Koi No Yokan (gojo x oc)

8. Vacation

August 2005
The next morning.

"...All cellular telephones and other portable electronic devices, such as CD players and laptop computers, must be turned off and stowed for departure. Thank you."

Tomiij is trying to hide it, but his hands are shaking. He's only left the estate twice in his entire life, and has certainly never boarded an airplane. Even for Momoko this is a new experience. Her hand clamped down on mine from the moment we boarded.

"What do we do if this thing crashes?" Tomiji says.

"Grab onto Satoru and he'll fly us back down to the ground." The plane starts rolling forward, and Tomiji's eyes clench shut. "There's no need to be nervous. These things are totally safe." We took off and I think he gagged. All the color has left his face.

"Thank me for this later." Satoru leans over and presses two fingers into Tomiji's forehead. Instantly he slumps over in his seat.

"What did you do to him?"

"Knocked him out before he could barf all over our shoes. Relax, it'll wear off by the time we land." He stretches out a bit. "Excited, Kaede-chan?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because your face is saying your stomach hurts more than your brother's."

I want to enjoy our vacation to the fullest, but last night has left an incredibly bitter taste in my mouth. My entire body is nauseous with guilt and shame. I want to say I'm scared, but none of them should have to hear that. "I'm fine." I force a smile. For Satoru. For Suguru, who plans to meet up with us in a few days. For Momo and Tomiji whose futures feel so uncertain now. "I'll be fine."

∞

After two days of doing nothing but baking in the sun and playing in any body of water this island has to offer, I've realized one thing: if Satoru acts like a child, all the more he plays like one. "Look at this sea cucumber!" He pulls the slimy log up from the water and throws it at my sister. She's knocked to the floor, and is bursting with so much laughter it makes her tear. Then she throws the cucumber back at him and laughs even harder.

I've never seen Momoko play like this, not with me or even Tomiji. After taking an initial day to warm up to everything, being away from the estate or being with Satoru brought out a new side of her. She seems incredibly free, exuding the sense of childhood I'd always wish for her—for all of us.

Satoru is chasing her, "I'll pay you back for that!" until he catches her at the waist and dunks her back down into the water. The moment her head goes under he's roaring with laughter.

"Your boyfriend acts my age." Tomiji's a slightly different story. He hasn't warmed up to Satoru or our new surroundings yet, but he certainly enjoys the gameboy Satoru lent him. He can't take his eyes off of it.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Isn't that why we're on vacation with him? It's fine if he is, Oneesan. I'm not dad, I don't care."

"How adult of you." I rip the game from his hands.

"Hey!"

"But I'm the adult, and I say you should play in the water."

He tries to wrestle me for the gameboy, but all it takes is a single hand to keep him at a distance. "You're not even sixteen yet!" he whines. "I don't like the water!"

"You swam in the pool at home all the time."

"There were no sharks or boyfriends of yours in that pool!"