Dreams We Had

Chapter Nineteen - Kayden Akita

I stood by the baggage claim for a long time, people watching. I watched people from all over the world return, or arrive with their families, or just by themselves. The flight was scheduled to come in around five in the afternoon, and I waited contently for twenty minutes after that.

They stepped into the room happier and tanner than I had ever seen either of them. The moment our eyes met, Kian ran, no, sprinted, right at me, and hugged the shit out of me. It was so nice to just feel his touch after that long.

"Welcome back." I whispered. He nuzzled his face farther into my neck.

"Oh god! I missed ya dude! Oh my god! I'm too clingy for this traveling shit. I can't go for this long without some human contact, man."

There behind us Momo stood quietly watching us. Her face showed slight restlessness desire to leave. I tapped on his shoulder, mumbling, "Don't be the dick who third wheel's his poor sister, we'll pick this up again when we get home Later."

He stepped back with a smirk. I shook my head and laughed to myself. Momo stepped forward and gave me a little hug, reaching into her carry on and pulling out a little box of candy.

"Here's youromiyage gift!"

"Thank you! You didn't actually need to though, only he did." I poked fun, looking down at the small box in my hands then at Kian who quickly reached down into his suitcase.

"Here! I got you other things too, but here's the first one. The rest of the stuff is in my bag." He said handing me a small stuffed dog. It was white with light grey ears and a spot over the left eye. It had soft fur and an innocent expression. I smiled and held it tight to my chest.

"I love it."

Over the few weeks they had been gone I had lacked in all areas of cleanliness and hygiene. Momo gasped as I opened the door, and Kian awkwardly smiled and laughed to himself. Dirty clothes scattered the floor. Underwear in the kitchen, socks on the couch, and trash everywhere. I mean, yeah, there's no excuse for being a slob, but I hadn't ever gotten around to cleaning. Now it was too late. Whatever.

"Holy shit did a bomb go off in here? It's a mess!" He asked, stepping into the room. I looked at him with a pout and batted my eyes, playing the immature card on him.

"I'm basically a child. You can't leave me alone for that long."

He rolled his eyes and yawned. "I haven't been in a real bed for a week. Sleep. Need. Now."

I walked over to the fridge and tossed him a soda. He caught it in midair and placed it against his cheek and tilting his head to the side a bit. He closed his eyes slowly.

"Same."

"Wow, you two are weaklings. It's so early in the day. Stick it out." Momo shot, rolling her suitcase into the living room and emptying its contents on the floor. She separated out the clothes into three piles, and her stuff into four more. Whatever she was doing she was doing it very carefully. I followed Kian into the bedroom, which was worse than the rest of the apartment. The bed was unmade and there were dirty clothes, half eaten food, and whatever else on the floor. He ignored it and stepped over, flopping over onto the bed. I turned on the TV and lay next to him, placing one hand on his arm as he fell asleep. I leaned back onto my pillow, resting my head on my shoulder, briefly shutting my own eyes. I drifted off.

I woke up to a dark room. I got up, he was wide awake and cooking himself some pasta. I hugged him from behind and put my arms around his body.

"I'm glad you're back."

He did a little devious laugh, tilting his head back onto my shoulder and pushing back, "Me too." The way he did so was suggestive and I shook my head. He stood back up, wiggled his shoulders, signaling for me to let go. He broke free and reached for the strainer in the cupboard above the sink, carefully tipping the pot so that the water poured out.

"Y'know, Momo didn't want to come home. She wanted to stay. And I feel super bad because of it, but I told her we couldn't. Selfishly. I mean she could have stayed if she wanted, but I had to kill her idea because I wanted to go home."

"Don't sweat it. So, you told her no once. Whatever."

"I know, but she seemed sort of crushed."

"She could easily go back as an exchange student, or during spring break, I'm sure your grandparents can speak to the local public school and okay it with them."

"That's an idea." He said, leading against the wall and shoveling food into his mouth. 

"How was the language barrier? Did you have a hard time?" 

"Not really, both my grandfather and my aunt speak english, and our grandmother is pretty proficient as well. If we had any issue, we just asked them for help. I mean, I did speak it in elementary school so I had an easier time than momo did." 

"I figured you would. You're a quick learner." 

Kian stood back up again and set his plate carefully in the sink, then walked back over to me. He reached out and grabbed my hand, leading me back into our room. 

"At the airport you said we'd pick up the welcome back later," He smirked, sitting down on the side of the bed, "Is it later yet?"

"It's definitely later."