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sexyglances · 3 years

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Here's Tian's birthday fic, ok! You can either read it on ao3 or the full ~2k words are under the cut.

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Tian woke up on his back as a ray of sunshine slipped through the gap between slats of bamboo and struck his eyes. He rarely put his eye mask on at night these days, preferring to wake up earlier in the mornings so he could spend the first part of the day with Phupha rather than staying in bed alone. This change in habit, however, didn't automatically turn him into a morning person by nature, so Tian kept his eyes shut, as if keeping them closed meant he could preserve that sleepy sweet feeling for a bit longer. His effort was futile though, as he could feel more than just the sun trained on his face. "Chief," Tian smiled, eyes still closed, "I know you're looking at me."

Tian heard a small chuckle to his right and felt Phupha's breath tease his ear. "Good morning." Phupha said, voice filled with endearment, "and happy birthday, Tian." Then he leaned in and pecked Tian's cheek and whispered, "I'm so happy you're here."

Tian turned his head towards Phupha and opened his eyes. Phupha was lying on his side facing Tian, head resting in the cradle of his elbow. "Chief--" Tian said. Tian wanted to tell Phupha to stop, that he didn't need to say these things to him anymore, that it's been long enough that the gratitude should have worn off by now, that their devotion could remain unspoken. But Tian couldn't say those things because his chest still got heavy and his heart still swelled every morning when he could look over and see Phupha looking back at him with so much tenderness in his eyes. Instead, he settled with a, "Me too," and returned the peck on Phupha's cheek. He went to pull away, but before he could do so, Phupha had turned his head just enough so that their lips met so they could properly kiss. Phupha nudged closer, trying to deepen the kiss, but Tian pulled back and placed his hand softly on Phupha's chest to stop him. "Hey. We haven't even brushed our teeth yet this morning." Judging by the way he raised his eyebrows, Phupha did not think this was a good enough excuse to stop. They gazed at each other for a few seconds, the atmosphere charging up between them, on the brink of something unstoppable, until Tian popped the bubble and said, "And I have class this morning in a little bit."

That declaration worked and Phupha dropped his eyes. "Right," Phupha said with a tinge of disappointment in his voice, "You have school today." Before Tian could say anything else about continuing this quote-unquote discussion later, Phupha changed the topic and asked, "Are you thirsty?" Without waiting for an answer, he got up, went to the sink, and brought back two ceramic cups of water. Tian pushed himself up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed into a sitting position. Phupha handed him a cup and sat down on the bed next to Tian.

These cups were new to Tian, different from the dented tin cups they usually used in the bedroom for utility. The cup Tian held was thick and rounded with a glossy finish and felt hefty in Tian's hand. Beneath the shiny glaze was an intricate, colorful design of green tea leaves and stems intertwining alongside cream-colored depictions of blooming oolong tea flowers flowers with bright yellow centers. Tian turned the cup around in his hand, studying its design until he saw the design break to encircle an inscription written with delicate writing in a burgundy color. "Oh, what's this?" Tian asked as his fingers traced the wording that read "for the colorful philosopher."

Phupha responded, "It's my present for you. It's not much but--"

Before Phupha could finish his sentence Tian said, "Chief, I told you I didn't need any presents this year." He leaned his head on Phupha's shoulder. "Just being here is enough."

Phupha leaned his head on top of Tian's and breathed in. Phupha was still not sure how he got so lucky. How his life changed so fantastically and dynamically from a life that he never disliked, but was one he now realized was fine--but just fine, nothing more than fine. His old life felt rote and mundane and empty compared to his new life with Tian. And a new life is what it was. How could it not feel new when everything felt effervescent and full and colorful in a way he had never experienced before. Phupha had always been prone to noticing the tiniest details of things, but what surprised him in the most unexpected way was how much joy he could get out of those tiny details. How love had transformed those tiny details into something that encapsulated his entire existence with warmth and vigor and gratification to be alive. "I know," Phupha responded, "but I still wanted to get you something. It's not much, but it represents us." Phupha held up his own cup to show Tian. "Look, I have one, too."

Tian switched the cups in their hands. He read Phupha's cup aloud, "For the giant green mountain." A tear pricked the corner of Tian's eye. It was too early for such sentimentality. He had just woken up and Phupha was already flooding Tian with feelings of affection. And he hadn't even stood up for the damn day yet. Tian had been given plenty of birthday gifts in the past, but never anything where someone spent more on the care and personal details involved than they spent with their money. Tian stared at the cups some more. "Where did you get these?" Tian asked.

"I went to a ceramic shop a few months ago in Chiang Mai and special ordered them," Phupha answered matter-of-factly, as if planning and designing and ordering a gift months in advance was an ordinary, everyday gesture and not a remarkable act of romanticism at all.

Tian set the cup he was holding down on the floor. "Chief," Tian said with a slight tremble in his voice. He pulled Phupha into a hug, "Thank you." Tian didn't have the words to convey everything he meant, all the gratitude he had for his life in Pha Pun Dao, for his chief, for this love they shared, but he hoped that the hug could relay a fraction of what he was feeling. Phupha hugged back tightly as if he was trying to reciprocate all his feelings back to Tian.

They pulled apart and Phupha exhaled before placing a hand on Tian's knee. "Come on, we have to get you to school."

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As Tian and Phupha walked into the school, it was already bustling. The kids were there, uncharacteristically early and they were busy hanging up homemade decorations with Yod and Rang's help.

"Ah, what's all this?" Tian asked with surprise in his voice.

Everyone turned around and in an out-of-unison cacophony of voices yelled different variations of happy birthday, addressing him by "Tian," "teacher," and "P'Seetian" accordingly. Khounueng and Kalae ran up to him and pointed at a cake on the table.

"Look what we made!" exclaimed Khounueng, and then he stuck a party blower in his mouth and blew it in Tian's face.

"Yeah!" Ayi yelled from across the room, "we picked the strawberries ourselves and decorated with them and everything!"

"We'll get to eat it soon, right?" Kalae asked as he shoved an extra strawberry into his mouth.

Before Tian could answer, Inta and Meejoo grabbed each of Tian's hands and pulled him to the front of the classroom. We made you a birthday crown, too!" said lnta as she picked up and waved a crown of tea leaves woven together in a circle studded with pink and yellow frangipani flowers and white jasmine buds.

"Put it on," Meejoo begged. "it's so pretty. She held up a second matching crown, "We made one for Torfun's birthday, too."

Tian looked at Phupha and they shared a meaningful look. Torfun was still a part of Pha Pun Dao, and even though she was gone, she was unforgettable. It was only because of her that Tian could experience all this joyfulness that surrounded him. Tian couldn't say that out loud of course, it would be too much for today, so instead he said, "Ooh, you're right, they are pretty. Let's take this to her memorial place in the afternoon." He patted Meejoo's hair. "Now who wants to help me cut the cake?"

But before Tian could move to the cake, Phupha cut in and asked, "Aren't you forgetting something?" He grinned fully as he took one of the flower crowns from Inta and placed it on Tian's head. "How could we celebrate the prince's birthday without his special crown?" Tian rolled his eyes. Of course Phupha would call him a prince on today of all days. But there was no bite behind Phupha's words, the words were just playful teasing and Tian knew that.

Tian had many birthday parties in his life. They were usually lavish and full of expensive decorations and even more expensive gifts. People dressed up and schmoozed at his parties, using them as a time to network and one-up each other, caught up in a lifestyle where status trumped everything else. The parties were simply an excuse for people--himself included--to show off. His mom would call him a prince for the day and Tian would go with it, letting himself give into the fantasy. And even though he had always made sure to have fun, indulging in alcohol and whatever wild dares the night brought him, looking back on them now, the memories felt hollow. As if he had been living in a bizarre lucid dream that he's woken up from and it was only now that everything actually felt real.

Tian challenged Phupha back with a smile of his own, "If I'm a prince, then what does that make you, Chief?"

Nam's voice came from the doorway, "Why, that makes him your chief prince of course." Tian and Phupha turned toward him as he walked into the building with Longtae trailing just behind.

"Sorry we're late," Longtae said, and gestured towards Nam, "he had to pick me up from the train station and it didn't come on time."

"You're here, too?" Tian asked.

"Of course I am, P'" Longtae said. "It's a special day." He looked up at Tian's crown and smiled. "I had to come take pictures." As Longtae said that, he held up his camera and snapped a photo.

"Oh, oh, oh," Nam cut in, "Don't you think you should get a picture of the prince and the chief prince together?" He took the other flower crown from Meejoo, and as he placed it on Phupha's head, he winked and said, "I'm sure Torfun wouldn't mind if you borrowed this for a few minutes."

Before Phupha had a chance to object, Tian interlocked his arm with Phupha's and looked at him with soft eyes. "We should get a picture together today, don't you think?" And with that, Tian turned to pose for the camera.

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Two weeks later an envelope addressed from Longtae back at school showed up in the mail for Tian. Inside was a packet of pictures from Tian's birthday. The first photo on top of the stack was a shot of Tian and Phupha, both wearing the flower crowns, and their arms interlocked, smiling for the camera.

The second picture in the stack was a more candid shot and was taken from closer up. The half-eaten birthday cake peeking in at the edge of the frame indicated it was a photo taken later in the celebration. Tian and Phupha were sitting down at the long school table, Tian's hand on Phupha's shoulder, Phupha's arm slung around Tian's waist. They were still wearing the flower crowns, but this time they were looking at each other, heads bent together, eyes sparkling, and laughing, as if they were unified in their own private world.

It was that second photograph that Tian had plucked from the stack to save. He had stuck it onto the corner of the bulletin board in their room so he could see it everyday before he left for the day. The photo represented something intangible. All he knew was that he couldn't look at it without feeling warmth radiate from within himself. It was a feeling so precious, he resolved to never let it go.

#a tale of a thousand stars #1000 stars #fic #my fic #i made this dumb thing #i can't believe i made it to 2k words #i almost gave up at 650 words tbh #anyway i hope my audience of 4 (generous) enjoys the agony i put into writing this! 🙃#and hey! i finally set up an ao3 account so that's something

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