"The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else."

Inside Phayu's hospital room –

"Rain," Phayu's soft whisper was like a shout in the deathly silence of the hospital room. There was utter stillness, until Rain bent down and said, "Phi? P'Phayu?" everyone present surged forward and Pai immediately pressed the button for calling the doctor. The whole family crowded around the bed, trying to touch some part of Phayu, just to ensure he was okay. "Please, step aside from the patient," the doctor announced as he walked in, followed by the nurse. All of them moved away en masse from the bed. Rain also tried to step back, but Phayu's hands kept clutching his fingers. Inspite of being so inherently weak, Phayu somehow found the strength to try to keep Rain with him. Rain looked at the doctor, his eyes filled with an unspoken question. "It's okay Rain, you stay with him. Looks like he is not going to let you go so easily," the doctor said, smiling. Rain sat back beside the bed, stroking Phayu's hair, and holding on to his hand.

The doctor checked his vitals, and pronounced that it seemed that Phayu was out of danger. "We will remove the oxygen mask now, and the catheter by the evening. Let's stick to the IV for a while yet, we will try light liquid meals from tomorrow. But it looks like Nong Phayu is on the mend," the doctor smiled. The entire family breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Let me inform Khun Nu and Macau," Chay said. "They have been asking for constant updates. Best let them know Phayu woke up," he added. Phayu was the first born Theerpanayakul in this generation, born almost 6 months before Pai. Porche always said that knowing about Vegas and Pete about to have Phayu was what motivated them to go for Pai. But being the eldest meant, that Phayu got a lot of love and attention from every single member of the family, for six months more than Pai, a fact that he never forgot to remind Pai of, much to his chagrin.

"Rain, now that Phayu is awake, why don't you go home and rest baby," Pete asked him, patting his head. "Your Pa and Dad are still here, and so are your friends," he added. "I am not going," Rain said, in a soft voice, continuing to stroke Phayu's hair. "You can all leave," I will be there with him." Although his voice was soft, the tone was clear as a scream. 'No one dare force me. He is mine to love, mine to care for, just mine.' Everyone looked at each other. Type started forward, about to say something, when Tharn pulled him back. "No Type, leave him be. He will only get more stubborn if you force him. Let's just give him some time," he reprimanded his husband in a soft voice. Type assented, though his frown clearly indicated that he was not happy with these turn of events. "Rain," Pete said again, only to be stopped by Vegas. "It's like Tharn said. Leave him. He will figure out what is best for him. We decided to entrust our son to him, so let's give him some credit," he said. "But he must eat Ai'Vegas," Pete said. "Papa P, trust me, I will ensure Nong eats," Pai said. "You guys go ahead, and you all too," he said turning to Rain's group of friends. Let me get you guys something to eat, and then get someone to drop you home," he continued. "Thank you for the dinner offer P'Pai, but no thanks. We will take care of it. Plus we have Sky's car, we will get ourselves home. You just take care of P'Phayu and Rain," Sig said, earning nods from the whole group. "Rain is lucky to have friends like you," Kinn said, smiling at them. All of them went, slightly back-hugged Rain, earning his smile, waiied to the elders and left.

Outside the hospital room –

Pai ushered everyone else out of the room. "Rain is being too stubborn Tharn. I can't let this go on. He has performances coming up, he can't afford to get sick," Type said, worried beyond belief. "I agree with Type. Why did you and Tharn stop us, Ai'Vegas?" Pete asked his husband, anger and worry warring clearly. "Just answer this one question Pete. If it had been Tharn or me, would you and Type have left us alone?" Vegas asked. "No, we would not have, it's true. But he is just a child," Pete said. "No Pete. He is not a child anymore. We think that because he looks so tiny and fragile. He has the core of steel, and he never gives up, just like his Pa, right Type?" Tharn said. "I agree that, as parents, we need to worry about our kids, but we must not forget that they have their choices too. As long as we have given them the right values, and the courage and wisdom to make their decisions, we have to learn to respect them too. They deserve that from us," Vegas said.

"I promise both of you, Papa P and Uncle Type, I will come myself in the morning and make Rain go to school, and I am sure Phayu will agree with me. So don't worry," Pai said to them. "You guys carry on, I will get something for Rain to eat and get home after that," he added. "Thank you Pai. I am so happy that you are here to take care of Phayu and Rain," Type said, clutching Pai's hand. "There is nothing I will not do for them Uncle Type. Phayu is not just my cousin, he is my brother, my best friend. And as for Rain, he is someone who means the world to me, because he gave us back our Phayu. Right Papa V? Right Papa P?" Pai asked, unshed tears glistening in his eyes. Pete and Vegas simply nodded, not finding words to express what Rain meant to them. Tharn and Type looked at each other, and Tharn understood that Type's heart, while not completely settled, was at peace for now, seeing the love his son was receiving from everyone.

Inside Phayu's room –

"Phi, you scared me, you know? I should be so angry with you! But I forgive you this time, because you came back to me. You can't miss anymore important days, okay? My performance is on Friday, I will send you the live-streaming link, because I know you cannot come to the Uni. And then we will celebrate my birthday after you get better," Rain kept up a constant conversation with Phayu, not wanting him to feel alone. "Rain," Phayu said softly. "Yes Phi? What happened? What do you need?" Rain asked, immediately worried. "A little water," he said. "Of course Phi!" Rain went to the mechanism for raising the bed, and then helped Phayu adjust. He then poured fresh water in a glass, put a straw in it and slowly aided Phayu to drink. "Take small sips Phi. Don't drink a lot together. You will choke," he admonished softly.

"Enough Rain," Phayu said, moving his lips away from the water. "Do you want to lie back down? Or sit like this awhile?" Rain asked. "Sit. Want to talk," Phayu said. "Okay! What do you want to talk about?" "Any.. anything.. Hear Rain.. Rain's voice," Phayu said, still tired from all his medications. "Okay Phi! Let me tell you! Practicing for our performance is so hard! And just 3 days away, you know? Yihwa said her legs will become useless after this performance," Phayu smiled, listening to Rain giggling. For him, it was the most beautiful sound in the world. When he had been shot, his last thought as he lost consciousness had been Rain. He was beyond aggravated that he hadn't been able to tell Rain about how much loved him, about his past, and hadn't been able to ask him to be his boyfriend.

What happened after had been a blur. Shouts, screams, feeling like threads had been snipped to separate soul from body, being rushed to the hospital. After that he had no memory. It was as if he had been floating, disconnected and disoriented, until he had heard a beloved sound. He had heard Rain begging him to come back. He had looked around, wondering where the sound had come from and seen a red thread, tied to his pinkie finger. He wondered what it was, but it seemed to be tugging at him. He had decided to follow it, and it had led him directly to "Rain," he had breathed. And now he knew. He knew that Rain was his endgame. Knew that Rain had to be let into his world, his past, his present and his future. Rain was his destiny. This little boy had stolen his heart and entwined himself into his very soul, and he would be the one to bring him back from every precipice he stood at the edge of.

"Rain?" he said. Rain stopped talking and looked quizzically at Phayu. "Yes Phi?" "Love Rain," he said, his voice steady and sure, inspite of all the pain he was feeling. Rain's eyes immediately filled with tears, and unable to control it, he started sobbing. "Rain," fear and worry laced Phayu's voice. "Stop na? No sad.. sadness," he said. "I am not sad Phi," Rain quickly wiped his tears. I am so happy, so, so happy," he said, smiling through his tears. "Rain rak Phi na?" he said, hugging Phayu, mindful of all the wires and tubes connected to him. Just that one thing, and Phayu was finally at peace.

Theerpanayakul mansion, later that day –

"So, what happened?" Pete asked. The entire family, except for Pai, who was still at the hospital, sat around the table in their conference room. They were joined by Pakin, Chai, Arm and Pol "It was Pat, revenge for the cancellation of the liquor licence. And he was afraid that he would be exposed for the fake notes. To his credit, he didn't expect that Phayu would be shot, but what was he thinking, sending a gun in there?" Kinn said. "And bigger question? How did the gun get in through security?" Macau asked. "Excellent point Mac," Vegas said. "And one we didn't think of," Kim said, slapping his hands on the table. "Well we thought of it now. You can be rest assured heads are going to roll," Pai's voice said from the doorway, a fierce look on his face. "Pai, how are Phayu and Rain?" Porche asked. "Doing okay Pa. I got Rain some food, and left them alone. They seemed so content with each other, that I felt like an intruder. But I made Rain promise me that he will go to college tomorrow. Thankfully, Phayu supported me," he said. "Good, I will come with you, when you go the hospital. I will sit with Phayu until Rain comes back," Pete said. Pai was about to respond when Chay spoke up. "P'Pete, let me do that. Let me sit with Phayu. I will take Dao with me. And Pol too," he said. "I know you want to get involved with finding out who hurt him, who hurt our family. So do that. I will take care of Phayu till Rain comes back," he added. "Thank you Chay. Thank you so much. But you will take Chai too. One bodyguard is not enough. We need to keep you and Dao safe as well," Vegas said.

Inside Phayu's room, late that night –

Rain slept on the bed that had been arranged by Pai, and placed close to Phayu's. On the other hand, Phayu lay awake, stroking the beautiful boy next to him. His heart and mind were enamoured by the love he had seen in Rain's eyes, the care he had bestowed on him, staying with him through his hardest moments. And he had understood clearly that Rain was not only his biggest weakness, but also his biggest strength. He looked up as the door slowly slid open. "Pai? What are you doing here brother?" he asked. "I couldn't sleep. We need to talk," he said, his face completely serious.