Archive of Our Own

Phayu groaned as the alarm on his phone went by once more. All that he wanted to do was turn the damn thing off and throw his phone away. A cranky client, followed by the planning of the Theerpanayakul Annual Charitable Auction and Gala, and then an evening at the races, had left him exhausted and needing at least 24 hours more of sleep. But today was not the 24 hours he could take. The Auction and Gala had been around for years, even since the time of his great-grandfathers, but it was his Uncle Porche and his Papa Pete who had put the ‘charitable’ into it. After his grandfather and his older brother’s chaotic and tyrannical rule had been brought to an end by his Papa and Uncle, his Dad and Uncle Kinn had agreed to anything their omegas wanted, to keep the peace of the household intact, including combining the two families.

Apparently, it had taken threats of never having pups ever that had boosted Dad and Uncle Kinn into doing it as soon as possible. Papa and Uncle Porche had decreed that pups would only come when the household was one, when the family was one, and there would be no more bloodshed. Since Phayu and his twin, as well as Pai had been born almost 6 years after the ‘cleansing’, as the Omegas put it, they assumed it had taken that much time for it to happen. “Not for the lack of your Dads trying though,” Uncle Porche had said, laughing at the aghast faces of their sons at the ‘too much information’ policy this family so blatantly had.

A soft knock on the door brought him out of his reverie. “Ven, Papa is calling,” his brother spoke up from the other side. “15 minutes please Ro?” Phayu called out, immediately getting out of bed. “I gotchu!” Rome replied, as he raced away. He would keep Papa off his back for the mentioned time. That was Ro’s special power; placating Papa even in most towering temper tantrums. Phayu and his twin Saifah had been born Venice and Rome Theerpanayakul, but pressures of the family name had made them go by their nicknames Phayu and Saifah and Papa’s surname Saengtham. It had made life in the big, bad world much easier. It had been the same for Pai. He had been Phoenix Theerpanayakul, but had become Prapai Kittiswad for all intents and purposes. It had allowed them to live some semblance of a normal life in the time they had been away for school and college.

Phayu slid into the chair opposite his Papa, sitting in between Fah and Pai. “I am glad you are here lu, although you did make us almost late,” Pete said, looking piercingly at Phayu. “Khap Pa, I am sorry. I almost overslept,” he said. Pete softened. It was an acknowledged fact that of all the children in the family, it was Phayu who worked the hardest. And so, no one really had the heart to say anything to him. He was also the acknowledged heir, the first pup of the new generation, so he had an extra special place in everyone’s heart. “It’s okay lu. You are here, even if it is just in time,” Porche said, smiling at his beloved nephew. Pai and Chai had both found mates, but Phayu had not, and the whole family hoped that he would find his as soon as possible.

“What is the programme for the day?” Pai asked, having a sip of his tea. “So, the Dean of Chula got in touch,” Macau said, looking at the notes he had made on his iPad. “He mentioned that this time, the funds collected and usually spent on Freshmen activities are going to be used for a Charitable cause, as per request from the members of the student Council. The joint Presidents, one of whom is our Sky, requested it, because the other boy, name not mentioned, was brought up in an orphanage,” Macau said. “Aww, poor baby. What a lovely thought our Sky had though,” Porche said. “Well, according to the Dean, Sky requested it, but it was the other Nong who suggested it,” Arm said, standing behind his husband and looking down at his notes.

“So what did they call us for?” Kinn asked, from the head of the table. “They want the boys to join. Phayu couldn’t make it last time, and since the request is from the Faculty of Architecture primarily..,” Macau trailed off. “We will all go,” Pete said, his tone one which stated clearly ‘..or else!’ Everyone nodded. “They said that the kids from their chosen orphanage will be there, and since Easter is around the corner, they wish to do something special,” Arm said. “I think that sounds great,” Pete said. “When have they called us Macau?” Vegas asked. “Next Sunday, on Easter,” Macau replied. “Okay. Perfect. So we have time to do our own preparations,” Pete said. “Actually, they have asked us to do nothing. Apparently, it’s all being done by the students themselves,” Arm said.

“What?” Pai asked. Macau nodded, just as Kim and Chay walked in. “Yeah. They have specifically asked for no contribution except physical presence. They are making the Freshmen do it as a part of their Orientation activities,” Chay said, sliding into the chair beside his brother, as Kim filled his husband’s plate. “But still, we would still like to do something, right Pa?” Fah said. Pete nodded. “Why don’t we talk to Nong Sky?” Phayu said. “He may give us a better idea of what need to be done?” he added. Everyone nodded, and Porche immediately reached out to Sky.

Sunday dawned, a beautiful day in the making. Everyone was ready bright and early, thrilled to be part of something so wonderful. Plus everyone was very eager to meet the friend Sky had gushed about, the absolutely wonderful boy who was so pretty, inside and out. Rain had struck a chord with everyone in the family, and Pai had almost been jealous of the amount Sky spoke about him. “He is pretty shy though. He takes time to open up, but once he does, you can’t shut him up,” Sky had said, laughing happily. “He is the happiest pill, and even P’Som, who is such a stiff-neck, can’t help but melt at his smile. Actually, Rain reminds me a lot of you Uncle Pete.” Sky was not an easy omega to sway, much like Porche and Pete, so if someone held such a special place in his heart, then definitely that person was special.

Multiple SUVs drew up at the college and everyone was mesmerised by the sight of the people who got down. Phayu, Pai and Saifah were known faces, as were Kim and Chay, since they had been alumni, and much beloved. But the other men were no less dramatic and beautiful to look at. They all made their way into the Architecture faculty. Although it had been the brainchild of this faculty, the Business, Engineering and Liberal Arts faculties had joined hands with them, mainly because of the current lot of Theerpanayakuls in residence. Krit, Thankhun and Pol’s son was in liberal Arts, Phan, the only girl, and Macau and Arm’s daughter, was in Engineering, Plerng, her twin, was in Business, and Dao, Kim and Chay’s son was also in Liberal Arts. So, obviously, the faculties didn’t want to be behind in their contribution.

The sports grounds had been converted into an Easter fair. Bunny mascots, small gaming zones, couple of huge bouncy castles from where the thrilled squeals of kids could be heard, face artists, temporary tattoo booths, caricature artists, who captured children in weird poses, making them laugh, a music booth, photo booths, claw machines, arcade games, you name it, and the ground had it. The family had just started moving forward when Phayu got a call. “It’s Kenji. You guys go ahead, I will attend to this and come,” he said, gesturing his family to move on. Vegas raised a brow, but silently moved away with everyone else. Once Phayu was done with the call, he went in looking for them, but couldn’t spot a single person from the Theerpanayakuls. He frowned, but before he could dial his Papa or Dad’s numbers, he was suddenly surrounded by juniors.

This is why he absolutely hated coming to the Uni. All this fawning and dramatic sighs after seeing him made him feel like a fraud. He was not perfect, the way these juniors thought. He was flawed, a normal person, but the pedestal these people put him on, annoyed the fuck out of him. “P’Phayu?” He turned at the voice. Som, a junior, stood there, immediately waiing with a smile. “Ah, Nong Som,” Phayu said, a bit wary. Som had been a member of his ‘fan’ club. The omega had given a lot of hints to Phayu over the years about wanting him as a mate, but Phayu was not interested, and definitely not from someone who was from his own faculty. That was a strict no. “Are you looking for someone Phi?” Som asked, probably having seen Phayu looking around. “My family,” he said, hesitantly.

Som laughed, an open, full bodied laugh, the first time Phayu saw him like that. He was also pleasantly surprised that Som hadn’t simpered all over him. “They are there Phi, with Rain and Sky and the ‘gang’,” he said, putting air quotes around the word gang and pointing. That’s when Phayu saw it, the sparkle of a ring on Som’s left hand. “You have found your Alpha?” Phayu asked tentatively. Som nodded, his eyes lighting up with sheer joy. “He is there too Phi,” he said, his happiness so contagious that Phayu found himself smiling. “Congratulations Som,” he said. “Thank you,” Som said, blushing slightly. If this were a cartoon, Phayu would have been able to see little hearts flying around the man’s head. He laughed at his own whimsy, but made his way to where the Nong had pointed.

“Papa,” he said, tapping on his father’s shoulder, but was shushed immediately. He looked around at everyone, but they all seemed to be staring at something in the centre of the loose circle in which they were standing. To Phayu, it just seemed like a huge dogpile of pups resting on something, but everyone was watching so intently, with bated breath, that Phayu was also caught up. “HUP!” a voice shouted and all the pups jumped backwards, revealing one of the most enchanting sights to Phayu. The angel, because that’s all that could be, sat right in the centre, a veritable classic beauty, his slightly longish black hair giving him an aura of timelessness, his eyes a stormy grey, matching the feelings rising in Phayu’s heart.

He was about to ask who that was when he was interrupted by the shouting of the pups. “Again! Again! Again!” they chanted, and the angel laughed, the sound going straight to Phayu’s libido. He took in a deep breath and was surrounded by the scent of the jasmine flowers that used to grow under his window when he was little. “Well, if you want me to do it again, what must you say?” the angel asked, his voice laced with laughter. The pups seemed to think for a while. “Please P’Wain, can we do it again?” one of the pups said, and the others took up the refrain. ‘Rain? This was Rain?’ he thought to himself. He watched with increasing excitement as Rain herded the pups together, still in the centre. “Okay, on the count of three… 1..2..3..” The pups had jumped on top of Rain even before the counting ended, peals of laughter ringing in the air, the joyous pheromones clinging to everyone.

After yet another command, the little ones jumped back, and Rain emerged, his hair all mussed up. Phayu fought back the increasing urge to march upto him and straighten everything down, and then maybe just take his angel away. Rain patted down his hair, his eyes twinkling with merriment, as the children begged for another round. “Not now. First we shall go for all the other fun activities, then we shall eat something, then play time, alright?” Rain said, and all the kids nodded as one. The crowd around dispersed but Phayu couldn’t stop watching the Omega. There was an air of patience and serenity around him that no matter how many pups came, no matter how many times he had to bend down and adjust something for yet another little one, his smile never faltered. And despite a large number of Omegas present, the pups still gravitated towards Rain, knowing he would never turn them away.

Unbeknownst to Phayu, every single member of the Theerpanayakul clan was watching with ever rising amusement as he seemingly gathered up the courage to go speak to Rain. He cleared his throat as Rain looked up. Phayu completely lost his train of thought, as he stared at the angel in front of him. “Phi?” Rain asked. He must have called couple of times before Phayu registered anything, since he was frowning slightly. Phayu cleared his throat, and was about to speak, when another pup ran up. “P’Wain,” he shouted, as he threw himself into Rain’s arms. Then he turned around and glared at Phayu. “No Alppa,” he said, his eyes boring into Phayu’s. “Excuse me?” Phayu asked, not sure what the kid meant. “My P’Wain. No Alppa. Alppa go away,” he clearly stated, pushing Phayu a little. Rain looked scandalised, as he also tried to control his laughter.

Phayu could hear the snickers from his entire family and decided he didn’t want to turn around. “P’Wain come,” the pup said, wriggling down from Rain’s hold and then dragging him away. Rain looked back, apology clear in his eyes. Phayu mentally facepalmed. ‘Now what was he supposed to do?’ Then he realised that it would probably just be easier to follow Rain than face the snide comments from his family. So he did just that, ignoring the catcalls from Pai and Fah and the trilling laughter of his Papa, Uncle Porche and Uncle Chay. He was surrounded by nincompoops and that was that.

Phayu tried a number of times to get Rain alone so he could talk to him, but one or the other of those infernal brats continued to stay with him. After a couple of hours, he nearly gave up, when he finally saw Rain alone. He decided to approach him, keeping a lookout for another pup to come careening out of somewhere and ruin another opportune moment. What he was not prepared for was his own brother, who stuck a sandwich under his nose. “Eat something before you faint at Nong’s feet,” he said. Phayu sent him a scathing glare. If those pups were not enough, now his brother was being a big meanie. Just because he had his mate, did he think he could get away with whatever he liked? “How am I supposed to ask him to have my pups if he is forever surrounded by people?” Phayu muttered under his breath. ‘True mate drama,’ Saifah rolled his eyes and disdain and walked away.

Phayu walked upto Rain. “Hello,” he said, and almost bit his tongue in despair. Like, what was that? Could he be any lamer? Choked laughter around him made him more conscious. Phayu wished the earth would open and swallow him up. Where was the smart and sophisticated, the suave Phayu? “Hello Phi,” Rain said, smiling sweetly, not finding anything wrong at the greeting. “I am Phayu,” Phayu said. “Oh! You are P’Pai’s cousin. Sky told me about you,” Rain said. It was Phayu turn to choke. He had been relegated to ‘cousin’ status? He mentally shook his head and tried again. “Yes Rain, Pai is my cousin. And you are?” he asked. Rain stared at him if he had grown two heads, making him realise his blunder. He sighed. Everything seemed to be going wrong.

He cleared his throat, ready to try again when a group of pups came running up, one of them holding something behind his back. “P’Wain, we have gipt,” one of the little girls said, lisping cutely. Rain immediately squatted down. Phayu nearly groaned. Rain’s ass was just as luscious as his lips and Phayu was a goner. The boy took out what he was holding from behind his back and showed it to Rain. “Wow! This is so pretty! Is this for me?” he asked, taking it from the kids. They all nodded frantically. It was a beautifully made crown made of simple green vines interspersed with flowers dropping like diamonds from in between, almost like a diadem. Then one of the girls took it back from him and placed it on Rain’s head. Phayu decided that he had actually died and gone to heaven!

If Rain had looked like an angel before, he was now literally one, his halo of flowers setting off his natural beauty even more. “P’Pwincess,” one of the kids giggled and Phayu realised how right they were. Rain looked ethereal, like a Princess, who deserved the world at his feet. “You Alppa, come play,” the boy from before pointed out. Phayu immediately agreed, knowing it would at least keep him in Rain’s vicinity, since the pups could not seem to stay too far from him. “Alppa Beast, P’Wain Beauty,” the boy said suddenly, when Phayu was able to carry four of them at the same time. “Huh?” Phayu was stumped. What was that supposed to mean now? “Beauty and the Beast. It’s a Disney classic Phi,” Rain said, under his breath. “Why am I the beast?” Phayu asked the kids. “Beast stwong, like Alppa. Beauty beautiful, like pwincess, like P’Wain,” one of the kids said, looking at Phayu as if Phayu was dumb. “Beast love Beauty, Beauty kiss Beast, Beast become Pwince,” the kid said, sounding so disdainful that Phayu could not help but laugh.

Then the words of the boy sank in. He immediately looked at Rain, who was blushing furiously. “So now we should ask your P’Rain to kiss me, so that I can become a Prince. What do you think?” Phayu asked, his devilish side immediately coming out. Rain turned away. “Okay, P’Wain kiss Beast. But Beast fiwst cawwy P’Wain,” the boy decreed. “Yes. P’Wain is pwincess. No pwincess can walk on gwound,” another kid piped up. “You don’t have to Phi,” Rain said, sounding horrified. “Well, I have to. I must in fact. How else can I get my kiss from the prettiest princess and become a prince?” Phayu asked, swinging Rain off the ground, carrying him bridal style, much to the evident happiness of his family. “Phi!” Rain said, burying his head into Phayu’s neck, trying to soothe himself with his Alpha pheromones. “Now can I get a kiss?” Phayu asked, looking at the pups. He could feel his family coming closer. “Yes!” the kids all shouted. “P’Wain! Beastie! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” they chanted.

Rain was as red as a tomato, and tried every way to hide his face, but Phayu was having none of it. He bent down and pecked Rain’s lips as a cheer went up. Phayu’s natural musky scent mixed with Rain’s own floral jasmine, making it clear that they were indeed mates, much to his joy, and to his family’s, if he was right. And he obviously was, because he could feel their happy pheromones clinging to the air around him, making him smile. Rain’s hands covered his face, but Phayu could scent his happiness too. “Ai’Yu!” He whirled around at Fah’s call and was blinded by the lights from every Theerpanayakul phone camera. But he couldn’t care less, as he looked down at his mate, his Omega, his Princess. Phayu had never believed in love at first sight, but now, with Rain in his arms, he finally felt the enchantment take hold in his heart. Forever!