I was going to post a new story, but I felt it would be inconsiderate to do so without updating this one. Here's to my first upload in Reiwa! 平成、お疲れ様でした。令和元年おめでとうございます！
Paradigm Shift
Chapter 20: Eight
He was seated in the aisle seat by his boss in business class. He wondered just what he had done in his life to deserve this.
He had made a spectacle of calling Sora right before the plane took off, just to remind his boss that he was no longer available—as if that had stopped her last time. He wanted to pretend to sleep, but she talked to him the entire five hours, mostly about work but sometimes straying into personal questions.
"I heard you and your girlfriend got into a row at the picnic. How unfortunate."
"It was just a small argument, but we're fine now."
He turned on his phone screen, pretending to check the time but actually trying to draw attention to his wallpaper that showed him and Sora together. Whether his boss saw or not, she didn't make a comment on it.
As soon as they landed, the entire team was driven straight from the airport to a building where a full day of meetings ensued, followed by dinner and drinks at the hotel bar with both companies in attendance. As the night went on, the atmosphere went from business to more casual, with personnel separated by older managers, who were still talking about the deal, and the younger professionals, who had moved on to other topics.
Tai walked a fine line between the two groups. On paper, his title made him seem important, but in reality he knew all upper managers found him too young to carry the position. As the youngest one in management, he still felt more comfortable with his age group peers, but he always had to wait hours into a company outing before he could break away.
Networking was the key to success, as his boss would often tell him. She had forced him to sit next to her while reintroducing him to all of their new business partners, and she only let him leave for his own age group after most of the upper managers had left. He had been greeted by Shima making a lewd comment about his boss' obsession with him, which drew laughs from his peers.
Predictably, whereas the managers were still discussing the fiscal implications of their latest business deal, the 20- and 30-somethings were deep in discussion about where the night would lead them.
Tai brought his highball to his lips, pretending to take a sip. He had promised Sora he wouldn't get drunk, but business protocol forced him otherwise, so he had to resort to feigning.
"Kamiya isn't drinking," Shima called out loudly when he had finally noticed. He put an arm around Tai, drunk and excited because it was his first time being called to an overseas trip. "Come on, let's get smashed!"
He already felt lightheaded. "I'm done for the night. I told Sora I wouldn't get drunk."
Before Shima could protest, another voice spoke up. "That's funny. You don't strike me as the type of person who wouldn't drink just because his girlfriend tells him not to."
Tai looked pointedly at Fujii, a good friend to him and an even better friend to his ex-girlfriend Kiko. If Kiko had ever told her about what happened the two of them, he wouldn't be surprised considering how close they were, but Fujii had never given him a hint that said she knew. He suspected she just wanted to keep her peace between them both, not wanting to get caught up in picking sides.
"Well, I am," Tai retorted, reaching for the pretzels in the middle of the table that only made him thirstier for the alcohol everyone else was drinking. He drank water instead.
Fujii didn't let him off the hook.
"You know what your problem is, Kamiya?" she said, pointing a finger at him. "You're a really good friend, but I bet you'd make a terrible boyfriend."
"Thank you," Tai said dryly.
"I'm serious. As a friend, I feel like I could go to you for anything, and you'd be there for me no matter what it was, but if any of my friends asked me to set her up with you, I'd never put them through that."
"Well, lucky for your friends, I already have a girlfriend, so you don't have to worry about me being a terrible boyfriend to any of them," Tai retorted.
"Aw, you're hurting Kamiya's feelings," Shima teased, laughing and pushing his highball to his mouth. "Come on, drink! You might have a girlfriend, but I'm single. Let's hit Hong Kong after this. You can be my wingman. Your girlfriend won't care if you're helping someone else, right?"
"I'm not going anywhere," Tai muttered, swatting Shima's hand away.
"Don't let Fujii hurt your feelings! I'm sure you're a great boyfriend. Almost as good as you are being my wingman."
"I said I'm not going," Tai repeated, standing up. He felt the alcohol from earlier rush through his system. "I'm going back to my room."
He ignored the slew of swear words Shima called him, glancing at the upper managers' table to check whether they were listening on their conversation and judging them for it. They weren't, but he made eye contact with his boss.
She beckoned him over with a wave of her hand, and he obediently went to her. As he was walking, she too got up and met him halfway, took his arm and led him away from the group. He could practically feel the judgment exuding from Shima and Fujii, their eyes glued to her fingers gripping him.
"Kamiya, I have feedback for you," his boss started with a warm look that didn't fit her stoic image, "The head of procurement was gushing over how charming you are. You do have that ability to fixate people, don't you?"
Tai didn't answer. He couldn't tell whether she was complimenting him or making a move, but he didn't want to come across as anything but apathetic.
His body betrayed him. He hiccoughed.
"Did you drink too much?" she asked him wryly.
"No, ma'am," he answered before holding his breath.
He wasn't drunk, but he was definitely not sober, because when his boss suddenly asked him to follow her to her room to discuss something crucial pertaining to the meetings tomorrow, he couldn't think of a good enough excuse and ended up agreeing.
He was not naïve. This was the exact way she had lured him to her room last time, but because she was his boss, he wasn't going to tell her no just because he thought she was trying to make a pass at him. He would just keep his guard up.
"Sit," she commanded when she closed the door.
Instinctively obeying her, he sat down without thinking, though he was glad he had gone for the one-person seat instead of the couch that could fit both of them.
"Would you like wine?"
"No, thank you. I told my girlfriend I wouldn't drink so much here."
"The thought of your girlfriend didn't stop you the last time we went abroad, Kamiya." She took off her blazer and tossed it on the couch. "You were dating Hattori then, correct?"
"What was it you wanted to discuss?" he asked, changing the subject.
She looked at him, not allowing him any room to pretend to misinterpret between the lines. "I had a lot of fun with you that night."
He couldn't remember much of what had happened then, but he equated that decision with his alcohol consumption at the time.
He stood up again, feeling brave. "I want to apologise for that night. It was a mistake on my end that I think we should both work to forget. Was there anything else you wanted to see me for? I have to call my girlfriend."
She smiled again.
"I know you have a girlfriend, Kamiya. You don't have to keep mentioning it, as if you're trying to drop a hint. I might even get offended." She reached for a pile of papers on the table in front of him and handed them to him. "This is a briefing of the meetings scheduled for tomorrow. I handed them out earlier, but I forgot to give you yours. Your responsibilities are highlighted in orange. I trust you can memorize this by the morning?"
He felt himself grow hot, embarrassed for some unknown reason. He quickly confirmed he would.
She opened the door for him, smiling mischievously. "Have a good night, Kamiya."
He walked across the threshold, considering for a moment if he too could cross a line. Were it not for the alcohol inhibiting his self-control, he probably would have reconsidered, but he finally asked what had been bothering him for so long.
"Was I promoted for my performance, or was it because of what happened last year?"
She laughed at him.
His boss was an authoritative figure, and she had the uncanny ability to make him feel like a small child.
"Kamiya, had I known you think so lowly of me, I would not have promoted you."
She seemed finished, but as she hadn't answered, he stood his ground.
"So you promoted me for my performance," he concluded, though he had said it more like a question.
She rephrased herself. "I wouldn't let some fleeting, meaningless temptation cloud my judgment of professional merit."
He felt a sense of relief for something that had been a question mark in his mind since his promotion, rendered short when he felt her hand stroking his chest.
"You being so dashing is just a bonus," she whirred, and Tai looked out the open door to make sure nobody was in the corridor. He instinctively reached to remove her hand from his body. She was smirking. "How old did you say you are again?"
"I'm 27."
She took a step back and burst out laughing. "So young!" Her laugh rang louder than anything he had ever heard from her, and just as he felt even smaller, she added, "I suppose it did help then. I didn't realise you're still just a boy, Kamiya."
His sense of relief dissipated, and in its place formed puzzlement and dread. "I don't understand. Are you saying I didn't deserve it?"
"I'm saying this is a business, and networking is everything." She raised a condescending smile. "Each person finds their own way in. Yours is just… unconventional, though maybe not uncommon. You work hard, Kamiya. Nobody can deny that, and I want you to continue working hard to memorise this briefing." She tapped the papers in his hand and gave him a slight push towards the door. "Now, didn't you say you have a girlfriend to call?"
He felt numb as she deposited him outside and shut the door between them. For as much as he had tried to avoid her all day, he suddenly felt the desire to barge back in, demand an explanation, reprimand her for treating him like a child, threaten to quit if she was going to see him as so insignificant when she was supposed to be in charge of his career.
Instead, he turned and went to his own room down the hallway. He wanted to call Sora, but what he wanted to talk about was this, and he couldn't. As if the embarrassment weren't enough, he could already imagine everything she would say. He deserved it for being so stupid. It was karma for cheating on Kiko. Wasn't he always saying he wanted to quit anyway?
He kicked off his shoes, tossed the papers his boss had given him on the desk, and threw himself on the bed.
"Hello?" Sora answered after a few rings.
"Sora, I've just come from my boss' room. She called me dashing."
"Tai." She sounded agitated just by his greeting, which had been his intention. "Just tell me now how angry I'm going to be so I can prepare myself."
"I didn't do anything."
"Why would you even go into her room?" she asked sharply.
"Because she told me to go, and I didn't want to get fired." Before she could argue back, he added, "Just so you know, after she sexually harassed me, it turned out she actually did have something work relevant to give me. I have to go back to work after I get off the phone with you, so can't you feel sorry for me?"
"Don't even try. You know I don't feel sorry for you. Did you drink?"
"I'll have you know I did an excellent job pretending to drink."
"So you didn't drink?"
"I drank a little."
"How much is a little?"
"You're definitely trying to pick a fight," he pointed out. "Can't we talk about something else instead? Like how much you miss me?"
She didn't say anything. He held the phone to his ear, waiting for her to speak. He tried to be patient, distracting himself by fumbling with the buttons of his shirt, but it was no use as he knew she would outlast him.
"I wish you were here," he said to her.
"I do too, so I can keep an eye on you."
He chuckled and clarified, "I wish you were here because I miss you."
She didn't say anything.
"I miss you," he repeated.
"You're so clingy."
He laughed, trying to imagine her expression. "One of us has to be. Might as well be me, since you're way more stubborn."
She didn't laugh back.
"Are you angry I drank?"
"No."
"Are you angry I followed my boss to her room?"
"Kind of."
"I wish you were here."
"You said that already."
"I'm saying it again because you haven't yet said it back to me. Don't think I'm so imperceptive."
He felt his mobile vibrate. He pulled it from his ear to check who else was calling him. He expected it to be someone from work but it was his mother. He hit "ignore" and put the receiver back to his ear, sighing.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"My mum is calling me."
"You should answer it."
"I'd rather talk to you to see how long it'll take for you to admit that you miss me."
"Answer your mother, Tai. Tell her I say hello."
Before he could protest, she hung up on him. Sighing again, he begrudgingly answered the other line.
"Hello Mother."
"Oh!" she exclaimed, sounding surprised. "You picked up."
"Of course I did. If you ring me, I'll answer."
"Well, I know how busy you always are. I feel bad for bothering you."
"You aren't bothering me, Mum." To update her on his life, he added, "I'm in Hong Kong."
"Oh, I didn't know you were traveling. Is it for work, honey?" Without waiting for a response, she asked, "How's Sora?"
He straightened his body out of reflex, immediately suspicious. "She's fine. Why do you ask?"
"Have you remembered to call her? It's all right if you don't call your mother, but you need to remember to call Sora often. Otherwise, she'll find someone who does."
He rolled his eyes since she wasn't there to lecture him for it. "Yes, Mum, I was just speaking to her. She says hello. Did you call me just to remind me to call my girlfriend?"
His mother started giggling. "Listen to you, referring to her as your girlfriend. That's so cute of you, Tai."
"I'm not cute at all."
"I gave birth to you. You'll always be cute in my eyes."
"Mum, is there a reason you called me?"
"Why do I need a reason to call my only son? But yes, there is something I wanted to ask. You said Sora works with kimono, right?"
"Yes… Why…?"
"Remember my friend's daughter that I tried to set you up with? Well, as it turns out, even she is getting married before you, so Kari and I both need to get new kimono for her wedding. Would you hate it if I asked Sora for advice? I said you'd be fine with it, but Kari insists that I ask you for permission first."
He didn't say anything.
"Hello? Tai?"
"Mum, do you have some kind of ulterior motive?"
"Stop acting so suspicious! I just thought it'd be nice to get closer to my first born's girlfriend."
"Mum," Tai pleaded. "If I say yes, you have to promise that you will not force yourself on her."
"I won't. I promise."
He sighed. He could always ask Kari to stand guard. "Fine, I'll ask her, but if you mention anything related to marriage to her and scare her off, I'll never forgive you."
"I won't, I won't," she insisted, sounding excited. "Okay, that's all I wanted to ask. Have fun in Hong Kong! Make sure to bring back something for little Kouki. He's grown so much already!"
She hung up, her disregard for his wellbeing not having gone unnoticed by him.
He called Sora again.
"That was fast," she greeted, almost disapprovingly.
"She doesn't care about me. She just wanted to ask me whether you'd be willing to help her and my sister pick out kimono for some wedding they're going to."
Sora gasped.
"I told her I'd ask, but you don't have to do it," he added. "I can tell her you're busy."
"No, I'd love to," she clarified hurriedly. "I'm so honoured your mother even thought of me, but are you sure you wouldn't mind?"
"Why would I mind?"
"I don't know. I thought you wouldn't like it if I hung out with them without you."
"I don't care about that. Just don't drag me along." He glanced at the stack of papers on the table. "I'll give her your number, but if she talks about babies, remember to tell her you're not having sex with me."
"Tai."
He chuckled. He knew it wasn't the greatest habit, but Sora was predictable when it came to her reactions, which made teasing her easy. "Seriously though. She'll likely mention something like that. Just play it off, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed, sounding like she was in a good mood.
"Sora."
"Hm?" she hummed happily.
He wanted to tell her what his boss had told him, but he felt bad to rant about his problems when she seemed so pleased.
"I have to do some work, so I'm going to hang up now. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
He said good night to her, then groaned loudly as he forced himself out of bed and to the desk where the papers his boss had given him lay. With each orange highlight that he read, he wondered whether there was someone more deserving to be the one to lead this. There were plenty of colleagues who were both older and had been in the company much longer than him yet still held lesser titles. There was even Shima, who had only started a week and a half before him but had barely progressed in the corporate hierarchy. It was no wonder the others found it suspicious that Tai for some reason got the corner office, the personal assistant, the business class ticket, and the upgraded hotel suite.
He had been born with an innate sense of self-motivation and self-accomplishment, but he felt himself questioning just what he was worth now.
His entire life, he had been at the forefront. He was the first child, and his parents had ingrained in him from an early age that he was to be a role model. He had been first to try everything and would teach his sister later. He had been the fearless leader in his group of friends, always taking charge to the amazement of his more reticent peers. He had been the star player of both his high school and university football teams, reaping the benefits the title entailed. He had been the envy of all of his parents' friends, for he was the son who graduated from university straight into one of the largest and most recognisable corporations in the world.
But in a corporation as large as his, he saw the restrictions placed on himself from the beginning. He had always wanted to be his own boss and make his own decisions, but he knew he would always be a subordinate. Even if he was able to attain the impossible by surpassing his current supervisor, he was never going to be CEO. It wasn't even that he wanted it. He didn't care about this company or what it manufactured or what it even stood for.
Until tonight, he had come to terms with that, because he was still better than everyone else. He was the youngest manager in his field, which he had thought up was due to his work ethic, when in reality it probably had more to do with his boss' attraction towards him.
He felt himself digressing from his duties and took a shower to refresh his mind. Feeling sorry for himself would get him nowhere. It would just set him back and therefore give people something else to talk about.
After he had washed, he poured over his papers again, determined not only to impress his new business partners but his own co-workers too. He would become so specialised that they would have no choice but to depend on his expertise. If people were going to say he didn't deserve it, he'd prove them wrong.
He could hear his boss' laugh ringing in his head as she taunted his age. Suddenly, he couldn't wait to be thirty, just so he could remove some of the age discrimination rampant in the minds of his company's managers. His birthday was still a few months away, but even then he'd only be 28. Perhaps he should start lying about his age.
He was digressing again.
He heard his phone buzz on his bed.
He reached over to check what it was and saw it was a message from Sora. There were actually two, one having come while he was in the shower.
'Don't work too hard,' said the first one.
'I miss you too,' said the second.
He called her again. He didn't tell her about work, but it was because upon hearing her voice, those thoughts disappeared. She wasn't asleep yet because she was working on sketches for his mother and sister. Did he know their favourite colours? Wait, how could he not even know their favourite colours?
Fine, she'd stop nagging, but he really should pay more attention to his family.
Yes, of course she actually missed him. She even loved him, but only sometimes, when he was behaving.
He was laughing too much. She wasn't even trying to be funny. Stop laughing! What was wrong with him.
Nothing, he just missed her. He wished she could have come with him.
He talked to her until he was on the verge of falling asleep, hanging up only on her insistence that he go to bed.
He was sweating under the immense weight of Mimi's gifts.
She had often hinted to him that she had hoarded numerous items for TK and Kari's child, but he had taken it as an exaggeration until he saw it for himself. It had taken him an eternity to pack everything into his car, where the presents had taken over the entirety of the backseat. And now, he was struggling to carry them from said car to TK's flat.
"You've literally met my brother once," he reminded her, grunting as he set everything down in front of TK's doorstep. "Don't you think you're overdoing it?"
Mimi was carrying an obscenely large stuffed bunny doll in one arm and their lunch in the other. "What can I say? I love babies, and I want to see one who probably looks like you. I bet he's cute."
"Kouki doesn't look like me."
The door opened without them ringing the bell, and TK appeared.
Matt was slightly taken aback at seeing his brother standing at the doorway—not because he had opened the door suddenly, but because his nephew was resting against his brother's shoulder. The image of TK as a father was still too foreign of a concept to him, especially considering how young his brother was.
TK was three years younger than him. That meant by the time TK reached his current age, he'd have a three-year-old.
It was an unimaginable thought.
"I could hear you from inside," TK explained, eyeing the items sprawled in front of his front door. He smiled at Mimi. "Hello."
Mimi nearly knocked Matt over as she stepped in front of him to hug TK hello, startling him. "Hi TK! It's so nice to see you again!"
"Pleasure's all mine," TK replied good-naturedly. "I see you haven't gotten sick of my brother yet."
"Watch it," Matt growled, though his gaze was fixed on his nephew, who was staring back at him with large, round eyes. They were the same colour as his own, but aside from that he saw no family resemblance.
"Oh my goodness, he's so cute!" Mimi squealed, reaching out to poke his cheek. Kouki didn't react. She squealed again. "It feels like mochi. I'm obsessed with him!"
"Come in," TK offered, opening the door wider for them. "Er, can I help you with any of these?"
"No, Matt has it," Mimi answered for him, pushing TK inside. She continued to prod the baby's cheek, intensifying from poking to pinching to stretching. Kouki didn't seem to pay her any mind, still staring at Matt with curiosity as he struggled to carry everything inside.
TK, usually one to help, stood idly with the baby in his arm.
"You're going to make him cry," Matt warned Mimi after he had placed all of the gifts in one corner of TK's sitting room.
"Don't worry. He's used to it since I do it all the time." As if to prove it, TK rubbed Kouki's other cheek. Kouki didn't respond to that either.
"Where's Kari?" Matt asked. It was unlike her to not immediately greet a guest.
"Since you guys insisted on buying lunch, she went to buy dessert. I told her you probably won't eat it, but she insisted. You know how she gets. You have good timing though. I was just about to go to the toilet. Can you hold Kouki for me?"
Without waiting for an answer, Matt found his nephew being placed into his arms. He stiffened, frowning when he saw TK chuckling as he walked away. He looked down and saw Kouki still staring at him. Tai had mentioned he never seemed to blink, and Matt was beginning to agree with him.
The last time Matt had seen Kouki in person, he was still wrinkled like a newborn. He was much cuter now, and he had to agree with Mimi that he looked a bit like mochi.
"He likes you," Mimi cooed, giving Kouki's cheek another pinch. The milky, smooth flesh was starting to become pinker.
"You're going to make him cry," he warned again, though Kouki hadn't really paid her any mind, his gaze focused intently on Matt's face since their arrival.
"Babies love me, Matt. Isn't that right, little one?"
She forcibly gathered his face in her hands, and Kouki finally turned his attention from Matt to her. She gasped loudly from excitement, and there was a sudden eruption of wailing.
"I told you to stop pinching him!" Matt hissed, holding the baby out as if that would make the sound of crying less apparent. His nephew wriggled furiously in his grasp.
"He was fine until he heard your voice!" Mimi hissed back.
"TK, he's crying!"
TK didn't answer.
"TK, your baby!" Matt bellowed, regretting having raised his voice as Kouki began to cry even harder.
His brother rushed in a second later, looking flustered. He hastily dried his hands on his trousers before scooping his son from Matt's hands. Kouki's crying halted almost in the same instant, and TK used the moment to examine his tiny face. He smiled brightly and began bobbing him up and down.
"He's just faking it. See?" TK turned his baby around to show them his dry eyes. "That's pretty impressive. I was gone for a total of thirty seconds. He hasn't cried all morning, but you made him cry almost immediately." TK nuzzled his face with his son's. "Your uncle is scary, isn't he?"
"She made him cry," Matt accused Mimi, knowing he sounded childish. From the look on TK's face, he knew his brother found him childish too. He felt embarrassed.
Mimi outstretched her arms. "Let me hold him. I won't make him cry. I promise!"
TK gladly handed Kouki over. "He's fine with new people. He just gets startled by loud noises."
Mimi immediately lowered her voice and held Kouki in a way Matt hadn't, cradling him in her arms. She hadn't really struck him as a person who liked children, though he supposed they had never talked about it. Kouki seemed interested in her hair, holding a lock in his tiny fist.
"He has your eyes," Mimi offered.
"That's what everyone says," TK beamed proudly. He reached over and patted Kouki's pink, slightly inflamed cheek. The baby giggled in response. "You really went to town."
She pressed her cheek to Kouki's rosy one. "Sorry, I can't help it. He's just so cute."
"I think so too." TK turned to Matt. "Are you scared of him?"
"Why would I be scared of your baby?" Matt snapped back.
TK only laughed in response. "Let me call Kari to see where she is."
Matt looked around TK's flat, the previously simple décor now littered with baby items. The outlets were baby-proofed, and the floor was virtually hidden beneath a colourful padded mat. He wondered if the baby even knew how to crawl yet. He had no means of checking, as Mimi was restricting his movements to only be within her grasp.
"You're so parental," he commented once TK got off the phone.
"When you have kids, I can give you pointers," TK offered, much to Matt's chagrin. "If you're nice to me, you can have Kouki's hand-me-downs."
Kari was very reserved and quiet, which was unusual because her brother was the direct opposite. Matt had always known this, but it was made even clearer when placed in front of his outgoing girlfriend. Mimi had nearly pounced on her to introduce herself, then bombarded her with the gifts that she had been hauling in her flat for weeks despite having never met her or Kouki.
Kari did her best not to be overwhelmed, while TK presented Mimi's comically gargantuan stuffed animal to Kouki, who merely stared at it.
Despite Kouki's fake cry fest earlier, Matt did find his nephew to be oddly silent. He probably took after Kari.
Though Matt liked Kari a lot, neither of them were very talkative, so they relied on TK to be present whenever they were together.
They ate the lunch they had brought, and, despite the differences in personality, he was glad Mimi was getting along with both his brother and sister-in-law. At present, Mimi was comparing the biscuits Kari had bought with some self-proclaimed famous recipe of hers.
"That sounds good," TK commented as she went down the ingredient list.
"The secret is the rum," Mimi told them in a loud whisper. "Ooh, I'm so mad at myself! I should have made some for today. Next time we come over, I'll definitely bake some!"
"Yes, please," Kari obliged. "I have a bit of a sweet tooth."
"A bit?" TK teased, setting the stuffed animal down as Kouki failed to show interest. Kari smiled warmly at her husband.
"Well, I'm happy to make them for you. You know, I haven't even made them for Matt yet. If I do, I'm afraid he'll fall too hopelessly in love with me. Isn't that right, Matt?"
Matt didn't respond, but Mimi didn't seem to mind, reaching out to him to grasp his arm lovingly.
While he himself felt embarrassed, TK looked pleased. This was quite normal, as TK always seemed to be the one who was proudest of him for nothing at all.
"I don't think he needs biscuits to know how much he loves you," TK commented.
Matt felt himself stiffen, and with Mimi's body slinked around his arm, he knew she could feel it too. When neither he nor Mimi responded, it became awkward as everyone in the room realised these were words they hadn't yet said to each other.
TK had always been the gregarious one, having a knack for social perception and flowing conversation. It was rare that TK found himself in an awkward situation he couldn't talk out of.
"Er," TK stalled, looking between Matt and Kari for help.
Kouki made a sputtering noise, drawing every person's attention to him. Even Matt, who had only ever looked at Kouki with mild interest so far, was suddenly attentive to whatever it could be that Kouki wanted in order to get out of the awkward situation.
Mimi picked him up first, though his squirming made her pass him over to Kari almost immediately. She checked his diaper but found nothing, and it seemed Kouki had just wanted attention.
This was fine with Matt.
"So are you two planning to have more babies?" Mimi asked, changing the subject. Her face showed no sign of discomfort, and it astonished Matt that she had no filter. Even he hadn't asked this personal question to TK yet.
"We want another one," Kari answered, evidently not bothered by it. "We're trying to decide how long to wait."
"She wants one now to have them close in age, but I'm still trying to adjust to being a father for the first time," TK explained, reaching out to touch his son's fingers.
Mimi reached out to hold Kouki in her lap again, and this time Kouki let her. "I'm an only child, so I've always wondered what it'd be like to have a brother or sister. I think a brother would be annoying, but a sister could be like having a best friend!"
"Having a brother isn't so bad," TK offered, looking at Matt with a grin.
"Maybe not having a brother like Matt, but imagine growing up with a brother like Tai!" Mimi rolled her eyes. "Ugh, Kari, I feel so sorry for you to be related to him. He's such a pain in the butt. It must have been a nightmare to grow up with him."
Matt had forgotten to brief Mimi on how Kari worshipped her brother. With age, Matt had gone from role model to mate in the eyes of TK, but Kari's perception of Tai seemed unchanging. For as far back as he could remember, Kari put Tai on a pedestal that Matt didn't even think he deserved.
Indeed, Kari looked shocked.
"What do you mean? Tai is the best brother ever."
Mimi's jaw dropped. "You must be joking me."
"Tai and Mimi have a complicated relationship," Matt intervened quickly, hoping Mimi would pick up on the hint. "They joke around, but they're friends."
Mimi looked at him, confused. "Tai is not my friend. I tolerate him because he's your flatmate and my best friend's boyfriend."
Matt glowered. Kari hated few people, and in the moment it was important to him that Mimi not make that list.
Kari, meanwhile, lit up. "Really? You're friends with Sora? I love her so much!"
With that, the conversation changed to how great Tai and Sora seemed to be for each other, and how the entire Kamiya clan was relieved that Tai was finally settling down. If Matt's hints hadn't helped, hearing Kari speak of her brother did, and Mimi even managed to slip in a compliment on Tai's behalf—something about him being funny, which was all she could muster.
By Kouki's naptime, they still hadn't left. Kari hinted she needed to go to the market to buy groceries, and just as Matt was about to offer to leave, Mimi volunteered to go with her, bragging about her cooking skills. Kari seemed happy to have Mimi's input, so the two of them left, leaving the brothers together.
TK put Kouki down for his nap, and Matt stood in the sitting room, wishing for a cigarette that he wouldn't dare dream of pulling out in this household. Even before the baby, he would never think of smoking in front of Kari.
Instead, he stared at a white pen on a bookshelf that looked like a cigarette, daydreaming about being able to have one, when his eyes fell on the wedding photographs displayed beside it.
There were two.
One was just TK and Kari, frozen in time on the day they got married. Up until Kouki was born, he had never seen TK so happy in his life, and this photograph had perfectly captured his bliss.
The other was a group photo. Matt was standing in the front row, smiling in a way he only did when his picture was being taken. Whenever their family took the rare photo, he or TK usually stood between their parents, but for this one he hadn't. His mother was next to TK, his father next to her, he next to his father, and beside him stood Megumi, his date.
His arm was around her waist. Hers was probably around him too. His tie was of the same colour and fabric as her jacquard silver dress, a detail she had commissioned. It was still in his closet as one of the few things he hadn't binned that reminded her of her, because he equated it more strongly to TK's wedding as opposed to their relationship.
He had in his lifetime seen thousands of pictures of the two of them together. Nearly all of his photos from the last decade were taken by her or with her, yet seeing them together again, frozen in time, smiling as widely as the bride and groom, left an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He reached out and moved the group photograph behind the other one, not wanting to look at it any longer.
"Sorry for slipping up earlier."
Matt turned around at the sound of TK's voice. He was standing by the hallway.
"It's fine."
"I assumed you had said it because you two seem so happy." TK walked over to him. Just as Matt was wondering whether his brother had seen what he had done, he said, "I like that photo because it has all of our family and friends in it."
Matt felt embarrassed for being caught red-handed. He wished TK had just pretended not to see.
"I can see why you don't like it though," TK added.
"It's not that I don't like it," Matt clarified.
TK nodded knowingly, then pulled the group photo from the shelf. "I'll put this one in our bedroom."
"You don't have to do that."
"It's a little much to have two wedding photos out here anyway," TK said, tucking it under his arm but not moving. "Mimi's great."
Matt said nothing. He knew TK was trying to make him talk.
"No?" TK teased, cocking his head. "This is where you tell me how great she is."
"You have baby drool on your shirt."
TK looked down at the dark wet spot on his t-shirt but didn't react to it. "Why are you trying to change the subject?"
"Because I don't know what you're trying to get me to say," Matt countered. "If you want to ask me something, just ask it."
He didn't seem fazed by Matt's direct tone. "I just want to make sure you're okay."
"Obviously, I'm okay."
"Yeah, but I just want to make sure you're actually okay," TK pressed on. "Megumi hadn't been long very long before you started seeing Mimi—"
"I haven't seen Megumi in eight months," Matt interrupted.
"—and I just want to make sure you've had sufficient time to heal and be single," TK finished, as if he hadn't heard him.
"What do you know about being single?" Matt accused him, knowing he had come across more patronising than he had meant—not that TK would call him out on it.
"I know I couldn't get over Kari in eight months," TK said without a hint of emotion, expression unchanged.
He knew TK wasn't trying to mean any ill will, but he felt annoyed with his brother anyway.
"Sorry," TK apologised a second later. "I agree you look okay, and in any case, I really like Mimi. I didn't mean to make things awkward earlier, but I am glad you're happy again."
Matt offered TK a small smile to hide his general displeasure, which seemed to convince TK enough, and he left to put the photograph away in his room.
TK and Megumi had always had a good relationship. Megumi had a sister but had always wanted a brother, so TK was like a younger brother to her too. TK, having known Megumi for the entire duration of the relationship, too treated her like an older sister from the beginning.
He wondered if TK missed her too.
Mimi made Kouki cry again. He had just woken up from his nap, and Mimi had too excitedly grabbed him from Kari's arms, scaring him. Kari cradled him until he stopped, and TK had to tell Mimi as politely as he could that he thought Kouki was crying because she kept hounding him when he was still unfamiliar with her.
"Then I'll make him familiar with me," she retorted when Kari gently placed him back under Mimi's care.
She didn't really let go of him from that points onwards.
They finally finished opening all one million of Mimi's gifts, each one presented to Kouki to see if he liked any of them. He stared at everything, not reacting to a single item.
"We're going to spoil him," Kari said with a smile, folding each article of clothing off to the side.
"We should do a baby fashion show!" Mimi cried.
Despite how excited TK, Mimi, and Kari seemed to be at the prospect of such a thing, Matt was growing bored. It wasn't that he disliked spending time with his family. He was just tired from spending the entire afternoon watching his nephew, who didn't seem to be interested in anything but the occasional dislike of Mimi's intensity.
"I think it's time for us to go," he said to Mimi.
"Already?" she whinged.
He held his tongue when he wanted to remind her they'd been there for the last five hours.
"You should stay," TK offered. "Mum's coming over for dinner in a couple hours. I'm sure she'd love to see you and meet Mimi."
"Yeah, no thanks," Matt rejected before Mimi could even begin to look excited. He didn't look at her, knowing she looked disappointed.
His speedy rebuff did not go unnoticed by TK.
"It won't kill you to get dinner with her every so often," TK said, trying not to sound annoyed. "You don't have to wait for just once a year."
"Once a year is more than enough," Matt remarked.
"She wants to see you."
"She wants to see you and her grandson," Matt corrected.
TK glared at him. "How can you say that?"
Matt tried to look like he didn't care, though he did feel a bit annoyed that he was being scolded by his younger brother. He and TK got along very well, but there was a very real difference in how they felt for their mother. While TK thought the world of her, Matt couldn't pretend he did for TK's sake.
"Just stay to say hello," TK said, almost commanding him.
Kari reached out and touched TK's arm.
Mimi suddenly spoke up, her face not indicating that she could notice the sudden tension. "Sorry TK, but Matt promised to take me shopping at the flower market, and it closes in less than an hour."
TK suddenly looked embarrassed at his outburst but quickly composed himself.
"I understand."
Feeling bad, Matt mumbled an apology, and then is brother and sister-in-law saw them out.
"Come again soon," TK said at the door.
"Tell Mum I say hi."
TK only nodded in response.
"Call us if you ever need a babysitter!" Mimi chirped happily. She bent over to get eye level with Kouki, then pinched his cheek one final time. His eyes started to water.
"I really don't think they'll ask you to babysit," Matt quipped once the door had shut. "TK is always going off about how Kouki doesn't cry, yet you've somehow made him cry three times in five hours."
"I think he likes me," Mimi disagreed triumphantly.
"I'm pretty sure he's going to get a rash on his cheek from your abuse."
She laughed it off. "I can't help it. Baby cheeks are so cute, and it was so cute when he cried too."
"You mean loud," Matt corrected.
She linked her arm around his and tried to rest her head on his shoulder, though she was just a little too short for it. "I like babies, and I especially like Kouki because he's your nephew, so I want him to like me."
"So to make him like you, you make him cry and give him a rash?"
She gave up on his shoulder and instead leaned her head against his arm.
"For what it's worth, I think Kouki likes you more than he likes me," Matt added, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
"Obviously. You didn't even play with him once. If I didn't know you better, I would have said you don't even like him."
He didn't have a response for that, so he didn't say anything.
Instead, he brought up what he felt he should, even if he didn't want to.
"I'm sorry you had to watch TK have a go at me."
"A brotherly quarrel," Mimi said light-heartedly. "You know, you sure do get into a lot of arguments."
He frowned. "Actually, I'll have you know that TK and I rarely argue. It just happened the day you were around."
She laughed.
"I'm serious."
Her laugh subsided but her smile was still intact. She reached up to kiss him, then pulled on his arm. "Let's go."
"Where?"
"Did you forget? We're going to the flower market. I got you out of a dinner with your mother, so you owe me flowers. I want pink lilies. They're my favourite."
They spent another hour in the flower market because it wasn't that she only wanted pink lilies, which he did get her. She also wanted to suddenly send flowers to what he could only assume was every person she knew. Even TK and Kari received a flower arrangement, one that was supposedly good luck for making babies. She ignored him when he reminded her that TK had said he wanted to wait.
For Matt too, she bought a cactus, saying it was because he didn't have a single plant in their flat, and that was depressing to her. She placed the cactus on his desk, it now being the second piece of decoration in his room. The first was still the sticker pictures of them above his bed, also her doing.
She placed her lilies next to it and stepped back to admire her work, satisfied to bring some colour and life to his dim room.
"I'm giving you a cactus because you only need to water it every two weeks, so you can't kill it."
"What if I forget?" Matt asked, knowing he would.
"I won't forget to remind you," she answered, knowing she would.
5 May 2019
As always, thank you so much for the reviews and the PMs! I read and reread them all the time, and they truly keep me going.
For any Takari fans, be on the lookout for a new story coming your way! (I'll still update this one too.)