Carnations and Roses

First day in the new house

Lying on the warm grass, I held Oliver's hand, his breath barely audible near my ear... I was so happy, so joyful... I was with him, he was my reason for life, and now we were together, no longer forced to be apart for weeks at a time. I'm thankful to Teacher Asterian for what he has done, but now I face a new problem — I'm his adopted son by all documents, and I can't be apart from him; we need to grow closer, as I don't want to trouble him with my difficult temperament and the fact that we'll be living under the same roof but not communicating... it's not right, I need to bond with him... well, at least we already have a starting point.

— Oh dear, boys... — a velvety yet soft voice spoke above me, after which I cautiously opened my sleepy eyes, squinting from the sun, — Get up already, you've been sleeping here for about 3 hours... It's getting late, the sun is setting, and you, Fukase, still need to settle into your room.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up, and Oliver's head, which had been resting on my chest, rolled off, waking him as well.

— Uh-oh... — he whispered, sighing and opening his eyes, — I dozed off...

He got up from the ground and stretched, which caused Yohi nearby to chuckle softly as he approached his brother, ruffling his hair.

— It's time for dinner, so let's go home...! — the guy said, kissing his sleepy brother on the temple, causing him to grumble something unintelligible in displeasure and, pushing his brother away, hugged me, clearly upset that it was time to say goodbye.

— Ha-ha, see you tomorrow... — I said, hugging the boy in return and gently pecking him on the forehead.

— Definitely! Let's meet at my house tomorrow, and then go out with Nana, Piko, and Defo, okay? — Oli exclaimed, joyfully smiling and looking at me with incredible anticipation for the next day.

— Okay... — I replied tersely, gently smiling back, after which Yohi picked up his little brother and seated him on his shoulders, then they both left, leaving me here, on this wonderful meadow, alone with Asterian — my new guardian...

Asterian and I stood for some time in awkward silence, as if trying to think of a topic of conversation that would help ease the awkwardness, but nothing came to mind... we were now, so to speak, father and son, although we couldn't call each other that, it was a strange feeling, like this person was first nobody to you, then you get a little closer to him just because he's the kindest and most sensitive teacher, and then you accidentally and hastily become his son. Now I couldn't even snap at him, showing personal boundaries, or he might send me back to the orphanage... I didn't want to part with my beloved Oli again, nor return to those kids because of whom I couldn't even eat today... breakfasts were rarely tasty, and if they were, the strong took them from the weak... and I definitely wasn't strong, so in the morning my mouth was empty.

— So... should we head home now? — finally suggested the teacher, gently touching my slender shoulder with his strong, firm hand. I responded with a calm nod, — Have you ever been to my place? Do you even know where I live?

— No, not really... — I answered, after which we both headed towards the exit of the meadow.

We walked in silence, me following him... soon we emerged from the woods and got into his car again, then set off on the short journey to the man's house. I noticed that he often glanced at me in the rearview mirror, wanting to talk, but he clearly couldn't find the words. In this awkward silence, we finally reached Asterian's home. He parked his car in the garage, after which we both got out of the car, and later out of the garage itself. Before me lay a beautiful garden, full of colorful flowers and plants...