Soft Tidal
By: Aviantei
A DRAMAtical Murder One Shot
"Mom, you love Dad a whole lot, right?"
Haruka pauses in washing Aoba's hair, fingers covered in a mound of soap. She has to be careful since her son's hair is sensitive—literally, as in it hurts if handled too roughly—so Haruka pulls away, making sure not to get tangled in the long, blue strands.
When it comes down to it, love isn't something Haruka has really considered in relation to Nine. Sure, they got married a few years back, but they don't refer to each other as husband and wife. In Haruka's head, Nine is her partner, no more, no less, and she knows that he feels the same.
Aoba frowns, making a dissatisfied noise in the back of his throat. Haruka laughs, nervousness imbued in sound. "Of course I do!" she answers before pulling Aoba into a hug. "And I love you a whole lot, too!" Haruka tickles her son's sides, and in seconds the boy is squealing in sudden laughter.
Once she lets go and settles back in to gently rinsing out his hair, Aoba continues, "When did you realize you loved him?"
Just now, Haruka thinks, but she doesn't say it out loud. Aoba would only be dissatisfied by an answer like that, and Haruka wants nothing but to make her son happy, so that he doesn't have a childhood like hers.
"I don't really know," Haruka answers instead. Aoba still pouts at her. "Come on, now, listen to your mom for a second." At this, the corners of his lips pull closer to a neutral position, but Aoba's eyes still have a certain light to them. "I just don't remember the exact moment it happened. But over time, I came to realize that I wanted nothing more than to be around him and to live together, no matter what it took." The past few years haven't been easy, but that doesn't mean Haruka would want to get rid of them. They are her precious times with Nine, after all. "What's with these questions all of a sudden, huh?"
Aoba blushes a little, his eyes darting around before he looks back to his mother. "Dad said that one say I was gonna find someone I love differently than I love you, Dad, and Granny. The way you and Dad love each other," he answers, and Haruka can't help but smile. Leave it to Nine to tell Aoba something like that so early. "I just wanted to know what it was like so I'd know when it happens."
Haruka laughs a little. "Well, it might be different for you than it was for me," she warns. "But trust me, when it happens, you'll definitely know. And then you can let that special person into your heart and they'll be part of our family, and you'll be part of their family, too. Just make sure you're happy with them. That'll make Mom happy."
Aoba nods, a new determination set between his brows and in his eyes. "I will! Don't worry!" he declares standing up and turning around to face Haruka. "But if I'm not sure, will you help me figure it out, right? I don't wanna get it wrong and make you sad…"
Haruka pauses for a second. With the way things are going with Nine at the moment, there's a chance that he's going to have to leave, and Haruka will be damned if she doesn't go with him. Still, it's too dangerous to take Aoba, no matter how much she doesn't want to leave him behind. At this rate, there's a chance Haruka won't be around to see her son grow up much longer, let alone be there to meet his partner later on.
"Well, I believe that you'll definitely be able to figure it out on your own," she says. "You're a smart boy, Aoba, so you'll be able to figure that much out." It's a way to assure him without promising anything, and Haruka can't help but feel bad. The more she looks at Aoba's face it just gets worse, but she just can't bring herself to promise something that she won't be able to go through with. "But don't you worry, if you need anything, I'll always want to help you."
Aoba's smile widens, not quite a grin, but right on the edge of one. "Thanks, Mom," he says, and Haruka nods.
"No problem, Sweetie. Now, let's finish getting you cleaned up so we can eat dinner soon, okay?"
I wrote this during the Twelve Shots of Summer challenge, shortly after writing The Clownfish and the Anemone. Since that one shot was meant to focus on how Haruka and Nine love and care for each other without necessarily having to shout "I love you!" I thought it would be interesting if Haruka doesn't even realize she's in love until she looks back and has someone make her actively think about it.
That person happened to be tiny Aoba, and thus this fluff was born.
I hope to have the time to write a much longer story about Haruka and Nine someday.
Thanks for reading!
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