Research On You

Chapter 10 : Official

Monday smelled like coffee and bad decisions.

That’s what Sera said at 8 AM while she slammed her thesis notebook on the table at Rel’s Cafe.

"You’ve been staring at your phone for 20 minutes," she said. "It’s unhealthy."

"I’m reviewing data," I said, flipping my phone face-down.

"You’re reviewing Theodore’s 7:02 AM text that said ‘good morning, research spouse’ with a coffee emoji," Sera said. "I saw it in the group chat."

Cass didn’t look up from his book. "He sent it to all of us."

"Exactly," Sera said. "He’s claiming you publicly now. This is serious."

"It’s not—" I started.

The door chimed.

Theodore walked in.

Blue shirt. Jeans. Hair still damp. Two coffees in one hand, a paper bag in the other.

"Morning," he said. He slid into the seat next to me, not across. Our shoulders touched immediately.

"Brought breakfast," he said, opening the bag. Pandesal. "And coffee. Black, no sugar."

"Thanks," I said. My voice came out smaller than I wanted.

"Did you sleep?" he asked.

"A little," I said.

"Me neither," he said. "Too much on my mind."

Sera made a gagging noise. "I’m right here."

"Good," Theodore said, not looking away from me. "Witness."

"What am I witnessing?" Sera asked.

"The beginning of something," Theodore said.

My face went hot.

Eli came in 30 seconds later, camera already up. "Documentation starts now."

"Of what?" I asked.

"Of history," Eli said. "The day you two stop pretending."

Cass finally looked up. "Took you long enough."

Rel came out from the back. "I made extra. On the house. For my favorite couple."

"We’re not—" I said.

"You are," Rel said. "I’ve been running this cafe for 15 years. I know."

The cafe got quiet.

Professor Celes walked in.

Everyone froze.

"Morning, children," she said. "Don’t mind me. Just coffee."

She ordered, sat at the next table, and opened her laptop.

Theodore looked at me.

I looked at him.

"Can we talk?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," I said.

"Alone?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said.

Sera clapped once. "GO"

We stood up and walked out to the small garden behind the cafe. The one with the broken fountain and the bench that was always in the sun.

He stopped and turned to face me.

"Reyes," he said.

"Theo," I said.

"I’ve been thinking about Saturday," he said. "About the dinner. About the kiss on your cheek. About what I said."

"Me too," I said.

"I don’t want to mess this up," he said. "Because you matter. The thesis matters. But you matter more."

My chest hurt. "Theo—"

"Can I just say it?" he interrupted. "I like you. I like you a lot. Not just as a partner. Not just as a research spouse. I like you. Anastasia Reyes. The way you color-code everything. The way you get stressed before presentations. The way you pretend you’re not paying attention but you remember everything I say."

I blinked hard. "You’re not supposed to notice that."

"I notice everything about you," he said. "So. Do you... do you feel the same?"

"Yes," I said. "I do. I like you too. I’ve liked you for a while."

He let out a breath like he’d been holding it for days. "Okay. Good. Because I was terrified you were going to say ‘we’re just research partners.’"

"We’re more than that," I said.

"Are we?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "We’re us."

He smiled. "Partners?"

"Partners," I agreed.

"In everything?" he asked.

"In everything," I said.

He reached out and took my hand. His fingers were warm.

"Official?" he asked.

"Official," I said.

He leaned in and kissed my forehead. Soft.

"Come on," he said. "We have that meeting with Professor Celes. We should probably tell her we’re distracted now."

"We’re not distracted," I said.

"We’re very distracted," he said. "But in a productive way."

We walked back inside still holding hands.

Sera saw us and screamed.

Eli took 8 photos in 2 seconds.

Cass gave a small thumbs up.

Rel started clapping.

Professor Celes looked up from her laptop. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes, ma'am," Theodore said.

"Good," Professor Celes said. "Now sit down. We have 30 pages to go through and I will not let your relationship tank your grades."

"Yes, ma'am," we said in unison.

---

The next two weeks were chaos and coffee and us.

We still did library nights at 9 PM.

We still argued about citations.

But now he’d steal my highlighter and I’d steal his hoodie.

And when we were both stuck, he’d bump my shoulder and say "we’ve got this."

Sera made it her mission to announce our status to the world.

Group Chat - "Thesis Survivors"

Sera: DAY 1 OFFICIAL: he brought her coffee

Sera: DAY 3: they finished each other’s sentences

Sera: DAY 5: SHE’S WEARING HIS HOODIE_

Theo: Sera stop

Me: Sera stop

Eli: Can’t stop. For the memories.

Cass: ...

Rel: Proud of my kids

Bianca texted me: _omg you and theo!!! so happy for you!!!_

Classmates started calling us "the thesis couple."

Professor Celes started calling us "a distraction but a productive one."

We didn’t care.

---

The night before our final defense, we were in the library until midnight.

"Last run-through?" Theodore asked.

"Last run-through," I agreed.

We went through every slide. Every data point. Every possible question.

At 11:50 PM, he closed his laptop.

"Done," he said.

"Done," I said.

He looked at me. "Nervous?"

"Terrified," I admitted.

"Me too," he said. "But not about the defense."

"About what?" I asked.

"About after," he said. "Graduation. Jobs. What happens to us."

I took his hand. "We figure it out. Like we always do."

"Promise?" he asked.

"Promise," I said.

He pulled me into a hug. I could feel his heart beating fast.

"Thank you," he whispered. "For saying yes."

"Thank you," I whispered back. "For asking."

---

Defense day.

Room 204. Full house. Professor Celes, two other professors, 40 classmates.

"Reyes and Alistair," Professor Celes called.

We walked up.

30 minutes. No tech issues. No panic.

We presented our data. We answered questions. We backed each other up.

When Professor Celes said "Congratulations, you passed," the whole room clapped.

Sera was crying.

Cass was smiling.

Eli was filming.

Rel was in the back with a "WE’RE PROUD" sign.

Outside, everyone was waiting with food and flowers and a banner that said *CONGRATS RESEARCH SPOUSES*.

"We’re not—" I started.

"You are," Sera said. "And we love you."

Theodore pulled me away from the group for a second.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I said.

"What now?" he asked.

"Now we celebrate," I said. "And then we see what happens next."

"Together?" he asked.

"Together," I said.

He kissed me. Not on the cheek. On the lips.

Soft. Sure.

When we pulled back, everyone was pretending not to watch.

"Official official," Sera whispered.

"Official official," Eli agreed.

---

That night we ended up on the roof of my dorm.

Blanket. Two coffees. Stars.

"Do you regret it?" he asked.

"Regret what?" I asked.

"Dating me," he said. "Making things complicated."

"No," I said. "Do you?"

"Never," he said. "You’re the best part of this whole thesis."

"Same," I said. "You’re the best part."

We lay there in silence.

"My girlfriend," he said finally.

"My boyfriend," I said.

He squeezed my hand. "Team?"

"Team," I said.

---

The next month was the best month of college.

We turned in the final thesis.

We got an A.

We went on actual dates. Dinner. Movies. Walks.

Sera planned everything.

Cass approved quietly.

Rel gave us free coffee.

Eli made an entire album called "Research On You: The Love Story."

Graduation day.

We walked across the stage 3 people apart.

After, Theodore found me in the crowd.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I said.

"What now?" he asked.

"Now," I said, "we figure it out. Jobs. Apartments. Life."

"Together?" he asked.

"Together," I said.

He kissed me again. In front of our parents. In front of everyone.

And it was perfect.

---

Later that night, I opened my notebook one last time as a student.

Pink: Introduction.

Blue: Literature Review.

Yellow: Methodology.

Green: Results.

Purple: Unexpected.

Under purple:

Met him in Biostats.

Hated him for 2 weeks.

Became partners.

Became friends.

Became this.

Thesis: done.

Us: just starting.

My phone buzzed.

Theo: Come to the beach?

Me: Now?

Theo: Now.

Me: On my way.

I ran downstairs. He was there with the car.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To watch the sunrise," he said. "And to start the next chapter."

"Of what?" I asked.

"Of us," he said.

We drove with the windows down. Music playing.

At the beach, we sat on the sand.

He took my hand.

"So," he said. "Official?"

"Official," I said.

He leaned over and kissed me as the sky turned pink.

And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t scared of what came next.

Because whatever it was, we’d do it together.

THE END OF CHAPTER 10