Flipped Justice: A KENTIN AU (COMPLETED)

FJ 13

Justice was left standing at the door as Samuel and Javier happily welcomed the man.

Javier remarked, "Oo naman, dre! Buti bumalik ka," as he accepted the food he was holding. "Aba! Taking down notes ha? Favorites ng little Hustisya 'to ah," he added, peeping inside the paper bag.

"At 'yong kapalit ng natapon kanina, dre," he responded, making Javier grinned broadly.

With a hushed voice, Samuel addressed his bespal, "Why are you here? Akala ko ba no more taking turns?" as soon as he reached him.

He shrugged, "My heart took me here, Saint."

At that time, all Samuel could do was offer support. But he saw how it really affected Justice. Just as he tried to get closer to him, someone tugged his arm gently.

Isaac said, "Ako na," which caused Sam to back off.

Isaac called in for Just's attention, and he said, "Bujah!"

With a frown, Justice turned around right away and remarked, "Hoy po! Only my kuya can call me that."

Ice looked at the moon and put both his arms in his pockets before asking, "How's Kodi doing in your business?"

Justice heaved heavily and answered, "Doing everything he could to save the company. Our business could have been long gone if it weren't for Jav's help for Lolo."

Paying attention to what Just was saying, Isaac nodded. He said, "Diab is a good person. Siya lang ang Diablong mabait."

It made Justice chuckle, "That's true." He reminisced and said, "He even helped Flip two years ago; kahit sandamakmak na pala problems niya."

"If it wasn't for that day, when they became friends, we couldn't have met today," Justice continued, looking at Flip, who's helping in the kitchen.

Ice gazed at Just and saw how his eyes sparkled every time he looked at Flip. He said, "If it weren't for you, Diab would have been harsh with himself, making him a bad guy."

"The fates conspired to bring you and Flip together. The way you look at him is the way Cullen looks at his Ligaya."

"You've found your own Ligaya, Just. Your lifetime partner," he added.

"I beg to disagree, your honor," Justice stated. "Given that I'm still married, how could he be my partner? Additionally, he plans to wed someone else," Just continued.

Isaac questioned him, "Then why is he here? What made him bring your favorites? Why does he continue to hang around?"

"Honor, once again, you're giving me false hope. It would be nice to think that he is here because of Samuel and that he is acting in such a way because he regrets leading me on," Justice contradicted Ice's thoughts.

"If that's what your guts say," Ice responded.

Their friends called to them as they were staring at the moon. Javier stepped in close, his hands around their shoulders as he shoved them towards the dining table, where Flip and Well were already seated.

"Itadakimasu!" Flip exclaimed as they were all seated. He immediately let Justice take a piece of the fried chicken he had brought. He also topped Just's plate with the pasta. He spoke in a gentle, lovely voice, "Ubusin mo ha?"

Flip's bespal, Samuel, pretended to cough at what he was seeing, but Isaac took notice of it differently. In a panic, he held out a glass of water.

Javier shouted, "Gago? Finally! Nakapag-fifth wheel din!" with excitement. He gleefully added, "Saglit mga repa, hold your smiles. Dapat may picture 'to," pulling out his phone to capture the moment.

"Wait nga, why am I far from Just?" Isaac questioned. Philip gave him a sly grin.

Raising his eyebrows, he responded, "Di ka na makakahawak sa pisngi, dre," which caused Isaac and Javier to chuckle.

Isaac retorted, "That was for Diablo, dimwit!"

Flip squinted, looking puzzled once more. He said, "I thought they weren't together. How come it's for Diab?"

"Si slow, ampota," Javier said. "It was a dare, dumbass! Natalo siya sa game," he stated.

"When you told me he's looking, did you mean Javier?" Justice asked, to which Ice nodded. He went on, exasperated, "What the hell?"

It enlightened Flip on a different level. He recalled Javier and Isaac's dares whenever someone lost. At that moment, he came to the realization, "Si Justice 'yong lagi niyong pinagpupustahan?"

"Bunganga mo, Thirdy!" Samuel chastised him. "Healing Justice's inner child lang daw," he stated.

"Ah talaga ba, Samuel?" Javier reacted. "Yare ka sakin!" he exclaimed. He went on, "Dre, Ice, homescreen wallpaper ka ni Samuel."

In there, Justice's house was filled with noises he wouldn't trade for anything. Laughter rang through the night, as though none of them had sobbed earlier. Javier paused, trying to capture the night in his mind. He dreamt of this—a day when the pain of Athena's death starts to subside. "Thank you."

While everyone's in the living room, Justice is left by the sink, washing their dishes as he was ordered by Jav since he didn't help out with cooking.

Justice was furiously scraping the back of the pan. "Injustice na 'to!" he complained.

A man's hands grabbed the sponge from Justice; without looking, he knew it was Flip. "Hey, ako na dito," he said. "I didn't cook either," he reasoned.

Justice let him, but he pulled up his hoodie's sleeves for him. As he grabbed him by the sleeves, their skin touched. It was as if a sudden jolt of electricity had coursed through their veins.

"Vitamin B12 deficiency lang 'to," Justice reasoned. But then they seemed to smile broadly, as though an invisible string had been torn from their lips.

"Hi, kulugo," Justice said.

"Hi, paa," Philip responded. "Can I be the kulugo to your paa?" he added.

"Ah tangina niyo," Javier interrupted. With a shudder of disgust, he continued, "Eww! Kadiri!"

Javier rushed back to the living room, looking as if he had seen a ghost. He heard Samuel ask, "What happened?"

What took Jav by surprise, though, was the scene in the living room: Isaac was lying on Sam's lap, showing him a wart on his neck.

Isaac immediately straightened up as Javier yelled, "Ah tangina niyong lahat! Kadiri!" with a look of contempt. "What happened, Samuel? Kaka-motor niya 'yan," he said, getting quite irritated.

"Si init ulo. Sarap ba magfifth wheel?" Ice asked the hot-tempered Javier.

Unexpectedly, someone knocked on the door. It was already late; Justice is not expecting anyone anymore. Since Isaac was the closest to the door, he had to get up and open it.

Even before he stepped through the door, there was that nagging feeling of unease. As he swung the door open, he saw an unwelcome face.

"Cousin!"