THREADS OF FIRE PART 3 {FINAL PART}
Author: RED ROSE 🌹
LGBT+ ;Heartwarming
Rain pressed softly against the windows of the condo, turning the city outside into blurred gold and shadow. The storm had settled over Bangkok hours ago, quiet but relentless, wrapping the night in a heavy stillness that none of them had been able to shake.
Inside, the condo had finally fallen silent.
For once, no arguments drifted from the kitchen. No laughter echoed through the halls. No one fought over blankets or snacks or whose turn it was to clean.
Exhaustion had claimed everyone.
Even the wolves seemed quieter.
But not Arthit’s.
His wolf had not rested since the moment Dao disappeared.
And now, even with Dao safe only a few feet away, something inside him remained painfully alert.
Like instinct refused to believe the danger had passed.
Dao noticed.
Of course he did.
He sat on the edge of the bed, sleeves pushed loosely to his elbows, watching Arthit pace near the balcony door for the fifth time in ten minutes.
“You’re wearing a hole into the floor.”
Arthit stopped briefly.
“…Sorry.”
Dao almost smiled at that.
Almost.
Because the apology sounded distant. Distracted.
Like only half of Arthit was standing in the room.
The rest remained somewhere darker.
Somewhere back in that warehouse.
Back in the fear.
Back in the moment he thought Dao was gone.
“You’re still thinking about it,” Dao said quietly.
A pause followed.
Then another.
Finally, Arthit spoke without turning around.
“He touched you.”
The words landed hard.
Not because they were loud.
But because they carried something raw beneath them.
Dao lowered his gaze slightly.
“Kram didn’t—”
“I know,” Arthit interrupted immediately.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
Then softer—
“I know.”
Silence settled again.
Rain tapped gently against glass.
A distant car passed below.
The world kept moving.
But inside that room, everything felt suspended.
Dao studied him carefully.
Arthit’s shoulders remained tense beneath the dim light. His hands curled slightly at his sides, like he was still restraining something violent beneath his skin.
His wolf was restless.
Not angry anymore.
Something worse.
Unsettled.
“You can come sit down,” Dao murmured.
Arthit hesitated.
Then crossed the room slowly.
Carefully.
As though he feared getting too close might fracture the thin control he still possessed.
He stopped in front of Dao.
Neither spoke.
Their breathing filled the silence instead.
Close enough to hear.
Close enough to feel.
Dao tilted his head slightly upward.
“…You’re looking at me like I disappeared already.”
Pain flickered across Arthit’s face before he could hide it.
“Don’t say things like that.”
Dao’s expression softened instantly.
Because there it was again—
Fear.
Not possessiveness.
Not dominance.
Fear.
Real fear.
The kind that came from almost losing something irreplaceable.
Slowly, Dao reached for him.
His fingers brushed against Arthit’s wrist first.
Warm skin.
Shaking slightly.
That surprised him.
Arthit rarely shook.
But now—
Now he leaned into the touch unconsciously, like his body reacted before his mind could stop it.
“You’re exhausted,” Dao whispered.
Arthit gave a quiet laugh that held no humor.
“My wolf won’t calm down.”
Dao’s thumb moved lightly against his wrist.
“…Because of me?”
A long pause.
Then honesty.
“Yes.”
The room seemed smaller after that.
Closer.
Every emotion pressing tighter against the space between them.
Dao exhaled slowly.
His own wolf stirred beneath his ribs in response.
Not frightened.
Not defensive.
It reached back.
Toward Arthit.
Toward the tension.
Toward the pull neither of them could ignore anymore.
“You know,” Dao said softly, “you keep saying I’m yours to protect.”
Arthit’s gaze lifted immediately.
“And?”
Dao’s lips curved faintly.
“You never asked whether I wanted that.”
For the first time all night, uncertainty crossed Arthit’s expression.
Small.
Brief.
But real.
“…Do you?”
The question barely sounded like him.
Too careful.
Too vulnerable.
Dao stared at him for several seconds before answering.
Then he stood slowly from the bed.
The movement brought them even closer.
Barely inches apart now.
“I stayed, didn’t I?”
Arthit’s breath caught.
Because Dao always spoke simply when he meant something important.
No dramatic confessions.
No elaborate promises.
Just truth.
And somehow that made it worse.
Or better.
Maybe both.
Rain thundered faintly outside.
Inside, neither moved away.
Dao’s fingers slid upward, brushing lightly against Arthit’s jaw.
The contact shattered whatever restraint remained.
Arthit closed the distance instantly.
One arm wrapping around Dao’s waist, pulling him firmly against his chest.
Not rough.
Never rough.
But desperate in a way that exposed too much.
Dao inhaled sharply at the sudden closeness.
The warmth.
The strength.
The way Arthit held him like letting go had become impossible.
“You drive me insane,” Arthit murmured against his hair.
Dao huffed softly.
“That sounds unhealthy.”
“It probably is.”
That earned the smallest laugh.
And the sound alone loosened something tight inside Arthit’s chest.
His wolf settled briefly at hearing it.
Dao noticed immediately.
“You calm down when I laugh.”
Arthit buried his face near Dao’s neck with a quiet groan.
“Don’t analyze me right now.”
“Too late.”
Another soft laugh.
Then silence returned.
But this silence felt different.
Full.
Intimate.
Breathing.
Dao could feel Arthit’s heartbeat beneath his palm.
Fast.
Heavy.
Alive.
And beneath that—
The wolf.
Reaching.
Calling.
Wanting.
The bond between them had already formed long ago in invisible ways.
Through staying.
Through choosing.
Through instinct learning trust.
But now—
Now it stood at the edge of becoming something irreversible.
Arthit knew it.
Dao knew it too.
Which was why neither spoke when Arthit’s hand slid carefully along his back.
Why Dao tilted his head slightly without thinking.
Why the air itself seemed to tighten with anticipation.
“Dao,” Arthit said quietly.
Not a warning.
Not a question.
Simply his name.
Dao closed his eyes briefly.
Then answered with one word.
“Yes.”
That was all it took.
Arthit’s control unraveled completely.
Not violently.
Not cruelly.
But with the overwhelming intensity of someone who had spent too long holding everything inside.
His lips brushed against the sensitive skin below Dao’s ear first—gentle enough to make him shiver.
Then lower.
Slow.
Careful.
Like he understood the significance of every second.
Dao’s fingers tightened against Arthit’s shirt.
His wolf reacted instantly, warmth spreading through his chest in dizzying waves.
The sensation startled him.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Something deeper.
A pull so powerful it felt woven directly into instinct itself.
Arthit paused one final time.
Giving him space to stop this.
To pull away.
Dao didn’t.
Instead, he leaned closer.
Trusting.
Choosing.
Wanting.
And Arthit finally marked him.
The sharp sting lasted only a moment.
Afterward came warmth.
Then heat.
Then something indescribable flooding through both of them at once.
Dao’s breath broke softly against Arthit’s shoulder.
The world blurred around the edges.
Every emotion intensified.
Every instinct sharpened.
He could feel Arthit.
Not just physically.
Deeper.
Beneath skin.
Beneath thought.
A fierce protectiveness wrapped around him instantly, powerful enough to steal breath from his lungs.
And underneath it—
Relief.
Immense.
Overwhelming.
Like Arthit’s wolf had finally found where it belonged.
Arthit held him tighter afterward, breathing unevenly against his neck.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Neither could.
The bond pulsed quietly between them.
Alive.
Real.
Permanent.
Dao slowly opened his eyes.
“…Wow.”
Arthit let out a weak laugh against his shoulder.
“That’s your response?”
“I’m processing.”
“That makes one of us.”
Dao smiled faintly despite himself.
Then, after a pause—
“You know this means you’re stuck with me now.”
Arthit finally pulled back enough to look at him.
Something softer had replaced the storm in his eyes.
Something steadier.
“…Good.”
Dao’s chest tightened unexpectedly.
Because he meant it.
Completely.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Just certainty.
The kind Dao had spent years distrusting.
Yet somehow believed now.
Outside, the rain continued falling over the sleeping city.
Inside, wrapped in each other’s warmth, the bond between them settled fully into place.
Not ownership.
Not control.
Something far more dangerous.
Belonging.
And neither of them wanted to escape it anymore.
----------------------------------------
{Epilogue | Loud Hearts, Burnt Pancakes, and One Extremely Chaotic Pack|}
Three months later.
The condo somehow became even louder.
No one understood how.
Not even Fang, who once claimed the apartment had “reached maximum human capacity for disaster” after Phum nearly set a kitchen towel on fire while attempting to flambé instant noodles.
Apparently, he had been wrong.
Very wrong.
Because now there were more people, stronger bonds, larger arguments, and an alarming amount of emotional attachment disguised as bullying.
Which meant peace no longer existed.
Not even slightly.
---
Saturday Morning — Absolute Nonsense Begins
“WHO ATE MY CHEESECAKE?”
Silence.
The kind that immediately confirmed guilt.
North slowly looked up from the couch. “That depends.”
Tiger blinked. “Depends on what?”
“Whether forgiveness is available.”
Easter burst into laughter before immediately pointing toward Pheem.
“Him.”
“TRAITOR!” Pheem gasped dramatically.
“I watched you do it!”
Pheem clutched his chest. “And instead of stopping me, you exposed me? Betrayal everywhere.”
Typhoon snorted from the floor. “You ate an entire cake at two in the morning.”
“It was emotional support cheesecake.”
“You don’t even know what emotion you were supporting,” Nao muttered while sketching calmly nearby.
“Yes I do.”
“What was it?”
Pheem paused.
“…Hunger.”
“That’s not an emotion.”
“It was deeply emotional for me.”
Across the room, Johan rested his chin against North’s shoulder while casually scrolling through his phone.
“You’re too quiet,” North said suspiciously.
“That’s because I’m observing.”
“That sentence alone feels threatening.”
Johan smiled slightly.
“You’re safe.”
“That somehow feels MORE threatening.”
Arthit, sitting beside Dao at the dining table, didn’t even bother looking up from his coffee.
“You get used to it.”
North narrowed his eyes immediately. “Why do you sound experienced?”
Dao took a sip of tea without blinking.
“Because someone here turned into a territorial wolf after one kidnapping.”
Arthit coughed directly into his drink.
The room exploded.
Typhoon nearly fell sideways laughing. “HE SAID IT OUT LOUD.”
Hill pointed dramatically. “PUBLIC EXECUTION.”
Johan looked genuinely interested now. “Actually, I’d like details.”
“You don’t need details,” Arthit muttered.
“Oh no,” Easter grinned wickedly, “we absolutely do.”
Dao leaned back casually, fully aware everyone was staring.
“He gets grumpy if I leave a room without telling him.”
“I do not.”
“You followed me to the kitchen yesterday.”
“You disappeared.”
“It was fifteen seconds.”
“Danger can happen quickly.”
“That was a refrigerator.”
“It looked suspicious.”
North physically folded into Johan laughing while Tiger wheezed into a pillow.
Even Nao’s shoulders shook slightly.
Arthit looked one inconvenience away from walking into traffic.
Dao looked delighted.
Which somehow made it worse.
---
Group Chat Disaster — 9:14 AM
[ALL GROUP 💥]
Typhoon: arthit barked at a refrigerator today
Arthit: delete this
Hill: impossible
North: crying
Pheem: protecting dao from evil kitchen appliances 😭
Dao: the milk was apparently “untrustworthy”
Tiger: HELP
Arthit: none of you deserve rights
Easter: too late. we already have them
Johan: honestly relatable
North: NO???
Nao: alpha intelligence is declining rapidly
Tonfah: statistically concerning
---
The Great Cooking Competition
The idea began with Fang.
Which immediately should have warned everyone something catastrophic would occur.
“We should do something fun together,” Fang suggested peacefully.
Ten minutes later, the kitchen looked like an active crime scene.
“How did flour get on the ceiling?” Tan asked quietly.
Nobody answered.
Mostly because nobody knew.
---
Teams were assigned against everyone’s better judgment.
Team One:
North & Johan
Team Two:
Easter & Hill
Team Three:
Typhoon & Tonfah
Team Four:
Pheem & Phum
Team Five:
Dao & Arthit
Team Six:
Tiger & Nao
---
“This is unfair,” Easter complained immediately.
“Why?” Hill asked.
“Because Johan stares at North like he invented happiness. They’re emotionally synchronized.”
North looked horrified. “Please never say that sentence again.”
“Too accurate?” Hill smirked.
“Deeply upsetting.”
Meanwhile, Pheem held a whisk like a weapon.
“We’re winning.”
Phum looked nervous. “Based on talent or delusion?”
“Confidence.”
“That’s just louder delusion.”
---
Twenty minutes later—
Chaos.
Pure chaos.
---
“WHY IS IT SMOKING?”
“That means it’s cooking!”
“NO IT DOESN’T!”
---
Typhoon stared at Tonfah in disbelief. “Did you put salt instead of sugar?”
Tonfah looked offended. “I’m attractive, not intelligent.”
“That explains so much.”
---
At another counter, Tiger carefully decorated cupcakes while Nao silently fixed all his mistakes behind him.
“You keep repairing everything I touch.”
Nao didn’t look up. “Survival instinct.”
“That was almost affectionate.”
“Don’t ruin it.”
Tiger smiled anyway.
---
Across the kitchen, Arthit calmly chopped vegetables while Dao leaned against the counter eating ingredients directly from the cutting board.
“You’re supposed to help.”
“I am helping.”
“You ate half the tomatoes.”
“Quality control.”
“You’re impossible.”
“You’re obsessed with me.”
Hill physically gagged from across the room.
“Can you two stop flirting near the knives?”
“No,” Dao answered immediately.
Arthit almost smiled.
Almost.
---
Then disaster struck.
Again.
---
A loud crash echoed through the condo.
Everyone turned.
Pheem stood frozen beside the shattered blender.
“…It attacked me.”
Phum stared at him. “How are you alive this long?”
“Natural talent.”
“That’s not how evolution works.”
---
Later — Results Nobody Deserved
Fang judged the final dishes with the exhausted expression of a man questioning every life decision leading to this moment.
“…I regret organizing this.”
Tan patted his shoulder sympathetically. “Understandable.”
---
Third place somehow went to Hill and Easter despite their food being aggressively spicy.
Second place went to Tiger and Nao because their cupcakes looked professionally made.
First place—
To everyone’s horror—
Went to Phum and Pheem.
“THIS IS RIGGED,” Typhoon shouted immediately.
Fang looked tired. “They accidentally made something edible.”
“That still shouldn’t count.”
Pheem lifted the trophy bowl dramatically. “History will remember us.”
North pointed at the burnt microwave. “History will charge you for damages.”
---
Nighttime — Softer Things
Eventually the noise faded.
One by one, conversations quieted.
The city outside glowed beneath midnight skies while rain tapped lightly against the balcony railings.
Inside, warmth lingered everywhere.
Not just physically.
Emotionally.
Like the condo itself had become alive with shared memories.
---
North curled against Johan on the couch while Johan absentmindedly played with his fingers.
Typhoon dozed against Tonfah’s shoulder despite insisting earlier he “wasn’t tired.”
Tiger sat beside Nao quietly sketching while pretending not to watch him every five seconds.
Hill rested with Easter sprawled halfway across him dramatically complaining about “battle injuries” from cooking.
Pheem and Phum argued softly over blanket ownership.
Fang fell asleep beside Tan mid-conversation.
And near the balcony—
Dao stood beside Arthit.
Comfortable silence wrapped around them naturally now.
Easy.
Safe.
The bond mark near Dao’s neck remained faint beneath soft lighting.
Visible.
Real.
Arthit noticed him touching it lightly.
“…Still getting used to it?”
Dao hummed quietly.
“Maybe.”
“Regret it?”
That earned him a look.
“…Ask me that again and I’ll push you off this balcony.”
Arthit’s mouth twitched slightly.
“There’s the affection.”
Dao rolled his eyes before leaning gently against his shoulder.
And immediately—
Without thought—
Arthit’s arm wrapped around him.
Instinctive.
Certain.
Home.
---
Behind them—
A sudden scream exploded from the kitchen.
“WHO PUT A SPOON IN THE MICROWAVE?!”
Silence.
Then:
“…Hypothetically,” Pheem began carefully, “how dangerous was it?”
Everyone shouted at once.
And for the first time in years—
None of them felt alone anymore.
