@domaystic and my entry for Day15!
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: มีสติหน่อยคุณธีร์ | Me and Thee (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rati/Thee (Memoir of Rati)
Characters: Thee (Memoir of Rati), Rati (Memoir of Rati)
Additional Tags: Spicy Fluff, Rati is a little menace, boyfriend temptation
Summary:
The first ten days were always the nicest— Rati was always excited, happy. Then the routine started to settle in, His father would start asking him to attend formal events and meetings, where Rati was either not welcome, given their status or was simply not interested in going. And Siam started to loose a little of his shine.
Written for Domaystic 2026 - Prompt 15: Playing Hooky + Alt prompt: "Don't tempt me"
Pema poked her trowel into the soft earth, loosening up the dirt before planting the seeds. A little more water over the row, and the ground was ready.
She opened her basket to retrieve the seeds, when something distracted her. Nothing in her field of vision made any sense. Grass, basket, garden, trowel…
The vibrations beneath her knees got stronger, so she turned to see Master Tenzin stalking off away from the main temple complex. Turning further, she saw the back of Officer Beifong walking in the general direction of the ferry.
Hoping to give him something else to think about, Pema lifted her hand, ready to pretend she was doing something other than waving at a man fighting with his girlfriend.
When his back was to her entirely, she turned back to her basket and began planting her seeds.
.
The weeds this year had grown more heartily than her flowers had. In frustration, Pema debated whether to rip out the garden entirely. Sister Yutung had advised caution before taking such drastic measures, but Pema was beginning to wonder if she should listen to her own mind instead.
A few more steps took her to the ends of her rows, where she heard something that caught her attention.
“Tenzin, I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve been in this constant battle with myself. I want to be here. I want to be with you. But you know I’m up for promotion, and they scrutinize everything. If I work overtime, if I don’t work overtime. If my reports are too perfect or have the slightest errors. It’s tearing me up.”
If Tenzin responded, Pema could not tell.
She turned back to her garden, and began methodically removing the growth that did not serve her plans.
.
The full moon shone down over her garden as she lounged, reading out loud to her plants. On the one hand, she felt rather silly, but she did enjoy the poetry. Her mother had read out loud in the evenings, and Pema had fond memories of drifting to sleep to her mother’s quiet voice.
She was so absorbed in her texts that the appearance of her friend startled her.
“May I listen?” asked Master Tenzin.
A nod and the wave of a hand was all the invitation he needed. He settled down on his knees, resting his hands in his lap.
She gave him a small smile, and picked up where she had left off.
I asked the sparrowmouse if I should stay or go
My mind held no answers
I asked the mooselion if I should speak or hold my tongue
My spirit was conflicted
I asked the polar beardog if I should live in satisfaction or deprivation
My gut was as heavy as stone
This man with her should be elsewhere. With another.
But his eyes were shut so tight they pulled his entire face into a dark cloud.
She traced the tear down his cheek.
His wrinkles deepened and he opened his eyes, questioning why she had stopped reading.
And then the rain began to fall gently on her book, on their heads, on the plants patiently growing beside them.
.
Once the shouting had stopped, Pema ventured through the back door of the dormitories to find a disaster.
The grounds were disrupted as far as she could see. Huge boulders stuck up at odd angles, the pond was drained except for a small alcove where she could see the turtleducks swam unharmed.
It was another story for her little garden.
Nothing remained to identify the plot she had tended these past months.
She folded her arms, tucking her hands around her elbows.
The air had a touch of ozone as if there had been a lightning strike that was nearly masked by the heaviness of turned earth.
Her garden was ruined, true.
“Pema, she is gone.”
But whatever her misgivings had been along the way, the seeds she had planted had borne fruit.
