Maria wipes up the counter, pushing her hair out of her face as she leans over. Grabbing her phone, she clicks on a playlist and sighs happily as the music changes from lofi to classical. 

She hums, taking a few books stacked on the tables and puts them back on the shelf, running a hand through her hair as she surveys the cafe one last time before leaving.

As she locks the door, Maria lets her mind wander. She wonders how Chan did with his letter; he left in such a rush that she didn't get to ask.

Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears the door open and her girlfriend's steps. Less than ten seconds later, a pair of warm arms wrap around her waist. Maria hums, leaning back into Abhigna's warmth.

"You ready?" Abhigna's breath tickles Maria's ear, making her smile slightly. Maria nods, taking the key out of the lock and turning around. With a light forehead kiss, Abhigna grabs her hand, pulling her away from the building.

time skip ✨

"So I can open my eyes now?"

"No."

"This is stupid." Maria pouts a little and Abhigna smiles so widely at it, almost taking her phone out to take a picture.

"You're stupid."

"Fine, I'll leave then." Maria turns around and Abhigna jumps up, carefully pulling her back into her chest before she can leave the room.

"I promise you'll love it," Abhigna whispers, kissing the top of her shoulder. "Just wait for two minutes. You have no patience but pretend to, okay?"

Maria huffs, folding her arms over her chest. Nodding to herself, Abhigna surveys the room. She's satisfied.

"Okay, open your eyes."

▣▣▣▣▣

"You wrote this? For me?" Felix looks up at Chan, biting the inside of his cheek to hold in his tears. Chan sheepishly nods, rubbing the back of his neck as he avoids Felix's gaze. Chan hears Felix laugh a little before he stands up.

Wrapping his arms around Chan's waist, Felix rubs his cheek into Chan's neck. They stay like that for a while, Felix's eyes closed as he relaxes into Chan's touch. Chan allows himself to breathe deeply, smiling to himself.

Chan makes a mental note to thank Maria as he pulls Felix a bit closer.

"Channie?" He hums, not letting go of Felix. "I love you."

It's almost like the first time Felix said those words to Chan. His heart starts racing and Chan finds it hard to swallow. He can't even open his eyes to meet Felix's gaze, and Chan loves this feeling of adrenaline. 

Love is so beautiful, Chan thinks to himself.

"I love you."

⁂⁂⁂

don't grow up because one day you'll go see your best friend's last basketball game and give him flowers and realize that you're adults now and you're actually never going to be teenagers again and in less than five months you'll be in the real world and you're not even sure how to make it work and then you'll have an existential life crisis because you're suddenly not ready for everything to end.

anyway, abhigna and maria fluff to make it all better