This is a side story of my other fanfic A Step on a Line. There will be one or two parts that will confuse you if you don't read it first so I suggest reading it beforehand.
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My Son Kei is a Sweet Boy
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When Kei was nine, he came home with a little friend tagging behind him.
He was slightly tanned from playing under the sun and has messy brown hair. Both of his hands gripping tight on his black backpack and his face scrunched up like he really needed a toilet right then.
I'm home, Kei said with flushed cheeks and pursed lips.
Pardon the intrusion!, the little boy shouted in high octave.
It was the first time Kei invited a friend over, so she welcomed them in with the brightest smile she had. She quickly went to the kitchen to prepare juice and snacks.
The little boy introduced himself as Yamaguchi Tadashi, and just by looking at how small and pure little Tadashi is; she already loved him.
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When Kei was ten, he dragged her to the local toy store after smashing his piggy bank.
Kei wasn't a kid who kept begging for toys and games. He spent more time on volleyball and his brother's PSP. And more over, his birthday was just over a month ago, so he should've gotten what he wanted when he got his presents. His brother bought him a small mp3 player and they baked a cake.
She followed as Kei walked from aisle to aisle; looking left and right and couldn't seem to find what he's looking for. So, she asked him.
Birthday present ... for Tadashi, he mumbled.
It warmed her heart knowing her son cared about his friend and even going out of his way to search for a present for Tadashi.
She only nodded and waited until her son settled on a few strips of dinosaur stickers on the cashier.
Dinosaurs are cool, and Tadashi likes cool things, he said.
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When Kei was eleven, he told her he's going to watch Akiteru's match with Tadashi.
It was a secret so he begged her not to tell his brother.
The day after, it was seven in the evening and both of her sons weren't home yet. She called Akiteru to ask him where they were and Akiteru said he's going to stay the night over at his friend's. Kei wasn't with him like what she expected at first so she worried her lip between her teeth.
The first one she called was Tadashi's home and she prayed Kei was just playing at Tadashi's house and forgot to tell her.
She recognised the voice on the other side as Tadashi's and he apologised before she could ask him about her son. He said something happened and he couldn't tell her because he thought maybe it's not his place. Kei didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment but Tadashi would make sure nothing happened to Kei.
Kei-kun needs some time alone.
The way Tadashi's voice trembled as he's he told her all those things showed a lot about what's happening and how much this boy cared about her son.
Even though she's still in the dark about the whole things that were happening to both of her sons, she's relieved at least Tadashi's with Kei at that very moment.
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When they were twelve, Kei complained that getting the futon out was too much of a chore.
They stopped getting it out on their sleepovers.
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When Kei was thirteen, he kept coming home late even though he said he's not in any club.
Maybe he spent his time over at Tadashi's place again like usual before coming home. When she commented on how rare it was that they're spending the whole week on Tadashi's place without coming over to theirs, Kei mentioned that Tadashi was in the volleyball club and they're not walking home alone.
Kei went up to his room before she could ask anything.
After she's finish washing the dishes, we walked up to his room and knocked on his door.
Behind the door was Kei, wrapped up under his blanket with headphones on.
She asked him what happened and Kei surprisingly told her everything. He had never opened up this much to her, it's usually always his brother in the past and she figured maybe after what happened a few years ago, Tadashi was the one he opened up to.
But this time, he couldn't. That's why he talked to her.
She nodded along and patted Kei's head as he told her.
He said Tadashi asked him if he liked volleyball and honestly, he haven't an answer to that. Maybe, just maybe, he liked it a little. Sometimes it's fun. Other times it's boring. But not playing volleyball was also boring.
The game on his PSP was usually enjoyable but now he just lost interest.
Tadashi said if he liked volleyball, he should join the club.
She smiled warmly and said she'd change the question just a little bit.
Kei, do you like playing volleyball with Tadashi-kun? If you do, you should join.
Kei's eyes glinted and she knew he had found his answer.
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When they were sixteen, she noticed the small things that changed between them.
They sat closer on dining table and on the couch. She saw them fiddling with each other's hands when they thought no one's looking. Sometimes their conversation would be quieter; as if it's a conversation just between them.
She's proud that she had noticed, because the changes were small and not seen often.
Kei and Tadashi were watching animal documentaries on their living room again, and she smiled at the sight of them comfortably sitting so close together that their shoulders were touching.
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When they were nineteen, both of their preferred university were in different towns.
At first, she thought they'd have discussed to be in the same city, but apparently they did not. They were bothered by it too for a while; she could see the tension when graduation day was coming closer.
They had been together since becoming friends on third grade of primary school. Walking to and from school every day, going to the same club and even spending their weekends together.
Of course being in different town, having different schedule, not seeing each other seven days a week anymore would cause a change in their relationship.
But it seemed she worried for nothing.
They must've settled it themselves and they didn't seem to worry that much about it anymore. The tension was still there, but she knew it lessened.
They're about to enter university now and not the kids asking her to get the cookies on the upper shelves anymore. They're now even taller than her and of course they could take care of their problems by themselves.
They'd be fine exactly because of the amount of time they had spent together.
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When they were twenty-one, the doorbell rang on exactly ten at night, on one winter Sunday.
She was not expecting any guest, and seeing Kei and Tadashi from behind the door had not shocked her more.
It wasn't their break, or holiday, or even entering weekend. It's 10 pm, on Sunday. Weekday's going to start the day after. Kei had not contacted her about his visit. It was sudden, it was ... unexpected.
They entered and what surprised her more was they were holding hands.
It's not that she had not seen them before. She saw it sometimes when they were walking home and pulled their hands back too late, or on crowded train where people wouldn't have noticed it.
But she had not seen them do it without hiding it. And even right in front of her.
Kei said he had something important he wanted to say with a serious expression as he was taking off his complete winter wardrobe even though it's only starting to get cold outside.
She called for her husband who just came out of warm bath and soon they're on the dining room.
Kei started to talk; about Tadashi and him being together since high school, about being serious about their relationship, about not wanting to hide it from both of their parents anymore. Their hands were joined the whole time Kei talked.
Oba-chan, oji-chan, Tsukki is really precious to me and I care about him a lot. Would you let me stay with him?
She smiled and reached out to pat both of them in the head; she proceeded to say that she had known. She had known all this time, for years, and just waiting for them to tell her.
Her husband laughed and said he could see that they're both the happiest when they're together.
Tadashi bawled, like he once did back when he was nine on his first sleepover at their house. He wiped the tears with the back of his palms and kept saying sorry for hiding it from them all this time.
Kei pulled his glasses off and rubbed his face, his eyes teary but he wasn't crying; the tips of his ears were red.
And that's when she noticed they were wearing matching rings which wasn't there before.
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When they were twenty-three, she was the most excited one about their move.
Oh wait―correction, it was her, Tadashi's mother, and Akiteru. The three of them got too excited picking furniture for Kei and Tadashi's shared apartment. They complained about picking a small apartment so it won't cost them much so it couldn't fit that many stuff in there.
She and Tadashi's mother couldn't help but being too excited though. While Akiteru, he just tagged along to get revenge on the unwanted furniture on his own new house in Sendai when Kei came to help him move a few years ago.
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When they were twenty-six, she was the one who cried the most on their small private wedding reception.
The guests invited were only their family members and close friends.
As the grooms chatting with their high school friends on one corner, she saw her son with the happiest expression she had ever seen. He seemed to be beaming, eyes wide and shoulders relaxed. His lips slightly upturned and standing so close to Tadashi.
Her son Kei is a sweet boy. Not a lot of people knew, because he hid it well. But little Tadashi seemed to have seen through him seventeen years ago. He stayed and eventually found a way into that barrier. Squirming into Kei's little bubble and settled there.
Tadashi helped Kei to expand his bubble; sometimes inviting people in, sometimes rejecting them and preventing them from bursting it and putting Kei in uncomfortable environment. It's not like Kei couldn't protect himself, but Tadashi was there to help him make it sturdier.
Right now, Kei was surrounded by the people he cared about and cared about him, and she couldn't be more grateful for that.
Kei's expression didn't show much when he's happy. But as his mother, she was fully aware of it. And with a glance to Tadashi, she knew that Tadashi was also aware of it.
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End.
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Hey I finished this! I've always wanted to write outsider's pov fanfic because I just love how my otp is being seen by the people around them. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I do!