A supportive boyfriend.
Team walks up to his friends all huddled in a circle whispering to each other. He eyes them suspiciously before grabbing Pharm by the back of the neck making him jump in surprise, he looks at the faces of his friends and is confused. Even A, Bee and Sea look concerned, this is unusual for the easy going trio. Even P'Phrueks energy is different today. It dawns on him that Win said Dean had called him in. He starts to feel the bile rise in his throat, "What's going on? Where is P'Dean and Hia Win?" All his friends chose not to answer. This makes him even more nervous, he grabs Pharms hand knowing his the weakest link in the clan. "Spill! Now."
"Well, P'Dean was called into a meeting with the junior from the club and they insisted that P'Win attend even though he had no part in what happened before the trip. The boys mother is here and they are meeting with the coach and a representative from the university but we just saw that the university president entered the coaches office." Pharm looks down knowing he should not have said anything but he cant keep anything from Team.
Team starts walking in the direction of the office door when he sees Win storm out of the room. He makes eye contact with Team and walks straight over to him and grabs his hand. "Hia slow down." Team tries to break contact with Win who grips him tighter and starts walking faster.
"Do you really have to attend your class today or can you skip this one time?" His voice sounds strangled because he is suppressing his anger, he really just wants to curse and scream at all these spineless bastards.
"I can skip Hia." Team speaks softly and calmly. Seeing Win this angry is scary. They reach Wins bike before Team pulls away with such force even Win stumbles. "We are not riding your bike when you are in this condition, lets go to my car. And I don't want to hear a word in protest, I'm serious." Team knows better then anyone that Win is the best driver and very safe but he also knows that he needs to calm down and if he is riding he will be so focused he wont have time to calm himself. "Get in Hia, I'm driving." Reluctantly Win gets in the car and closes his eyes, Team leans over and puts his seat beat on. Win opens his eyes and looks at his boyfriend, he can see how vulnerable his boyfriend looks at this moment. He places his lips softly against Wins, "Hold on for 5 more minutes Hia, we will be home soon."
Win just nods his head knowing that he if he speaks he will lose the string holding his emotions in check. He closes his eyes again and focuses on deep breathing. He can feel his hands start to shake, he balls them tightly in fists. He feels the soft skin of Teams fingers gently stroking his hand, he turns and looks at his boyfriend who is focusing on the road but still trying to comfort him. He entwines his hand in Teams and brings to his lips, placing kisses on his hand. He closes his eyes and savors the scent, using him to calm himself down, nothing works better then Team. He is lucky that Team was outside the office because he didn't feel like walking around the campus like a mad man looking for him. Before Win knows it they are back at home, he sees Team walk over to his door and open it, bowing like butler for him to get out. He smiles, yes he smiles.
Once they reach Teams room he pulls him into a hug, needing to feel him in his arms, needing to know that he made the right choice with quitting the way he did. He will probably be expelled for the way he spoke to the president of the university. Shit. This is so fucked up, they didn't do anything wrong but they are the ones being punished while the brat is getting everything he set out to get. "I quit the swim club." He hears Team gasp and try to pull away but he tightens his grip, "I will also probably be expelled for my outburst at the president of the university." Win feels Teams arms tighten around him, he says nothing but just holds onto him. This is what he needs right now and Team knows that.
He can feel his ears burning up, what the hell happened in that meeting that made him quit and probably get expelled. Teams stomach drops, he hopes it had nothing to do with him. He closes his eyes and burrows deeper into Wins chest waiting for his boyfriend to feel comfortable enough to speak. They stand there for what feels like forever before Win pulls away slightly and kisses his forehead.
He puts his forehead to Teams, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the meeting, I didn't want you to worry before I knew exactly what was going on. I also knew that you would have insisted on going with me." Win settles his shaky breath, "I just need a few more minutes before I tell you what exactly happened. Just stay with me like this please."
Hearing his man vulnerable is not something that Team is used to, Hia Win is usually the one who is strong and rational, seeing this side of him breaks is heart. "Its okay, I understand. Take as long as you need Hia, I'm always right here. You don't have to rush or tell me anything if you are not ready." Team rubs his hands up and down Wins back trying to soothe him. "Its okay Hia, I'm here." Finally Win breaks away and sits them down on the bed, holding his hand Win tells him everything that happened during the meeting. Team is shocked and angry, he doesn't want to believe that the university is this stupid. From what he understood the family of this kid is pretty influential. He tries to hold his anger so that Win can release his. The more he listens, the more he is starting to feel conflicted, this is such an abuse of power. Win standing up for the little has always been his nature since he has known him. He just wishes that he could make this all go away.
Win is careful to monitor Team expressions as he tells him the story. When it comes to Team he is always careful because his boyfriend is truly a wild card. He seems to be schooling his emotions for him and he is grateful for it because if Team gets upset he would probably drive back to the university and give the president another piece of his mind. Win was always a rebel but he always respected authority even though he fought against it most of the time. Nobody could ever accuse him of being ride or disrespectful. He is dreading having to call his father and tell him what happened, expecting an ear full. He inwardly groans. Team breaks him out of his thoughts when he suddenly stands up and holds out his hand. "What?"
"Come, lets go back and talk to them. They have no right to expel you or even reprimand you for this, I am a witness and so are many other people to the way that snob behaved around you. We will not let this go. I will mobilize everyone like we are the avengers going to battle and we will fight for you." Team looks at him with determination. "You will not be expelled, we will protest in front of the university, even if its just me holding a sign." He nods his head as if deciding what he said is final. He turns and looks at Win who is trying but failing to hold his laughter, he narrows his eyes becoming annoyed. "I'm being a supportive boyfriend and here you are laughing at me!"
Win looks at the boy amused, "You are just so cute." He pulls Team back down and cups his face in his hands, "Listen to me Team. All I want you to do is continue going to school and practice. I need you to do your best. Do not put yourself in jeopardy because of something I did." Win pinches his cheeks lightly, "Whatever happens I can always find a new university but you cannot, you have a scholarship, a swimming scholarship. If I offered to pay your tuition you would never accept that, so that means you would either get a job or drop out and both those options are not something I would ever be okay with. I know this is going to sound harsh but I will leave you if you try to do anything stupid on my behalf. Think about you and your future, think about your dream of making it to the Olympics. Whether I am here or anywhere else I will always be supporting you and standing right beside you, I promise." He hopes that this conveys his message to him.
"Do you think that I would want to represent a university that does this to their students because a rich kid has parents who pay money to sweep his mistakes under the carpet?" He puts his hand up silencing Win, "Hia, we all have to take responsibility for the things we do. Even now you are ready to accept the punishment for today when you did nothing wrong." Team stops to take in a deep breath, "Yes I am on a scholarship but I am capable of paying my tuition without it. I would give up everything for you, just the same way you would do for me. If you are asking me to just sit idle and act like nothing happened then you don't know me very well. Bad people are able to prosper because good people sit back and watch, what kind of person would I be if I don't even try? How would I be able to even look at you knowing I was a coward when you are the bravest person I know who will call out any type of wrongdoing even if it means getting expelled?"
Win is seeing Team through a new lens, he didn't know the boy had this much fire in him. Then again he has said multiple times how much of a wild car he is. He knows that he is so fierce when it comes to protecting the people he loves, he has seen it first hand when Alex kept bothering Pharm. He has to find a way to quash his craziness, at least just for his sake. There is no point in both of them suffering because of this. "Will you just not do anything for now and continue on with what you are doing? I need to talk to give my parents a heads up before I do anything else. "Anyway we cant do anything until we know the verdict of my actions today, so calm down and lets just wait okay? Promise me?"
Win makes sense so he decides to give in for now. He hears a phone and checks his, its not his. He looks at his boyfriend reading a text.
"Its from Dean, he wants me to meet him at the bar."
He nods his head, "You should go Hia, you need to calm down. I will be fine here. Go talk to P'Dean."
Win nods his head, "I will ask Dean to pick me up. Don't worry I wont get drunk, its barely midday. I will be home in a bit."
Team holds open his arms for a hug, he knows that Win needs his friend right now, this also gives him time to think and sift through his own feelings so he can be more open for Win. They hug and Win leaves. He sighs and sits on the bed, he pulls out his phone and dials his mother, needing advice from her. He tells her the situation and silently listens to her giving him advice. He nods his head as if she can see him, he ends the call with a love you, replaying his mums words in his mind. "As your mother I implore you not to do anything, this is your future and you worked so hard to get where you are so I don't want you to throw that away. Win also has a point, you need to think about yourself, remember son that you and Win come from very different backgrounds, he has his family business to fall back on but you don't have anything. But as a woman who has a partner, you need to stand by him and support him, even if it means losing something in the process. You have to ask yourself where do you draw the line. No matter what your father and I will support you. We love you and Win very much." He sighs knowing that Win will as he said leave him if he does anything that puts himself at risk of losing his scholarship. He groans and kicks his legs in the air. "When did our honeymoon period turn into a nightmare?"