The Ember and The Queen

Kai's POV 

The night was still young. I was left alone on Rain's balcony, staring quietly at the stars. The city lights below flickered like distant memories, and the cool air brushed gently against my skin—soft, steady, grounding.

Then I heard the sliding door open behind me.

Rain stepped out and joined me.

"Bakit hindi ka pa bumababa?" she asked softly.

"Dito na muna ako," I replied.

I scooted over, making space for her beside me. She sat down without a word and handed me a cup of tea.

"Thank you," she said, her eyes avoiding mine.

"Wag ka munang mag-thank you," I said, grinning a little. "Di pa nga ako tapos magserbisyo sayo eh."

Rain let out a faint laugh, but then her expression sobered.

"Kai... you don't have to pause your life because of me."

I looked at her, surprised. "Pause? Ha! I'm not pausing my life for you," I said, trying to brush it off, denying it—but even I could hear the defensiveness in my voice.

She looked down at her tea, her thumb tracing the rim of the cup.

"I appreciate everything you've done—from the moment you operated on me in that hospital up until now. I see it all, Kai," she said quietly. Then she paused before continuing.

"But... I just need to breathe. To find my way back. To rediscover who I am. After giving so much of myself to everyone else all these years... I don't really know who Rain is anymore."

I didn't interrupt.

I just let her speak. Let her be. Because I understood.

I took a slow sip of my tea, then placed it down gently on the table beside us.

"Hey..." I said softly, turning to her. "Okay lang. All the love you gave—everything you poured into the people who mattered, including me—it's not lost. It always finds its way back."

She blinked, her eyes beginning to glass over.

"And I'm doing everything I can to love you the best way I know how," I continued, my voice steady now. "Not out of guilt for what you gave up... but because of the love I've been carrying for you since ten years ago. Love I never got the chance to show you."

I turned to face her completely.

"So just let me love you... while you're still learning to love yourself."

Her silence wasn't heavy this time.

It was quiet. Tender.

Like the air just before dawn.



Rain's POV 

The moment she said that—
"So just let me love you... while you're still learning to love yourself..."
—my heart twisted.

I felt it.
Like a knot pulling tighter in my chest.
Like something cracking open that I'd tried so hard to seal shut.

Why are you so soft with me now, Kai?

Why are you doing this again?

The Kai I knew—the one who once burned everything down just to protect the people she loved—is surfacing again.
The selfless.
The loyal.
The dangerously gentle Kai.