Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Okay Phi, I’ll get those digitals to you after,” LookPlub ended the call as she walked into a cafe with Note.

“Look at all the cakes!” He oohed as he went up to the display, his face smushed to the glass.

“They look so good,” Plub agreed as she couldn’t help but eye the peach and persimmon cakes next to each other.

LookPlub and Peach.

Just like her and Phi.

“Excuse me, can I know what’s in the peach cake?” She asked as she called over one of the workers.

“It’s a peach jelly with a cream and dark chocolate filling. It’s not super sweet if you’re okay with it Nong,” the worker said as they pointed out the parts of the cake.

LookPlub nodded as she stared at the cake before glancing back at Note, who at this point was drooling.

“P’Note!” She whacked him on the arm. “We’re here to get everyone cake. If you eat them all then there’s none for anyone.”

“But I haven’t gotten any?” He asked confused.

LookPlub raised an eyebrow questioning him before Note sighed.

“They all look so good,” he whined.

LookPlub nodded.

As she was scanning through the array of cakes and deciding on which would be best for who, she felt a presence next to her.

It felt familiar, as in one that she hasn’t felt in years but knew who it was.

She stood up straight and spun to her right, coming face to face with her old middle school friend.

“Porchay!” She exclaimed, her smile loud and bright, mimicking the one on Porchay’s face.

“Woah, that’s crazy,” said a man next to Porchay who comically leaned forward between the two and looked back and forth between LookPlub and Porchay. “I didn’t think you could replicate the face.”

“Hey,” Porchay punched the man on the arm who dramatically rubbed his arm at the impact.

“How have you been Porchay?” LookPlub asked as she glanced at the clock in the corner. Not much time left before she would have to leave with Note to get back to the office.

“I’ve been good. How have you been? Is P’Peach doing good too?” Porchay asked.

LookPlub nodded. “P’Peach is doing good. Did you know he got married?” She asked, sounding like a gossip auntie.

Porchay gasped as he leaned closer to LookPlub. “Wait really? He got married? That’s great!”

A beat passed before he asked, “why wasn’t I invited?”

LookPlub shrugged. “You know Phi, it was a very small wedding.”

“Who’s Peach?” The man next to Porchay asked.

“My bad. Plub, this is my brother in law and best friend , Macau. Macau, this is my friend from middle school, LookPlub,” Porchay introduced. “P’Peach is Plub’s phi.”

“LookPlub as in persimmons?” Macau asked.

Plub nodded as she turned back to Porchay. “I’m  currently at work but feel free to text me or drop by the office. You have the same Line right?” She asked as she went to take out her phone.

Porchay shook his head. “I had to change it after  Hia moved in with his boyfriend,” he explained as he took out his phone.

Both noticed the other carrying the same unreleased phone model.

Macau whistled as he saw the phone in Plub’s hands. Only people with connections could get it—like Macau and his family.

“Where’d you get that one? It hasn’t been released yet,” Macau pointed out.

Plub shrugged. “My brother in law gave it to me.”

“He must have good connections,” Macau mumbled and Plub nodded.

“I mean he should when he’s my boss,” she casually stated.

Porchay and Macau just blinked at Plub.

“Your brother-in-law is your boss?” Porchay asked very slowly.

Plub nodded. “He was my boss first before he was my brother-in-law.”

Porchay stared at her for a second longer before breaking into laughter.

“Our brothers are more alike than I remember,” he said, smiling fondly at the thought of his brother.

“What?” Macau asked confused before his eyes widened. “Is your brother-in-law part of the mafia too?”

Plub froze.

Just for half a second.

It was small—so small that if you weren’t looking for it, you’d miss it. But both Porchay and Macau caught it immediately, the way her shoulders stiffened before she relaxed again, lips curving into something carefully neutral.

“Wait—wait who? It’s obviously no one from my family since they’re pretty much all gay. There’s like Kamol but I don’t think Kim has any siblings. Idk about Phakin or Thiu. Now that I think about it, a lot of the mafia are gay,” Macau rambled, ticking off names on his fingers while Porchay elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

“Macau!” Porchay hissed, glancing around the cafe nervously. “You can’t just—”

“What? It’s true!” Macau protested, rubbing his side.

“My brother-in-law is the CEO of Arseni,” Plub stated and Macau’s jaw dropped.

“Arseni? Girl, you’re brother-in-law Theerakit Lee? The Theerakit Kian Lee?” Macau asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

LookPlub nodded slowly, watching as recognition dawned on Porchay’s face.

“Wait, P’Peach married the Theerakit Lee?” Porchay breathed out.

“I know, imagine my shock when I found out P’Peach was dating him. It felt like the whole world was ending,” Plub gushed.

“How did you find out that Peach was dating? I found out Hia was dating after I got kidnapped,” Porchay asked.

Plub looked concerned. “Kidnapped? You’re okay?”

“It’s fine,” Porchay waved his hand, “it’s like a normal Wednesday. The kidnappers know me by name. At this point, it’s just tea time.”

Macau nodded but Plub looked horrified.

“A normal Wednesday?” She squeaked before getting back on subject. “I knew he was dating because P’Note here,” she pointed at Note, “was in the bathroom when P’Thee wanted to talk with P’Peach.”

“Talk?” Macau wriggled his eye brow and Plub lightly smacked him in the arm.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Porchay do a slight hand movement and she was sure that there was someone carrying a gun in the cafe with them.

It did not make feel at ease but she knew that if Macau had his own set of bodyguards, she did too.

“That’s disgusting. I don’t need to see that but no. It was just P’Thee being P’Thee,” Plub stated as she went on Line.

She opened the QR code on the app and shared it to Porchay who scanned it.

“You also changed it?” Porchay asked as he was looking at her profile as he sent a friend request.

Plub nodded. “I kinda had to,” she gave a side eye at the entire drama that occurred just because of her Line account.

“What happened?” Macau asked as he looked at Porchay’s phone.

Plub shook her head. “It’s nothing, just that it’s all resolved.”

Porchay hummed as he was sending her a text. “It’s nothing because P’Peach married into the mafia?” He asked innocently.

Plub’s eye twitched. “Chay, we’re in public.”

“So is Macau,” Porchay shot back with a grin.

“Excuse you?” Macau screeched as he gave Porchay a look.

“Wait what?” Plub looked confused. “You’re also mafia?”

“I’m Chay’s brother in law,” Macau stated like it was obvious.

“How am I supposed to know that? Chay said that his brother married into the mafia and you’re definitely not the one who married his brother,” Plub pointed out.

“What’s wrong with me and P’Porsche?”Macau paused, processing her logic. “Okay, fair point.”

“Hia married P’Kinn” Porchay explained. “Macau is Kinn’s younger cousin.”

Plub’s eyes widened. “Kinn as in—THE Theerapanyakul family?”

“The one and only,” Macau said with a mock bow.

“So you’re telling me,” Plub said slowly, “that both of us have brothers who married into major mafia families?”

“Technically Arseni isn’t mafia,” Macau pointed out.

“Technically it is with a higher influence in Hong Kong and other parts of SEA. Y’all are just salty,” Plub emphasized. “But let’s be real.”

Note, still staring at cakes, finally turned around. “Wait, did someone say mafia? Like the movie?”

“P’Note, not now,” Plub groaned.

“Are there gonna be shootouts? Should I be worried?” Note asked, suddenly looking around nervously.

“You’re fine,” Macau assured him. “Probably.”

“PROBABLY?” Note’s voice went up an octave.

Plub patted his arm. “It’s fine, P’Note. Nobody’s shooting anyone in a cafe.”

“Today,” Porchay added helpfully.

“CHAY!”

Porchay grinned wickedly. “What? I’m just being accurate.”

“You’re being a menace,” Plub accused, but she was smiling.

“I learned from the best,” Porchay gestured at her.

“We were terrors in middle school,” Plub admitted nostalgically.

“Were?” Macau questioned. “Chay’s still a terror. Just last week he convinced Kim that—”

“Macau, no!” Porchay clamped a hand over Macau’s mouth.

Macau licked his palm.

“EW!” Porchay yanked his hand back, wiping it on Macau’s shirt while Macau cackled.

Plub watched them with amusement. “You two are worse than me and Chay ever were.”

“It’s a talent,” Macau said proudly.

“I wonder who’s worse? Me and Rome or you and Chay?” Plub pondered out loud as she turned back to the display of cakes.

She was running out of time before her next meeting.

“Excuse me!” She called over a store associate and then started pointing at the cakes. “Can I get the Black Forest, 2 red velvet, the persimmon cake, the peach cake—“

“Don’t forget the vanilla cupcakes and cheesecake!” Note interrupted from his position still pressed against the glass.

“P’Note, we don’t need that many!” Plub protested.

“But the vanilla cupcakes are P’Sky’s favorite,” Note said innocently.

Plub paused. He had a point. “Fine. Add those too please.”

“And the cheesecake!” Note added quickly.

“P’Note!”

“It’s for me! I won’t touch the other cakes, I promise!” Note pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

Plub sighed in defeat. “Fine. And one cheesecake.”

“YES!” Note fist-pumped the air.

“Wait, who’s Rome?” Macau asked, circling back to her earlier comment.

“My brother in law,” Plub explained. “He’s gone adventuring around the world before he’s forced to stay somewhere for the rest of his life.”

“That must be lonely,” Porchay remarked, thinking about how he was alone during those months.

“Being part of the mafia is a lonely life,” Macau shrugged. His world has mostly been him and Hia until recently ever since Porsche came. “Back to Rome, how is he?”

Plub grinned. “He makes me look tame.”

“Impossible,” Porchay declared. “You once convinced the entire cafeteria that the school was haunted.”

“That was a joint effort!” Plub protested. “You helped!”

“I provided the sound effects,” Porchay admitted. “You did everything else.”

Macau’s eyes lit up. “I need to hear this story.”

“No time,” Plub said as the worker started ringing up her order. “But this weekend, definitely.”

She pulled out her corporate card, ignoring Note’s whistle at the total.

“You’ve got to thank P’Thee for this,” Plub said, giving a mischievous smile at Note.

Note froze as his hands started trembling. “If, if that’s the case, then we don’t need to take the cheesecake.”

Plub ignored him as she paid. “He gave me permission to treat the team. He never gave a limit.”

As Plub paid, Porchay’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it and grimaced.

“Hia’s asking where I am,” he said. “Apparently P’Vegas needs Macau back.”

“Duty calls,” Macau sighed dramatically. “The mafia waits for no one.”

“Can you not announce that in public?” Porchay hissed.

“Everyone here either works for us or knows better than to talk,” Macau said dismissively, waving at someone in the corner Plub hadn’t noticed before.

She turned to look and sure enough, there was a man in a suit doing a very poor job of pretending to read a newspaper.

“Is that your bodyguard?” Plub asked.

“One of them,” Porchay confirmed. “There’s probably three more you can’t see.”

“Same,” Plub admitted, thinking of her own security detail that Thee had insisted.

Note looked around nervously. “Wait, how many people with guns are in this cafe right now?”

“Don’t worry about it, P’Note,” Plub patted his shoulder.

“That’s not reassuring!”

The worker handed over several bags of carefully packed cakes. Note immediately grabbed them, guarding them like treasure.

“Okay, we really need to go,” Plub said, checking her watch. “But Chay, text me about this weekend?”

“Definitely,” Porchay agreed, pulling her into a quick hug. “It’s so good to see you again.”

“You too,” Plub smiled genuinely. “And nice meeting you, Macau.”

“You too,” Macau grinned. “Can’t wait to hear more embarrassing stories about Chay.”

“I have plenty,” Plub promised wickedly.

“Plub, no,” Porchay groaned.

“Plub yes.”

As they headed toward the door, Plub heard Macau say, “I like her. She’s fun.”

“She’s dangerous,” Porchay corrected. “We were absolute menaces together.”

“Past tense?” Macau questioned.

“You’re right. Are absolute menaces.”

Plub grinned to herself as she and Note stepped out onto the street and head back to the office.

The two had walked into the rotating doors of Arseni’s corporate building when someone took the bags out of Plub’s hands.

It was one of the bodyguards that Plub couldn’t remember the name of but was part of Thee’s detail.

“Thank you phi,” Plub thanked as she and a still struggling Note scanned their badge to get into the building.

They waited for the elevator before going to the floor where everyone was shooting. They arrived a bit later than expected so Peach was in the middle of taking shots of Aran when they arrived.

“Sorry we're late!”  Plub called out, careful not to disturb the shoot. She glanced at the digitals that appeared on the screen as Peach kept shooting.

“We’re almost done here,” Nuch said as she glancing down at her tablet and the array of digitals on the other screen.

“Kaa, Phi,” Plub said as she went to the rooms in the back—the one holding the boxes of food and large dining table—and directed the bodyguard and Note to place the bags.

“Who knew holding cake would be so heavy?” Note complained as he stretched his arm and back.

Plub rolled her eyes at him as she started unpacking the boxes carefully. “You literally asked for the cheesecake, P'Note. Don't complain now.”

Note pouted but didn't argue, instead helping arrange the cakes on the table.

They had just finished setting everything up when Nuch’s voice echoed from the studio. “That’s a wrap! Great work everyone!”

Footsteps thundered toward the back room as the crew rushed in, immediately descending on the cakes like a swarm.

“Careful! There’s enough for everyone!” Plub called out, laughing. She helped hand out the cakes, making sure that Peach gets the peach cake and that she keeps the persimmons cake.

The door opened again and Thee walked in, his presence immediately commanding attention despite his casual entrance. Despite everything that happened, everyone was still scared of Thee—except for Peach and Plub.

Plub just skipped over to her Phi and handed him his card. “Thank you, P’Thee!”

Thee accepted the card with exaggerated grace, bowing slightly. “For my beloved’s sibling, anything.”

Peach snorted, reaching out to tug Thee closer by the sleeve. “Stop indulging her on everything.”

“How can I deny such a cherished request?” Thee replied, his hand finding Peach’s waist naturally.

Plub grinned, cutting into her persimmon cake. “Oh! Phi, I ran into Porchay today at the cafe.”

Peach nearly dropped his fork. “Porchay? Middle school Porchay?”

“The one and only,” Plub confirmed. “He was with his brother-in-law, Macau.”

“Porchay is married?” Peach asked.

Plub shook her head. “P’Porsche is actually married. He’s married to Kinn Theerapanyakun. Did you know that?”

Peach chuckled as he shook his head.

Thee, however, stood frozen, his expression shifting from mild curiosity to absolute devastation.

“Macau Theerapanyakun,” Thee repeated, his voice low and trembling with theatrical betrayal. “You encountered the minor family’s youngest and did not think to inform me immediately?”

“P’Thee, it was just—”

“Just?” Thee clutched his chest. “You have betrayed this family’s trust! A meeting with the Theerapanyakuns, and I learn of it only now? Over cake?”

Plub bit her lip to keep from laughing. “It was really just a coincidence—”

“There are no coincidences in our world!” Thee declared dramatically.

Peach sighed. “Thee, she bought cake.”

“Cake does not absolve treachery!” Thee proclaimed, though his eyes flickered to the peach cake with barely concealed longing.

Plub couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. “P’Thee, I'm sorry! It literally just happened an hour ago!”

“An hour?” Thee's voice rose. “An entire hour, and you kept this intelligence from me? What else transpired? What was discussed? Did he mention his family's dealings?”

Plub shook her head innocently. “No Phi. We were just mentioning world domination and—“

“WORLD DOMINATION?” Thee's voice reached a pitch that shouldn't have been humanly possible.

“I’m kidding!” Plub laughed. “I haven’t seen Ai’Chay in years and we just shared Line contact with each other.”

“Line contacts,” Thee repeated weakly, gripping Peach’s arm for support. “You exchanged direct communication channels with the Theerapanyakun family.”

“Technically, Porchay’s a Kittisawat,” Plub pointed out helpfully.

“WHO IS NOW FAMILY TO THE THEERAPANYAKUNS!”

Peach turned to look at his sister with genuine bewilderment. “Why? Why would you do this to him?”

Plub grinned wickedly. “Because it’s fun?”

“Fun,” Peach echoed flatly. “Giving your brother-in-law a heart attack is fun.”

“Very fun,” Plub confirmed, taking another bite of cake.

Thee finally grabbed his cake with shaking hands. “The audacity. The absolute betrayal.”

“I’m meeting them this weekend too,” Plub added casually.

Thee choked on his first bite.

Peach patted his back, looking resigned. “Of course you are.”

“Macau wants to hear embarrassing middle school stories,” Plub explained innocently.

“This family will be the death of me,” Thee declared dramatically, though his arm wrapped around Peach’s waist possessively.

Peach just smiled, pressing a kiss to Thee’s cheek. “You love us anyway.”

“Unfortunately,” Thee sighed, his expression softening. “Most ardently and irrevocably.”

Plub watched them with satisfaction, her persimmon cake nearly finished.

Worth it.