(Or where Rizal is usure, and Bonifacio doesn’t let himself expect)
He’s talking to Oryang when he hears someone call his name.
“Andoy!”
Bonifacio blinks. He pauses in his step, turning to the general direction of the voice. Oryang notices and casts a glance past him, grinning when she sees who it is. “Good luck,” she offers, laughing when the other shoots her a weak glare. With a wave, she walks off, leaving him to deal with… this.
“Pepe,” he greets, when the other finally makes his way to him. Rizal smiles at him - a gesture he returns - and says, “Hey. Where’s Oryang?” He shrugs, saying, "Class. Did you need anything?“ Instead of an answer, the other grabs his wrist and says, "Follow me.”
“Pepe, what are you doing?”
“Just trust me,” Rizal says, looking over his shoulder to smile at him. Bonifacio snorts at that, but he’s smiling too. “Don’t I always?” he asks, to which the other rolls his eyes to. “Andoy, if there’s two things you can’t pull off, it’s sass and faux innocence.”
“I resent that.”
“Duly noted. We’re here.”
They’re in the middle of an empty hallway, and Bonifacio watches as Rizal moves so they’re facing each other. “I,” Rizal starts, pausing to look down, “Wanted to try something.” Another pause, and Rizal takes a breath before looking at him and saying, “Hands up.”
Bonifacio raises a brow at that, but does what he’s told. Rizal steps closer and reaches out, pressing their palms together before slowly intertwining their fingers. His eyes widen, breath hitching as his heart speeds up. The other is staring - glaring, actually - at their joined hands before whispering, “Did it work?”
“Did what work?” Bonifacio asks, voice equally quiet. Rizal looks at him then - he’s surprised at how serious the other looks - and says, “Juan said that holding the hand of another person makes their heart speed up, no matter who it is.”
Bonifacio can’t help it. He laughs.
It takes him a while to calm down, and by the time he finally does, he’s still got tears in his eyes. Rizal had gaped, clearly not expecting that reaction, then proceeded to pout at him. They're still holding hands.
“Yeah,” Bonifacio says, a smile tugging at his lips as he looks between them, “It worked.” Rizal’s heart flutters. Soft around the edges, that smile is his favourite one. He always tries to bring it out and - and now it’s suddenly directed at him.
“Good to know Juan didn’t lie to me,” he mumbles, not sure what to say for once. Bonifacio gets it, and his smile widens. He looks back at their hands and gives them a slight squeeze. “You know, if you wanted to hold my hand, you could’ve just said so.”
Rizal grins and squeezes back, saying, “Where’s the fun in that?”
