Chapter Text
It was already past six by the time Aiah finished getting ready for their spontaneous morning run.
"Babe," Stacey called from the couch while absentmindedly petting Honey. "Videohan mo 'ko, ah."
Aiah looked at her, confused.
"Huh? For what?"
"Yung content natin this week." Stacey held up her phone. "Jogging kasi yung gagawin kong content."
Aiah gasped dramatically.
"So kukunin mo lang pala ako para maging taga-video?!" She placed a hand over her chest.
"Akala ko pa naman surprise mo ‘to and date natin today. Videographer lang pala ako?" Stacey laughed as she stood up and gathered her things.
"Baliw!" she said, playfully nudging Aiah. "Productive lang ako. Isipin mo date tayo then meron din tayo pambayad sa date." She slung her running bag over her shoulder.
"Tara na para matapos na tayo."
As they rode the elevator down, Stacey was busy tapping away on her phone.
"What are you doing, princess?" Aiah asked, trying to peek at her screen. Then she caught a familiar orange logo.
"...Strava?"
She blinked before looking back at Stacey.
"You installed Strava?" There was no hiding the smile slowly spreading across her face.
Stacey proudly showed her phone.
"Saan nga ulit yung route na ginawa mo dati? Yung nag-trending?"
Aiah's eyes widened. "Wow ah."
She glanced at the screen again.
"Nag premium ka pa?" She looked at Stacey suspiciously.
“Oo! Para complete package tayo today.”
Aiah cannot contain the laughter brewing inside her. “Are you sure you want to do the trending route?”
“Sige! Para maka-relate naman ako dun sa mga fans na pinopost ‘to two years ago.”
“Whatever you say, princess.”
They started walking toward the starting point of the route.
As Aiah glanced at Stacey, she debated whether she should tell her that the route she'd been looking for—the one that went viral—was actually 10 kilometers long.
Both of them were fit.
They were dancers, for goodness' sake. They could perform a forty-minute set with barely any downtime and still smile through it.
But running was different.
Ten kilometers was still ten kilometers.
She didn't want Stacey to push herself too hard or end up hurting her feet.
Whatever.
We'll just stop whenever she wants to stop.
The two began warming up.
Aiah demonstrated a few dynamic stretches while Stacey tried her best to copy them, with Aiah filming her girlfriend.
"Wag kasi super stretch!" Stacey laughed while attempting one of the exercises.
Aiah exaggerated the movement even more just to tease her.
"Baby!"
"What?" Aiah grinned innocently.
"Game na, bub." She tapped her watch. "Let's gooo!"
They started at an easy jog.
Morning runners passed them by, and Aiah greeted almost every dog they came across.
"Hi, puppy!"
"Awww, cute!"
"We should've brought Honey," she said with a pout.
Meanwhile, Stacey held her phone up, filming herself as she jogged.
"Stacks!" Aiah laughed. "Ang pretentious mo!"
"Part of the job!"
The two burst into laughter as they continued down the route.
After a few more minutes, Stacey gradually slowed to a walk.
"Wait. Time out!" she breathed out. "Pagod na 'ko."
Aiah immediately matched her pace.
"Okay lang. Let's walk muna."
Stacey looked around.
"Hindi pa ba tapos 'yung route? Nasaan na ba tayo?"
Aiah glanced at her watch. "Bub..."
She tried not to smile.
"Wala pa tayong one kilometer."
Stacey froze.
"...Ha?"
"Gaano ba kahaba 'to?"
Aiah scratched the back of her neck.
"Ten kilometers, baby."
Stacey stopped walking altogether.
"I THOUGHT 5K LANG. "
"Ayoko na pala." She immediately turned around. "Okay na 'yon. Nakakuha na 'ko ng videos."
Aiah laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach.
"Sayang naman Strava mo."
She gently took Stacey's hand.
"Tara. Five kilometers na lang."
"Five?!"
"Kahit three?"
"..."
"Kahit one pa?"
Stacey narrowed her eyes.
"You're lucky I love you."
They started jogging again.
This time, much slower.
"Conversational pace na lang," Aiah smiled. "Slow down lang tayo."
Eventually, the jogging turned into an easy walk.
The morning sun had begun to rise, painting the streets of BGC in warm shades of gold. Around them, runners passed by in different paces, cyclists rode past, and dog owners enjoyed their morning walks.
For the first time, Stacey understood why Aiah loved doing this.
It was... peaceful.
No loud music.
No cameras.
No rehearsals.
Just the two of them.
"Babe?" Stacey nudged Aiah's shoulder.
"Hmm?"
"Bakit ba gusto mo talaga akong kasama mag-run?"
She glanced down at her watch.
"Feeling ko hanggang 5K lang talaga max ko."
Aiah chuckled.
"Okay lang."
"But seriously."
Stacey looked at her.
"Ang arte ko lang kaya"
Aiah stayed quiet for a moment before answering.
"I just want to be with you lang."
She shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Running makes me happy."
She reached for Stacey's hand, intertwining their fingers as they continued walking.
"So I wanted to share it with you."
"We don’t have to run naman eh."
She smiled.
"We’ll just do this lang."
"Walk."
"Then we’ll chika about the most random stuff."
"Then we won’t notice na anlayo na pala ng nalakad natin."
"Then maybe coffee after."
Stacey looked around.
She hadn't even realized they'd spent most of the route walking instead of running.
And somehow...
She was having fun.
"So..." Stacey bumped Aiah's shoulder.
"Crush mo lang talaga ako."
Aiah laughed.
"Oo."
"Wala na bang ibang dahilan?"
"Wala."
"Obsessed ka lang?"
"Medyo."
”Down bad.”
Stacey shook her head, trying to hide the smile growing on her face.
"Baliw."
"I know."
They continued walking side by side, talking about everything and nothing at all.
And somehow...
It became Stacey's favorite part of the run.
Once the morning sun started to get a little too warm, the two settled into a small open-air café for breakfast.
Their run had turned into a walk.
Their walk had turned into breakfast.
Atleast they completed their 10k steps. What’s next after 10k steps?
10k calories.
Joke
But of course Stacey complained,
"My legs are killing me," Stacey groaned as she took a sip of her iced coffee.
Aiah couldn't help but smile.
"Ulitin natin 'to, ah?"
Stacey looked at her.
...
She didn't answer.
Aiah burst into laughter.
"Gets ko na 'yan."
"But..." Stacey admitted after a while, absentmindedly stirring her drink. "I kinda get it now."
"Hmm?"
"Kung bakit gusto mong tumakbo."
Aiah looked at her curiously.
"It's peaceful."
Stacey shrugged.
"And..." she smiled shyly.
"Ikaw kasama ko. We don't usually get moments like this eh."
Aiah's heart melted.
"So..."
"Pwede ulit? 10k next?"
Stacey immediately pointed a finger at her.
"'Wag ka nga."
"One run at a time lang tayo, ate Aiah."
That night, the girls uploaded their endorsement videos.
As expected, the group chat exploded.
Jhoanna: STAKU NAG-JOGGING KA???
Maloi: ???
Sheena: Ate Aiah, napilit mo 'yan?!
Gwen: Panggap 'yan si Staku.
Gwen: Nagbihis lang ‘yan. Nagvideo ng tumatakbo tapos umakyat na ulit.
Aiah: Hoy! Hindi ko siya pinilit! Siya ang nang-surprise sa'kin!
Gwen: Seen.
Maloi: HINDI NANINIWALA 'YUNG BLOOMS
Stacey: sent a photo.
A candid photo appeared in the chat.
Stacey and Aiah, sweaty and smiling, leaning against each other after their run.
Stacey: Ayan.
Colet: Lugi.
Maloi: Okay.
Sheena: Wala pa ring naniniwala.
Later that evening, the two were curled up on Aiah's couch, Honey happily asleep between them.
"Bub!" Stacey whined, scrolling through the comments on her post.
"Hindi talaga sila naniniwala."
Aiah leaned over to look at her screen before laughing.
"Hayaan mo sila."
She intertwined their fingers.
"They'll never know how fun our date was."
Stacey smiled to herself.
She guessed that was true.
Some things didn't need proving.
Especially the fact na gumising ako ng 5 am and nagjogging!
Some memories were better kept between the two of them.
Comfortable silence settled over the condo.
Then...
Aiah spoke.
"So..."
Stacey looked up.
"Hiking tayo next, baby?"
Stacey stared at her for a long moment.
"No."
"For content lang ulit!"
Stacey shook her head.
But Aiah tried again.
"...Kahit nature walk?"
"AIAH."
The laughter that echoed throughout the condo lingered long after. Stacey kept trying to push Aiah away, only for Aiah to pull her right back into her arms.
END.