A/N: Warning: Spoilers for Hello Stranger The Movie
**************
Xavier was driving, and it would take them about 2 ½ hours to get home. Mico wanted to use this opportunity to lay everything out in the open to start on equal footing. Mico had things on his mind and wanted him and Xavier to start their new relationship with good communication. Mico just needed to figure out where to start.
Xavier was content with listening to Mico's voice since he had not been able to talk to him for months. It was a breath of fresh air for him to be able to hear Mico's thoughts and worries again. Therefore, he let Mico occupy the conversation with Xavier giving his two cents or responding in kind.
"So...," Mico started.
"So...," Xavier countered as he side-eyed Mico while he was driving. Xavier noticed Mico's hesitancy. Xavier used to stare at Mico on screen so much that he could tell when Mico wanted to say something.
"It is okay. Spit it out. You can tell me anything, Mico. You know that," Xavier said, reassuring Mico by grabbing his hand and holding it. Mico stared at their intertwined fingers and took a deep breath.
"I think I am still processing everything that happened at the Paniticamp," Mico admitted. It had been a whirlwind 24 hours with Mico confessing to Xavier, becoming an official couple, and spending their night together. Mico went through all the things that happened, and it was overwhelming to think they had to go through so much to get to where they were now.
"Well, let us process it together so we can move forward from it," Xavier suggested. Mico had a lot of things on his mind, so he decided to start from the beginning.
"How did you feel when you first saw me at the resort?" Mico asked. Mico wanted to know how Xavier had managed his thoughts and emotions with him being there.
"I saw you from the parking lot and was just suddenly hit with sadness and loss. I still cared for you despite everything that happened. You were like my best friend, my confidant, and I still loved you, but you were not in my life anymore," Xavier said sadly. Mico nodded his head in understanding.
"When I realized you were going to be my roommate, I had mixed feelings. I was sad because of what could have been between us, but I understood and accepted it. I was happy to be close to you again in some way. It was just awkward," Mico admitted.
Mico had been torn about requesting another roommate. He ended up deciding to be brave. At the time, he had hoped that flooding himself with Xavier just "being a friend" would help him realize they were moving on and that he could get over him. It was too bad the opposite happened and that Xavier in his room was just reinforcing how much he wanted to be with him.
"Yeah, it was a bit awkward," Xavier agreed. Xavier had felt terrible about everything that happened between them. He knew he had to live with the decision to stay with Crystal, but he could not help but try to be near Mico in any capacity.
"Did you think we could have been just friends?" Mico asked, remembering Xavier offering his hand to him in friendship.
"I wanted to try. It was better than not having you in my life at all. You were important to me, Mico," Xavier shared. Xavier's thoughts were along the same lines as Mico's. He thought they could handle "being friends", but he ended up feeling the same way as Mico did.
"You were important to me, too," Mico stated quietly. Mico had grieved the loss of Xavier after he got hit by the car. He had accepted that Xavier was with Crystal, but that did not mean that his heart completely let go of Xavier. Silence filled the car.
"I do have to say it was hard thinking of you as a friend when I saw you practically naked out of the shower," Xavier teased. Xavier smiled widely at the thought of a wet Mico covered only by his notebook.
"Stop teasing me, Xavier! That was so embarrassing!" Mico exclaimed, shaking his head.
"What do you mean? I could not take my eyes off of you! You were so adorable!" Xavier told Mico.
"Really?" Mico asked. He could not believe what Xavier just said.
"Sexy, too, like I told you before! I did not realize that my eyes always searched for you since the Paniticamp started," Xavier admitted.
"I took a picture of you during our photo assignment,"
Xavier informed Mico.
"I took a picture of you, too," Mico shared.
"Really?" Xavier asked, surprised. Mico nodded in confirmation.
"If I was not looking at you or for you all the time, who would have helped you with your jellyfish sting?" Xavier mentioned. Xavier was proud of himself for his quick thinking.
"Help me? You peed on me!" Mico cried out. Mico thought that was the most embarrassing moment and did not want to talk about it.
"It helped my cousin!" Xavier explained. Mico laughed.
"I am pre-med. It is a myth," Mico reiterated. Mico could not believe that Xavier peed on him.
"That did not stop you from checking me out when I did it," Xavier told Mico with a smirk. Mico spluttered.
"I did not," Mico denied and looked out the window.
"Yeah, you did," Xavier said with confidence as he turned his head to look at his boyfriend.
"Shut up! I did not," Mico denied. Xavier smiled widely at the blush spreading across Mico's face. If Mico was being honest with himself, he did take a sneak peek at Xavier while he peed on him. He could not help it, but he was not going to admit it. Mico looked out the window at the passing landscape to avoid making eye contact with Xavier.
***************
The car got quiet for a few minutes as Xavier and Mico thought about the moments they experienced at the Paniticamp. Some were good, and some were bad. Xavier wanted Mico to understand how difficult it was for him to have made the choice that he had made.
"Having you back in my life and being your friend was hard," Xavier pointed out.
"How so?" Mico wondered.
"That night at the bonfire when you got drunk, and I offered to take care of you, you were not acting like yourself," Xavier stated. Mico thought about it.
"I know. I was drinking to cope with how much harder it was to be around you," Mico admitted guiltily.
"That was one night I could not look at you. You were being cute, flirtatious, and seductive. It took all of me to not respond to your advances," Xavier stated. All Xavier wanted to do that night was take care of Mico. He wanted him to be okay. He quickly realized that Mico was not okay.
"Looking back, I had no idea I could be so bold. I am sorry," Mico stated genuinely.
"It's okay. It made me realize that my feelings for you were still there. I missed you and wanted to be with you but was torn because I felt like I needed to be there for Crystal. The fact that you seemed to understand made it even harder for me," Xavier said regretfully.
Mico remembered that night and how his drunk self just disclosed everything that he was thinking at the time. He was trying to be "a friend" to Xavier and wanted Xavier to be "just a friend" too, but it was hard for him also.
"It killed me to see you cry because I was the cause of it," Xavier said as he let go of Mico's hand to run his hand through his hair in frustration. Mico put his hand on Xavier's thigh.
"Xavier, I just got emotional. It's okay," Mico said.
"It was not okay. My feelings for you were getting stronger the more I was around you, and I wanted to do something to bring back the smile on your face but did not know what to do," Xavier. Mico nodded.
"You made your choice. I accepted it," Mico said.
"I know. I thought I accepted it, too, until something happened," Xavier exclaimed frustratingly.
"What happened?" Mico inquired.
"Alexander Markova happened," Xavier stated as he stared at the car in front of him, both of his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
***************
"Simon?" Mico asked.
"Yeah, Simon," Xavier said. Mico nodded.
"You had Crystal," Mico pointed out.
"I know," Xavier responded.
"You became jealous of Simon," Mico stated matter of factly. Xavier let out a sigh.
"Yes, I was jealous of Simon. He was this handsome, smart, and charming guy who seemed very interested in you. I was the dumb jock who messed up having a relationship with you. Every time I saw you with him, I was irritated and pissed off because that could have been me. You were supposed to be mine, not his," Xavier admitted. A sudden thought came to Mico.
"Hold on. During the activity where we had to describe people in one word, what color was your pen?" Mico asked, wondering if his suspicions were correct with Xavier's recent disclosure.
"Red," Xavier admitted proudly.
"Xavier, you were claiming me?" Mico asked, amused.
"I could not help it! Crystal broke up with me because she knew she was keeping me from the person I really loved," Xavier told Mico.
"I thought Simon had written it...," Mico started to confess. Xavier scoffed.
"...but something inside me wished it was you who wrote it," Mico continued.
"Well, at that point, I was ready to fight for you," Xavier confessed. Xavier did not like Simon around Mico. The fact that Simon was not a bad guy made it worse for Xavier. Simon made Xavier feel like he had to prove himself.
"You sure seemed like it. You made a point with the song that you sang that night," Mico said.
"Well, it did make you melt, right?" Xavier teased with a wink. Mico shook his head and chuckled to himself.
**************
Mico thought back about what happened the day after Xavier informed him of him and Crystal breaking up. He thought about their fight after the tug of war. Xavier noticed the sudden sadness in the car.
"What are you thinking about?" Xavier asked.
"Our fight," Mico said.
"I'm sorry that I thought that we could just easily get back to where we left off. I had not realized how much I had hurt you, how you lost all trust in me. It killed me inside really seeing you in so much pain," Xavier said remorsefully. Mico stared at Xavier's handsome face.
"What did you mean about all the things you did to stop your heart from wanting me?" Mico asked as he remembered what Xavier had said. Mico wanted to know.
"There were so many things that reminded me of you and our times together. I stopped social media completely. I was afraid I would see your posts, and I could not handle it. I could not go with Crystal to get milk tea. I could not watch movies because I missed your presence and commentary. I had to keep my mind occupied, so all I did was play basketball, hang out with Crystal, and tried to study. Studying was hard because I thought about how we used to study together. You made me a better student," Xavier informed Mico. He took a deep breath before continuing.
"I knew I would never leave Crystal because I could not break her heart after her parents split. I accepted how my life was and went through the motions of doing things. I was okay and realized that the decision I made put me in the position I was in. I accepted that the unhappiness that I experienced was a consequence of my actions. I thought that if I just continued to do what everyone expected me to do, things would be okay, even though they really were not," Xavier shared.
"I do not blame you for being there for Crystal. You had a history together. She needed you more than I did. I understood, but it did not take away the hurt," Mico told Xavier.
"I know you understood. That made it so much harder for me. You are such a good and understanding person. It made me love you and yearn for you more because of how much you understood. I hated myself because I knew we probably would have been happy together," Xavier said.
"We would have been happy," Mico said as he grabbed Xavier's hand in both of his. Xavier looked at Mico briefly before looking back at the road.
"I was scared and stupid. I am glad you are giving me another chance. I do not care or worry any more about what other people will think. I am ready to be in this relationship with you and believe we can face any obstacle together. I want to dedicate my life to making you happy," Xavier pledged.
"What about your parents? Are you not worried about what they are going to say about us?" Mico asked worriedly. Mico knew he could get his mother to be okay with him and Xavier being together. He was not sure about Xavier's parents. He intertwined his fingers with Xavier's and stared at their hands.
"They already know about you," Xavier told him. Mico's head shot up to look at Xavier.
"What! How?" Mico asked, surprised.
"I told them about not wanting to focus on my training for basketball and that I wanted to do something else for myself. I told my parents that I wanted to do something that made me happy. I ended up slipping that I got the idea from you and that I am in love with you," Xavier confessed. Mico sat silently and processed what he just heard. He took a deep breath.
"You do realize that your dad may blame me for you not pursuing professional basketball?" Mico pointed out. Mico was concerned that Xavier's parents would have something against him before he ever met them.
"How? Playing pro is not going to make me happy. I am playing this last season because I do not want to let the team down, but I am not planning to talk to any recruiters or anything," Xavier said. Mico nodded.
"What are you going to do?" Mico asked.
"As I said to you before, I am not sure, but I have a feeling that you will help me figure it out," Xavier answered.
"I will if you want me to," Mico responded with a smile. Xavier smiled back.
*****************
After a few moments of just appreciating being together, Xavier spoke up.
"I actually have a question for you."
"Okay," Mico said and looked at Xavier, waiting in anticipation.
"What made you change your mind? I kind of thought that you needed more time to figure things out," Xavier inquired.
After their big fight, Xavier thought about everything and realized that he had no right to expect Mico to just run back to be with him. He had hurt Mico so much. If Xavier had been in Mico's place, he would have been hesitant to jump back in their relationship also.
"One thing was Simon. He made me realize that I still had strong feelings for you. He encouraged me to consider forgiving you and trying again," Mico stated.
"I need to send that guy an apology-for-punching you/thank-you gift," Xavier said under his breath. Mico looked at Xavier and shook his head. Mico continued.
"The other thing that changed my mind was your touching presentation about what you learned from the Paniticamp. You were so courageous to share your journey toward finding your truth. It inspired me to want to be courageous and honest with myself," Mico shared.
"Well, I am glad it worked in my favor," Xavier said as he brought Mico's hand up to his lips to kiss the back of it.
"Me, too!" Mico said as he brought Xavier's hand to his lips to kiss the back of it.
**************
Xavier and Mico eventually arrived at Mico's house and parked his car. Mico had texted his mom that he was getting a ride from Xavier and had something important to ask her when he got home. She said she would be waiting for them when they got there. Now that they were there, both were anxious about the conversation they were going to have. Xavier and Mico got out of the car, took the stuff Mico wanted to bring home out of the trunk and faced his house.
"Ready?" Xavier said as he put his mask on. Mico did the same.
"Ready," Mico stated. Xavier grabbed Mico's hand as they walked up to the front door with Mico's stuff. Mico got his keys out and unlocked the door, letting him and Xavier into his house.
"Ma, I'm home!" Mico called out. Mico and Xavier took off their shoes and walked into the living room. Xavier left Mico's luggage near the door. Mico's mother looked at the couple as she walked down the stairs. Mico's mother kept her distance. She worked and was around people all the time, so she and Mico had agreed to social distancing until she got vaccinated. Mico and Xavier were already vaccinated but wanted to play it safe.
"Ma, this is Xavier. Xavier, this is my mom," Mico introduced them to each other.
Xavier laid the palm of his right hand on the center of his chest with a simultaneous head nod as instructed on the news promoted by the government. His mother did the same.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ramos. You have a beautiful home," Xavier said sincerely. Mico noticed that Xavier had turned on the charm, and Mico was feeling more confident with what he was going to ask his mom with Xavier by his side.
"Nice to finally meet you, too, Xavier. Thank you. Please sit," Mrs. Ramos said as she gestured to the couch. Xavier and Mico sat down as Mrs. Ramos joined them.
"When I got the message from Mico about him catching a ride with you, I was a bit surprised," Mrs. Ramos admitted.
"Mrs. Ramos, I am sorry about what I put Mico through in the past. We are trying to work things out and see if we can make our relationship work," Xavier declared.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Mrs. Ramos asked as she turned to look at Mico. Mico nodded.
"Yes, ma, this is what I want. Xavier makes me happy," Mico informed his mother. Mrs. Ramos looked at Mico and Xavier's determined looks and sighed.
"Okay, okay. I will support you if this is what you want," Mrs. Ramos told the couple.
"Thank you, Mrs. Ramos, for giving me a chance to prove to you that I can make Mico happy," Xavier stated.
"So, is this what you wanted to talk to me about? You know I would have supported whatever you decided," Mrs. Ramos said to Mico.
"Actually, Ma, I was wondering if it would be okay to stay with Xavier during the 2-week lockdown to help him with studying. Please, Ma," Mico begged. Mrs. Ramos looked at both Xavier and Mico who were giving her puppy dog eyes.
"Are you sure this is something you want to do?" Mrs. Ramos asked.
"I do! Please ma," Mico asked.
"Mrs. Ramos, please allow us the opportunity to be able to talk about our relationship and make up for the time lost. I am hoping we can address issues we had in the past and lay the foundation for a positive relationship with each other in the future," Xavier urged. Mrs. Ramos looked at Xavier, then at Mico pointedly.
"Okay, but you cannot leave Xavier's house. You call me every day. You also order me food on the weekends when I get lazy to cook," Mrs. Ramos proposed.
"Done! Thank you, Mrs. Ramos!" Xavier said with a smile.
"Okay, Ma, I will call you every day," Mico stated.
"Go ahead and unpack your dirty clothes, Mico, then pack some stuff for Xavier's house. I would recommend you guys order groceries online and have them delivered. I would not go to the grocery store right now with what is going on in the city," Mrs. Ramos suggested.
"Okay, Ma, we will do that. Thank you," Mico stated. He patted Xavier's leg.
"Let's go, Xavier!" Mico stated as he stood up. Xavier did the same and grabbed Mico's luggage. Xavier nodded at Mrs. Ramos before following Mico up the stairs.
**************
Mico took Xavier upstairs and then down the hallway to his room. He opened the door and let Xavier in.
"Where do you want your luggage?" Xavier asked, looking around. Xavier was absorbing everything that he saw. It felt weird for him to see things he used to see through his monitor in real life.
"Go ahead and put it on the bed," Mico said as he brought in his other bags and started taking stuff out of them to put away.
Xavier laid Mico's luggage on his bed and then started to walk around Mico's room. He looked at Mico's lava lamp, his heart light, and his plushie on his bed. Mico turned around and looked at Xavier.
"What are you doing?" Mico asked as he started unpacking his luggage.
"I'm checking out your stuff," Xavier said as he grabbed one of Mico's plushies and threw it at him. Mico caught it and looked at Xavier seriously as he hugged the plushie dearly.
"This is the plushie that I held when I cried myself to sleep at night," Mico said stoically. Xavier looked at Mico remorsefully. Mico threw it back at Xavier.
"I'm just kidding, Xavier. Stop fooling around! I am going to take my dirty clothes into the laundry room. Can you look in my drawers and closet for clothes I can wear for the next two weeks and put them in my luggage?" Mico asked.
"Sure!" Xavier responded. Mico grabbed the laundry bag of dirty clothes in his luggage and left the room.
Xavier thought about it. Mico did not need to bring much to his house since Mico could use his clothes also. Xavier decided to still grab some clothes and went over to Mico's closet. Since they were not going anywhere, he found a few pairs of jeans, shorts, and shirts to pack. He moved to Mico's drawers and cabinet and added a few pairs of Mico's socks to his luggage. Xavier found some tank tops and undershirts and put them in Mico's luggage also. He got on his knees to open the last drawer and found Mico's underwear.
Xavier hesitated. Packing up Mico's underwear seemed like an intimate thing to do. He shook his head. He was just packing clothes, so it should not have been a big deal. He ended up grabbing a few white briefs and put them in Mico's luggage. Xavier looked back into Mico's drawer and shook his head. He laughed at how most of Mico's underwear was white and wondered why he had no colored underwear. As he looked into the drawer, he noticed something black at the very bottom of it. Xavier pulled it out.
Xavier realized that Mico had a pair of sexy leather boxer briefs hiding at the bottom of his drawer. Xavier brought the briefs up to his eye level with both his hands. Xavier had not realized how much smaller Mico was until he saw how tiny those sexy briefs were. There was no way Xavier could have fit in that. The briefs were not overly long, and he started daydreaming of Mico wearing them, showing off his creamy milk thighs.
"Xavier! What are you doing?" Mico yelled as he rushed to grab the black leather briefs from Xavier's hands and interrupted Xavier's trance. Xavier shook his head to clear it.
Mico was embarrassed. He had bought the boxer briefs on a whim to see if they would look cute on him. They did, but he never intended to actually wear them in front of anyone.
"I was just packing your bags as you asked me to," Xavier responded as Mico tried to put the briefs back into his drawer. Xavier grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Xavier asked.
"Putting them away," Mico said, embarrassed.
"Why don't you, uh, bring them with you?" Xavier said as he let go of Mico's hand and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.
"What for?" Mico asked. Xavier pulled on Mico's shirt to bring his head down to Xavier's level. Xavier leaned in to whisper in Mico's ear.
"So, I can see how sexy you are in it," Xavier said seductively. Xavier leaned back to look into Mico's eyes and waited. Mico blinked, then could not take it. He pulled down his mask, pulled down Xavier's, and kissed Xavier full on the mouth. They kissed for a few minutes before they got up for air. Xavier gave Mico a small peck at the side of his mouth, then smiled brightly at him. Mico smiled back.
"Mico!" Mrs. Ramos called. Mico jumped and looked around to see if his mother was there. Xavier laughed gleefully. She was not and had called him from her bedroom.
"Coming, Ma!" Mico responded as he put his mask back on. Mico looked at Xavier with an admonishing look. Xavier shrugged and smiled guiltily at Mico.
"My school backpack is near my desk. Can you pack up my laptop and those books?" Mico asked as he pointed at his books in the little bookcase.
"Don't worry! I will finish up here and then we can head out," Xavier said as he started finishing up putting Mico's clothes in his luggage.
"Thanks!" Mico said before walking out to see his mother. What Mico did not see was Xavier packing those sexy black briefs into his luggage.
***************
Mico went searching for his mother and found her in her room. He knocked on the open door.
"Ma, did you need me?" Mico asked. His mother patted the spot next to her on her bed. Mico walked over and sat next to his mother. She turned to look at him.
"Mico, I do not have to tell you that I expect you to be on your best behavior," Mico's mother said.
"I know, Ma! You do not have to worry. With managing school and being on lockdown, there is not going to be much to do," Mico responded. He did not know what to expect going to Xavier's house, but he knew his priorities, and school was one of them.
"Good," Mrs. Ramos said as she patted Mico's knee.
"Are you leaving? Do you have everything?" Mrs. Ramos asked.
"I think so," Mico stated.
Mico looked around and saw the piece of paper on the wall that has been there since he was a little kid. He stood up from the bed and went over to it. It was a recipe to make muffins. His mother told him how she and Mico's father had gone to a bed and breakfast when they were newlyweds. An older couple owned the place and shared how muffins had played a part in their marriage. The older woman had explained that they were both shy early on in their marriage and did not know how to express their love. The couple explained that they put their feelings into the muffins. One used azuki beans to mean "I miss you" and how the other put chocolate in the muffins to express "I love you." The older couple had encouraged Mico's parents to put their love in the pastry and told them how it could bring special surprises.
Mrs. Ramos had shared with Mico how she and his father had attempted to make the muffins themselves using different ingredients. Mrs. Ramos had talked wistfully about how they had flour all over them by the end of the experience and were laughing hysterically at how each other looked. Mrs. Ramos had used macapuno because she always thought his father was a pleasant man with some nuttiness. Mr. Ramos had created a calamansi crumb muffin for Mico's mother because his mother loved to put calamansi on everything. His father chose to flavor her muffin with calamansi because she was refreshing and versatile and was so much more than how small she was. Mico remembered that story and had wished that their love for each other would have continued. Mico was determined to try it with Xavier.
Mrs. Ramos had watched Mico get up to look at the recipe then turn to his mother.
"Ma, can I borrow the muffin recipe?" Mico asked.
"Are you sure? Aren't you afraid?" Mrs. Ramos asked, concerned. Mrs. Ramos was there when Mico's heart was broken. She could not bear for him to create such a fond memory for it to be destroyed by their love not being enough to keep them together.
"I am, but I am willing to take the risk. Xavier wants to try to make this work, and I do, too. Ma, you even said that the memory with the muffins was one of the best memories you had with dad. I want the same," Mico said adamantly. He had always loved that story and had fantasies about doing the same thing with the love of his life. He hoped Xavier would be that person.
"Okay, you can take the recipe. Do not lose it!" Mrs. Ramos said before standing up and walking out the door.
Mico took the recipe off the wall and walked back to his room. Xavier had finished packing his clothes, and his luggage was standing upright. Xavier was finishing up putting Mico's books in his school backpack and looked up at Mico.
"Everything okay? What is that?" Xavier asked, curious about the paper in Mico's hands.
Mico grabbed a folder and put the recipe in it. He went up to Xavier and handed him the folder so Xavier could put it in the backpack, too. Mico looked around, and it seemed like Xavier was able to get everything that he needed.
"I will explain it to you later. Thanks for packing my stuff, Xavier," Mico said as Xavier handed him over his backpack to put on. Xavier walked over to the luggage.
"No problem! I kind of know what you like to wear anyway. Are you ready?" Xavier asked.
"I'm ready! Let's go!" Mico responded.
Xavier and Mico walked downstairs with Mico's stuff. Mrs. Ramos stood up from the couch as they got to the bottom of the stairs.
"Did you get everything packed?" Mrs. Ramos asked.
"I did, Ma!" Mico said.
"Thank you for letting Mico stay over. It means a lot," Xavier said to Mrs. Ramos.
"I hope you both discuss things and study a lot!" Mrs. Ramos looked at Mico.
"Yes, ma, we will be studying. Don't worry! I'm not going to do anything that is going to mess up my GPA," Mico said resolutely.
"Mrs. Ramos, I know for a fact that Mico is going to make us study the whole time, so you won't have to worry about that," Xavier said as he bumped his shoulder to Mico's. Mico giggled because that was completely true.
"Okay, be careful and safe. Don't leave your house unless you have to. Have things delivered to you as needed. I will see you in a few weeks," Mrs. Ramos said.
"Be safe, too, Ma! I'll see you when I get back," Mico said as he kissed his mother on the cheek. Xavier nodded and waved goodbye as he followed Mico out of the house. They walked down the sidewalk and put Mico's stuff in Xavier's car. They both got into their seats and put their belts on. Xavier started the car and looked at Mico.
"Ready?" Xavier asked. Mico nodded.
"Let's go!" Xavier exclaimed.
***************
Xavier and Mico arrived at Xavier's house quickly. Xavier parked his car, and they brought their stuff in. Mico, who had never actually been inside Xavier's house, looked around. Mico followed Xavier through the living room into a hallway that led into his bedroom. Mico dropped his school bag and started walking around Xavier's room. He saw Xavier's standing mirror and his clothing rack on one side of the room and the mini basketball hoop on the other. Mico walked over to Xavier's wall shelves to look at Xavier's basketball trophies and his row of hats with the dinosaur model at the end. He also saw Xavier's shoes lined up neatly. Xavier put the luggage in the corner and turned to look at Mico.
"Do you want to unpack or do something else?" Xavier asked.
"Can I check out what you have in your kitchen?" Mico asked. Xavier tilted his head curiously.
"Sure. Why?" Xavier asked as he watched Mico take a folder out of his backpack.
"Does it have to do with that paper you were holding on to when you came into your room? What is it?" Xavier continued. Mico took the paper out of the folder and handed it to Xavier. He started walking towards Xavier's kitchen with Xavier reading it as he followed Mico.
"A muffin recipe?" Xavier asked as he read it.
As Mico looked around Xavier's kitchen, he explained the story of his parents making muffins for each other at that bed and breakfast so long ago. Mico expressed how he thought it was super sweet and how he wanted to make muffins with Xavier.
"Have you baked before?" Xavier inquired as he looked at Mico. Xavier had to learn how to cook because he lived alone. Otherwise, Xavier would have starved to death. He was pretty good at following recipes he found on the internet. He was afraid he was going to mess the muffins up and disappoint Mico. Mico saw his discouraged look and walked up to him. Xavier put the recipe down on the counter, and Mico wrapped his arms around Xavier's waist. Xavier looked down into Mico's eyes.
"I am decent at baking. We can do most of the baking together and make adjustments to it as needed separately. Luckily, we have the internet and can look up stuff we can do," Mico said encouragingly. Xavier looked at Mico. Baking muffins seemed important to Mico, so Xavier could not refuse him.
"Okay, let's bake them after dinner. Do I have all the ingredients to make them?" Xavier asked.
"You do, surprisingly. Do you bake?" Mico asked. Xavier never mentioned him baking anything. Xavier shook his head.
"I honestly do not bake. My mother will order groceries for me just in case I want to make something like pancakes or waffles," Xavier informed Mico.
"You can make breakfast? Wow!" Mico exclaimed, impressed.
Mico looked so happy about Xavier making him breakfast that he leaned down to kiss Mico on the lips. Mico closed his eyes and savored the feeling of Xavier's lips on his. He then leaned back and let go of Xavier's waist. Before Mico could move anywhere, Xavier grabbed Mico's hand and pulled him back towards his room.
"Where are we going?" Mico asked.
"Back to my room! I want to make some room in my closet for your clothes," Xavier informed Mico.
"Oh, you do not have to," Mico said shyly. Mico was fine living out of his suitcase but thought it was sweet of Xavier to make room for him. They walked into Xavier's room, opened up his luggage, then Xavier moved some of his clothes out of his closet. Mico looked at his clothes and then looked up at the space in the closet.
"I know you cannot fit everything in the closet, so I will also make some space in some of my drawers," Xavier said to Mico.
"Thanks, Xavier," Mico said as he started sorting out his clothes. Mico then noticed a twinkle in Xavier's eye.
"You know what is the first piece of clothing we should put away?" Xavier asked. Mico looked at Xavier curiously. Xavier looked into Mico's luggage and instantly found what he was looking for. He grabbed it out of the suitcase and held it up with both hands so Mico could see.
Xavier was holding up Mico's sexy leather boxer briefs.
"Xavier! I cannot believe you packed those!" Mico yelled and tried to grab the briefs, but Xavier was quicker. He ran away from Mico, and Mico chased after him all around Xavier's room.
Xavier finally got onto one side of the bed while Mico was on the other. Xavier was about to go around the bed but faked it and went over it. Mico anticipated the move and tackled Xavier, landing them in a heap on top of the bed.
Mico found his face very close to Xavier's. Mico looked at Xavier's face and closed the distance, and started kissing Xavier. Xavier immediately responded and wrapped his arms around Mico's body. While he was distracted, Mico grabbed at Xavier's hand and snatched the briefs out of it.
"Hey!" Xavier cried out. Mico looked at Xavier.
"Do you really like these briefs?" Mico asked. Xavier nodded in confirmation. Xavier heard Mico take a deep breath and looked at him.
"Well, if you really like them, then you better get an A on that paper you have due on Wednesday," Mico said, with a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Really? You'll wear them?" Xavier inquired happily, excitedly holding Mico close to keep him from squirming away. Mico nodded and brought his forehead down to Xavier's chest in embarrassment.
"Deal!" Xavier announced as he offered his hand to Mico. Mico lifted his head to look at it, then brought his hand to Xavier's and shook on it.
"Deal," Mico confirmed. Xavier then shifted Mico, so Mico was lying on his side with his head on Xavier's bicep. Xavier kissed the top of Mico's head and sighed in contentment as Mico smiled to himself, both of them happy to be in the arms of the one they loved.
*************
A/N: Credit is given to Hello Stranger the web series and Hello Stranger The Movie for some of the scenes and scene pics included in this fic.
Credit is also given to the Taiwanese drama, Inborn Pair. I adapted their muffins story from Episodes 44-45 for this fic.
PUB 10/2/2021 6798