Ünexpectedly

72. The MHC

"You make it sound like I have no choice in the matter," she said, frowning as she laid on her side, facing him. He started reclining his seat all the way back too and then grabbed the blanket that was folded on the couch.

"Well you don't. Don't worry, you'll learn to like it, especially if may reward tayo para sa isa't isa after each grueling session," he told her with a smirk as he laid the blanket on her and tucked it under her elbows.

"Grabe talaga yang persuasion skills mo noh? You know what to do and say to make people agree with you."

"And it always works, right?" he asked, smiling as he leaned over to kiss her lips. "Tulog ka na."

"Are you gonna sleep too?" she asked, her palm moving to her mouth as she let out a small yawn.

"Yup. But I'll wait till you've fallen asleep," he whispered.

"Okay... I love you, Mallows."

"I love you too, Panda."

When she woke up a few hours later, she found Richard sleeping soundly beside her. She smiled as she stared at him, taking in every detail of his handsome face and admiring how calm it looked in his sleep. She didn't know what time he was able to sleep and she didn't really want to wake him up, but she was having strong urge to touch his face.

She bit her lip and sighed as she curled her fist in restraint. She glanced at the window behind him instead and saw the splashes of orange and pink in the horizon. It was almost twilight, and it was a sight to behold.

She turned to the window right behind her and peeked at the view outside. They were still high up in the air so she couldn't see much aside from the pink skies and the clouds, but it was breathtaking.

A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her waist and she yelped in surprise before turning to the owner of those arms.

"Gising ka na pala," he said with a sleepy smile. "Come back here and lie beside me. I wanna cuddle," he added, his eyes still half closed.

Ghad, ang gwapong bagong gising naman nito. How to be you po? she thought as she carefully lied beside him again.

He immediately wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her close, his face pressing on her hair as he did.

"I had a dream about you," he whispered.

"Talaga? Tungkol saan?" she asked, leaning back to look at his face.

He grinned. "You were standing pressed against the wall, screaming my name out loud as I ---"

"Teka. Panaginip ba yan o pantasya?"

"Hmmm... hindi ko na alam. I think it's a memory. One of the many ones I have that got stored inside my brain," he said, nuzzling her neck. "I love it when you scream my name, Maine."

She blushed and didn't respond, but she was smiling as she felt his hand moving up and down her back before resting on her bum.

"Mallows..."

"Hmmm?"

"Order tayo."

"Gutom ka?" he asked, looking at her.

"Medyo."

"What do you want?" He let go of her quite reluctantly and reached for the small menu on the coffee table. Ridiculously enough, Elena has a personal chef on the plane too.

"What do they have?"

"Here, take a look," Richard said, running his fingers through his hair as he handed her the menu. "Those are Elena's personal favorites."

"Hmmm... Actually I'm just wondering if they have enough whipped cream."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Whipped cream?"

"Uhuh..." she said, smirking at him as she pulled her lip between her teeth. "For my special dessert. Now go ahead and ask, Marshmallow," she told him with a small wink as his face broke into a huge grin.

~~~~~
😏