"Habibi?"
I open my eyes and see the only person that has ever hurt me so much to make me cry.
And that, without even lifting a finger.
"O, why are you crying again? Are you hurting somewhere?"
"Eric..."
I grab hold of him and pull him close.
We were both in bed, I am under the covers while he stayed by the side, nearly falling off the edge.
"Hey, wait a minute, drink your medicine first, your temperature's 38.7 degrees delicious, I've already wiped you down, it was 39.9 earlier."
I didn't let him go.
"Hey, idiot, let go and drink your medicine first!"
"No... you won't come back."
"That again? And where else am I supposed to go? I'm just trying to get your meds from the bedside table!"
I look at him.
He stared back at me with a frown.
I look at the bedside table where he had left the lamp open, and saw a glass and a pitcher of water on top of it. I slowly let go of him.
"`Yan, good boy, now sit up and take your medicine."
"Can you help me up?" I reach up my arms to him.
"Haay, okay, c'mere and –"
I embrace him as he picks me up.
"`Oy, are you really sick or are you just down right sexually harassing me?" he asked with a small laugh, but he didn't push me away. "Swallow this first."
He placed the medicine in my mouth and took the glass from the table. After drinking some water, he tried to put me to bed again.
"Lie down and go back to sleep."
I kept my hold on him and refused to budge.
"Habibi, go back to sleep!"
"Will you stay with me?"
"Do I have a choice?" he sighed and stroke my hair. "Go ahead and rest some more before your temperature rises again."
"Promise you won't leave?"
"How? When you wouldn't let go of me?" he sighed once more. "Go on, now, I'll stay right here beside you, okay? Now go to sleep."
"Okay."
I put my covers over us, pulled him close, and lay down on my bed again.
"Hey, wait a minute! Stop hugging me!" he complained.
I put my head on his chest, nuzzle him, take in his scent.
"Just why do you keep smelling me?" he mumbled as he ruffled my hair. "You omegas, really, you're so obsessed with scents! You are sensitive to pheromones and release pheromones that trigger alphas to release more pheromones that drive you crazy," he muttered on. "Even fated pairs smell unique scents from each other that connect them for life, whether they love one another or not."
He kept droning on, lulling me to sleep, as his hand gently stroke my hair.
"If I were you, I'd just get rid of the insula in my hippocampus to get rid of the problem. Then, I won't be bothered by scents anymore..."
I fell asleep listening to his rumblings.
I found myself wishing I would never get better and stay in his arms forever.
I woke up with the sun in my eyes.
I forgot to close the curtains again, but this time, I am in a different room, with a warm body next to mine.
It is my professor. The brilliant man I have crossed the seas to find.
I stare at the peaceful look on his face.
He is beautiful.
When he sleeps.
When his brows are relaxed, and his mouth, not constantly spouting curses.
I touch his thin eyelids and trail my finger down his cheek, caressing his soft lips. I wanted to touch him more. I wanted to do more than just touch. But as I was about to move closer, his cellphone alarm suddenly went off.
I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. I don't want to get up yet. In fact, this is the first time I felt like wanting to ditch work.
I heard Prof. Antonio moan and felt him shuffle in bed as he reached for his phone. I thought he was going back to sleep as he turned back and snuggled against me, when he suddenly sat up and cursed.
"Pak shet... pucha..." (fuck shit... bitch...)
I felt his hand on my forehead, then I felt him check my temperature with an ear thermometer.
Still, I pretended to sleep.
I heard him sigh then, and the soft beep of his cellphone as he dialed a number.
"Hello? Pedro? You in the office already?" he said in a soft voice. "I might be a bit late. Aahmes got a fever, just what did you do to my Habibi yesterday?"
A pause.
"His temperature is still at 39.1 degrees, I'll just give him some medicine before heading there."
Another pause.
"What do you mean 'stay at home'?" he tried to keep his voice down. "I was already absent yesterday, and look what happened to Aahmes. What more if the two of us ain't there?"
So, he plans to leave me.
"Just get everything ready and wait for me in the lab. I'll be there in an hour."
I heard the professor sigh as he ended the call, so as soon as he placed the phone down, I grab hold of his thin waste and held him tight.
"`Oy, what are you doing?" he said, rustling my hair. "I knew you were awake! Get up and drink your medicine."
"I still feel sick..." I mumbled.
"And that's why you need to drink your meds!"
I heard him pour some water and saw him preparing my medicine. Frankly, I had no idea the professor could be this caring.
"Now, put this in your mouth."
He held it in front of my face. I opened my mouth and took it from his fingers, sucking him slightly.
"What the... now you got spit all over my finger!"
He wiped his hand on his shirt.
I glare at him.
"Are you going to leave me?"
"What do you expect? It's the second day of the project that took us months in the making. Of course I need to attend it." He tried to pull my hand away. "Now, let go! I need to go to the office soon.'
"We did perfectly well yesterday without you," I said, holding him even tighter.
"Yeah, and now you're down with a fever!" he pushed at my arms.
"My fever is the result of staying in the bath for too long. It had nothing to do with work."
"More like, your body got weak due to over working, so a bath almost cost you your life!" he struggled against me. "Ugh, are you really sick? Why are you so strong?!"
"You're just much weaker than I am."
Prof. Antonio looked annoyed.
"Habibi, don't make me mad. I'm telling you, even if you're sick sight now, I'd still clobber you!"
"But... I don't want you to leave!"
I guess I was really sick, since my eyes started to leak again.
"`Oy, stop with the tears, already! That won't work on me this time!"
"I'm not crying!" I insisted, "I'm just... leaking."
"C'mon now... let me... go...!" he tried prying my fingers off his waist, but I wouldn't budge.
"No. Can't you just spoil me for just one day? I just want to spend more time with you!"
"More time? When we're basically together 24/7?! Aren't you sick and tired of me yet?"
"But yesterday..."
"What? I just left for a day and you turn crazy all of a sudden?"
"Yes. You should have spent your birthday with me. Not with those alphas!"
"What alphas are you talking abo–? You mean, Louie and Nat-Nat?"
"I can smell them all over you! And you said you didn't like them at all, but you were having so much fun in your pictures and you never once asked about the project or how we were doing or if we were having any trouble at all and didn't even bother to say when you plan to return and you didn't even bring home some cake!"
I pouted at him.
In my whole life, I have never nagged about something this trivial to anybody. In fact, I have never nagged anyone about anything at all.
I was brought up by my mother to listen to authority and to keep my personal thoughts to myself.
I never really cared.
Work is work, and beyond work, there is nothing else.
I have no hobbies, no passion for anything other than what I do for a living. If I fail at something, then I will come up with a different approach to solve it. If I can't obtain something, then I will move on to the next item on my list.
But Prof. Antonio is different.
I can't understand him, even after obtaining a doctorate in psychiatry and three other fields of study.
I can't let him go, no matter how much he tries to push me away, and I can't help but want him more, even if he's such a disgusting paranoid slob who thinks that no one is as good as his 10 year old niece.
I just want him to be with me.
Right now.
"Haay, nako Habibi..." he sighed.
He finally stopped trying to pull my arms off and took his cellphone from the bedside table.
"Hello, Pedro?" he sounded annoyed. "Can you take care of stuff over there on your own?"
I felt myself grinning.
"Habibi won't let me leave, said he'd die if I left him home alone," he exaggerated. "Can you stream the whole event instead?" a pause. "Good, just make sure you get everything ready on time and conduct it flawlessly, or else, I'll hang you and Habibi by your ankles from the 70th floor! Did you get that?!"
He scowled at me while patting my head.
"Okay, keep me updated, and I want to see all the activities, got that? Now get ready and tag me on the live stream so I can watch it with my Habibi."