This story is written by Hoshi.
This story is canon and takes place during 2013.
-
The lock clicked as Datui twisted the key around. Something felt out of place. He snapped out of his auto-piloted state as he tried to pull the door open, only to find it still stuck. With a furrowed brow he turned the key around one more time, hearing it click again, and this time the door squeaked open. It had already been unlocked. He had locked it when he tried to open. Datui's breath caught in his throat, forming an uncomfortable lump. Then, the tall poodle poked her head around the living room archway and started running through the hallway towards him with a high, wagging tail. Something fell over in the kitchen. Datui stepped into the hallway, quick and quiet, and pried the door shut just enough to keep Princess from going outside. He put his hand loosely against the handle of the gun stuck in the leather wrap around his hip and stepped through his apartment. With caution, Datui poked his head around the open archway to the cramped kitchen, tensing up, then relaxing again.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, a bit louder than intended as his nervousness tinted his speech. Liling dropped the measuring cup of dog food and spun around in surprise, staring at her son with wide eyes.
"Oh gosh, how you're frightening me! Do you always sneak around?" She scolded him, and Datui looked back and forth confusingly.
"Me? What are you doing here? I thought you were a burglar or... Something." Datui muttered, then looked at the bland dog food now over his entire counter and in the sink. Next, he walked into the kitchen and took his short mothers hand, before giving her a quick hug.
"Welcome, mā ma." He finally greeted her, and Liling smiled satisfyingly.
"Thank you, dear. I need to make sure you're taking care of yourself, no? Of course I have to come to visit you. Your home is my home. And there's a market in town. Jia and I are meeting up later on, so why not take it all in one go? I don't go to the inner city for personal reasons often enough." She spoke fast as she quickly cleaned up the dog food, separated it between the trash bag and Princess bowl, then filled up the rest of the dish. Datui tried to help her out, but she discreetly barred the way and he couldn't help but laugh a bit.
"He's already had his morning bowl, he doesn't need any more food til the evening." Datui tried to figure, but his mother signalled him off. A discussion they had more than once before.
"He's starving! All other dogs are so fluffy and warm, look at Princess he could break in two!" She motioned towards the very healthy-looking, newly groomed poodle. Datui sighed a bit.
"He's a poodle, he just looks like that-"
"Ping did not look like that. Ping had muscles because she got good food. I already gave Princess more ham, now you need to go grocery shopping. Your fridge looks horrible, buy more pork, peanuts, coconut milk and beans." She ordered, and Datui rolled his eyes. In later days, Ping had been described as on the verge of overweight by the dog vet, which his mother found absurd.
"Yeah, yeah, sure... You're going out? That's good. You should treat yourself more often, ma." Datui smiled, taking the bowl out of her hands and positioning it down on its rightful place. He considered telling her off, but remembered Liling always won her arguments.
A warm laugh came from his mother, who quickly looked through all the lockers and boxes in his entire kitchen. Always so nosy, but he knew she was doing it out of care.
"Well your father is terrible at inviting me out. You're exactly like him, so full of dates and hanging-outs in his youth. I bet when you grow older, you'll settle indoors too. If you think I should go out more, will you be one to invite me out?" She asked with a raised brow. Datui's heart sunk a few centimetres. He knew he was bad at indulging his parents. He didn't visit them as often as he should have. Ever since joining the Takers, he feared having someone following him to his parents house all too much. He was on guard as a constant setting.
"You're right. I promise I'll plan a day for us to do something fun, okay?" He forced a small chuckle at his mothers words, and her face seemed to light up.
"I look forwards to that." She beamed. While Datui hastily prepared a kettle of coffee, Liling leaned down and attacked Princess with pets.
"Who' nana's good boy? You are." She cradled the dog, and Datui smiled, relaxing in the comfort. At that point, a realization hit him like a truck. Liling's words swarmed around his head, and as he looked as her, he saw it. For the first time. She looked old. It was like the filter he had formed, marking his mothers brilliant youthful beauty, turned off for a split second. He noted the slowly grading hair, her face drooping a bit more than it did in his childhood. Nana. For her age, she looked youthful, but it that moment he wondered how long that would last. He tried to surprise the sudden wave of sadness.
