Work Text:
Jhoanna had always trusted momentum.
If she kept moving, kept riding, kept working, kept taking stairs two at a time—maybe nothing could catch up sa kanya.
Pain will stay behind.
Doubt didn't have time to form.
People didn't get close enough to disappoint her.
And that was until the stairs stopped her cold.
The moment her foot slipped, her body reacted faster than her mind.
Her hand even tried to grab the railings.
Her breath punched out of her lungs when she felt her ankle twist.
Pain flared and sharp.
Nakakahiya.
Hindi niya branding.
She hated that it happened in public.
She hated that it happened at all.
Ang astig niya kaya?
"Damn i—"
"Huy."
The voice grounded her immediately.
Colet was already there, presence solid, while blocking out the rush of people sa paligid nila.
Jhoanna barely registered how Colet's leather jacket brushed her knee nung bumaba siya—only the way her hands hovered first, asking without words, before setting on Jhoanna's ankle.
"Wag kang gumalaw, Jho."
"Okay lang ako."
Oofff, that lie tasted familiar.
"So kapag ginalaw ko tong paa mo, hindi ka aaray?" Colet asked— gentle but unimpressed.
Jhoanna clenched her jaw.
Jhoanna could push Colet and tell her to back off.
But Jhoanna did not.
She let Colet stay there—let her assess, let her check on her.
"Bakit kasi pag naglalakad ka, parang male-late ka sa sarili mong buhay?" Colet added, tone teasing. "Eventually, it catches up kaya."
Jhoanna scoffed. "Injured na nga 'yung tao ginaganyan mo pa."
"Actually compliment 'yun." Colet replied. "You make falling look impressive."
The laugh escaped Jhoanna before she could stop it.
She hated that.
She hated that Colet could still get that reaction from her kahit alam niyang pumipintig na talaga ang ankle niya.
When Colet helped her up, Jhoanna told herself she was just using her for balance. But she didn't miss the way Colet adjusted immediately when Jhoanna leaned more than the intended—how she absorbed the weight without comment.
At the clinic, the smell of antiseptic made Jhoanna restless.
She hated being still.
She hated sitting while someone decided what she could and could not do.
"You're benched for a week." the nurse said. "Tapos I recommend na ipatong mo sa mataas while you sleep."
Jhoanna stared at the wall.
Across the room, Colet leaned against it.
Arms crossed, boots planted, attention entirely on Jhoanna.
Not pity.
Not worry.
Just pure concern.
And Jhoanna thinks that was worse.
Hindi ito branding ni Colet.
When the nurse stepped out, Colet crouched again.
Slower.
Closer.
"Okay ka? I mean alam kong masakit, but other tnan that? Okay ka?"
Jhoanna nodded because shaking her head would have meant admitting something she wasn't ready to say.
"Go ka na kung may remaining appointments ka pa for the day. You don't have to stay."
"I know."
And yet—Colet did.
After work, habang papalabas ng building, Jhoanna saw her motorcycle waiting right in front the doors.
And Colet was leaning casually habang may kinakalikot sa kanyang sariling smart watch.
Something in her chest tightened.
"What are you doing?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Ihahatid ka pauwi?"
"With my bike?"
"Gusto mo ba sa motor ko? Sabihin mo lang."
"No, I mean, I can—"
"Simula sa office hanggang dito sa lobby took you 15 minutes to go down. Partida malapit pa sa stairs yung table mo at second floor lang tayo... tapos nag-elevator ka pa. Paano mo ako mapapabilib nan?"
Inirapan lang siya ni Jhoanna.
"And please, I don't feel like arguing with you habang injured ka."
Her helmet felt heavier than usual.
Her biike.
Her space.
Her rules.
She broke them anyway.
Climbing behind Colet felt so wrong but at the same time felt so relieving.
For once, hindi niya kailangan isipin 'yung daan.
Hindi niya kailangan ikalkulado ang bawat pihit.
She just held on.
And Colet rode like she knew exactly how much trust is required.
The days blurred.
Jhoanna started anticipating Colet without meaning to. The sound of her own engine stopping by infront of her house every morning. And even Colet's shadown near her desk before their lunch break.
Colet waited by the elevator instead of stairs.
"Akala ko ba mas healthy kapag sa stairs dumadaan? Saka nakakadagdag sa step counter mo?" Jhoanna said once.
"Well, not today and definitely not tomorrow."
Sa hallway, Colet matched her pace. Never pointing it out, never slowing too obviously.
Whenever Jhoanna stumbles, Colet didn't grab her. She just stepped closer while choosing quiet presence.
At her desk, Jhoanna notices how her seat is always nudged to how it was easier to sit down.
It shouldn't have mattered.
It did.
Lunch became a ritual Jhoanna didn't acknowledge out loud.
Colet placed a bento box inront of Jhoanna.
"Tonkatsu sa'yo, sa'kin gyudon. Unless you wanna switch." Colet said while casually rubbing the chopstick ends before giving it to Jhoanna.
"I can walk," Jhoanna said for the first time.
"Sige," Colet answered. "If you want to spend your break proving a point to no one."
Jhoanna rolled her eyes but stayed seated.
Colet always placed the food kung saan hindi na kailangan abutin pa. Always remembered what she didn't like. Always waited until Jhoanna took her first bite before proceeding with hers.
"You're staring," Colet said while taking a sip of her miso soup.
"I'm not."
"You are. Okay lang naman. I know i'm charming."
Jhoanna scoffed—but her chest felt warm in a way na she doesn't know why.
When Colet drives her home yet again, it was worse.
She held on longer than necessary.
Tighter than necessary.
Sometimes, she rests her forehead on Colet's back when she thought hindi niya mapapansin.
But Colet always noticed.
She slowed down on rough roads. Shifted subtly so Jhoanna could lean without slipping. On red lights, she subtly glances on the side mirrors to check on Jhoanna.
"Antok ka na?"
Jhoanna shakes her head but her eyes says the otherwise.
By Wednesday, people noticed the proximity.
How Colet is extra attentive with Jhoanna's needs.
How she carried Jhoanna's helmet and bag without being asked.
How the doors were already open bago pa makaabot si Jhoanna rito.
Sheena joked, "Kailangan lang pala matapilok ni Jhoanna para tumapang si Colet."
Colet shot daggers to Sheena.
By the end of the week, Jhoanna's ankle was almost back at its best condition.
Everything else felt worse.
Colet still showed up—but mas tahimik na this time.
Lunch came wrapped and wordless.
Touches disappeared..
Rides became efficient and professional.
Distance—placed deliberately.
Friday night, standing beside her motorcycle, Jhoanna broke.
"You've been pulling away,"
"Okay ka na eh."
"Hindi 'yun ang sagot na hinahanap ko."
"You don't need me anymore, Jhoanna."
The words hurt because she was misunderstood completely.
"I let you ride my bike," she started, voice shaking. "I let you into my routine. Do you know how hard thas is for me?"
She stepped closer.
Colet noticed everything.
Every step on the stairs. Every wince in the clinic. Every stubborn attempt to walk on that sprained ankle. She remembered it all.
Kapag feeling niya matutumba si Jhoanna, her hands hovered before she touches her.
She doesn't even think.
She just acts on it like she's been doing this for years.
When she helps her stand up, she adjusted the weight carefully, letting Jhoanna lean more than she admitted.
In the clinic, when Jhoanna tried to shoo her away, she stayed.
Hindi for attention, hindi for recognition.
She stayed kasi leaving felt impossible.
Because watching Jhoanna pretend that she is fine was unbearable.
When she went out after work, she pushed Jhoanna's motorcycle near the exit so she didn't have to walk far.
Approximately 376 steps away kasi ang motorcycle parking area.
She adjusted mirrors, checked her breaks, and secures her helmet.
She rode slightly slowly, knowing Jhoanna's grip would tighten the moment the bike leaned.
Durig lunch, she brought food everyday.
Always brought options she know Jhoanna would like.
Always placed the food and utensils kung saan hindi na kailangan pang mahirapan si Jhoanna.
Always waited to eat until Jhoanna had taken her first bite before she takes hers.
She teased, too.
Branding nila 'yun eh.
Playful comments.
Colet rage-baiting Jhoanna.
But this week, it was all done with care.
Bawat jab, may kaakibat na subtle compliment.
If Jhoanna holds on to much during their ride, Colet shifts to make her more comfortable without drawing attention.
If Jhoanna stumbles while walking, she stepped closer, just enough to catch her.
Never too much.
Never too little.
By midweek, Colet memorized reactions, rhythms, suble shifts.
She hate how quickly she had become dependent on noticing them.
When Jhoanna's ankle healed, Colet pulled away slightly.
Not because she wanted to, but because the fear of losing control—faling for her—was almost unbearable.
The engine ticked softly as it cooled, metai contracting in the quiet between them.
Colet didn't step back.
Not a single instinct told her
She had never felt more grounded and more vulnerable at the same time.
"You don't need me anymore," she said again, but her voice wavered, betraying everything she'd tried to suppress.
She sounded rehearsed, like a line she'd practced over and over to make herself feel safe.
Jhoanna shook her head slowly, "You keep saying that like it's a fact."
Colet exhaled sharply, "Because it's easier than admitting I want to stay."
"That's not fair," Jhoanna argued. "You don't get to decide what I need."
Colet's jaw tightened.
She knew she was threading a fine line.
"But I get to decide what I can survive," she said quietly.
The words sounded firm, but inside she felt like a rope fraying.
Jhoanna's eyes didn't waver.
"You think I'd just... take everything you gave me and walk away kapag okay na ako?"
Colet froze, swallowing the lump on her throat.
"I think you could," she admitted, voice low and raw. "You're good at leaving once you're back on your feet."
Her chest tightened. Not because it was true but because she feared it might be.
"I let you see me," she said. "I let you slow me down. Do you know how much that costs me?"
Colet's gaze flickered away. First, to the motorcycle, then to the helmet in Jhoanna's hands, and finally back to the space between them.
She hated how true that sounded.
She hated that she knew it.
"I didn't want to be someone you only kept because hindi ka okay," she said. "I didn't want to become an option."
Jhoanna swallowed hard, "You were never an option."
Colet laughed once, bitter and disbelief-laced.
"Hindi mo naman 'yan sinabi dati."
"Kilala mo ako, I don't know how..." Jhoanna admitted. "I'm not good at... needing."
"That's exactly it," Colet said, almost to herself. "You don't need. You endure. You adapt. And then you move on."
Jhoanna stepped closer again, and Colet felt her chest tighten even more. "And what if I don't want to this time?"
Colet froze.
The simple question felt like it could shatter her carefully built walls.
"You keep acting like I was healing from you," Jhoanna continued, voice shaking. "But you were part of it. You still are."
Colet's restrain cracked just enouigh to make her hand curl into a fist..
"I was falling.. sa'yo." she admitted quietly. "Not caually. Hell, not safely. But in a way that didn't feel reversible."
Her heart thudded in her chest.
She feels exposed.
Jhoanna's chest tightened in response, and Colet saw it.
She saw how much she'd hurt and yet how much she still wanted her.
"And I was terrified," Colet continued "That once you didn't need my help, you wouldn't want my presence anymore. Pero ako 'to eh, sinubukan ko parin kahit alam kong i'll just fall in too deep para makaahon pa."
Jhoanna shook her head, "You think I let people close because it''s convenient?"
Colet swallowed hard.
"I think you let people close when you have control."
"That's not what this was,": Jhoanna said. "I lost control. And you stayed."
Colet looked away for a moment.
"I stayed kasi hindi ko na alam kung paanong aalis pa."
Jhoanna reached out—not touching yet—but close enough that Colet could feel the energy of her hand, waiting.
"I don't want someone who only stays when it's easy," Jhoanna said. "I want someone who challenges me. Who rage-baits me kahit alam kong compliment din 'yun. Who annoys me into eating lunch and taking elevators."
Colet's lips twitched into a small, faint smile despite the tension. "That's a low bar," she murmured.
"It's not," Jhoanna said. "It's trust."
Colet finally met her gaze again, full and unguarded.
"If I stay," she said slowly. "It won't be as a temporary solution."
"Good," Jhoanna replied. "I don't do temporary."
Colet's breath hitched.
"You're not a habit that i'll outgrow." Jhoanna added. "You're a choice."
And in that moment, everything Colet had been holding back,
the fear,
the need,
the want.
It all collapsed into one simple truth.
She closed the distance, resting her forehead lightly against Jhoanna's shoulde.
Her hand hovered on the helmet in Jhoanna's hand, then finally settled at Jhoanna's wrists.
"Tell me," she whispered, voice low. "If you ever want me to stop."
Jhoanna leaned her head against Colet's.
"Tell me," she replied. "If you ever feel like you don't belong here."
Colet exhaled, a soft broken laugh slipping out.
"Di natin to branding, sa totoo lang."
They stayed like that—beathing each other in, neither retreating, neither rushing.
After a while, the space between them throbbed with unspoken words.
Jhoanna hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward and pressed her lips to Colet's cheek.
It wasn't rushed.
It wasn't demanding.
It was soft, tender, a grounding touch.
A thank you.
A promise.
Colet froze and let herself exhale.
She didn't move, didn't speak.
She let the warmth linger longer than necessary, storing it in the quiet that had defined their week.
Jhoanna pulled back slightly, meeting Colet's eyes.
A small, shy smile tugged at her lips.
"Goodnight," she whispered.
"Goodnight," Colet echoed, barely audible.
Jhoanna turned, helmet dangling from her arm and walked to her door.
City sounds faded, but inside both of them, something permanent had shifted.
Before disappearing inside, Jhoanna paused.
Colet was still there, jacket zipped, hands in pockets, watching quietly.
No words needed.
Jhoanna smiled once more, then stepped inside, leaving the door and the night between them.
Colet lingered a few more seconds, leeting the moment settle.
Then she turned to leave with Jhoanna's motorbike with a small, satisfied curl of a smile.
She didn't rush. She earned her patience, and Jhoanna had met it in kind.
END.