Bubbles...
Bubbles are nice. Water is nice. Warm water is even better. Warm water with bubbles is a paradise!
Warmth has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. When I was younger I didn't had much of a problem with cold temperature and actually enjoyed winter because of the snow. Sure when it's cold enough outside, if you play with snow long enough, with or without gloves, you will get that freezing feeling crawling up from your fingers all the way up your arms, and the joy will soon transform into displeasure.
Then, I became more sensitive to temperature changes, and started to hate winter. Not only because I would feel that freezing feeling way more often and way more quickly as years passed, but also because of the growing lack of snow. Where I lived, or used to live, the entire region was more of a plain than anything else, and so the white winter gift gently falling from the sky would become more and more rare, to the point where I started to count behind my window how many winters it had been since I last saw and touched it.
Seven.
Seven long winters of constant sneezing everyday, frozen to the bone despite the heat turned on inside the small apartment, staring at the grey sky with empty eyes in the hopes that perhaps, by some sort of miracle, the white powder from the clouds would appear and cover the landscape with its thick blanket once again...
Unfortunately-
"Hikki-kun! Are you alright? Is the water warm enough?"
Ah yes, that was another memory from my past. Better give her an answer before she starts panicking.
"Yes, Yuigahama-san, everything is alright, no need to worry. I still apologize for the inconvenience though."
"Mouu~ Hikki-kun, I already told you that calling me like that makes me feel old... Come join us when done okay? Yui and your friends are enjoying talking with each other, but it also feels incomplete without Hikki-kun~."
"Very well. I was about to get out soon anyway. Thank you for understanding."
Saori-san...
Flashback 30 minutes earlier
As I still stand on the sidewalk with my back turned to the Yuigahama's house and the four females in front of the door, the taxi that drove us here turn down a corner and vanishes into the night. I end up placing my wallet down in my pocket while thinking back about what is going to happen to me when I will face her...
Yuigahama Yui's mom, Yuiga-mama!
I don't know her name, I don't know her age, hell I don't even know if she is married at all, because from all the memories of this fictional story I'm now a part in stored in my mind, never ONCE has a picture showed her with a ring. People who are/were married, widows even, ALWAYS wear a ring, but she never had one. But that's not the biggest part of the problem...
SHE IS SEXY AS HELL!
And... Yui is her daughter.
"... :x"
Insert loud confused screaming here.
So, while I was doing a stupid face full of contemplation and paralyzed by what my eyes might see if I turn around, I didn't notice two things that I should've picked up:
1) The fact that during some time in the day, at least in this part of town, it has rained, and there was a sizeable puddle in front of the sidewalk I was standing on.
2) A vehicle, a sport car was coming our way, most likely driven by an irresponsible idiot who didn't seem to know the definition of 'speed limits'.
Needless to explain what happened next, as if you have half a brain, and my 'luck', you had an easy time connecting the dots about what came to pass the next couple of seconds.
"HIKKI/HIKIGAYA-KUN/HIKIGAYA-KUN!"
The first thing that came to my mind when I woke up this morning was how this day was going to end with me in a bathtub, covered with water, trying to relax and think of something else but how unsufferable this 'double date' was going to be...
Now? Oh how I regret wishing for that...
I spit some water out of my mouth, and finally face the four females looking at me with wide eyes.
Thankfully, the darkness of night and my dampened wet hair sticking to my face partially cover my eyes, but my face is probably betraying my obvious displeasure.
"Excuse me, I was a bit absorbed in my own thoughts. Hikigaya 'Hachiman', male, loner, and... currently soaked. You must be Yuigahama-san, Yui's mother I assume."
I approach the front door lift my hand to offer a lazy wave, but Yuiga-mama grab my wet hand and shake it instead, pulling me in and standing out of the way to allow the others entrance.
"You must be Hikki-kun Yui has talked me so much about-"
"MAMA!"
"Please Hikki-kun, don't call me that, it makes me feel old. Come on everyone, come inside!"
The back and forth arguing between mother and daughter starts, with an occasional pout from both parties due to further argumentation, and while the Yukinoshita sisters are also silent witnesses of the close relationship they don't have between real family members, the only thing I can process is the fact that Yuiga-mama is still holding my hand in hers, and her words.
Don't say that in front of me ever again, Yuiga-mama. Married or not, if you say that to me one more god damned time, I'll do it! And I won't even feel bad about it!
I'm lusting after my classmate's mother.
In front of said girl and other potential love interests...
I'm a sick fuck!
"Hikki-kun? Are you alright? You should get rid of your clothes or you are going to catch a cold. Come, I will show you the way to the bathroom and give you a change of clothes."
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
YES!
"Oh my god! Mama! I'll do it and in the meantime, ehm... Yeah, you can talk a bit with Yukinon and Haruno-san! Come on Hikki, you gotta take a shower before you catch a cold." Yui exclaims while grabbing my hand out of her mother's, and directs me towards the bathroom.
Perhaps no one has noticed that I have been reduced to a mute drone following whoever was leading me by the wrist, much to my great joy but equally as great confusion.
When I manage to get a hold of my pitiful self and take a look around me, I'm standing in the entrance of the bathroom, with Yui crouched in front of a cabinet, searching for a towel in a drawer.
"Hey, Yui..."
I see her stopping her search, and turning her head to stare back at me, with a surprised face.
"Hey Hikki! I thought you had another episode for a moment down there. You scared me you know..." She speaks while pouting cutely. The blush on her cheeks makes her looking even more adorable, for some reason...
Oh, I see...
"I'm sorry if I'm intruding in your house and your family's private life but, your father isn't home right now, is he? I know it's not that late, but..."
I don't know exactly why my words keep coming out of my mouth, but what I do know is that I am only to shut up when I see her face turning sour.
I crouch to her level, and reach her left cheek with my right hand, brushing aside a few strands of her hair as she tries to look away, probably out of embarassment.
"He doesn't live with you, and you don't have the best of relationship with him, do you? Your mother isn't wearing a ring on her finger, so I can only assume you were born out of wedlock. There's nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I wonder if it's something us Gemini do share with one another..." I gently cup her cheek and lift my gaze to stare at the ceiling, feeling her face moving back towards me through the skin contact of my open palm.
"What do you mean Hikki?" She asks me, her voice soft and quiet, yet a bit shocked from what I can pick up.
"My parents never married, they split up 6 months after I was born, I grew up for the first 10 years of my life with my mother and her new boyfriend at the time, the best years of my life. Then they too, split up. As I kept growing, I developped a hate-filled relationship against both father and mother, things happened and words were said, and I vowed to myself to never ending like them... Another promise I failed to realize. If I am right about my assumption on you and your mother, then you and I have more in common than what we first thought, Yui."
I can help but lower my eyes to her level and stare into her red orbs, shimmering with the light above us. She unexpectedly leans her face into my palm more, and her smile comes back to life, even if it's a smaller one.
"Hikki... Damian..."
My name?
She just... said my name?
I feel her warm hand placing itself on top of mine, and her other one brushing my hair out of my face, the two red irises now half-lidded, coming closer and closer to me...
"Yui... I want it too... but it won't be my-"
"I know. But it will be my first, and it will be with you. That's so much more than what I ever dreamed of..."
Less than an inch away, we stare at each other, and she reciprocates my gesture by placing her free hand on my left cheek, until the two pair of lips crashes to form one.
The fingers of my right and her left one entangle themselves naturally, as if they were meant to belong together, and we slowly drift into a tranquil dimension of our own, taking our sweet time to explore each other.
We pull away from one another after a good minute or two, and her face, her eyes, her entire body is glowing, radiating warmth and happiness. This sweet, cute and adorable teenage girl got her first kiss, from then man she has feelings for, the one she loves, and it can be seen in her fuzzy red orbs that she loved every single second of the delightful kiss. If it had been just the two of us in her house, we would probably be going into her room now to let the magic of the moment carrying us into even more blissful moments and memories.
"I'm sorry that I'm having trouble with wording my thoughts right now Yui, but I think, I hope that you got the message I was trying to convey through this... shared gesture..." I say with a low and soft voice, unknowingly having a light blush on my cheeks, and soon enough the girl in front of me give me another kiss, a shorter one, while repeating the same words she said to me not so long ago, when she confronted me at school, before going to the clubroom.
'How am I supposed to love someone who hurts himself?'
Love...
I love you.
With a radiant and wide smile, she holds my hand in hers, and exits silently the bathroom, leaving me inside with a faint smile of my own on my uncovered face. Two clean towels are on top of the wooden cabinet, and down next to it are a basket and my schoolbag, which thankfully has been spared by the miniature tsunami that washed me.
I think for a second if it has been another pure coincidence and was just lucky, or if I had been unknowingly clever to pick my favorite casual clothes from the clubroom's closet. My phone was also inside which prevented me from losing valuable informations and... memories.
I sigh and shake my head as I undress myself, getting rid of the stupid Sobu uniform, even if it is black. A sober and dark color, way preferable to others like Orimoto's dark blue from Kaihin, or whatever else.
I wrap one towel around my waist, and place the other over my neck, washing myself first before entering the bathtub filled three quarters of the way with warm water.
As soon as I place one foot inside, careful to not slip and hurt myself for real this time, I am instantly comforted by the liquid warmth and waste no time sinking entirely in.
End of flashback
I really enjoyed the water so much that I pretty much dozed off... And didn't heard Yui's mo-
Saori...
Her name is Saori. And she passed down to her daughter her indredible genetics.
How did I knew the name of the woman who was overlapping with her own daughter in my blurry thoughts?
Well, I didn't pry too much, but it simply was written on the recipient containing her toothbrush, next to Yui's. And again, considering there were only those two on the wooden shelf, that pretty much confirmed my previous suspicion that Yui's father wasn't living with them.
Saori... That's a beautiful name. And I can also deduce that she chose Yui's based on her own.
It took me a good minute to pick up my phone from inside of my bag and search on the internet, but once I found the page, I felt myself smiling at what I saw on the screen.
'Saori name means "red flowing silk" or "white, floating lily". Saori can be written with a variety of kanji, but it usually means "nicely woven cloth" . It means blossom that blooms in any season like a flower that is in spring and autumn.'
'The name Yui means Elegant Cloth and is of Japanese origin. Yui is a name that's been used primarily by parents who are considering baby names for girls.'
Nicely woven cloth, and Elegant cloth? Heh, since I've never been good in Japanese, I guess I'll have to trust the internet on this one. And indeed, elegant and nicely shaped/woven is a pretty accurate way to describe those two cute women, mother and daughter.
...I truly am fucked up in that head of mine!
Sighing one more time, which by now seems to have become a habit, I climb out of the bathtub and let the water go down the drain. I can't help but stare down at it as it swirls and disappear bit by bit. I wouldn't be able to put it into words, like some of my more personal thoughts from earlier, but it feels as if, in a weird way, a part of me, a dark part of my past has been stripped from me and is now sinking in the depths of the city sewers, never to reemerge again...
I barely feel changed, or lighter, or anything peculiar. I look at my reflection in the mirror and I don't look any different from before, the same Hikigaya Hachiman face except for a few features that belong to me, like my red-brownish eyes, slightly more expressive and less dead-fish eyed than his grey ones. My hair are also an inch or two longer, and a lighter shade of black than his near jet-black.
Aside from those very small changes, I am still very much Hikigaya Hachiman, physically speaking.
AAAAAAH! Too much thinking! Stop that and get your ass of the bathroom now!
Yeah, I've been rambling long enough in that head of mine.
The sound of a pair of slippers can be heard throughout the Yuigahama household, along with a clinging. Four pairs of eyes turn to stare at the freshly cleaned and clothed shape of the person known to the public eye, at least legally, as Hikigaya Hachiman.
Midnight blue baggy t-shirt with white trim around the collar and the edges of the sleeves, equally large black cargo pants with multiple pockets, two thin chains dangling from the right side of his hip reaching past his knee, face cleaned of makeup exposing his real facial features, disheveled middle-length hair, bored look with his lips ever so slightly pursed.
Of course, three of the four women already knew of this very perticular look, but it still brought a blush to their cheeks due to how good he looked no matter the clothes or expression.
To many others, they would keep thinking that it's the same old Hikigaya Hachiman, only trying to look cool to attract attention, but seriously, why doing that if you're fine by yourself, as a loner? That would be kind of a stupid thing to do.
Heh, people are stupid, so it wouldn't really be surprising that they would believe that...
The only one who was shocked in fact, and didn't recognised the same male who passed through the front door half an hour ago was...Sablé!
Yui's dog was staring at the laid-back, slouched posture of this guy standing in front of him, and staring down at the pet, possibly with an equal amount of confusion between the two.
"Hmm? Sablé? You don't recognise me boy? It's me, Hikki. You do remember Hikki the Sloth, the lazy-ass, the always-annoyed guy, do you?"
I stare at the dog as I squat like a true slav in front of him, at present my hand slowly for him to sniff it. I can see his eyes moving from mine, to my hand, then back to me. It takes a couple of seconds, and a quick few sniffing motions from his snout, but he do seems to remember my smell, and jump straight in my lap, standing on his back legs to lick my face affectionately.
"OK OK! TIME OUT! I JUST GOT CLEANED! DAMMIT BOY, FIRST I TAKE A TSUNAMI TO THE FACE, THEN I WASH MYSELF UP, AND NOW YOU LICK ME! IS IT 'WATER DAY FOR HIKKI TODAY' OR WHAT?"
A few non-discreet giggles around the wooden table soon turn out into laughter due to my outburst, and if there ever was some tension before, because of what they were probably talking about, then it vanished into nothingness in the blink of an eye. And if the ambiance was good to begin with, it became even better.
"It looks like little Sablé here didn't recognised you without your usual makeup Hikki-kun." Saori giggled to herself as I lift my eyes and see a bright smile on her face, quite comparable with the one Yui wore after our intimate interaction in the bathroom.
I chuckle to myself and let out a small smirk while petting the dog now comfortably sitting in my lap.
Wait, am I a dog seat now?
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure no one would think that's what lies beneath the face of Hikigaya Hachiman that people see everyday, whether at school or in town."
"You don't say, Hikigaya-kun~. Do you remember how I reacted the first time you showed me?"
Of course I didn't forget Haruno... I even spent the night at your apartment, in your bed, with you using me as your body pillow!
Which was actually quite nice and warm... ANYWAY!
I nod to the elder Yukinoshita sister with a small wince and playfully narrowed eyes to fake anger, but being the smart one she is, she keeps giggling too and understand that my reaction was an actual acknowledgment.
"Yui has been talking about you for a long time Hikki-kun, sorry, Damian-kun."
The use of my real name tips me a bit, but a quick shout from Yui and the creeping blush on her cheeks instantly tells me that since she doesn't have a lot of people to truly speak to, and because of how close she is with her mother, she may have told the truth about me.
I shrug my shoulders and pick up Sablé, pushing a chair with my foot carefully, sitting on the object before placing the little rascal back on his impovised seat, AKA my lap.
"It's okay Yui." I reassure the girl with a disarming calm and small smile, seemingly doing the job as she instantly pout cutely and starts poking her fingers together.
"Technically speaking, since we are only a few years apart, I don't mind people I trust using my real name. And if your daughter trusts you with this kind of information, I trust you as well. That said, if you call me by my name, I want us to be on equal footing and be able to call you by your name too, Saori-san. Is this selfish request of mine agreeable?" I speak with clarity and sincerity, staring in the eyes of the woman who offers me a kind smile, and a happy nod.
"Of course~! Now now, I heard from Yui that you have had a rough past, but do you mind telling me more about yourself, please? I don't know why, but I'm so giddy I feel like being a high schooler again~!" Saori exclaims full of joy and excitement, making me raise my eyebrows before reminding myself that it must be a trait of hers she passed down to Yui.
"You still look young enough to be in your last year of college, or mid-university to be honest, Saori-san. Anyway, where should I begin?"