If Only

Nineteen

Liam is monitoring Shouyu's health as he runs on the treadmill. 'Hmm...his breathing and everything is stable. His heart rate is at normal pace but his blood pressure is high. What's bothering him?' he thinks as me examines his results.

"Hey son. Take a break for a moment." he tells him. Shouyu nods and goes to sit down after grabbing a G2 from the mini cooler. He sits down and hangs his head a little. Liam steps out of the office area and walks towards their back yard. "Come on. Lets take a walk outside." he says.

Shouyu gets up and walks with his dad around their mini garden in their back yard.

"Whats bothering you?" he asks his son.

Shouyu sighs, "This is the week I return to the field. I have missed nine games dad. I have been out of action for over two months. I just dont know how Im ever going to be the old me again."

"Maybe its time to be a new Shouyu." he says. Shouyu looks at his father with a raised eyebrow. "Last year, you were awesome true enough. But you were also distracted. Last year, you were more focused on your image on the field rather than enjoying the game itself. Maybe this was just a lesson to remind you that you should never take anything for granted. Cherish every moment like its your last son. Because in the end, your love and compassion for the game will be the image that everyone remembers. So, instead of just worrying about your stats or highlights, Just go and have some fun, like you and Riku used to back here."

He points towards the back yard and Shouyu reminisces on the times he and Riku would wrestle and tackle each other around the yard with their fathers football. Shouyu smiles at the memories and hugs his father, "Thanks dad. I will definitely cherish these moments. Now, I see mom has made lunch. We should go eat. I have to hurry before Amari gets here for therapy."

Liam grins.

"What?" Shouyu asks.

Liam's grin grows.

"Uh...what?" Shouyu asks backing away.

Liam grins and points, "You like this girl dont you?"

"Dad!!! S-shes j-just a f-friend." Shouyu stutters in embarassment.

Liam folds his arms. "Yeah. Did you know your mom and I started off as friends?"

Shouyu grunts and hurriedly walks off. "Dad. We are not about to have this conversation." He stops at the door and looks over his shoulder, "And yes, I DO like Amari." With that he walks away leaving Liam with a satisfied smirk.

Amari has just left her dad and is preparing herself to go to therapy. She enjoys the time she gets to spend with Shouyu. Even though its only therapy, she gets to touch his firm muscles, talk to him, and just gets to see him almost every day.

As she is preparing her bag, her mother comes into her room.

"What is it?" she asks her mother.

Terryn looks up at her sister. "Are you going over to Takaris?" Amari nods. "I wanna go too."

Amari raises an eyebrow. "Why do you insist on tagging along with me this time?"

Terryn smirks, "I wanna meet my future son-n-law." Amari immediately starts blushing and before she can say anything, Terryn bursts out into a heavy laugh. "You should...see...the look...on your...face!!" she says in between her laughing fits. Amari grabs her bag and hurries out of the door. She walks to the bus stop in front of their house and waits for the bus.

"Why dont you ever get one of our drivers to take you to your destination, Amari?" a stern voice says behind her. Amari flinches and turns around meeting the gaze of her father, Vahn.