Chapter Text
family reunion has become a dreadful event for celeste. it was not always like this. reunions used to be an event that she always look forward to back when she was still a kid because she get to see her cousins who lived too far away for her to visit and play with them for rest of the weekend. her titas and titos would give her lots of gifts. her lola would pamper her with loves and kisses and sometimes sneak her some chocolates and allowance (because she holds the favorite apo perks). however, as she grew older, reunions have become tiring and sucking away the soul from her body. it has gotten very tiresome dealing with her relatives when it comes to her life. especially with her lovelife. (but she still loves her family, despite that.)
they used to tell her not to get into a relationship yet because she was still too young and that is something that she obediently obeyed. but things have shifted when she entered college.
reunions have become a minefield of subtle (not really) interrogations by her relatives who swear they’re just asking but are definitely fishing for teas.
starting with an old classic:
'cece, ang blooming mo ngayon, ah. ganyan talaga siguro if you have someone making you happy.'
it's just the blush-on, tita.
and when they can't get an answer from her, they are left with no choice but to evolve.
'yung friend na nakaakbay sayo sa stories mo noong nagpunta kayo sa tagaytay after your midterms, mukhang close kayo, ah? may something ba sa inyo?'
yes, of course. they are now using social media to snoop.
as a graduating architectural student, celeste is running on 13 blinks of sleep and 3 cups of caffeine boost everyday.
sobrang sabog at sabaw ng utak niya.
and even the smallest inconveniences thrown her way would trigger her already short fuse.
in short, celeste have become a ticking bomb.
it was her cousin emilio's 21st birthday. it was just a small and intimate party with her family.
celeste really just wanted to skip it but she knew how insufferable emilio would be so she pushed through.
she just wanted peace and quiet so she isolated herself in the garden, curled up to an uncomfortable monobloc chair sipping her coffee, half-alive and held together by sheer willpower and double-shot espresso.
she is just trying to exist.
but somehow, the real party moved to where she is.
her titos and titas have found her, and started to circle around her like hawks for their gossip prey.
"cece, anak, you’re graduating soon na, ‘di ba? ang galing mo talaga.” her tita suzette starts.
she blinks slowly, barely registering the words to her brain.
"mmm. march."
"running for summa cum laude, right?"
"nothing's set pa po."
"so, may boyfriend ka na ba?" her tito louis segues.
ah.
“wala pa rin? you're so pretty, ‘nak. sayang naman. dapat may sumusundo na sa’yo sa campus, o.”
she tried to be calm.
really.
"eh baka naman walang nakakameet ng standards ni celeste. o baka nakatago ang boyfriend!”
and just like that, celeste snaps.
she slams her coffee (gently, because it’s her fuel to get by fpr the day) on the table and inhales dramatically.
"no. no, tita. there will never be a boyfriend. ever.
not now, not tomorrow, not when i graduate, not even if you all light a candle in every church built here in philippines. there will never be a boyfriend.
because, i. am. gay. i like girls. i like women. mga babae. period."
celeste breathes out.
this wasn't how she imagined her coming out story to play out.
but she is already here so anyways.
"i don’t want to be courted by a man. i don’t want to marry one. i don’t want to build my dream house with one. and no, it’s not a phase. and no, it’s not stress. it’s just… who i am."
she sighs.
"so, please. i don’t want to be asked about one at every family event like it's part of my academic requirements!”
she lets out all the frustration she has felt over the grueling years of them asking her for a boyfriend.
"and—for the love of god—stop asking about boyfriends because there will never be one.
ever. never. hindi. wala talaga. the boyfriend slot is permanently closed. not applicable. the form has been deleted. the server is down!”
a beat.
dead silence.
her mother and father freezes.
lola antonia's fork pauses mid-air.
the kids have stopped running in the middle of their game.
her cousins have stopped singing on the karaoke machine. someone accidentally hits play on i am coming out by diana ross but no one moves to stop it.
celeste stands there in the middle of the chaos, panting slightly. her jaw clenched.
she is ready for war.
she is ready to be dramatic.
ready to storm out with her coffee in hand.
then her tita suzette steps up, "so... may girlfriend ka na ba?"
her tito clasps his hands together, "ah, kaya pala wala. so yung nasa recent post sa instagram mo, yung poganda? siya ba?"
"h...huh?"
"yung johann ba yun?"
celeste opens her mouth to refute but she was too confused with how things are playing out.
"hindi si johann! bestfriend niya lang yun." her mother chimes in, "baka si knoa, palagi kasi siyang hinahatid pag lumalabas sila."
she raises her index finger to correct her mom but no words would come out from her mouth. she put her hand to cover her mouth instead and looked at her family, dumbfounded.
"i think i need a moment," she says instead, as her knees buckle from the tension earlier.
she ran thousand of scenarios inside her head for the aftermath of her coming-out but it was never this.
"so kailan mo dadalhin at ipapakilala ang girlfriend mo sa amin?"
oh, god bless their soul.
years have passed and at the age of 31, her relatives still as nosy as ever have asked her when will she get married.
"celeste, kailan ka ba magpapakasal? sa inyong magpipinsan, ikaw nalang ang hindi pa kasal kahit yung mga nakakabata pa sayo, naunahan ka na."
she's had enough.
umay na umay na siya sa kanila.
kulang nalang sabunutan niya ang sarili niya sa harap nila para makita nila kung gaano siya ka konsumido. okay na sana kasi once a year lang yung reunion nila meaning she only has to deal with her (nosy) concerned relatives once a year lang din pero hindi pa rin siya makawala dahil mismong mga magulang niya, hindi siya tinitigilan. especially, her mother.
"cece, iclear mo ang schedule mo tomorrow, sunday, sa dinner ha?" her mother, lorencia, said in the middle of their dinner.
her brows knitted in suspicion, "why?"
her mother did not provide any explanations so she looked at her dad but the latter seems to find his cutlery more interesting as he could not look at her.
"oh my god. please tell me this is not one of your matchmaking gimmicks?" she gasps in disbelief, putting down her cutleries a bit harsher than intended but she paid it no mind.
"hindi pa ba enough last time?"
celeste wished she could just forget everything about it. even the slight mention of the incident makes her blood boil.
"okay, i admit that we fumbled the last one so bad but i swear this is the one, anak,"
"mom, dad, please just let me be. you guys setting me up with anyone makes me even want to run away from the dating scene instead of running towards it."
"but anak, we're just trying to help. you're not getting any younger. we're not getting any younger."
"cece, your mom means well." lucio, her father, adds.
celeste sighs.
"mom, i know you mean well but this is my life we're talking about. let me make my own decision. let me settle my life in my own terms, okay?"
"okay," she hears her mom reply reluctantly.
their dinner continued in silence not until her mom smiles sheepishly at her, "but can you just meet this one? promise, you'll like her!"
oh, my god.
•°☆•°
celeste desperately needs a drink. she wants to take a break from everything. a break from her work, her deadlines, her parents, her relatives, and her non-existent lovelife.
she was the first one to arrive. mikaela just picked-up shane and gian while louisse is stuck in the traffic. nagtext naman si johann sa kanya na iniintay pa niya si knoa and lastly—
"aristeia, i thought you couldn't make it."
"good evening, celeste," aristeia or ari, walks in and smoothly sat beside her. "akala ko rin but hindi natuloy yung sched ko so i'm here."
celeste hums and tries to think of another topic to talk about but nothing comes up. her current situation was something that she lowkey wished would never happen.
her being left alone with ari.
don't get her wrong. she has nothing against her. aristeia is such a sweet, kind, and gorgeous girl but it's just that she has the least interaction with her among their circle. did she mention that aristeia looks like a freaking goddess?
"so, did you just arrive?" aristeia asks after being served by the bartender. her usual go-to, whiskey.
"yeah. magkasunod lang tayo."
"i see."
and then silence.
celeste feels that they are more of acquaintances rather than friends because of the fact that she only knows the most basic things about her like her name (obviously), age, where she studied (because they went to the same university), her being the heiress of their family's development firm, and the likes. heck, she does not even know her favorite color.
okay, now that she realizes how little she knows about aristeia, she feels bad.
because they have been hanging out for a few years and the things she knows about the girl are information that she could get from social media after a minute of snooping around.
they do talk with each other but it mostly happens because they are with their friends who served as group buffers between them. so, when they are left alone together, silence usually accompanies them. it didn't help that she only met aristeia when the girl was already in her senior year through mikaela since the two are family friends unlike the rest of her friends where their group has already been established since their freshman year. basically, aristeia was the newest and last addition to their circle.
celeste excuses herself and went straight to the restroom where it's quieter and immediately dials johann.
[celeste: where are you?]
[what happened to hi, hello?]
knoa answers instead.
well, atleast they're already in the car.
[celeste: drive faster]
[knoa: boang!
alam mo namang kaskasera 'tong kaibigan mo tapos sasabihan mo pang bilisan ang pagddrive?]
celeste rolls her eyes.
[celeste: i just said drive faster, i didn't say not to drive safely]
she hears johann's laughter faintly in the background.
[celeste: kami pa ni aristeia dito]
[johann: sabihin mo lang na you feel awkward with ari at need mo kami for intervention
knoa: how about you use this opportunity to get closer to her?]
[celeste: ah, basta! you better be here in 10 minutes!] and then she abruptly ends the call.
before going back, celeste touches up her make-up. as soon as she was outside, the place has now become crowded and she was only out for a few minutes.
the music was loud, the place was filled with neon lights, sweat and glitter in the air.
across the room, celeste sees aristeia alone, leaning on the counter, peacefully sipping on her drink, when some guy decided that she looks like a challenge.
aristeia was polite at first. cold after that. then dismissive. but the guy still lingers.
celeste could not make out the words from their mouth but she could immediately notice the shift in aristeia’s body language.
before she could even think, her body moves first, sliding through the crowd and snakes her arm around aristeia, her hand just barely grazing the dip of her back.
aristeia did not even flinch, instead she feels the tension on aristeia’s shoulder melting, her body slightly shifting and leaning closer to her.
"what's happening here?"
"he keeps on asking for my number even though i already said no." aristeia’s voice was cold and sharp.
celeste internally rolls her eyes.
men and their fragile ego na hindi nakakaintindi ng simpleng no.
"she said no. what's so difficult to understand about that?"
"i was just being friendl-"
"and she said that she wasn't interested. that should've been enough."
she holds aristeia a little closer. not in a possessive kind of way—just solid.
steady.
the guy scoffs, mutters something under his breath and retreats.
only when he’s disappeared into the crowd does celeste turn to aristeia.
"you okay?"
aristeia exhales slowly and looks at celeste, her eyes amused, a smile celeste could not comprehend yet, lingers on her lips.
"thanks for stepping in, you didn't have to do that but i really appreciate it." aristeia leans close enough just for celeste to hear her. "i was this close to kicking him in the shin."
celeste quirks her brows, interested at what she has to say, "the shin?"
"something i learned while doom scrolling" aristeia sounds proud as she puffs up her chest, "strategic. low-risk, high-pain. very efficient." as she taps her temple twice with her index finger while smirking.
"really?"
aristeia mock-offended by how much little faith celeste has with her skills.
"i could also definitely elbow his face with just two moves!"
celeste raises her brow, "but you didn't."
“please. i was giving him a grace period. that was me being polite.” she pauses, then grins. “you just beat me to it. but yours might be practically better. i don't want to spend the night writing a police report."
celeste laughs under her breath, "well, i'm glad i stepped in first. saved you from runing your night.”
"can i get you a drink? my treat for being my knight. that's the least that i could do."
"you don't have to. i actually felt bad that something like that happened to you while i was out."
"hey, it wasn't your fault, alright? it's just that some people can't take no for an answer. talagang nagpupumilit pa tas they can't even respect personal space." she assures her with a kind smile.
why does aristeia have to be so kind?
now she even feels more bad and tad bit guilty.
she scratches her cheeks and smiles sheepishly, "well, i excused myself earlier to call the others because i kinda felt awkward," she finally says the lame truth and whispers the last bit to herself but it was loud enough for aristeia to hear.
ari gasps which was shortly followed by a laugh, "oh my god, i knew it! you feel awkward when it's only the two of us!"
"i mean, i'm sorry that we haven't had a lot of interactions within and outside the circle?" she thought that aristeia would take it badly but she sees her laughing so she takes it as a... good sign?
aristeia smiles, "lighten up, celeste. don't feel bad. i also lowkey feel the same."
she sighs in relief.
"well, i guess this is to clearing the awkwardness out?" aristeia raises her glass for a toast to which she mirrors with a grin.
"to clearing the awkwardness out!"
"okay, what is this that i'm seeing?"
they both turn their heads to the voice of no other than their friend, shane, followed by the boisterous entrance of the rest of the group.
"grabe, hindi nalang talaga kami hinintay. sige, kayo n- aray!" may gana pa talagang mamaktol itong si johann kahit malapit na mag isang oras itong late.
"deserve mo talagang makurot!"
"well, it's a nice surprise to see you two getting friendly. kanina lang, nagmamakaawa na si cece sa amin na liparin ang traffic kasi kayo pa lang dalawa ang nandito," mikaela chuckles as they get comfortable with their seats.
aristeia glances at celeste who is now red as a tomato.
"so, i've heard." aristeia says, completely amused by celeste’s flustered reaction after getting thrown under the bus by mikaela.
they have ordered their drinks, and after a few rounds, everyone starts to loosen up. the music, faintly pulsing in the background from where they settled.
celeste could feel the suspicious set of eyes by six grown women. they keep on glancing between her, then to aristeia, who casually leans on the sofa with her drink on one hand.
louisse couldn't stop herself anymore and is the first one to finally break the silence.
"so, what was the clinking of glasses when we arrived earlier all about?"
"we just clinked our drinks, that's all," she replies dryly.
"no,no,no! it wasn't just about clinking glasses! it was as if you just won a war together!" shane adds.
"maybe we did," aristeia smiles meaningfully as she glances at her, recalling the event that transpired earlier.
"oh my god! what was that?"
"what?"
"that!"
"ano ba naman yan, johann! wala akong maintindihan. wag ka na ngang magsalita!"
[knoa: what johann meant was what was that? the palpable tension between the two of them? the subtle flirtation they're doing? the lingering glances? all of that.]
knoa hits send to their new gc, courtesy of gian, who named it [wait lang, may something]
"you're all imagining things." celeste replies as she feels the weight of johann's stare.
"definitely. classic over-analysis between two women clinking glasses." aristeia smoothly follows her lead.
"uh, no. you don't get to do that to us!" shane exclaims, "you were looking at each other's eyes as if we aren't here!"
"shane, baby. you're reading too much fanfiction. you're already making stories when all we did was make eye contact?"
wow, aristeia is so good at this.
[shane: is it just me or did ate ari just gaslighted me]
[gian: bebe...]
they all groan. no one was convinced. there was something going on. a shift. they all see it. they all feel it. except the two of them it seems.
the six of them knows that celeste and aristeia are the least close among them. things just happened that way. so, when they saw what happened earlier, they just felt so enthusiastic seeing them getting close.
celeste and aristeia sip in sync again, unbothered, giving them nothing.
well, they might not see it but the chemistry is there.
[gian: let it go.]
they all hold their breath.
[gian: for now.]
they all nod after gian's order.
they let them go.
they say nothing.
and they will wait and observe.
now, they're dragging each other to the dance floor. surrendering their body to the music and vibe. the club is now in full swing. louisse is screaming lyrics to johann, shane doing a funny tiktok dance and have her three biggest fans document it through their phones as if it was art.
celeste tries to keep up. she really does. but after three songs and one accidental bump with a stranger, she gives up and weaves back toward their place after excusing herself to gian.
her social battery is now officially dead.
she really needs to sit down to recharge.
she finds aristeia already seated back at their table, her drink already gone so now she's scrolling idly through her phone like she wasn’t waiting for anyone. she glances up, noticing her presence — and there’s the faintest smile.
she easily slides next to aristeia.
"didn't notice you ditching earlier."
"that's one of my skills."
celeste lets out a small amused smile tugging at her lips.
"i could use that skill whenever we have family event," she absentmindedly replies.
"definitely. if you want, i could teach you,"
"free of charge?"
"nothing's free today, silly. especially not with this impressive and useful skill."
they sit in oddly comfortable silence.
it shouldn't have been.
at least, not for two people who used to only talk when absolutely necessary. (or when forced by their friends)
it wasn't awkward— not anymore.
just... settled.
"i think we click so well," aristeia confesses.
"you think so?"
"i don't know, the banter earlier just flowed so naturally as if we have been doing it for years," she smiles, her eyes at the crowd, "and we were supposed to be the least close in the circle."
"we are the least close in the circle. technically."
"even after everything?"
"okay, maybe not anymore." celeste shrugs.
another pause.
it wasn't uncomfortable.
just... careful.
they sit in the low buzz of something unspoken.
then aristeia shifts, voice lighter now.
"just give me a month, i swear we'll be best friends by then!" she nudges her gently.
"you're getting ahead of yourself," celeste playfully nudges back, lips curling into a smile, "maybe it'll work if you add coffee there."
"okay, you got yourself a coffee!"
they both feel the shift but neither wants to acknowledge it.
not yet.
maybe not at all.