Chapter Text
Yesterday 21:08
Salle: Babuuuuu
Neo: what did you do this time?
Salle: wala langgg, are you free tomorrow?
Neo: yes, just gonna get some readings done.
Yesterday 22:27
Salle: Babuuuuuuuu
Neo: Salle ano ba
Salle: wag ka galit, sungit naman :(
Neo: sorry babe ano ba yun
Salle: diyan ka lang sa condo bukas?
Neo: oo nga, might go to starbs or bo's if i feel it
Salle: okay
Neo: what is it
Salle: wala lang
Neo: Salle.
Salle: goodnight babu
Neo: goodnight Sasa
***
Waking up at 8am was something Salle wasn't fond of. Driving from Taft to Katipunan at 10am, when he could be sleeping in, was even worse. But since Neo had nothing planned except to get his dumb old readings done for whatever subject that was, Salle figured he could coax his boyfriend out of his living quarters to go out on a date instead.
He had planned to go ice skating with him at Megamall and treat him out, since they haven't gone out for a proper date in a while aside from the usual hangout with Phil, Mia, and the rest of the group. Neo was apparently good at ice skating, or at least better than Salle, and he thought it would be nice if Neo could teach him (in return for Salle giving him a dance lesson two weeks ago). The Katipunan traffic was obviously awful and had he not turned his car's AC up, he would have melted under the heat of the morning sun. Thank heavens they were ice skating today.
Salle couldn't stop the bounce in his step as he walked to Neo's condo, excited for his plan to go as smoothly as possible. He repeated the plan in his head: lunch out, ice skating, probably buy clothes if he feels like it, then dinner. Just the thought made him practically vibrate in his spot as he knocked on Neo's door, waiting for his boyfriend to let him in.
The wooden white door opened, and Salle was met with nothing at first, until he looked down to see a little girl dressed in blue from head to toe looking up at him curiously. Salle thought she strangely looked a lot like his boyfriend, which got him thinking where the hell his boyfriend was and who was this clone looking up at him with the most curious face. Maybe he'd knocked on the wrong door? He checked the number on the doorframe again for good measure. "Hi." the little girl chimed like she'd known Salle all along.
Salle opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by his boyfriend instead. "Addie! What did I tell you about opening the door?!" came Neo's voice from a few feet away.
Both Salle and the little girl looked up to see Neo marching towards them, wearing one of Salle's black shirts and blue basketball shorts. Salle found the scene very amusing; he's never seen Neo interact with a child before.
"You told me not to." The little girl named Addie mumbled from below Salle, toeing the wooden floor with her pale blue socks. Her attention was then caught by Archer, the munchkin cat, who meowed somewhere inside the condo. "Archer!!" Addie exclaimed, escaping a scolding from Neo.
"Salle!" The eagle greeted happily, though he looked a little run down when it was only barely noon. Salle accepted the hug that Neo gave and dropped a kiss on his head.
"Sinong inanakan mo?" was the first thing that Salle blurted out upon seeing Neo look at the little girl trying to chase their cat (Salle had said that Archer was Neo's alone, but Neo liked to give Salle some responsibility as well so he claimed to share the cat with him).
Neo punched Salle's chest lightly, but still Salle winced. "Gag— shunga." he caught himself before the cuss word slipped out. "That's my cousin, Addie. Napadaan si Tito Deckard kanina eh, may thing daw siya sa Antipolo." Neo explained, ushering Salle in. "'Di niya madala si Addie, so now I'm on babysitting duty."
Salle took off his shoes and placed them on the rack beside the door. "But I was supposed to take you out today." he said, disheartened that his plans got disrupted. He planted himself on Neo's desk chair, sulking. Neo placed a hand at the back of the chair. "We can still go out naman. We just have to bring Addie along." he said softly, carding his fingers through Salle's hair that the other so secretly relished in. "Speaking of," Neo added and pulled himself away to find his cousin.
Salle smirked and leaned back on the chair, pulling out his phone to wait for his boyfriend. The Atenean returned, cousin in tow, who carried the munchkin cat in her small arms. Upon closer look, Salle noticed she had eyes equally blue like Neo's, and hair as brown as her cousin's as well. The eagle bent on one knee to reach the height of the girl. Having their faces next to each other made Salle realize that they could practically be brother and sister. "Salle, this is Addie, my cousin." he introduced gently, a hand on Addie's shoulder. "Addie, this is Kuya Salle, my boyfriend."
Salle's heart fluttered at the mention of boyfriend. It was true, of course, but rare were the times that Neo said their relationship status out loud. He snapped out of his trance to offer a hand to Addie. "Hi Addie, I'm Salle." Salle introduced himself, his hand hanging between him and the girl. Addie looked at him, then at Neo, then back at him again. "I know, Kuya Neo just said so." she replied with such innocent sass.
This earned a laugh from Salle and he retrieved his hand to place it on his knee instead. "Addie, be nice." Neo chided, shaking his head. "How old are you?" The archer questioned. Neo nudged Addie's shoulder, and the little girl shyly offered a bent hand with five fingers splayed out, as to not drop the cat in her arms. "Oh, wow! Five! Such a big girl already!" Salle said in faux astonishment that made Addie giggle and Neo smile.
Neo cut in by nudging his shoulder against Addie's. "Ads, diba you wanted to do something fun?" he asked his cousin. Addie nodded in agreement, absentmindedly stroking Archer's fur. "I told Daddy I wanted to go swimming." she happily replied. Neo looked at Salle with a glint in his eyes. "Well, Kuya Salle can take us out first, and we can go swimming later na lang." he said, and the archer widened his eyes. "I nev—" he started, but stopped when Neo gave him a look that said Say anything else and I'll punch you in the gut. "Of course." Salle sighed, resigned. It wasn't as if they could leave a child in Neo's condo to sneak out on some date.
It was settled, then. Salle was going to be a boyfriend and a babysitter today. "Ads, grab your bag na. I'll change then we can go get lunch, yeah?" Neo asked, shaking her with the arm wrapped around her shoulder. Addie perked up at the promise of going out and all but dropped the cat in excitement to retrieve her bag. Neo looked at Salle then from his position still kneeling on the floor. "I can't believe you're making me babysit with you." Salle grumbled playfully, picking up the disgruntled munchkin cat on the floor. Neo rolled his eyes and stood up. "Addie's nice, you'll get along with her just fine." he promised, leaving Salle with their cat to change into his usual collared shirt.
***
Salle's initial plan was to take Neo out for lunch somewhere in Megamall, but with Addie in tow, the trio finds themselves in McDonald's in Katipunan.
"My turn!!" Addie announced, waving her very own pink marker in the air to write on the paper mat on the tray.
Salle and Addie were currently in a duel of McDonald's Tic Tac Toe provided on the paper atop the brown tray while Neo watched on, reminding Addie to eat every now and then. The little girl drew a wobbly second circle at the third row of the grid, strategizing her moves carefully. And Salle didn't want to be an asshole, so he chose to let her win. He quietly drew a cross mark on top of the circle, leaving the last square on the grid for Addie to place her circle.
"Ha! I win!" Addie exclaimed, drawing her final circle and claiming victory over her opponent who just laughs in defeat. Neo watched both interact while munching on his burger. "I can't believe Addie won over you." he commented snarkily. "Wala eh, guess I'm just not smart enough!" Salle played along, making Addie laugh some more. "Hurry up, Addie. Pupunta pa tayong Megamall." Neo urged the little girl that sipped her orange juice noisily.
Salle watched the two interact while he finished the rest of his chicken. His boyfriend wiped away all the chicken skin and rice crumbs from Addie's face with a clean tissue while Addie closed her eyes and pretended she was being pampered. Never has he seen this side of Neo, all gentle and caring but keeping his (mostly) mature and passive facade. This got him thinking of how very nurturing Neo really was on the inside, how he mothered over Salle sometimes. Maybe one day, Neo could be like that with their own children—
"Salle? Let's go?"
Green eyes lifted up to see Neo already standing and ready to go, with Addie stuffing her new Happy Meal Toy in her soft blue backpack, leaving Salle's own red Happy Meal box untouched on the table. Salle's face flushed a tad and mentally kicked his own thoughts away, picking up his Happy Meal box. "Okay, let's roll!" he agreed, gathering what was left of his drink to go.
The drive to their mall of choice took over half an hour, what with EDSA's mass of weekend cars racing to get to their place of relaxation for the day. Salle would have cursed at every overtaking vehicle if it wasn't for the innocent child buckled in the backseat. Said child filled the silence in the car by asking questions ("Kuya Salle, how old are you?" she'd asked "20." Salle had replied simply. "Eh why do you buy Happy Meal toys?" she had asked yet again. "Kasi he's childish." Neo had cut in. "Wala kayang age limit ang Happy Meal." Salle had retorted.) and singing along to the Disney playlist that played on Neo's phone hooked up in the car. Salle sometimes sang along with her to please her, and please her it did. Though Neo loved Disney for sure, he just might rip his ears off if he had to hear a song from Moana another time.
"I want How Far I'll Go again!!" Addie demanded from the back as Salle drove around the parking area, the last notes of You're Welcome playing in the background. "We're here na, later na lang ulit when we go home." Neo placated his cousin, who pouted but didn't complain any further. Salle parked his car closer to the mall entrance and turned the engine off. "Okay, what's the agenda for today?" he turned to Neo and unbuckled his seabelt. "What's agenda?" Addie piped up, involving herself in the grown-up's conversation. "It's like a plan," Neo responded to her then faced Salle, "Ano bang binalak mo?" he asked.
"Ice skating lang actually, ta's bahala na. Then dinner." Salle shrugged. Neo unbuckled his own seatbelt and unlocked his door to retrieve Addie in the back squirming in her seat. "I'm g. I'll pay for Addie sa rink na lang." Neo nodded in agreement as he helped the little girl out of the car.
It turned out, taking a child out to the mall was like taking Cessie out to the mall, only ten times worse. They had to make multiple stops at different shops that caught Addie's attention before they actually made it into the rink, and when they did, Salle had to stop Neo from grabbing a drink from the nearby Starbucks shop. "Mamaya na, babe. Treat ko, promise." was Salle's final word before they walked in the rink.
"Do you know how to ice skate, Addie?" Salle asked as he laced his own pair of skates on his feet. Addie sat patiently on the provided bench, swinging her legs clad in navy blue leggings until Salle could slip on the smaller skates on her much smaller feet. Neo was somewhere in the locker area, stuffing their shoes and Addie's bag in rented lockers.
"Somehow. Mommy knows how to skate and she taught me before. But I don't think I remember it now." Addie confessed, watching as Salle gently slipped her foot in a skate. "Your Kuya Neo knows naman, and to be honest, 'di din ako marunong." Salle sheepishly said as he securely tied the laces. "Hala! What if you fall?" Addie gasped as if the thought of Salle getting injured was the worst thing to happen.
From behind Salle, he heard Neo laugh. "He's already fallen for me, Ads. He can fall on ice on his own." he replied with a smug smile. Salle turned to the boy with accusing eyes. "Grabe siya." he scoffed as if it wasn't true.
"What does that mean?" Addie looked back and forth between her two babysitters of the day. She didn't get a reasonable response except a laugh from Salle and a "You'll understand when you're older." from Neo.
***
"Kuya Salle is slow."
"He's trying his best."
It almost looks comical if Salle wasn't getting injured every ten minutes. Both Neo and Addie were a few feet away from him, the younger of the two holding the hand of the older one while they watched the archer get up from another fall on the ice. "Wait lang, onting tulong naman oh!" Salle called out and grasped the handrail on the side to help him up once again. "You did fine! It's okay to fall!" Addie cheered on, her smiling face framed with the belts of the safety helmet resting on her head. "Magkakapasa ako neto eh." Salle complained as he glided across the ice, catching up to the two waiting for him. "Wouldn't be the first time." Neo sang quietly before skidding across the ice again, leaving Addie to his boyfriend.
Salle chuckled and shook his head. How Neo could be so calm and collected one moment, and teasing and indecent the next was beyond him. "Kuya Salle, hurry up!" Addie's small hand clutched Salle's big one, urging him forward to catch up to Neo. The other boy was waving at them as he skated backwards and Salle snorted to himself. "Napaka-showoff." he muttered, but complied to Addie's want. He tried to remember the technique Neo had taught him earlier to move quicker and glide more efficiently on the ice, but with his eye watching Addie carefully, he wasn't sure who he was watching out for first.
"Huli ka!" Neo suddenly grasped Addie and Salle's clasped hands, startling both his boyfriend and cousin as he came up from behind them. Addie's response came in the form of shrieking laughter while Salle jumped in surprise. "Bagal niyo eh." Neo told both of them. "Si Kuya Salle kasi." Addie blamed the guy still holding her hand. "Kayo ha, stop ganging up on me!" the archer looked at the identical cousins with a mocking frown. Addie stuck her tongue out at him and he mimicked her, watching her face contort from teasing to shock.
"You have an earring in your tongue?!" she gasped in surprise at Salle, who started gliding away to escape interrogation. "It gets them every time." the archer told his boyfriend with a wink. Neo barely held in his eye roll. "It's a tongue piercing and it's the worst because he's a showoff." he replied to his cousin, helping her skate across the ice to follow Salle. "Did it— oops!" she stumbled a little, small hands gripping tighter on Neo's. "Did it hurt?" she asked, looking at Salle who held the handrail at the very last second before he fell on the ice. "It probably did." Neo hummed in thought. Salle looked back at them and stuck his tongue out once more, making Addie's face crumple. "Ew." was her final verdict on the tongue piercing.
***
The trio's next stop was at Fully Booked upon Neo's request that Salle couldn't deny; the eagle had a love for bookstores. While Neo browsed through the young adult novels section, half empty frappuccino at hand, Salle was dragged to the kid's section where he had himself planted on the carpeted floor next to Addie skimming through books. Really, was Neo the one babysitting today or Salle?
While he busied himself looking at tweets on his phone, he felt a tap on his denim-clad leg. "Kuya Salle, do you know Peppa Pig?" Addie murmured, careful not to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in the bookstore. Salle snorted, remembering that video of Peppa Pig not knowing how to whistle that went around social media for quite a while. "Yeah, why?" he looked away from his phone to see Addie holding a large book about the animated pig in her lap. "Do you want me to read it for you?" Salle offered, holding his large hand out to take the book. "I can read a bit." she replied in defense.
God, this child. She reminded him of his boyfriend's defensive demeanor so much in the short span of time he'd shared with her. "Not saying you can't, I was just offering to read it." Salle defended himself, leaning back to rest on the bookshelf behind him. Just as he decided to rest his eyes for a moment, he felt something heavy (the book, he presumed) rest on his leg, and then a small voice that said "But you can read it with me."
He opened an eye to see Addie's hopeful face, hands clutching the book on his lap that read "Peppa Goes Swimming." It was hard to resist the look on a child's face that resembled Neo's when he begs for his ice-blended coffee, so Salle willed himself not to fall asleep just so they can read about a piglet going for a swim. "Alright, let's read this together." he decided, and Addie beamed at him with her tiny teeth and puffy cheeks and squinting eyes. Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked up at Salle's green ones. Then and there he decided that this girl was to be protected from harm at all cost.
That was how Neo found them a few minutes later, frappuccino replaced by a new book he planned to purchase. With the Peppa Pig book between the two, Addie was tucked in Salle's side, his muscular arm keeping her close. Addie leaned forward to see the book up close and pointed at pages she found pleasing. All the while, Salle read the words out loud and Addie sometimes followed along when she could, and listened intently when she couldn't. It was a picture perfect moment Neo wouldn't dream of missing, so he pulled out his phone and took a few pictures of the scene.
As he scanned the photos he took, he heard Addie call his name. "Kuya Neo!" she happily waved from her spot on the floor next to Salle. Neo looked up to see Salle closing the book and Addie pulling away from him. "Nakapili ka na?" Salle asked, replacing the book on the shelf where the little girl originally found it. "Yep. Ikaw? Looks like you both enjoyed a book." Neo raised an eyebrow after raising the book in his hand. "We read about Peppa going swimming, Kuya! Just like me! I'm going swimming later." Addie announced and scrambled to get up on her feet, dusting away whatever dirt was on her periwinkle shirt. She bounced as she walked over to her cousin, her backpack swinging on her shoulders. Neo looked up at Salle, who stood up with a smirk.
"That is, kung hindi ka pa pagod mamaya." Salle reminded her. It would be a miracle if she still wanted to go for a swim later, given that ice skating alone was tiring already. "Come on, let's buy this na so we can go." Neo held out his hand for Addie to take and she does so. "Where are we going next?" she asked curiously, following her cousin through the maze of bookshelves to the cashier. It was Salle who replied. "Depends where we feel like going." he said, handing out a 500 peso bill at the same time Neo handed his card to the cashier. Both boys looked at each other as if it was a challenge.
"This is my book." Neo argued. "Well this is a date so I'm paying." Salle bossed, pushing his bill on the counter towards the cashier, urging the lady behind the desk to take it. They must have looked pretty silly to the cashier and to the next few people behind the line. "Not for everything, stupid." Neo insisted, but the cashier, stifling laughter, already took Salle's money and the archer grinned in triumph. "Alam mo, sometimes I really don't know why I'm with you." Neo huffed, placing his card back in his wallet. Salle smiled at the lady and got the book wrapped in brown paper. "Just thank me and get it over with." Salle rolled his eyes and handed him his purchase. Neo took it without a word but with a small smile on his face.
"Say thank you, Kuya!" The small girl between them reminded him of good manners. Neo huffed to himself and turned to his boyfriend with a smile too-sweet and forced. "Thank you, Sasa." he said for the sake of his cousin. Nonetheless, the nickname made Salle grin and he wrapped an arm around the boy in his collared shirt. "You're welcome!" Salle sang loudly to the tune of the Moana song and winked at Addie.