Dark Worlds, Soft Touches : My best friend's brother Gundham Tanaka

Chapter 12- Christmas from Hell

Trigger warning: Mental abuse, and violence.

December 22nd

My parents flew to Japan to spend Christmas with me. They usually took a lot of sick days off to ensure they could spend at least a week with the Tanaka household. They were planning to stay in the extra guest room during their visit.

Upon their arrival at the airport, Sakura kindly picked them up, while it happened to be my last day of school for the year. When I got home, I was greeted by my parents' hugs and fussing, which embarrassed me greatly, especially in front of Gundham. To make matters worse, my dad noticed something unusual on my neck.

"Wait, do you have hickies on your neck?" My dad exclaimed, pulling back the scarf I had on. I felt my face flush with embarrassment as my parents examined the marks. I tried to shoot a glare at Gundham, silently pleading for him to understand the situation.

"She got them from a guy in our class," Akira said, showing them a picture of Yoshi.

"I should have a word with him," my dad responded, his expression growing dark.

"Dad, no! He's actually a really nice guy," I quickly interjected. "Besides, he ran off after Akira confronted him. He's in the mountains training." I felt grateful for Yoshi's support, even though he didn't have to lie for me. After getting lectured by my dad and bombarded with more questions about Yoshi, my parents proceeded to unpack.

Later that evening, Gundham, Akira, and I joined forces to prepare dinner. Every time Gundham and I accidentally touched hands or locked eyes for too long, I fought the temptation to act on our feelings. I could sense my mom's intense gaze on us.

"You're not very good at hiding your emotions," my mom remarked later that night when we were all in the living room, accompanied by Sakura. Akira had gone out to finish watching the last part of her movie.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously.

"It's so obvious, you and Gundham finally got together, didn't you?" my mom chuckled, causing Sakura to spit out her hot cocoa in surprise. I couldn't even bring myself to lie to my mom.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"Wait, really? How did I not notice?" Sakura asked, clearly stunned.

"I've been telling you for years that our kids are in love with each other, but you always denied it," my mom added. "Now, hand me my bet money."

"You bet on me?" I asked, horrified. Sakura cursed under her breath and reluctantly handed some money to my mom.

"So, how long have you two been dating?" my mom asked excitedly. I ended up explaining everything to her and Sakura, who listened eagerly. They promised to keep it a secret from Akira until I was comfortable with sharing the news.

🎄🎁 ⁂̊⁑̥⍋ '•௰•'๑ ⁑̥⁂̊⍋. 🎁🎄
December 23rd

I could sense trouble brewing the moment my dad found out about Gundham. It was obvious my mom had spilled all the beans to my father. I could see the disapproving glare in my dad's eyes as they landed on Gundham. Uncomfortable under his intense gaze, Gundham shifted nervously. In an attempt to comfort him, I discreetly held his hand, hoping to alleviate some of his anxiety.