Count the Stars || AU!SophKenj

[Kenjie's POV]

I was eighteen when I first realized that we were soulmates. I had known for a while that I was in love with you; I think I've always known. You took your time admitting your feelings for me, and even though there was a time where I almost gave up on us and let you go after another guy, we still came back to each other. That's how it always was though. There was no Kenjie without his Sophia, no Sophia without her Kenjie. When we were younger, you and I always had sleepovers beneath the stars if the weather was nice. As we grew older, we kept that tradition, shy hand-holds replaced with stolen kisses and whispered admissions of love. I don't think I can ever forget how beautiful you looked that night.

We had lain on the grass shoulder to shoulder, our hands interlaced as we stared up at the star-littered night sky. We spoke of how amazing our senior year was going to be, now that we were together and ready to tell our friends. Then when I told you that I love you with all my heart, you turned your head and looked at me, your eyes shone with so much love and admiration that I didn't even need to hear you make your own declaration.

"Look at the stars, Kenj," you whispered quietly.

I gave you an incredulous look, but did as you asked. I looked up to the heavens, there seemed to be more stars out on the sky on that night than ever before. You must have sensed that I was getting lost in my thoughts because you nudged me gently.

"Bilangin mo silang lahat."

"Pero Soph," I said, clearly confused. "Niloloko mo ata ako eh. Ang dami kaya niyan!"

You smiled that beautiful smile of yours and turned your head to me. "Basta bilangin mo lang. 'Pag natapos mo na, that's when I'll stop loving you," you said before leaning in and captured my lips between yours.

I knew in that moment that I never wanted you to stop loving me. I also knew that you were just making a point; you just wanted to show me how much you loved me in a way that would challenge my cheesiness and corniness when it comes to you. I simply rolled my eyes and started counting them off like a kid, pointing at the stars as I counted up to ten before I turned my head back to you and kissed you again, making you hit my shoulder before eventually kissing me back.

Most people thought that you and I wouldn't last, but we proved them wrong. We were twenty-one when we got married. In New York of course, with Jazz in charge of our wedding and Jack as my best man and Ava as your maid of honor. You looked so damn beautiful, Hopia. Words cannot express the unbelievable amount of emotion that surged through me when I saw you walk down that aisle in a beautiful white dress, tears already running down your face. It was the second best day of my life.

The best day of my life came a year and a half later, when Samuel Kristoffer Valenciano came into the world. He was perfect, you were perfect, that whole day was perfect. You had always been so scared of being a mother, scared that you'd never be half as good as your mom, so I stayed on your side, telling you constantly how I couldn't ask for a better wife and there's no way that Kris would ask for a better mom. I was living a fairytale life. I had my queen and my sweet young prince. But fairytales come to an end eventually, and sometimes, they don't have a happy ending.

I remember the day when you were taken from me. You woke me up with a soft kiss on my temple, telling me that it was time for your shift at the hospital. I was so proud of you for completing medical school; you were on your way to being one of the best doctors in the country, but your heart belonged to helping out the people who needed it most in clinics. Like I said, I was proud of you, especially because of your dedication to your job. I remember joking that morning at the breakfast table, telling you to call in sick and spend the day with me and Kris. You just smirked and told me that there were lives to save. I pouted for a moment, only to have it wiped away by a kiss and a gentle "I love you."