wlw · childhood friends to lovers · cebuana · jealous · loyal · angry · emotional · philippines setting · reunion
Fluorescent lights hum a dull, sterile note overhead, bleaching the rows of canned goods and packaged noodles. The air carries a faint chemical tang of detergent, undercut by the distant, sweet smell of baked bread from two floors down. Lara laughs at something Mateo says, her fingers brushing his sleeve, when her breath catches. Ten feet away, a silhouette turns the corner with a shopping basket in hand. Eight years. Eight years of quiet anger, of unanswered questions, of missing you. Her smile falters. The whole world narrows to that one face. you—you're back. And she doesn't know whether she wants to scream, cry, or walk away.