God Must Die

chapter 13

From the very moment Fabian knew that Galileo was prolonging his stay in the Philippines, he already concluded that there was some reason behind it. Leo wasn't just the type who would do things out of schedule.

Sa ilang taon niyang nakilala ang binata'y alam niya kung gaano ito ka-planado. Nasanay na itong sundin ang sariling-gawa nitong schedule, marahil nakuha ng lalaki ang gawaing iyon sa ama nito.

And even when that was the case, it never really crossed his mind that it would be because of a girl, although he hadn't verified his speculation yet. Mas lalong hindi siya makapaniwala nang makitang si Kyle ang kausap nito sa loob ng isang coffee shop.

It wasn't really his intentions to go prying on  their business, but when his eye caught the familiar faces from the car window, he wasn't able to stop himself. Ang plano niya sa gabing iyon ay pumunta ng casino at magligalig dahil ilang taon na rin simula nang nakapunta siya sa Pilipinas ngunit kaagad na nag-iba iyon nang makita ang dalawa.

Hindi napansin ng mga ito ang pagpasok niya sa shop kaya pagkatapos makapag-order ay umupo siya malapit sa mga ito, sakto lamang para marinig niya ang pinag-uusapan ng dalawa. It even amazed him how oblivious they were of his presence, but Fabian had also been good with blending himself with other people.

As what he was expecting, they were talking about Caeles, and sometimes about other things. The laptop that was placed on the table was even forgotten and unattended. It was as if they were lost inside their own bubble. Maybe that also contributed to the reason why they were so oblivious of his presence.

"I received random messages from people I don't know in my Facebook account, confirming whether I was really in a relationship with you, and trust me, I almost choke on my breakfast." He heard Leo say.

"You got those?" Kyle asked as her cheeks were evidently getting pink. "I'm a terribly sorry. It was my brother, you've met him, Jo Nicholas. Uh, that is embarassing, it must've been awful for your part. I'm really sorry, Commander."

Leo grinned, and upon hearing that, Fabian immediately smiled. It had been so long since he heard the guy sound so happy. It was a little relief in his part. "It's alright. I was just taken aback. I have never seriously dated women for years, and after knowing that, I was itching to pretend it was true because, you know, for the fun part," he said, smiling. "But of course, I knew you wouldn't like that."

Nakatakip pa rin ang mga kamay ni Kyle sa mukha nito bago ito tumawa. "Putangina, so embarrassing."

Leo tilted his head before asking, "What's putangina?"

Nakita niyang nanlaki ang mga mata ni Kyle nang marinig iyon at mas lalo pang namula ang mukha. "Oh...uh...it's an expression to say handsome in an informal manner." She bit her lip after saying that.

"Why would you say handsome in an informal manner?" He sounded confused, and Fabian couldn't help but chuckle under his breath after that.

'If you only know, Dalmian,' he thought as he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"Because that's just the way it is. It comes out randomly sometimes, hehe," she said. "So if ever you'd meet my brother again, you can tell him, 'Alam mo, putangina ka'. It means, 'Do you know, you're handsome'."

"Alarm mo, pootengeyna ka? Why would I say that to your brother?"

"Oh, my brother loves compliments, he's somehow narcissistic." She was already laughing as Leo was shotting her confused looks. "I swear, he'd be glad."

Fabian almost choked on his coffee upon witnessing Kyle's great act. He didn't see that coming, nor did he expect that she would pull that act to fool someone like Galileo. He wasn't so clueless about the Philippine language. After staying in the Philippines for at least a year, he had mastered the beauty of the language's curse words.