Hey everyone! I'm back with another chapter. The flashback is a sequence of the last scene from chapter 2. This one is from Yamato's POV.
Chapter 3: Memories
I was sitting in my bed, softly strumming the guitar my father gave to me a few days ago. Usually, doing this calms me down, but it doesn't seem to be the case right now. My mind was still racing with memories from two hours earlier. I'm still trying to figure out why I couldn't stop looking at Sora when she came back from her bedroom with her hair tied up in a ponytail. As I realize not even my guitar will help me relax and put these thoughts aside, I carefully put it away and lay down in my bed, staring at the white ceiling above and letting memories flow free into my mind.
"I don't remember you as a baby, as I was only a few months old when you were born, but my mother still says that whenever she's looking at old pictures."
"What?" She asked me. "Me having a curious face whenever someone had a camera in their hands?"
"That's right. I vaguely remember you being a curious toddler and a little older than that. I can still remember your reaction when you first saw Takeru, though."
"Really?" Sora asked with curiosity. "How was it like?"
"Well, you and your mother went to visit him a few weeks after he was born. The first thing you did that day was run into his crib to see him. I joined you not too long after. Your face wasn't that different from that one Pyocomon had when that guy who gave us a ride three years ago gave you a candy and she wondered what it was."
Sora smiled warmly at the memory and then tied her hair a little tighter. "I wish I could remember that, but my mother doesn't have a picture of that moment. It doesn't surprise me reacting that way, though. I mean, it was a new baby!"
"And then you wanted to hold him so much and your mother said no because you were so little and Takeru was a newborn. So my mother said it was okay and sat you on the couch before putting him in your lap. I climbed on it and sat next to you. When I came across his blue eyes I just knew I would do anything to protect him."
"I admire how strong your bonds are. I'm sorry you had to grow up away from him most of the time."
"It's okay." I said in a reassuring tone. "Thanks to you, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."
"Huh?" Sora had a confused expression in her face and she blushed a little. "Well, I'm positive the credit is all yours."
"No." I said firmly. "If we didn't grow up together, I have no doubt it would be way worse for me."
"I'm flattered, but I still think it's all on you. You should think of yourself higher, if you ask me."
"Easier said than done, right?"
"You got me there."
There was a moment of silence between us where we just looked at each other's eyes. I could tell Sora was trying to figure out what was on my mind. Before I knew it, my hand was up and about to touch her right cheek. She turned her eye focus to it, making me realize what I was doing. My face flushed and I immediately put my arm down. I sighed relieved when the oven beeped and was thankful it saved me from possibly being interrogated by her about it.
"The cookies are ready!" She said excitedly and went to take them out.
"I completely forgot about them." I said as I stood up. I was about to go after her, but after what happened minutes ago, I figured it would be better if I didn't push my luck any further. So I just stood still in the middle of her living room. "Do you need any help?"
"Now, it's okay." Sora replied with a smile. "Do you want hot chocolate syrup with your cookies?"
"Do people actually eat cookies with hot chocolate syrup?" I asked in a shocked tone.
"Yeah! Don't tell me you've never tried it!"
"I don't think I ever have."
"We need to change that right now!" She said as she got the ingredients from a cupboard. "I swear it's one of the best things ever!"
"Your opinion hardly counts since you are a chocolate lover. So obviously you'd say that."
"I'm hurt." She pouted and then burst into laughter.
"Oh no, you're not." I laughed along with her. "We should really start doing our English homework now."
"That's true. But it's so being so fun to see our old pictures and all."
"I know, but if I remember it correctly, you invited me over for that, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah." Sora turned off the oven and poured the syrup into a glass bowl. "But I think we should eat first, so we won't dirty our school material."
"That's a wise decision." I grabbed the cookie bowl and followed Sora into the living room again.
We were back at our previous sitting positions with the two bowls between us. I must admit they were really good. Sora had gotten much better at cooking lately.
"So how are they?" She asked me with curiosity.
"They are amazing." I replied as I dipped the cookie into the syrup and then bit it.
I was distractedly finishing eating it when I suddenly felt something weird on my left cheek. I looked towards Sora and found her making an innocent face while licking her index finger. She had dirtied my face with the chocolate syrup. She couldn't help but laugh before I did the same with her and her face turned serious right away.
"This isn't fair." She protested.
"Two can play this game." I smirked as I dirtied her left cheek.
And of course Sora wouldn't leave it be. She drew two more lines in my face with the chocolate syrup: one in my forehead (and I was glad it didn't come anywhere near my hair) and the other cheek. And then I started tickling her until she couldn't stop laughing. Suddenly it felt like we were children again. I can't tell exactly when it happened, but when I realized, I had her pinned down below me and we were only millimeters away from each other. I could feel her breathing getting heavier beneath my body.
"There's a cookie crumb over here." Sora reached up for the corner of my mouth and brushed the crumb away with her finger. But instead of removing her hand, she let it rest in a part of my face that was clean.
I didn't know what it was, but there was something about her that day that drew my full attention and I just couldn't take my eyes off her. Before I knew it, my hand was on her chin. Judging from how she turned her head away, I was about to do something I probably would regret later.
"We should probably clean up."
"I think I might go home." I said as I stood up, completely embarrassed to even look at her eyes.
"Why? We still need to study."
I was surprised to know she acted like nothing happened at all. I knew I had to get out of there before I couldn't control myself and I ended up kissing her. The simple thought of that was terrible. It would change everything, and it was the last thing I wanted. But then again, I wanted to kiss her so bad.
"I really should go."
"Okay, if you insist. I won't force you to stay." She walked past me towards the door. When she passed me, I could smell the vanilla scent from the body lotion she often uses. Once again, I found it hard to resist the urge to hold her in my arms and her face in my hands before kissing her.
When we got to the door, she turned around and leaned against it. She looked at me with the same pleading eyes she knows I can't say no to. "Are you sure you don't want to study English with me? My mom won't be home from the Ikebana School until late at night and I really don't want to be alone."
"Fine." I sighed and gave up. I knew I had to keep as much distance from her as I could, so I wouldn't lose control over my actions. I couldn't help but hate the way she wins me over sometimes, even if she's my best friend.
"Great!" She said excitedly and clapped her hands together before going to her bedroom to get her school stuff.
It turned out that things weren't as unbearable as I thought they would be. I actually managed to focus on my studying rather than on her, and I was beyond glad for that.
"See? I knew you'd still want to study with me."
"Huh?" I looked at her confused. "You literally bribed me into this. You used your pleading eyes because you know I can't refuse anything you ask then."
"I don't even know what you're talking about." She grabbed one of the remaining cookies and ate it in a way to cover her mischievous smile, the one that appears on her lips when she wants people to know she has no idea what they mean, but she knows exactly what they are talking about.
"Oh no, you can't play that on me." I looked at her, barely being able to hold a laughter. "It may work for other people, but I know better."
"Boring." Sora rolled her eyes in a badly played annoyance. "You used to be funnier."
"Excuse me? I beg to differ. I'm still fun as hell."
"Sure, keep telling yourself that." She stuck out her tongue at me.
"I don't have to."
"Sora, I'm home." Toshiko Takenouchi announced as she closed the door behind her and then headed to the living room. "Oh, hello, Yamato. It's been a long time."
"Good evening, Mrs. Takenouchi." I greeted her with a smile. "It really is."
"How's your mother doing? Have you seen her lately?"
"She's doing great. I haven't seen her in a while; I'm planning to during Golden Week."
"That's nice. I haven't spoken to her for a couple of weeks, I need to call her."
"I'm sure she will be thrilled to hear from you." I turned my attention to my books and began to put them into my bag. Once I was finished, I stood up and threw my bag over my shoulder. "I really need to go now."
"Did Sora cause you much trouble?"
"Mom!" She complained beside me. "I'm nothing but an angel."
I rolled my eyes at her audacity and smiled. "No, Mrs. Takenouchi. She behaved really well."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"I'll walk you to the door." She offered me and I began to follow her.
Sora closed the door behind her and we stood in the hall. She flashed me a smile and I felt my cheeks burning a little bit.
"So thank you for this afternoon and night. I hope the cookies were good."
"You're welcome. Yes they were." I casually shoved my hands into my gray school pants. "Sora, listen, I want to…" I stopped talking when she threw my arms around my neck and hugged me tight. I let out a soft smile and hugged her back, closing my eyes in the process. It felt so good to have her in my arms and so close to me. When my senses returned, I slowly pulled away. "Okay, I need to go. Today is my turn to cook dinner and my father will be pissed if he comes back before I do. So I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, sure. See you."
Now I was lying on my bed with my phone in my hands, staring intently at a picture I had taken of Sora when she wasn't paying attention. It wasn't long ago, when we went to the Hama Rikyu with her mother. She had stopped to see some flowers and she looked so adorable I just had to take that picture, though I never got to show it to her, I don't know why. I was running my index finger through her face when I heard some soft knocks on the door. I quickly locked my phone and put it away before my father opened the door and peeked in.
"Yamato, is everything okay?"
"Yeah, dad." I sat down and looked at him. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well, you disappeared after dinner and you never do that."
"I'm sorry about that. Today's been a crazy day."
"Anything specific happened?" He sat on the edge of my bed.
I sighed. I desperately wanted to talk to him about what happened earlier to get some advice, but at the same time I knew I would have to be brutally honest with him and I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear what he had to say.
"No, not really." I lied and scratched the back of my head, hoping my father wouldn't go further into the subject. "Hey, dad, can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, of course. What's bothering you?"
"How did you know you liked mom?"
He looked at me with his eyebrows raised and a confused expression on his face. I could tell that he was expecting any kind of question but this one. I began to feel my face burning and I knew it was flushing heavily. "Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Are you having feelings for a girl? Or a boy?"
"Girl, dad. And no, I'm not having feelings for any girl." I hoped with everything I had that my face wouldn't betray me. "I just occurred to me today that I don't really know how or when you knew you liked mom? Did something happen or…?"
He looked up as he tried to remember what had happened then. I crossed my legs and stared at him with curiosity, desperately to find some answers that could make my anxiety ease and allow me to see things more clearly. But still, I was afraid that the answer would be that I was actually in love with my best friend.
"I don't remember exactly." He said at last. "We met at college and became very close friends right away. Your mother was very smart, probably the most intelligent student in our class. It didn't take me long to realize I was falling for her. But I was too afraid of asking her out and receiving a no for answer. It wasn't until she hinted at it that I realized how she felt. I don't know if that answers your question, but yeah."
"Not really…" I said absentmindedly. "But it's good to know how everything started between you and mom. So…" I had to try in a different way. "How many dates did it take to tell mom you loved her?"
"I don't know, Yamato." He shrugged, visibly uncomfortable with the situation. I mentally cursed myself for not realizing it could be a tough situation for him, with the divorce and having to be away from Takeru.
"I'm sorry, dad. I should have thought it would be a tough position for you. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"It's okay, son." He smiled at me. "I know you meant well. I hope it somewhat helped you with whatever you are doubtful about."
"Wait, how did you know?"
"I'm your father." He said simply. "I can sense these things. Beside, we've been living together for years. I can tell when something's bothering you."
I opened my mouth a few times to say something, but I couldn't find a good answer to this. Instead and not surprisingly, he seemed to know what I was thinking.
"Whoever this girl is, you should tell her. You never know, maybe she feels the same for you and you don't know."
"Even if it risks everything? What if she says no?"
"So it is Sora then." He looked at me again, but I was too embarrassed to even look back at him. I knew that by doing so, I would be confirming what everyone had been telling all along but I refuse to believe. Looking up would mean I was admitting to myself I was falling in love with Sora. "Unless there's another girl you have a friendship strong enough to be ruined in case there's a negative answer."
"There isn't." I confessed, still looking at my feet.
"I see." My father avoided making eye contact with me, and I was thankful for that. He knew when to give me some space. "There's nothing wrong with falling in love with your best friend, son. That's what she is for you, right?"
"Yes, that's what she is. Today…" I swallowed hard. "Today we almost kissed. Twice."
"You wanted to kiss her?"
"I did." I buried my face into my hands and sighed desperately. "What is happening to me, dad? I almost ruined our friendship over a stupid kiss."
"Yamato, you're in love with Sora. That's what's happening. And it's perfectly normal."
"How is that normal?! Losing a friendship isn't worth it. What if I kiss her and she stops talking to me because she doesn't feel the same?"
"That's a risk you're going to have to take if you want to find out whether she feels the same or not."
"Sora is like a sister to me. We grew up together, it's just too weird."
"She's also a girl, Yamato." My father said firmly. "It's not a sin for you to look at her that way."
"Dad, you're not exactly helping me here."
"That's because you don't want to be helped. You are so desperately trying to get rid of a feeling you're so afraid of when it's really not. Now tell me, when you wanted to kiss Sora, how did she react?"
"She touched my face a little before that, but she turned away when I started leaning in to kiss her."
There was a smirk in my father's lips and it got me annoyed. How could he even laugh in a moment like this?!
"It seems to me she's feeling the same. She's just as conflicted about her own feelings as you."
"Ugh." I sighed with exasperation and let my body fall down into the bed, with both my hands over my face. I couldn't believe this was happening. How was I even supposed to face Sora now that I knew she might have feelings for me?
