The Beginning of Summer

Part 6 - What Were They Like? (Ch. 2 End)

Kyo POV

Later that day after Hajime slept over, Kaito came over to hang out. Right now, we're playing a 2D platformer on my gaming console.

"So," Kaito says, still focused on the game. "How was it?"

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"Hajime's stay. How was it?"

"Oh, nothing much. It was fun."

"He did nothing too suspicious?"

I act as if I'm flipping a table. Why does he always think of this? "Come on, you know it's nothing like that."

"Okay, okay," He replies, sounding defensive. "Just asking. It's just pretty obvious."

"And what is pretty obvious?"

We lost the boss battle in the game. He paused the game and he looks at me. I look back. "Well, I believe that he didn't like you like that when you first met, but when you slept on his lap, maybe that's where he started to like you."

"How are you sure?" I have not heard of that happening to anyone before.

"Well, I've seen plenty of drama which did that, and it also happened to me once."

I tilt my head. "Huh, really?"

"Yeah!" He exclaims gleefully. "Let's say that I had a moment where I got to sleep on a girl's lap. She said that she developed a crush on me because of that."

"Wait, how could someone fall for a person who just slept in their lap?" I ask because I'm genuinely curious. How does that work?

"Well, for one, it feels warm, which makes you feel secure for some reason, and two, it's the way the person looks like when they fall asleep on the person's lap. She did tell me that I looked cute sleeping in her lap."

"Huh," I say to myself as I resume the game.

Let's assume that he is actually into guys, would that be really enough for him to like me? Ugh, thinking about this hurts my head.

I just continued to play the game. 

* * * * *

Later that day.

It is now 7 P.M. and my uncle decides to stay over for the night. It's been a while since he stayed over, and it's actually nice that he's here.

I sat down on the couch with him. He was watching his nightly detective buddy drama. Meh, it was an okay show. You can tell who's the criminal in every episode because the guest actors who play the said roles are famous actors here in Japan. Because of that, it's obvious who the criminal is.

I sat here and remembered my dream this morning. In all of the times, why did I have that dream now and not when I was a kid? I'm not that bothered about losing them now than I was before. Maybe Hajime's mom triggered it?

"Hey, uncle Yamato," I say as he watch his show.

"Yeah?" He replies, raising his eyebrows but his eyes are still fixated on the T.V.

"Can I ask what were my parents like?"

He did a sudden turn and looked at me. "Why ask all of a sudden?"

"I don't know," I reply, shrugging my shoulders. "I guess I just want to know more about them. I didn't really get a chance to be with them for long."

He looked back at the TV. "Your mother was my best friend ever since we were kids. She was a nice and caring person and is great at making you feel better when you're in the dumps. She knows when you're in a bad mood or in a bad place, and she would be there to comfort you, whether she knows you or not."

She is the opposite of me. I couldn't do that. I can't even tell what a person is feeling. I guess if she were here, I could be like her.

Uncle Yamato then chuckles and looks down. "You know, we even tried dating back then."

My eyes widened. "Wait, really?! What happened?"

"We realize that we weren't meant to be as lovers," He replies. "So we remained as best friends. Nothing has changed between us."

This is actually interesting. I'm happy that nothing changed between them. If he and mom dated, I wouldn't even be here right now.

"And then my brother, your dad, thought that she was nice when he first saw her in college, so I said to him if he wants me to set him up with her. He was shy at first, but he agreed. They hit off after the first date and dated for 5 years. They graduated college together and lived under one roof after their education. There, he proposes to her and she said yes."

It sounded like they had a fruitful relationship. It was cute hearing their story. My memory of them pretty much faded when they died, so I forgot what they were like.

He looks at me, looking teary-eyed. "They were so happy when they had you. They told me that they want to give you the best life you could ever have.  And they said that if ever something happens to them, I should look out for you and help you be independent. It feels like I failed because all I did was leave you alone here. I should have been a father figure and instead, I acted like a babysitter. I didn't even get to teach you stuff about school and feelings. Because of me, you weren't able to learn about feelings and how you should navigate through them."

I crept a smile. "It's okay. I did learn how to be independent. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't know how to cook, clean the house, study on my own, and buy food from groceries. It's true that I don't know how to understand feelings, but I can live with that. Besides, this is a thing that I can learn throughout my life."

I hugged him. "Personally, I think you did a good job."

I feel him open his arms, but it took him a while to hug me back.  I hear his sniffles as the tears from his eyes drip onto my shirt.

I'll cherish this moment for the rest of my life.