Archive of Our Own ^beta

Team’s strangled, frustrated, high-pitched and very annoyed sigh-groan made Pharm and Manaow put a pin in their now multi-step plot to break up Del and Alex through means that included shipping him off to Florida.

“What’s wrong, Team?” Manaow asked, narrowing her eyes at a very confused and flustered Team.

“My phone won’t unlock!” Team said, stabbing at the screen pointedly.

“That’s because it’s not your phone,” Pharm mentioned, holding up Team’s phone and waving it.

Team looked down at the phone in his hand and then at the phone in Pharm’s and realized that Pharm was correct, he flipped it around and saw the stickers of Pharm and Dean that Manaow had gifted them for Valentine’s Day affixed on the back. Not his phone. “Oh,” he said and swapped phones with Pharm. “Why do they have to look so alike?” he said, his voice clearly pouting .

Pharm shrugged, politely not pointing out the differences between them… although if pressed, he couldn’t point out what they were, other than the difference in the cases. They'd been enjoying themselves tonight and none of them could claim to be sober, nor was anyone's attention to details sharp.

“You would make a horrible bad special agent, Team,” Manaow said. “Hacking a phone is like spy 101.”

“I wasn’t trying to hack Pharm’s phone!” Team said, throwing his hands up. “I was trying to see if hia said what time he was picking me up.”

Pharm and Manaow made cooing sounds and Team’s cheeks and ears turned a darker shade of pink.

“And if I was trying to hack Pharm’s phone I would have started with U.S. dollar sign-e-x-yen-Phillipine peso-d-euro-a-n,” Team said.

Pharm shook his head a couple of times and bit his tongue, trying to coax his brain into processing what Team had said. A number of seconds later he pieced it all together. “My password is not Sexy P’Dean!”

Manaow spit out her drink laughing. “Of course not. That’s your password to the secret folder with all the photos you don't show anyone else.”

“Nooooo.” Team shook his head. “That password is P-D-three-four-n-one-s-d-three-l-one-c-one-zero-u-five.”

“How much time do you both spend thinking up the passwords to my phone?” Pharm asked. Before they could answer, he held up his hand. “Wait, no. I don’t want to know. Please don’t tell me.”

Team and Manaow looked at one another and began laughing in sync. Pharm was impressed at their coordination, even inebriated.

“It’s okay Pharm,” Manaow said, wiping tears from her eyes and making herself look as serious as her flushed face and slightly glazed eyes would allow. “Your photos of Deanis are safe and locked behind whatever passwords you use.”

“Deanis?” Pharm asked, looking over at Team, who shrugged and looked as confused as he was.

“Pharm’s nickname for P’Dean’s little Dean,” she said simply.

“Manaow!” Pharm said and then looked around the restaurant. There were only a few other patrons and no one was paying attention to them.

“What?” she said. “You don’t have a nickname for it? Come on, you're boys. Of course you do!”

“Shouldn’t a little Dean be called Nong Dean?” Team asked, giggling.

“That’s not – It isn’t – Why is this all about me and P’Dean?” Pharm finished off his glass of alcohol. He could play this game too. He pointed at Manaow. “What did you nickname P'Pruk's? PP’Pruk?”

“Hee! Good one, Pharm.” Team said, and then snapped his fingers. “Ooooh, no, it should be P’Prik!” he joined in.

“P’Prik! Oh my god,” Manaow giggled delightedly. “P'Pruk would go red from the top of his head to his toes.”

“Can I take my name suggestion back?” Team asked. His smile took on a mischievous edge that made Pharm brace himself for whatever was said. “I think it should be Dong –”

Pharm clamped his hand over Team's mouth, his plea tinged with amusement. “Please don't finish that thought.”

Pharm could feel Team's laugh vibrating against his palm.

“Oh don't you think I've forgotten about you, my darling Team.” There was a sharp clarity to Manaow's gaze and as Pharm removed his hand, he could feel Team gulp.

“Let me see,” Manaow took a sip of her drink. “I’m thinking ‘Winner,’’ given how much you two love to compete, and I can't think of witty wordplay at the moment.”

“Participation Trophy,” Pharm said and both Team and Manaow looked at him fuzzily. “Because it's a little win.”

“It's not little!” Team said at the same time that Manaow cackled and said, “Perfect!”

“But it's not–” Team repeated.

“Neither is P’Dean’s!” Pharm countered.

“I know!” Team agreed and then they both stopped to look at Manaow, who was pressed into the corner of the booth, tears streaming down her face as she laughed almost to the point of breathlessness.

“I’m sure ‘Deanis’ and ‘Participation Trophy’ will be glad to hear you defend them,” Manaow said when she caught her breath again.

“Team,” Win said as he, Dean, and Pruk approached the table.

Pharm choked on his water. Manaow screamed in surprise. Team nearly fell out of the booth.

“Hia, you’re here,” Team said, righting himself.

“I am. I texted you.”

Team looked down at his phone, still in his hand and still locked. “Oh... I forgot to check.”

“We got distracted.” Pharm said, wiping water off of his face and shirt.

“We did,” Manaow added, her eyes wide and her head tilted back and she pointedly and dramatically only looked at Dean, Pruk and Win’s faces.

Dean and Win turned to look at Pruk, who shrugged at them and then looked besottedly at Manaow. “Well we’re here now,” he said, reaching out and taking her hand. “My lady.”

Manaow smoothed her hair and reached for Pruk’s hand, her cheeks flushed deep red. “My gentleman.”

She turned and grabbed her purse, winking at her friends before Pruk walked her towards the door.

“Let’s go home,” Dean said, holding onto Pharm’s arm as he slid out from the table and then moving his arm around Pharm’s waist.

“Come on, you.” Win took Team’s and pulled gently as Team stood up, and then he slung his arm around Team’s back, keeping him steady. He looked over at Dean. “Get home safe.”

“You, too,” Dean replied, pocketing Pharm’s phone.

“I know the password to that,” Team said, pointing at Dean’s pocket as Win led him away and Pharm whined Teeeeam.

***

Team woke up feeling like he’d drowned in sawdust – his eyes and his throat felt raw and gritty and there was an ache in his forehead that radiated down his temples and to his jaw. As let out an unsteady breath, he felt Win’s thumb press against his temple and his fingers began to massage the top of his head.

“Does that feel good?” Win asked, his voice low.

“Mmhmm.”

Team focused on his breathing and the feel of Win’s fingers working to make the headache go away.

“Team?” Win said later, when only the barest thread of Team’s headache remained. “Do you remember grabbing me last night and saying ‘I win’? Want to go for the gold?”

***

Pharm bit back a laugh as Dean nipped at his hip and then pressed a line of kisses up his back.

“P’Dean!” Pharm said, turning onto his back as Dean lay back down on the bed, his face inches away from Pharm’s on the pillow.

“Yes, my good boy?” Dean smiled and kissed him. “Maybe I should change the password on my locked folder to ‘Pharm is delicious’.”

“I keep telling you, that isn’t the password,” Pharm insisted. “You’re going to have to try harder than that to get me to spill.”

Dean pulled him into his arms. “Challenge accepted.”

***

“So then we settled on Deanis, P’Prik, and Participation Trophy. Well, I’m not sure they agreed on them, but those were my favorites, and then you, P’Dean, and P’Win arrived to take us home,” Manaow said, her chin resting on Pruk’s chest.

“I love you,” Pruk said, looking at his girlfriend, “but I don’t know if I’ll be able to look Dean and Win in the eyes for the next week.”

“Just don’t look at their trunks and you’ll be okay,” Manaow assured him and leaned up for a kiss.