In theory,

Three

Kiara was walking along his bookshelf, a lone finger tracing over the titles of fictions. She had showered after an episode of an old sitcom and only a slice of pizza, and now she was nursing a warm cup of tea Jun found in the back of his coffee stash. His hoodie was oversized for her but she wasn't so short that it could fit like a dress. He had to rummage to find his smallest soccer pants.

"Have you read them all?" She asked.

"No, but a lot of them." He was lying on the couch, texting his friends. They were out at a concert tonight and Ren was asking for updates on his life since he had gone back to see his family all week. Not that there was much to share, but talking to Ren always came easy. He was a spammer and more often than not ended up finishing even Jun's part of conversations.

By the time he had put his phone away, Kiara had picked up a random book and placed the tea on one of the shelves. "Do you read?" It almost felt juvenile to ask the question and he wasn't sure why. Despite the time she spent with him, he didn't know much about her. He knew how she met some mutual acquaintances, or that she tried to be athletic even though she sucked at most sports, but he didn't know her basic lifestyle.

"The last time I read a book was when I was in college." She said but didn't take her eyes off the book. She stood there for a while, flipping pages, scanning words. "This is about the industrial revolution and its impacts."

He opened his mouth and was a little stunned at how hard it was for him to share the next words willingly. "Uh, yeah. My, umm, ex was really into social theory and historical stuff."

Kiara nodded but didn't look otherwise affected. She read the page for a few more seconds before closing it softly, just how she does everything else, and put it back where she found it. She picked up her cup again and took a step back, eyes still on the shelf. "What was she like?"

Jun wasn't sure he wanted to talk about his ex-girlfriend in front of Kiara. They don't really have a label—friends with benefits? Coworkers with benefits?—but it feels weird.

"Only if you want to." Kiara turned to him when he didn't speak for too long. She hasn't been smiling as much today and until now, she wasn't even talking much.

"Her name is Melrose," he finally said, "and she is a lawyer. She was...a strong woman, in every way. She was woke as hell, and politically aware and spent a lot of time trying to help people. She was a social worker. Went to rallies, voted on all kinds of bills, even the minor ones and just tried to help others a lot in general...she had a lot of kindness in her."

He didn't realize he was smiling until he looked up and saw her mirror his smile.

"She sounds amazing," Kiara said, "And like a badass."

He chuckled. "Yeah, she is. Always has an answer for everything and is really good at what she does. I have never won a single debate with her."

"What happened?"

Jun shrugged. "We were one of those couples, you know? The heated kind. We fought a lot when we met and eventually that was what really turned into romance. There was just so much chemistry. The fights turned into debates and the debates turned into playful banter." He shook his head like he could shake off the memories. "One of those banters turned into a fight that lasted too long and she decided it wasn't working anymore."

Jun stared down at the floor, blinking back the sharp sting of his tears. He felt Kiara walk over to him and rub at his shoulder. "I am sorry." He didn't reply.

Now that he thinks about Mel, a lot of memories are just...arguments. There were good times, good moments, but so many of them are just trying to one up each other. The necessity to have the last word. It reminded him of his parents.