Requested by moi :* I felt like writing something special for all of you :*

Also, I got a mean reply on a comment I posted on YouTube and what hurts the most is that my comment had no intention to hurt anyone. It was a straight up 'bullying' reply and it really hit me right at the core. I tried to write and finish a request, but I could not find it in me because of that reply. So instead of sulking about it, I really pushed myself to write this and continue to repeat the mantra (made popular with the help of Jinkx Monsoon) - "Water off a duck's back"

I'm here to help spread kindness especially with this mbti imagine ♡

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ENFJ (male) x INFP (female)

"Once again, Rina, I am so sorry for troubling you with my sudden phone call."

"O-Oh, don't worry, Maureen. It's Saturday, so I surely don't have any work," Marina, a 25-year-old daycare teacher, reassures the woman as they both stand by the front door of the house. Maureen, five years her senior, is clearly in a rush to head wherever she needs to be at the moment. 

"You are truly an angel, I swear. Thank you for always being available to take care of Jeremy. Even my younger brother can't come to take care of my baby for a few hours!" She utters then shakes her head in a huff. "Though, I should really be the one taking care of him. I'm his mother and he is still a year and a half years old for goodness sake!" 

Marina reaches a hand out to rub Maureen's shoulder with hopes of soothing her who is clearly stressed out. "Don't beat yourself up. I understand how this is really a busy time for you and Allen. After all, this arrangement happens only once a week." 

"You're very sweet, Rina." Maureen sighs softly and flashes a half-smile at her. "Though, we might have to tweak the arrangement a bit to two to three times a week, if you would not mind." 

"Not at all," Marina replies, "As long as we fix it out with my work schedule, I will find a way to make time to babysit Jeremy." 

Maureen lets out a soft cry of relief and suddenly wraps her arms around Marina's shoulders. "I promise, this will be going on for three months or so. Once Allen and I finally finish our joint project, you'll be free to do anything you want without worrying about Jeremy," she pulls back, her hands now resting on each of the younger woman's shoulders, "Okay?" 

Marina nods with a gentle smile on
her face. "Of course. I can take care of Jeremy on my own-"

"Oh! Don't worry about that!" Maureen laughs softly and playfully squeezes Marina's shoulders before letting her hands fall to her sides. "Alan is actually here." 

Marina sharply tilts her head and furrows her eyebrows. She has never heard of that name before. "Alan?" She asks out of genuine curiosity.

"Yes?" A new voice, one belonging to a man, chimes in all of a sudden from behind Marina which causes her to jump a bit in place, all startled. She turns and meets the gaze of a man who somewhat has the same features as Allen, but with a more boyish demeanor, standing near the door from inside the house. 

"Ah, impeccable timing!" Maureen claps her hands together as Marina stays mute, merely looking at the newcomer. "Alan, this is Marina, Jeremy's babysitter. Rina, this is Alan, Allen's younger brother." 

"Hi, Marina. It's nice to meet you." The man reaches a hand out for Marina to shake and flashes her a smile that nearly took her breath away. The stupid hopeless romantic in her is making her heart go all reckless, violently hammering against her chest, especially because of that smile of his. 

"H-Hi," she manages to squeak out, giving his hand a firm shake. How in the world is she going to work now knowing that there is this cute guy with her at all times?! 

"Hm, I know what's going on in your mind," Alan suddenly says. This causes Marina to freeze in her place, trying to stop all thoughts of his wonderful and enchanting smile from swimming in her head. "You're thinking about how mine and my brother's names are similar, aren't you?" He continued and Marina could feel her body deflate like a balloon, letting out all the tension she gained in a minute. 

She laughs softly, and frankly, out of relief. "Y-Yeah, that's what I was thinking." 

"See? Everyone thinks that way!" He exclaims. "Our parents were too lazy to think of another name when they had me." 

"Okay, stop boring Marina, Alan," Maureen utters, playfully rolling her eyes at him. "Anyway," she faces Marina, "Alan has been staying here with us for the past weeks and is currently preoccupied with studying for the physician licensure exam, so he will be helping out by preparing lunch and dinner for you and Jeremy." 

"I may not be as great as my brother," Alan adds, "but I know that I can cook." 

Wow, a man who is confident with his cooking. He keeps on having a check placed on every trait of Marina's list of her dream man. 

"Great!" Maureen claps her hands again. "Thank you so much, you two, for being here for Jeremy. It really lessens my stress and worry. I'll call you later, Rina, okay?" 

"O-Okay," Marina answers in a stammer.

"I'll go now," Maureen informs them both. "Give Jeremy a kiss on the head for me, Rina."

"What about his uncle?" Alan asks, pretending to feel offended. Though his smooth words almost made Marina drop dead to the floor because her heart could not take it any longer.

"Ha ha," Maureen dryly laughs at him, holding onto the doorknob. "Alan, take care of Rina and Jeremy, okay? See you later, bye!" She then closes the door behind her, leaving the two adults alone in the house with a baby. 

Marina does not know if she needs to say something to him or she could head straight to the living room where she knows Jeremy is in his crib. 

"Well," Alan starts all of a sudden, rubbing the nape of his neck, "Jeremy is in his crib in the living room."

"As always." 

"Oh, then I guess I'll let you proceed with your work." 

"Of course," Marina says back, starting to walk to the living room as Alan moves to the side to give her space. She just really wants to run away from the awkwardness brought by the fact that she's going to be spending time with someone she just met. And the person just had to be good-looking. She pauses in step to face him for one last time, "You as well," she says out of respect.

"Thank you. If ever you need my help, I'll be in that room right there." He points at a brown door by the kitchen. "But you look like you'll be handling Jeremy very well." 

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," she informs him, smiling before disappearing as she enters the living room. 

That was actually the last time Marina ever got to hold a conversation with Alan. She has been helping out with babysitting Jeremy around 10 times in the span of a month now and would only see Alan when they would sit together with Jeremy for lunch and sometimes, dinner. 

She was always blown away with the dishes he would prepare for them as none of them were ever repeated and Jeremy seemed to really enjoy them since he would not throw tantrums during mealtime. She was also impressed with how he could juggle his time for studying and cooking without jeopardizing the time for sleep.

Marina is still very shy around Alan. The strength to start a conversation with him was nonexistent and it bothered her. 

But it came very naturally for Alan. He always had something to talk about with her and Marina would only give curt responses. She would even make herself busy with feeding Jeremy to give a reason not to talk to Alan. He did not care though. A short response is still a response, and he's happy to know that she enjoys the food he makes even if she does not say it out loud. Alan can tell because he notices how her eyes look all excited when it's time to eat. 

It's been six weeks since the first day they met each other, and the air around them as they eat is not palpable anymore. Even if they sometimes eat together in silence, with Jeremy's whining and gurgling at times, the aura is comfortable. 

"Marina, help me out here," Alan says, slicing his own serving of tonkatsu that he prepared for dinner.

"Hm?" She acknowledges him even if she's still busy with making sure that Jeremy, sitting on his high chair, takes the mashed-up food in his mouth. "What's the problem?" She places a hand under the baby's mouth and exaggerates with her chewing movements so that Jeremy's wide eyes are stuck watching and imitating her movements. Alan fed Jeremy during lunch, so tonight is Marina’s turn.

Watching them made Alan smile, finding their interaction adorable. He places his utensils on the plate. "How do you always make time to babysit Jeremy? Aren't you busy with your main job?" 

"I work as a daycare teacher, but only for three days a week," she answers nonchalantly, filling Jeremy's spoon with another serving of food. "Thus, I have time to tend to Jeremy especially until late at night." 

Alan nods in assent. "I see." 

Marina expects him to say more, but he shockingly ends there. She glances at him to check if he was thinking of what else to say but sees that he's taking a sip from his glass of water before he continues with eating his meal.

Weird. He always had something more to say. 

She softly clears her throat and in a voice almost above a whisper, she says, "Alan, help me out here." 

This catches the full attention of the man that he stops and curls an amused eyebrow at her. "Yeah?" 

"So…you are going to become a doctor, right?"

"Hopefully, yes." 

Marina makes sure that Jeremy is preoccupied with playing with his rubber toy car before turning to fully face Alan for the first time tonight. "Do you have any specialization in mind?" 

Alan hums, gladdened with how Marina was finally initiating a conversation between them out of all those times that he was the one keeping up with the conversation. "Psychiatry," he tells her. 

Marina widens her eyes at him. "Wow," she breathes out, "Really?" 

He nods. "I really do want to become a psychiatrist. I know psychiatry is considered the 'black sheep of medicine', but if I want to see a change in people's perceptions on mental health then I need to be part of the action, right?" 
 
"Exactly." Marina feeds Jeremy another spoonful of food before continuing, "That's very brave of you to do." 

Alan shrugs. "I'm not going to lie, there is a part of me that's scared. It's nerve-wracking, honestly."  

"But I know you're going to do great."

"Thank you," he utters, beaming at her. And there goes the erratic beating of Marina's heart again. "I'm sure you do a lot of great things as well. Perhaps even greater than me!" 

Marina scoffs, "Yeah, right. I'm just a daycare teacher." 

"Just a daycare teacher? Marina, you mean the world to the kids you handle, even Jeremy!" 

She breaks off into a smile and shakes her head. “Don’t try to butter me up, Alan.”

He suddenly chuckles, filling the room with his resounding voice. One that Marina has grown to find mellifluous to the ears. “I’m not trying to butter you up!” He raises his hands in mock surrender while still smiling at Marina. 

“Oh, shush, you know all too well that we are not as revered compared to doctors.”

Alan’s face falls ever so slightly, yet Marina does not notice the change. “It’s not always like that, Marina.”

“Come on, Alan,” Marina chuckles ruefully, “you know that it’s always like that.”

“So you’re saying that what you do is...unmemorable?” He asks carefully.

“No, I mean...well, it’s like,” Marina stammers, and her shoulders fall when she’s at a loss for words. She does not know what to say. When Jeremy starts to giggle all of a sudden from beside her, she immediately turns to him and busies herself with tending to him, making sure that he drinks water and has his last spoonful of food. It was a strategy of hers in order to leave the topic at hand, but Alan clearly saw right through it. 

“Marina,” he utters her name delicately. “I don’t think what you do is unmemorable. All the kids you handle will definitely remember you with great fondness.”

Marina sighs, quietly placing the baby spoon on Jeremy’s plate before wiping his mouth with a paper napkin. “Yes, you’re right,” she says, facing Alan again. “Just those kids and especially Jeremy,” she finishes off with a smile, yet Alan spotted how it did not reach her eyes.

He then says in a soft voice as he reaches out a hand to place over Marina’s, “You forgot to include me. I'll remember you.”

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It's nearing the end of the three-month babysitting agreement of Marina along with the date of Alan's licensure exam. 

They have grown more comfortable with each other that the way their gazes would meet for fleeting moments has changed. When their fingers would accidentally brush against each other from handing out a plate to the other, they cannot deny the way their hearts would flutter from that short contact. They knew more about each other every time they shared a meal and Alan started to call her by her nickname. 

“Alan, who’s your favorite character?”

“From a movie? A book?”

“Any.”

“Hmm,” Alan hums, scratching his head as he thinks. “Definitely Robin Hood,” he replies after a while, and Marina almost snickers because she had a feeling that that would be his answer. “I love all his characteristics and I wish to be like him, fighting for justice. Though, a 28-year-old running around with a bow and arrow would be a bit weird, so I’ll stick with my profession at hand. What about you, Rina?”

“Princess Belle,” Marina answers almost immediately, “I wish to be as gentle and compassionate as her.”

“I’d like to think that you already are, Rina.”

Marina started to smile all the more and it was refreshing to see that Alan also had a shy side to himself. 

But for the last two weeks together, Alan could not make time to cook for the three of them. He could not even eat with Marina and Jeremy most of the time, spending almost every hour in his room studying hard for the exam. 

It made Marina lonely, but she understood why he was acting that way. Passing this exam meant the world to him and she feels that she is nothing of a priority compared to that exam. She was really just missing her conversation partner.

“Okay, Jeremy,” she mutters one night as she placed the sleeping baby in his crib. “Please don’t wake up, please don’t wake up.” It took her roughly two hours to finally bring the baby to sleep from his never-ending bawling. She kneels on the floor and watches how his chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm as he lies down in his crib, two hotdog pillows placed on each side and his elephant stuffed toy placed by his head. 

Maureen and Allen will be coming home late at night so Marina had to extend her stay in their house. She has not seen Alan for the past two days and it did leave her heart feeling heavy. Though she is not one to dwell on such kinds of things for too long. 

Marina starts to gently push the crib, rocking it back and forth in a constant movement. With the only source of light from a lamp located at the edge of the room, she could feel her eyelids getting heavy. It is tiring to take care of a baby especially when he comes from a crying fit. She shakes her head, hoping to shake the feeling of sleep from her, and heaves out a long sigh under her breath. The silence brought by the room was not helping and she knows that she has to do one thing in order for her to stay awake and for Jeremy to continue sleeping. 

She takes a deep breath in and starts to sing one of her favorite songs in a voice above a whisper, “You are the one who makes me happy when everything else turns to gray. Yours is the voice that wakes me mornings and sends me out into the day…”

A smile slowly forms on her face as she continues, “You are the crowd that sits quiet listening to me and all the mad sense I make. You are one of the few things worth remembering and since it’s all true, how could anyone mean more to me than you…”

“You have a lovely voice.”

Marina jumps a bit in place, her heart racing, and whips her head to glare at the man standing behind her, his body leaning on the doorframe. “Alan, you always startle me,” she utters in a harsh whisper. 
 
"I didn't mean to," he whispers back, this time Marina notices how he sounds very exhausted. "I wanted to take a break and eventually my feet led me here, and I got to hear your voice. I love that song by The Carpenters.”

“You do?”

He nods by the doorway and walks inside the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

“My mother used to sing this song to me,” Marina continues, “It helped me fall asleep. I thought that it might work if I tried it with Jeremy.”

“I think it’s working,” Alan grunts softly as he bends to sit beside her on the ground. Marina scoots a bit to the side to give him space to look at Jeremy sleeping soundly in the crib. He hums happily. “My nephew is really cute, isn’t he?” 

“He really is,” Marina replies, watching Jeremy move his arms a bit, though still asleep. 

“I’m sorry,” Alan suddenly utters softly, turning to look at Marina’s side profile. 

Marina turns to face him, furrowing her eyebrows. “Why are you saying sorry?”

“I haven’t been helping out and I know that I’ve been leaving you all alone for the past days-”

“Hey, hey,” She interrupts him but in a quiet voice. Resting a hand on his arm, Marina gently squeezes it. “Don’t be sorry. I know that you have been really busy and I understand, I always do. Also,” she looks into his eyes, “you look very tired.” 

Alan breaks off into a half-smile. “I really am,” he admits, “All the medical terms are floating in my head.”

“You should go to sleep. I can handle Jeremy.”

He shakes his head and takes her hand in his. “I don’t want to. I want to stay here and talk with you.”

“Why?”

“I miss hearing your voice,” he answers in a heartbeat, and a cageful of butterflies breaks free in Marina’s stomach. How in the world is she still alive in the presence of this gentle and smooth-talker? Here he is, seeming like he’s buttering her up, yet nothing but the truth came from his lips.

She averts her gaze from his and looks down at Jeremy again. Her cheeks were definitely flushing a deep shade of red and Marina is thankful to be in a dimly lit room. 

“Why did you stop singing, Rina?” He asks her in a whisper, “I wanted you to finish the song.”

Marina titters. “I’m conscious now that you’re here.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I've always loved The Carpenters.”

“Hm? And why is that so?” She throws Alan a glance.
 
“Their lyrics are so simple,” he replies, “yet they instantly carry the message of love.”

Marina smiles at that answer. It was one that she may have expected from him, but it was still nice to hear him say it. “Maybe it's their way of saying that it does not have to be complicated. Love can be as simple as finding happiness in one person.”

“...That’s a nice way to look at it.” He beams at her. “That’s a very ‘Rina’ thing to say, if I may add.”

Her smile grows wider, finally reaching her eyes, and she shrugs nonchalantly. “You’re starting to know me really well.”

“I wish to know more if you’ll allow me,” Alan mutters breathlessly. “Rina?”

“Yeah?”

“If I pass the exam-”

“When you'll pass,” she corrects him immediately.

He chuckles softly at that. “Okay, when I pass the exam,” he repeats, “will there be a chance to eat dinner together again?”

“Of course! I think I would still be taking care of Jeremy that time-”

“No, no,” he cuts her off in a laugh, “I mean,” he clears his throat before continuing, “dinner...with just the two of us.”

Marina’s eyes widened at that. Is this real? Is he...asking her out? The bashful smile on his face, despite his confident stance, and the way he rubs the nape of his neck seem to show the answer she needs. And frankly enough, she has never found herself worthy of someone’s attention. But being here with someone who appreciates her for who she is, allows her to see that maybe she could bury such insecurities and embrace whatever was meant for her to happen. “Well,” she starts off slowly, “you’ll know where to find me, Alan.”

And Alan really does pass the licensure exam, giving him an excuse to take Marina out on a celebratory dinner - one that was sweet and intimate with the love songs of The Carpenters playing softly in the background to accompany them throughout the memorable night.

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Btw! I made the wallpaper on top :)) it's not that nice since im not good at graphic design HAHA but you can always take that picture and use it if you want to ♡

I hope you liked reading this :)