Work Text:
They were in the middle of nowhere. In some rinky-dink town on the coast with exactly one grocery store, one gas station, and one motel. A motel that they had reserved two separate rooms in weeks and weeks ago, when he and Sky had been given the project.
Technically, Sky had been given the project, and Pai had weaseled his way into convincing all and sundry that he was integral to the operation as well.
It was mostly a business-minded weaseling, like a solid ninety-three percent. Pai and his nepotistic clout were extremely necessary to move things along and in the direction the company wanted them to go. Pai could make the time-sensitive decisions should any arise, and Sky wouldn’t have to wait on corporate to get things done.
So it only made sense that Pai join Sky on a week-long expedition to the middle of nowhere, where they would be forced to be in close proximity, eat meals together, and talk. They could actually talk without random coworkers around getting in the way. Purely business talk too— they could talk about the project, work, what a nightmare parking at work was with the new building going up next door, just general business-related stuff.
And maybe, possibly, with all that talking, Pai could really put on the charm and get the man to hate him a little less.
Which was another purely business-minded goal. It was for the good of the company. Community in the workplace was very important after all.
The remaining seven percent of weaseling was because Pai was very reluctant to let Sky go alone. He'd seen enough Hallmark movies not to know how that was going to end. How was he supposed to compete with some ruggedly handsome small-town bakery owner, or whatever, popping up out of the woodwork and swiping Sky off his feet? Pai would be damned if he was going to play the part of the wealthy, beautiful, but clueless big-city boyfriend— work colleague.
Granted, he was wealthy and beautiful and a big-city dweller, but that wasn't his fault. And he sure as shit wasn't clueless. Pai wasn't going to give any one of those dashingly attractive small-town punk doctors an opportunity.
Which sounded like he was bringing his personal feelings into the workplace, but it was only seven percent of the reason he was on the trip. And it wasn't even a full ten percent— which, if his math was correct, boiled down to pretty much nothing. So Pai was of the opinion that it didn't count against him.
Plus, Sky would have to quit the company if he fell in love with some beefy lumberjack and decided to have adorable adopted babies. And no one wanted that. Least of all the company.
All things considered, Pai was basically a model employee with only the good of the company at heart.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had some plumbing issues in the past couple of days and have had to reorganize our boarding situation. And because the rooms were booked with the same credit card, we moved you both to our deluxe, VIP, platinum suite." The man bobbed his wiry eyebrows with each descriptor of the suite, and Pai was absolutely convinced that the room would be oh so very good. "Which is the only room we have available at the moment.”
Sky stilled beside him, and Pai tried his damndest not to let the smile he was so valiantly fighting show on his face.
“Share a room?” Sky's tone was frigid, and the man behind the counter frowned in seeming confusion. Like he wasn't entirely sure why Sky would have a problem with being told, only as they were checked in and therefore unable to make other arrangements, that they would have to share a room.
“Yes, as we only have the one room available— but it is our biggest and most luxurious suite. A deluxe, VIP, platinum suite— like I said.”
Pai probably should have been putting on a show about how annoyed he was, but he was too giddy about the change of plans even to pretend. He had not factored in how much the universe loved him specifically before this trip. It really couldn’t have gone better if he’d planned the whole thing himself.
“And you didn’t think to let us know when you started having these plumbing issues? You didn’t think we’d like to know about these issues so we could reschedule our trip, so we didn't have to share a room?” Sky poked the counter and then shot a scorching glare back at Pai like Pai himself was the one who had busted the pipes.
A thrill shot through him at the sight of those fiery eyes, and Pai tried hard to focus on the conversation instead of thinking up ways to get Sky to look at him like that again.
“I apologize for the inconvenience, but with all the chaos happening, it really slipped my mind.” The man did not look as contrite as he really should have, and Pai figured it had ‘slipped his mind’ because he hadn’t wanted to lose out on business.
“Slipped your min—” Sky's tone was sharp and annoyed, and Pai figured he should insert himself back into the conversation.
They couldn’t turn around and go home with everything already scheduled. They just had to make the best of things, and he didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot with the locals.
“Your biggest and most luxurious suite? Sounds delightful.” Pai smiled as pleasantly as he could, and Sky huffed in annoyance beside him.
“It really is. My mom decorated it herself.” He nodded enthusiastically and turned to pluck a key off one of the hooks behind the counter. “It’s themed.” He bobbed his eyebrows again, and Pai had to chuckle.
“That’s fun. Can't wait to see it.” Pai grinned and took the proffered key. “Oh, do you have any restaurant recommendations? Anything we should definitely try before going home?”
“Well, everything is mostly closed at this time of night.” Pai checked his watch on reflex and saw that ‘this time of night’ was eight thirty-seven. “But you should hit up Noi’s Cafe for breakfast. We do serve a pretty good continental breakfast here, but you definitely want to try her Khao Tom.”
“Noi’s Cafe? Thank you for the suggestion. We will have to check it out.”
“No problem.” He grinned and handed over the little stack of papers before glancing wearily at Sky and then focused all his attention back on Pai. “Let me know if you need any more recommendations. I’m very happy to assist you.”
“Thank you.” Pai smiled in thanks and led the way out of the lobby and back towards the parking lot.
Sky trailed along beside him and let out a long-suffering sigh when they reached the SUV.
“Do you ever not flirt?” Sky cocked his head at him as Pai unloaded their luggage from the back. “Is no one off-limits? That man was in his mid-fifties at least.”
It wasn’t the first time Sky had admonished him for flirting, but it was the first time he’d shown interest in the person Pai was allegedly flirting with. Even if it was just him noting the age of said person.
It almost felt like a personal question. And Sky never asked those.
“First of all, are you implying anyone above fifty shouldn’t be flirted with? Very ageist of you, Sky. I expected better.” Pai tsked dramatically and grinned when Sky rolled his eyes. He moved to shut the trunk and lock the vehicle before turning to look across the parking lot at the row of identical brown doors for their room number. “And secondly, I wasn’t flirting.”
“Prapai,” He paused in grabbing his suitcase to squint at Pai all incredulously, like Pai had lost his mind. “Are you serious? You flirt with everyone, and you are telling me that that wasn’t flirting just now?”
“No,” Pai squinted right back because he knew it would irritate Sky into rolling his eyes, and Pai liked to poke the bear. “It wasn’t flirting.”
Sky arched a disbelieving eyebrow at him and Pai to recite the mantra he’d adopted in regards to Sky. The one he’d had to form two years ago, the moment he’d walked into the office to find the man who’d so ruthlessly rejected his advances just that morning at Pai's favorite coffee shop, was in fact the new and incredibly talented architect his father had personally recruited.
This man wasn’t ridiculously pretty.
Those arched reproachful eyebrows weren’t insanely hot.
That supremely annoyed expression wasn’t a come-on and definitely was not supposed to elicit arousal every time Sky directed it at him.
Sky had made it perfectly clear from the very first moment they’d met two years ago that he was uninterested in Pai. The only interest the man had in him was to politely and mercilessly stab holes in Pai’s ‘over-inflated ego’ with his sharp tongue.
Which was another thing that Pai was not supposed to find attractive, but, as he had discovered the first time Sky had glared at him, there was something wrong with him.
Sky was off-limits.
And Pai’s interest was purely business-related anyway.
“Oh, so,” Sky made a cocky expression and did an oddly sultry thing with his eyes that had Pai’s brain going blank. “Thank you so much for the suggestion. We will have to check it out.” He stood straight again, and Pai’s brain turned back on when Sky stopped using the low seductive tone. “That’s not flirting?”
All Pai could do was laugh as they continued their trek through the parking lot and towards their themed suite. He had never been imitated so well before. Not even by his siblings. He'd never seen Sky make that kind of expression. He needed to see it again.
“It’s not flirting, it’s called being charming.” Pai smirked when the man scoffed at him and tried desperately to remember his mantra.
“Pfft." He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Charming my ass.” He said it under his breath, like if he said it quietly enough, then Pai wouldn’t be able to hear how unprofessional he was being.
And Pai had to bite his tongue from making any kind of untoward comment on said ass because he especially couldn’t be unprofessional. Not when he was who he was in the company. He couldn’t have a sit-down with Human Resources about sexual harassment in the workplace and expect to climb the ranks.
So instead of making a lewd comment, Pai put his energy toward poking the bear even more. He couldn’t not. Not when it yielded such high returns every time he did it.
“I mean, I know it’s hard for you in particular to know the difference.” They found their designated room number and Pai handed the key over when Sky put his hand out, all expectant and impatient. “As you don’t even know what flirting is.”
“Me in particular?” His voice went high and incredulous as he held the door open for Pai to enter first. “You’re saying that I don’t know how to flirt?”
“No,” Pai tried to keep the smirk off his face as he entered the room and clicked on the lights. “I’m saying that you don’t even know what flirting is. So, how would you be able to correctly identify it? I’m actually a thousand percent certain that you wouldn’t know what flirting was if it kissed you full on the mouth.”
There was a strangled sound of offense and exasperation behind him, but Pai was too busy trying to figure out how he was going to survive the week to really enjoy having successfully antagonized a reaction out of the usually ice-cold man.
Sky shut the door behind them and came into the room, only to freeze right beside him.
It was a small room that was nicely decorated with beachy blues and tans. Decorative shells, petrified wood, and various bottles of different colored sands were placed on all available surfaces. Pai was assuming the theme was 'beach'. A door to a tiny bathroom was on the right wall. A flatscreen TV was perched on top of what looked like a refurbished dresser. A dresser that was positioned maybe two feet away from the end of the bed.
The one and only bed in the room.
The bed they were going to have to share.
”This has got to be illegal!” Sky flung a hand out at the bed and then stomped over to the phone on the bedside table.
“This is their biggest and most luxurious, deluxe, VIP, platinum suite?” Pai frowned— or tried to frown while Sky presumably called the front desk. “Oh no…”
He had to pretend like the universe wasn’t lining everything up just for him. He had to pretend like he was also upset about this turn of events. Like he was so very annoyed and inconvenienced that he had to share a bed with the most deliciously surly and stunning man he’d ever come across.
It was going to be a fan-fucking-tastic week.
Monday started off weird.
There was something off.
They’d gotten out of the shared bed and taken turns getting ready in the tiny bathroom and... Sky had not snarled at him. Not even once.
Which Pai had attributed to the lack of caffeine in his system.
So Pai had driven them to the recommended breakfast spot and had been so fucking flustered when Sky had coffee in him and continued not to snarl at him. He was still snarky and prickly, but it felt playful compared to his usual lethal levels of contrariness and disdain.
Pai tried to figure out what was wrong as he chauffeured Sky around the tiny town, but it was a fruitless endeavor. He didn't know how to ask why Sky was suddenly being kind of nice to him because Pai was afraid Sky might realize what he was doing and stop. They had scouting to do, and Pai had to pretend like he was working and was as integral to the project as he’d convinced everyone he was. But there really was very little for him to do, and his thoughts were otherwise occupied.
By lunchtime, Sky was looking at him with those amber eyes verging on warm.
And that was almost cause for alarm. Or maybe Pai had just hit his head sometime in the night? Because he had to be seeing things. There was no way that Sky was looking at him with anything but icy apathy and badly concealed scorn.
But it was difficult to convince himself that he was being delusional with Sky sat across from him, looking at him all warmly in broad daylight. A pinch to his thigh confirmed that he was awake and not just dreaming. And his head felt fine— not even a little concussed. But maybe that was exactly what a concussed person would say?
“Prapai,” Sky leaned over the table, his eyebrows pinched in concern. “Is something wrong? You’ve been kinda spacey all day.”
“I uh… no, I’m fine.” It wasn’t a lie. He was just kind of off-kilter.
“Oh, good. Well then, get your game face on.” Sky settled back in his chair and smirked a little before opening his mouth again. “Because I’m pretty sure the man of your dreams is just about to walk into this restaurant.”
“Man of my dreams?” Pai watched him jerk his chin at the entrance of the small sandwich shop they’d chosen before he turned to look when the bell above the door sounded.
An ancient being of lore hobbled into the place. The old man was stooped over his cane, the most wrinkled a person could get before they turned into a sentient raisin, sporting the thickest set of bifocals Pai had ever seen, and moving at a snail's pace.
“Wow,” Delight shot through his system when he turned back to see Sky still smirking. Sky was teasing him! “You have a good eye. And you remembered that I prefer the older gents too— Sky, I'm touched.” Pai gripped his chest dramatically, and Sky shrugged as if conceding the point, all hot and haughty. And Pai tried to remember his mantra, but it was difficult to remember how it started when Sky was teasing him.
Sky was pretty. Eyebrows and all... it had to be something like that.
“Right? I'm pretty sure I've got your type pegged.” He forked some food into his mouth and looked particularly proud of himself. And Pai had to bite his lip hard to stop all the pegging-related suggestions and invitations trying to burst out of his mouth. “I saw those crocs and suspenders and immediately knew he was the one for you.”
“Well, you’re right, I'm a sucker for a good pair of suspenders." Pai made a point of checking the ancient being out to really sell the bit and hopefully amuse Sky before he turned back to his work colleague and attempted to look less confident and more soft. "But I’m much too shy to go over and chat him up.”
Pai glanced over again at the man in question, who was still moving through the doorway, and took a swig of his drink before he glanced back at Sky when he heard him scoff.
“You shy?” He shook his head as if amused by the thought and then smiled.
All soft and warm and affectionate.
Pai’s brain blue-screened.
“Pai!” Sky stopped smiling and looked alarmed instead as he whisper-screamed and reached across the table to offer up his napkin. “The liquid is supposed to stay in your mouth— what is happening? Are you having a seizure? Do you need medical attention?”
So it was Pai now and not Prapai? When had that happened? Why did the fact that Sky had called him Pai send a little thrill down his spine?
Belatedly, Pai closed his mouth, took the napkin, and then had to concentrate hard to figure out why he needed a napkin.
His chin was wet, his shirt was soaked, and anything that his shirt hadn’t caught, his pants had. Sky had smiled, and he’d lost all motor function, and he’d just… let the drink fall out of his mouth?
Jesus Christ.
“Maybe.” He tried to laugh it off and wiped at his chin. “Don’t look too hard at that man— his animal magnetism is too powerful. It’ll make you spit out your drink.”
Sky rolled his eyes, all playful and kind of fond, and he smiled again.
Pai’s brain blanked and he dropped his napkin.
Maybe there was such a thing as too much of a good thing?
Sharing a room, a bed, and a schedule with Sky was fine when Sky was his normal, prickly, almost hostile self. Pai could manage that because he had his mantra and Sky's obvious dislike of him keeping him in his place.
But how was he supposed to cope when Sky didn’t seem to just be tolerating his presence but seemed to actually enjoy it?
Tuesday was worse-better.
Pai had solid proof that he wasn’t losing his mind. Sky was warming up to him.
Sky’s snark and sarcasm were still constant, but none of it was aimed at puncturing holes in Pai’s ego. Well, no— it was, but it was all softer. The funny little jabs and the playful mocking were not meant as scathing indictments of his character or looks. Not the way Sky said them.
Which was mind-boggling.
Pai had no idea what he’d done, but he wasn’t going to question this gift from the universe.
He was even getting used to the man's blinding smiles. Kind of.
The amount of choking he’d done in a single day was embarrassing. Especially in front of the clients. But he was getting better at withstanding Sky’s smiles. He just had to stop trying to eat or drink anything when Sky was around. He’d choked on his coffee that morning because Sky had smiled at him when Pai had held the door open for him.
And then he’d had the idiotic idea to eat his lunch during their lunch meeting and had had to excuse himself to asphyxiate on a bit of broccoli in the bathroom while he recovered from Sky paying him a compliment and then also smiling at him.
But it wasn’t just food and drink that had Pai scared for his life. It was also his own spit and the goddamn air he breathed. Nothing was safe around Sky.
Dinner was better. They’d chatted and joked, and Sky had smiled at him numerous times. And Pai had successfully gotten his food down without choking to death about it.
It was kind of ridiculous to react the way he did, but Pai couldn’t help it. He’d known Sky for two years and never once had he seen the man smile. Especially not at him.
He’d thought he’d pulled it together well enough by the end of the day. Because he wasn’t dead, nor in the ER with doctors trying to pry a foreign object out of his airway; he’d barely even lost any kind of motor function when Sky directed that smile at him time and time again. He was doing good, all things considered.
But then Sky climbed into their shared bed and smiled all softly at him, and that would have been fine too; he could’ve dealt with it. But then Sky reached over and touched his arm.
On purpose.
“Thanks for helping me out today.” He removed his hand and settled into the covers with a soft, contented sigh. “I really don’t like driving and was dreading having to do it in a place I don’t know that well.”
And that floored him more than the touching because it was sincere. Sky was genuinely thanking him. All the cheesy lines about taking Sky wherever he wanted to go died on the tip of his tongue and Pai could do nothing but return the sincerity.
“You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat and tried to play it calm and collected, even though his heart was trying to pound its way out of his ribcage. “You probably don’t know this about me, but I uh… I actually love to drive. So I’m more than happy to do it.”
An understatement, but Pai wasn’t about to out himself as an illegal street racer just because a pretty man smiled at him. And Sky would probably roll his eyes and call him a reckless idiot if he brought it up.
“Oh yeah?” Sky turned so he was facing Pai in the bed and shifted to fluff his pillow up before settling in again. “That’s kinda surprising.”
“Why?” Pai’s heart continued to slam around in his chest. Maybe this was too much for him.
The lighting was low and soft. They were so close that Pai could smell the minty toothpaste Sky had used. And on top of Sky being dressed down and comfy-looking, he was also being sincere and chatting like they were friends. Or maybe something more than friends.
“I guess I figured you’d always been driven everywhere. I didn’t think you’d actually like driving.” He shrugged and shot a teasing grin at Pai. “You’re rich. Rich people don’t do chores like driving.”
“I’ll have you know that I do... How did you pronounce it? Choares? Am I saying that right?” Pai cocked his head and watched a smile form on the beautiful man's face as his heart took a sledgehammer to his ribs.
"Yep, you nailed it. Choares."
"Yes, choares. I knew that. I was just testing you." Pai sniffed and tried his best to look offended instead of incredibly affected by Sky and his face. “I’m not one of those out of touch elitists who don't do things like choares.”
“Oh yeah? You’ve cleaned the bathrooms of your huge mansion and do the dishes after every meal?” He arched a challenging eyebrow, and Pai lost the thread of conversation for much too long.
What exactly was wrong with him? Pai was capable of thought. He could be funny and charming and not so utterly braindead that one beautiful man derailed him every time he changed expressions.
Pai pulled it the fuck together.
“Mansion? I think you mean mansions.” Pai sniffed again, all highbrow and snobby, and Sky kept on smiling. Like maybe he was enjoying the banter. Like maybe he liked Pai.
“Oh, sorry. Right. Mansions.” His smile was blinding, and Pai held onto his train of thought by a fraying thread. “So you drive to and fro between your mansions doing choares and whatnot?”
“I mean, I’m pretty environmentally conscious, so I try to save the jet for grocery shopping and take the Rolls-Royce for choaring.”
Sky laughed. Light and happy and so fucking pretty. Pai could only stare. Any thoughts he’d been attempting to hold onto scattered.
Dear sweet Jesus.
“How very kind of you, Pai.” He said through his laughter, and still, all Pai could do was stare. “I’ve never met someone as down-to-earth and as relatable as you.”
Work. It was work. They were businessing. It was work and business and very important that he not… not— not something.
Sky stopped laughing and looked at him all kinds of fondly.
Not make a move on the man in the bed beside him. That’s what he wasn’t supposed to do.
But fuck. Pai wasn’t going to survive the week.
Which made him rethink some things.
Maybe he wasn’t the universe's favorite idiot? Maybe the universe actually had it out for him
Wednesday was the worst best day of his life.
Sky kept touching him. And smiling. And laughing. And being so warm and playful and affectionate.
It was torture.
Sky brushed against his body when they entered doorways or hallways together. He reached over to touch Pai’s forearm and shoulder when he was telling a joke or poking fun at him. He laughed and smiled at Pai’s stupid jokes. He bantered with Pai whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Pai didn’t know what to do with himself. He didn’t know how to act now that Sky had warmed up to him. He liked prickly, hostile Sky— too much, really. This version of Sky was just as mind-meltingly fun as the combative Sky.
But the warm, friendly Sky was bad for his blood pressure and the decision-making center of Pai's brain. Only because it gave Pai hope. Hope that he had a chance.
A chance he shouldn’t be thinking about because Sky was off-limits. They worked together. Pai's place in the company was already precarious because he’d yet to prove himself as more than just the pampered son of his hardworking father. He couldn’t be adding HR violations to his already lackluster resume.
But that was very hard to remember when Sky existed.
Even harder to remember when that same man kept touching him and laughing.
Pai was getting used to the laughing. And even the touching. He could handle it without losing his mind every time it happened the further into the day they got. It was easier to pretend he was some kind of calm and collected when they were on location, and Sky was distracted doing his thing. Easier to hold it together just because Sky was otherwise occupied.
Pai tried to look busy on his phone and iPad, doing businessy things and whatnot, just so Sky wouldn’t catch onto all the lying he’d done to get put on the project with him. But they were in the middle of some forest, off the beaten path, and the reception wasn’t great. So mostly he just loitered around Sky as the man took pictures of the area and scribbled down notes.
When Sky eventually called it quits, and they were walking through the trees to get back to the SUV, Sky suddenly grabbed his bicep and made a soft gasping noise that had Pai’s blood heating. And assured him that he was no longer able to pretend like he had it together.
“Pai, look!” Sky said softly and pointed. And Pai wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t focus on anything but the heat blasting through him, so Pai looked. “It’s a deer!”
There was a deer. Brown, leggy, and gracefully leaping through the bushes. But some random forest creature was not what held his attention. It was the look of awe on Sky’s smiling face that had it. It was kind of mesmerizing.
Sky looked up at him with that same smile and then arched an eyebrow after he squeezed Pai’s bicep a couple of times.
“Pai, don’t let this go to your head but…” He squeezed again and then looked up at Pai through his long dark lashes. “You’ve got some muscles. I never would have guessed with all the suits you wear covering them up.”
Pai was torn between flexing his muscles all ridiculously like a preening idiot or swooping down to plant a kiss on Sky’s very lush and kissable mouth. Sky would probably smack him for it… right?
And there was another reason he couldn’t. Another… there were reasons.
"I uh…” He couldn’t think well enough to form a reply. “… I protein.”
“You protein?” Sky smirked, a little bit mocking and a little bit heated, and whatever was left of Pai’s brain melted. “Well, it’s working.”
Pai wasn't cognizant enough to even be embarrassed. He could only stare in shocked amazement as Sky slid past him to continue towards the car. So he saw very clearly and vividly when Sky slowly let go of his bicep after another squeeze and winked.
Fucking winked.
Pai followed after him on autopilot as his brain spun into confused chaos.
Wha… how— he knew how… to wink?
There was a tall brown thing in front of him, and Pai didn’t know how to get his brain to work well enough to dodge it or even identify it.
Winking? Sky winking?
And then he hit it, the tall brown thing, and it was too hard, and there was bark everywhere and something wet on his face.
Sky winking at him?
“Pai!” Sky’s voice was shocked and loud enough that it brought him back around. “You’re bleeding! Pai!”
Soft hands were suddenly on his face and petting at his cheeks and jaw. Pai focused enough to be present. Sky’s pretty face was pinched with concern. His notepad and camera bag were on the ground like he’d dropped everything to hurry over.
Pai wiped at the wet spot under his nose to find that he was, in fact, bleeding.
Huh.
He’d thought he wasn’t going to survive the week without losing his mind and begging the man to make out with him or something equally as horny and ridiculous.
But maybe he wouldn’t even make it out alive.
Thursday was absolutely miserable in the best and most horny sense of the word.
Pai had woken determined to keep his shit together.
He’d gone on a run in the wee hours of the morning to exorcise all the demons that had gathered in his mind at night. The ones that tried to tempt him into crossing the invisible line neither of them crossed in their shared bed.
There was a line. He couldn’t cross the line. Not in their shared bed and not in their working relationship.
He’d showered and dressed and had been so determined to get it the fuck together, and he did. Pai got it together.
He’d let Sky sleep in and went to fetch their breakfast. He’d chatted with the desk clerk and shared some of the donuts he bought and had mentally prepared himself for anything Sky was going to throw at him before he’d wandered back into their room.
“Sky?” The bed was neatly made, and the door to the bathroom was closed.
Pai placed the box down next to the TV and then turned when the bathroom door creaked on its hinges.
Sky looked soft in his white linen shirt and dark jeans. His hair wasn’t styled yet, and he had a pair of round wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He looked young and adorable and so fucking kissable.
But Pai wasn’t thinking those thoughts. He was reciting his new mantra.
This man was ridiculously pretty, but he wasn’t going to fixate on that.
Those smiles and laughs weren’t mind-melting hot and Pai would react to them normally.
That warm expression wasn’t a come-on and definitely was not supposed to elicit arousal every time Sky directed it at him.
He had this. He could do this. He was a grown-ass man capable of dealing with attraction.
“I brought breakfast.” He stated the obvious, but it was hard to think around his mantra and Sky standing right in front of him.
“Oh?” Sky smiled in thanks and moved to step around Pai to get to the breakfast, but paused. And Pai did not lean in just the tiniest bit to smell his shampoo. He didn't. He was just breathing how humans normally breathed.
“I uh, we have an early appointment, so I figured…” Sky was too close to keep saying things… things he was saying… “I figured… donuts was… breakfast. Good.”
Sky frowned a little. Too cute and too close for his peace of mind. Why was he so close? The room was small but not that small.
“Here,” Sky leaned up on his toes and braced a hand on Pai’s shoulder to— to run his fingers through Pai’s hair. “Looks like the wind got you.”
Pai knew Sky was speaking. He knew there were words happening, but he couldn’t hear anything. His head was too filled with Sky and Sky’s hands to do anything but that. All the blood that had been in his brain, turning the wheels, making him function, and producing thought, went south so fast that he swayed on his feet.
Sky’s hands were in his hair. On his shoulder. His expression was one of innocent concentration. Like there wasn’t a single impure thought in his head.
Because they were all in Prapai’s.
Screaming and hollering and on fire.
If Sky exerted even the smallest amount of pressure, it would be enough to yank it. Pai liked his hair being pulled. He liked being touched and petted and kissed. If Sky only moved forward just a bit, they could kiss.
If Pai shifted even a centimeter closer, they could kiss. Pai would kiss the hell out of him. He wanted to know what those lips tasted like. He wanted to know how Sky kissed. Soft and slow and achingly sweet? Rough and wet and deliciously bitey? Maybe he could get his hands under that linen shirt and pet at all the soft planes of Sky’s torso.
Maybe he could slip his hands under the jean fabric and grip the ass he was always trying so hard not to look at. Maybe he could even grab the man's thighs and lift him up to pin him against the wall and suck on his lips.
Nibble on that sharp jawline. Suck on his tongue. Bite red marks into all that pale skin.
It would be so good. Pai could make him moan and shiver and— what would his face look like in the throes of an orgasm?
Was Sky quiet when he came? Did he bite those pretty lips to keep from moaning? Or was he loud? Did he moan all wantonly and hedonistically when he came? Pai needed to find out—
“There,” Sky suddenly speaking into the charged silence snapped Pai back to reality. “Now you’re perfect.” He grinned and dropped back down on his heels.
Pai blue-screened for too long. Thankfully, Sky was too focused on the donuts and coffee to pay too much attention to how Pai just kept gaping like a fish out of water at the wall.
Eventually, through the mush that was his brain, he realized he was hard.
From fucking fingers in his hair— he was hard.
Pai tried to speak because too much time had passed and it was too silent for how friendly and coworkery he was supposed to be. But the sounds came out as a garbled croaky mess and Pai had to clear his throat a couple of times.
“I uh…” He didn’t turn around— he couldn't with the current state of his being, but he attempted to make eye contact over his shoulder as Sky munched on a donut and tilted his head curiously at him. “I’ll meet you in the car. Keys should be on the dresser.”
He jerked his thumb in the general direction of the keys and then walked as casually as he could to the bathroom to deal with his issue.
An issue that kept popping up throughout the day whenever he remembered those soft fingers in his hair. An issue he kept having to deal with, like some horny fucking pervert who had no control over his own dick, every time Sky paid him even the slightest bit of attention.
Pai had had to add a new line to his mantra by midday.
This man was ridiculously pretty, but he wasn’t going to fixate on that.
Those smiles and laughs weren’t mind-meltingly hot and Pai would react to them normally.
That warm expression wasn’t a come-on and definitely was not supposed to elicit arousal every time Sky directed it at him.
There were lines he wasn’t supposed to cross, no matter how horny he was.
By the time Friday rolled around, his mantra was nothing but words that no longer held any meaning in his brain. He'd had to repeat it too much for the words to hold any kind of definition.
Because how was he supposed to remember words and their meanings when Sky touched him and smiled at him all open and warm and had been for the better part of a week?
How was he supposed to remember how to drink liquids and eat food without choking when Sky suggested they spend their last night in town celebrating the project's success by relaxing at some beachside bar?
How the fuck was he supposed to remember how to even breathe properly when Sky showed up to that bar in some lacy see-through shirt with the buttons undone to an almost indecent degree?
How was he supposed to even know how to make pleasant conversation when he had to not be horny and not be jealous of the lecherous eyes on his date and not make an idiot out of himself all at the same time?
But Pai had somehow done the impossible. He refused to get turned on even with Sky petting his arms and adjusting Pai’s wayward clothing for him. Because the moment he let those thoughts win and got turned on about it, he’d have to leave Sky by himself at the bar to deal with those horny thoughts.
A bar crawling with all those small-town hunks who were no doubt waiting for Pai to be stupid enough to give them an opening. Pai wasn’t about to do that. His date— his colleague wanted to relax. Not be accosted by possible future husbands.
Pai had done him a favor, really.
He’d made it through the whole evening and had been patting himself on the back about it when they’d finally returned to their room. But all the control he’d maintained slipped right out of his fingers when Sky had stepped into the room and frowned. The man's hands went to his own shirt and started undoing more buttons.
“Wow, it’s hot in here. Maybe it’s the wine making me hot?” Sky moved to the air conditioner under the window and fiddled with the buttons. “It looks like it’s working.”
And that was good. Working meant Sky would keep his clothes on and Pai could keep his hands to himself. He needed to keep his hands to himself.
“I’m too hot, though.” He undid another button and moved to perch on the bed before he turned his attention on Pai. “You’re not hot, Pai?”
Another button loosened, and that was it. That was all Pai could take.
“Please.” Pai gripped his wrists and held them away from the damnable see-through shirt. “Please do not undo any more buttons— I’m holding on by a thread here.”
“A thread?” His head tilted in confusion, and it was so fucking adorable that Pai had to take another deep breath just to remain upright. “What do you mean?”
“I uh… I’m not—” He belatedly let go of Sky’s wrists and took a step back to give himself room to think. "It's—"
But Sky stood and stepped closer.
“No, wait. Don’t get closer— I can’t…” He took another step back and then another when Sky only kept coming closer. “Sky, seriously— don’t.”
His back hit the wall, but the man kept coming towards him.
Intent and almost predatory, like Sky was the predator and Pai the prey.
Christ, he was too horny for this.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t get close.” It was too late. He was already too close. Pai could feel the heat of his body on his outstretched hands. He could see the man's amber eyes dark and flashing— like maybe he was just as horny as Pai.
“Why not?” He cocked his head again, but this time the innocent confusion was gone and something a little mocking was in its place.
Pai didn’t know what was happening. All he knew was the man in front of him was too fucking hot and too fucking close, and Pai was at his limit.
Fuck the line or whatever it was that he was supposed to be minding.
Pai gripped the man's waist and spun them so it was Sky pinned to the wall and Pai the one pressing in.
“Because you have been driving me absolutely fucking crazy this whole week, and if you don't stop getting close, I'm not gonna keep holding back.”
“I’ve been driving you crazy?” He wasn’t pulling away or looking angry at Pai’s manhandling. In fact, he kept looking at Pai’s lips like he was thinking about maybe letting Pai kiss him. “How?”
“With the smiling and the touching and the laughing— I know you don’t know what you’re do…”
Wait a minute. Something fuzzy sparked in the back of his head. Those critical thinking skills he’d honed through the years attempted for just a second to cut through the fog of lust in his head, but died down just as quickly.
It wasn’t the time for thinking.
“I don’t know what I’m doing?” Sky swayed closer, and Pai was too confused to do anything but be horny and stare down at the man.
“No.” Right?
Sky leaned up just a bit on his toes and moved so close that Pai thought he was going to kiss him.
No, there was no question. Sky was going to kiss him.
Dear God.
Sky was going to kiss him.
“You’re right.” Pai could feel the lightest brush of Sky’s mouth against his lips as he spoke. Almost a kiss. It wasn't even a kiss and he was already fucking gone. Pai was the most turned on he’d ever been in his life. “I don’t know what I’m doing— I wouldn’t know what flirting was if it kissed me full on the mouth.”
The heated, suggestive look on Sky’s face morphed into a smirk. Hands were suddenly on his chest, and Pai expected lips or teeth or tongue, but... but he was suddenly being pushed? Pai stumbled back and only just kept his legs under him. They weren't kissing? Sky was too far away and they weren't kissing?
What?
“You are the cockiest bastard I've ever met, you know that? I can't believe how easy that was! Not even like covert flirting— it was the fucking basics, and you were choking and running into trees!" He pointed a finger towards Pai and advanced on him with fiery eyes. "You think you're the only one who knows how to flirt!? You overconfident, smug, cocky— acting all high and mighty because you think you’re charming and pretty?” He scoffed and looked so utterly disgusted and wrathful that blood just kept leaving Pai’s brain for better, more interesting parts of his anatomy.
What was happening?
Sky was angry. And yelling and looking for all the world like he wasn't going to stop yelling or being angry for anything. And it was doing things to him. Horny blood rushing things that he had absolutely zero control over. The beautiful man had one hand on his hip, and the other was poking into Pai’s pec rather aggressively.
There was enough blood left in his brain to catch on, though. Just enough to form words.
“You were flirting with me… on purpose?”
Well… fuck.
Of course, he had been. Of course, that’s what the past week of torment had been about.
Was he… was he supposed to feel mad about that or just incredibly horny?
“Well halle-fucking-lujah— give the man a prize! He finally figured it out.” Sky threw his hands up towards the heavens and then turned his attention back on Pai to scorch him with a glare so fierce that there was no way in hell Pai was ever going to be soft again. “You think being an insufferable fuckboy is an acceptable personality trait? Think of your family! Just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean you can skate by on your looks— you should be ashamed of yourself!”
Sky poked him in the chest again, and Pai stumbled back until he plopped down on the bed. It hadn't been hard enough to fell him, but as it was, a soft breeze would've been able to take him down. And he wasn't going to fix it because his seated position gave him a much better view of Sky's anger.
“If you have to be a shithead, then do it when I’m not around! Don’t insert yourself into my work because you’re bored and want someone to entertain you!” He poked again, and there was nothing to do but nod obediently. “I know you don’t have to actually work for a living, but I do! If you ever put yourself on one of my projects again, I’ll gut you! Got it!?”
“Got it.” Pai nodded because that was the only thing his brain could think to do.
“Good!” Sky put his hands on his hips and continued to glare. “And keep your damn hands to yourself— if even so much as a hair goes over the line, you’ll lose it.” He growled when Pai only kept staring. “Do you understand, or is all your thinking still with your dick!?”
“I— no— I understand.” Pai refused to glance down at the dick in question. He did not need to bring any kind of attention to what was happening there.
“Good!” He stomped over to the dresser and jerked the top drawer open, obviously not done being so gloriously angry. “I’m gonna change and go to bed— and you— you do whatever the hell you want but don't piss me off again!”
“Okay,” Pai answered automatically and immediately regretted it.
He wanted Sky to keep yelling. To keep raking him over the coals. To jab his finger into Pai’s chest with every angry word he spoke.
And Christ, there had to be something wrong with him.
He was still hard and horny, and not enough blood was getting to his brain to do any kind of productive thinking.
“Fuck me.” Pai scrubbed a hand down his face and tried to think less horny thoughts, but the only thought that beat out the other ones wasn’t any kind of helpful towards getting his dick to calm down.
But it swirled around in his head even after Sky stomped out of the bathroom and Pai rushed into it. It replayed over and over in his head when all other thoughts had fled.
Sky thought he was pretty?