After The Credits

Epilogue Quarantine Karl's POV

It was an early morning in late August. Karl woke up in a haze, his body sore from the night before.

May zoom class ba ako ngayon?

He reached for his phone on the bedside table to check the time.

Ah, orientation pa lang nga pala mamaya.

He reached for the other side of the bed, but couldn't find what -or who- he was looking for.

"Vlad?"

Karl stretched in bed before getting up to find Vlad. He groggily walked down the stairs of Tito Santi's apartment to find Vlad sitting on the sofa, still in his pajamas, but wearing a party hat.

"Happy birthday, Pancake!" Vlad said with a smile.

Birthday ko nga pala ngayon...

Ever since quarantine started, the days all seemed to blend together. It only dawned on Karl now what today was.

Vlad got up from his seat and took Karl's hand, leading him to the dining table.

"For you, on your very special day, mahal." Vlad gestured to the table.

The table was covered in an assortment of breakfast food. Scrambled eggs, bacon, garlic rice, and of course, pancakes.

"Alam kong dadalhin dapat kita kung saan-saan, but I hope this is enough for now. Next year, buffet na yan sa hotel sa France. Pwede rin sa England. Kahit saan, actually. Pili ka na lang ng bansa." Vlad said, pulling a chair out for Karl to sit on.

"Alam mo namang masaya ako kahit saan basta kasama ka." Karl replied, taking his seat.

Vlad sat across Karl and the two shared the meal. Sure, they did that basically all the time now since they were stuck in quarantine together, but waking up to a whole meal prepared for him by the one he loved was something special.

"This is our first time spending your birthday together, no?" Vlad asked in between bites.

"Oo nga, no. Ang daya naman na dalawang beses na akong nagplano ng birthday celebration para sa'yo tapos isa pa lang ang nakukuha ko sa'yo." Karl joked in response.

After a while, the two finished eating. Karl was about to leave the table to shower before Vlad grabbed his arm and urged him to stay.

"Bakit, Vlad?" He asked, confused.

"Teka lang, yung gift mo!" Vlad replied.

Karl sat still as Vlad got up from his seat to open the closet and pull something out.

Aba ginaya niya yung taguan ko ng birthday present.

Whatever Vlad got for Karl was wrapped in a box just big enough to fit in one hand. Vlad moved the plates out of the way and set the box down on the table in front of Karl. Vlad sat back down and let his chin lean on his hands, which were resting on his knees and gave Karl an excited smile. Karl pulled the ribbon on the box off and ripped off the wrapping. He noticed the box was heavier than it looked. He finally opened it to find a brand new camera.

"If you want to make movies, you need a good camera. Your phone won't do, you know." Vlad explained.

"Happy birthday, Karl." He said with a smile as he reached across the table to brush his thumb on Karl's cheek.

"Salamat, Vlad. Here's to the stories we'll make together, both on and off-screen." Karl replied, smiling back.

Karl didn't know how much longer he and Vlad would be in quarantine, or if they'd spend more birthdays unable to go out with other people, but he honestly didn't mind that much. After all, he had already come home to Vlad. Did he really need anyone else?

End.