Chapter Text
Every Monday, government employees are mandated to wear filipiniana-inspired attires, and risa hontiveros manages to go beyond that requirement on the very first workday of every week.
She often wears plain white filipinianas, or sometimes they're in purple or pink. Those feminine colors are often a contrast to the sleek and sharp, stiffened butterfly sleeves that somehow complement her sharp yet soft features.
Today was not any different. She strolled into the blue ribbon committee hearing wearing the custom filipiniana that her stylist had made for her to wear. Its butterfly sleeves were sharp and her collar unbuttoned. She wore a simple white tank top underneath to highlight the beautiful embroidered flowers that decorated almost the entirety of her filipiniana. She paired it with a simple satin maxi skirt that pooled around her ankles and white slip-on mules.
It was immaculate in every sense. Immaculate in a way that made the ever-so-composed senate president pro tempore serwin gatchalian stutter as he talked.
"Kahit saan ka pupunta...kahit saan ka pumunta, katotohanan ang dapat mong sabihin."
His eyes followed her as she moved with grace, her eyes straight ahead, ignoring the cameras that seemed to trail her every move and the eyes that bored into her entire being.
She thanked the man who led her to her assigned seat. She neatly arranged the papers and notebooks she brought and plopped her iPad where she could easily reach it. She trailed her eyes to the almost obnoxious-looking clock on the wall.
9:18 a.m.
She's late, but at least she graced this hearing with her presence.
She glanced at her colleagues, and her eyes shortly met the very eyes that had watched her from the moment she stepped into the room. She quickly looked away and turned her attention to the director of the NBI, who was giving his report.
It wasn't easy not to look at her when the room was practically covered with cameras and journalists who were very much willing to spread unsolicited rumors, yet his time came when the NBI director himself requested to talk to them directly and not through the microphone.
They huddled as a group as the director told them that the intelligence agency had received a warning about a potential threat. He could've easily listened and given his suggestions or opinions on the very serious matter, yet how could he when the woman who had been bugging his mind-and apparently the whole country's as well, with their ship name, winri, trending online-was standing a foot away from him?
With the proximity, he was given the chance to linger. He was given the chance to admire her like a tapestry crafted by god himself.
God, was she beautiful.
Yet the moment seemed to end too soon, and then it was back to serving the filipino people.
In that moment, he was win, who was simply a man in awe of this woman, but in a split second, he was also senator gatchalian, the senate president pro tempore.
He couldn't look at her after that. A part of him forcibly accepted that she wasn't going to give him-and the people-something to talk about when this hearing was over.
When the hearing adjourned, she gave no room for conversation and barely glanced at him when he gave her a slight smile as she was leaving the hearing room.
pero kahit sa ano mang pagsusungit ni sen. risa, magand pa rin siya sa kanyang filipiniana.