A/N: Alright, the ship anniversary update didn't happen, but I am updating TPS on Monday. Another Potter chapter for another Potter Day.
Hope you enjoy this chapter! I do love road trips - they lead to such randomness.
[Chapter 12]: Road to Kyuuya
Ayato got his revenge in the morning, because Hinata woke up bright and early—8:15, rather—to the noisy sounds of percolation. In his defense, it was no fault of Ayato's if the man was a light sleeper. As noisy as it was, Yuri had always slept through the coffeemaker.
When Hinata saw what Ayato was doing, he ran his hand through his sleep-mussed hair and flashed him a knowing grin.
"Oh, you kiss-ass."
"I wake up early, I like to be productive," Ayato replied coolly, leaning against the counter. "Besides, Otonashi likes Key coffee too."
Hinata's grin merely broadened. "Tell me the real reason."
"It's none of your business." Damn, that had sounded a little too defensive.
Fortunately for him, Hinata shrugged it off and went back to lounge on the couch. He whipped out his phone and started texting.
The truth was, instead of falling asleep immediately after Hinata had, his thoughts had drifted elsewhere for a while. Specifically, to the window. He may have been hallucinating from sleep-deprivation, but he thought he'd seen a little fall of rain.
Whether it was real or not was debatable, but it reminded him of what Yuri said earlier. By way of their intimacy during storms, he'd left a mark on her. Maybe that meant there were other ways he could jog her memory.
If he knew Yuri, her ears might not wake her up but her nose would.
She'd be coming downstairs in five, four, three, two…
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
Hinata glanced up from his phone, towards the direction of the rapid stair-stomping, and his smirk returned almost immediately.
"Nice look, Yurippe," he said, giving her a once-over.
Her shoulder-length hair was disheveled, locks sticking out and curling slightly, and she was sporting a somewhat rumpled silk green night shirt and magenta running shorts as pajama bottoms. Her eyes were glazed with the leftover sheen of sleep, but half-lidded with determination.
"Shut up," she said, taking a whiff of the air. "Who made coffee?"
"Your kiss-ass ex-husband did." He returned his attention to his texts, jabbing his thumb lazily towards the kitchen.
Following his gesture, Yuri looked Ayato up and down before approaching him. As she closed the distance between them, she eyed the steaming cup in his hands. "This brand isn't as cheap in this world. You better be even better than me at making it."
Ayato harrumphed and handed her the cup, not saying a word. The coffee, he silently reasoned, would speak for itself.
Not taking her eyes off of him, she hesitated at first, then brought the cup to her lips and took a tentative sip. As if he was somehow the exception to her "you can't ever go wrong with Key coffee" rule.
It was like the morning caught up with her face. She blinked twice, a sparkle in her eyes breaking through the sleepy glaze. She wet her lips as if sternly and thoughtfully critiquing it, but he knew she was just savoring the taste that lingered.
"Hmm," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Not bad."
Ayato watched her as she turned on her heel and wandered into the TV room with her coffee in hand. She was out of view once she took her seat in the armchair, but he heard her let out a contented little sigh.
He scoffed, but just the same, a small smirk crossed his lips.
Hmph. That's what he thought.
Otonashi came down not long after and mussed Ayato's hair happily when he discovered coffee waiting for him. Although his hair was untidy enough this morning, he allowed it—Otonashi still had special privileges.
"Smell wake you too?" Yuri asked.
"Nah. Kanade," Otonashi replied with a shake of his head. "Lately she's been getting up early to go to the bathroom, and it always wakes me."
"Bladder of a squirrel," Ayato said, shrugging.
Otonashi grinned into his cup. "No arguing with that. Mine's pretty strong, but I'm not about to give her that too."
Wait, too?
"Huh?" Ayato asked.
Hinata walked up behind Otonashi and slung an arm over his shoulder, nearly making his friend slosh his coffee. "Didn't he tell you?" he said cheerily. "Otonashi was an organ donor in his past life. Kanade had his heart the whole time."
Ayato was glad Otonashi had already taken his coffee, because if it was still in his own hands the cup would have crashed and shattered on Yuri's floor.
"You mean to say," he managed slowly after a stunned silence, "that you literally gave her your heart?"
Otonashi brightened. "I guess so!" he said, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling modestly. "I can't believe I never thought of it that way."
This earned him a small scoff from Yuri. "I should think it was kind of obvious."
"Weirdly enough, you don't seem as impressed as Naoi," Hinata said, giving her an odd look.
Ayato glanced at her too. That was weird. Kanade and Otonashi were both her best friends; even as tough as she was, one would think she would be in tears by now.
Apparently feeling their stares, Yuri shuffled uncomfortably.
"Sorry," she said, shrugging. "It's a pretty cool connection. I just don't get weepy or excited over lovey-dovey stuff."
Hinata laughed. "Naoi ruined you towards romance, huh?"
"I'm not incorporating him into this, seeing as I don't remember him," Yuri responded shortly. She examined her nails. "Far as I'm concerned, I've been single all my life."
Ayato regarded her for a moment, and she caught him looking.
"No offense," she added lightly.
But her once again bringing up the fact that she didn't remember him wasn't what was on his mind. At least, not this time. That wasn't what he'd gotten out of her comment.
So she hadn't been with anyone else since they'd divorced. Not even after she lost her memories.
Interesting.
After Kanade came downstairs and they all sat down to a slow, lazy breakfast, Yuri was ready to start pulling things together and get moving. She didn't have too much trouble getting Hinata out of the house; in fact, it was Yuri yelling, "Geez, just a second!" while Hinata was restlessly tapping his fingers against the glass of the front door and whining that Kyuuya wasn't getting any nearer.
Once Otonashi and Kanade came out with their bags, Yuri exhaled a finally and trotted over to the front seat of her car. "Let's go."
"Hold on just a second." Ayato came up beside her and leaned against the door of the car before she could open it. "Just how long is this little road trip going to take?"
"An hour and twenty-five minutes," Kanade said, double-checking the directions on her phone. "Give or take."
"I am going to be driving at least half of that," said Ayato.
Yuri narrowed her eyes at him. "Excuse me?"
"Your road rage is monstrous."
She reeled back, her cheeks burning an angry scarlet. "Wh-what?! No it's not!"
Her voice always got that high, squeaky, and stuttering when she was lying. Complete with the furious blushing. It was her tell—as blatantly obvious as it was when she denied overcoming her lingering emotions in the Afterlife.
"Really!" Ayato snorted, arms crossed. "Does this sound familiar?" He then put on his best high-pitched Yuri impression. "AHH, WHAT THE HELL?!" He faked a car horn for good measure. "ARE YOU STUPID?! GET OFF THE ROAD, YOU JACKASS!"
"I don't sound like that!" Yuri shoved him away from the door. "This is my car. You drove yesterday. Get in the back," she opened the back door for him, "and no more slandering my driving skills!"
"My dear Nakamura, I assure you," he said as he obediently climbed into her car, "I can, and will, backseat drive."
Opening the door to the driver's seat, Yuri made a small sound of annoyance.
"Ugh. No wonder I divorced you."
Ayato frowned, and opened his mouth to correct her, but a whap on his arm stopped him. Shocked, he turned to the person sitting next to him with a questioning glare. Kanade only blinked her innocence.
"That was from Yuzuru," she said. "He didn't want to reach over me."
Sure enough, when he glanced to the right of her, Otonashi shook his head and gestured for him to can it.
Fuming silently, he resigned himself to leaning back against his seat and watching Mahou Complex Drive pass by. A couple of houses down the road, a little girl was chasing a purple ball that was rolling across her front yard. When she caught up with it, she squealed in triumph and ran it back to the baby resting in their mother's lap. Both Mom and baby smiled, but then the mother caught sight of Yuri's car, said something to her children, and lifted the baby's hand in a wave. The big sister quickly turned and waved at the car too. Grinning, Yuri waved back as she passed.
"Who are they?" Hinata asked as they turned the corner down another street.
"Neighbors," said Yuri. "I fixed the older girl's scraped knee once, so we're on a waving basis."
"Cute kids," Otonashi said fondly, turning around in his seat so he could wave too. Kanade made a small happy hum of agreement and joined him, then leaned her head cozily on his shoulder when he settled. Three guesses where that was leading.
Ayato squinted at her. Better asleep than stopping them to go to the bathroom a million times, and yet… Far be it from him to have suspicions about her when they had only been reacquainted for less than a week, but there was something going on with Kanade.
He just didn't couldn't figure out—
"Hey," Hinata piped up, peering over his shoulder at Ayato and then shifting a cheeky grin to Yuri, "did the two of you ever—"
Otonashi quickly reached out and — with a momentary apologetic glance at Kanade for already disturbing her rest — smacked Hinata over the head. Twice.
"What the—Otonashi?!" Hinata swiveled around, too shocked to glare at him. He did, however, glare at Ayato, who was snickering into his fist.
Ayato was far too amused to ask questions, or even remember what he'd been thinking about just now. It wasn't every day he got to see Otonashi hit Hinata; it was like a dream come true.
Yuri, on the other hand, sent the backseat passengers a puzzled frown through the rearview mirror. "What was that about?"
"Hinata was about to ask something stupid," Otonashi said sternly. Ayato had never been so happy in all his life.
"I was not!" Hinata complained, rubbing the back of his head. "You never know—"
"Yuri certainly wouldn't!" said Otonashi. "And Naoi would have mentioned it, wouldn't he? Why bring it up?"
Grumbling, Hinata slumped back down in his seat. "Doesn't mean you have to hit me." He sighed irritably. "I swear. It's like having Yui in the backseat."
Otonashi smiled. "Are you coming on to me?"
"Very funny." But he sounded less mad, and had pulled out his phone. From this angle, Ayato could see Yui's name between two pink hearts in his contacts list. He made a mental note to tease him for that later.
Then again, he had to admit it was nice that Hinata was missing Yui enough to text her… even if getting slapped over the head was what made him think of her.
Apparently Hinata was having little luck getting texted back, so he'd given up on that by the time they left Noroi. Instead, he'd taken to moping about it, which the rest of the car (sans the very lucky slumbering Kanade) unanimously agreed was just as bad as the Shiina rambling.
"I'm not listening to this the rest of the trip," said Yuri, smacking her head against the headrest. "Does anyone have any music?"
"On my phone." Hinata sadly handed her the device, and she plugged it in.
"Two birds with one stone. Thank you, God," Yuri muttered.
"You're welcome," Ayato said instinctively.
Yuri shot a baffled glance over her shoulder, while Hinata and Otonashi groaned in unison, "Oh no." She then turned her attention to Otonashi, begging an answer.
Otonashi rolled his eyes. "Naoi used to call himself 'God' in the Afterlife."
"We thought he'd kicked the habit," said Hinata. He scoffed, eyeing Naoi in his peripheral vision. "Just when I was starting to like you."
But going by the expression he caught in the rearview mirror, Yuri was the most perturbed.
"You call yourself God?" she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "You mean, like the one I spent most of my afterlife fighting against? That God? How did I marry this guy?"
Frowning, Ayato shifted in his seat.
"It was only in the Afterlife that I made myself God," he retorted. "I can't be God of this world. When I say it now, which is rarely, it's mostly a joke."
"Fine, whatever." The familiar Yuri phrase made his heart twinge a little. "But again, no wonder I divorced you."
With Kanade asleep and Otonashi too far away to hit him, the temptation to set her straight was on the tip of his tongue, but a telltale strum of a guitar cut him off. He'd know that melody anywhere.
Yuri had pressed play on Hinata's phone, and Iwasawa's "My Song" was now emanating from the car speakers. Just as sweet and haunting as it had been when he'd heard it six months ago. Even a rested Kanade woke up to listen.
"Yui loves this song so much," Hinata said quietly. "I bet she's with Iwasawa right now. That's why she's forgotten all about me." Still, he shut up after that and listened.
But Hinata's comment… it stirred something in Ayato.
Forgotten all about him… Iwasawa…
If Iwasawa's song could bring back Afterlife memories once, then maybe it could do it again.
After all, wasn't it powerful enough?
Ayato held his breath, trying to be inconspicuous in watching Yuri as Iwasawa's voice lovingly crooned the lyrics to her. He wished he could see the look in her eyes if it worked – the flood of realization as everything came rushing back into her heart and mind, only hopefully this time without the headache. He'd missed her first epiphany because he was so wrapped up in his own. But he just figured… it might be an interesting thing to witness.
As it was, she was keeping her eyes straight on the road and he couldn't quite see her face through the rearview mirror anymore. The only significant, noticeable outcome at the moment was that Kanade was humming again. Well, at least Otonashi appreciated that. Strangely, Kanade had bowed her head as if she was humming into her lap… either that or she was falling asleep again.
"I'll never get tired of this song," Otonashi said softly, wrapping an arm around Kanade's shoulder and pulling her close. "It's what brought Kanade and me closer together."
How ironic, Ayato thought to himself, returning his gaze to Yuri as the song came to a close. But then he noticed something.
Her shoulders were shaking. Just a little bit, but they were shaking. And then he heard a sniffle.
Hope, clumsily blended with curious sympathy, seared within him. Carefully, he leaned forward and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Yuri…?" he asked, testing the waters.
She jerked forward, away from his touch, and a surprised Ayato fell back against his own seat.
"Nothing!" Yuri said, in a bit of a prepubescent boy squeak. She took one hand off the steering wheel to hurriedly wipe at her cheeks. "Stupid. I told you this song makes me cry."
There was a silence, and then Ayato slumped lower in his seat.
"Right," he said, crossing his arms and staring pointedly out the window. "I stand corrected."
Stupid song. Only good the first time around. Perhaps it had already given her all that it could. It could give Afterlife memories back but it couldn't break a stupid spell? It obviously wasn't as powerful as everyone thought. Of course, if a portable version of the song could work Iwasawa's musical magic, he supposed the Battlefront would have no need for his hypnotism. Personally he didn't see how it could make her cry.
It was emotional, sure. Touching, even.
But — and just say in this case she was the one and only Yuri – if she was the same Yuri he'd been together with for years, she wasn't about to go shed tears about one pretty little ballad. It always used to take something much stronger to make Yuri cry. Something actually tragic or heartbreaking, if not deeply moving.
As someone who hated tears, it was something he'd loved and hated about her. When she cried, she cried hard; it was just as contagious as her smile—
"MOVE, DAMMIT! THE LIGHT IS GREEN!" Yuri hollered, slamming her hand on the horn.
Hinata flinched and swore in surprise. Kanade's head flew up as she nervously looked around, wide-eyed and alert and extremely awake.
Ayato couldn't help himself; he started cracking up.
"Shut up!" Yuri turned her head so that everyone in the backseat got an excellent view of the crimson blush on her face. "What the hell are you laughing at?"
"This isn't the Afterlife, Yuri," he managed through his snorts of laughter. "You're going to make someone mad and get us killed!"
Yuri very nearly hissed in response.
"I'm not!" she snarled, gunning it once the driver in front of her got out of her way. "It'll be one of these idiots!"
Smirking, Ayato kicked back in his seat. "I warned all of you, didn't I? Absolutely monstrous. Does anyone else want me to drive instead?"
"No," Yuri said, in a misleadingly pleasant tone. "But if you're not careful, I will pull over. Don't make me come back there."
He arched his eyebrows. "Now that you mention it, I always liked having you in the backseat."
Yuri sputtered, while Hinata lurched and scrambled around just for the sole purpose of sending him a very wicked and very traumatized glower. But to be honest, Ayato could scarcely believe the words had left his own mouth.
Yuri had been the flirtatious one in their relationship, the one dripping with euphemisms and seduction. Although a little teasing from him wasn't unusual, for him to be the one turning her into a blushing mess with a clever innuendo after all this time… it was admittedly kind of a thrill.
"…I'm hungry," said Kanade. "Yuri, do you think we could stop somewhere?"
Hinata grimaced. "You still have an appetite after that?"
"I'll stop at Hotto Motto's, does that sound good to everyone?" Yuri said. When she got an affirming hum from Kanade and confirmations from the rest, she nodded. "Right. But I'm still driving after that."
"Thanks for the warning," Ayato said cheerily.
Yuri moved her seat back and squished his legs, making him yelp and kick in defense.
"This car is filled with nothing but morons," she said. Then, after a beat, she sighed happily. "I love it."
They stopped for lunch, and Kanade customized her bento box to her heart's content – but despite her strange and random personalized choices, she still borrowed from Otonashi's box, and he from hers. They really were such a young married couple. Feeding each other and sharing food. He used to be like that…
Oh no, he was turning into one of those bitter divorcees. Cynical towards public displays of affection and young love, when he had a feeling Otonashi was a little bit older than him.
As they neared Kyuuya, Ayato began to notice something else. Hinata had gotten rather quiet – and while this was not necessarily a bad thing, it was actually a little disconcerting. At first he attributed it to Yui not texting him back. He hadn't heard any alert sounds coming from Hinata's phone, not even when it stopped playing music. Ayato almost wanted to tease him about it – whatever happened to "absence makes the heart grow fonder," anyway? – but he was starting to pity him. And then he remembered the other thing Hinata wouldn't shut up over lately.
"Hey, Hinata," he said. The man in question eyed him suspiciously from the passenger seat. "How does it feel, knowing you'll be seeing Shiina again in less than half an hour?"
Hinata perked up, and Otonashi looked happy. Ayato inwardly cursed—did that sound too kind? Was he really getting soft?
"I'm just hoping she remembers me," he said with a little laugh, ruffling his hair. Ayato glared, taking it as a jab at first, but Hinata seemed to pick up on that. He turned slightly and offered him a half-grin. "If she doesn't, I'm counting on you."
Right. The memory-jogging operation.
Ayato shrugged. "I'll do my best."
Kyuuya was a quaint little town, with rolling hills and old buildings and open fields, but its apparent hypnotic hold on Hinata was stronger than any one of Ayato's by far. He supposed he could see the allure – particularly when they passed the high school baseball diamond.
Hinata, whose face was practically pressed up against the glass of the window, bounced into action as if he'd chugged buckets of Yuri's Key coffee. He pointed out the window, near the fence.
"There—that's where Yui and I first met!" he said excitedly.
Yuri snorted. "You're a goddamn sap."
"And you're an ex-wife," Hinata said coolly. Yuri reached out and thwacked him on the side. "Hey! Okay, you're just a long-time single spinster—" SMACK. "Stop hitting me!"
"Pay attention!" Yuri snapped. "You're the one with directions to her house."
Hinata sighed, but obediently sat back down and directed Yuri a few blocks away from the school. The house they pulled up next to was small and engulfed in trees, as if the owner enjoyed her privacy. It was simple but well-tended to and had an air of looming mystery to it. If there was ever a house fit for Shiina, it was this one.
They parked, but as the five of them got out, Otonashi started looking around in confusion.
"It doesn't look like anyone's home," he said, scratching his head. "I don't see another car anywhere."
"Eh, that doesn't mean anything," Hinata replied. "Maybe Shiina isn't the driving type."
With that, he bounded up to the front door like an eager dog. He raised his fist and pounded it against the doorframe with great zeal.
"Shiina!" he called. "Come on out!"
Ayato huffed as he and the others joined Hinata on the porch. The woman was a ninja – a light, friendly rapping with his knuckles would have sufficed.
But they waited ten seconds, and nothing happened. Yuri tapped her foot impatiently. Out of habit, Ayato checked his—bare—wrist (he was getting tired of doing that).
"Maybe she didn't hear me," Hinata said hopefully.
"The entire town of Kyuuya heard you," said Ayato. "She's not home."
Hinata opened his mouth to argue, but only a small, defeated sound came out. He fell back against the wood of the door and looked downcast at his shoes, scuffing the front step with his heel. Then he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, lost in thought.
"So…" Otonashi glanced at Hinata, then the rest of the group in bemusement. "What do we do now?"
"I think we should go play baseball," said Hinata, his eyes still closed.
Baseball… The entire group, sans Hinata, shared a meaningful look. Meaning they were probably starting to see what Ayato had noticed from the beginning—their friend Hinata may very well have cracked.
Yuri was the first to speak. "Uh—Hinata, I don't think anyone brought bats and gloves on this little road trip."
"Well, are we in my hometown or aren't we?" Pushing himself off the door, he straightened up and walked off the front step. Then, stretching his arms out, he laced them behind his neck and gazed ahead down the road. "We'll go to my old house. Visit my parents. I'm pretty sure they've got some of my baseball equipment boxed up in my room."
"Wait a minute. I thought you didn't get along that well with your parents?" said Otonashi, following him onto the front lawn.
Hinata just shrugged.
"Eh, what can I say? Absence makes the heart grow…" he paused, crinkling his brow, "…tolerant."
Ayato snorted despite himself, which brought a grin to Hinata's face.
"So how about it? A game or two at my high school's baseball diamond. It'll be fun," he said, jabbing a finger over his shoulder presumably in the direction of his school. "Who's in?"
Otonashi didn't hesitate. "I'm in," he said, raising his hand. His smile was full of fond, wistful nostalgia. "It'll be just like old times."
Looking quite chuffed, Hinata clapped him on the shoulder. "Great, Otonashi! I knew I could count on you." His eyes had a zealous gleam to them as they swept over the rest of the group. "Any other takers?"
Oddly enough, Kanade's soft voice spoke up.
"I'll do it," she said, hopping off the porch and joining Otonashi.
"Yeah?" Hinata said, Otonashi looking just as amazed as him. He chuckled. "I wasn't expecting that, but alright!"
"Her reflexes are killer," said Otonashi, glowing with pride.
Hinata turned to the other two, just as Ayato was following Yuri onto the lawn. "Yurippe, any chance-?"
"No," Ayato and Yuri said automatically. Otonashi's and Hinata's raised eyebrows made him smirk, along with Yuri's equally stunned and then unsettled reaction to his matching her exact tone.
Yuri turned to him, cocking her head to the side. "Alright, Mister Ex-Husband. Explain why," she said, placing her hands firmly on her hips.
Oh, this game again?
"Because even though baseball is one of the few sports you like, it's way more fun to watch it than play it," said Ayato.
"And?"
"And… because you'd much rather make fun of the players and heckle from the bleachers."
"…And?"
Now he was starting to feel like a contestant on one of those ridiculous Couples Trivia game shows. Why did she keep trying to trick him? There was no way she was going to win.
"And because… the only sport you ever cared about and actively participated in was gymnastics," Ayato finished, locking eyes with her in an act of dominance.
Yuri's mouth fell open, and he knew he'd won at the mention of gymnastics. It used to be a touchy subject with her. She had been at a birthday party with all her gymnast friends when her siblings and grandparents died in that crash. Out of guilt, she'd dropped out of the team, though she still loved to do stunts. Maybe not as major as jumping off of balconies, now that he thought about it, but the Afterlife skill had certainly followed her into this life.
He smirked at her lingering astonishment.
"What? You didn't think I'd know how flexible and talented you are?"
At this, Yuri's eyes widened considerably. A fiery blush tinting her cheeks, she opened her mouth again, but all that came out was a frustrated squeak.
"Let's – please – not go there," Hinata said, wincing.
Ayato smiled, relishing in the trace of misery and disgust in his tone. "What? I was just complimenting Yuri on her gymnast skills. She's very limber—"
Throwing his hands up to his ears, Hinata squeezed his eyes shut. "Shut up, shut up! I don't want to think about that!"
"Naoi, don't be gross," Otonashi warned. Then, crossing behind Hinata and Yuri, he grasped his shoulder and took him quietly aside, turning Ayato to face him. He had a firm but guiding look in his eyes. This was one of those moments where Ayato wondered if Otonashi wouldn't make a good professor in another life.
"Otonashi, I was just—"
"You're not making a very good impression with Yuri," Otonashi said to him, as discreetly and under his breath as possible. Ayato's breath caught sharply; the accusation felt like his friend had just shoved him hard in the chest. He struggled to say something in his defense, but Otonashi shook his head. "From what she's seen of you so far, you're a loud, dirty-minded, unbearable flirt who makes a big fuss out of everything. She hasn't known you for that long. Is that how you want her to see you?"
"No," Ayato said, frustrated.
"Then cut it out." Otonashi patted his shoulder and wandered back over to Hinata, who was watching them closely.
Frowning, Ayato lowered his eyes. What he said made a lot of sense, but being shamed by Otonashi never felt very good. Even worse when Hinata got to witness it. He joined the group as well, falling back in line beside Yuri.
"What was that about?" she asked, glancing between him and Otonashi.
"Nothing," Otonashi stepped in for him, and clapped Hinata on the back. "So are we moving along or what?"
A/N: Ending it here because while the next part may be shorter, it has to stand on its own. Welcome to Kyuuya - fate's gonna have some fun in the next few chapters!
Preview:
"Bro! Long time no see!"
"You know how much I like having a sister."
"We met at one of his high school baseball games."
"I seem to recall a baseball flying towards my face."
"I guess you guys never really taught me how to do that."
"Hey, we're not all bad."
"You had me at 'get out of here."
[Chapter 13]: Older Brothers.
