Phayu had been, according to his mother, an almost too precocious child. He was the older twin by 6 minutes, and while not a big difference in the larger scale of things, Phayu had taken this responsibility very seriously. Growing up, he had seen his parents' love for each other marred by petty arguments about not having a good house to live in. This had cemented the need to build a great one for his family. As his father's son, he had inherited his great love for bikes and their repair, and Liberty Walk was his 2nd home for all intents and purposes. Saifah had been the laidback one, choosing to study Mechanical Engineering, just so he had a legitimate reason to continue working on the machines he loved. But he minored in Business, knowing that he would be the one taking over the business finally.

Phayu stared at Pai as he spoke about going to England to study. They were both just finishing their second year, and Phayu was about to start the dreaded third year at the faculty of Architecture. Some part of his mind wanted to tell Pai to stop, not to go, that they could work something out between them. But the sensible part of him knew that Pai and he stood on either bank of a river, never destined to meet. So he only shrugged, and turned away, knowing what he would see on the man's face. He wanted to soothe him, but he knew that anything he said now would only serve as an excuse for the boy to not leave. And who was Phayu to stop him from leaving and letting him live his dreams? The day Pai had come back, they had indulged, but it was that night that changed his life forever.

The fact that he had his hands in several pies made it impossible for Phayu to actually want to settle down. By his own admission, he was not the kind who could simply compromise. Phayu needed someone who fit, with his temperament, with his needs, and with his moods. And they were many and varied. He had found a certain amount of softness in Pai, but the racer was not at all his cup of tea. Soft? Yes. But malleable? No. Phayu wanted someone who would make him the centre of his universe. Being bi meant, he had his pick of beauties, but somehow, nothing ever seemed to work in his favour. He was just too much for everyone; too demanding, too commanding, too devoted. And he did not believe in being touchy-feely with a partner. He needed his own space, and no one he knew could give that to him. So it was most likely that he would die alone. Until one day, he stopped to change the tyre for the cutest Nong on the planet, according to him.

Rain was nothing like Phayu had envisioned that first moment. He was not cute at all. He was loud, foul-mouthed, had severe anger issues, was honest to a fault, and worst of all? He hated Phayu with a vengeance. But Phayu had a plan, a very well laid plan, if he said so himself, thank you very much. However, like all best laid plans, Phayu's came to a screeching halt before the force of nature that was Rain. He was no soft drizzle that you could wake up to every morning, gently stroking your face. Rain was a deluge, that threatened everything in its path, smoothening out even the roughest rock.

When Phayu had taken him above the garage, and then tried to kiss him, he had unexpectedly received a knee in the balls, and a slew of insults, calling him a bastard of the highest degree. Then he had cornered Rain in the bathroom of the Uni, where Rain had responded to him at first, but this time, it had been a kick to the shins. When Rain had started speaking, Phayu had the utmost urge to wash the boy's mouth with soap, but he had restrained himself with great alacrity, not wanting to anything else to the boy. He had decided to just give up. Rude, feisty boys like Rain did not appeal to him. But when Rain came to collect his car, he actively sought Phayu out, apologising to him and saying that Sky had not liked his behaviour. Hearing another man's name from Rain's mouth, that too said with so much love and affection, had triggered the most lethal reaction in Phayu.

"Who is Sky?" he asked, clenching his teeth to protect himself from spewing nonsense against this invisible person. "He is my best friend," Rain said, his smile sweet and filled with happiness. This time, Phayu clenched his fists. He did not like Rain, so why did he care who he spoke about? "Will you have coffee with me?" he asked, instead of asking him to pay the bill, and felt as shocked as Rain looked, at his words. Rain scrunched up his eyes and stared at him, probably wondering what had come over him, but Phayu did not allow anything to show on his face. Rain nodded slowly and something akin to relief spread through Phayu.

One coffee date turned to two, then to dinner dates, study sessions, and eventually, Rain would be found on random days at the garage, where Phayu made sure to stock his favourite snacks and drinks with strict instructions that no one but Rain could touch it. If they did, they risked losing their pay, so no one dared. But everyone knew what a sunshine soul Rain was, his very presence warming their gloomy boss and making him seem almost human. Rain was the breath of fresh air Phayu needed. He was soft, malleable, letting Phayu mould him the way he wanted, yet he was stubborn and hard, when it came to protecting the needs of his loved ones. Rain tended to be a bit airheaded and lost, so Phayu was strict with Rain in everything, but no one had an iota of doubt, including Phayu himself, who had the power in their relationship.

Phayu had inadvertently let slip about the races, and from that point onwards, Rain was like an obsessed puppy. He would follow Phayu around with those doe like eyes and the most funereal pout, finally making Phayu cave, much to the enjoyment of Saifah, and Phayu's chagrin. He had been working on a bike when Rain's message had come in. He had gone on ahead, admonishing Rain to complete all of his work before he could get there, and Rain had promised. Although Phayu had already given Rain's name and shown his picture to the guards, and informed P'Chai that he would be joining them, there was a fear in Phayu. Even though his boy had low self-esteem, Phayu knew how gorgeous Rain was, the prettiest boy ever, and races like these, although well monitored, still attracted some lowlifes, so Phayu decided to send Saifah to pick Rain up.

But Pai had surprised him by volunteering to bring Rain, and Phayu had no objection. The moment Rain had come bouncing in, one look at Pai's face had made Phayu want to laugh. Pai looked like he had been hit upside the head with a rock. He look completely turned around and confused. Phayu swallowed his laughter, smirking at Saifah and turning away. Then Rain went to watch Pai race. When they came back, Phayu sensed the simmering undercurrents. Rain wouldn't go near Pai, and the other man wouldn't even look at Rain. Even Saifah, who was more often than not the most clueless one, began to comment how there was this invisible line between Pai and Rain.

The lines began to blur when Sky entered Pai's life. He had always been and integral part of Rain's and Phayu had learnt to respect the boy for the way he so easily grounded Rain. Sky, who was afraid of touch, hid a thousand hurts in his eyes, the fiercest secret keeper, simply melted when it came to Rain. Phayu could see the palpable connection the two boys had, and he was sure Pai could too. But neither of them made a move to disconnect the two of them, instead letting them have their own little bubble. Rain's protectiveness over Sky had not gone unnoticed, and it wasn't until Gun kidnapped Sky again, and the whole truth came tumbling out, that Phayu understood the deep-rooted fear that lived inside his darling and inside Sky. Although Phayu still didn't know the whole story, he knew enough to ensure that he approached Sky with the utmost care.

As Sky healed, and the boys ended their first year, Rain got a brilliant chance, something most people dreamt of, but that his pretty boy had achieved. Phayu couldn't have been prouder and sent Rain off with sunny smiles and promises to call and facetime as often as possible. He knew that Sky also had made those promises, and so the three of them would get together often to chat with Rain. The weekend after he left, Phayu missed Rain like a limb, and after speaking to Pai, he realised that Sky was missing his best friend too. To pull both of them out of their doldrums, Pai suggested going to a new club that had opened nearby. At first, Phayu had balked, but then agreed. Anything would be better than sitting here and feeling like an absolute loser. So off they went. And what followed.... He had lain with Pai before, but Sky had been the surprise. As he had entered the younger man, Phayu had felt something stilling in his heart.

The morning after had been brutal. They had nursed massive hangovers, and ever more terrible guilts. Phayu had apologised to Sky and Pai, but in his heart of hearts he knew that it was not them he had to apologise to. Or not only them. He had wronged his darling, and until Rain forgave him, there would be nothing but self-hatred. But he didn't want to tell Rain. There was a part of him that had already died a 1000 deaths at the thought that Rain would leave him, but his more rational side told him that it would be better if he explained everything to Rain, rather than him getting to know from someone else. He had also felt the weight of Fah's glare, not knowing how his brother knew exactly what had happened that fateful night.

But his confession had brought out another side of his baby in front of him. He had been waiting for tears and recriminations, instead he had gotten curiosity and a possibility. And like everything else in his life, once his darling had gotten the bit between his teeth, he had chomped down on it until it all had fit the way he had wanted. He had pushed and pulled and shaped them into what they were today. The day they had sat down with the contract that Rain had drawn up, Phayu had understood that his darling was nothing like he had thought. He was a smart, talented and cunning boy, who had his own way of working, and he had started looking at him in new light. But it was the night Rain had taken such good care of him during his 'Dom-drop' that he had been convinced that the Rain they had seen so far? They had not even scratched the surface. Towards the end of Rain and Sky's 2nd year, on Rain's birthday, they had finally made the real estate agent very happy when the property they had put the money on, had become their reality. Rain had been the last to see it, and had loved it, so Pai had not wasted a single minute and signed on the dotted line. Phayu had insisted on putting half the money, and Sky and Rain had clearly said that they would pay their share once they became capable of doing so.

Drawing up plans to build the house had been surprisingly easy, despite all three of them having extremely diverse styles of working; Rain's creativity, Sky's practicality, his own perspective of modernity and old world charm, and of course, Pai's whimsy; the perfect blend of styles. In the one year they had taken to finish the building from ground up, had been the toughest, yet the most rewarding year. All their families had come together again to celebrate their new home, and it had become their haven. That night, after everyone had left, Rain had set four rings on the table. "This is real, this is us. Are you guys ready?" he asked. They had looked at the rings, all four slim, etched with their symbols, symbols that represented them perfectly, the symbols that brought them closer. They had slipped on the rings for each other and vowed to love and protect each other no matter life threw at them.

Even now, even almost ten years later, as Phayu drove home after work, he knew that Rain would be there, cooking, Pai would be annoying him, and Sky? Sky would be looking at them indulgently, pretending to roll his eyes whenever they tried to drag him into an argument. He looked down at his ring, the symbol of his love and binding with the three men in his life, his heart, his body and his soul. He knew a lot of people would never understand what they had, but Phayu could not care less. His world was complete and sated, and his men would forever be his; his Rain, his Wind and his Sky, all three calming the storm he was!