Risa spent her life waiting for her turn with Leni, though she spent it that way unknowingly.

She waited for her turn to kiss her cheek, congratulate her, and take a picture with her during her inauguration as Vice President. She waited for her turn to bump fists, or for quick hugs as a way to say hello during the 2016 and 2022 campaigns. She waited until Leni was done greeting everyone and she's the only one left. They would always hug briefly but it was more than enough.

Or more than both of them could ever say.

Whatever they had at that time, or since the years prior to that, was special. Risa knew that much. But it wasn't until later that she realized it meant so much more than what it initially did.

Like Leni, Risa found her comfort and solace in their relationship. She found it in Leni herself. Her distant looks filled with adoration, her silent assurance through touches, and her words that were short but what she wanted to say perfectly encapsulated everything you needed to hear. She was always a woman of few words.

Looking back at it now, she thought, "How was it that I never thought that there could be something more to us?"

Risa spent her life waiting for her turn with Leni unknowingly. Now she's here, finding herself fidgeting nervously inside the Office of the President as she waited for Leni's phone call to end. How she loved spending time with Leni, both platonically and...well, you know. She wished they could spend time romantically.

She sighed and scolded herself, muttering, "Happy crush lang pero wala pa nga kayong pinag-uusapan kilig na kilig ka na."

Leni returned to the room, her attention now fully on Risa. "Sorry, that took longer than expected."

"It's okay, is everything alright?" She asked, voice laced with concern.

"Oo naman. Nandito ka na eh."

"Nako, 'wag ka ganyan," Risa thought to herself as a blush formed on her cheeks. "Mahina ang kalaban mo, Maria Leonor, baka tumili ako dito."

"Ikaw ha, baka mamaya ma-fall ako sa'yo." She said, jokingly. Though of course there's already some truth to that.

"Edi ma-fall ka," Leni smiled at her sincerely and Risa could swear that she almost melted, "Handa naman akong saluhin ka eh."

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Risa spent her life waiting for her turn with Leni unknowingly. Now, here she was waiting for Leni to fix the microphone before stating her vows.

"Wait lang po ha," Leni laughed, her eyes crinkled as she fixed the microphone. The intimate crowd joined in the laughter. Risa stared at her wife who was clad in white. "How lucky am I to be with a woman like you?" She thought.

"Ayan, okay na." Her wife's voice echoed inside the huge dining hall. Leni cleared her throat and faced Risa, their eyes meeting. Immediately, the younger woman is reminded of that time she had a boy-meets-girl moment, like those in movies, when they bumped into each other at the mall. She's definitely having another moment like that now.

"To my dearest Ana Theresia..."

Risa listened to Leni's vows, her emotions overwhelming her. Tears sprung in her eyes as Leni narrated the fight that they had before her proposal, and then she laughed as Leni recounted the instances they tiptoed around each other kasi masyado silang torpe para aminin 'yung nararamdaman nila. She cowered in embarrassment as her now wife poked fun at her jealous moments.

"Risa 'mambabakod' Hontiveros ata pangalan niyang asawa mo!" Trilly joked from the crowd.

"Hindi niyo lang alam, 'yung S sa pangalan nyan, selosa talaga meaning no'n kaya nga maraming S eh. Sobrang selosa kasi." Kiko joined in.

"Kay Risa Hontiveros, walang nerbyos pero si Madame President na mismo ninenerbyos sa pambabakod niya," Chel remarked. The crowd howled in laughter with their comments and the newly-married couple couldn't help but smile. They were truly lucky that they had friends that wholeheartedly support them.

Leni went on, talking about how duty always came first to the both of them. She thanked Risa for a lot of things, apologized to her for a lot of things, and then came the part where she wanted to promise her the only thing that she could offer her wife.

"I promise to love you as much as I can. There will be days where I won't feel as okay and I can't give you the same love I've given you the days before that. I'll have my own bad days just as much as I have good ones. I try to love you with everything that I have, whether it's a hundred percent, or fifty, or maybe even just five. Kasi ikaw na rin mismo nagsabi, we can't be whole all the time.

I promise to love you differently para hindi ka magsawa sa'kin. Though, I know you'll never get tired of me. Some days, you like being cooked for, some days you don't kasi you'd much rather be the one doing it. Even when I feel silly, I promise to dance around the kitchen with you. On the days that our kids make fun of us, I promise to be on your side and make fun of them in return for you.

I promise to love you as much as I can love you. I'll love you with every part of myself that could offer love to you on that day and at that time. As I promise to be with you for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death do us part, I also promise to love you as much as I can.

However much I can."

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Risa spent her life waiting for her turn with Leni unknowingly. Now she was waiting for her again, and she's getting impatient.

"Ang tagal mo!" She whined from their living room.

"Ngayon lang kita pinaghintay." Leni answered calmly.

"Ilan bang UP shirts ang mayro'n ka at ang tagal mong maghanap?"

"Tatlo."

"Tatlo lang pala, edi pick one and let's go. Kahit naman alin suotin mo dyan, naka-UP shirt ka pa rin."

"At least hindi ako mukhang magsiswimming." Leni teased, finally stepping out of the room fully dressed and ready to leave.

"Hala, payag ka no'n, Mama Ris, magsiswimming ka daw." Aika taunted from the other side of the living room. "Sabi po pala nila Issa, they're on their way na raw po doon."

"Buti naman, tara alis na tayo. Tricia, Jillian, let's go!" Leni called out.

The five of them made their way to the car para pumunta sa MOA arena. It was the finals game of UP vs Ateneo and being the competitive people the Hontiveros-Robredo family were, they wouldn't let this opportunity pass by.

Lalo na't si Leni lang naman ang hindi sa Ateneo grumaduate.

"Pa'no ba 'yan, Ma. 6 kami from Ateneo, ikaw lang UP, tapos 'yung dalawang bunso natin hindi counted kaya wala kang kasama mag-cheer sa team mo."

"Pinilit pa nga kami ni Mama to cheer for UP kaya kami naka-maroon." Jillian revealed.

"Madaya ka! Naghahanap ka ng kakampi." Risa scolded Leni who only laughed in reply.

They finally arrived and the rest of their kids went to greet them. "Ready na ba matalo 'yang UP mo, Mama Leni?" Kiko joked.

"Baka kayo ang ready na matalo," Leni remarked.

Risa looked at her family, swiping jokes at each other, and simply interacting. Her heart clenched in her chest feeling so full it could burst at any point. Soft fingers interlaced with her hand, "Are you okay?" Leni asked her.

"Yeah. I just feel so happy."

"Good..."

Leni kissed her temple and then smirked, "Mamaya iiyak ka na kasi talo 'yang Ateneo mo!"

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Risa spent her life waiting for her turn with Leni unknowingly. Now she's waiting for Leni who was in the kitchen, pouring them a glass of wine.

It was Christmas and the Hontiveros-Robredo family sat in the living room, exchanging stories and gifts. This was the 5th Christmas they spent together and perhaps what made it all the more special were the rings on Leni's and Risa's fingers.

"What if we sing?" Kiko asked.

"Ay oo, kuya!" Jillian replied, excitedly. "But wait..."

"What is it, Jill?" Tricia asked.

"I've never heard Mama play the piano while Tita Ris sang, diba Sints?"

"Oh, yeah. Napag-usapan natin 'yun kahapon." Sinta turned to her mom and said, "Ma, can you sing for us while Mama Leni plays the piano?"

The couple exchanged a look and laughed. For their children, they'd do anything. So they did.

"Ma, ano ba 'yan!" Aika complained while the rest of the children laughed and groaned as they heard the keys begin to be played.

"Bakit? Wala naman kayong specific na pinatugtog." Leni shrugged.

"Eh kahit na! Minsan nga lang natin gawin 'to tapos sa lahat ng pwedeng tugtugin, Jingle Bells pa talaga?"

Risa chuckled and wrapped Aika in a side hug. "Ito na, we'll sing something serious for you."

"Ano'ng we? Ikaw lang, Ga. Lasing lang pwedeng makarinig sa kanta ko."

"Speaking of lasing lang pwedeng makarinig sa kanta mo," Risa smirked evilly and Leni flashed her a warning look as if daring her to continue. "Have I told you guys about the time na kinanta ni Leni 'yung Classmate by Hambog ng Sagpro?"

Excited squeals erupted in the living room as everyone egged Risa to tell the story. Leni could do nothing but hide her face in her hands in humiliation.

------------------

Risa spent her life waiting for her turn with Leni unknowingly. Now she's waiting for Leni to wake up beside her.

Unlike the usual Sundays they'd spend as a family, their kids were out with their own things to do. So the couple had the day to themselves. Risa stared at her wife's sleeping figure and she realized that she couldn't wait any longer. She left feather-light kisses on her shoulder and Leni turned around sleepily to face her.

"Good morning, my Pangga," Risa greeted.

"Hi."

"It's Sunday. Simba tayo?"

Leni nodded in reply and Risa kissed her forehead. "Nothing beats the feeling of waking up next to her," she thought.

They went out to attend Mass but made their way home immediately afterwards. It was a lazy day and they'd much rather spend it in bed, tangled in each other's arms. The pair stood in the kitchen, cooking their lunch. It's become quite a routine to them — cooking together, doing household chores together, working together. Almost everything they do now, they do together.

"Ga," Risa called her wife's attention and wrapped her slender arms around her waist.

"Hmm?"

"Diba 'yung homily kanina, sabi no'ng pari, commit to the Lord whatever you do."

"Oo. Bakit?"

"Edi icocommit ko kay Lord na mamahalin kita habang-buhay."

Leni stopped what she was doing as her cheeks blushed brightly. She tapped Risa's arm, finding it difficult to form coherent sentences. In her mind, Leni felt her heart race and she thought, "Tanggal angas ko do'n ah."

"Oh, kilig ka 'no." Risa teased, pinching Leni's sides. She squirmed under the younger woman's touch, feeling ticklish. "Aminin mo."

"Oo na, kinilig na. Bakit kailangan pa mangiliti."

"Gusto ko lang. I love your curves."

Risa left a kiss on her wife's cheek and continued to watch her cook, swaying their bodies side by side. "Taste this na," Leni lifted a spoonful up to her lips. She groaned as she tasted the food that instantly melted on her tongue.

"Ang sarap talaga ng luto mo, Ga." She said, releasing Leni from her grasp and going out of the kitchen to set the table a little too excitedly.

"Happy ka naman sa luto ko?" Leni asked, peeking from inside the kitchen to the dining room.

"Happy!"

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Risa spent her life waiting for her turn with Leni unknowingly. Now, she didn't have to wait anymore. Neither of them had to wait anymore.

What started out as a little detail she happened to notice brought her to where she was now — across the woman she's been in love for longer than she thought she did, eating dinner on a Saturday night, free from all the chains that life held them captive in the past.

And she remembered.

She remembered how she's dreamt of tonight for so long, how she cried for it, yearned for it, even almost lost her mind for it.. Like always, she admired her wife's features, now illuminated by the warm light.

"Ang ganda," she thought.

"Baka matunaw na ako kakatitig mo dyan," her wife's voice brought her out of her trance, eyes dancing with mirth. A knowing look was etched on her face.

"Sorry, 'di ko sadya. Naninibago lang," She replied, not even the least bit apologetic.

Somehow this conversation seemed familiar to her. Like they've had this exact same conversation before but only under different circumstances.

"You remembered this conversation, didn't you?"

"I did. We've come full circle."

It took Leni and Risa quite a long time. But they're here now. Long past the days they needed to count until they could experience living the smallest of freedoms — the daily peace of loving plainly.

Leni laughed as she sipped from her wine glass then put it back down. Risa's gaze followed her every movement, eyes zeroing out on the dark lipstick stain marking the brink of the glass. Even after all these years, that small detail still rendered her speechless and drove her crazy.

Only a few years ago, Risa dreamt about being with Leni and it came true. Then she dreamt about being in this moment with her. In this small, simple moment where the two of them can go out, do the things they've always wanted to do, all without the need to conceal or pretend. She dreamt of a normal life with her. And now, it's come to life with them living in that reality together.

Risa smiled to herself. This feeling somehow felt familiar to her too. "Dreams really do come true, don't they, Pangga?"

Leni beamed at her wife, reaching over to hold her hand on the table. "They do. Happy birthday, Ana Theresia. Mahal kita."