Work Text:
June, in Philippine time, is the month that usually brought the storms and the onslaught rain on random days. Today was one of those random days. What started out as a sunny morning became a gloomy afternoon.
The change in weather didn't bother Phil though. In fact, he liked the winds had turned cool. For a man like him with a massive body, this was his ideal weather.
The cool breeze brushed against his skin and it made him smile. Today was a good day. His last class was a free cut and he had time to spare instead of staying in university for the next four hours. The plan was to eat a snack and head to the library where he would start on that project for Law class.
Initially, that was the plan but the sky begged to differ. It grumbled harshly and not long enough, rain poured. Phil was caught amidst of it without even getting the chance to panic and run for shelter. Good thing he only had his phone and wallet with him. Oh well, it seemed the plan now was to head back to his dorm room.
It was a nightmare.
Tom was having a really bad day. He had one plate that he couldn't cram for his Archi class and it put him in the dumps. Not only that, his partner for a project had dumped most of the work on him, giving him no time to finish everything for the day's deadline and Tom took pride in his academics. He couldn't, wouldn't, let his grades slip from this! But it overwhelmed him. The downpour didn't help his mood either so he did the next best thing he could only think of…
Cry.
Everything just felt so hard at that moment. Even breathing became hard that it didn't take long for Tom to sob grossly in his bed. One of his room mates, Jan, came back to retrieve his sketchpad when he noticed Tom's misery. And since he was in a hurry, he didn't bother calling Tom's attention. Instead, he dialed Phil's number as he walked back to university grounds.
“Hello?” came Phil's voice. Jan was glad the other was reliable with calls.
“Phil? Busy ka ba?”
“Hindi naman… kakalabas ko lang CR. Ano yun?” Phil shuffled in his room as he tried to look for his missing deodorant.
“Kasi bad day ata ni Tomas. May klase pa kasi ako hanggang 9pm and maybe you could come over and cheer him up? Humahagulgol na kasi nung umalis ako.” Told Jan in a worried tone.
“Oh! Sige sige… punta ako dyan. Magbibihis lang. Salamat sa pag-inform sa'kin!”
“I-eexpect kita ah. Bye.” And then the line was cut.
Jan hurried to class then.
Phil was faced with a dilemma. Was he going to wear shoes or just slippers? Knowing España and this down pour, the streets would be flooded by the time he would arrive!
Phil went with practicality.
Quickly, he got dressed, choosing slippers over shoes before he grabbed his phone, wallet, keys and eyeglasses then ran out his dorm, locking it behind him. Hopefully, there was already a jeepney waiting by the terminal.
Two hours later…
Phil was no where near España. His guts had started to swirl inside his stomach and it made him realize he missed dinner. Tom probably missed dinner too and that wasn't good. As the UV van moved in a turtle's pace, Phil checked his wallet for some bills. He thought buying from Mcdonald's would help the other's mood and luckily, he has enough for their meal and a fare back to Quezon City.
Finally after a few more minutes of sitting his butt numb in the van, he saw the familiar railings of España road. Without thinking, he called the driver's attention to stop. He got off, not caring about the rain getting him wet as he dashed to the nearest Mcdonalds which was, thankfully, empty.
Ordering didn't take much time and soon enough, he was running out of the fast food joint, startling students of the nearest campus. What was a big guy like him running for? Even Phil didn't know. He just felt the urgency to do things quick and comfort Tom.
Sana okay lang siya, Phil thought as he surrendered his ID at the guard table, speed walking to the elevator and punching the 5th floor button with too much force than he had intended.
Ding!
The double doors of the elevator slid open and Phil ran out. Tom's room was at the far end and he couldn't help the giddiness he felt as he knocked on the wooden door.
3
2
1
The door swung open.
“P-Phil? Anong ginagawa mo dito?”
In front of Phil was a puff eyed Tom who looked like he hasn't gotten out of bed ever since. His hair had curled more than it used to and on his cheeks were tear stains. It was a sight Phil was never going to get used to even though Tom always cried. It pulled on his heart a little.
“Tinawagan kasi ako ng roommie mo. Umiiyak ka daw tapos kailangan mo daw ng magpapacheer up sa'yo kaya pumunta ako dito.” Phil smiled softly. Tom had stepped back to let the other man in, closing the door behind him as he placed their dinner on the empty table.
Tom's cheeks flushed. That was too much of an effort for Phil who lived in QC. Traffic today was no joke not to mention the rain… Phil must have gotten wet.
“Tara kain na tayo. Gutom na ‘ko at positibo ako na gutom ka rin.”
Tom couldn't help but feel loved with Phil's act of kindness which helped him tell himself to do better next time. Though there was one thing that caught Tom's attention.
“Phil…” Tom called, bothered at what his eyes had fixed on.
"Ano yun?” as Phil took out the plastic bag’s contents.
“Nakapunta ka ng España baliktad T-shirt mo?”
Phil looked at the other crazy. Of course he didn’t-
Oh.
Phil had come all the way from QC wearing his shirt inside out. Because of his worry for Tom, he had completely forgotten to check himself in the mirror. No wonder his chest felt sticky. The print of his shirt was clinging on to him. Smiling dumbly at himself, Phil placed their take out on the table again and grabbed at the hems of his shirt, planning to strip it off until he heard Tom scream and grab at his hands.
“H-huwag dito baliw! Baka anong sabihin nila!” Tom’s face had flushed to a red Phil had never imagined. Has Tom always been this cute?
“Pasensya na. Hindi ko naisip yun ah.” Phil mentally facepalmed himself. Who the hell strips in front of their friend suddenly? Apparently, Phil did, almost anyway. They were both men but thinking about It now… it was indeed embarrassing.
There was an awkward silence between them as they both sat down the empty beds. Phil, for once, was too embarrassed to start talking. Usually, he was the one to break the ice but this time, he was too embarrassed to even lift his head and look at Tomas. When did it start to be this awkward? They were super close!
And as if reading the atmosphere, Tom hands him a towel and smiles meekly.
“Dun ka na lang sa CR magpalit o ‘di kaya ihanger muna na’tin T-shirt mo, basa kasi eh.”
Bakit ang cute ng ngiti mo sa’kin? Phil bit on his lower lip and nodded once. He couldn’t understand why his heart started to beat so fast, not to mention that warmth that suddenly invaded his heart. What is this?
Phil stood up from his seat almost weakly. Funny how a certain phrase was coming true in this situation. Silently, he got in the comfort room and closed the door, resting his back against it as a sigh escapes his lips. He hadn’t realize he was holding his breathe all this time.
Tanga! Phil mentally screamed at himself as he buried his burning face on the towel Tom had given him. It smelled just like the other, like baby powder. It was cute but he could never tell Tom that or else the other will never let it drop. So he took his shirt off instead of thinking more about Tom. The other was invading his mind more recently than ever and Phil hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was.
There was a calm silence as Phil went in the comfort room.
Tom had had a glimpse of Phil’s abdomen and he was sure his mind went a mile a minute with the thoughts that flooded in. They were friends and that was it! Right? Phil couldn’t possibly…
Stop it Tom! Pumunta lang siya dito para icheer up ka, walang malisya dun. Tom sighed. He had prepared their dinner in plates and was now just waiting for Phil to come out. Tom never knew it was going to be this nerve wracking waiting for his friend to come out.
Once he heard the click from the comfort room door, Tom turned his head to greet Phil but widened his eyes in reaction instead. The other male did take off his shirt and had the towel draped around his shoulders, giving Tom a full show of his body. If this was some anime scene, Tom would have been exploding with how much he was seeing right now. Phil seemed to have noticed Tom’s stare that even he had to cover up his chest… and maybe his stomach too. No one has really seen him shirtless until today. He didn’t want people to know why he was freakishly big for a normal Filipino college student.
“Hoy naglalaway ka na.” Phil said, snapping Tom from his stare. The other moved his gaze and blushed, grabbing for his glass of water and downing it in one go.
“Ka-kain na tayo…” Tom mumbles as he wait for Phil to sit next to him on his bed.
For a while they sat there in silence, both munching on their meals until Phil put an arm around Tom’s shouldering and pulling him close, to which Tom was surprised because it was totally out of no where.
“So magku-kwento ka ba kung bakit ang sama ng araw mo?”
“Ah… yun ba.” Tom sighed. Now he remembered why he was crying and beating himself up in the first place. “Stress lang siguro. Kulang kasi ako ng isang plate sa Archi class ko tapos yung kapartner ko pa sa isang project no show.”
“Oo nga pala no… naka scholarship ka nga rin pala. Okay lang yan Toms. Bad day lang.” Phil gave him a squeeze before letting go and standing up to clean their plates.
For a while, the only sounds that could be heard was the cluttering of plates Phil was washing the dull hum of the air conditioning unit. The rain had started to pick up again and Tom was starting to worry if Phil was ever going to get back to QC at this state. Tom sighed once again and dropped down his bed, turning the air con on full blast. Not a moment later, Phil joins him, still shirtless. They lay down on his cramped bed, both unable to come up with anything to talk about.
“Ang weird no.” Phil starts. Tom turns around to face him, finding it too cramped to keep a safe distance so he took the risk and just rested his head on Phil’s bicep.
“Ng ano?” Tom asks, throwing a blanket over Phil’s exposed upper body.
“Na pumunta ako dito kahit na ang lakas lakas ng ulan. Na we-weirduhan lang ako sa sarili ko.”
Fingers shifted through Tomas’ hair, soothing his scalp as Phil drowned his ears with his words.
“Alam mo ba, free cut yung last subject ko ngayong araw. Dapat pupunta lang ako ng library para mag research pero ayun nga, tinawagan ako ng roommie mo tapos ako naman nagmadali makapunta dito… ni hindi ko nga na halata na baliktad pala suot ko.” laughed Phil. He continued to play with Tom’s hair as the other smiled contently in his arms.
“May tawag dyan…” Tom mumbles. At that moment, Tom looks up to meet Phil’s eyes which were behind glasses.
“Ano pala tawag dun?” Phil couldn’t stop himself from smiling. What is it this feeling?
“May crush ka sa’kin!” the smaller laughs but stops when he felt the other frozen in his spot. He watched Phil look at him calculatingly and at that moment, it wasn’t a joke anymore. “M-meron nga?”
“Hindi ko alam.” because Phil wasn’t sure himself. Pero sa oras na ito, sa araw na ito, hindi ka mawala wala sa isip ko. Phil tama na, ang cheesy, shut up iskolar ng bayan. Jusmio kabaliwan na ‘to!
“Ha ha ha haha… !!! PHIL!” Tom squeals from the sudden hug.
Phil squeezed the other in his arms and laughed. It made him happy having contact with Tom and most especially making the other laugh and smile. When did it all began? When did he wished for the other to smile more? When did he wish for Tom to always be by his side, to always console in him, to always laugh at his stupid puns? When did he start to fall for this guy? Phil was sure on most things but tonight, he had doubts. So much doubt he was drowning in it. The only thing that was keeping him anchored was this little tiger in his arms, tucked snugly in his arms. He wished they could do this often.
For the next hour and a half they talked, from Phil’s boring college life at UPD to Tom’s food choices. They never seem to run out of things to talk about especially when it was Tom’s turn to speak that they hadn’t notice Tom’s room mate coming in. The both of them were sharing the blanket Tom had thrown over Phil. They giggled and hugged each other, completely throwing the idea of “we’re just friends” out of the window. Phil even forget about his project because he was so dead set on cheering Tom up.
He wished it was always like this.
But every college student was busy, especially someone who’ll be taking up Law and so Phil had to go. He gave one last squeeze to Tom and pulled himself up, not before landing a kiss on Tom’s forehead. It made Tom squeal, grabbing all the blanket to hide his blushing face. Phil had to laugh. He was too happy to contain it.
“Ang saya niyo, pahingi naman nyan.” commented Tom’s room mate who had laid down his own bed, sighing tiredly while wearing their school uniform. “Any cute niyo puta nakaka-inggit.”
“Sorry, for Tom only.” Phil winked, pulling his dried shirt back on, finally wearing it on the right side. “Makakahanap ka rin pare.”
“Ang landi mo Phil, hindi ko inexpect hahaha. E masaya na rin naman na si roomie. That’s all I need right now.”
“Ingat ka Phil!” Tom bounced from his bed, waving a hand as he said his good byes.
“Bye Toms, text mo na lang ako pag nalulungkot ka ha?” Phil smiled. “Sige alis na ko, baka wala na kong masakyan pabalik QC.”
And with that, they parted ways. Phil dashed to the elevator. Once inside, he let out another breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Just what is this feeling? Phil closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and say:
“Gusto ko siya.” Phil mumbled.
The idea played in his mind again and again as he commuted back to his dorm in QC. He had feelings for Tomas. He likes Tomas. He wanted to be with Tomas and Phil would do anything to make that happen. He would not let this chance slip by. And as fast as he had confirmed his feelings, he took his phone out and started typing a message to Salle.
11:34pm
Maroon: Salle, tulungan mo naman ako.