Afterward

The Next Morning

Jun woke up with a heavy object holding her down. She tried to wriggle out, but relaxed upon seeing that it was just Kazuya's muscular arm wrapped around her. Jun couldn't help but smile as she turned slightly to look at his sleeping face.
She didn't know when this happened, seeing how she remembered giving him a lot of space before drifting off to sleep. Kazuya must've unconsciously hugged her in his sleep, or so she thought.
Gently, she pried her way out of his grasp and sat up, scratching her eyes as she grabbed her phone before walking out of the room. The first thing she spotted was Hwoarang seated at the dining table to play a game on his tablet.
"You're up early," Jun said as she neared him.
Hwoarang shrugged, not looking away from his game. "Couldn't sleep. Anyway, how are things with you and Uncle Kaz?"
Jun sighed, seating herself down in front of him. "I'm not sure. Last night was pretty rough, we barely spoke." She smiled slightly. "But I did wake up with his arm wrapped around me."
"Aww," Hwoarang chuckled. "Forget shipping Jin with Xiao. You guys are way cuter."
"Thanks," Jun can't help but chuckle. "What time do you wanna go for breakfast?"
Hwoarang frowned thoughtfully. "In a while. What's the time again?"
"I dunno, you tell me."
Hwoarang sighed and paused his game before looking at the time on the top of his tablet's screen. "Almost nine."
"Is Jin awake yet?" Jun asked right before letting out a yawn.
Her yawn was contagious, spreading to Hwoarang as well as he shook his head in reply. This statement made me yawn too...
Jun groaned and slumped back onto the table before turning to him. "Should I wake him?"
"You're asking me?" Hwoarang said in surprise. "Auntie, he's your son."
"Yeah, but after yesterday?" Jun sighed. "I'm scared he's still mad at me."
"Just go, you're still his lovely mom," Hwoarang simply said.
Jun shook her head at his remark and made her way to Jin's room. He was still fast asleep, the blanket pulled up to his face with only an arm sticking out. Jun took a deep breath and went over to him, then reached over and gently shook what she thought to be his shoulder.
"Jin?" Jun softly called to him.
Jin flinched slightly and groaned as he moved, pulling the blanket off his face as he registered his surroundings. His gaze fell on her as she straightened herself. "What time is it?" He asked, his eyes squinted.
"Nine," Jun said, stroking his head to remove the fringe from his eyes. "You wanna start getting ready for breakfast?"
Jin pulled himself to a sitting position and turned to look at Hwoarang's bed. "He's awake?"
Jun nodded. "Playing a game at the dining table."
Jin hummed in reply and got out of bed. Jun sighed, unsure if she should leave the room or speak to him about whatever that was bothering her mind.
"Jin... I... about yesterday..." Jun began, her words breaking up with the unsureness that she felt. "I'm sorry." She finally said.
Jin shook his head. "It's okay." He said, his voice almost a whisper. "I don't blame you. You were torn between Dad's peace and... Dad's peace. They are two of the same things, yet so much different."
Jun smiled as she sat down beside him, careful to not sit on his legs. "I'm glad that you understand. I realised that this Heihachi... he wasn't like that."
"I know," Jin nodded. "The way he reacted when he saw Dad sitting on that rock, he tried to climb up too."
"Yeah, he was distraught," Jun sighed. "I wish I didn't cause all of this."
Jin sighed. "No, Mom. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't the young Heihachi's fault either. It was the Old Fart's fault, just like Dad calls him."
Jun slowly nodded in agreement. "Yeah. He tormented Kazuya, he tormented you when he was supposed to care for you." She touched his face. "You had no one to turn to, yet he could do such a thing to you."
Jin smiled sadly, gripping onto her wrist. "I went to the wrong person. He treated me the same way he saw Dad."
Jun sighed and withdrew her hand, getting up. "Let's not talk about that. You should get ready."
Jin nodded and got out of bed. "You too."
Jun chuckled and left the room, closing the door on her way out. When she went back to the dining table, she spotted Kazuya sitting with Hwoarang, a slight frown on her face.
"G'morning," Jun greeted as she went over.
Kazuya nodded, scratching his head. "Had a good sleep?"
Jun was a little surprised that he was speaking to her so casually but nodded, a slight smile on her face. "Yeah. What about you?"
"Had a nightmare somewhere in between, but I slept well," Kazuya shrugged.
That got Hwoarang's attention as well. "A nightmare? What happened?" He groaned. "Oh darn, why is everyone getting nightmares? Next, I'm gonna have a serial killer chasing me in mine."
Kazuya snorted. "Nah, not that sort of nightmare. It was the Old Fart."
"He came to see you?" Jun said, surprised as she sat herself down beside him.
"Yeah, he did," Kazuya sighed. "I wish he hadn't though. Somehow, we were at the Precipice of Fate as well." He shrugged. "Looked like he hated himself for what he had become."
"What did he say?" Jun asked. "It's nothing... hateful, right?"
Kazuya shook his head. "No. He said that the younger Heihachi we're seeing now still has the light and kindness that he had lost. Basically, he urged me to give his younger self a second chance since he was my father, and not... the one that was killed."
Jun sighed. "Well, he's right about that. Heihachi stopped being your father the instant he threw you off that cliff."
Kazuya nodded. "He was a monster. And I made him know that in the dream."
"I'm glad that you did," Hwoarang said, stretching his arms back. "Also, I'm gonna get ready. You guys better go too."
Jun nodded and got up. "Kazuya?"
Kazuya nodded and got up too, following her back to their room. Jun patiently waited as he entered and closed the door behind him.
"Kazuya... I have something to say," Jun began.
"What would that be?" Kazuya said as he made his way to the table to get a few things.
"I'm sorry... for inviting Heihachi over for our holiday," Jun's voice quivered when she said. "I... I just wanted our family to be at peace, which... which was disturbed when he arrived." She looked at him as he stopped short, then went on. "I realised that he kinda felt the same way too, especially when he came over with that bag of things after Amber tried to ambush him like that. I sensed no evil in him, that's why I... felt the need for this."
Kazuya sighed, then slowly turned to her and walked towards her. He pulled her into a hug, to which she squeezed him in return. "It does kinda hurt that you didn't breathe a word about it to me, didn't respect my wishes to stay away from him."
He pulled away and lifted her chin to give her a kiss before continuing. "But I don't think I can blame you. Because you were right, staying away from him, with the thought of him still loitering about does still haunt the back of my mind."
"Do you still feel that way?" Jun asked, watching as he went to their baggage to rummage for some clothing.
Kazuya shook his head. "Strangely, I don't. I saw what you meant. He isn't the same as the Old Fart that raised me. He still has something in him that he lost."
With that, he entered the bathroom.