1. The talk

"Dad, do you have a second?" asked Takeshi as he went downstairs into the small kitchen his father worked in. His hair was wet, for he had just taken a shower and didn't yet dry himself throughly.

"Sure, Takeshi" answered the older Yamamoto, though anyone could clearly see he was busy with sushi making.

"I was wondering" said Takeshi and sat on a chair near his father. He stared for a moment at the table watching his father slicing a fish. The knife movements were indeed incredibly fast and fluent. It always reminded Takeshi of the time when father taught him the Shigure Souen style.

Tsuyoshi laughed looking at his son's face expression.

"Wondering? Don't keep me waiting, what about?" he said and rubbed Takeshi's head mildly. As he did, Takeshi woke up and smiled to the elder.

"Wondering, dad. Just so."

Both laughed.

"About mom" put Takeshi. His father stopped laughing and returned to slicing the fish. For a moment the only sound that could be heard was the knife beat against the wooden board.

Takeshi still glared at his father, waiting for a response.

"What would you like to know?" finally spoke Tsuyoshi. He didn't look nor happy, nor sad. He looked extremely indifferent and Takeshi knew it wasn't a good day to ask him about "those" things. Still, he already did say the taboo word, therefore he had to continue.

"You wish to know what happened?" asked the older man and glanced at his son trying to lighten up a little

"No." without a doubt answered Takeshi "I wanted to know how did you two meet each other..."

His father looked surprised. He moved his lips as he wanted to say something, but no sound came out. Takeshi never asked about those things. When he was younger he kept on asking, why mom isn't around or when will she come home. He never got to be asked about their first meeting, but it seemed to Tsuyoshi, that his son has the perfect right to know how did that happen. After all, he was nearly an adult by now and he would understand things. Maybe it was a good opportunity.

Senior Yamamoto closed his eyes and pondered a while. It sure brought back memories, that weren't uncovered for a long while. He never tried to remember his wife and never tried to mention her in front of Takeshi.

"Don't you remember?" laughed Takeshi and stood up. He took the knife from his father's hand and started to slice the fish himself "sit down, old man, I'll do it for you. It's your story time" Takeshi smiled and pushed his father on the chair, he sat on a moment ago. The elder Yamamoto smiled too.

"It's always nice to have you help me, Takeshi"

"No problem, dad. I actually felt like making some sushi" both laughed again and the atmosphere loosed a little.

"So I guess now I have to tell you everything." he sighted "It all started about twenty years ago..."

"Dad" already interrupted him Takeshi "Just don't cry while you tell me the story, OK? I don't want you to." he finished slicing the fish and went on with slicing the vegetables.

"I won't, Takeshi." assured him his father and continued

"Your mom was one of a kind. She was a girl with a beautiful smile – a smile that reminds me a lot your smile and laughter. For the first time I met her in a groceries shop" he laughed remembering the moment "she was helping out her mother in shopping. I was... Well, I was buying my sushi stuff. And I don't remember much, but I know, that it was the first time in my life, I bought the wrong groceries."

Takeshi laughed.

"All my mind was set on was her eyes and that smile. She looked back at me twice maybe. And each time our eyes met, I felt I flushed more and more. She seemed to notice that and laughed a couple of times. After she walked out of the shop I followed her and got to know where she lived. Luckily it wasn't very far from here. A week later I decided to try to get to know her... And I bought her flowers"

"Don't tell me she accepted them right away!" Takeshi listened to the story with his usual full-smile

"Hahaha, surely not, Takeshi. She didn't even see me, though I was waiting in front of her house for a long while! I chickened out and left the flowers on her doorstep and ran away. I was a courageous man back than"

"I don't actually see any difference by now, old man" Takeshi wrapped the sushi and put it on a few plates and turned around to wash the dishes

"Aren't you rude, Takeshi?" laughed his father "I don't even think she ever knew the flowers were from me... Actually later on I got to know she had a guy already and it turned me down. Even my own father couldn't help me out to get on with it. Those days I couldn't concentrate on doing sushi, nor on Shigure, not even on baseball..."

"Wait, dad!" Takeshi suddenly turned around "You played baseball?!"

"You think, your mother did?" senior Yamamoto laughed out "She never touched anything, that was connected with sports. She only used to look at the fit guys working out and drooled with her girlfriends as they saw 'em"

"Never would've thought... So you got her on baseball?"

"I didn't GET her, Takeshi. That's not the way a man calls a woman. Grow up, kid. But she did see me playing baseball... And she was the one to ever talk to me first.

After one training, she stopped by to see her boyfriend. He was on my team and he actually was my mate. As she saw me, she called me and said she remembered me from the groceries shop. And, that Yoroi had told her lots about me. Yoroi was that friend of mine. We had a chat, all three of us and I got better to know her."

"What did you do to impress her? After all, she was already taken, wasn't she?" Takeshi finished the dish washing and sat next to his father listening carefully

"Well, I brought her flowers and laid them down on her doorstep only at the days of our baseball trainings. She quickly noticed that it wasn't her boyfriend who left them there and of course she knew it was someone from the baseball group. Than a month later she probably knew it was me... And luckily she wasn't as shy as I was. It might sound a little dishonest, but we started to meet each other in a friends' fashion. She often helped me out with running the bar and I even got to teach her a little about sports. She wasn't good at it, but I never told her. Of course, who would have? We kept on doing that, until one day she said to me, that she had more fun with me, than with her boyfriend. And so we got together and I lost a friend. It was painful, but I lived through it as you can see. And I think it is far better than you have her smile, than if her kids would look like Yoroi did. He was one of these big guys, You know."

Both father and child laughed.

"Thanks, dad. I love your stories. They keep me on thinking you're a crazy old man." Takeshi stood up and hugged his dad, kissed him in the cheek and jumped back on the stairway.

"Hey, but why were you asking, Takeshi? Don't just run away like that!" Tsuyoshi stood up too

"Well... I-I though maybe I should ask you, because you succeeded in getting the one you loved so-... I em--"

"Hoho! You're in love, Takeshi?" now his father looked even more curious, than his son did at first

"Kinda" answered young Yamamoto as he stooped on the stairs. He knew this conversation won't end so quickly as he wished for it.

"Come back, come back. Now it's your story time, kid."

Junior Yamamoto groaned and sat on the chair again

"I just wanted to know, how can I impress someone I like, that's all it is, dad"

"And I want to know who do you want to impress" his father sat next to him again and looked him close in the eye

"There is this.. girl... She lives near too."

"Does she like sports?" laughed Tsuyoshi

"N-no I don't think so." Takeshi flushed "It's just I don't think I could impress her giving flowers or showing off while playing baseball."

Senior Yamamoto seemed startled again.

"What kind of girl doesn't like baseball, Takeshi?"

"Well, she certainly doesn't. I don't even think she likes ME at all." Takeshi stared at the floor unhappily

"Again – what kind of girl wouldn't like you? You're everything it takes. Each valentines you get tons of cards and flowers and--"

"Never from her"

"There" Tsuyoshi cuddled his son and patted him a few time on the head "There is no way, she wouldn't like you, or look at you. How come you're so sure she doesn't like you?"

Takeshi howled again.

"She has told me that lots of times"

"So you asked her about it?"

"No-- But she does tell me that everyday" with each word Yamamoto blushed even more

"Hmm... So you see her everyday?"

"Don't try to find to who that is!"

"As a father I have the right to know, don't I?" Tsuyoshi laughed again "Don't be so shy. Tell me"

"No way!"

"I'll find out on the wedding anyway"

"Wh-- What?!" Takeshi got overexcited and fell down from the stool. His father smiled widely

"So what is it you see in her?"

"What is it what?" Takeshi didn't even stand up from the floor yet. He just sat there embarrassed.

"Are those her eyes, her smile..? Her attitude? The body? What is it?"

Takeshi wondered for a while. He didn't have the slightest idea what that was. It was something. It must've been.

"I think I like her hair"

"Hair?" repeated Tsuyoshi astonished

"Yeah, and the attitude too. I think she's a smart person and-- I think I'd like to spend more time with her" now Takeshi felt a little better, having said all this. He felt like this time it was the truth.

"More time? Than maybe you should just be friends? Or you sure you love her?"

"I didn't ever say I loved her!" Takeshi shouted at his dad "Besides... it's not--"

a girl.

Good Lord. He nearly said that. He felt as he had to finish the sentence somehow, since his father was staring at him waiting for the answer.

"It's not, that I want to spend more time with her. I want to kiss her, go out with her or-- You know. Erm--"

Tsuyoshi straightened up and laughed again "Oh, my son is growing up!"

"Da-aad." said Takeshi annoyed

"I probably should get back to work, Takeshi. Make sure to do your best to catch that girls eye" his father winked at him and went on to the restaurant.

Takeshi was left alone in the kitchen still wondering.

He'd never do such a thing as dad did. He'd never catch Gokudera's eye with flowers... With nothing actually. The young Yamamoto knew very well, that Gokudera really didn't like him. He was pretty sure about that and he was told about it lots of times too. Every time he saw Hayato he was scowling at him, jealous about how Tsuna treated Takeshi. Gokudera used to roll his eyes and ignore him. And Takeshi couldn't do anything about it since Gokudera was so smart, so well-educated and so not-into-sports.

He stood up and went sullenly upstairs locking himself in his room. During this night he was about to make up some plan, that could make him closer to Gokudera. One day he might even be able to call him by his name.