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“Thanks for agreeing to come,” Wels said as Xisuma threw his bags into the back of the car.
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Xisuma replied, closing the back. “Besides, Ex wants me to get out of the house for a bit, so…” he trailed off before heading around the car to hop into the passengers seat. Wels followed suit and slipped into the driver’s seat, starting the car. He knew better than to ask about Ex, and he backed the car out of Xisuma’s driveway.
Xisuma looked out of the window as the suburbs rolled by.
“…so, excited to meet my parents?” Wels asked in an attempt to break the tense silence.
“I think so,” Xisuma said absentmindedly, not looking back to Wels. “Honestly, I’m more worried about your brother, to be honest. He sounds… interesting.”
“Does he? Sorry if I made him seem that way, he’s not really bad, just, well, I have a lot of interesting stories about him.”
“Yeah? I have yet to hear a good one,” Xisuma noted.
“Okay, okay, well,” Wels started, pausing for a moment as he stopped at an intersection and turned. They were now on the long stretch for a little while. “Where do I even start?
Well, one time we went out to play in the backyard, and we ended up playing hide and seek. I, being a, what, seven year old? I ran off into the trees to hide. I didn’t pay attention to how far away I went, and, when Hels found me, we were entirely lost. He blamed me for getting us lost, which, now I will admit is true, but back then I was only upset after learning how lost we were." Wels chuckled, glancing to the side briefly, and he froze when he caught Xisuma’s eyes, which were locked on him. His heart stuttered in his chest and his attention snapped back to the road.
“I, uh, well!” He stumbled over his words and had to take a deep, grounding breath before he continued his story.
“Well, Hels was upset at me, but he watched after me until we managed to find our way back home. Even when I wanted to run away and find the way home on my own, he wouldn’t let me. He basically babysat me the whole way home. I mean, when we got back our parents were panicked, but we weren’t hurt, so we were just fussed over and watched like hawks for a while after.”
Wels paused, letting out a soft breath. “Okay, I don’t really know where that was going. But that memory is important to me, I just remember him dragging me behind him and making sure I was safe? I dunno, I guess it’s weird,” Wels murmured, letting the car fall into silence again.
“…I think I get it,” Xisuma said after a minute. “I remember… I know that being protected like that is really special, especially at a young age.”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Wels agreed, and a small smile stretched across his face. They sat in silence for a while longer until Xisuma leaned over and turned on the radio. Wels bit the inside of his lip, and he started to wonder if this was a good idea. Xisuma had agreed to this trip when he was in a better space, and now he might not really want to be here. Maybe he needed to be out of the house, but did he really need the stress of meeting Wels’ family?
Wels took in a deep breath, letting it out silently. He had to stop worrying, he just had to hope that Xisuma would enjoy a little time with him, at least.
Wels pulled into a gas station, turning off the engine.
“Okay, bathroom and snacks?” He asked, mostly to himself. He wasn’t sure that Xisuma was listening. “We’re gonna be on the road for another couple of hours, so get what you need now.”
“Will do,” Xisuma answered, and he got out of the car. Wels followed him, pocketing the keys. The bell over the door rang as they walked inside, and Wels went straight for the bathroom, while Xisuma milled around inside the store. Wels finished up quickly and Xisuma slipped past him to step inside.
Wels wandered the isles until Xisuma made it back from the restroom, and he collected a few snacks.
“This look okay?” Wels asked as he showed his partner a handful of items, including beef jerky, a can of Pringles and other chips.
“That looks great,” Xisuma confirmed softly, and Wels nodded.
“Would you mind grabbing some drinks? I’ll bring this up to checkout, meet me there. I’m paying.”
“Will do,” Xisuma confirmed, walking off to grab some drinks for the two of them. Wels walked up to the checkout and dumped everything on the counter, and the cashier rang it up. Wels waited until Xisuma got back with a pair of Arizona tea cans to put everything into a bag that he gave to Xisuma, and the two walked back out to the car.
Wels started up the car and left the gas station quickly while Xisuma arranged their snacks and drinks, and he accepted the offered can, with the tab already popped, and he took a sip of the cold liquid.
Xisuma leaned over and turned on the stereo once again, plunging the two into an hour or so of mindless chatter, and Xisuma getting Wels to eat a little.
The second half of that trip was much more comfortable and lighthearted than the first, which brought a genuine smile to Wels’ face.
They had fallen into silence once again, though it wasn’t uncomfortable now. Wels knew that they were almost to his childhood home, and he was calm.
“Wels,” Xisuma started, snapping Wels’ attention to him, though Wels kept his eyes on the road.
“Yes?” He managed, his heart sinking. He had a feeling that this talk would be serious.
“I know we’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch recently, and I know most of that is my fault,” Xisuma continued, and Wels opened his mouth to protest, but Xisuma cut him off. “Don’t, Wels. It is and you know it. I wanted to say that I’m sorry about that, all of it. I love you so much, okay? We’ll make it work- I’ll make it work. I really wanted to come today, I want to cement myself to your parents as someone who cares about you. I want to make a good impression here.”
Wels pulled into the driveway, his mind swirling. He turned off the car and got out, walking over to the passenger side and opening Xisuma’s door, offering his hand out to him. Xisuma took it, and Wels pulled him up, pressing a small kiss to his cheek, which Xisuma returned.
“I love you too, Xisuma. We can do this together,” Wels said softly, and a smile broke out across Xisuma’s face, the smile full of evident relief. “Now, let’s go meet them, yes?”