You're The Reason My Heart Beats Faster

Wind and Sky

"Sky, please, just come out with us. P'Pai is nice, cool, and handsome......although not as handsome as my P'Phayu." Rain smiled sweetly at Sky giving him his best begging eyes.

"Didn't you tell me he was a player, never serious about anyone?" Sky asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rain sighed, "To be honest I am not sure either. I haven't seen P'Pai date anyone in months."

"Look, I have nothing against your boyfriend's friend. I won't like anyone." Sky said. Rain couldn't interpret the look in Sky's eyes but it's not the first time Rain has felt that there is something in Sky's past that still haunts him.

"I'm not asking you to marry P'Pai, just come out to lunch with us. It will be the four of us, you don't even have to talk to P'Pai if you don't want to."

"Fine," Sky said, "but just lunch."

Rain nodded at him smiling. "Right just lunch and the Rose festival afterwards." Rain says quickly, leaving before Sky could protest the addition. Rain has done his part now it was up to P'Pai to try to charm Sky. Rain would support Sky no matter what he decided but he had promised P'Pai this one chance.

"Do you think P'Pai is really serious about Sky?" Rain asked P'Phayu that night.

P'Phayu took a minute to think about it, "I don't know. I have never seen Pai pursue anyone like this. Usually he just reaches out and takes what is offered and there is always plenty of that."

"I don't understand, he only met Sky the once." Rain says.

"Apparently your friend made a big impression on Pai." P'Phayu tells him, then winks at him, "Didn't I make big impression on you the first time we met? You did tell me that I was handsome."

Rain still blushes at the memory.

P'Pai had wanted to go to an upscale French restaurant owned by a family friend but he was vetoed 3 to 1. "Besides," Rain tells him, "Sky wouldn't be impressed by a such fancy restaurant."

The restaurant they end up at isn't fancy but the food was delicious. It was run by an older couple with their children and grandchildren. P'Phayu had actually been the one to recommend it, he had been coming here with P'Saifah since they were children.

Rain sat across from P'Phayu leaving Sky to sit across from P'Pai. Unless Rain is mistaken P'Pai actually seems nervous. Despite this he gives Sky his most charming smile. P'Pai picks up a menu and without hesitation tells Sky, "Let's see what's on the menu, oh look it's me n u."

"There's something wrong with your brain isn't there?" Sky asks making P'Phayu laugh and Rain snort.

P'Pai is undeterred. He just smiles and says, "It's love sickness and it's only cure is from the source." Sky just sighs at that.

Once their food arrives, P'Pai makes a show of picking out the tastiest looking morsels and passing those to Sky's plate. "Do you like vegetables, Sky? If you were a vegetable it would be a cute-cumber."

Sky rolls his eyes and says, "cucumbers are a fruit."

Rain is pretty sure he caught a hint of a smile on Sky's face as he turned away though.

P'Pai's phone rings and he steps away to take a business call. Rain can't help but notice the Sky's gaze follows him as he leaves the table.

"How are you doing over there, cute-cumber?" Rain asks him.

"Rain do you want to die?" Is Sky's answer.

They make it through the rest of lunch without any more pick up lines but P'Pai does try to feed Sky, much to Sky's embarrassment.

After lunch they go to a small festival the locals call the Rose festival. Rain pulls them over to a do it yourself face paint booth immediately. Rain, Sky, and P'Phayu are all quite good at drawing and painting but the animal P'Pai draws on Sky looks a little like a mix between a buffalo and a stunted cow.

"What is it?" Sky asks frowning into the mirror.

"A cat of course," P'Pai says admiring his own puppy Sky had drawn on him.

"That's a cat?" Rain asks, "I thought it was some sort of weird horse." Rain has an almost perfect bunny that P'Phayu has drawn on him.

"Really, I thought it looked more like some sort of deer." P'Phayu says, showing off Rain's drawing of a fox on his cheek.

P'Pai laughs along with the rest of them. He is the first to admit that his art skills are nonexistent.

They play a few games and walk around looking at what the vendors are selling. P'Phayu buys Rain another belt bracelet that Rain falls in love with. Phayu put's it on above the one he bought him for his birthday. Rain admires the look of the double bracelets on his wrist.

Sky has to constantly refuse P'Pai from buying him everything from jewelry to a new cross body shoulder bag like Sky usually wears. Finally he gives in and lets him buy a small cactus in a brightly colored pot. Sky has a passion for plants.

Rain notices when P'Pai and Sky fall back a little as the four of them are just lazily walking around admiring some of the artwork from the small local artists. He sees Sky pass P'Pai his phone. Wow Sky actually giving up the phone number, that has got to be some kind of miracle on P'Pai's part. Rain wishes them all the best of luck.

When P'Pai and Sky catch up, Rain pulls his friend away with the excuse of finding a bathroom.

"So." Rain says

"What?" Sky tries to look innocent.

"I saw you exchange contacts with P'Pai, I thought you didn't like him?" Rain smirks a little.

"Nosy," Sky knows Rain won't give up the matter easily, "fine, I agreed to go on another date with him. He's so cheesy that I just felt sorry for him."

"Right. You felt sorry for him." Rain laughs.

"Rain you don't have to be inquisitive about everything you know." Sky tells him.

"Come on it's one of my best traits." Rain says throwing an arm around Sky's shoulder. "Come, let's go find our boyfriends."

"I will kill you, don't think I won't," Sky says throwing his arm off his shoulder.

They drop Sky off first and P'Pai even walks him to the door of his condo. Rain doesn't miss P'Pai's self satisfied look, not to mention slightly swollen lips when he returns to the car. Even P'Phayu raises an eyebrow at his friend.

By the time they begin their second year, Rain knows that Sky and P'Pai are a steady thing. He is happy for his friend. He also makes P'Phayu give P'Pai a shovel talk on his behalf. Just in case.

One week into their second year and both Rain and Sky are already feeling the increased pressure. They already have several assignments and one nasty project given by a particularly strict teacher. Not to mention that they are expected to mentor their incoming juniors through orientation.

Rain doesn't know what he would do without P'Phayu helping but more surprising is the way P'Pai is helping Sky, everything from sending him food to helping him with the projects.

P'Pai even comes with P'Phayu during the last cheer ceremony where they will stay up with the new freshman the entire night leading them in activities then have a wrist binding ceremony in the morning. From the way Sky is smiling and talking with P'Pai he seems happy that he came as well.

Rain isn't exactly surprised when Sky announces that he has agreed to be P'Pai's boyfriend for real. Yeah Rain is pretty happy for his friend.