Tiny Terror

Loss

  I handed Vasco the gift bag while nervously rubbing the back of my neck. He looked excited and thanked me as he took the gift. He was nearly bouncing in his seat and dug into the tissue paper in the bag.

  Vasco lit up when he raised the plush dog out of the bag. He was beaming with a huge grin, and I was nearly blown away by how cute his expression was.

  "Thank you, Mia! It's so soft! Oh, I love it!" He was hugging the stuffed animal and near tears from joy.

  "I've seen the face of an angel." I muttered while dramatically clutching my shirt over my heart. Vasco buried his face into the plush dog, and Jace looked at me while taking a drink from his coffee.

  "Do you think if your opponents saw you being this big of a sap, they'd get whiplash so hard they'd die?"

  "That smile could make anyone's heart melt, Jace. He's my kryptonite."

  "That's so sweet, it's disgusting." He joked, and I laughed.

  "What can I say? He's just too damn cute."

  "I have something for you, too." Vasco set the dog on the desk before bending over to dig in his bag. He pulled out a wrapped container, and I could smell something sweet. Pulling back the wrap, he revealed a clear container with a red lid. "I made some bungeoppang."

  "Ugh! My heart!" I tried to shield myself from Vasco's holy aura as he smiled.

  "Jeez. It's like you two are already married." Leonn swooped in to snag one of the fish-shaped desserts, and Vasco was too shocked and blushing at what he'd said.

  "My bungeoppang!"

  "Too slow!" Leonn already had his cheeks stuffed, and I snatched the container to save the rest.

  "You little twerp!"

  "I'm taller than you!" He swallowed what he had been chewing, and I kicked his shin. "Ow!" Leonn went down without dropping the bungeoppang.

  "Ah, seems you two already have a kid, too." Jace popped off to intentionally mess with Vasco.

  "Jace!" Vasco whined while covering his red face with his hands. He doubled over and put his forehead against his desk from how embarrassed he was.

  "Yeah, Leonn. Stop bullying your parents." I said while resting my fist on my hip.

  "You're not my mom!" He snapped at me, and I wagged a finger at him.

  "I'll still put your ass in timeout!"

~

  Walking home from school, Vasco and I had stopped by a corner store to pick up some ingredients for dinner. He'd also gotten himself some milk that he was sipping on while carrying a grocery bag. However, he'd been awfully quiet since we left school.

  "Vasco?"

  "Hmm?" He looked down at me, and I took a second to think of how to word my question.

  "Is there something you want to talk about?"

  "What? Why?"

  "It just seems like there's something on your mind." I replied, and I saw the tips of his ears go red as we walked under a street lamp. Vasco averted his gaze and was looking nervous. "Hey, you can talk to me. You know that." I grabbed his wrist to get him to stop walking before standing in front of him.

  "It's nothing."

  "Then look at me." Raising my eyebrows, I waited for him to look at me. When he finally did, his cheeks got darker. "What is it, Eun Tae?" The little milk carton was crushed in his hand, and what was left in it began to spill from between his fingers.