Sonder

Chapter 8

After finishing his part-time job, Xavian went back to the dorm, and he was surprised to see that the lights were all turned off. It was so dark and quiet that, at first, he thought that Lance wasn't in their dorm.

But then he saw him sitting on the corner with a blanket on his shoulders. Lance usually had a bright smile on his face, but now he looked sullen as he stared at his phone. He didn't even notice that Xavian was back.

Xavian didn't want to pry, but he didn't want to ignore his sad expression.

"Lance? Are you...alright?" Xavian was stunned when Lance looked at him with tears in his eyes. Before he could even react, Lance rushed towards him and hugged him.

Lance started to cry, and Xavian didn't know what to do. His mind searched for the right words to say, and Xavian just ended up awkwardly hugging Lance and comfortingly patting his back.

After awhile, Lance slowly calmed down. "Sorry...bad day." Lance wiped away his tears with the back of his hand as he sniffed. He took a deep breath, trying to quell the urge to cry.

"Sorry for hugging you." He began to expect a negative reaction from Xavain for suddenly hugging him. Although they're getting along well, he should still know his boundaries.

What if Xavian thinks he is disgusting?

Lance kind of expected to hear typical phrases like no homo or man don't cry.

"I'm quite good at listening. If you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen."

Xavian's voice broke his oppressive thoughts. Lance paused and looked at Xavian in surprise, then Lance expression slowly softened as he saw Xavian's comforting eyes.

"It's my dad..." Lance stayed quiet for awhile, and Xavian patiently waited for him to speak.

"We didn't really have a close relationship...It's his birthday today. I tried greeting him. We finally talked. Everything was going smooth. I thought we were getting okay, but then he still couldn't accept that I'm gay..."

"Shit, wanna hear what I said to him?" Lance snickered as he wiped away his tears. "Let's get this straight, dad, I'm not." Lance couldn't help but chuckle, his dad was left speechless.

"Ah, shit. Why am I even crying? I'm so lame."

"It's okay to cry, you're not lame. In fact, I think you're really brave." Xavian put a reassuring hand on Lance's shoulders. "It's okay, let it all out, I'm here for you." His voice carried a sense of comfort and a warm reassurance that was especially impactful for Lance, it made him want to give all his trust to Xavian.

"Thank you, Xavian, I already feel a lot better..." Lance smiled, although it was a little wobbly and strained.

"Do you want a hug or watch Sailor Moon?" Xavian hesitantly offered.

"Can we do both?" Lance asked, sounding a bit hopeful.

"Of course." Xavian smiled and wrapped his arms around Lance. After that, he put Lance on the coach as Xavian arranged the DVD.

When Lance started to become more comfortable and immersed in watching, Xavian went to the kitchen to cook one of Lance's favorite desserts. It is one of the means of comfort he could provide for Lance.

Champorado.

When the champorado started to boil, Xavian put it in two bowls and put milk on it. He went back and saw a blanket wrapped around Lance, making him look like a burrito.

"Is that champorado?" Lance perked up, his eyes shined a little when he looked at the bowl.

"Yeah, be careful. It's hot."

"Thank you, Xavian. You're the best!" His voice sounded more cheerful in comparison to before. Lance immediately came out of his blanket, which looks like a cocoon, and reached out for the bowl.

Xavian smiled when Lance started to cheer up a bit. There was a comfortable silence that surrounded them as they watched Sailor Moon.
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"Lance, why are you covered in mud?."

"We tried sculpting using terracotta." Lance awkwardly bent over the sink as he desperately tried to remove the pieces of dry clay stuck on his hair. His shirt and pants are drenched with water and are smudged with terracotta clay.

Lance viciously scrubbed and tugged his hair, and Xavian could almost feel pity for Lance's hair at how tortured it was.

"Here, let me help you." Xavian rolled his sleeves up and helped Lance remove the clay from his hair. Luckily, the water softened the terracotta.

Lance almost fell asleep on the sink when Xavian massaged his hair. It felt so comfortable, his eyelids were fluttering shut, and he felt really sleepy.

"Close your eyes, I'm going to put shampoo on your hair."

Even Xavian's voice felt relaxing to hear, and Lance absentmindedly hummed and closed his eyes.

Xavian gently massages his scalp, and after that, he washes away the shampoo.

After finishing, Xavian turned off the sink and wrapped a clean towel around Lance's hair. "It's done, there's no more clay in your hair."

Lance practically had stars in his eyes as he stared up at Xavian in admiration. "Xavian, you're my savior! I don't have to cut and shave my hair! Thank you!"

"No problem." Xavian chuckled at Lance's antics.

Then they noticed something strange, the water in the sink wouldn't come down. It turns out rinsing off terracotta clay on the sink is a huge no-no.

Lance stiffened, and his brain almost short-circuit as he looked guilty at Xavian. "Don't worry, I'll call a plumber."

"No need, it's quite easy to fix."

"But you must be tired, you should rest. I'll just pay for a plumber." Lance awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"I'm not that tired, just save your money for more important things." Xavian reassured. The sink is not that hard to fix anyway.

Lance watched in the corner as Xavian fixed the clogged sink, his arm muscles would flex a bit as he removed around, revealing some veins. Xavian removed his shirt earlier so that it wouldn't get wet, and now Lance could see his well-sculpted and visible muscles that look like a statue from the Renaissance period or a muscular Greek sculpture.

Lance could tell that Xavian is really a hard worker, Xavian's figure shows immense strength, and his muscles glisten slightly because of sweat.

Lance realized he had been staring for awhile. He awkwardly looked away and decided to stare at the ceiling. He was not a pervert or a creep, okay? He just thought that Xavian would be a great model for his drawings or sculptures.

His an artist not a pervert.

Instead of doing nothing and sitting, Lance decided to go out to buy some snacks for Xavian and food for dinner so that Xavian wouldn't have to cook later. 

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