More than three months ago, he and Mu Yi were complete strangers with conflicting personalities. Without Mu Mu’er, they would have never known each other.
That’s why it’s actually astonishing Mu Yi is willing to entrust his younger brother who went missing for six years to him. This is truly a great amount of trust. All Bai Yao can do to repay that trust, is to cherish Mu Mu’er, more than he has ever done, hundredfold, thousandfold.
Bai Yao jokingly suggests, “so should I be calling you Mu-ge now?”
Mu Yi answers after a short while, when Bai Yao has fallen back to nervousness once more. Still, his attentiveness does allow him a peek at the barely perceptible softness in tone from Mu Yi.
“You can call me older brother directly, if you want to.”
After the call ends, Bai Yao puts his phone back on the cabinet, next to the little sea otter plushie Mu Yi left behind. His lips curl into a smile as he picks it up to play.
It’s not difficult to imagine a smaller Mu Mu’er holding this plushie dearly. Perhaps it was a birthday gift? Or something he saw in the stores and asked Mu Yi to buy for him?
With the plushie in his lap, he finds his heart melting.
There’s some noise from the bathroom. Looking up, Bai Yao notices a head poking out from the door, with a few strands of hair obstinately defying combing. The head quickly makes itself scarce seeing the gaze.
Clearly, the little guy wasn’t paying much attention when cleaning himself, but was all too focused on the call.
Now that he’s been busted, Mu Mu’er, seeing the phone call ended, walks back out to look up at Bai Yao on the bedside, asking, “did Mu’er say something bad?”
Then he takes the plushie away from Bai Yao to squeeze himself in, fitting comfortably in his lap.
Bai Yao kisses him on the cheeks, “you didn’t. You were completely right.”
The little guy looks like he still has questions to ask, but he doesn’t speak for a while, enjoying his stay in the embrace, quiet as a mouse.
Bai Yao gets what he is thinking without much prompting.
He gives Mu Mu’er another kiss on the forehead, and a guarantee, “Yaoyao is still Mu’er’s boyfriend. This is always the same no matter who you tell it to.”
“Yay!” He says, his tone rising cutely near the end as usual, “boyfriend!”
Mu Mu’er was waiting for this, and now that he’s got it, he happily hops off to head downstairs.
“Mu’er, wait.”
Mu Mu’er quickly stops at the call and look back. Does Yaoyao need more kisses? His eyes brighten up.
Bai Yao can see the boy’s expression like that of a hamster noticing sunflower seeds. Holding back a chuckle, he eases himself into another embrace with him, “don’t run in the house. If you fell down the stairs, you’d end up a sea otter pancake.”
“Remember, do not tell anyone else about the hugs and kisses we do, got it?”
Mu Mu’er tilts his head curiously, “why?”
“Because that’s our little secret. You shouldn’t tell anyone else, not even your older brother.”
Mu Mu’er isn’t too happy about it. He wants to let everyone know he had kisses with Yaoyao, with a little megaphone, telling everyone he meets on the street.
“Then, what about boyfriend? Mu’er can tell other people that Yaoyao is Mu’er’s boyfriend?” He asks, adding a little rise in tone just before the last word, whose absence would have made the sentence a statement.
Bai Yao thinks for a moment, but doesn’t make Mu Mu’er wait long before nodding.
“Yes, you can. If Mu’er wants to, you can tell them,” Bai Yao ruffles Mu Mu’er’s hair, smiling.
He can tell anyone, and Bai Yao will see to anyone who questions or berates him.
“Yay, boyfriend~” Mu Mu’er has a big, happy smile, “Mu’er has the bestest of boyfriends~”
Mu Mu’er has already drawn equivalence between boyfriend and hugs and kisses, so he is happy with the compromise. Now, he starts thinking about acquiring a little megaphone.
When Bai Yao has whipped up breakfast, Mu Mu’er is still playing in the living room, not noticing the meal at all.
Bai Yao has put the plates on the table, and calls out, seeing Mu Mu’er engrossed in his own thing, “babe, breakfast is ready!”
Mu Mu’er perks up immediately, but also gets curious.
It’s not the first time he’s heard Bai Yao call him as such, but he also doesn’t dislike it. In fact, when he’s called this way, he finds his chest filled with a little numb and warm feeling. He likes this, much more than being called ‘Mu’er.’
He hops over with springs in his steps, from the living room to the small kitchen. He watches Bai Yao put plates and utensils on the table.
Tilting his head, he wonders if Bai Yao would also like being called this way. He decides to try.
“Babe,” he says, a little monotonously, “Yaoyao, babe.”
Bai Yao almost breaks down laughing. He carries Mu Mu’er up in one fell swoop, hoists him high to kiss him looking up. It is warm and pleasant where their skins touch.
“Mu’er, I like it better when you call me Yaoyao,” Bai Yao whispers into Mu Mu’er’s ears, almost to the point of kissing him on the ear in the process, “because you’re the only one that will call me this way in the entire world.”
It’s such a special, unique term of address, much more intimate than ‘babe,’ because this is for his boyfriend’s exclusive use.
More than three months ago, he and Mu Yi were complete strangers with conflicting personalities. Without Mu Mu’er, they would have never known each other.
That’s why it’s actually astonishing Mu Yi is willing to entrust his younger brother who went missing for six years to him. This is truly a great amount of trust. All Bai Yao can do to repay that trust, is to cherish Mu Mu’er, more than he has ever done, hundredfold, thousandfold.
Bai Yao jokingly suggests, “so should I be calling you Mu-ge now?”
Mu Yi answers after a short while, when Bai Yao has fallen back to nervousness once more. Still, his attentiveness does allow him a peek at the barely perceptible softness in tone from Mu Yi.
“You can call me older brother directly, if you want to.”
After the call ends, Bai Yao puts his phone back on the cabinet, next to the little sea otter plushie Mu Yi left behind. His lips curl into a smile as he picks it up to play.
It’s not difficult to imagine a smaller Mu Mu’er holding this plushie dearly. Perhaps it was a birthday gift? Or something he saw in the stores and asked Mu Yi to buy for him?
With the plushie in his lap, he finds his heart melting.
There’s some noise from the bathroom. Looking up, Bai Yao notices a head poking out from the door, with a few strands of hair obstinately defying combing. The head quickly makes itself scarce seeing the gaze.
Clearly, the little guy wasn’t paying much attention when cleaning himself, but was all too focused on the call.
Now that he’s been busted, Mu Mu’er, seeing the phone call ended, walks back out to look up at Bai Yao on the bedside, asking, “did Mu’er say something bad?”
Then he takes the plushie away from Bai Yao to squeeze himself in, fitting comfortably in his lap.
Bai Yao kisses him on the cheeks, “you didn’t. You were completely right.”
The little guy looks like he still has questions to ask, but he doesn’t speak for a while, enjoying his stay in the embrace, quiet as a mouse.
Bai Yao gets what he is thinking without much prompting.
He gives Mu Mu’er another kiss on the forehead, and a guarantee, “Yaoyao is still Mu’er’s boyfriend. This is always the same no matter who you tell it to.”
“Yay!” He says, his tone rising cutely near the end as usual, “boyfriend!”
Mu Mu’er was waiting for this, and now that he’s got it, he happily hops off to head downstairs.
“Mu’er, wait.”
Mu Mu’er quickly stops at the call and look back. Does Yaoyao need more kisses? His eyes brighten up.
Bai Yao can see the boy’s expression like that of a hamster noticing sunflower seeds. Holding back a chuckle, he eases himself into another embrace with him, “don’t run in the house. If you fell down the stairs, you’d end up a sea otter pancake.”
“Remember, do not tell anyone else about the hugs and kisses we do, got it?”
Mu Mu’er tilts his head curiously, “why?”
“Because that’s our little secret. You shouldn’t tell anyone else, not even your older brother.”
Mu Mu’er isn’t too happy about it. He wants to let everyone know he had kisses with Yaoyao, with a little megaphone, telling everyone he meets on the street.
“Then, what about boyfriend? Mu’er can tell other people that Yaoyao is Mu’er’s boyfriend?” He asks, adding a little rise in tone just before the last word, whose absence would have made the sentence a statement.
Bai Yao thinks for a moment, but doesn’t make Mu Mu’er wait long before nodding.
“Yes, you can. If Mu’er wants to, you can tell them,” Bai Yao ruffles Mu Mu’er’s hair, smiling.
He can tell anyone, and Bai Yao will see to anyone who questions or berates him.
“Yay, boyfriend~” Mu Mu’er has a big, happy smile, “Mu’er has the bestest of boyfriends~”
Mu Mu’er has already drawn equivalence between boyfriend and hugs and kisses, so he is happy with the compromise. Now, he starts thinking about acquiring a little megaphone.
When Bai Yao has whipped up breakfast, Mu Mu’er is still playing in the living room, not noticing the meal at all.
Bai Yao has put the plates on the table, and calls out, seeing Mu Mu’er engrossed in his own thing, “babe, breakfast is ready!”
Mu Mu’er perks up immediately, but also gets curious.
It’s not the first time he’s heard Bai Yao call him as such, but he also doesn’t dislike it. In fact, when he’s called this way, he finds his chest filled with a little numb and warm feeling. He likes this, much more than being called ‘Mu’er.’
He hops over with springs in his steps, from the living room to the small kitchen. He watches Bai Yao put plates and utensils on the table.
Tilting his head, he wonders if Bai Yao would also like being called this way. He decides to try.
“Babe,” he says, a little monotonously, “Yaoyao, babe.”
Bai Yao almost breaks down laughing. He carries Mu Mu’er up in one fell swoop, hoists him high to kiss him looking up. It is warm and pleasant where their skins touch.
“Mu’er, I like it better when you call me Yaoyao,” Bai Yao whispers into Mu Mu’er’s ears, almost to the point of kissing him on the ear in the process, “because you’re the only one that will call me this way in the entire world.”
It’s such a special, unique term of address, much more intimate than ‘babe,’ because this is for his boyfriend’s exclusive use.
