Flowershop

Chapter Twenty Five

Breakfast for dinner? Kiku sure didn't mind, but he could only imagine what Yao was thinking. But he knew that they had been taken off guard in a busy hour, and it was ultimately Alfred's fault.

Kiku sat at the seat next to Alfred, in the spot he always sat at. He looked down at his simple plate of bacon, toast, and eggs and felt a little smile creep unto his face. Every time he came here, it felt more and more like home.

Kiku was somewhat hoping he wouldn't have to talk, but even he knew that wish was foolish. His mother had arrived and was sitting at the head of the table, so of course he'd get interrogated a lot.

Within a couple minutes of eating, their plates were already forgotten, the owners too engaged in conversation to notice. Arthur was the first to initiate it. "So, how'v- I've heard a lot about you. Not from Kiku, but from Alfred," Arthur said, throwing Alfred a glance. Alfred looked a bit embarrassed and red to have been put on the spot, but he nodded anyways. Arthur wasn't lying; Kiku usually never talked about Yao to anyone but Alfred really. Kiku just had no idea that Alfred thought so highly of him.

"Kiku is a very nice boy," Said Francis, directing his attention to both Ivan and Yao. Arthur nodded in agreement. "So polite, I couldn't believe it at first!" Doted Francis. Yao nodded in silent agreement.
Why was the air so hot all of the sudden? Kiku shoveled another bite of egg into his mouth. He was really, truly embarrassed at the moment. As much as he loved Francis and knew he meant well, he wanted nothing more than to shove a napkin in his mouth and stifle that god awful accent. He knew Yao would most likely bring this up later, and he wasn't really in the mood to speak about himself.

"So, you can speak French?" Arthur asked Yao. Yao nodded, having a sip of wine. "Yes, I can. Not very well, unfortunately." He said modestly. Kiku strained from rolling his eyes. Yao could speak French well and he knew it. "So, how did you come to learn French?" Francis asked, a spark of interest behind his eyes. Yao put down his fork. "Well, I learned the most common way, I suppose. I had the option to take French classes in college, so I just took the chance. Maybe it would come in handy one day. I see it has," he answered back in French. Kiku looked up at Yao. He didn't even know how he had come to learn French, and it seems he would never find out. Kiku had never really wanted to learn French, but now he could see he was missing out, being the only one at the table who didn't understand. Emil and Leon even took French in school, and even Ivan had taken it upon himself to learn the language. Typical.

Francis' face lit up. "My, that was beautiful! You speak French very well," he said, waving a hand. He leaned in a bit closer. "You know, I taught Arthur French many years ago. But between you and me, its quite dreadful!" He laughed. Arthur smacked his arm in irritation. "How dare you! I took it upon myself to learn French for you, and this is what you say!" He said in frustration. Kiku's head whipped back and forth. He had no idea what anyone was saying, but it sounded like they were bickering once again. One day, he would make an effort to at least learn basic French. Glancing around nervously, he found everyone following the conversation. He sighed and played with his fork. Well, even if he felt left out, he was content that he didn't have to speak.

"So, Kiku, where exactly in Japan are you from?" Francis asked. He never really knew, and it just hit him he had no idea where his son's boyfriend lived. Kiku blinked his eyes slowly at Francis. "E..excuse me?" He said slowly. Francis blinked back before realizing he had asked him in French. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even realize! Where exactly are you from in Japan, Kiku?" Kiku had to think for a second before answering. It was strange, like when a person you meet asks for your name and you have to think about it. "...Oh, I'm from Kyoto," He said, putting his fork down.
"Oh? Where is Kyoto?"
Kiku had to think about this as well. "Uh, I guess you could say it's in the countrier part of Japan," he answered slowly. He had only been to Tokyo a couple of times, and they had a different accent when they spoke. It was kind of amusing, actually. When Alfred spoke Japanese, he sounded more like a city boy, and Kiku's slang was a lot more different than his. Kiku had fun watching Alfred struggle to figure out what he meant.