The dark blue eyes opened suddenly when hearing the baby's cry. It was still early in the morning. Eiji looked at the familiar ceiling and took a deep, tired breath. He had traveled to Osaka on the night before and arrived at his home very late, surprising his parents.

He went straight to his room and slept like a rock. Eiji couldn't stand to stay on Shuichirou's apartment by himself with all the turmoil on his heart and mind.

Getting up from the bed, he crossed the hallway and arrived in the kitchen. Chiho smiled at him, she was holding Haruki and the little girl was already silently drinking from her bottle.

"Good morning, Eiji." Chiho said, before he sat down by her side on the table.

"Good morning." He looked at Masayuki, he was at the stove finishing to make breakfast. "Good morning, Masa-nii."

Chiho and Masayuki looked at each other, worried. It was like all of Eiji's energy had disappeared.

"Were you able to sleep well?" his father asked.

"You really scared us. We thought something had happened."

He lowered his head.

"I'm sorry for bothering you and coming like that."

"What are you talking about, this is your home, you don't need permission to come." Masayuki came to the table with three plates with omelet on them and put it in front of Eiji, Chiho and to himself. When he returned, he brought a big bowl of rice and another one of salad and placed it on the middle of the table before sitting down across from his son.

Haruki finished her bottle and Chiho put the baby on her shoulder, patting her back so she could burp.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I'm just tired from college." He said, picking up his hashi. "Thank you for the food."

He started to eat and his parents looked concerned at each other again.

"How about your boss?" Chiho asked. "Is everything all right between you two?"

"Everything is fine." He responded, without looking at her, feeling horrible for lying to his mother.

"Is it okay to come like this? Don't you cook for him on weekends?"

"He was out for the weekend. But I'll be back Sunday night, so it's all right."

Chiho stood up, carrying the baby.

"I'm going to put Haruki back to sleep."

She whispered to her husband "Talk to him!" without Eiji noticing, before leaving to the baby's room.

"Eiji, how are things at college?" he asked, before eating some rice.

"Fine." He answered, eating a piece of the omelet.

"We were very proud with your first report card, filled with A's. You were always a good student." he smiled gently.

"Thank you." He said, without any emotion.

"Hey, let's take a walk with Haruki? It's still early and the sun is good for her."

"Isn't her time to take a nap now?" he finally looked at him.

"We can take the stroller. She will be fine. Finish your breakfast."

"Okay." He returned to eat.

###########

Shuichirou woke up when the gentle sunlight entered Kunimitsu's room from a small gap on his dark curtains. He looked to the other side and the bed was empty. He could hear the sounds on the kitchen indicating Tezuka was already preparing their breakfast and smiled to himself

He picked up his cell phone from the bedside table and smiled happily when seeing Haruka's message with a picture of her and Takumi at the beach, saying they would be home on the next day.

Suddenly, the green eyes were wide in surprise, when reading Eiji's message. Tezuka was entering the room with a tray when noticed his expression.

"Did something happen?"

"Eiji-kun went to Osaka!" he was still looking at the message.

"He's from there, right?" he asked, sitting by his side after placing the breakfast tray near him.

"He went there without talking to me!" he looked at Kunimitsu shocked. "He never did such a thing!"

"Isn't he coming back?"

"No… he…" he looked at the message again. "He's coming back tomorrow night."

"So things are okay, right?" he said, before drinking a cup of juice. "He's not a child. You shouldn't worry so much."

Shuichirou looked at him and felt a little annoyed for his lack of understanding, but before he could explain, Tezuka offered him a bowl with some chopped fruits.

"Let's have breakfast and stay in bed until lunch time. I want to take you somewhere today."

"Okay." He picked up the bowl and started to eat, with a small fork. Putting his cell phone aside again, he couldn't avoid feeling frustrated and worried.

#########

"What a beautiful day, right?" Masayuki said with a smile. They were walking on a park near their home. He was pushing Haruki's stroller and the baby was sleeping peacefully inside of it.

"I guess so." Eiji said, the blue eyes lost somewhere.

"I remember when we used to come here to play hide and seek with you. Do you remember when you hid on the top of the tree near the lake and made Chiho cry because she couldn't find you?" he laughed at the memory but his son continued quiet. "Let's sit for a while."

"We only walked 15 minutes."

"Yeah, but I'm an old man already." He sat down in a bench, putting the baby's stroller in front of him.

Eiji sat by his side and looked at his sister. There was a finally a small smile on his face.

"She's so big already." He caressed her dark green hair. "I wonder what will she think when she's older."

"About what?"

"About me." Masayuki noticed the sadness on the blue eyes. "I wonder if she will like me."

"What are you talking about? Of course she will. You're her big brother. You even have a picture of her on the screen of your phone. I'll probably be jealous when she's older. You're so much cooler than me when I was your age."

Kikumaru felt his throat tight with his father's loving words. He touched Haruki's small fingers gently.

"It's so easy being this young. Not a care in the world."

"It sure is."

A soft wind blew and moved the trees around them and their hairs as well. Eiji leaned his back on the bench and looked up, closing his eyes, letting the sun touch his face. He took a deep breath and it felt like it was the first time he was able to breathe properly in a long time.

"Eiji?"

"Yes, Masa-nii?"

"Are you suffering with unrequited love?"

"What?!" he was shocked and finally looked at him. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Because you're extremely troubled and in low spirits, so I just took a shot."

"There's nothing like this going on!" he blushed deeply.

"Why don't you tell me what's happening with you, then? I know something is not right with you."

"I told you already." He faked a smile, lowering his head. "I'm just tired and…"

Masayuki touched his fluffy red.

"Do not lie to me." His voice was serious. "You're still my kid and I'm still your father. You may be all grown up but I can tell when you're hurt, Eiji. Please… tell me what happened to you."

A long time passed until Eiji was able to speak again. He was trying his best to not cry in front of his father.

"I'm… I'm still struggling with the storms."

"Is that so?"

"Therapy helped for last time, I was able to breathe properly for a little time, but after a while, I crumbled completely again."

"You know, Chiho was really worried about it. The two times there was a summer storm. The second time was even worse and I had to literally stay in front of the door so she wouldn't go after you."

"What?" he looked at him surprised.

"I told her you were probably doing fine, since you didn't say anything about it and that she would probably embarrass you showing up out of nowhere." Eiji noticed the pain in the copper eyes. "I'm sorry you had to deal with things by yourself. I should've been more careful. I should've call or check on you."

"There's nothing to apologize, Masa-nii. I was the one who hid things; I didn't want to worry you guys. You two already have so much on your plate."

"Did the panic attacks created problems for you on college?"

"Fortunately, it did not. But…." His voice trembled a little. "It was a hassle for Oishi-san. He had to take care of me both times it happened."

"He did?"

He placed his hand between both hands curling up his body.

"Why do I have to be so weird?"

"You're not weird, Eiji." He smiled, rubbing his back. "You're just struggling with something. Most of people are. People with depression, anxiety and other emotional issues, none of them are weird."

"But!" he looked at him and the blue eyes were glistering with tears.

"And this Oishi guy sounds like a good person if he's taking care of you. Even being just your boss."

Eiji was surprised for a moment, before responding excitedly.

"Oishi-san is the best!"

Masayuki chuckled.

"Is that so?"

He moved his head positively and quickly.

"That's good, then. But, I think it's normal for him, taking care of someone. You said he's a doctor, right?"

"Normal?" Eiji's heart hurt the possibility. Was Oishi taking care of him just because of his job? Did he felt… obligated to do it?

Suddenly Haruki started to complain on the stroller. Eiji picked her up and caressed her dark green hair.

"What's it, Haru-chan?" he smiled at her, the copper eyes looking at him curiously before smiling back at him.

"See? I told you she likes you already."

"Is that right?" he made a funny face to his sister.

"Let's go? She will probably be fussy from sleep soon."

"Can I push her on the way back?" he said, before putting the baby back on the stroller.

"Of course." Masayuki smiled.

When they were about to return home, he put his hand in his son's shoulder.

"Eiji, we're here for you, okay? Whenever you need. Just call or come back home. Don't forget about it."

"Thank you so much, Masa-nii." He finally smiled sincerely.