lee heeseung x jake sim | heejake | wc: 923 words | taglish | fluff | established relationship | cw/ smoking |
a/n: may contain grammatical mistakes | lowercase intended | renamed characters (not affiliated with the real people)
since when? since they were kids. why? noah could list a number of reasons. best friend niya since diapers si kale. kahit isang taon lang ang pinagkaiba nila sa edad, they’ve been inseparable since their moms were best friends as well.
the height difference. kale was always the taller one sa kanilang dalawa, and although madalas pinipikon ni kale si noah dahil dito, noah had to admit that the height difference had its perks. from protection from flying balls in the school covered courts, to pang-apak at buhat tuwing late nakakauwi at nakakandado na ang gate nila noah sa loob. and most importantly, ang mga yakap. he loed being enveloped in kale’s warm embraces, he loved it whenever napapatingkayad siya to wrap his arms around the other.
so when he learned that kale felt the same way, he was ecstatic and couldn’t be any more happier.
pero kung magmahal ka ng isang tao, hindi lang karapatdapat mahalin lamang ang kanilang mga kabutihang pinapakita. kailangan mo rin matutunang mahalin ang mga kapintasan ng iyong sinta.
noah loves kale. he really does.
but one part of kale he always hesitates to love . . . is that small stick of rolled up nicotine held nesting between his fingers.
lahat naman ay may sari-sariling paraan para lutasin ang kanilang mga kahirapang hinaharap. and for kale, that was smoking.
ilang beses na nilang pinagusapan ang mga panganib ng pagyoyosi ngunit palagi itong natatapos sa away kaya hindi nalang siya nagpaparinig.
so when noah heard a ping from his phone and read the chat preview from his favorite notification, all he could do was sigh and pick out the thickest sweater in his closet.
“you up for a drive babe?”
“always, ingat papunta :)”
it was quiet. the only sound that could be heard was the soft music from the radio. nakatingin lang si noah sa labas ng bintana, watching other cara passing them by. it was late so not so many cars were out with them that night.
bigla niyang naramdaman ang kamay ni kale na dahan-dahang pinipisil ang kaniyang kamay, softly intertwining their fingers.
‘if only i could take your troubles away.’
noah memorized kale’s habits. at alam niya na ang maingat at marahang paghahawak niya ng kamay ng iba ay ibig sabihing may nagpapabigat sa loob ng ito.
and a troubled kale meant another night to endure the cloud of nicotine that surrounds the two lovers at each exhale.
dumating sila sa abandonadong gusi na madalas nilang pinupuntahan nung high school pa sila. as usual, no one was around so they could freely roam around the area as they pleased, but they never did. they always went straight to one spot where luna always shone her light along with the stars that decorate the night sky.
nakaupi yung dalawa sa pinakagilid ng kongkretong lapag ng gusali habang nakalawit ang kanilang mga binti.
as usual, well, whenever kale felt the need for a smoke, noah stared up at the night sky. he never was able to understand the idea of connecting the glowing white dots, but he did admire the fact that amidst all the darkness embracing, there was still light, no matter how small it may be.
pinikit niya ang kaniyang mga mata nang maamoy ang binugang hangin ni kale sa kaniyang pagyoyosi.
marahan niyang hinawakan ang kamay ng kaniyang nobyo at dahan-dahang pinisil pisil upang paalamin na magiging okay lang ang lahat.
narinig niyang bumuntong-hininga ang isa, ngunit hindi niya ito tinignan.
“hmm?”, napatingin si noah kay kale ma ngayong nakatingala sa langit.
“sa lahat ng kadilimang nararanasan ko sa buhay ko . . . ikaw yung hindi nawawala-wala kong kaliwanagan.”
umirap si noah as he gently nudges the other’s shoulder.
nakita niyang tinapon ni kale yung kaniyang yosi sa lupa sa ilalim ng kanilang mga paa. kale gives him a small smile.
“thank you for being patient with me. alam ko sabi ko hindi ko na uulitin . . . pero hindi ko alam! paulit-ulit na sila jeng, sila sho . . . pati nga ikaw eh . . . i’m sorry you have to love such a flawed person.” rinig niyang mahinang paghikbi ni kale.
noah sighs. it was not the first time he heard kale express his guilt for not being perfect. pero sa mata ni noah, noong bata pa sila hanggang ngayon na nag aaral na sila sa kolehiyo.
kale was imperfectly perfect.
sumandal si noah sa balikat ni kale. malakas ang amoy ng marlboro red sa isa, ngunit binalewala niya lang ito. kailangan siya ni kale, hindi yung kaniyang pagbabanta.
“at uulitin ko ng uulitin hanggang sa magsawa tayo isang araw . . . which hopefully won’t happen right now.”, tawa niya.
“i chose to love you, and choosing to love you doesn’t only mean loving all the good about you. walang perfect sa mundo kale because we were made to grow.”
tumingala siya sa kaniyang nobyo na ang atensyon rin ay nasa kanya.
“at kahit potentially magkakasakit tayo sa pagyoyosi mo . . . i will always choose to love the imperfectly perfect you to grow along with.”
palapit ng palapit ang kanilang mga mukha sa isa’t-isa. humahalo na rin ang paghingang red ni kale at paghingang mint ni noah.
“sakin na yung lahat ng kahirapan at mga alaala mo . . .”
the tips of their noses were touching.
“tutal ako naman yung tala sa iyong mga kadiliman.”
kadiliman ang kanilang nakikita, ngunit ang kanilang pagsama ng gabing iyon ay masasabing nagbibigay liwanag sa kadiliman ng isa nanamang yosi night.
