Rain takes a sip of soda and looks around the club at his fellow architecture students. He is beginning his second year at the faculty and this mixer is meant as a chance for the incoming freshman to get to know their seniors outside the university setting. It is also a chance for the second years and above to blow off some steam before they get too busy with the upcoming school year. Almost everyone from the faculty is there. There are even a few former students in attendance. Rain smiles as his eyes find one of these, and it's his code line senior at that. P'Phayu has never been anything but nice and helpful to Rain and he can't help but to admire this senior whose work has won so many awards even some while he had still been in school.
"P'Rain, there you are!" A girl says excitedly as she practically runs up to his table. Even since she was introduced to Rain earlier, she had been pretty much following him around and making not so subtle advances. Rain had tried to let her down gently but she just would not take no for an answer. Rain has done everything to convince her that she is perfectly lovely but just not his type. He has even told her that he is gay, which he actually is, but she doesn't believe him. For some reason she has it in her head that he is just playing hard to get. He really doesn't want to hurt her feelings, especially since she is his direct code line junior, but she is being relentless.
"N'Beam," he says with a sigh, "how can I help you?"
She puts a hand on his arm, which he gently removes. "P'Rain, we can go somewhere else if you like." She actually bats her eyelashes as him, Rain didn't even know people actually did that outside of dramas.
Rain resists the urge to facepalm, hard. "P'Beam, I already told you I'm not interested."
She smiles, putting her hand back on his arm again, only to have him once again remove it, "You are just so cute." She says giggling.
"Rain, is everything alright?" comes a familiar voice from behind him. Rain sighs in relief.
An idea occurs to Rain and he only hopes the man will forgive him for what he is about to say. Hopefully they can have a laugh over this later. "P'Phayu, meet Nong Beam she is our newest code line junior. N'Beam this is P'Phayu, my boyfriend."
P'Phayu raises an eyebrow at this but doesn't dispute Rain's words, he even lays a hand on Rain's shoulder as he says, "Nice to meet you, nong."
Beam has gone a little pale at this, she actually seems embarrassed for the first time. "Nice to meet you," she manages and gives the smallest wai.
"Nong, if you will excuse us, I really need to borrow Rain for a few minutes. You know boyfriend stuff." P'Phayu says with a grin.
Rain feels he might be in the slightest bit of trouble with the senior, well it is completely worth it to finally shut down Beam's advances.
"P'Phayu, I'm sorry." Rain says as soon as they are alone, "she just would not leave me alone."
He is surprised when P'Phayu bursts into laughter, "Rain, I'm not mad at you. To be honest, I have been there."
Rain looks at the handsome senior and thinks that yeah he probably has, much more so than Rain, but then P'Phayu is in a whole different league. 'And way out of mine.' Rain thinks this last part with a sigh.
"So you need a pretend boyfriend?" P'Phayu said with a grin, "I think that can be arranged."
Rain sighs in relief, P'Phayu is so unbelievably nice.
"So what does being a pretend boyfriend entail?" Rain asks uncertainty. To be honest he has never had much luck with real relationships. Many people found Rain to be a bit annoying. Besides which he has had an impossible secret crush for over a year now. 'Way out of my league,' he reminds himself again.
"Hmmm," P'Phayu considers this for a minute then throws an arm around Rain's shoulders. "Why don't you stick with me for now, come I will introduce you to my friends."
Rain feels so comfortable, slotted under P'Phayu's arm, it feels almost as if he belongs there. P'Phayu takes him to the table he had been sitting at earlier. He and P'Phayu take a seat on the bench with two of P'Phayu's friends, the other four on the opposite side. P'Phayu immediately returns his arm around Rain's shoulders, it just feels natural at this point.
"Rain this is Saifah my brother, Ootkheam his girlfriend, and our friends Prapai, Oat, Tho and Aek." Rain greets each one in turn with a wai.
"Oh, this is Rain, I have heard so much about you." P'Saifah says inexplicably.
Rain frowns in confusion, why would P'Saifah have heard about him? Before he can ask P'Phayu changes the subject. "Pai is dating one of your friends, Sky."
"I thought you looked familiar," he tells P'Pai happily, "I saw you picking Sky up the other day. He said he would introduce us next time. He couldn't be here tonight, but I will tell him I already met you next week."
Rain really likes P'Phayu's friends. They laugh and tease each other like Rain does with his own friends. Although when P'Tho teases P'Phayu about his "crush" Rain feels a small twinge of jealousy. He wonders who the lucky person that P'Phayu likes is. The person must be really something special. P'Phayu glares at P'Tho, probably embarrassed at being teased. Rain would die of embarrassment if someone teased him about his crush, he has never even told Sky about it.
"Rain," P'Oat draws his attention, "that girl is really staring at you, do you know her?"
Rain doesn't even have to turn around to know who P'Oat is talking about. He had almost completely forgotten about Beam while enjoying the conversations of the seniors. Apparently she isn't completely ready to give up on him yet. P'Phayu must have realized it too because he doesn't turn around, just bends over and whispers in Rain's ear, "Come let's dance."
P'Phayu pulls him onto the dance floor. The band has just started a slow love song and the dance floor is full of couples. There isn't much room to do anything but sway together but P'Phayu pulls him close and even just swaying together feels nice. Rain has to remind himself that they are only doing this as an act, as much as part of him wishes it was real.
"Rain, do you like someone?" P'Phayu asks, murmuring the question in Rain's ear.
Rain feels a little like he is in a trance. Before he can think or stop himself, Rain says, "I like you, P'Phayu, I have since the first day we met."
He is shocked when P'Phayu tilts his chin up to look Rain in the eyes and then kisses him. For a minute Rain can't help but to return the kiss, but then he remembers P'Tho saying that P'Phayu already has a crush on someone and he jerks away. Rain is absolutely mortified that he confessed to the senior knowing that P'Phayu likes someone else, this can't go any further. "I'm sorry P'Phayu, you like someone already, I shouldn't have said that." Rain walks off the dance floor no longer caring about Beam or anyone else, he just wishes the ground would open up and swallow him whole.
Phayu watches Rain walk off, bemused. He almost wants to laugh at the irony of it all. Rain has liked him from the day they met? They have both been idiots and wasted a year, Phayu has liked the cute junior since the first time he had laid eyes on him. He has made several passes at Rain trying to win the cute boy over but Rain always seemed so oblivious to his advances, just treating him like a good senior. Now he realizes that it wasn't because Rain wasn't interested in him, it was because Rain was innocent and really thought Phayu was only being a good senior. He finally gives in to the urge to laugh at this last thought.
Tonight he had seen the girl following Rain around and it had sparked so much jealousy that Phayu couldn't help but to intervene. When Rain had said that Phayu was his boyfriend it had done funny things to Phayu's insides even if Rain had only said it so the girl would leave him alone. Phayu had wanted it to be true, to be real.
He could have murdered Saifah for almost telling Rain that Phayu talked about him, alot. That was nothing compared to Tho talking about Phayu's crush, IN FRONT OF SAID CRUSH! Phayu is about ready to do away with the entire lot of them sitting at the table grinning at him like mad.
He has something more important to take care of first. His cute boy is under the misapprehension that Phayu likes someone else when the only one he has had eyes for in the past year is Rain.
Phayu finds Rain sitting in his car sitting with his head buried in his hands. He knocks on the window and when Rain rolls it down says, "Rain can I get in and talk to you for a little bit?"
Rain nods miserably as if he is expecting Phayu to let him down gently. Phayu walked around to the passenger side and got in.
"Rain, I'm sorry, I think there has been a misunderstanding. I do like someone, it's true, I have liked them for almost a year." Phayu says. Rain takes a shaky breath as if he is preparing to say something but Phayu stops him, "Let me finish sweet boy please. I like a junior of mine I met almost a year ago at a code line meeting. Rain it's you, I like you."
"P'Phayu, I'm sorry I....." Rain stops as if his brain has just processed what Phayu had said, "me?"
"Yes, I like Rain and only Rain. You are my crush. Tho was teasing earlier because he knows, they all do. I've been talking about you with my friends for the past year." Phayu says
Rain looks a little like he is in shock at these words.
"Rain, say something," Phayu says with a chuckle.
"Can't my brain is broken." Rain says, "you really like me, you aren't just being nice?"
"Rain, I was never just being nice to you. Everything I did was to get a cute boy to notice me." Phayu says.
"Oh, so we really like each other." Rain is finally beginning to process.
"Yes, silly boy, we really like each other and I want you to go out with me." Phayu leans over and gives him another kiss. "Say yes."
Rain nods happily, "yes."
The next Monday Beam is waiting for him outside the architecture faculty. Rain can't help but to roll his eyes a little.
"P'Rain, you aren't really dating that senior are you?" she says a little whine entering her voice.
"Look for yourself," Rain motions to the road in front of the building where P'Phayu is waiting with his bike to pick him up. They are having dinner tonight.
Beam pouts and actually stamps her foot. Now Rain is almost certain that was something he has never seen outside a drama before. He hides his grin as best he can, but he is smiling wide a few minutes later when he reaches P'Phayu. The senior pulls him in for a kiss before helping him with his helmet. P'Phayu gets on and Rain climbs on behind him, happily putting his arms around the senior's waist and happily snuggling up to his back.
********
Notes:
Shower thought that I decided would make a fun one shot AU.