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nene has never been in a relationship, oat could tell so obviously during their first date— hell, you could hardly even call it that. it was awkward at best, nene would sparingly open up towards oat even with the inviting touches and reassuring voice. despite that, oat continued to be patient, even while respecting the other's unsaid boundaries. but, oat would be lying if she said she hasn't been losing it recently.
nene enters the bar as she did with most days. she's been coming to visit oat, exactly the reason why oat has been questioning their relationship. "usual?" nene doesn't need to nod nor speak a word, oat's hands move with practiced ease making the former's favorite drink. it doesn't take long for her drink to be served. oat tries— keyword; tries, to make conversation with the shorter woman.
"i haven't been seeing you wearing extravagant clothes recently." oat bends over the counter.
nene flicks her eyes towards her. "hm? and why does that matter to you?" oat could only sigh in defeat.
why is she always so difficult?
but oat didn't have to worry long for a more interesting discussion, the door chimes. oat's gaze switches to the entrance of her bar, nene follows through, her favorite lovebirds have arrived. "rak, pam. it's been a while." they both smile at her as they take a seat away from nene. rak could only assume the latter hasn't grown quite accustomed yet, she decides to play it safe in the meantime. ironically though, her upcoming question would only make her look hypocritical.
"it's nice to see you too, oat. good thing nene is here too, i had something to ask you." nene raises her eyebrows at rak's insinuation.
"what is it?"
rak takes a breath. "mom asked me to invite you on a family trip. it's just us, you don't need to worry about new faces." interesting..? those were the only words nene could think of. she's not one to think emotionally, but she supposes she wouldn't mind going.
"sure, i'll go. i don't have much to do here anyway." to that, rak's smile widens. nene supposes she hadn't expected her to come. thinking about that, she really has had one hell of a change of heart. thanks to—
"well, in that case... can I come too?"
what the fuck is oat doing?
pam snickers at oat's sheer courage to say that so bluntly. when no one reacts in over a second, oat chalks up her comment as a joke. not until rak makes a remark. "uh, i don't see why not? friends are family too."
sure, friends.
oat retorts. "seriously?" the mere utterance made it all the more evident that she wasn't joking in the first place. rak nods eagerly. "mhm. i don't think i need to tell mom. she booked three rooms. although, i think you'll have to share a bed since nene's room was only for one person."
share... a bed? nene repeats the phrase a thousand times over. her face grimaces slightly, oat sighs to herself silently at the woman's reaction.
"how long is the trip?" nene's voice cracks as she asks. "three nights," rak answers plainly as if it wasn’t a big deal for someone like nene. nene sighs, looking around as she processes the information. her gaze lands on oat, the latter only smirks at her. nene's embarrassment— no, frustration— only deepens.
but, really. with her past full of grievances, sulking in sadness wouldn't do her any good in the end.
so, here she was, a week later since that conversation— a family dinner on their second day of the trip. nene liked the warm atmosphere of the restaurant, it looked especially beautiful at night. she thinks reserving the table outside was an even better idea, the air was fresher than in the city. she's glad that her present was here now, this place couldn't be more dull if it was the past.
"miss nene? you okay? you're staring off into nowhere." oat hesitates to place a hand on hers, she decides not to do it in front of family. either way, had she been thinking that deep? she shakes her head, only now realizing that maybe she does acknowledge herself as part of this family. nevertheless, she doesn't dare admit that yet. she gives a quick nod and smile to reassure the other woman.
the family's conversation didn't consist much of anything that nene could be possibly interested in. all she heard was that they were sightseeing tomorrow morning along with having a picnic together in a nearby park.
nene's life has never been all the more interesting.
nene sighs deeply, refusing to look at the woman standing so close beside her. “you can’t possibly be this dismayed.” oat scoffs at nene. she knows the latter’s boundaries, she wouldn’t force herself to stand so close if nene didn’t want her to. it was just that… the weather was particularly against them today— far too hot for any normal human being to not use an umbrella. that being said, nene was forced to share an umbrella with oat. oat was at least kind enough to hold the umbrella for them to not piss nene off further. “don’t worry, we’ll settle down in the shade soon.”
soon came quicker than expected. the day wouldn’t get worse from there on out either, they fortunately brought more than one picnic blanket and didn’t choose to rely on a single huge one that could probably barely fit them all. there would be one more obstacle in way of nene's peace though— oat, of course. no matter how hard she tries, she could never tell whether oat stood by her side or against her. she supposes oat just loves teasing her.
oat looks over to the tremendously lovely couple beside her. she smiles faintly, only in bittersweetness once reminded she could be in the same situation with nene. in what she could only call a coping response, she decides to act up. she fishes out her phone from her bag, and looks towards her target with a mischievous smile.
"miss nene" the woman, distracted with the view, huffs to herself as she prepares for whatever oat could possibly say. "wouldn't you want this day to be remembered?" oat posited as she signals towards her phone. nene raises her eyebrows in response. the couple across her starts to overhear their conversation, hence encouraging her to take said photos.
"i don't like getting pictures of me taken." she doesn't give in, expectedly.
oat sighs deeply. "c'mon, a pretty woman like you deserves to be taken pictures of." nene narrows her eyes as she looks at oat. without warning, the latter takes a picture of her.
"what are you—"
"see?" oat smiles widely, looking at the photo before turning it towards the woman. "pretty," oat unnecessarily comments. it'd be embarrassing to cause a ruckus because of a simple picture in public, nene decides this battle was lost. she sucks it up, looking away from oat's phone and tries to go on with her day. all the while oat continued to take pictures, nene could care less what she'd possibly do with them. the family could only watch in amusement as the two banter.
later that night, nene can't help but contemplate on her life after this trip. she asks herself, would she really like living in that house all alone again? a home only filled with memories of her broken past?
she hears the bathroom door open, disrupting her thoughts. she was still holding the towel she had used earlier, now was her time to return it to the bathroom. as she makes her way, she almost bumps into oat. with their height difference, it was easy for oat to spot the towel on nene's arm. she reaches her hand out, signifying the former to hand her the towel. nene whispers a "thanks" before finally laying onto the bed.
it may have been 3 days together, but— as awkward as it was, nene's heart can't help but rush whenever she's reminded of the mere thought that oat was next to her.
should she be feeling this when she had long considered oat as part of her family?
she tries to not think about it too hard and turns away from the subject in question.
half an hour pass, nene isn't asleep yet. it seems the same with oat as she feels a significant weight lift from the bed in the middle of the night. has oat been thinking over things too? nene's curiosity grows, but she tells herself to check a little later. she doesn't want to seem like she cares that much.
when later comes, nene heads to the balcony and finds oat with a drink in hand. where'd she even get that? nene sighs loud enough for oat to hear. "i'm surprised we both can't sleep on this specific night." oat takes a sip from her glass of beer.
"what are you implying?" nene asks as she leans over the railing, still making sure to keep a distance.
oat smirks. "i'm implying that you went after me for a reason." nene hates how she's right, always had. once more, nene hesitates to open up. but she wants a question answered. if there was one thing that hasn't dissipated from her, it'd be selfishness— if she wants something, she wants it now.
"are there levels to family?" nene inquires straightforwardly.
oat grins, she can tell where this was headed. "if you mean something like what rak and pam have, then maybe. why are you asking?" nene isn't quite sure where she's looking or what she's looking for. she starts to wane when things get personal, but as usual, oat is there to reassure her. nene sighs before finally asking, still not bothering to look at oat directly.
"then.. what level are we on?"
oat blinks a few times.
she actually had the guts to ask?
she turns her back against the railing before taking another sip from her drink. "what do you want to be?"
nene could only sigh. "now you're being difficult." she mumbles.
"so you admit you were being difficult this entire trip?"
"don't change the subject."
oat chuckles into the tranquil night at nene's annoyance. "i'm serious though, i'll adjust for you knowing the shit you've been through." oat sets her drink down on a nearby table, then leaning with her shoulder on the wall. she says with an honesty only seen in her eyes if you looked hard enough, "so? what do you want us to be, miss nene?"
perhaps all nene needed was a second opinion, but as far as she sees it, her relationship with oat isn't quite on the same level as just "family." maybe— no, she's sure that she wants something akin to what rak and pam have.
nene takes a step forward, arms crossed. "i don't want a confusing relationship with what you, yourself, claimed to be my family." she grabs oat's drink, now halved, and chugs the rest of it. oat's eyes widen, she knew nene was a lightweight, why on earth was she doing this? and before oat could come to an answer, she feels a pair of hands on her waist before nene tip-toes and leans in, meeting her lips.
the kiss was hesitant and experimental at first, but when oat leans further into the kiss, grabbing nene's head with one hand and waist on the other to pull her closer, the kiss became something more desperate. oat assumes this was why she took her drink.
the two stumble into the railing, pinning nene against it, oat pulls away. "nene, are you sober?" nene's hazy eyes say all that oat needs to know.
"fuck," nene curses, running a hand through her hair as she hooks an arm around oat's neck. "who cares? don't you think drunken actions are sober thoughts?"
she does, of course oat believes in that. with her years of experience running the bar, observing her customers, she couldn't think of that any less.
so oat gives in, kissing the shorter woman fervently against the railing, letting her hands travel down her hips. only then does oat realize her height is a bit of an inconvenience. nene seems like she realizes it too as she pulls away from oat and chuckles. oat watches in awe as the woman who was once so broken laugh at her.
"let's relocate." oat whispers. "you're just so short, it's hard for me." oat leads nene by the hand, the latter only mutters an argument back.
oat sits on the bed, nene was barely towering over her still. the latter hesitates to even move, seems she still needed guidance from oat. "are you new to this?" oat says as she holds nene's hands ever so tenderly, the other woman nods. slowly, oat pulls nene towards her, her hand directing her to sit on her laps. she admires the woman before her in the moonlit glow, tucking a strand of hair behind nene's ear and caresses her cheeks softly. with the encouragement from oat, nene takes initiative and their lips meet once more. her hands crawl up ever so naturally to oat's face.
"i love you." nene whispers in between kisses. she only gets braver after proclaiming her love, kissing down oat's neck, yet still careful enough to not leave a mark. anyhow, oat likes giving far more than receiving.
she grabs nene's shoulders and flips to the side, once again pinning nene down. unlike nene, oat is much more certain of what she's doing. as she closes the distance between them, she makes sure to lick nene's bottom lip, a daring invitation to open up. nene could only gasp as oat slightly pulls away— perhaps waiting for a reaction— when they meet once more, nene has confided in oat fully. she parts her mouth, letting oat's tongue slide in.
nene's never felt this way before, oat could tell with the way her tongue was barely fighting. but she does want more. her hands crawl up to oat's neck, while her other unconsciously clutches at her shirt.
oat smirks against the kiss.
oat pulls away, “want me that bad?” she cackles as she agonizingly slowly takes her shirt off. nene could try her damn best to pry her eyes away from the other woman as she undressed, but, god, oat was breathtakingly stunning. just as she was about to do the same…
a knock on her door.
"nene?" rak was calling them in the middle of the night? "i left something with you a little earlier. can i have it back?”
the couple freeze for a moment in silence. nene blinks, trying to remember said item rak left her during their picnic, oat was practically out of mind as she dug up the memory. she doesn’t even notice the latter changing into her shirt again. nene gets up from the bed, glancing at oat once more like a silent apology. she then rummages through her bag, fishing out the item before checking herself in the mirror. she can't say for sure if oat left marks, she tries to overlook concern.
nene heads to the door, item in hand. opening the door, she finds rak about to leave.
"rak." she calls, the other woman turning back with a smile. rak takes the item and gives her thanks.
just as she was about to leave, oat does something what nene could only call diabolical.
"we were about to." oat hooks an arm around nene's waist, then pecking her a kiss. rak's eyes widen, lips almost in a smile at the mere thought the two were officially dating.
"i'll.. leave you two to yourselves then. night!" rak takes her leave.
as soon as the door closed, nene pushed oat aside.
"what the fuck are you doing?"
oat scoffs. "what? aren't we official now? you said you love me, soo..."
"that's not what i—" nene sighs. "you think that's a valid way to introduce someone as your girlfriend?"
girlfriend? oat wasn't even implicating that.
"oh? so i am your girlfriend." oat laughs, pecking kisses on nene's cheeks. nene was simply speechless, all while blushing too. she was nothing but pathetically in love with oat at that moment… and maybe as time continues to pass.
be that as it may, nene wasn’t denying it either. she learned how to love because of oat.