For the last 3 weeks, Nat and Aika had been meeting each other at least once a week for their morning runs. Nat would always be waiting by the Robredo's condo gate for Aika in the morning and sending her back after their run. Aika would also make a point to introduce Nat to the shops along their running route. The traditional bakery was now their favourite spot to get a coffee on their way back to Aika's home...although the coffee tasted slightly different on days they didn't meet.

"Hey, want to join me at the gym the day after tomorrow?" Aika and Nat had just got their coffee for the morning.

"Thursday? Sure! I don't have anything on until the afternoon. Where's it at?" Nat held the door open for Aika and an elderly lady coming in.

"It's at the nearby mall!" Nat's eyes widened.

"That's where Jamie's kindergarten is at!" Aika smiles at the sound of Jamie's name.

"It's been a while since I've seen Jamie..." Nat would send Aika pictures of Jamie (at Jamie's request) but the last time Aika saw Jamie was about a month ago.

"I could bring her along in the morning so you can say hi before we drop her off and head to the gym!" Nat was sure that Jamie would be excited to see Aika.

"Sounds great! I'll see you on Thursday then?" They had arrived at the condo gates.

"How about I pick you up and we can head there together? Unless you're driving too?" Nat didn't want to have his hopes too high.

"I'll be grateful for the ride. I'll tell the security guard so you can enter on Thursday morning." Nat unknowingly let out a tiny but audible cheer, making Aika giggle.

~

"Daddy! What time are we meeting tita Aika tomorrow?" Jamie was excitedly packing her backpack for school tomorrow.

"We'll see her early in the morning...Are you that excited?" Nat chuckled at Jamie, who was doing a little dance.

"I AM! It's not fair that you are the only one getting to see her while I don't!" Jamie gave Nat a pout as he lifted her into bed.

"Well, the earlier you go to sleep, the faster morning will come and you get to see her!" Nat bopped Jamie on the nose.

"Good night Daddy!" Jamie couldn't wait for tomorrow to come as she forced herself to sleep. Nat let out a resigned laugh at Jamie's antics. He was excited too. Hoping it wasn't too late, Nat texted Aika...

Look who's so excited for tomorrow that she slept 30 minutes early?

Aww she's adorable...

She's been singing about it the whole night!

Tell Jamie that I can't wait too!

She's asleep but I'm sure she is too! See you tomorrow:)

Good night:)

~

"DADDY WAKE UP!" Nat jolted awake at Jamie's screams. He tapped on his phone screen and saw that it was almost 7am.

"DADDY! DADDY! DADDY! QUICK!" Jamie yanked Nat out of bed and pulled him into the bathroom with her. Jamie grabbed her toothbrush and brushed her teeth furiously, toppling her water cup in the process.

"Calm down, princess. We're very much on time..." Nat assured Jamie as he dressed her for the day. After being rushed every step of the way, Nat and Jamie were out of the house in 20 mins. They were supposed to be at Aika's condo at 7.30am.

"Magandang umaga po! I'm here for Ms Robredo? She said that she had informed you already? Salamat!" Nat thanked the security guard as he drove into the carpark as per Aika's instructions.

"Daddy, when is tita Aika coming?" Jamie was kicking her legs as she peered out of the car window.

"Soon, princess...soon..." Nat looked at his watch...7.25 am.

"TITA AIKA!" Jamie's face lit up when she saw Aika walking from the lift into the carpark. Jamie had gotten out of the car because 5 minutes was too long for her to wait.

"Jamie!" Aika knelt down to greet Jamie, giving her a huge hug.

"Any longer and she would be the donkey from Shrek..." Nat rolled his eyes at Jamie, making Aika chuckle.

"Sit with me at the back, tita Aika!" Jamie grabbed Aika's hand and led her to the back seat. Once they were all buckled, Nat set off for the mall.

"I have something for you, tita Aika! Here! I made this with yaya's help!" Jamie carefully pulled out a bracelet out from her bag. It was a simple friendship bracelet that Jamie had learnt from her nanny who took care of her when Nat was at work.

"This is beautiful, Jamie! I love it...thank you!" Aika took the pink and white bracelet from Jamie's hands and immediately wore it.

"Look! I have one too!" Jamie whipped another one out from her bag and showed it to Aika.

"We're matching!" Aika helped Jamie tighten her bracelet and smiled at the girl..

"How about me?" Nat was looking at the girls from the front mirror.

"It's a friendship bracelet for me and tita Aika! Daddy's not part of it!" Jamie cheekily stuck her tongue out at Nat.

"Wait, so now Aika's your best friend? I thought you said Daddy was your best friend?" Nat pretended to be hurt. Aika and Jamie burst into laughter at Nat's pout.

"You're fighting with your own daughter?" Aika rolled her eyes at Nat.

"Jamie or me?" Nat wasn't one to go down without a fight. Aika took turns to look at Jamie and Nat.

"Jamie." Aika gave Jamie a hi-five while Nat let out a huge cry of indignation as he parked the car.

"Come on, let's get my friend rival to school!" Nat held out his hand to Jamie but Jamie ended up taking Aika's instead.

The mall was relatively quiet since it was still early and the only places open were the gym, some food stalls and Jamie's kindergarten. The trio walked up to Jamie's kindergarten, with Aika and Jamie teasing Nat the entire time. As they approached the kindergarten, Aika unconsciously adjusted her mask, realising that it would be hard to explain the current sight of her walking happily with a little girl and unknown man.

"Is something wrong?" Nat noticed that Aika was looking around.

"I'm fine, was just thinking about something. Sorry." Aika tried to brush it off.

"Have fun and see you later!" Nat gave Jamie a kiss as he sent her into the kindergarten. Jamie looked at Aika, who was standing awkwardly beside Nat.

"See you when I do, my best friend." Aika whispered into Jamie's ear before giving her a quick hug. Aika felt bad about her hushed goodbye but she figured that it was for the better.

~

"Morning Steph! I brought you business today!" Aika greeted her Trainer as she and Nat entered the gym.

"Are you sure he needs training? His body looks better than mine!" Nat got shy at the compliment.

"Hi, I'm Nat, Aika's friend. Pleasure to meet you." Nat stretched his hand for a handshake. Steph exchanged looks with Aika, making Nat confused.

"I would love to be your trainer but I'm currently fully booked..." Steph sounded apologetic.

"Actually, is it okay with I workout alone? I'm good without a trainer for now!" Nat was definitely more than capable of playing around with the machines himself.

"That would be great! Help yourself to the equipment...after you register of course!" Steph joked.

"I'll see you afterwards?" Nat nodded at Aika's question. The gym was about one-third full and Nat decided to head to the free weights for a warm-up.

Since the weights section was lined with full-length mirrors, Nat could spot Aika's reflection at the machines. In between each set, he found himself being drawn to the small but powerful figure.

Stop staring at her, Nathaniel Lee. You look like a creep. Nat smacked his own cheek and turned his focus back to the weights.

After her session with Steph, Aika was looking around the gym for Nat when she spotted him by the machines where she was earlier. Nat was so engrossed that he didn't spot Aika behind him.

"Wow, Mr Muscleman indeed!" Nat was surprised to hear Aika's voice from behind that he misplaced the bar and it ended up hitting him on the head.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry...are you okay?" Aika felt sorry for scaring Nat.

"I feel more awake than ever...thanks, Aika." Nat joked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Are you sure you're fine? Aika handed Nat a bag of ice and sat down next to him.

"Hold it for him at least...that's the least you can do for injuring my new member." Steph gave his long-time friend a playful glare. Aika got up and took the ice pack from Nat, their hands touching in the process. An electric shock travelled both ways but neither of them let it show.

"I'm fine, really..." Nat locked eyes with Aika, who looked visibly worried and sorry at the same time.

"Say hi to Ma'am VP for me!" Steph reminded Aika as she and Nat headed out. They had freshened up and decided to go for breakfast. The sound of her mama's title made Aika's eyes shake a little...thankfully Nat didn't seem to notice.

"What are you craving?" Nat asked as they headed down the escalator.

"I'm not picky...you can pick." Nat spotted what seemed to be a Chinese restaurant in the corner and smiled.

"Is Chinese okay for you?" Nat pointed to the small restaurant and Aika smiled in response.

"I haven't had Chinese food in a while..." Nat looked at the breakfast menu excitedly. Other than Nat and Aika, there were only 3 other tables filled

"It's been a while since I've eaten traditional Chinese food too...How about you order?" Aika looked at the menu and was lost at what to order.

"How about dim sum? Or would porridge be better?" Since Aika couldn't decide, Nat ordered both for them to share.

"Are you Chinese? You don't look local." The lady serving their food asked Nat in Chinese.

"Yes, I'm from Singapore but I'm actually half Filipino. I can't speak the language though..." Nat was surprised but replied politely in Chinese. Aika stared as Nat had a short conversation with the lady.

"Wow, you sounded cool just now..." Aika gave Nat a thumbs up when the lady left.

"Well, my Chinese is actually pretty rusty..." Nat was embarrassed.

"Actually, I'm partially Chinese...my papa's grandfather is Chinese." Aika took off her mask as she smiled at the spread in front of her.

"I learn new things about you everyday...I feel like I should tell you something about me in return. Ask me something!" Nat asked as he placed a variety of the dim sum he had ordered on Aika's plate.

"Hmm...how about your childhood? You said you lived here till 4?" Aika and Nat had gotten to know each other during their morning runs but it usually centered around work and Nat's failed attempts at parenting. It was the first time they went personal.

"I did, but I don't remember anything about it..." Nat let out a soft sigh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...We could talk about something else if..." Aika felt guilty yet again.

"No, it's okay...I tried asking my dad about the time we spent in Philippines but everytime, he would fly in a rage. So I eventually gave up..." Nat shrugged. Time had made Nat numb to the topic.

"I'm guessing your father wasn't happy about you being here then?" Aika was cautious about her questions.

"You bet. Our relationship had never been the best anyways...I actually talk to my stepmother more than I do with my father. How ironic, isn't it?" Nat raised an eyebrow.

"I think it's a beautiful thing, the bond you have with your stepmother. You know, people used to ask me what I thought about my mama remarrying and sometimes, it just makes me miss my papa even more..." Aika didn't expect herself to get this vulnerable while talking about her papa, yet there was something about Nat that made her feel safe to do so.

"Your papa sounds like a great man. Mind telling me more about him?" Nat gave Aika a comforting pat on the shoulder. Aika spent the entire of breakfast telling Nat about her papa...The letters he wrote to her with so much love, the hugs and kisses that he showered on her no matter how old she got and even the last time she ever got to touch him.

"Wow...how I wish I had the honour to meet your papa. He sounds like the father I could never be to Jamie." Aika smiled at Nat's genuine words. It didn't sound like he was placating her at all.

"Sorry for the sudden change in mood..." Aika bit her lip apologetically.

"Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me all these. I think these are such beautiful memories that will stay with you forever. To be honest with you, I'm actually jealous. I don't know if I can even say that I miss my mama. It's like I can't even remember enough to miss something about her..." Nat pursed his lips as he looked into Aika's eyes. There was a common thread of longing nestled deep in both their eyes...

~

"Are you heading to your office now?" Nat nodded at Aika's question. It was almost time for him to head to his office for a meeting.

"How about you? If you're heading to your office, I can drop you off on the way." Nat offered.

"Aren't you going to be late for your meeting? You won't make it if I impose on you..." Aika shook her head. Nat looked at his watch and let out a tiny exclamation.

"You're right...I have to run. Sorry about that." As much as Nat wanted to stay a little longer, he couldn't.

"Don't sweat it. I'll see you soon?" Nat nodded as he turned to leave. After two steps, Nat did a quick u-turn and headed back to Aika, who was about to walk away.

"Just wanted to say that your papa would be very proud of you, Aika." Nat pulled Aika into a hug as he whispered to her. Aika stood frozen, trying to process Nat's actions and words. Before Aika could respond, Nat dashed off...not without muttering an embarrassed "sorry" to Aika.

As Aika stared at Nat's disappearing figure, she felt her heart beat erratically fast and face turn red. The more she tried to reason, the more she couldn't...

A/N:

Hello, out of respect for Sec. Jesse Robredo, I thought it would be a nice touch for Aika to share about her papa to Nat. Hope I managed to do it appropriately.

As usual, comments are always appreciated and feel free to reach out to me on twitter @softforjmgr!

Also, I realised that there was a glitch in this chapter and it got cut off but I restored it (25/8/22) already!