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Welcome to The Family

Summary:

After their little scene at the bar as well as the bold Instagram proclamations, Team had kept the surprises rolling by asking the older male if he in fact could go home with him for his mom’s birthday. Win was silent for so long that Team worried he might have broken his boyfriend’s brain and had been about to tell him to forget the whole thing when he was tackled to the floor, Win wrapping his body around him and smothering his face in kisses. Team pretended to be put out but made no move to stop his boyfriend and when Win had tried to pull away of his own accord, Team had wrapped his legs around his waist, firmly keeping them locked together. 

Now here they were in his car a week later, parked just inside the house’s gate, with Team doing his best to muster up the courage to let them go inside. When he had initially told Win he wanted to go with him, while daunting, it had still seemed plausible, something he could manage to do. However, now as he sat literally only feet away from the front door, the weight of what he has agreed to felt heavy in his chest and kept him pinned to the passenger seat. 

Sequel to "Whenever You're Ready"

Title taken from "Welcome to the Family" by Little Big Town

Notes:

Hello my friends! Here is the sequel I never expected to write! "Whenever You're Ready" was one of my favorite pieces I wrote for WinTeam week and somebody in the comments suggested I actually write Team meeting Win's family and the idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while now and I finally decided to sit down and write it!

This story will probably have about three to four chapters but just as a heads-up, I don't really update on a schedule because I don't like to write without inspiration so I can't really say how long it'll take to finish this but the second chapter is halfway written so hopefully it won't be too long! Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day!! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!!!

Chapter 1: View

Chapter Text

“And they definitely know I’m coming right?” 

“Yes, they know you’re coming. You saw the text my mother sent me when I asked her and she very enthusiastically agreed. She literally said ‘we are very excited to meet nong Team’. They know, I promise.” 

“Okay, so they know I'm coming, but what if they think it's on a different weekend instead of this one?”

“How many birthdays do you think my mother has?” 

“Hia!”

“Team!” 

“I’m serious!” Team tried to stop the pout from spreading across his face but the grin on his boyfriend’s let him know he was unsuccessful. After their little scene at the bar as well as the bold Instagram proclamations, Team had kept the surprises rolling by asking the older male if he in fact could go home with him for his mom’s birthday. Win was silent for so long that Team worried he might have broken his boyfriend’s brain and had been about to tell him to forget the whole thing when he was tackled to the floor, Win wrapping his body around him and smothering his face in kisses. Team pretended to be put out but made no move to stop his boyfriend and when Win had tried to pull away of his own accord, Team had wrapped his legs around his waist, firmly keeping them locked together. 

Now here they were in his car a week later, parked just inside the house’s gate, with Team doing his best to muster up the courage to let them go inside. When he had initially told Win he wanted to go with him, while daunting, it had still seemed plausible, something he could manage to do. However, now as he sat literally only feet away from the front door, the weight of what he has agreed to felt heavy in his chest and kept him pinned to the passenger seat. 

“Everybody’s already inside?” Team asked in a quiet voice, his eyes trained firmly on the hole in his jeans that left his whole right kneecap exposed. He silently cursed himself in his head for not dressing up more or at least picking a pair of pants that didn’t have any rips. The jeans were his favorite pair and the most comfortable ones he owned, the faded and well-worn denim soft against his skin. The top half of his outfit also consisted of some of his favorite pieces of his wardrobe: a light blue t-shirt layered underneath a dark blue plaid one, the long sleeves falling just past the edge of his fingers. His whole idea when he got dressed that morning was with the idea of trying to feel as comfortable as possible in what he was sure would be an incredibly uncomfortable environment and Win hadn’t said anything about his outfit when he picked him up that morning so he assumed he hadn’t looked too bad.

Now he wasn’t so sure and was wishing he had thought to put in more effort.

“Just View and my dad.” Win answered, pulling Team out of his thoughts and back to the present. “My mom had errands to run and Hia Waan and P’May aren’t showing up till after dinner.” Team nodded and tried to decide whether or not it was better he’s meeting them all separately or worse cause this way he couldn’t get them all out of the way at once. Win reached over the middle console and grabbed his hand, clasping it within his own.

“I know you’re nervous but you don’t need to be. They’re really excited to meet you and I wouldn’t have invited you if I didn’t think this would end well. Everything’s going to be fine.” Team nodded, trying to focus on forcing his face to resemble something similar to a smile before he took a deep breath and climbed out of the car, getting a proper look at the house for the first time. 

Considering Win’s family worked in hospitality, Team had been prepared for a sprawling estate with an over-the-top water fixture in the front and while the house was indeed on the larger scale, it still wasn’t as big as some of the ones they had driven by. The driveway after the gate was a little wider than most, the side area meant to hold a slew of vehicles, but he could currently only see two other ones parked beside his own. The front yard was well kept and even though he couldn’t see behind the house he was sure the backyard was much of the same. The house was painted in earth tones and the frame of the front door was wrapped around with a ton of intricately designed and well-placed greenery. 

“Expecting a mansion?” Team glanced over to see that Win had gotten out of the driver’s side and had come to stand beside him, the single suitcase they would be sharing over the weekend by his side. Team shrugged. 

“Your family literally owns hotels and resorts. I'm allowed to think your house would be overly extravagant.” 

“My parents didn’t want us growing up to be snobby rich kids.” Win offered. “I didn’t even really know what they did till I was in secondary school. I thought they just worked in different hotels, not owned them. They wanted to keep us humble.”  

“Too bad they failed with you.” Win scoffed before moving towards the door, Team right behind him. 

“You only say that because you haven’t met View, the brat.” 

“He can’t be that bad.” 

“And he’s not. Usually. Most of the time he’s only mildly annoying but he’s gonna be insufferable this weekend cause his best friends are at some sort of soccer camp so he’s gonna have nothing to hyper-fixate on except you.” Team’s eyes widened in surprise and he grabbed Win’s hand that had been inches away from inserting his key into the door. 

“If you’re trying to make me feel less nervous about meeting your family, that’s  not  helping.” 

“Team,” Win started, his voice soft. “I wouldn’t have invited you if I thought my family wouldn’t like you. I know this is fast and if you don’t think you’re ready, I’m fine with heading back to school. I never said what time we were getting here and I’ll just tell them one of us got sick or something and we can’t come anymore.” A small part of him screamed to take him up on the offer and rush back to the safety of his boyfriend’s bedroom and away from the numerous negative possibilities that were encased behind the wooden door in front of him. 

But he knew he couldn’t do that to Win. He released the hand he was holding, the older male keeping it frozen in midair. 

“No, it’s okay. Your mother’s birthday is literally tomorrow, and she’s looking forward to seeing you. You can’t miss that. Besides, we’re already here. Plus, I don’t think your family’s first impression of me should be based on a lie.” Win let out a sound of amusement before pulling the young swimmer into a tight hug, Team melting into it immediately. He took in the familiar scent of his boyfriend’s oaky cologne taking in deep pulls and allowing it to wash over him. Win pressed a kiss to his hair.  

“They’re gonna love you, I promise.” Team released a sigh and after a moment took a step back. Win eyed him up and down. "Ready?” 

“As I’ll ever be.” 

“We can still just lea-”

“Open the door, Hia.” Win pursed his lips, clearly wanting to say something but decided against it, instead turning back to the door and moving forward to put his key in the lock. However, just before he could insert it, the knob turned by itself and both men jumped back in surprise, a teenage male standing on the other side.

Finally. Did you know you two were sitting in the driveway for ten minutes and 48 seconds?” 

“You were keeping count?” The boy shrugged.

“Not like I had anything else to do. Plus I thought it was weird that you guys were outside but weren’t coming in.” Win leveled the teenager with a glare that had sent members of the swim club falling over themselves in haste to obey him, but instead of cowering underneath the weight of it, the teen simply crossed his arms and glared back.  

Win had shown him countless pictures of his family so Team was already fully aware of what View (and Waan) looked like but it was still a little surreal to be seeing his boyfriend’s younger brother in person for the first time. While Waan had taken after their mother, both Win and View had leaned towards their father in the genetics department and Team could recall Dean even mentioning that Win looked exactly like View at his age before the piercings, the tattoos, and the constant credit card charges for blond hair dye. While Win currently still had a few inches on his brother, the resemblance between the two was apparent: The same sharp facial structures, the same tapered eyes, the same slightly upturned lips, and the same inherent urge to annoy whomever they were in a conversation with. View, clearly growing bored of their staring contest, eventually broke eye contact with his brother and turned his attention to Team, giving him a full once over. He smirked before arching an eyebrow, a move that Team was positive he had learned directly from the male beside him. 

“Well? Aren’t you going to introduce me to your  boyfriend ?” Team felt his cheeks begin to flame up and opened his mouth to start the introduction but before he could speak, Win shoved his brother backward, using one of his hands to grab the suitcase and the other to take hold of Team’s wrist as he lead both into the house. Once they were fully inside the foyer, he dropped the handle of the suitcase but kept his grip on Team. 

“Can we at least take off our shoes first before you start?” Win badgered as he removed his and slipped his feet into a pair of house slippers that were on the side. Team followed suit. “Where’s dad?” 

“In his office. We were in the living room waiting for you to come in but he got a phone call about three minutes ago. Are you gonna introduce me now or do I have to call mom and tell her you’re giving Team a bad impression of the family?” 

“Little snitch didn’t even wai but somehow  I’m  the one giving the bad impression of the family.” Win muttered under his breath but with the way View’s eyes narrowed, Team was positive he heard it. Win briefly glanced at his boyfriend and after a gentle squeeze to the wrist gave him a light shove on the back towards the youngest Wanichakarnjonkul.  

“Nong, this is Team, my boyfriend. Be nice to him or I will choke you in your sleep.” Team watched as View rolled his eyes at the threat before bringing his hands together in a wai. Team hurriedly moved to reciprocate the gesture. 

“Welcome to our home.” The youngest said as he dropped his hands and gestured around them. “I’ll tell dad you finally left the car. Mom’s been airing out your room and she changed the sheets this morning if you wanna head up and get settled before dinner. I’ll text Hia Waan and P’May to let them know you’re here.” Before either of them could get a word in otherwise, View had turned on his heel and began walking around the corner and out of sight, his phone in his hand as the sounds of his slippers on the floor headed down a hall. Win glared after him before he motioned for Team to follow him up the nearby staircase, not stopping till they had reached a door with a giant and horribly crooked green “W” painted on it. Team gave his boyfriend a look, only earning an eye roll in response as he pushed open the door. 

“I was five when I did that okay, and my mom thinks it’s so cute that to this day she won’t let me paint over it. You’re not allowed to judge me for that or for anything else cringy you see this weekend.” 

“How cringy are we talking?” 

“Let’s just say if you still think I’m cool by the time we leave on Sunday it will be nothing short of a miracle.” Team scoffed before pushing past the blond to enter the room. 

“You’re exaggerating. Besides, if you ever really did anything that embarrassing, P’Dean would have told Pharm to make him laugh and Pharm would have then told me.” 

“You gotta remember that Dean and I didn’t meet till right before high school. I got most of my weird stuff out of my system before that.” 

“Well then I look forward to finding out all of your deep dark secrets so I can embarrass you with them later.” Win pursed his lips in annoyance but said nothing as he moved the suitcase to the ground and started pulling things out of it. Team flopped down onto the bed and began to look around. 

He had spent the past couple of days trying to picture what Win’s room would look like: while his boyfriend had a massive personality and ego, when it came to his style, it was very simple, understated, minimalist. Even his dorm room at school was a reflection of it because while he did have some posters on the wall, besides that it was pretty sparse in terms of decorations, most of his things being functional, their aesthetics a secondary thought. 

Win had told him that he had hit his major growth spurt between the sixth and seventh grade and since his parents had to buy him a new bed anyway, they went ahead and let him redecorate his whole room. The walls were a dark salamander green with a white border right before his ceiling and right before his floor. His platform bed was gold in color with tan sheets on the mattress and so many blue pillows on top that Team was sure were an added touch from his mother and not part of his vice president’s original design. Along one wall there was a massive calendar with a lot of highlighted dates on it as well as a ton of handwritten messages. There was a window seat that overlooked what Team was sure was the front of the house that was home to even more blue pillows and the bedside table, as well as the dresser, were painted in the same color as the bed. In one corner of the room sat a desk with a lamp, a bucket of pens, another giant calendar, and three different stacks of books, most of which Team could see were in English. Team tried to picture a teenage version of his boyfriend getting ready for school in this room. His boyfriend’s social media pages were all very carefully curated, the oldest picture on his Facebook being from his first day of university while the one on his Instagram was from his first practice with the swim club, both of which had him sporting his trademark blond hair. No embarrassing preteen pics, no photos of acne-covered skin, every image intentionally chosen to keep up the specific image he had going. Team had even once attempted a deep dive down Dean’s Facebook in an attempt to find an old picture of his boyfriend but that had also been unsuccessful as the other boy was even worse, most of his pictures being ones he had been tagged in and the few he had uploaded himself were clearly ones he had been forced to post by his siblings, Win and now Pharm. 

“Care to share your thoughts on my room with the rest of the class?” Win asked nonchalantly but Team knew his boyfriend well enough to be able to hear the undertone of true curiosity in his voice. Team raised one shoulder up and down. 

“It’s nice.” He finally settled on. “Simple. Where are all your medals and stuff?” 

“In the trophy room.” 

...in the what. ” Win huffed out a laugh before getting up from the floor and walking towards the bed his arms crossed. 

“Don’t look at me like that.” 

“You have a whole room dedicated to your awards?” 

“It’s the family trophy room, everybody’s stuff is in there, mine, my brothers and my parents’ awards and plaques from the hotels and resorts. It used to all be in our rooms before my parents decided they wanted them all in one place so we started putting them in one of the small empty closets downstairs.” 

“A whole room-” 

“I  just  said it’s a small closet.” Win argued and when Team opened his mouth to say something else, he quickly climbed on top of him barricading the younger male underneath his body. “It’s also got all of our academic stuff from school over the years so that’s why the case got full fast. It’s really not that big of a deal. You’ve seen how full the trophy case is at Dean’s house with just his stuff and if Del and Don had competed in sports too they probably would have ended up having to do the same thing. It’s really not that big of a deal.” 

“I hope you know this is strike one against your whole ‘Win Is Not A Spoiled Rich Kid’ argument.” Win frowned. 

“What happens if I get three strikes?” 

“I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet.” Win hummed as he thought it over before a grin spread across his face causing his previous frown to reappear to Team’s. The blond slowly leaned down until his lips were pressed just outside the younger’s ear. 

“Is there anything I can do to un-earn a strike?” 

“Hia-” 

“I just think, “Win started, the hand that had been on the left side of Team’s body having migrated to his chest and down his stomach, the tips of his fingers resting just underneath the top, his nails lightly scratching at Team’s skin. “That if I can manage to prove my worth in other ways I should be able to reverse the negative marks against me, don’t you agree, baby?” Ordinarily, the use of the pet name would have Team on the verge of giving in to whatever it was the other was asking of him but a quick look around the room had him remembering where they were. He reached up to push Win away from his ear so he could look him in the eye. 

“What are you doing?”  Win arched an eyebrow. 

“I thought it was pretty obvious what I was doing.” Team pursed his lips and shook his head.  

“Absolutely not. Your brother and father are literally in the  house !”

“View’s bedroom and my dad’s office are both downstairs, nowhere near us. Besides, all I wanted was just a kiss.” Team scoffed. 

“You never want  just  a kiss.” 

“Well you haven’t kissed me all day and  I drove us here and  I didn’t say anything when we stopped for breakfast and you got a milkshake. I think I deserve at least one.” 

“First of all, this is literally your house and I’ve never been here before of course you had to be the one to drive us! And second of all, you never said I had to get breakfast your exact words were ‘get whatever you want’.” 

“I didn’t realize I had to specify.” 

“Well, now you know for next time.” Win, who had been slowly starting to pull away, immediately stopped.  

For next time? ” He repeated. “Baby, we haven’t even gotten through the first night and you’re already making plans to see my family again?” Team, realizing that he had accidentally backed himself into a corner that he did not want to be in, did the only thing he could think of and looped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck to pull him down as he pressed their lips together in an attempt to shut the older man up.

PHAWIN !” The kiss hadn’t even lasted more than a few seconds before the yell reached their ears and Team was quickly shoving the male off of him, Win unceremoniously landing on the floor, letting out a groan as his back made impact with the hardwood just in time for View to open the door. He looked back and forth between a beet red Team doing his best to look innocent and Win who was moving to his feet, wincing and rubbing the sore spot on his spine. View smirked, amused.   

“Sorry.” He said, clearly not apologetic in the slightest. “I should have knocked. Didn’t mean to interrupt whatever it was you two were doing.” 

View. What. Do. You. Want.” The brunet rolled his eyes before giving in.

“Dad’s on a video call and wants to introduce you to whoever he’s talking to.” View explained. “He didn’t say, but I’m pretty sure it’s either an investor or somebody from the board.” Win groaned and Team saw how his normally laidback boyfriend’s shoulders suddenly tensed and how his whole posture changed: He stood up straighter as he removed the hair tie from his hair and let it fall, the edges covering the piercings along the tops of his ears. He did a quick lookover of himself in the mirror behind the door before pulling off the gray t-shirt he had been wearing and swapping it for a dark blue button-up he pulled from one of his dresser drawers as well as a grey blazer he pulled out of the closet. His entire transformation took maybe two minutes max, but by the time he was done, he looked every inch the hotel chain heir that Team routinely forgot he was. Win looked himself over one last time before turning to exit the room, stopping when he realized that View wasn’t leaving with him. 

“Why are you still here?” 

“What? I can’t stand in your doorway?” 

“View-” 

“Hia-” 

“Win! Can you come down here for a second, please?”  The male in question let out another groan before turning back to look at Team who had yet to move from his spot on the bed. 

“Team. I’ll be right back, okay?” The blond said sweetly. After a few seconds, he turned his gaze towards his brother, his tone immediately changing as a scowl overtook his features. “You hear that View? I will be Right. Back. If you so much as-” 

“Yeah, yeah whatever, I feel good and threatened. No go. You know dad doesn't like to call twice.” He said pushing the elder out of the room entirely and into the direction of the stairs. Team felt his heart leap into his throat and his pulse grow erratic the farther and farther away the footsteps got. When his boyfriend had reached the bottom of the stairs, the youngest Wanichakarnjonkul entered the room fully, the door swinging shut with a loud bang behind him. 

Team had figured he would have to meet the members of his boyfriend's family individually but hadn’t thought it would be happening so soon and he had also assumed if he was gonna be captured in a small room it would have been by his parents not one of his siblings. 

Everything Win had told him about View had been said with fondness that had been covered over by a layer of annoyance. How when they were younger View was always in his room and how View had made it his personal mission to try and break all of the swimming records that he and Waan had set at the local pool. How the family had already decided Win was going to have to be the one to teach View to drive because no one else would get in a car with him behind the wheel. He was always complaining about how easy View picked up languages, already rapidly on his way to being fluent in his fourth while Win only knew English and Chinese out of absolute necessity. Team did his best to not fidget under the younger’s gaze as he was sized up, refusing to be the first to break their silence. View eventually moved to sit down on the bed beside him and after what felt like an eternity, he let out a sigh. 

“You know," He started. "You’re not really acting the way my brother described you.” Team blinked in surprise. Of all the things he had been thinking the younger man might say, that had not been on the list. 

“How did he describe me?” 

“Confident. Cheeky. Funny. Helpful. Smart. He calls you cute alot whenever he’s on the phone with mae.” View recited and Team was sure if he could turn even redder, he was. He already knew Win thought all those things about him but to find out he not only referred to him like that to other people, but to the people who he cared about the most , had him warming from the inside out. 

“If I’m not how he describes, what am I actually like then?”

“I’m not fully sure yet. Tense, on edge, and nervous mostly though.” Team balled his hands into fists, unable to retort. He was doing his best to force his brain to come up with a response, any response when View started talking again. “You can relax, you know?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“I said you can relax. I know you’ve only been inside like ten minutes but I can tell you’re obsessing over making a good impression and I’m telling you that you don’t have to try so hard. You can relax.” 

“How do you know this isn’t how I act when I’m relaxed?”

“Oh please, even you don’t believe that.” Team couldn’t deny the truth in the statement so he elected to just not say anything instead. View took his silence as permission to continue. 

“Including you, Win has had about five what I would call “serious” romantic relationships. Waan and I know about all of them, mom and dad know about three of them, and including you he’s  introduced  us to two, but you are the  only  one he’s actually brought over to the house.” 

“‘I’m the only person your brother’s brought home? ” Team quietly asked, trying to make sure he had heard the other’s words correctly and wasn’t just misinterpreting them. View nodded.  

“He started seeing this girl a few weeks after he started university and when they hit six months, he had us drive up during one of his competition weekends so we could meet her. P’Dean’s been coming over for years and we met P’Pruk when Win brought him home for a break last year, but besides that, Win hasn’t brought anybody over, friends included. If we met them, it was always in a public place or because we were dropping him off to spend the night at their house, but besides those two, I can’t remember my brother ever bringing anyone over.”

Hia Waan had people over all the time before he moved out and my friends basically live here, but Hia Win has always been super protective about who he brings through the front door. So the fact that he brought you here for three whole days, when the whole family would be present, and when there’s a special occasion going on? You’ve pretty much won. So you can like...unclench or whatever. Also I’d suggest doing it before we go out to dinner tomorrow. Mom’s gonna wanna take a bunch of pictures of the two of you so she can show you off and you don’t wanna look miserable in all of them.” Team opened his mouth but found he had nothing to say so instead he just closed it again and nodded, earning a wry grin from the younger male.

View moved to speak again, but the sound of rapid footsteps making their way upstairs and down the hall had him scoffing and rising to his feet as he turned to face the closed bedroom door. Team was about to ask him what was going on only to be interrupted by the door being swung open by Win. The blond’s eyes moved around the room before settling on Team and quickly scanning him from head to toe. Satisfied with whatever he saw, he turned his expression to the room’s other occupant, his soft expression quickly turning to a glare as his eyes met his brother’s. 

“Why was the door closed?” View let out a huff of indignation. 

“What?” The youngest squawked out. “I can’t have a conversation with your boyfriend? That’s why you brought him here right? So we could talk to him? Get to know him? I’m literally doing what you asked. You just looked him over and saw for yourself that he’s fine.” Win stepped forward so the two of them were only inches apart and mirrored his defensive stance. 

“When have you ever done anything I’ve asked without fighting me on it first?”

“Maybe I’m trying to be a good sibling?” 

“Oh yeah?” Win asked. “And why would you do that when there’s nothing in it for you?” 

“Who said there’s nothing in this for me?” 

“View-”

“Coming mom!” 

“Mae’s not even home yet.” 

“Coming dad!” 

“You-” 

“Bye Hia Team! Talk to you later!” View grins one last time at his brother before scurrying out of the room and down the stairs, Win watching him go before turning back to his boyfriend.   

“What did he say to you?” Team didn’t like lying to Win, but he also felt weird about telling Win exactly what his brother had said. 

“Nothing much.” He finally settled on. “We really weren’t alone for all that long before you came back.” 

“Fine. What pictures of me did he show you then?” 

“I’m waiting for you to fall asleep for that!”  Team had to bite his lip as Win stormed out of the room to lean over the railing to yell back at his brother.

“Guess I’m not sleeping tonight then!”

“You think that’s gonna stop me?” From his place on the mattress, Team could clearly make out the obscene gesture that Win made over the banister, View’s exaggerated gasp making it clear he saw too. Before the younger could say anything, Win rushed back into the room and shut the door behind him, dramatically dropping onto his side on his bed. 

“Sorry about him. I told you he was gonna be insufferable.” 

“Ehh. You’re more annoying and I put up with you.” Win sucked his teeth before reaching up to flick the young swimmer on the forehead. 

“See if you still feel that way on Sunday. This is going to be the longest weekend of my life. I’m glad you’re here though.” Team smiled, offering his boyfriend his hand palm up, the older boy immediately slipping his fingers through the empty spaces. 

“I’m glad I’m here too.”