A/N: girlies stay healthy and don't smoke.
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Ian had just gotten out of the bathroom after a shower when he noticed that their bed was already made up but his wife was not there. He puts on a shirt and knit boxers before trudging his way out of their room.
He finds her leaning on the railing of their balcony, her back turned to him. He walks toward her and immediately engulfs her body in a hug upon reaching her spot.
"Hey," She whispers in his ear.
"So you chose this instead of showering with me huh?"
"Honey, it's your fault. You wanted to shower right when my legs were still shaking." She takes a long drag before exhaling a cloud of smoke.
He grumbles lowly when the sharp scent hits his nose, discreetly burying his nose against her shoulders.
"Love, what prompted this?" He asks after a beat.
She cranes her neck to the side, letting his head rest against her nape completely. "Nothing much. I just want to relax for a bit."
He scoffs in reply, "And here I thought I satiated you after what transpired inside our room."
"You did." She says with a coy smile. She reaches down to caress his hand wrapped around her abdomen.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, with him being patient enough to simply hold her and offer the silence she needed. After a while, however, she straightens up, flicking the ash of the stick with her index finger before extending her hand to press the tip against the ashtray. His gaze remains fixated on her as she reaches for another stick from the pack, before igniting it with a lighter. Unhappy with this, he lets go of her.
"Do you want to have something?" He breathes deeply.
"What something?"
"Something in your lungs." He replies with a bite in his tone.
She turns to face him, and he notices how dry her lips look. "You know I rarely do this."
"Kaya nga I'm asking what prompted this."
"And I said I wanted to relax, diba?"
He doesn't look pleased with her unyielding stubbornness so he moves to pull the stick from her lips. "That's enough."
She dodges this in time, moving away to put distance between them. "Ian, that's downright bastos. Stop it!"
"We're really doing this?" He asks with a raised brow. "Fine."
He snatches the cigarette pack on the table, picks a stick, and places it in his mouth. Her response is a shriek and he is posed to light it when she moves to snag the stick. This was, of course, a pointless try with him towering over her.
"Ian, you can't!"
"And why is that?"
She continues to wrestle with his figure, "Because I said so!"
"No," he said. "You get to do what you want and I don't?" The timbre of his voice lacing with annoyance. "I won't hesitate to light this cigarette unless you ditch yours and quit fighting with me."
Her look of stubbornness dropped. "Fine!"
She drops the lit cigarette into the ashtray with force, "Do whatever you please, suit yourself." She says with a sniff before heading inside.
Ian palms his forehead with frustration, shocked at how things escalated in a short amount of time. Taking a deep breath, he follows her inside, set on getting to the bottom of his wife's outburst. He finds her tucked in the blanket on their bed. He exhales softly upon seeing her shoulders shake. By the looks of it, her emotional fit a while ago wasn't caused by something merely superficial, and he almost wanted to berate himself for triggering it.
He joins her on the bed, gently spooning her and placing a kiss against her hair.
"Baby, tell me what's wrong," he asks just above a whisper.
"I hate this." She says amidst tears.
He feels a pang of pain after hearing that. "You hate what we have?"
She shakes her head, "I hate our situation. I hate that we have to slow down our plans because of me."
"Come here." He sits up against the bed before taking her in his arms. She abides by his request and curls on his lap.
"It just feels like I'm being unfair to you." She goes on. "We even have to delay our honeymoon to give way for this tour."
He tips up her chin, "You're really worried about our honeymoon? Sige nga, recall a day when I did not make love to you the past two weeks?"
She buries her face against his chest to hide her embarrassment. "Love, wag ka nga!" She pinches his torso and this prompts him to hold her hand, intertwining their fingers together.
She looks up at him, her eyes suddenly turning serious. "It's not just about that, you know? I want to give you my full attention. I want us to experience yung tayong dalawa lang. Yung wala kang kahati sa oras ko."
His hands appear on either side of her face, trailing his thumb to wipe away her tears. "I want that too... And we will have that soon." He pulls her closer as his warm lips place a kiss against her forehead. "You have nothing to worry about, okay, love? I know who I married kaya."
Her face breaks into a genuine smile. Nodding her head, she embraces him. "We have a lifetime ahead of us."
"I'm sorry, baby." He says after a brief silence.
She looks up at him with confusion, "What for?"
"For taking your outlet away from you."
She shakes her head, "No, I'm glad you did."
She moves to kiss his lips but he places his palm against her mouth, "Oh no woman, you'll have to brush your teeth before I kiss you."
"Okay." She chuckles, brushing his hair softly she asks, "Shower with me?"
He foregoes another verbal response but proceeds to carry her bridal style, moving towards their ensuite bathroom.
"Love ano ba, put me down!"
"Uh-huh? I'll make sure you're spent enough to sleep after this."
Well, it's all an adventure
That comes with a breathtaking view
Walking a tightrope
With you.
.......
11/28/23
