Flowershop

Chapter Twenty One

Kiku no longer shook with nervousness and anticipation as he watched Alfred drive, but with every stoplight he grew more and more limp and begrudgingly accepting of it all. There was nothing he could do about anything. He was going to see his family, and that was that. He just sat in the passenger seat lifeless and tired, unable to do anything. With his eyes full of sleep, he looked out of the window, not opening his mouth once.

He wasn't a morning person.

He watched Alfred, annoyed at him for pretty much radiating sunshine. How was it that he was such a morning person? I mean, sure, Kiku liked being awake at ungodly hours of the morning and getting things done, but he really disliked the actual process of getting out of bed and getting fully awake. Alfred was actually like that too, yet he's more motivated than Kiku. Without Kiku's knowledge of this, it makes things interesting and sometimes even fun on Alfred's end.

As they got closer and closer to the airport, Kiku no longer felt accepting. He felt a silent, growing dread. It was growing inside him, and he didn't know why he felt this particular way. It was almost as if he was crying in darkness with no one to see, hear, or care. Almost as if someone was smothering him with a pillow in a vacant area, and instead of fighting back, he lay there accepting death, knowing no one for thousands of miles around would hear, and that he was no match for his captor. Which was actually true. He was helpless in this moment, and was no match for this. It was picking slowly but surely at him, like scraping meat slowly from the bone.

How was he supposed to go about this?

He had been anticipating this for weeks, but as time went by, it hit him. How should he act with Yao? And Ivan? It was stressful enough thinking of Yao, but Ivan? It was impossible! This was a man who sleep walks at night! Where did that even come from? Kiku had always found it creepy. At least Yao's sleep talking could be comforting at times, but anything over that was borderline scary, and... No! Just calm down.. He was over thinking everything... Kiku gulped as they approached the airport. He was starting to feel a bit sick. Ready to vomit, he took a deep breath, and put his hands together softly. He closed his eyes, and taking deep, slow breathes, he starting wringing his hands. He counted each time.
One, two three.
Three, two one.
Two, two three.
Eight five eight.
Kiku honestly had no idea where the random numbers came from, but it was working. His heart rate slowed considerably, and his breathing became a bit more even. Why, why was all of this so stressful? He was meeting his mother and stepfather for christ's sake, this should be nice, not stressful! He felt tears prick his eyes a little from confusion and frustration. Why was he even acting like this? He should be happy! Yao is happy, so why isn't he?

Yao, Ivan, and Leon got their luggage and sat down, waiting for Kiku to arrive with Alfred. Yao but his lip, furrowing his eyebrows. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Would Kiku even be happy to see him? He wasn't mad or anything, was he? Yao scoffed at himself. He was being paranoid and irrational, as there was no reason for Kiku to be angry with him at the moment. But, there was always a reason. Always something. Yao looked beside him, startled by the sudden movement. Ivan had reached over and held his hand, for anyone within a ten foot radius could just feel the tension and impatience radiating off this one man. Ivan's foot tapped away insistently. He constantly looked around for any sign of Kiku, and kept picking at his scarf. He was making the ends more frayed than they already were without even realizing it. Ivan and Yao sat side by side, holding each other's hand, and taking the hazy nervousness together. Their paranoia and eagerness to see their son grew inside them all at once, getting the better of them.

Kiku and Alfred waited in the car for a few minutes, Alfred mainly waiting on Kiku. Kiku looked at Alfred suddenly and started spewing out information all at once.
"Okay, so this is Ivan and Leon's first time in America, so we'll have to take it a little slow with them, okay? And you have to act really obedient around my mom... and Ivan.. and-" Alfred blinked, then started laughing. Really, really, laughing, from the heart. It both confused and angered Kiku. In the end, his anger overpowered the confusion, and he brought back his hand in an attempt to slap him, but Alfred, still laughing a little, caught it. Kiku probably wouldn't have done that at a different time, but due to the given circumstances, he was on edge. "Must you always laugh at the most inappropriate of times?!" Kiku hissed, his voice low. "No, no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just... We are right about to meet them! They are waiting outside the airport, so you'd think you would've thought to tell me this before. Again, it'll all be fine, Kiku, calm down a little! After a little bit, you'll ask yourself why you were scared in the first place." Kiku eyed Alfred's still smiling face. He scoffed and pulled his hand out of Alfred's, turning around and opening the door after a deep breath.