Her Light & Tender Heart [Completed]

Prologue

A/N: Happy Update Day, everybody!! Isn't it wonderful? I honestly have no clue what to do with myself. Good thing there's no such thing as too many updates.

I'm really excited about this one—and more than a little nervous.

Huge, huge, huge thank you to a_force_of_nature for making this readable. I promise, one day I'll understand the function of commas. (I think I might've used that one incorrectly.)

Prologue

"Mama, mama! Watashiwomite!" Look at me! a young boy yelled, squealing with giggles as he peddled across the driveway faster than she thought his stubby legs should go. "Vroooom! Look at how fast I am! Inazuma no yōna!" Like lightning!

His little red car zoomed forward, barely refraining from toppling over, as he made a sharp turn around the flowerpot. Unruly, blonde curls bounced along wildly atop his beaming face.

"Don't go too fast, Seany." A young woman shook her head resignedly from beside the garage door. Her shoulder-length, midnight locks seemed to absorb the warm sunlight as she made a few notations on the article in her lap. "Clifford the Car could tip over."

"He's not gonna tip over, Mama," the youngster assured her, sighing in apparent exasperation. She couldn't hide her amusement as her son shook his head almost ruefully while he peddled even faster. "He's strong, like Daddy. And Power Rangers! Vroom vroooom!"

"Accidents happen, Sean," his mother reasoned, as both of his feet sped up. The little car soared over the surface of the driveway..

"Watashi wa shinchō ni narudarou," Sean called over his shoulder. I'll be careful.

She watched him roll across the pavement, tiny fingers gripping the steering wheel like a seasoned Formula 1 driver, while he slowed down to a crawl.

"Can I go on the street now, Mama?" Little Sean asked eagerly, scooting closer and closer to the edge of the driveway. His curls bounced with the motion, wide green eyes shining with excitement as he looked both ways on the empty road. "Like the big cars? Junbi dekimashita!" I'm ready!

"You can go out on the street with the big cars when you get your driver's license," the young boy's mother answered patiently.

"What's a driver liceman?" Sean asked with a frown, scooting around in his seat to face her. His big, worried eyes peered at her through the large rear window. "And how do I get one?"

"A driver's license allows you to drive on the street," Mrs. Green explained as simply as possible. "You can get it when you're sixteen, so you need to wait twelve more years."

"Sixteen!" Sean gasped, his little heart thumping in overtime. "But that's forever from now! I'll be too old to drive then...I'll be sai no yōna." Like a rhino.

"Sai no yōna?" His mother asked skeptically, eyes still glued to the article in her lap. "Why would you be like a rhinoceros?"

"'Cause old people are grey and have hard skin," Sean stated matter-of-factly, shuffling his feet against the driveway until he'd turned the car around to face his mother. "And they can't see good, sai no yōna."

"Can't see well, Sean," Mrs. Green corrected, sending him a stern glance. As soon as she focused back on her paperwork, his lips twisted in a grimace. "I'm far older than sixteen. Are you calling me a rhino?"

"Course not, Mama," Sean shook his head, peddling closer to the garage and giving the horn a quick beep beep. "You're pretty, like a finger painting."

"Oh, Seany, I better keep my eye on you." Her lips twitched into a fond smile. Her son's curls were precious, but she knew the mischievous glint in his eyes would definitely cause her more than a few grey hairs. "You're going to sweet talk all the little girls in preschool, aren't you?"

"Girls?" Sean scowled, his small lips curling back in disgust. "Yuck!"

"What's wrong with girls?" Mrs. Green pressed her son, her highlighter gliding across the paper as she made another notation.

"They like pink," Sean answered quickly, giving her an affronted look that indicated no further explanation was needed. "Pink."

"You used to like the color pink," his mother pointed out, much to little Sean's displeasure. "When you were a baby, you'd only drink out of the pink bottle. Your duck blanket was pink."

"I was a baby, Mama," Sean huffed, nudging his car against the bush beside his mother. "I didn't have brains yet. Babies are gross."

"A brain," Mrs. Green corrected absentmindedly. "And don't speak too soon. One day, I bet you'll have a beautiful little baby girl."

"I'm not having a baby," Sean rebuffed quickly, frowning up at his mother.

"Why not, Sean?"

"Because they smell funny. Unchi no yōna." Like poo, Sean explained. "And it won't fit inside my tummy."

Mrs. Green liked to use any and every opportunity to teach her boy something new about the world. Anything could be used as an opportunity to educate. She didn't like the idea of him having inaccurate information.

However, after a beat of hesitation, the young woman decided she'd better wait on that particular lesson. One explanation would turn into another question, which would lead down a path that she wasn't quite ready to explore with little Sean yet.

However, it wouldn't hurt to go shopping for a few helpful diagrams, just to be prepared. She made a mental note to make a run to the store the next morning.

"Well then maybe one day you'll have a little sister," his mother said somewhat dreamily. She and her husband had discussed it, but Sean was already quite the handful.

"No," Sean decided resolutely, with a shake of his head. "No little sisters. Watashi wa watashi no ringo no suraisu o kyōyū shitaku arimasen." I don't want to share my apple slices.

"But if you had a little sister, you could race your cars on the driveway," Mrs. Green cajoled, sneaking a sly glance at the now thoughtful child. He was sitting still; a small miracle.

"Nah," Sean eventually dismissed, sending her a beaming smile with every tooth making an appearance as he bounced into motion. His little feet kicked, sending the car zooming backwards. "I can just race you, Mama!"

His mother chuckled, turning back to her paperwork and giving him a warning, "Sean, you have four more minutes until we're going back inside to read your new book."

"But Mama, I already read my new book," little Sean whined, bringing the car to a full stop. He turned to his mother, bottom lip pushed out into a pout. "I don't wanna read. I wanna race!"

"You can race again once you're able to read every word in your new book without help," Mrs. Green told him firmly. Her husband had talked her out of setting up a study plan for Sean, claiming that could wait until their boy was old enough to understand what the word "college" meant, but that didn't mean she couldn't help along the process by nurturing successful study habits.

The small boy seemed to disagree, his face pinching in distaste as if he'd swallowed a lemon. He gladly shared his displeasure, giving his mother the silent treatment as he yanked the plastic car to face away from her. Then he took off like a lightning bolt, at least in his own opinion, as he raced the non-existent drivers on either side of him.

The imaginary car on his left was a blinding pink, causing him to grumble under his breath as he reached the finish line.

"Careful, Seany," Mrs. Green warned him fondly, as he pulled his little tike to an abrupt stop. He was bare millimeters from crashing into the trashcan and causing a mess, and she could tell the little bugger knew it, from the cheeky grin he was sending her way. "I don't want you getting hurt."

A/N: In case you didn't want to do the math, Sean is four years old in this one. :) Thank you for reading!