Chapter 18
Although the gift had brought a certain amount of interest and acceptance, it still was not enough for Shin to divulge his secrets as he had done with Sho. Perhaps one day his father would earn that place in his heart, but certainly not after just one visit. It would take many more. Shin lay staring at the little replica, hoping that Kuon would not make a habit of showering him with expensive gifts. Kyoko had thus far raised him not to be a materialistic child. Yes, having lots of things was nice, but it certainly wasn't necessary to become his friend. What had caused Kuon to slip into the little cracks of his heart was how he treated him and his mother. Shin saw that it was infinitely different than how his Uncle Sho treated her. Uncle Sho teased her and treated her like a sister. That much was obvious. What Kuon offered was something completely different. It wasn't uncomfortable like the men that had tried to date her in the past. It was more like a soft comfortable down blanket on a cold winter's day in front of a roaring fireplace, accompanied by one of his mom's specially made cups of hot cocoa, filled with whipped cream, marshmallows, and chocolate sprinkles.
He stared out from his little wrapped cocoon made of sheet and blankets, something very similar to what his father was known to do, at the star ship replica illuminated by the soft glow of his nightlight and grinned. He'd still received the precious princeling bedtime treatment from his mother before she'd tucked him in for the night, and he'd even received a bedtime story from his father. As he thought before, it was much different from the rambunctious playtime before bed that his uncle treated him to, it was very similar to the "gold star" treatment he received from his sweet Fairy Queen. He thought perhaps this should be allowed and that maybe his father would be able to fill that missing piece that seemed to be in his mother's smile.
He nodded silently to himself as he drifted off to the distant sound of the muffled adult murmurs in the living room downstairs.
It was nice. She no longer felt beneath the level that Kuon was in life, simply due to the fact that she was also amongst the celestial denizens of the entertainment industry. She'd been there for a few years now, even before she'd left Japan. One would think that what had happened then would have impacted her career greatly, but due to her talent and personality, she rose above it all. Not many had that innate ability to recover so quickly from such a disastrous fall. She was like a phoenix and she had risen from the ashes. At least that's what Kuon thought about the whole thing.
"Have you thought of going back?" He asked out of curiosity as he sipped the tea she'd brewed for him when he had gone to read Shin a short bedtime story.
She leaned back in her comfortable, oversized armchair, and pulled her legs up tucking them beneath her, before taking in the comforting scent of the blood orange herbal tea. She sighed out in thought. "Hmm, not really. Kanae, Chi, and Sho all come around when they have the time and Dad's got a production company he directs for here now… So, there's really no point in exposing Shin to that sort of toxic environment again."
He could relate to that. Certainly there were still a few out there that had more than a word or two to say about single mothers, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the possessive, puritanical environment that they'd been forced to endure in their younger years. Yes, there was a paparazzo here and there, but they didn't have crazed fans literally trying to kill them because they wished to have a personal life now.
He nodded in agreement. Actually, just brushing on this subject filled him with guilt every time. The entire thing, in his opinion, was completely his fault. He had dropped the ball every time it had been hit into his court and he certainly had no idea how to fix things. "I'm sorry…" He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. He'd already apologized to her when they were in the cafe, but it just didn't seem to be enough for him. "I should have done more to help out. I…"
She smiled softly and gave him a little chuckle. "What could have possibly been done, Kuon?" She sighed out. "We were both messed up. Neither of us was emotionally mature enough for a real adult relationship, and we were completely taken by an unfamiliar situation."
He looked up at her inquisitively. "And now?"
She was quiet for a moment. "I suppose I could give it a try…what we discussed before." She answered. "But I'm not doing this because I believe that Shin needs a father figure, Kuon. He's got plenty of those in his life. However…" She added. "We will need to take him into consideration too. I don't want this making him uncomfortable in any way."
He let out an internal sigh of relief. He'd been on pins and needles for the past week waiting for this answer. "Of course." He let out, trying to unsuccessfully mask his excitement. "So… what should we do now?"
She giggled. "I'm not really sure. This is kind of new to me too. Too bad the LoveMon isn't here. He'd know exactly what to do." She joked.
He chuckled at the horrifying thought and shook his head. "I doubt it. He would probably be dancing around the room, tossing confetti, dressed as Cupid."
"And Yuki would be in tears." She added in laughter.
He chuckled once more. God, it felt so nice to be so relaxed and to hear her beautiful laughter again.
By the end of their evening, they had talked about the many things that they had been unable to discuss on their prior meeting or date. Kuon was happily bombarded with baby pictures and videos of 'first times'. Although it was a bit heartbreaking to see for the first time after so many years of his son being alive, it was also breathtaking and gratifying. He regretted immensely that he hadn't been there for his son's first words, first steps, first bite of solid food or even the first time Kyoko had changed his diaper. Oddly enough, he'd even felt a little bit of jealousy creep up when he watched a video of Sho changing Shin's diaper and getting 'baptized' in urine, but it was something that was amusing to witness.
"Thank you. I had a wonderful day." He murmured as they stood in her hallway, near the front entry. They were both conflicted. Thoughts of, Should I kiss her/him, flitted about in their minds like so many little butterflies. Technically it wasn't their first date, so it wouldn't be the inappropriate thing to do, and they'd both agreed to try dating. So, would something like that be okay? He asked himself and before he knew what was happening, his collar had tightened around his neck and his lips were firmly covered by hers. She had taken the initiative and pulled him into a mind-blowing kiss.
When he finally recovered from his stupor, he was standing outside her door with the biggest shit-eating grin and she was sitting against the door in the hallway blushing furiously, wondering what the hell she had been thinking. Indeed the night had gone well.