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Sky was pretty sure the idiot who was following him thought he was being stealthy. He was doing that walking on the balls of his feet sort of step, as if his footsteps could even be heard over the noise and crowds from the races anyway. His flashy red and white racing jacket was loud enough to scream though. Sky would have to be stupid and mostly blind to miss that this man was following him.
Under normal circumstances being followed would be concerning, but Sky was familiar enough with this man to know there was no threat. Prapai Patheera, rising star motorcycle racer on the track. Sky hadn’t met him officially, but he’d seen Prapai around, seen the way he strutted like he owned the place, preening under the attention from the crowd. He was absolutely full of himself. He was also just disgustingly attractive.
And he knew it.
Which was gross.
But being cocky and hot didn’t actually translate to dangerous. Sky was dangerous, someone like Prapai Patheera however, was not.
Sky had two options. Sky could shake him off, easy enough to do in the busy crowds and labyrinth of trailers. Sky was quick on his feet and far more practiced at losing a tail than most people. His other option was confrontation. And Sky could admit, he was mostly just curious what this idiot thought he was doing trying to follow Sky into dark corners of the races.
So Sky pretended not to notice him, allowing Prapai to inch closer as Sky led him into a maze of trailers before slowing enough for Prapai to make his move.
So predictable.
And loud.
Even blindfolded, Sky would be able to tell his every move. Stealth was not this guy's strong suit at all.
Prapai grabbed his arm, spinning Sky around and pressing him back against the wall of the trailer. Sky allowed it to happen, his muscles loose as he suppressed any trained response. Always let them think they’re in control. “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing here? Lost?”
Sky raised an eyebrow. The cocky swagger wasn’t surprising but it was somehow more ridiculous up close. It felt like a chihuahua was trying to intimidate him right now. “What’s it to you?”
“Not just anyone is allowed at these things, you can get in some serious trouble for sneaking in,” Prapai said, leaning in, crowding Sky against the trailer as if his physical imposition was going to further intimidate Sky into doing what he wanted.
Sky looked at him for a long moment before a laugh bubbled up inside of him, breaking out.
Prapai frowned, he had clearly not anticipated being laughed at. But Sky couldn’t help it, it was just so stupid. He could gut this idiot like a fish without getting his shoes dirty. The idea that he should be scared of someone like Prapai was just… laughable.
So he laughed.
Sky had no intention of showing Prapai the error of his ways however. He knew his uncle Pakin would be annoyed if Sky killed his star racer, so he refrained. Sky didn’t like to kill for no reason anyway. It was messy and annoying and involved making a lot of phone calls.
No, thanks.
“What did I say that is so funny?” Prapai asked, rocking back onto his heels, increasing the space between them but leaving his hand planted against the trailer by Sky’s head. The silky black button down he wore under his jacket was gaping open at the collar, a plunging V neck because he didn’t bother to do up the buttons and Sky didn’t appreciate that at all, definitely not directly in his face like this.
“Did you want something or do you just enjoy being a pest?” Sky asked instead, brushing imaginary dirt off of his shirt. His complete lack of response to Prapai’s attempt to control the situation was noticed if Prapai’s little forehead wrinkle was anything to go by. But then his expression changed, rather than being annoyed or angry that his plan wasn’t working, he just shifted tactics.
“I want your name. I wouldn’t say no to something else either,” Prapai said, letting his eyes rake down Sky’s front, his cocky little smirk back on display. It was annoying how good it looked on him. He was the kind of man who was used to people falling at his feet, used to getting exactly what he wanted without having to work for it. Sky found himself annoyed about it on principle.
“Pass.”
Prapai raised an eyebrow, Sky’s defiant stance seemed to only intrigue him more. And now that Sky had gotten his answer for why this idiot was trying to tail him, he found he no longer cared to continue the conversation. Sky made a quick maneuver, a jujitsu move he’d mastered when he was eleven, and suddenly Prapai found himself pressed against the trailer, Sky’s hand planted on his chest.
His very bare, very toned chest.
Fuck.
Sky stepped back, crossing his arms and hoping it was dark enough out to hide any redness in his cheeks. He refused to give Prapai that satisfaction.
“I’m not interested, Prapai Patheera, racer.”
Prapai smiled, all sly and cocky. “Well that’s not fair, you know my name but won’t tell me yours.”
“You shouldn’t follow strangers into dark alleyways,” Sky advised. “That’s how you end up as fish food at the bottom of the river.”
“But how else was I supposed to meet the love of my life?” Prapai asked, his smile making his eyes crinkle at the corners.
Sky wrinkled his nose in disgust, turning on his heel and walking away without another word.
“Hey! Wait!” Prapai called after him, attempting to follow but Sky just maneuvered through the maze of trailers that he knew like the back of his hand, losing Prapai easily.
Sky didn’t have time for cocky, vain racers with fluffy hair and pretty smiles who didn’t know how buttons worked. Nope, he didn’t have time to entertain that at all.
~~~
Sky wasn’t avoiding the races per se, he rarely went to them to begin with. His connection to Pakin and the family business was not a public one, for his own safety more than anything, so he had no reason to frequent the track. In fact, it was better if he wasn't viewed as a regular.
Sky had been trained in the family business since he was old enough to hold a knife without hurting himself. He knew 27 ways to kill a man without a weapon, he had a broad education in business and law and was working towards an architecture degree. Part of running the family business was running a very real and very legal business to front the actual work being done. Pakin had been kind enough to let him choose what area of study he wanted to pursue that would someday become one of the many legal businesses they used to shelter the family's dealings.
Sky was finding architecture challenging and fascinating and there were plenty of ways to launder money through a business like that, so really, it was perfect.
He went to the races occasionally because well, they were fun and it was always good to see the work in action. Few of the staff even knew who he was, they just knew to respect the token he carried with Pakin's seal, the one that promised that any issues would be settled with Pakin directly. Not even the low-level meathead guards fucked with him then. But he was not out and proud as a member of the family. There were too many enemies lurking for that. Sky would have to travel with a pack of bodyguards if he wanted to be publicly recognized and no, thank you, to that.
Lately he’d been busy with his coursework which meant no time for late night motorcycle races. And yeah, okay, maybe he didn’t want another run in with a certain racer. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle Prapai. It wasn’t that he was scared or worried about it. It’s that he didn’t want to. He didn’t want the stupid cocky idiot with his very generous genetics to zero in on him again. It was better if Sky laid low and let Prapai forget about him entirely. There were plenty of modelesque track bunnies to distract Prapai, he probably wouldn’t remember their encounter at all, probably wouldn't even be able to pick Sky out of a lineup in a week or two. Sky just needed to wait him out.
Which was not the same as hiding or running away!
Sky just had more important things to do.
So he’d skipped the next race.
And the one after it.
He’d been working late in the architecture lab that evening, fine tuning his design and making meticulous notes before taking it all home to begin working on the model. His work desk at home was smaller and it was harder to get those details perfect when he couldn’t see his entire schematic, so he liked to use the school lab for such tasks. So he’d broken a cardinal family rule and stayed out long past nightfall without a bodyguard, without even notifying anyone or giving them an ETA on when he’d be back. Not that he really needed to notify anyone, he wore his tracker like he was supposed to, but protocol still existed, and Pakin would still give him a lecture if he broke it too many times. But he was just at school; it was perfectly safe. All the doors required a keycard to access after 6pm and he was so low profile in the family that he really didn’t worry about being recognized.
It was one of the reasons he loved school so much, here he got to be simply a student, lost in the crowd. Here people didn’t know that he was dangerous or important, they just knew him as another student. Here he had friends, people he ate lunch with who only knew him as Sky and laughed at his biting jokes and asked to borrow pencils from him. It was simple, it was nice. There wasn’t much in his world that was simple or nice, so he clung to the sliver of normalcy he had, keeping it close to his chest.
He’d even talked Pakin down from making him carry a gun on him at all times. Another protocol he was skirting around. He’d never been much for guns anyway, they were loud and messy, brain matter splattering on everything. He much preferred a nice sharp knife. He carried at least three on his person at all times. He liked his blades to be small, it required an up close range to get the job done, but they were easy to conceal, silent and effective.
So Sky didn’t worry about being alone in the building late at night.
He should have been worried for a completely different reason however.
When he finally left for the night, his design plans rolled up safely in their tube and his bag loaded up with extra supplies he was low at at home, he found the otherwise empty parking lot had exactly one car in it. An expensive foreign car, flashy by its mere existence, with a familiar asshole leaning against it, a red and white racing jacket slung over his shoulder.
“Sky Thepnakorn, architecture student.” Prapai said, smug satisfaction written all over his stupid face.
“Well if it isn’t Fish Food back to annoy me,” Sky said, sighing at the injustice of it all.
“So you remember me,” Prapai winked.
“Are you lost?” Sky asked, looking and feeling very unimpressed by Prapai’s show of competence in hunting him down. On paper, for school, Sky was just another student. It wasn’t exactly hard to get that information. More than anything, it was just annoying. Prapai was supposed to go tangle up in bed with any, or all, of the people who threw themselves at him at the races. He was supposed to forget Sky’s existence. So why was he here?
“No, I was waiting for you.”
“Why?”
“I seem to have left something important in your possession,” Prapai replied, his face still so smug with self satisfaction.
“Oh? Your single brain cell perhaps?” Sky replied. He didn’t know what Prapai was hoping to accomplish here but he wasn’t interested in playing along.
“No, my heart.”
Sky blanched, “Gross.”
Prapai’s smile only widened, as if his terrible pickup lines failing miserably was all a part of the plan. “You’re here late, let me drive you home?”
“I don’t get in cars with strangers,” Sky said. Which was actually true. But even if it weren’t, he wouldn’t be getting in a car with Prapai.
“I’m not a stranger!” Prapai exclaimed. “We’ve met twice now and know each other's names and occupations. That is at least acquaintance level by most peoples’ metrics.”
“I don’t get in cars with acquaintances either,” Sky replied blandly.
“Well let’s become friends, then!” Prapai said as if this were a negotiation. “I am Prapai but you can call me P’Pai,” He added with an obnoxious wink. “By day I’m director of marketing, by night I race motorcycles and win. It’s illegal which makes me very edgy and cool. I have two younger siblings, I like the ocean more than mountains and I’m allergic to kiwi.”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Sky asked.
“Telling you about myself!” Prapai said, as if it was all really that simple. As if showing up at Sky's school and info dumping about his life was a normal thing to do.
“I don’t want to know.”
“But I want to tell you.”
“I’m going home,” Sky announced, walking past him and down the sidewalk and towards the tree-lined path that snaked between the school buildings.
“Wait! I’ll walk with you,” Prapai said, dropping his jacket into his car and scurrying to catch up, fall in step beside him.
“Why? Get in your fancy car and go away,” Sky ordered.
“But I want to spend time with you,” Prapai replied, his ridiculous words somehow feeling earnest when paired with his happy smile and his pleading eyes.
Sky stopped short. Apparently he needed to take a stronger stance with this idiot. “Why?” He demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and stared at him, the kind of stare that Pakin said made him look cold as ice, which coming from his uncle, was the highest of compliments.
Prapai looked off balanced for the first time. “I— I really do want to get to know you. You’re intriguing.”
“Well stop being intrigued,” Sky said. “I’m not interested.”
“That just makes you more intriguing,” Prapai pointed out, amusement seemed to dance behind his eyes.
“God, you’re annoying.”
A subtle movement over his left shoulder caught his attention. They were in the heart of the path and it was late into the night, no one else should be around, but a branch of the bush beside them moved in an unnatural way and Sky’s training and instinct took over, rolling down onto the ground, pulling Prapai down with him as a flash of steel went cutting through the air where they had just been standing.
“What the fuck!” Prapai gasped, hitting the ground hard with a painful sounding thud. Sky didn’t have time to think about him, shrugging off his bag and sliding a knife out of his shoe, sending it flying into the bush with one quick flick of his wrist. He heard it land true with a dull thud before the man gasped in pain.
Sky didn’t relax, where there was one, there was more.
“Was that a knife?” Prapai yelped, his voice far too loud for the situation.
“Shut up,” Sky hissed, scanning the path for the next attacker. The man in the bush was making a lot of noise, meaning Sky hit him somewhere that mattered. Even if he wasn’t dead, he was incapacitated. More importantly, the attackers knew their upper hand of surprise was ruined.
Sky dragged Prapai with him to the opposite side of the pavement, still on high alert.
“Who are you?” Prapai asked, a sudden note of fear in his tone. Sky broke protocol, losing focus for a moment as he glanced over at Prapai, noting the terror in his eyes and the awkward way he was cradling his arm against his chest. Fuck. As annoying as Prapai was, he was just a normal guy, he had no clue what was happening or why. Of course he was scared right now, that’s how normal people reacted when their lives were threatened.
“Stay against this tree, be quiet,” Sky ordered, sliding his second knife out of his waistband. He pressed the knife handle into Prapai’s palm, “If anyone comes near you who isn’t me, they will try to kill you. Attack first, ask questions later.”
Prapai’s hands were trembling but he gripped the handle tightly, the blade glinting off the streetlight. Behind the obvious fear was something stronger, an inner steel that not everyone had or could access when it mattered.
Good.
If he wanted to live to see tomorrow he was going to have to move past fear.
Sky pulled his last knife from its chest harness under his shirt, settling into a crouch in front of Prapai and zeroing in on the next attacker. There were three of them, one coming from either end of the sidewalk and a third checking in on the guy in the bush. He seemed to think the two of them could handle Sky by themselves.
Sky liked being underestimated.
He moved forward to pull the fight further away from Prapai. They’d come for Sky so he would keep their focus on him. Rather than wait on the defense, Sky threw himself at the attacker, dropping down to slash at the back of his knee before Sky went into a somersault and was up and away before the man could blink. He went down immediately, crying out in pain.
The next attacker was better prepared, not giving Sky a second to get his bearings before he attacked, a vicious slice of his knife coming at Sky’s face. Sky stumbled back, the knife grazing his cheek, the sting was sharp and bright. He went down, attempting to roll but the man dropping on top of him, one hand pinning Sky’s arm to the ground, his knife useless in his immobilized hand, as the man reeled back to go for a gut shot. Sky tried to get the upper hand, his free hand keeping the knife away while he tried to maneuver his legs to flip the man over, but this one was better trained than the other goons. Sky flailed, trying to headbutt him, to do anything to keep from dying on this stupid sidewalk. Pakin would never forgive him if a bunch of hired goons got the better of him.
How embarrassing.
Suddenly the man sputtered on top of him, a fountain of red gushing from his neck, spraying hot blood all over Sky’s face. The hilt of Sky’s blade stuck out of the side of his neck, the man going limp and falling to the side to reveal Prapai standing behind him, his hand still outstretched and trembling. Prapai looked stunned by his own actions, a wide-eyed terror as he watched the man fall, like he couldn’t comprehend how he got there.
Sky pushed the goon off of him, going to stand up when he watched in horror as the final attacker came at Prapai from behind. Sky didn’t have time to warn him, to say anything, he simply grabbed Prapai’s arm, yanking him to the side, hard. The knife bit into his arm, rather than sinking into his back, as Prapai tumbled to the ground beside him. Sky let his final knife fly, watching it sink deep into the man’s chest. He froze mid-step, a gurgling sort of wheeze sound coming from him, blood bubbling up around his mouth before he dropped to the ground.
Prapai groaned of pain, looking over at the man and letting out a whimper, of pain, of fear, of relief. Sky scrambled over to him, taking in the damage with a trained eye. His arm, the same one he’d been babying, was bleeding profusely, the knife wound was deep, but it didn’t seem to have hit anything major. Prapai’s shirt was already torn and bloody from the fight and Sky simply ripped a strip off of the hem, using it to tie off the wound and slow the blood flow.
“There are— fuck, easier ways to get me naked,” Prapai said, his forehead pinched in pain.
“Idiot,” Sky muttered, refusing to admit how relieved he was to hear Prapai being ridiculous at a time like this. Sky's entire cover was blown in an instant and yet Prapai was still over here cracking jokes like they hadn't both nearly died. “Don’t move, I need to—” Sky cut himself off. He needed to go clean up. At least one of them was still alive, he could hear him moving. Sky needed answers, he needed names and then he needed to silence them all forever.
“Don’t look,” Sky advised before he went to the man Prapai had killed, unceremoniously yanking the knife out of his neck, a weak gush of blood following the action now that the obstruction had been removed.
Sky wiped the bloody knife clean on his shirt and handed it back to Prapai. Knives were hard to wield when they were wet, easier to hurt yourself than another person like that. Prapai wouldn’t know that. Sky didn’t think there were any more attackers to come but it didn’t hurt to be cautious.
“Just stay here, I’ll be back in a minute,” Sky said.
Prapai looked up at him, the fear was still there but it didn’t seem to be directed at Sky anymore. He just watched in silence as Sky stood up, checking the pulse of each attacker and pulling his knife out of the man’s chest before he continued on towards the only remaining threat. The very first man in the bush was still breathing but it was a rattling sound. His eyes widened as he saw Sky coming for him. Sky’s knife had hit him in the stomach. Gut shots were nasty work, lots of vulnerable vital organs to be injured, bowels to be punctured and infections to inevitably succumb to.
Sky sank down to one knee over him, looking at the man for a long moment. “Who do you work for?” He asked, his voice terrifyingly calm. He was sure he made quite a sight like this, an oozing cut across his cheek and his whole person covered in blood.
“Fuck you,” The man wheezed out, attempting to spit at him.
Sky clasped his hand around the man’s neck, squeezing until the man started to panic before easing back on the pressure, leaving his hand there as a reminder. “A name and I’ll make it quick.”
He scrambled to pull Sky off of him but his strength was nonexistent. A flash of a tattoo caught Sky’s eye, releasing the man’s neck only to grab his wrist, pulling up his sleeve the rest of the way. The serpentine dragon wrapped around a sword was a dead giveaway and they both knew it.
The fight was leaving the man quickly, he was going to die either way.
“Yamamoto,” Sky whispered under his breath. The slash was quick and deep across the man’s neck, he was dead before he could take another breath.
Sky retrieved his last knife, wiping it as best he could before placing it back in its sheath. He had a hell of a night ahead of him thanks to these assholes. Debriefing with Pakin was his least favorite activity. And he still had his model to work on!
When he came back around, Prapai was still sitting in the grass beside the sidewalk, looking beaten and fragile. The sight made Sky ache a little bit. He’d only ever seen Prapai be a cocky idiot, walking around like he owned the world. It felt wrong somehow, to see him look so small.
“Can you walk?” Sky asked, crouching down beside him. Now that the threat was neutralized and his adrenaline starting to fall he could feel every cut and bruise, his cheek throbbed. Prapai wouldn’t be far behind him. They both needed medical treatment and Sky deserved a very hot shower.
“Yeah, I think so,” Prapai answered, allowing Sky to pull him to his feet. “Are we close enough to take the car now?” Prapai asked with a faint smile, leaning heavily against Sky.
Sky snorted, “Do you want blood all over your car?”
“Fuck,” Prapai muttered, a whole body shiver raking through him despite the sheen of sweat across his skin. He looked terrible, pale and clammy. Sky was pretty sure he was going into shock. He needed to get them both moving before Prapai passed out on him.
Sky pulled out his phone, sighing at the splintery crack across the face of it now. It still worked though, calling the emergency family line. “It’s Sky. I need extraction and clean up to my location. I’ll need medical when I get to the compound,” He said, hanging up without another word. His location was always turned on for the family so there was nothing more for him to do.
Prapai looked at him, that same trepidation and fear in his eyes. He wanted to ask, Sky could see it, but he was also scared of the answer.
“We need to get your arm stitched up,” Sky said instead of addressing the obvious question. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“My arm feels funny,” Prapai answered. “Felt funny before— I think I landed badly when you— at the beginning” He trailed off, words were clearly hard for him to formulate.
Sky nodded, “You probably sprained it in the fall.”
“I— hospital? But we can’t— looking like this,” Prapai said looking down at the blood and dirt covering them both. There was no way they could walk into a hospital without a lot of police intervention being called. Prapai looked down at his stab wound, swaying on his feet “Oh fuck, that’s a lot of blood,” Prapai said. Yeah, he was definitely going into shock; his eyes rolled back into his head.
Sky shouldered his weight, wincing at the suddenness as Prapai went boneless against him, turning to dead weight as he slipped out of consciousness. At least he waited until the danger was passed, Sky thought with a sigh. “You’re going to be okay,” Sky promised him.
Sky heard the sharp two-tone whistle of his team, relief washing through him. He returned the call, a confirmation, an all-clear.
“They’re here, let’s go,” He said rather uselessly since he was talking to an unconscious person. He heaved Prapai up onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry and slowly made his way back out to the parking lot where a pair of nondescript black vans were waiting for them. Chai, the head of security, was standing in wait in his stuffy black suit, a pinched sort of relief washing over his otherwise stoic face when he saw Sky emerge largely unharmed.
“Status?” Chai asked.
“We need some patching up but nothing vital. There were four attackers. Dead. I’ll debrief with Uncle directly,” Sky said simply.
Chai looked at the limp form slung across Sky’s shoulders with a hard, judgmental stare before looking back at Sky, an obvious question that Sky had no intention of answering. “Don’t ask,” He said, with an eyeroll, shuffling over to the car and having one of Chai’s men help him get Prapai into the car. He fished around in Prapai’s pockets, finding his keys and throwing them to Chai. “Have someone bring his car, would you?” Sky asked, nodding towards the only other vehicle in the parking lot.
Chai raised an eyebrow but only nodded.
Sky climbed in beside Prapai and let out a sigh, finally safe and able to relax now that the threat was neutralized. Prapai was still out cold, his skin scarily pale from blood loss. Sky dug out a blanket from the emergency kit, wrapping it around Prapai and ignoring the heavy weight of silence in the van as the driver pointedly did not comment.
They just had to get to the compound, it would be fine.
~~~
Sky watched silently as the in-house doctor worked on Prapai, shooting him full of painkillers and numbing agent before starting on the stitches for his arm. “He said his arm hurt too, he fell on it before he got stabbed,” Sky said suddenly, it felt important for some reason, to make sure Prapai was taken care of fully. There was a nurse working on his cheek. It wasn’t deep enough to need stitches, just a quick clean up and a bandage was sufficient. Sky was sore everywhere but was otherwise unharmed. Somehow Prapai had taken the brunt of the injuries because the idiot didn’t even know how to fall correctly.
“Your uncle is ready for you,” someone told him, expecting Sky to follow them to Pakin’s study.
“I’ll talk to him here when he’s available,” Sky replied, taking a seat beside Prapai’s bed like it was reasonable to make demands like that. Like he wasn’t blatantly breaking protocol. The bodyguard frowned but retreated to convey the message.
The doctor finished up, getting an oxygen mask set up on Prapai’s face, apparently the shock was just as concerning as his actual injuries. Sky felt something suspiciously like guilt at the sight. It wasn’t his fault Prapai had been pulled into his world like this, it was actually Prapai’s for refusing to take a hint, but he still felt responsible. Even if Prapai was annoying, he didn’t deserve to be stabbed about it. Not by anyone other than Sky at least.
His uncle Pakin stepped into the room, taking in the sight of Prapai unconscious on the bed with Sky sitting protectively beside him, Pakin’s stoic face giving away nothing. “I would have expected you to be the one in the hospital bed if you’re refusing to come to my office,” He said pointedly.
Sky smirked without any real humor. “He’s had a hard day, I would feel bad if he wakes up alone.”
“So who’s the boy? Your boyfriend?” Pakin asked, his tone almost playful. Very few people ever got to meet the Pakin behind the mask, the one that smiled and laughed and even teased on occasion. Sky was unfortunately very familiar with that Pakin.
“God, no,” Sky replied. “He’s—”
“He’s Prapai Patheera and he can’t race with his arm in a sling,” Pakin filled in for him.
“I’m so sorry your star racer got injured,” Sky replied sarcastically. It wasn't exactly Sky's idea of a good time either. Prapai shouldn't have been anywhere near him to begin with.
“You should have left him at the scene,” Pakin said. “The team could have taken care of him. Bringing him here, into this life, will have consequences.”
Pakin wasn’t saying anything he didn’t already know. Yes, it probably would have been better. The team could have dropped him at a real hospital and Sky Thepnakorn, architecture student, would be digitally scrubbed from existence before Prapai even woke up. Sky would disappear, simple and clean and it would be best for Sky, for the family. But the thought of leaving Prapai crumpled and injured on the grass and just walking away felt wrong in a way Sky couldn’t even articulate.
“It was a little late for that. And he— he saved my life,” Sky said softly. It was stupid and maybe a little sentimental, but somewhere between Prapai’s terrible come ons and stabbing someone in the neck to save Sky, things had changed. “It was Yamamoto’s men,” Sky said, changing the subject. “I don’t know how they found me or connected those dots.”
Pakin nodded, “They’ve been trying to move in on our territory for a while, hoping to expand and break into the Thai market. They’ve clearly done their homework if they found you though.”
“I know, I know. I’m the weak link. But I don’t want bodyguards following me around at school,” He practically whined. It was maybe a little petty considering he’d just been jumped outside of his school, but clearly Sky could handle himself so he still didn’t think he needed bodyguards.
“That’s the least of your problems,” Pakin reminded him, giving Prapai a pointed look as he started to shift in his hospital bed, waking up.
“Ugh,” Sky sighed.
“I’ll leave you and your boyfriend to talk,” Pakin said with a teasing little waggle of his eyebrow, making Sky want to throw something. Prapai was not his boyfriend, goddammit!
Prapai made a whining sound, pulling the oxygen mask off of his face and then whining again from the pain of moving his arm.
“P’Pai, you have to leave that on,” Sky said, trying to fix the mask but Prapai just looked up at him and smiled, a loopy, doped up sort of smile.
“Sky! You’re here!”
“Oh lord,” Sky muttered. The man was high as a kite.
“You’re so pretty, Sky,” Prapai said wistfully. “Your hair is so shiny. My arm hurts, won’t you kiss it better?”
“Do you remember anything that happened tonight?” Sky asked, ignoring Prapai’s blatant come on.
“Did we kiss?”
“No.”
“Do you want to change that?” Even under copious amounts of drugs he was just a shameless flirt. Sky refused to feel any sort of way about it.
“P’Pai, you should go to sleep.”
“Would rather sleep with you,” Prapai mumbled, his words slurring a little.
“You can make anything sexual, can’t you?” Sky didn’t know if he should laugh or feel annoyed about that. It had been a long day and it was a little pointless to be mad at him when he was drugged out of his mind.
“I like you,” Prapai said, smiling all dopey again. “You looked hot like that too. Knives. You look hot with knives.”
“Idiot,” Sky muttered. So he did remember at least some of it.
“You think you’re scary now, I can tell. But you aren’t. You’re just hot. I thought I was going to die, but I didn’t because you saved me. A scary person wouldn’t have saved me. You like me too.”
“That is a terrible conclusion to come to after tonight's events,” Sky told him. Really, what sort of logic was that?
“Will you stay?” He asked, his eyes hazy with medication but still somehow so earnest and hopeful that Sky felt something in him weaken.
“Yeah, I’ll stay.” The words slipped out before he could even think them through. Prapai started shifting around in his bed, wincing from pain as he did so. “What are you doing?”
“Want you—” He gasped at the pain, “Want you beside me.”
“P'Pai, stop,” Sky said. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Just wanna hold you,” Prapai mumbled, slumping back against the pillows.
Sky reached out, threading his fingers through Prapai’s and giving him a squeeze. “There. Better?”
Prapai smiled, his consciousness already slipping away. “Better,” He mumbled.
So Sky stayed like that, bedside vigil with his hand in Prapai’s until he woke up once again, hopefully then he’d have a few more of his faculties.
~~~
Sky woke up to find himself slumped over Prapai’s bed, his face smashed against the mattress by Prapai's waist as gentle fingers carded through his hair, slow and rhythmic. He jerked back, scanning the room on instinct. He never fell asleep with someone else in the room with him. He was incapable of relaxing enough to do that, always feeling too on edge. So the thought that he’d been comfortable enough with Prapai Patheera of all people was concerning. Perhaps the fight had taken more out of him than he’d realized. He must have been exhausted, that was the only explanation.
Prapai looked a little more alive than he had the last time Sky had seen him. The color was back in his cheeks and he’d lost the oxygen mask. “Hi,” Prapai said softly.
“What time is it?” Sky mumbled, he started to sit up and realized he was still holding Prapai’s hand. His head was still too full of cobwebs to decide how he felt about that.
“No clue, no one will tell me anything,” Prapai answered.
That wasn’t actually a surprise. Prapai was an outsider and the family didn’t bring in outsiders. The staff were probably wildly confused by Sky’s behavior considering it was more likely Prapai was a prisoner than a friend. Sky dug around in his pocket, pulling out his phone and seeing the blaring light that said it was four in the morning.
“Will your family worry that you didn’t come home?” Sky asked, feeling that uncomfortable pang of guilt once again. Sky didn’t really know what it was like to have a normal family that worried about you like that, but Prapai seemed like the type who had that.
“No,” Prapai replied. “I stay at my condo enough, they won’t think too much about it.”
Sky nodded. The silence stretched between them, heavy with what was unsaid. “You’re allowed to ask,” Sky finally said.
Prapai didn’t play dumb and Sky appreciated that. “I think I pieced it together myself already. I saw Pakin in the hallway earlier,” Prapai admitted. “You’re his…?”
“Nephew,” Sky supplied.
Prapai nodded, “I didn’t realize he had any family.”
“Not many people know, for obvious reasons,” Sky muttered.
“So when you threatened to make me fish food,” Prapai said, letting out a chuckle, the edges tinged with hysteria. “You weren’t just being funny.”
“I didn’t threaten,” Sky said, “But no, not just a joke.”
“Am I allowed to ask who tried to kill us tonight?”
The silence stretched between them. “It’s just turf war stuff. Don’t worry about it, they were looking for me and no one made it out, so they don’t know anything about you.” Prapai didn’t need to know more than that. It wasn’t safe for him to know more than that. It wasn’t safe for him to know anything about Sky or his real life.
“Someone is trying to kill you, of course I'm going to worry about it,” Prapai said like that was a rational or reasonable response.
“You’d do better to go home and forget this ever happened,” Sky replied.
“I already flirt with the line by racing for Pakin,” Prapai answered. “Why not jump in with both feet and date his nephew?”
“We are not dating,” Sky replied, pulling his hand out of Prapai’s grasp and crossing his arms over his chest.
“Is your cheek okay?” Prapai asked, leaning over to trace his fingers along the edge of the bandage.
Sky swatted him away. “I’m fine. You’re the one in a hospital bed.”
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Prapai said, his smile so achingly soft it made Sky want to throttle him. This was not how this conversation was supposed to go. “Do I get a kiss? Not to guilt you into it or anything, but I did stab someone for you tonight,” Prapai said.
“That’s the definition of guilting someone into it,” Sky deadpanned.
“Worth a shot,” Prapai muttered, still smiling even as his eyes slipped closed.
“Are you still hopped up on painkillers? This is the part where you’re supposed to run away screaming,” Sky informed him. “Being around me will get you injured or worse.”
“I thought about it,” Prapai said, his words so open, so honest. He didn’t even seem capable of deception, wearing his every emotion right out in the open for all to see. “All the nurses seem surprised when they come in and I’m still here. Do they think I’m going to run away? Or are you supposed to lock me up in the basement? But… you protected me. You would never have even gotten hurt if I wasn’t there slowing you down.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You like me,” Prapai announced with confidence. “Enough to not let me die, which given your… situation, is a very real metric.”
“I do not,” Sky sputtered.
“It’s okay, I like you too,” Prapai replied, ignoring Sky’s protests entirely. “I’ve liked you since that day you laughed in my face and threw me against a trailer. It was very hot, the way you manhandled me. Been thinking about it for weeks.”
“Shut up. And I don’t like you, I just didn’t want Pakin’s racer to end up on the news,” Sky mumbled.
Prapai smiled, something so achingly affectionate in his eyes. “Okay.”
“You’re so annoying,” Sky muttered. “I’m going to have the nurses force feed you kiwi if you don’t stop it.”
Prapai’s smile simply grew. “You remembered.”
“What?”
“I told you I am allergic to kiwi. You remembered. You like me.” He said it so definitively, like he'd found the loose chink in Sky's armor.
“You really shouldn’t interpret death threats like that,” Sky replied, scowling.
“What can I say, I just like you too much to care,” Pai said, his smile never wavering.
“You don’t even know me,” Sky said, his tone losing its usual sharpness.
“I think I know you better than most now,” Prapai replied. “And I think your biggest reason for keeping me at arms length was this,” Prapai waved a hand at the room in an ‘everything’ sort of gesture, wincing as the movement twinged at his injuries. “And I think you’re grasping at straws now that your go-to excuse is gone.”
“Has it ever crossed your vain little head that I just don’t like you?” Sky retorted.
“Sure. But I don’t believe it,” Prapai responded.
“Why is that?”
“You’re still here.”
Sky froze at the words, the implication of them and how raw it made him feel to be called out like this. But then Prapai just smiled, soft and honest. That was the worst part, Prapai was so honest. Sky lived in a world of lies, of deception and double crossing. Honesty was foreign and dangerous and stupid and yet the authenticity of it was like a siren call.
“Would you lay with me this time? The doctor says my arm isn’t broken, just some nasty bruises.”
“You should learn how to fall,” Sky muttered even as he lowered the metal railing on the bed and crawled in beside Prapai on his uninjured side.
“You can teach me, when we’re both better.” Prapai carefully arranged them, slinging his arm around Sky’s shoulders and pulling Sky against his chest.
“I’m not hurting you, am I?” Sky asked.
“Nope, everything feels perfect now,” Prapai answered.
“You’re such a flirt,” Sky grumbled, ducking his chin to hide the smile that was pulling at his lips.
“Only for you,” Prapai replied. “When I can use my arm again, would you finally go out on that date with me?”
“I’ll think about it,” Sky replied, the answer feeling a bit ridiculous since he was cuddled up in bed with the man but whatever.
Prapai pressed a kiss to the top of his head, “I can’t wait. I’ll try to heal quickly.”
“You’d better.”