made sure that every single person knew what a “piece of shit colonizer” he who shall not be named was and the menu was more representative of how indigenous people would have eaten. There were grilled oysters, roasted game birds, corn pudding, roasted squash, other root vegetables and more. There were some traditional Creole dishes and some Korean dishes that Auntie Ti made.
Kinn stood first to give a toast. “We welcome all of you to our home. We thank you for gracing us with your presence and we want to thank the gods that we found new family in Phayu, and that he is welcome and loved from this point forward.”
Sasha was next. “Thank you all for inviting us and making us feel welcome. My pretty boy and I have been through the ringer, but we came out stronger on the other side. New family is always a good thing, except when it’s not, but I think this is a good thing.”
Auntie Ti stood up and the whole room held their collective breath. “Now now, I do know how to behave. I have been on this earth for a long time, and I’ve seen some amazing things. And some terrible ones. But what I’m seeing here tonight makes my heart smile. Long lost and unknown family being welcomed without question, new friends meeting and the seeds are being sown for a very long and happy relationship between you all. Sometimes the family you choose is so much more than the family you were born into.”
She looked around at the men in the room. “You all have been through some trials and tribulations, but you are here, and you are among loved ones. That is the greatest gift of all.”
The entire table stood and applauded as the old woman blushed and told someone to give her some more wine.
After the meal, Rain gave the tongue in cheek gift basket of Inverzion merchandise to Kinn, Kim and Vegas and they laughed as Tankhun literally swooped in and stole the whole thing.
Dae and Min Jun were with Porsche, who was asking them how to do a lift in dancing. He looked at Kinn who pulled down those dark eyebrows and said, “I’ve lifted you by your ass enough my love, I’m not lifting you over my head.”
Mika and Mei were beating the snot out of Pete and Prapai, who were on one team, and Sky and Chay, who were on another. Somehow they’d gotten them roped into playing what was a spinoff of the Exploding Kittens game.
The twins yelled and performed their action cards faster than the older men could follow, and even though they were only 6 (6 and a HALF if you asked Mika), they read well enough to whoop the pants off of the other men. Nobutoshi watched carefully, making sure his girls weren’t tiny card sharks in the making.
Auntie Ti and Rain’s parents were talking to Tankhun, who decided that they were going to be THEIR parents too, and Auntie Ti was henceforth invited to stay whenever she wanted at the manor. Tankhun was ready to redecorate for her to move in that night.
Rain stood, looking around at the people who were as dear to him as his own family, and the new faces that he knew would be part of their future from now on. Phayu came over and put his arm around Rain’s shoulders, looking around the room as well. Rain leaned his head on Phayu’s shoulder and said, “this turned out okay, right?”
Phayu kissed Rain on the temple. “I’d say this was more than okay. Who would have thought that we’d be here like this.”
Rain smiled. “There is nowhere else I’d rather be. I’m with my family.”
When we see people who’ve lost hope
We should become the great strength
for them to stand up again
Because they might need the hand of a family like me
Like little hearts gather to become a great strength
I believe we are one
Together we create happiness
’till the day when we become light in the parched world
I love you