Fat, scratchy throat, sunburn

Fat

She look at herself in the camera, then pinched her cheek a bit.

"Honey, I'm getting rounder", 

He look at her, that soft eyes as always. He smiles.

"Did you hear me? My weight increased",

She said, a bit disappointed but she knows exactly the reason why. She's been letting herself go lately. It's hard to resist temptation. 

"Now what do you weight?", 

He asked, again with that soft eyes. She answered.

"Oh. Then you need to add 4 more kgs. Make it even", 

She look at him, looking for signs of sarcasm or just plain kidding. There wasn't. Just pure adoration in his eyes. Then she gets a little less upset about her weight. 

"You know this is your fault, right? You make me too happy that I get rounder", 

She asked, partly kidding, but she want him to know he actually make her happy. He just smiled at her antics. And continue calling her "my love".

And just like that, her insecurities vanishes into thin air.

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Scratchy throat 

It's been a few weeks of her feeling unwell. She's usually pretty healthy. Rarely gets sick. So this mess up with her mood.

Her voice also changes. Funny how sore throat makes you sound like a rockstar, but feel like a lizard. Okay she didn't actually feel like a lizard, but you know what I mean. 

Her phone rings. Him. She answered. Not really feeling good, but she always feels better after talking to him. They talked. Just daily updates. Then he asked her to sing. Oh yes, he like hearing her sing. She then said her voice wasn't melodious. It wouldn't sound pretty as always. He didn't care. He just want her to sing. So she did. 

She started singing, and already her voice is all over the place. She can hear herself singing off key, with that hoarse voice. All she could think is "omg what is this sound". 

Then she sees him on the screen. Looking at her. Listening to her sing. That usual soft eyes. That slight smile. Pure adoration. And keep looking, like wanting more. She couldn't help but think how come he can look at her with pure adoration when she feels like her voice is not as good as usual.

"He must really love me".

______________________

Sunburn

She just finished a 2 days company camp, and 3 days company retreat. The retreat's main activity was outdoor in nature. Naturally, her skin will be tanned a bit. Her skin usually is fair. Not Caucasian fair, but fairer than most for an Asian.

As usual, she will complain to him.

"Honey... My skin is dark", and pout.

He look at her on the screen, smile, and say

"Maybe you can get darker, more cute",

Taking her by suprise. But immediately erases her insecurity about her sunburnt skin. She feels better, so she decided to reciprocate.

"So, I'm not cute with my fair skin then", 

With a naughty smirk. Usual girl stuff, trying to get a reaction. He just smile, looking at her.

"Cute. But even cuter when darker".

She smiles like a goon. He knows just what to say to make her feel better. Best part is, she knows he meant it. 

Choppy signal, cold mountain wind vs cookies

She was knee deep in cookies. It's been a while, but her scooping pace is still quite the same. It's almost 6pm. Almost break fast time. Then suddenly her phone rings. Him.

She answered as usual. How couldn't she, it's their daily call. She knows he's on the mountain today, probably just reached Panalaban. She greeted him. Bubly as usual, always happy to hear from him. Then he said;

"I'm going back down about 200m, there's no signal upstairs", 

She process. Going down? This man, who literally just finished his guiding duty to Panalaban from Timpohon, probably tired, find out there's no signal at his hostel, descend back down, in the cold, while tired, just to find phone signal to talk to her? Her heart moved. If this isn't real love, what is?

She continues talking to him. Usual day-to-day update. And they have to hang up soon since she's in the middle of scooping cookies. Saying goodbye has never been easy for her. Especially today. Especially when he's being this devoted. 

Is this how it feels to be properly loved? She couldn't comprehend it. 

Blankets Over Her Barbed Wire

"So when are we getting married?"

She raise from his arms. Look at him. Slightly suprised. 

"You really want to marry me?", she asked, taking his hand and squeezing it. 

He looks at her. He doesn't have to answer. She knows him enough to know, that's a yes.

"but...", she adds. 

Yes, there's a but. They both know it. He pulled her in again. The silence was a bit heavy. 

"Honey, you... You're okay with my 'problem'?", he asked, eyes filled with fear. 

"To be completely honest, I know there's a 'problem' . But I don't really understand what happens", she answered honestly. She never lied to him. Didn't have to. She look at him.

Long silent. Just them, being with each other. He knows she love him. If not, she wouldn't be there.

_________________

Her brain's all foggy, like the surrounding. It's 4am. She woke up at 2.30am. Go to sleep at about 1am. And it's second night of her sleep deprivation journey. She didn't mind it. But that just make her less vigilant. Not a good condition to hike. 

"Careful honey, people's stick", he said, looking at her. 

Her brain isn't working on full capacity yet. Its 4.30am. She heard him, but didn't register what he's talking about. He suddenly walk in front of her. She didn't mind, as long as he's near. 

About another 200m of hiking, they met with a wooden stairs. Again. She hold her hiking stick up, being careful that it wouldn't poke people behind her. Then it dawns on her. Just now, he told her to be careful because of the front people's hiking stick is sticking out to the back, almost poking her eyes out. Okay, thats a hyperbole. Then she remembers, he went in front of her  to protect her from that.

She rarely feels that. That feeling of being safe. Being protected without being asked. He sees a threat, and throw himself between her and the threat to keep her safe. 

_____________

"It's impossible, isn't it?" he asked. Eyes no longer full with fear, but defeat. 

She paused. Thinking. She looks at him. 

"Impossible, no. But it will be hard", she nods, and smile, tilting her head a bit. She always catch herself doing cutesy things when she's with him, and he always notices. He look at her. His eyes look like a huge burden just liften off his shoulders. He didn't smile, but he look a bit relieved. 

"As long as you didn't think it's impossible", he said.