"Hey, why are you sleeping outside?" Aika was surprised to see Nat on the couch.

"Aika? What time is it..." Nat stirred and squinted his eyes, smiling when he recognised the face in front of him.

"Close to 12am. I thought I told you not to wait for me..." Aika whispered as she sat next to Nat. She had came straight from the office after spending the evening helping her mama. Nat wanted to pick her up but Aika assured him there was no need since VP Leni had dropped her on the way home.

"You know I would anyways...Are you hungry? Have you had dinner?" Nat was about to get up but Aika held onto his arm, stopping him halfway.

"I'm not hungry...Just a little sleepy..." Aika muttered as she found a comfy position to lean onto Nat. She loved the warmth radiating from his body. It was just so assuring.

"Rest then...You've worked hard today. You deserve the rest." Nat pressed a soft kiss on Aika's forehead as he wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her close. He knew how hard Aika was working to help VP Leni, all while juggling her own responsibilities.

"Sorry...we were supposed to spend time together..." Aika apologised. Friday nights were supposed to be date nights with Nat but time just wasn't on her side.

"Shhh, no need to say sorry. We're spending time together now, aren't we?" Nat covered Aika's body with the blanket he had on the couch.

"Can you sing me a song?" Aika requested without opening her eyes.

"Anything for you, my sunshine..." Nat smiled. He was usually the clingy one, but Aika being clingy was a first in their 7 months of dating.

Matang magkakilala

Sa unang pagtagpo

Paano dahan-dahang

Sinuyo ang puso?

"You surprise me everyday..." Aika was amazed that Nat knew the lyrics.

Mahiwaga

Pipiliin ka sa araw-araw

Mahiwaga

Ang nadarama sa 'yo'y malinaw

Despite her exhaustion, Aika found herself singing the second verse.

Higit pa sa ligaya

Hatid sa damdamin

Lahat naunawaan

Sa lalim ng tingin

Nat continued on until he reached the bridge.

Sa minsang pagbali ng hangin

Hinila patungo sa akin

Tanging ika'y iibiging wagas at buo

Aika chimed in again.

Payapa sa yakap ng iyong hiwaga

Payapa sa yakap ng iyong...

Nat took a deep breath before the final verse.

Mahiwaga

'Wag nang mawala araw-araw

Mahiwaga

Pipiliin ka araw-araw

"You're my mahiwaga, Jessica Marie." Nat confessed as he ended.

"Hmmm..." Aika muttered something inaudible, making Nat chuckle.

"Come on, let's get you to bed..." Nat gently lifted Aika into his embrace and carried her into his bedroom. Laying Aika down softly, Nat was careful not to wake her up.

"Sweet dreams, love." Nat kissed Aika's lips and smiled as she instinctively snuggled close to him.

~

"Good morning, sunshine." Aika heard the moment she woke up. Nat was already up and staring at her, as usual.

"What time is it?" Aika asked groggily.

"7.15am." Nat smiled as he answered. Aika let out an exclamation. It was way later than her usual waking time.

"I must have been exhausted..." Aika pursed her lips together, remembering how packed her week was.

"You sure were. To be honest though, you were adorable last night." Nat chuckled.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Aika was confused.

"You asked me to sing you a song as you fell asleep, don't you remember?" Nat was amused.

"Oh that? How was it supposed to be cute?" Aika raised an eyebrow.

"It was. To me at least?" Nat shrugged.

"You're mad." Aika scoffed.

"Yeah, madly in love with you." Nat retorted.

"I'm letting you off in exchange for the serenade yesterday." Aika squished Nat's cheeks together, his mouth forming an 'o'.

"We have 15 minutes before Jamie wakes up." Nat looked at his phone before turning back to Aika.

"Ok....and?" Aika teased. Nat took Aika's hands into his as he leaned in.

"I missed you..." Nat whispered with his low voice, making Aika's heart skip a beat.

"I missed you too." Aika confessed as she closed the remaining gap between their lips. Both of them knew how much they missed the taste of each other's lips and the way the other party's touches sent electric shocks all over their skin.

After pulling apart from a long kiss, Nat peppered pecks all over Aika's face before making his way down. Planting soft kisses on her neck, Nat found himself stopping at the side of Aika's neck. He heard Aika let out a surprised yelp. He knew he should stop but his irrational side took over for 3 seconds and ended up leaving a mark. In bid to control himself, Nat closed his eyes as he pulled back.

"Sorry, love...I shouldn't have." Nat apologised, afraid that he had made Aika uncomfortable.

"Shouldn't have what? That was a yelp of surprise, not discomfort. Not going to lie though, you almost got me there." Aika cupped Nat's cheeks and planted a kiss on his lips to assure him that she wasn't angry or anything.

"Since you almost fell for it, can I tempt you again then?" Nat smirked as he leaned in.

"Jamie's going to burst into the room any minute..." Aika pushed her finger against Nat's lips.

"But we still have 5 minutes..." Nat protested.

"5 minutes to think about how you're going to explain this to your 4 year-old daughter..." Aika pointed to the mark on her neck that Nat made earlier.

"Uh...right. Let's just pray that she doesn't notice it..." Nat bit his lips in embarrassment.

"NINANG! " A boisterous voice reverberated through the house, making Nat and Aika burst out in laughter.

"You have from now till the time I step outside to pray." Aika deadpanned as she pried herself out of Nat's embrace and headed outside, leaving Nat to mutter a soft prayer before trailing behind.

~

"I heard that someone started Chinese lessons since the last time I saw her?" Aika asked as they were having breakfast.

"She hasn't spoken much Chinese ever since we came here...so I figured that she could use some extra help." Nat sighed. Back in Singapore, Jamie's kindergarten had daily Chinese lessons but her school here was fully in English.

"How are you liking it? Can you teach me something in Chinese?" Aika placed a sausage on Jamie's plate.

"My laoshi (teacher) is pretty fun. We learnt how to introduce our family in class yesterday! wo you yi ge hen ai wo de ninang, wo ye hen ai ninang!" Jamie spoke a sentence in Chinese. Nat gave Jamie a thumbs up.

"I suppose its about me since I heard ninang?" Aika was lost.

"It means, I have a ninang who loves me a lot and I love her a lot too!" Jamie translated the sentence for Aika, who felt her heart melt into a puddle.

"wo ai ni too, sweetie" Aika opened her arms as Jamie leaped onto her lap.

"Who do you like better? Me or ninang?" Nat asked Jamie in Chinese.

"I'm not telling you!" Jamie shrugged as she replied Nat in Chinese.

"Daddy asked who I liked better. Don't tell him I said this but I like both you you equally!" Jamie turned to a confused Aika and whispered.

"I'm guessing it's another secret between you two?" Nat was used to this girl talk between Aika and Jamie.

"Ninang, can you tell Daddy that I don't want to go out tomorrow?" Jamie and Aika were on the couch. They were reading a book while Nat answered an urgent work call.

"Tomorrow? Oh, you're meeting Ms Carlos right?" Aika remembered. Nat and Aly had came to an agreement that she could see Jamie every Sunday, with Nat around of course.

"Yeah...but I don't want to..." Jamie put down the book and turned to face Aika.

"What's wrong, sweetie? Do you not like spending time with Ms Carlos?" Aika was worried upon seeing Jamie pout.

"I...don't know. I feel weird when I meet Auntie Aly..." Jamie pursed her lips, unsure of what she was feeling.

"Do you have fun playing with Auntie Aly? Do you like having her around?" Aika asked carefully.

"I do like playing with her and spending time with her...but something just feels weird. And I don't know why..." Jamie sighed. This was a lot for a 4 year old to process.

"Different in what sense?" Aika sweeped Jamie's bangs to one side.

"Whenever Auntie Aly hugs me, my heart feels weird...it's tickles." Jamie furrowed her eyebrows.

"Is it a good or a bad tickle?" Aika stroked Jamie's cheeks.

"I think it's a good tickle. Somewhat like when you and Daddy hug me but not at the same level..." Jamie tried to recall the tingling feeling.

"You like it when Daddy and I hug you right? So maybe that's your heart telling you that it likes Auntie Aly too?" Aika tried to rationalise with Jamie.

"You think so? Can I like Auntie Aly?" Jamie played with her fingers.

"I'm not 100% sure but I suppose so? And of course you can like Auntie Aly! Why would you think otherwise?" Aika smiled warmly at Jamie.

"Because Daddy doesn't seem to like Auntie Aly...and I don't want Daddy to be sad because I like Auntie Aly." Jamie confessed.

"Hey sweetie, can I say something?" Aika waited for Jamie to nod.

"Daddy's not going to sad because you like Auntie Aly. He's your Daddy and no matter your feelings towards Auntie Aly, it doesn't change the love you have for him, right?" Aika explained slowly.

"Uh huh. So I can like Auntie Aly even though Daddy doesn't really like her?" Jamie questioned.

"Yes, you can. I can't speak for your Daddy about whether he likes or dislikes Auntie Aly, but sometimes, there are relationships that you have to maintain regardless of your personal feelings." Aika hoped that she wasn't confusing Jamie.

"And Daddy is maintaining a relationship with Auntie Aly because of me? Because he loves me?" Jamie seemed to be getting Aika's point.

"And probably because he thinks that you having a relationship with Auntie Aly will be good for you. If you like being with Auntie Aly, Daddy will never stop you from being close to her." Aika wanted Jamie to know that she had the choice to decide what she wanted.

"I think we can go out tomorrow. Auntie Aly said she was going to show me something fun last week." Jamie spoke after thinking.

"Great. I'm sure you'll have fun with Daddy and Auntie Aly tomorrow, sweetie." Aika kissed Jamie's forehead and gave her a big hug.

"Ninang, can I say something else?" Jamie looked at Aika.

"Of course you can!" Aika assured her.

"I still like you better than Auntie Aly! I love your hugs and kisses more. I love spending time with you more. I just love everything about you more." Jamie wrapped her arms around Aika's neck.

"Aww, I love you loads too, sweetie. But just remember that loving someone isn't a race or a competition and that our heart is actually more spacious than we think it is." Aika didn't want Jamie to think that she could only love either Aly or her.

"Yes Ma'am!" Jamie saluted.

"Not sure what's happening but I'm finally done and I think it's time for a tickle fight!" Nat came out of the study just in time.

Wriggling his fingers, Nat reached for Jamie's side and started tickling her.

"Ninang, help!" Jamie called for backup. All it took was seconds for Nat, Aika and Jamie to be tangled up on the couch, laughter heard from all three of them.

"Okay, okay! I surrender!" Nat raised his hands in defeat. Panting and catching their breaths, the trio lay on the couch, with Aika on Nat and Jamie on Aika. Happiness was sometimes just as simple as laughing with the people you love.

Sorry for the long break, author here had COVID🙃

Hope this chapter was worth the break!