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Arthit doesn’t bother with a greeting. The moment he swings the door open, he blurts, “I think your friends are trying to set me up with you.”
Daotok, sitting at his desk with that usual unreadable expression, looks up. “But we’re already together, P’ We were going to tell them soon. Should we just do it now?” Arthit grins, strolling over and flopping onto Daotok’s bed. “Nah. Let’s see how far they go. Might be fun watching them struggle.”
Daotok closes his notebook calmly. “You’re entertained too easily.” Arthit winks, tugging him closer. “Maybe. But you make it worth it, Nong.”
The next day, Daotok realizes what Arthit meant. Their friends are… not subtle.
DAY- 1
Somehow, even though Daotok finished his notes neatly and quietly without needing any help, their friends insist Arthit is the perfect person to “help” him—never mind that Arthit is the one who barely scraped through his last exam with Fah’s tutoring.
Arthit drops into the seat beside Daotok with a grin far too confident for someone who can’t even find his own lecture notes. “Careful, Nong Daotok. People might think you’re only pretending not to understand just to spend time with me.” Daotok doesn’t bother looking up, his pen moving smoothly across the page. “You’re the one who needed tutoring last week, P’. Not me.”
Arthit leans closer until their shoulders brush, lowering his voice as if sharing a grand secret. “True. But I don’t mind tutoring my favorite junior if it means sitting here.”
From across the room, North, Phoon and Ter whisper and giggle, only to scatter when Arthit catches them with a mischievous grin. He chuckles under his breath. “They’re so obvious.” Daotok finally glances at him, face unreadable. “And you enjoy pretending too much.” Arthit smirks, completely unbothered. “Exactly.”
DAY- 2
The next day during lunch North “happen” to save two seats together.
Arthit sets his tray down dramatically. “Destiny strikes again. Looks like we’re stuck together, Nong.” Daotok sits quietly beside him. “Or they just planned it.”
Halfway through lunch, North nudges their trays closer. Arthit hums, leaning toward him. “Careful, Nong. They’ll think we’re dating.” Daotok whispers so only Arthit can hear “We are.” Arthit nearly chokes on his rice, then bursts into laughter.
DAY- 3
The next day North and Typhoon drag them into a movie night.
“There are only two seats left!” Easter declares. Arthit gasps theatrically, clutching his chest. “Oh no, whatever shall I do? Forced to sit with my Nong again.”
Daotok takes the ticket calmly. “Sit quietly, P’. Some people came to watch the movie.”
When the scary part hits, Arthit grabs Daotok’s arm with a laugh. “Save me, Nong!” Daotok doesn’t flinch. “You’re louder than the movie.” Arthit only clings tighter, grinning.
After the movie they decide to go eat hotpot, enticed by Johan’s unlimited black card curtesy of the puppy eyes North threw at him.
Typhoon pushes the pot toward them. “Feed each other! It’ll be cute!” Arthit smirks, holding up a slice of beef. “Say ah, Nong Daotok.” Daotok, unfazed, leans in and eats it. “Thank you.” The table squeals. Arthit bursts into laughter. “See? He listens to me.”
Daotok calmly places meat into Arthit’s bowl. “Eat, P’, before it gets cold.” Arthit stares, caught off guard, then breaks into a huge grin. “Oh? Feeding me back? Bold move, Nong.”
DAY- 4
Their friends corner them in the common room, cards for “Truth or Dare” stacked on the table. Oh, so they will use this game to get a confession out, Arthit thinks.
“So!” Hill begins, ambushing Arthit and Daotok without even starting the game. “When are you two going to admit you like each other?” Arthit slings an arm over Daotok’s shoulder, grinning like he’s been waiting for this. “Like each other? Nong and I already crossed that stage. We’re together.”
The room erupts. “WHAT?!”
Daotok remains perfectly calm while chaos unfolds. “Since a while ago,” he says evenly. “I just wanted to keep it quiet for a bit.”
Arthit laughs at their friends’ horrified groans. “Thanks for all the effort, by the way. The free food was great.”
When the inevitable chant of “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” starts, Daotok leans in and kisses Arthit’s cheek without hesitation. Arthit beams at their friends’ shocked faces.
“See? My Nong may be quiet, but he doesn’t hesitate.” Daotok sighs softly, but there’s the faintest smile tugging at his lips. “You talk too much, P’.” Arthit grins wider, squeezing his hand. “And you love it.”
BONUS
Earlier that week, Arthit had been on his way back from class when he paused outside the campus café. Inside, all three of his friends’ boyfriends (i.e. North, Easter and Typhoon) were huddled over iced coffees, voices dropping into the kind of conspiratorial whispers that always meant trouble.
“Daotok’s too serious all the time. He needs someone who can tease him out of that face,” Easter stated.
“Exactly! And who better than P’ Arthit? He already annoys him daily. That’s basically flirting,” North smirked.
“Just imagine them together—Daotok with his straight face, Arthit with his smirk. Perfect match,” Typhoon said dreamily.
Arthit had nearly choked holding back a laugh. So that’s their game, huh? They weren’t even being subtle. He ducked away before they could spot him, grinning to himself the whole walk back. If they wanted to play matchmaker, he could play a much better one.
So, a few days later, when those very same friends “coincidentally” shoved a stack of notes into his arms and insisted Daotok needed tutoring, Arthit made no protest. Instead, he strode over to Daotok’s desk and dropped into the seat beside him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He leaned in, grin tugging at his lips. “Careful, Nong Daotok. People might think you’re only pretending not to understand just to spend time with me.” Daotok didn’t even look up, pen gliding across the page in clean, precise handwriting.
“You’re the one dragged here, P’. Not me.” Arthit smirked wider.
So calm. They weren’t wrong—he really did need someone to ruffle him up a little.
He let his shoulder brush Daotok’s. “True, but I don’t mind tutoring my favorite junior.”
Across the room, their so-called friends whispered and giggled behind their books, sneaking glances like they’d just pulled off the greatest heist of the century. Arthit caught their eyes and shot them an exaggerated wink.
Predictably, they scattered like startled pigeons, North and Easter bumped into each other nearly crashing into Typhoon.
He chuckled under his breath. “They’re so obvious.” Daotok finally looked up, expression still perfectly even. “And you enjoy pretending too much.” Arthit leaned back in his chair, smirk firmly in place. “Exactly.”
And if Daotok’s ears were faintly pink, well Arthit decided that was a victory.