papuntang cubao, sumandal hanggat gusto
walang gagalaw dito sa balikat ko
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.
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the train just arrived at v. mapa, signalling that they are just about halfway to cubao.
they were passing time inside the train. aya and hermione was looking at the scenery as the train lumbered through its tracks. older buildings made way for newer ones, scenery changed as they went from city to city, and people came and went as the train stopped in each station. after her heightened emotions from finally getting to see aya started calming down- and having to deal with philippine weather, climb through flights of stairs to get to the station proper, and to encounter the busy crowds a train station would have- hermione was left a tad exhausted, and it shows- she was still a little short of breath.
"mia," aya called. she always noticed when hermione was feeling less okay than her usual self. hermione just nodded- all the stress has gotten to her, leaving her to go nonverbal. aya grabbed hermione's hand, rubbing circles with her thumb to help her recover. "breathe with me okay?"
in. out.
in. out.
in.
out.
hermione breathed into aya's rhythm, slowly calming down with every exhale. she gave aya a small smile, and wrapped her other hand around aya's smaller frame. hermione whipped out her phone- sometimes when each of them, or even both go nonverbal, the way they communicate is through their phone's notes app. "thank you," she typed. "i'm feeling better now."
"lean on my shoulder, mia?" aya replied.
hermione did, and they snuggled. aya periodically checked her phone, seeing the usual facebook notification, or a message from a group chat with her friends. she took a selfie, and sent it to her friends.
Los Pollos Hermanos Tapsilogan
11:02
a - media discordapp net/ attachments/ 1101640364353405018/ 1193348234689646673/
kaela-langan ko ng pagmamahal -
LET OUR RESPONSE BE.
urbanistang patay na patay para kay pia -
sana all
programmer ng puso ni yna -
SANA ALL
urbanistang patay na patay para kay pia -
YIEEEEEE
-
SANA ALL MAY KADATE
a -
LUH
KAYO TALAGA
WAHHAHAHAHAHA
kaela-langan ko ng pagmahal -
EH
KYUT NYO KASI EH
KAJDAKDAKHAHAHAHA
WAAAAHHHH hiraya's
hiraya's -
I love you guys ;_;
Oh yeah, she's taking me to Cubao
Oh yeah, she's taking me to Cubao!
Shit
Nadoble HAHA
Nginang data
Damn I'm getting excited na nga HAHAHA
programmer ng puso ni yna -
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
-
POTA HAHAHAHAHHAHAAHA
kaela-langan ko ng pagmahal -
BHAHBAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA
wait YESSSSS
GIRLIE hiraya's tell us how it went when you both are done!
WAIT OMG THIS IS THE UKAY-UKAY DATE!
oi hiraya ni mia hiraya's pabili rin kami HUHHHUUH
urbanistang patay na patay para kay pia -
HOI (me too pls labyu dejk)
kaela-langan ko ng pagmamahal -
ME ME ME ME
charot lang HAHAHAHA labyu
a -
HOI. KAYO TALAGA-
-
AKO RIIIINNNN chz
AJWDAKWJDJA NAKAKAEXCITE TALAGA KAYO
a -
AWWWWWW huhu labyu talaga ali
enjoy kayo dyan oki? labyu
the both of them chuckled. hermione more so, not being quite used to such level of chaos online. but, if she were to be honest, she loved it.
"you know, yna is offering to be our tour guide for when we go around manila!" aya said. yna is indeed the resident historian of the group, especially due to her experiences with her organization. she has marshalled and even co-hosted walking tours within the historic districts of manila- from intramuros, the original walled city, escolta street, the heart of binondo, and others. yna has long been offering to guide them, even offering a 'pasig river tour' that connects some of these places into one larger walk. yna's visuals and renderings are a massive boon- since she is the lead 3D artist for their "digital manila project", she can provide visuals of how each place looked like during a specific time period.
"i would love that," hermione replied, again using her phone to communicate. "you know, i actually want to meet her! she helped me while researching, ended up in a rabbit hole about this old city."
Los Pollos Hermanos Tapsilogan
a -
huhu i love you all ;_;
oh right mia said that she really wants to meet you soon urbanistang patay na patay para kay pia!
urbanistang patay na patay para kay pia -
owo PLS
we really have to meet soon. hangout when?
a - YES PLS! lets go to maginhawa?
-
OMG PLS
a -
wait fuck
right huhu
heh ill get used to it
urbanistang patay na patay para kay pia -
WAAAAAAA HUHU RIGHT
ur sensory issues,,,, i wish you both the best!
-
AAAAAAAAAAAA i give you both hugs.
aya suddenly sighed. right. it was not only hermione who easily gets overstimulated in busy places.
"are you all right, aya?" hermione typed.
"yeah. just... remembered that cubao is quite a loud and busy place. i'll be okay though, love," aya said back. its true- she has started to mentally prepare herself for the incoming rush of people and the general chaos that is the ever-busy araneta city. having her girlfriend beside her to weather the storm did help a lot too. aya snuggled closer and hermione kissed her forehead.
"arriving at: j. ruiz station. paparating na sa: j. ruiz station."
"love?" hermione asked softly, finally recovering enough energy to start being verbal again. "yes?" aya asked back. she moved her head a bit to look at hermione, scooting a bit closer so she can hear her voice.
"sing for me?"
"okay, love. come closer?"
hermione moved closer, now being the one to lay on the other's shoulder.
a forehead kiss. a stroke of hermione's hair. hermione leaning on aya as aya's arms are wrapped around hermione's waist, both of them sitting comfortably on the train's seating.
aya sang softly, still brushing hermione's hair with her fingers. the train departed, heading to its next station.
"lift your head
baby don't be scared
of the things that could go wrong along the way-"
manila was truly something else- such a city full of all kinds of life can be truly overwhelming sometimes. the city is constantly awake- it truly is the place to see and be seen. students and people ride jeeps and the train on the daily to either get to school or work and back, cars have a constant presence on the streets which sometimes cause massive traffic jams that unfortunately is part of the wider metro's identity, and every corner can be teeming with all walks of life. couple this with a number of poorly-made decisions... no wonder that such a city that never sleeps would sometimes be a little bit too much for people.
"you'll get by
with a smile
you can't win at everything but you can try~"
aya held hermione's hand, and started rubbing circles on her palm. hermione snuggled closer, slowly being lulled into a state of rest. aya's voice truly helps people- her friends and relatives always said that her voice is angelic, something she feared lost when she entered her first puberty and her voice deepened. hindsight was 20/20, though- especially when during her early teens she realized that she was never (REDACTED) and that she was a girl. at least she was lucky that her family was supportive of her, and even had an active role as she transitioned.
"baby, you dont have to worry
'cause there ain't no need to hurry
no one ever said that there's an easy way-"
aya started recalling too. her life was never truly easy- losing her parents at the mere age of one due to a dark lord, having to bow to the expectations of an entire nation, the seeming abundance of life-threatening adventures at the end of each year she had in hogwarts, how generally tiring having to tell people about how her name is aya, not (redacted), losing friends and dear family to a war that should never have been fought... to say that she had a lot on her plate would be a gross understatement.
she picked 'aya' as her name because she shortened it from the word 'hiraya', an old tagalog word that meant 'the fruit of one's hopes and dreams'. perhaps it was because in times that felt hopeless, she had a burning desire to be that hope for someone else? she didn't really know then, but she knew that such a word and name truly called out to her.
music and art was something she turned to to at least cope with the worse things. she's glad, though. she found that her singing tended to be something of solace for the people she cared for. she used the longer 'hiraya' for her social media presence (while uploading her artworks, photo dumps, and song covers)- as she was also raised in the mundane world (and in the philippines), she did use facebook and instagram quite indulgently like any other young person there.
"when they're closing all their doors
and they don't want you anymore
this sounds funny, but i'll say it anyway-"
the train slowed into its next stop. aya was surprised- line 2 trains are usually slower, only around 60% of its top speed (another thing she learned from yna and kaela). perhaps it was indeed true that this trainset ran faster, or perhaps it was indeed the time passing by quicker. after all, when a person is with someone they enjoy being around, before they know it hours would have passed. aya moved her a bit and began massaging her back. hermione was fast asleep, curled up around her- hermione's head on aya's shoulder. aya planted a small kiss on the crown of hermione's hair.
aya let hermione sleep. she needed that rest after that little ordeal from getting to legarda (for the first time) and the hassles that came along with it. she'd wake her up when they were close.
"girl ill stay
through the bad times
even if i have to fetch you every day-"
its true. ever since the troll incident, aya swore to take care of her in every step of the way. bianca prewett, then the second youngest of arthur and molly weasley, said hurtful words to hermione in their first year, making hermione run to a bathroom until a mountain troll was let into the school during the halloween feast. aya, despite having minimal education and training, was already a force of raw power back then. she took down the troll with her own hands (not after she gave bianca a major scolding with the dreaded tsinelas beforehand)- and from then on, the two became close friends- never seen without the other unless occasion called for it.
it caused a rift with her and bianca's relationship. it took four months to mend that friendship, taking another few years for bianca to truly change for the better. bianca did came out to them in their third year while also leaving her birth family, choosing to live with her mundane aunt. this decision helped bianca change for the better- the weasley matriarch, while meaning well, tended to lean more into the toxic side when it comes to parenting.
hermione was there for her too. in her second year, while the basilisk in the chamber of secrets was let loose, aya dealt with the vicious rumour mill of the school. she was more often than not looked at, and even had experiences of harassment as the months went by and more students were petrified. hermione stayed through it all, being there for her at every moment- accompanying her, taking care of her in every step of the way, giving her reassurances when the days get to her...
she did all of this, until she, too, was petrified.
hogwarts never felt rage and grief so potent and powerful before aya mangubat-evans learned of what happened to the person she held dearest. it was like fire and ice- both extreme ends of the same scale, yet scathing and destructive when let loose. it was like staring into the darkness of space, cold and unforgiving and empty. it was like feeling the anger of a god, powerful, unrelenting, and oppressive. and for someone so young to be capable of carrying such wrath...
aya brought all of that down into the chamber of secrets with her when she confronted the dark lord. she let all that grief and anger manifest into a powerful yet oppressive magical aura, which the entire castle felt. yet, despite all that darkness and rage, she was still a being of light and compassion, a woman of love and kindness and empathy, of understanding and care; and when she learned of what the basilisk truly was and what suffering she was forced to undergo, she set her free. when hermione woke up, their bond deepened, and it was not long until they became something more.
...they both, by themselves, swore that they will be there by each other's side- no matter how rough the ocean is, or in the calmest winds where almost no sailing ship can move forward... or in the right conditions where everything runs smoothly for once... they will be there for each other.
"arriving at: betty go-belmonte station. paparating na sa: betty go-belmonte station."
the train slowed down as it arrived into the last station before their destination. aya started preparing, slowly moving as to not wake hermione up- she'd do that when they start moving from where they were at.
"you'll get by
with a smile
you can never be too happy in this life~"
aya waited until the driver's usual announcement welcoming passengers to the train before waking hermione up.
"mia?"
aya nudged hermione lightly. hermione stirred and slowly woke, squinching her eyes to get used to the semi-bright lights inside the train.
"gising na, mahal*. we're almost there already," mia said in a half-whisper.
hermione moved up from her position to stretch and shake off the remaining drowsiness.
"where are we now?" hermione asked, her voice a little dry from sleepiness. "we're already close, aren't we?"
"yeah. we're at the last station before cubao, love, aya replied. "and we're just about to depart, too."
hermione became more alert and started to prepare her bag. aya did the same too, making sure to ready her tote bag so when they stood up, it was already on her shoulder.
they settled, once again, this time with aya resting on hermione's shoulder.
the train stopped, and once again, a transfer of passengers happened. the train is becoming a little more crowded- with people going to all sorts of destinations, be it to transfer to the connecting line, to go down and 'gala' at the mall that the station exit leads to, to have a round-trip joyride on the train, or to go further to disembark on either of the last two stations. thank bathala that today isn't a peak day, because even if it was around lunchtime, some trains could get really packed leading to siksikan- something that aya would very much rather not experience.
"musta naman ba*? are you doing okay now?" aya asked.
"okay lang naman, love*. i'm feeling loads better now. even excited, really," hermione replied. with almost a decade of companionship and love, it was natural that hermione would pick up some of her partner's language. actually, aya was also teaching her how to speak, read, and write in filipino for quite a while now, and hermione is slowly but surely becoming fluent in it. "that's nice to hear, love. i'm glad you're better, mia," aya replied. she kissed hermione's neck and inhaled deeply to take in the smell of her hair. they stayed that way for the remaining two minutes- the two of them holding each other on the train seat, taking comfort in each other's presence.
"arriving at: araneta center-cubao terminal station. paparating na sa: araneta center-cubao terminal station."
"that's us. tara, mia?*
aya held her hand out, which hermione took. the couple prepared to stand up as the train slowed to its station, as they'd rather wait until most of the passengers moved so they can have a clear path to the exit.
the train stopped, and opened its doors.
"tara."
they walked out of the train and into the busy platform, into a day of bonding and fun for the both of them. yes, metro manila as a whole is a never-resting city... but whatever the metropolis throws at them, they can take it, for they have each other's unwavering support and love to go through it all.
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sana all is a really well used expression that made it to mainstream slang. literally means 'i wish all'
kayo talaga "you guys- (expression)"
kyut nyo kasi eh "y'all are so cute,,,"
nadoble, nginang data "it got doubled, fucking data (comes from (pu)tangina HAHA)"
charot lang is another slang word that equates to 'its just a joke'!
enjoy kayo dyan oki? labyu code-switching or taglish on text, it's "both of you, enjoy okay? love you." labyu is another way of saying "love you"
*"gising na, mahal." ~ 'wake up, love.'
*"musta naman ba?" ~ 'how are you now?'
*"okay lang naman, love." ~ code-switching, 'i'm doing okay, love.'
*"tara, mia?" ~ 'let's go, mia?'
AAAAAAAAAAA AND THAT CONCLUDES THIS STORY ! i am really debating whether to merge the two chapters into one full oneshot as was the original plan, but i love how i put in the station names as the chapter names. ALSO BRI'ISH HERMIONE SPEAKING IN FILIPINO *swoon* because what filipino wouldnt teach her partner 😳 its a love language charot (putangina means i love you /j)
i really feel proud of this ngl. this is probably my longest story to date, and i really set a goal of being able to write up to 3000-4000 words with this one. (writer chae yarn? chz shes taking her first steps yehey-) honestly, doing this makes me really feel invested in their story, and oh! worldbuilding is going pretty well, with me slowly figuring out stuff- i know how late spanish era -insular american - philippine commonwealth wixen P.I. would play out! (i will indulge myself and introduce a somewhat more intact-from-ww2 manila compared to how it is today too, because dasurv).
BUT. i want to represent our precolonial past fairly, because i will. draw heavily from this period to create the massive bulk of wixen filipino lore, and precolonial P.I. is really multifaceted, with more than a 50 different cultures. i already sort of know how to do the brit side of things (i am taking notes from the ppl whom i look up to (oi, heraguin and admiralpegasus ily huuhuhu)), but i really really want to give my country proper justice.
so yeah! i really hope you like her. and hermione ofc. anD! ! there will be more aya in the future, because the goal here is really to write a full series (and beyond) with her. i really hope i would get to start this.
