Anthology

skinship (andreau x zade; tsib)

ngayon lang ulit ako nabuhay dito sa wattpad kasi birthday ngayon ni andreau (june 21) haha. happy birthday, baby ko. sharing this smol fic from the tsib extended edition :>

***

For the most part, Andreau was a man who showed affection through his actions. This was one of the first things Zade learned during the early stages of their friendship. Touching, pinching... Zade thought that was an effective way of conveying his feelings.

That didn't mean he wasn't good with his words—Zade was a witness to that—but there was no doubt that he was a very hands-on person when a person allowed it.

His family and closest friends received the most of this treatment. It was mostly just innocent touches, pats on the head, loose hugs...stuff like that. Completely platonic, in fact.

Akala ni Zade kasama siya sa "completely platonic" na 'yon. All the while she thought most of Andreau's touchiness was just him being...friendly. She didn't give any malice when he started her for no reason. Yes, mahilig mangurot si Andreau Cortez, at si Zade Pascual ang paborito niyang pinching bag (please forgive her pun). Tipong dumaplis lang ang balat niya sa kamay ni Andreau, automatic na siyang makakaramdam ng maliliit na kurot mula sa boyfriend. Tila nanggigigil sa kanya.

Recently lang nalaman ni Zade na hindi aware si Andreau sa ginagawa niyang pangungurot.

"Aray," pabirong bulong ni Zade sa katabing boyfriend. Masyado kasing seryoso si Andreau sa pinapanood nilang documentary on Nazi conspiracies (he's been obsessing over this for weeks now) kaya naisipan ni Zade na magpapansin. Effective naman, nagitla si Andreau at lumayo nang kaunti sa kanya.

"What happened? Naapakan ba kita?"

She shook her head, stifling a laugh. Panic siya, eh. "Joke lang. Nothing happened."

"Sure ka?"

"Oo nga. You just pinched me. That's all."

Andreau looked confused for a second. "No, I didn't."

"Oo kaya. Hilig mo kaya akong kurutin."

"Hindi ah."

She rolled her eyes bago kunin ang remote control at pinause ang pinapanood. "Yes, you do. Wait, hindi ka aware?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Hindi ako mahilig mangurot ha." Zade stared at him at kaunti na lang matatawa siya sa affronted na itsura ng boyfriend.

"Sorry, babe. It's the truth. You've been doing that ever since naging close tayo. And that's two years ago."

He managed to look a bit sheepish, but his voice brooked no argument. "Baka nagkataon lang. I don't like people pinching me so I don't do it to others."

Hay, napaka-stubborn talaga ng boyfriend niya kahit kailan. "Okay, if you say so." They resumed watching the docu, the argument easily forgotten.

Ironically, si Andreau ang nagbring up ng unconscious pinching habit niya four days later. Nasa kalagitnaan sila ng EDSA traffic on a Friday night, busy sa paglalaro ng car plate acrostic game, nang biglang magsalita si Andreau.

"So you're not kidding. Ginagawa ko nga siya."

Saglit na nagtaka si Zade sa sinabi ng boyfriend. Then, napansin niyang nakatitig si Andreau sa kamay nitong hawak ang braso niya. She laughed. Ni hindi niya namalayan na nandoon ang kamay ng boyfriend. She got used to it that much.

"Ayaw mo kasing maniwala sa 'kin eh. Tagal

mo nang ginagawa yan," she teased.

A pout appeared on his lips. "Does this bother you?"

"No naman. To be honest, nasanay na ako. Hindi ko na rin nga napapansin na ginagawa mo 'yun minsan."

"Oh, okay." He sheepishly retracted his hand from her. "I'll try to be more attentive next time."

"Hala, nagtampo ka agad? I said I'm fine with it." Nang hindi pa rin gumalaw si Andreau, inoffer niya ulit ang braso niya. "Andreauuuu. Uy."

Nahihiya pang binalik ni Andreau ang kamay niya sa braso ng girlfriend. Gusto tuloy ni Zade na suntukin si Andreau sa sobrang pagka-cute nito ngayon. Nakakainis.

"Can I confess something?" bulong ni Zade.

Andreau jerked up, looking vaguely panicked. "W-what?"

"I...actually like it when you do that."

"Really?"

"The pinching, I mean," she added, almost shy. Blinking foolishly in return, she tried to calm the slow build-up of red in her cheeks. "You've been doing that for so long kaya nasanay na ako. Nakakakalma siya, gano'n. A gentle reminder that you're there."

He rolled his eyes, but his mouth was twitching up in a smile. "Didn't know you like skinship that much." With that, marahang niyang kinurot ang mamumulang pisngi ng girlfriend. "Cute mo."

"Shut up."

***

tsib reprint? abangan po Q4 2022 :>

thank u!!