Flowershop

Chapter Twenty

Alfred sighed, as Kiku's question was a hard one to answer. He stayed silent in thought for a minute or two before answering. "How my parents met? Hmm.. They never spoke about it much," He said, putting his hand on his chin, racking his brains to to remember. "Oh! Okay, so, Dad's parents are divorced, right? Well, his dad lived in France, so he would leave England every summer to visit his dad in France. Well, one day, he was just walking around as a teen, and guess who bumps into him? Papa!" He said, laughing and slapping a hand on his forehead. "It's such a small world!" He said in wonder. He turned to Kiku, his listening face on. "How did yours meet?" He asked, wanting a detailed discription.

"Well... see, I was actually there for this. Yao had to go to court, you know, for me, and as we were about to walk in, we see a big Russian smoking a cigarette, looking at us with dead eyes," he said disdainfully, grimacing at the memory. "It turned out he was our lawyer, and boy, did that irritate Yao. He really hated the fact that he smoked cigarettes, for some reason," he said, furrowing his brow, trying to figure this out like it was something very important. "Hm. Well, if you wanna know so badly, they are coming over in a couple of days!" Alfred said, his eyes widening as if he was just remembering.

Kiku went a bit rigid at those words, and envied the casualty that went with them. He glared a moment at Alfred, seeming as though he were taking him in, evaluating him. "Aren't you nervous? In the slightest?" He asked slowly, carefully choosing his words. His answer came immediately. Alfred smiled and shook his head, closing his eyes. "Mm mm," he said proudly. "What? Why not? You are just meeting them for the first time, you are meeting Wang Yao for God's sake. I was a bit nervous before meeting your parents..." He said unevenly, stretching the truth a bit. He wasn't exactly nervous, but he wasn't very comfortable either.

"That's easy! It's because I know they already love me. Especially your mom, and that's all that counts!" He said proudly, crossing his arm in a bold fashion. It seemed as though he was showing off to the word that his boyfriend's parents approved of him, and that he wanted everyone to know. In Kiku's opinion, it was sweet.

He chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "That's true... They won't stop talking about you, even Ivan. They are just as excited as you, if not more," he said idly, tucking his hair behind his ear again. "It seems it's time for me to get another haircut, finally," said Kiku, frowning at his own stupidity. He had neglected his hair, it had grown longer than it had ever been. Alfred lit up at once.
"I can cut your ha-"
"No. My mom can do it, when he comes over."

Yawning, Kiku put his head back, closing his eyes. He felt Alfred's chest shift under his head. "You better not sleep," Alfred said sternly. "Hm? Why not?" He asked, irritated at Alfred for keeping up this ridiculous argument. "Or I'll leave while you're asleep," he added triumphantly, crossing his arms. Kiku squinted his eyes at him in a scrutinizing manner. "No, you wouldn't," he said finally, sighing. Alfred huffed a bit. "Well, you're right, but I'll probably try to scold you for being unhealthy. And, you need to start getting into good habits, your parents are coming over soon." As he said this, his eyes lit up in a mischievous way, a scheming way. Kiku sighed loudly, and ended it in a frustrated groan.

"Oh god, please don't hold this against me... I'm tired..." said Kiku, rubbing his eyes like the tired child he was. He sat up immediately, then stood up quickly. He quickly walked to the kitchen, and grabbed a sponge. In a rush and probably a fit of anger, he started scrubbing vigorously at a spot on a dish. "What are you doing?" Alfred questioned, wanting to laugh a little. "What does it look like? I'm cleaning. It's the only way to stay awake." He ended curtly, nodding his head at the dishes. Damn. When he was tired, he could be bitchy as hell sometimes.

Since Kiku had turned down Alfred's help, Alfred sat watching Kiku wash all his dishes. He spent his time getting everything off, so every part shone like it was new. No food particle remained. His face seemed prideful yet impassive as he continued his work. How, Alfred always wondered, was he capable of doing these things concerning something as insignificant as washing dishes? He always seemed to be experiencing more than one emotion, concealing them, but wearing them on his sleeve all the same? It was something that both confused and excited Alfred. All Alfred really did was show them to everyone. But Alfred could never quite tell what Kiku was thinking, whether Kiku wanted to get his point across or not.