Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The hues of yellow, orange, pink, and purple graced the sky in an array of contrasting colors. The yellow and orange meshed together while the pink and purple seem to highlight the vast sun as it sets down from the sky. The ocean waves were calm, stopping short at the feet of the figures that sat there. The reflection of the moon as it began to rise bounced off the waving ocean blue seas.

Two shadowy figures could be spotted from a distance, one only by the inch taller than the other. Their bodies were meshed together, not being able to tell an arm from an arm, leg from a leg. Hands tightly sewed together, not even a chainsaw could break the grip. A slight breeze took over, the taller’s hair sprouting out in all different directions. A laugh. A giggle. A hand in motion to move the hair out of the way. A soft graze against the cheek.

“Stop that!” a soft voice echoed against the empty beach, the other’s hand coming up to softly push the other one. The smaller just giggled before placing his head on the taller’s shoulder.

“We’re gonna be forever. Right, Win?” the boy gently whispers, a voice of determination, a voice of hope and lust, a voice of needing reinsurance.

“Nothing lasts forever, love. But me and you? We’re gonna change that,” Win whispers back into the breeze of the land. The words being captured into Sound’s mind, engraved into what forever would be in store for them.

One truth. One lie.

They didn’t last forever.

“All passengers boarding to Rome, Italy, flight 1116 is ready to start boarding. Group A.”

“Win! Win! Baby! Wake up, they are boarding us now,” a voice startled the boy from his position, his eyes fluttering open and close, open and close, before finally regaining consciousness.

His blurry vision finally settled into clearness. In front of him stood his boyfriend. Scratch that, fiancé. Dressed in soft comfortable gray sweatpants, a simple blue shirt paired with it. One hand on a suitcase that carried all his clothing, the other hand out for Win to grab.

“Oh we’re boarding already?” Win mustered, combing his hands through his long hair, almost reaching his shoulders. He let out a yawn once more, before glancing around to see people standing.

“Oh shit! We are boarding, why didn’t you tell me?” he pouted, jumping out of the chair to grab the hand that was outreached towards him as well as his suitcase and started towards the boarding gate. His fiancé only laughed as he got dragged behind the still half asleep boy.

“I just did! And it’s fine, we’re Group A anyways because we have business seating so we have time,” a voice echoed behind Win, the two of them scanning their tickets before following the line towards entering the plane.

Eleven hours and twenty night minutes from Bangkok to Rome. The last time Win stepped foot on an airplane was a year ago, when Tinn needed to travel to Vietnam for a business deal with another company, and asked Win to accompany him.

But sitting on a plane for that long? Yeah, Win has never done that.

Being someone who’s incapable of sitting still, he was quite unsure how he was going to manage on such a long flight. The only benefit that the two of them had was saving up for a long time, plus with how well Tinn’s business was going, they were able to afford business seats to be comfortable. After setting into the far too comfortable seats, Win’s body completely melting into the softness of the fabric, the realization began to settle into his mind.

Wedding.

Fiancés.

Italy.

Tinn.

Married.

Husbands.

“Hey, you good?” Tinn’s soft voice could be heard, snapping Win out of his thoughts. A hand squeezed his hand slightly, easing the heavy tension that was resting on the boy’s shoulders.

“I’m ok. I’m ok. Just the normal stuff,” the sound engineer replied, the boy next to him looking at him for a few moments more before ensuring Win was actually ok and settling back against his seat.

Perhaps if it was someone else they would have noticed the way Win squeezed his fingers rapidly in order to hold onto reality. The pain to Win, relinquishing the natural sense of the real world. Maybe Tinn was also nervous for the fact that he didn’t notice Win’s fidgeting as usual as he does. He had to leave his business in the hands of Yo and Nook, had to plan almost the entire wedding ( not that it was Win’s fault, but more that he was a perfectionist ), and still had a few contracts to sign.

Stress, that was.

“This is your captain speaking. Flight 1116, from Bangkok, Thailand to Rome, Italy is now ready for take off. The estimated time is eleven hours and twenty nine minutes. Sit and relax and enjoy the complimentary drinks and snacks.”

Win could feel Tinn’s head dropping down onto his shoulder, his hand being squeezed as the plane began to trek towards the runaway to be flown off. He squeezed both Tinn’s hand and his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Opening his eyes at the last moment to glance at Tinn, at least as much as his head could turn.

“Ready for our forever together?” Tinn spoke up once more softly, his head still resting on Win’s shoulder, his eyes closed shut as the plane proceeded off.

Win’s body suddenly tensed up. Himself fighting to pretend that one word didn’t strike up feelings and faults and memories of one boy in his head.

Forever.

What a fucking ironic word to use.

Win promised a forever with someone once.

Forever didn’t last.

Maybe this would finally be Win’s forever.

The other boy didn’t expect a reply, understanding that Win was probably as nervous as he was for the wedding. Win was thankful that Tinn understood him and that some things were better left unsaid.

Tinn came at a time in his life that he didn’t quite expect of the other boy. He was a bartender, needing just the tiniest bit more of money after endless hours at the small studio that hired him with his sound engineering degree.

Like any normal day, the same variety of people came into the bar. The university kids that wanted to get drunk and wasted after a long week of work that usually didn’t actually help with whatever they wanted to succeed in. There were the people that worked endless hours of being underpaid that drank until they had to use the money from their recent paycheck to afford an uber on the way home. And the very few people who simply just decided they wanted a drink.

Tinn was the last option.

A bar.

A bartender.

A businessman.

A number.

A date.

It was that simple. Life was like a metaphor of ocean waves. Waves that go up and down. Some extremely high and crashing on anyone in the same. Some low enough that that rarely impacted anything. Some just the perfect height that only created a slight bump in the road but ended up making the most sense.

Tinn entering his life was like the last wave.

Three years later, Win was on his way to officially be able to call himself married. To have someone to call his husband. On the outskirts of Italy, a place he never dreamed of ever planning to see in his lifetime.

The flight was long and dreaded. The seats could only do justice for a few hours, before Win had to get up and walk around for a moment before settling back down. Multiple times. Tinn seemed fairly comfortable at least, the boy with papers out in front of him to finish signing.

And finally after a long and extensive almost twelve hour flight, the captain finally announced the landing. Win only on maybe fifteen minutes of sleep, too nervous, too anxious, too excited to sleep. Tinn on the other hand got at least a decent hour of sleep, the amount of paperwork making his eyes hurt, making Win force him to stop and rest his eyes.

“My fucking god, why are flights so fucking long?” Win groaned, stretching his arms and yawning. His shirt slightly rising up to show the slimmest amount of skin. He could feel Tinn’s gaze on him, a chuckle arises as he felt an arm wrap around his waist as his arms fell down to his side.

“We made it though! Welcome to Italy!” Tinn exaggerated, back hugging Win as he snuggled his head into Win’s shoulder. The boy could only roll his eyes in response, leaning the top of his head onto Tinn’s shoulder and lightly squeezing the hands wrapped around his waist.

“You act like you have been here before and about to give me a welcome tour,” Win teased back, gently removing Tinn’s arms from his waist to grab their suitcases from where they were being stored. Tinn only smiled at him before lightly peaking Win’s cheek and grabbing the suitcase placed down before him. With thanks to the flight workers, the two of them headed out towards the baggage claim to pick up their other suitcases before exiting.

They had arrived at approximately 2pm, that would spare enough time to get settled into the master suite they reserved before heading to dinner with Win’s old high school friends that had moved to Italy a few years prior back. When Win had posted about his engagement to the very few people who he had allowed to follow his private account, the already married couple had reached out to Win with congrats and how if he wanted, they knew the perfect place he could get married at.

And that’s how they ended up in Italy.

Win hauled down a taxi after Tinn and him both retrieved the suitcases, sending another quick text to inform his friends that they had arrived safely and would meet them at dinner after they picked up the motorbike Win had rented for the two of them to travel by.

It was the month of December. The air was crisp and smelled of pine needles and wood smoke. Rome often this time of year would be freezing cold, but seemingly on Tinn and Win’s side was the perfect temperature where everything would run smoothly. Every occasional minute a leaf would flutter to the ground, the trees bare with only a few leaves left to fall. Lights decorated around, turned off during the day and brighter than the stars at night.

Win personally did not like December. December was frequently hot in Thailand, rarely any snow or any days that required to be bundled in endless layers of clothes he would only wear for a few moments before going inside somewhere. It wasn’t that the weather wasn’t nice, the perfect time for a simple pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt to accompany with. Rather there was nothing interesting about it. No snow, no cuddles by the fireplace, no bundling with a bunch of blankets and watching movies.

Technically it was still possible, but it just wasn’t the same as doing it in the freezing cold weather where everything was just heightened and natural and it was absolutely necessary.

Win had other reasons for not liking the month of December.

Not that that was important.

So when the two of them had to settle on the month for the wedding, Win had instantly shut down December. Not a single chance would he get married in December, a month that was not only cold but also full of sorrow and memories. Any other month would work.

Not December.

Ironically enough? Their wedding was in December. After much of Win’s complaining, which Tinn thankfully had the undying amount of patience to deal with, the boy had stated his reasons for why December would be the perfect month.

Cold and perhaps even a snow wedding? Check. Win always having the first week of December off for some perfectly crafted reason while Tinn could easily work out a schedule? Check. Memories that would replace the bad memories with newer, increasingly better ones? Check. Hopefully.

Win fought back as hard as he could for any other month. February? Great! It’s the perfect temperature for a wedding and Valentine’s day falls in the month. June? Hot! But a summer wedding would absolutely be beautiful with the scenery.

It always comes back to December.

“Ok. Since the plane arrived early and we were able to retrieve our stuff quickly, when we get to the hotel you can probably nap for a while if you want before meeting with your friends. I know you didn’t get to sleep much on the plane so you might be drained,” a voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Well. At least Win was marrying a man who knew his priorities. And thank god for Tinn.

“You know me so well,” Win could only reply back, leaning further back into the taxi to look out the window. The roads were fairly different from the ones in Thailand. In Thailand they drove on the right side of the road. In Italy, it was the complete opposite. The roads were fairly bumpy, some going over railroad tracks placed out in front of them.

There was chaos. The sidewalks seemed to be filled to the brim with all types of people. People who likely were local there. People who likely came for vacation, just like Win himself. A dog or so came into view every few moments, the dog well trained for the sidewalks of Italy.

Win felt himself reaching out for Tinn for reinsurance. His hand unconsciously and blindly on a hunt, finally finding its prey and intertwining their hands together. The taxi brutally ran over a pothole, Win’s hand tightly squeezing Tinn’s. Tinn squeezed back, letting him know he was there.

The streets felt like a maze. Cars coming from every direction, motorbikes on either side speeding past, the occasional bicycle riding side by side the cars. They intervened, they diverged, they came and went. Thailand was chaotic in terms of how transportation came and went. Maybe Italy was giving it a run for its money.

Similar to Win’s life.

And finally after what felt like an eternity of twists and turns, bumps and all, the taxi finally had stopped at the hotel the two were staying at. When Win accepted Italy as their wedding spot, his old friend spared him the time of finding a hotel and instead booked it already for them.

“Just call it a pre wedding gift for an old friend,” his friend had declared, not taking any of Win’s stubbornness of telling him it was too much.

“How rich are you friends?” Tinn mumbled as he put down the suitcases beside the door. The other shut the door behind him, looking around and admiring the place.

The suite was, everything and nothing Win could have imagined. It was high quality. There was a kitchen with every application possible, a living room with a wide screen tv, a dining room that could fit probably twenty people, a master bedroom alongside a master bathroom.

“No fucking idea, but feel free to ask them at dinner,” Win could only reply back, brushing his hands against the marble kitchen counters. He stopped in the middle, a few moments later feeling a head on his shoulder and a slight weight added.

“Get some sleep,” the boy behind him said, back hugging Win slightly before pushing off of him. “I’ll wake you up in a few hours.”

An unconscious yawn came from him, Tinn only giggling before turning Win’s head slightly towards him and kissing him. A small smile arised from Win, Tinn smiling back before walking away to unpack their stuff.

Win was gonna have the greatest sleep of his life in this place.

And the fact was, he did. The soft comfortable sheets and pillows felt like he was laying on a cloud. His body instantly melted into the feeling, similar to how he felt when he had first touched the airplane seats. He would have to remember to thank his friend for the suite.

“Win, it’s time to wake up. Dinner is in 45 minutes, and we have to pick up the motorbike beforehand,” a voice startled him awake. A voice that he frequently knew and loved. He tried to dig himself back under the covers, the sheets far too comfortable for him to even get out of.

It didn’t last long before his phone rang. A groan left him as he blindly grabbed the phone, pressing the answer button without even knowing who was on the other line. He heard a laugh echo out from the other who was standing looking at Win with fondness in his eyes.

“What do you want?” Win bluntly asked, his voice still hoarse from just waking up from sleep. There was a chuckle on the other side of the line.

“Just reminding you we have dinner!” the voice responded, Win only rolling his eyes in response.

“I already texted you saying we were here and going to be at dinner.”

“Well knowing you, you would definitely sleep as soon as you arrived and would probably never want to get out of the nice comfortable bed I booked for you. You’re welcome by the way.”

“Shut the fuck up please, we will be there soon. I don’t know how your husband deals with you.”

“Por loves me, thank you very much. See you at dinner! Can’t wait to finally meet the fiancé that stole your heart and hand in marriage.”

“Goodbye, you asshole.”

Win hung up as he sat up to lean against the bed frame. The other boy had not shifted from his position, still staring at Win with a fond look in his eyes. For being with Tinn for over three years, he always had this sparkle in his eyes that always made Win smile when he saw them. It made him feel loved. It made him feel seen.

Someone he once knew had a similar sparkle. Maybe even more.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Win abruptly said, grabbing the closest pillow and throwing it at Tinn. Somehow with his reflexes he managed to completely bypass the pillow and turned towards the bathroom with a laugh.

“Not gonna happen! Go get ready!” Tinn yelled back, the door shutting close behind him. Win only groaned, sinking back into the bed for a few seconds before forcing himself out of bed. It’s been four years since the last time Win had seen both Tiw and Por. A going away party that was hosted after the whole fanatic chaos of the two of them announcing they were married and were moving to Italy.

They didn’t keep in contact as much, with all of their busy schedules and time zones being just as brutal. Win did often catch up with Tiw at least once a month though, the two often going on a ramble of how stressful their jobs were and how they needed a night out to drink together whenever Win finally came to Italy.

It only took Win 10 minutes to get ready, simply putting on a loose purple button down shirt, only the bottom three buttons being buttoned, paired with a simple black leather pants which he tucked in his shirt from there. It was casual, as Tiw said the dinner wasn’t anything big and to wear semi formal clothes.

Win hoped the other boy wasn’t setting him up for absolute embarrassment.

The bathroom door swung open only a few moments later, Tinn walking out looking absolutely dashing in Win’s eyes. He had a blazer on, no undershirt, with a pair of black jeans. It was rather fitting how their outfits seemed to mirror each other and pair almost perfectly together, like it was meant to be. A puzzle piece.

“Well don’t you look handsome,” he said as Tinn walked over to him and put his arms around his waist.

“That’s you darling,” the other replied back, a short kiss being shared between the two before Tinn pulled away and grabbed Win’s hand.

“Ok first, motorbike pick up, then dinner,” Tinn started off again, leading Win out of the door with their hands intertwined. He grabbed the keys to the room before grabbing both their phones and walking out the room to the streets.

Getting a taxi wasn’t that hard, probably hundreds of them passing the same area everyday, either with new passengers or passing by in hopes of gaining another passenger for the money. Arriving at the motorbike pick up place, they quickly thanked the driver and paid before heading inside. In Thailand, Win often drove around in his motorbike as it was more convenient to get places faster. When Tiw said they could rent a motorbike as long as Win had an international drivers license, he quickly applied for one before their trip.

The motorbike was similar to Win’s. It was black and could fit both Tinn and Win, which was absolutely perfect.

“Damn this is a nice ass bike,” Win exclaimed, running hand against the seat of the bike and along the bike handles. Tinn only laughed as Win quickly put on his helmet and hopped onto the bike to get comfortable. Shortly after, Tinn follows along hopping onto the back and wrapping his arms around Win’s waist for support.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the place that Tiw had reserved for the four of them to meet at. With a few minor tweaks, Win almost hitting someone as the person decided to wanna make a run for the yellow light for pedestrians and Tinn almost falling off after Win had to brake hard for a duck in the middle of the road, the ride was smooth sailing.

Tinn got off the bike first, taking the helmet off to smooth his hair down as Win put the brake pedal on before doing the same. Reaching his hand out towards his fiancé, Tinn happily took the hand and the two of them walked towards the entrance.

The restaurant was fancy in the sense that it was also not fancy. It had its elements, such as the decor of olden art pieces along the wall as well as the high ceiling chandelier that hung. But it also gave off a friendly vibe, the staff was dressed in casual outfits as if saying ‘the restaurant might be fancy, but not all fancy restaurants need fancy clothes.’

Bless Tiwson.

“Do you have a reservation?” the lady at the desk asked, sitting at a desk that sat a computer screen as well as what seemed to be a seating chart and a few other decor like the moving cat arm.

“I think it’s under Ti-“ Win started before a voice behind him interrupted.

“For Tiwson Sophonpatima, please.”

Win swung around, yanking Tinn along with him to see his high school friends standing there in all their glory. Tiw was dressed casually as well, a simple white shirt with what seemed to be designer jeans. Por on the other hand was dressed in a gold silken shirt, the shirt cropped where it went slightly above his stomach. Paired with it were flowy white pants, making the wedding ring on his finger just as more visible to the open eye.

“Hey man!” the taller of the two new incomers spoke up. Win smiled as he leaned to give both of them a hug, stepping back to see the reality of finally reuniting with his old friends from high school. The two of them haven’t changed that much, Por’s hair was slightly longer, similar to how Win’s hair was currently but Win still took the title for longest hair.

“This is Tinn, my fiancé. Tinn, meet Tiw and Por, my old high school friends.”

Tinn had met the two of them on a facetime call once when the two of them were trying to figure out all the details for the Italy wedding as Tiw and Por were the ones helping them as they knew the area since living there. However this was the first time the three of them were meeting in person, Win feeling like his past and present were meshing into one.

Minus one person.

“You got yourself a good one,” Tiw said, making Win slightly go red and try to rub it off. Por only giggled at the sight of his old first turning red, not adding on only because the waitress had finally called for them to follow her.

Seeing Tiw and Por in person brought back memories for Win. The three — four — of them used to be inseparable in high school. Always going to places together and never being seen apart. Some of them together more frequently than with others, spiraling rumors and emotions.

But the past was the past, this was reality.

They were seated outside in the back, it felt like a garden seating area, with little lamps sitting on the tops of the table. Surrounded by flowers, the most vivid being the purple flowers that Win had passed on the way to the table.

“So, how was the flight here?” Por started the conversation up, not opening the menu as the place was one of the places he and Tiw had often gone to when they wanted a simple dinner. Hence why Tiw invited the fiancés to this place, seemingly to make them feel more welcomed in the new scenery.

“Long and dreading,” was all Win could mumble, a laugh coming from both Tiw and Por as they knew Win could not stay still for such a long period of time. Out of all of them, Win was the one who often had to get up and keep his body moving as sitting was just not in his vocabulary back then and still to this day.

“It was good. Besides this one roaming around every hour, the seats were quite comfortable and we got good food on the way here,” Tinn spoke up after Win, being the calmer of the two and hence the reasonable one to answer the question.

“Hey now!” Win pouted, the boy next to him only giving him a smile as he put his hand on Win’s thigh and lightly squeezing it.

“You know I love you.”

“Yeah yeah, I love you too.”

There was a smile on both Tiw and Por’s faces, when Win turned back to face the two of them. They seemed to have been communicating through their eyes, their hands were still intertwined since they entered, placed above the table where their wedding rings were shown in all its glory.

“What’s with the smile?” Win perked up, curious as to why they were smiling so wide. Nothing happened to him, right? He didn’t accidentally do something to his face or anything along those lines, he was sure of it. Maybe it was just something the two learned to do telepathically.

“Nothing. It’s just nice to see you happy,” Tiw simply replied, making Win softly smile at the realization.

The last time Tiw and Por had seen Win, he was a mess. Still trying to figure out his way around life with the two closest people in his life moving halfway across the world from him, the realization that he was the only one who still remained there in Bangkok. It wasn’t any better than it was a year after the incident.

The unspoken incident.

Before Win could deep dive into his own thoughts of the years before that, the waitress came at a perfect time, assisting them with their drinks and dinner menus. Por recommended some of the foods he thought Win would enjoy, speculating on what Win would eat back in high school. As well as giving some recommendations to Tinn, for dishes that seemed like something everyone would enjoy.

“What do you guys have planned for tomorrow?” Tiw asked, the four of them just finishing their dinner and waiting for the dessert that both Tiw and Por would not tell either of them what it was. Only that it was good and would absolutely kill you from how delicious it was.

“I have an old friend here that said he could tour us around. He’s actually going to be the best man at the wedding.” Tinn replied back. The boy next to him nodded, though he had absolutely no clue who this friend of Tinn’s was.

Tinn would not tell Win who he picked to be the best man as he wanted Win to meet the guy in person, reasoning being, “I want to see if you guys will like each other. And through a screen is not the best way to introduce someone.”

So yeah. Win was curious too.

He just hoped himself and Tinn’s friend would get along or it might be an absolute disaster of a wedding.

“Oh you have a friend here too? Win didn’t mention that to us, perhaps we might know them too. Italy might be big but we happen to know a lot of people around the area,” Por perked up as he replied, his social butterfly coming out. Both Tiw and Por worked good jobs, hence why they had a lot of connections as well as knowing a good handful of people in the city.

“I’ll make sure to introduce you guys, after. I want Win to meet him first because I value and trust his opinion the most. My friend and I haven’t spoken in a while, but I believe he’s the most trustworthy to be my best man so hopefully he and Win will get along,” the boy beside Win responded, earning him both a nod from Tiw and Por and a squeeze of reinsurance from Win.

Eventually the four of them ate away at the dessert, an assortment of different chocolates spanning from milk to dark to truffle to hazelnut and so on. A moan came from Win, chocolate being his personal guilt pleasure. He understood what Tiw and Por meant by the dessert would kill him.

“I’ll see you on Sunday for the suit fitting, don’t forget!” exclaimed Por as they were exiting the restaurant, Tiw paying for all of them as a welcome to Italy gift. Win groaned at the thought of the fitting as Tinn just patted his back in sympathy.

A long time ago, Win promised Por that if he ever got married he would let Por design his wedding suit. Though it wasn’t with the person everyone believed he would have married in the past, a wedding was a wedding. And Win was in fact getting married.

Tinn had gotten his suit done back home, Yo sending Tinn the contact details of the person who had done his suit for his and Nook’s wedding. They said it would be a surprise, so neither knew exactly what the other’s suit was going to look like. Only facts being known was the color scheme, so they could at least match.

As Tinn and Win rode back to the hotel suite, Win felt at ease. He reunited with his old high school friends, still very much in love as the first day he ever saw them. He was getting married in one of the most beautiful places in the world with someone he loves.

So why did he feel some kind of tingling feeling that something was wrong about this?