Are you free for dinner tonight?

I am but I have company tonight...

Oh, is something wrong? Are you ok?

Just some security scares recently...but I'm fine

I'm assuming there's no way for us to meet outside alone then?

Would be tough...

What if you came over? If you're comfortable, of course.

Let me check with them...

Your safety comes first.

While waiting for Aika's reply, Nat did a quick Google search and frowned. Maybe he shouldn't have asked.

It's an okay but they'll need to do a quick check before...

By all means. Can I fetch you from work?

I'll be waiting.

Won't need to, I promise.

10 minutes to 6, Nat signalled for his personal assistant to knock off and immediately headed for the carpark himself.

Nat got out of the car and headed up to Aika's office. He immediately spotted Aika's personal security detail outside the office and greeted her while handing her a drink. 

"Thank you for protecting Aika." Nat gave her a tiny bow as she let him pass. Nat greeted a few of Aika's colleagues as he passed by, Aika had introduced him to them previously.

"Knock knock." Nat peeked into Aika's open room as he knocked on the glass door. 

"Who's there?" Aika recognised the voice and looked up, smiling when she confirmed that it was Nat.

"Nathaniel Lee." Nat couldn't think of anything.

"Wow, you suck." Aika chuckled as she grabbed her things and walked towards Nat. Nat offered to carry one of Aika's bags and she naturally handed it over to him. 

"Have fun on your date with your boyfriend, Director!" One of Aika's colleagues called out teasingly as Aika and Nat walked out. Aika shot her a joking glare while Nat just blushed. 

"Ate, I'll go with Nat's car if it's okay?" Aika carefully asked her security detail.

"Mr Lee, we'll just need your cooperation to do a quick check of your house later." Nat nodded obediently.

Reaching the car, Nat placed Aika's things in the backseat with his and got into the car, where Aika was already buckled.

"They'll be following behind." Aika glanced to the black sedan behind Nat's Mercedes GLE.

"I hope I'm not making things difficult for everyone?" Nat but his lip as he drove off, the sedan following.

"It happens here and there, about once or twice a year over the last 5 years. It'd be back to normal soon, I hope." Aika sighed as she leaned back into the seat.

"Are Ma'am, Tricia and Jillian doing ok? Especially Ma'am. The news didn't sound too good." Nat had read about the threats made to the OVP recently and was worried.

"Security got even tighter for mama but other than that, she's doing great as usual. The hospital is a pretty safe space for Patty, Jill is coping well too." Aika bit her lip ever so slightly.

"Must be tough at times..." Nat gave Aika a warm smile. Nat wanted to hold her hand but he stopped himself.

"Some things have to be done. I'm proud of mama." Aika knew that her mama was working hard to the country they loved.

~

"Sir, excuse us for a second." Aika's security team entered Nat's apartment and did a quick sweep. Aika, Nat, Jamie and her nanny were standing outside with Aika's personal detail.

"All's clear, Ma'am Aika. We will be on standby." Aika nodded and thanked the team leader as they took their leave. They had agreed to wait downstairs for Aika.

"Tita Aika, who were those cool people?" Jamie reached out to Aika for a hug. Aika picked Jamie up and gave her a tight squeeze.

"They protect me and my family. They are amazing people." Aika let Jamie down as the girl nodded thoughtfully.

"Nice to meet you, po. I am Aika Robredo, Nat's friend." Aika greeted Jamie's nanny respectfully.

"Nat, why didn't you tell me that you were bringing your girlfriend home? I would have cooked something!" The older lady smacked Nat on the arm, shocked that the eldest daughter of the VP was in front of her.

"Sorry...it was a last minute decision. Plus I didn't want to bother you..." Nat laughed nervously at the word girlfriend.

"Rubbish! I'll be glad to cook for you, Jamie and Ms Robredo here..." The nanny gave Nat another side eye.

"Call me Aika, po. I'll love to try your cooking next time." Aika's words made the older lady beam.

"See Nat, even your girlfriend says so. Next time you better tell me." Nat pouted. Aika had taken over him in the nanny's ranks within 5 minutes of them meeting.

"Yes, ma'am. I will make sure to do that." Nat gave the nanny a playful salute as she grabbed her bags and made her way out. She knew that Nat and Aika would need the privacy.

"Siya ay isang mabuting tao, Nat is a good boy and I think you're prefect for him." Before she left, the nanny whispered to Aika, making the latter blush.

"I think so too, po." Aika agreed. She bowed again as the nanny disappeared into the lift.

"What did you guys talk about? Where you gossiping about me?" Nat raised an eyebrow.

"Not everything revolves around you, Nat." Aika rolled her eyes as she turned her focus to Jamie.

"Tita Aika, I'm hungry..." Jamie pouted as she pulled Aika towards the kitchen.

"May I?" Aika held the fridge door as she asked Nat for permission.

"Anytime." Nat grinned.

"How about tomato spaghetti, stir-fried chicken and a salad?" Aika grabbed the ingredients out of the fridge as Nat closed the door behind her.

"Can I help?" Jamie pulled her special stool from the side and climbed up.

"Of course you can, sweetie." Jamie was now in between Nat and Aika.

"Wow, your knife skills are no joke..." Aika's was surprised by how skilled Nat was with the knife.

"You are not bad yourself. I mean, I knew from the food last time already but..." Nat returned the compliment.

"Tita Aika can you help me with this?" Jamie held out a tomato and her child-safe knife. Aika went behind Jamie and covered her hand over Jamie's, helping her patiently.

"Smile!" Nat couldn't help but take a picture of the two being adorable. Aika bent down so her face was next to Jamie's and both of them gave Nat a huge smile.

"Jamie, can you help me set the table?" Nat handed Jamie 3 sets of cutlery.

"Okay!" Jamie grabbed both the cutlery and Aika's hand. Nat starred as Aika got dragged outside the kitchen.

Nat set the food down and took his seat. Since the table was round, each of them were next to each other.

"Let's eat!" Jamie cheered as she took a spoonful of the pasta. Nat and Aika laughed at the pasta sauce around her mouth. Aika grabbed a tissue and wiped it off.

"Here, eat more." Nat piled meat and salad on Aika's plate. The dinning table at Nat's house had never been this happy, something about tonight was just different.

After dinner, they sat on the floor with a game of Monopoly. Jamie and Aika were against Nat.

"Hey! This isn't fair!" Nat was losing horribly to the girls.

"The expert does not blame his tools." Aika gave Jamie a hi-five. After 2 more rounds, Nat raised the white flag.

"Time for bed, Princess." Nat came out of the kitchen with a warm glass of milk. Jamie and Aika were on the sofa, Aika reading a storybook to her.

"But I want to stay up with tita Aika!" Jamie looked at Nat and Aika with her best puppy eyes but she had school tomorrow and Nat wasn't having it.

"How about I tuck you into bed?" Aika grabbed the glass of milk from Nat's hand and allowed Jamie to bring her into the bedroom.

"Hmph, it's unfair how Daddy gets to spend more time with you then I do..." Jamie was lying in bed with Aika sitting beside her.

"I'll visit more often if you miss me." Aika covered Jamie with the blanket.

"Promise?" Jamie held out her pinky.

"Promise, my best friend." Aika wrapped her pinky around Jamie's.

The entire time, Jamie had held onto Aika's hand and didn't let go. Even after Jamie drifted off to sleep, her grip on Aika was tight. Aika had to carefully extract her hand so as to not wake Jamie up.

"Good night, Princess." Nat bent down and gave Jamie a kiss on the forehead before he and Aika headed outside.

"Sorry about that, she gets a little clingy at times." Nat closed the door behind him.

"It's okay, I understand." Aika spotted two glasses of red wine on the dining table. Nat grinned as he handed one to her, Aika happily accepting it.

"There was once she asked me why grandma was the one tucking her in bed while her other friends had their mummies doing it. She was tearing up but I didn't know what to say...felt like a horrible failure of a father that night." Nat took a seat on the sofa and Aika joined him.

"Don't say that...it's not your fault..." Aika placed her hand on Nat's to comfort him.

"I love her with everything I have but it seems like I can never make up for that gap..." Nat took a sip of the wine.

"Mind if I ask where Jamie's mother is?" Aika realised that they have never talked about it.

"That's something I don't know too..." Nat sighed.

"You don't know where she is? When did you last see her?" Aika was confused.

"Aly and I dated for 1 year when I was in my last year of college. She broke up with me, disappeared and then turned up with Jamie after 8 months. She handed Jamie to me, saying that I was the father. She got up, left and never came back. I sat in the cafe with Jamie in my arms for hours waiting..." Nat recalled the first time he saw Jamie.

"You never heard from her in the past 4 years?" Aika furrowed her eyebrows.

"Not at all. I tried looking everywhere for her in Singapore but no one had any leads. A friend had told me months ago that he heard Aly was back in the Philippines...so here I am." Nat had thought hard before he made the decisions a few months ago.

"She's Filipino? Any luck so far?" Aika was surprised.

"Yeah...I've been hitting dead ends though...Or maybe I'm just not searching hard enough because I'm scared." Nat's voice was quivering.

"It's okay..." Aika put down her glass and pulled Nat into a comforting hug. Nat's hands slowly wrapped around Aika and soon, he shed a tear.

"I'm just afraid to give Jamie hope and then dash it if Aly decides not to come back. Even if she does, I don't know what to do..." Nat confessed, still in Aika's arms.

"Do you still love her?" Nat pulled apart immediately at Aika's question.

"No, I don't. We're over. My heart belongs to someone else now." Nat starred at Aika, who blinked in confusion.

"Oh, I didn't know you had a partner..." Aika was lost for words...Did Nat not think of her the same way?

"It's you. My heart belongs to you, Aika." Nat didn't know if it was the alcohol or his rashness that made him confess.

"I think you're drunk..." Aika was both relieved yet scared.

"I'm not. I'm serious. I like...no, I love you, Aika Robredo. I love being with you, I love the way you smile, the way you think, the way you do everything. My heart beats erratically when I'm with you, I look forward to seeing you and I get worried as heck when you tell me that you are in danger. I've never been more sure." Nat carefully held Aika's hand.

"Nat...I..." Aika was trying to find the right words.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." Nat hastily apologised but was cut off by Aika's lips on his.

Nat's eyes widened but he slowly closed his eyes, letting his emotions guide him. Aika's lips tasted like cotton candy...soft, sweet and leaving him wanting more. They pulled apart unwillingly when both of then ran short of breath, smiles slowly forming on their faces. 

"This is my answer to you." Aika let her palms rest on Nat's cheeks. She could feel the heat radiating from his cheeks. 

"You mean..." Nat was still in disbelief. 

"Yes, I love you. I think about you, my heart beats faster when I'm with you and I want to be with you too." Aika's hands could feel Nat's cheek getting hotter, making her giggle. 

"Even though I'm a single father? And loving me comes with lots of uncertainty?" Loving somebody was one thing, circumstances were another. 

"Yes." At Aika's confirmation, Nat swoped in for another kiss. A short but impactful one. 

"So what does this make us?" Defining the relationship was always difficult. 

"What do you want us to be?" Nat sucked his breath at Aika's question. 

"Can I be honest with you?" Nat spoke after a brief pause. 

"Always." Aika smiled. 

"I don't want to tie you down just yet. It's not fair to you. There's a lot at stake for you and the last thing I ever want is to hurt you." Nat caressed Aika's cheek. Both Nat and Aika knew that love wasn't enough. For one, Nat wasn't sure how long he was going to stay in the Philippines. Second, Jamie would always be his priority. Third, Aika wasn't just anybody. And who knows how many more challenges stood in their way...

"So if I say no, will you leave?" Aika didn't know what answer she wanted from Nat either. 

"If you say no, I will respect your decision. But one thing that will never change is the fact that I love you and I want nothing more than for you to be happy and safe." Nat kissed Aika's hand. 

"Let's give us a shot. I don't know where we'll end up but I don't want to regret not giving us a chance just because of what the world has thrown at us. We'll take it one step at a time, you and me, together." Aika looked into Nat's eyes with resolution. 

"One step at a time, with you by my side. I like that." Nat leaned in and pressed a soft peck on Aika's forehead, cheeks and finally lips. 

"Not as the daughter of the Vice President of Philippines nor the single father but as Aika Robredo and Nathaniel Lee." Aika wrapped her hands around Nat's neck as he wrapped his hands around her waist. Both had lost count of the number of times they had kissed but neither of them cared. 

"Do you have to go?" Nat was holding onto Aika as she grabbed her things. It was close to the temporary curfew that the security team had set for the family. 

"Yes, I do. The team can't rest if I don't go home." Aika pried her way out of Nat's grip. 

"I would love to walk you down but I can't leave Jamie here alone..." Nat let out a tiny pout. 

"Aren't you being a little too clingy for someone with so many reservations?" Aika chuckled. 

"It's your fault that I'm like this." Nat retorted.

"Excuse me? How is it my fault?" Aika rolled her eyes as she put on her shoes. 

"You're too attractive." Nat handed Aika's bags to her as he unlocked the door. 

"Sorry not sorry." Aika tiptoed and gave Nat a peck. 

"Good night. I'll miss you." Nat stared at Aika as she left.

"I'll text you when I reach." Aika waved as she entered the lift. Nat waited till the lift reached the carpark before he raced to the windows, waiting until he spotted the black sedan leaving the complex. 

~

Text me when you reach. Just want to you know that you're safe.

I'm home:)

I miss you already

Isn't it a bit too fast to miss me? 

Then again, you're always on my mind so I technically don't miss you.

That's warped logic.

I know.

I'm going to bed. You're too cheesy. 

I'll see you in my dreams. 

I never said I'll appear. 

mahal kita <3 

mahal din kita <3

A/N: 

All aboard the Nat Comments welcome and appreciated :)