A/N: Good evening, everybody :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! It's truly heartening to hear from you all :) The suggestions in the reviews were really interesting! Please continue to take care of them :) I present to you: Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Familial ties

xxx Tetsuhiro xxx

"Goodbye, Mother."

At the crowded entrance of the shrine where they had just celebrated Emi's omiyamairi, Tetsuhiro bowed quietly at Morinaga Keiko as Souichi carefully scooped a sleeping Emi from her arms.

Tetsuhiro pretended not to see the wistful expression in Keiko's eyes as she hugged Emi a last time before relinquishing her. After the ceremony, it did not seem that there was any more reason for his mother to linger. She was here for Emi and not for him, after all.

"Let's go, Morinaga." Souichi stared long and hard at Keiko before he finally gave a curt nod to her and Kunihiro. With Emi snuggled in his arms, the long- haired man waited impatiently for Tetsuhiro to join them.

"Wait, Tetsuhiro!" Kunihiro half- shouted at him as they began to part, the crowd coming between them. As tall as he was, the man cut through the throngs easily and he grabbed hold of Tetsuhiro's arm as he began to walk away with Souichi and Emi. "I have something to tell you!"

Surprised by his brother's strength, Tetsuhiro paused, as did Souichi. Aware that his lover was glaring daggers at Kunihiro, he quickly asked, "Yes, Nii- san—?" The anxious expression on the older man's face caused him concern. His gaze flickered to his mother, who was still standing by the wooden pillars of the shrine's entrance.

"Uhh…" Kunihiro glanced at the irate Souichi and he looked ashamed. "Actually, I think there was another reason why Mother travelled down to Nagoya today…"

"Ehh, wasn't it just for Emi's omiyamairi? What other reason could she have come down for? Surely it's not to see me, hahaha…" Even to Tetsuhiro's own ears, his gaiety sounded false.

"Tetsuhiro…"

Seeing the look of guilt and discomfort on his brother's face, Tetsuhiro shrugged off his gloom and pasted on a more genuine smile. "It's okay, Nii- san. Ano, I get it if Mother has other business in Nagoya but why are you telling us now? Shouldn't she be going on her way then?"

"Well—" Fiddling with the folds of his yukata as though he still had a necktie on, Kunihiro looked even more uncomfortable as he spoke. "I told them, that is, Father and Mother, the truth about Junya's incident…"

Kunihiro's words came utterly unexpected. Tetsuhiro staggered backwards, unconsciously shrugging off his brother's grasp. "Wha—Nii- san, I told you not to do that! Kami—I promised Masaki- san that I'd keep that a secret!"

"I know that but damnit—you don't know what happened after you left—!" Agitatedly, Kunihiro raked a hand through his short hair. Noticing the curious stares of other temple- goers in their direction, the man began to usher them to a pavilion set a ways from the main path. "Damn…"

"What the hell are you going on about, Morinaga- san? But it was high time that your parents knew that they have maligned their own son all along! I didn't think that you would actually take our conversation that time seriously." Souichi's antagonism was significantly lesser as the three of them entered the wooden platform that gave them a little privacy in the bustling grounds.

"Sempai, what do you mean? What conversation with Nii- san? Why don't I know anything about it?" Tetsuhiro was truly thrown for a curveball as the other two men exchanged measured glances.

"We, uhh, spoke a little when the both of you came over to my apartment to stay after visiting our parents," Kunihiro answered. The man turned to Tetsuhiro and said seriously, "I've not been a good Nii- san, Tetsuhiro, and this sempai of yours showed me that the only way to make it up to you was to, at least, lessen this—this absurd prejudice that our parents held against you…

"Father called shortly after the both of you left that day. What he said made me realise just how deeply their prejudgment of you, their own son and my brother, had gone…" Kunihiro now began to look utterly miserable. "…He said—"

"…He said what, Nii- san?" His heart clenching in sick anticipation, Tetsuhiro leaned forward and took hold of Kunihiro's hands. His brother's hands were sweating lightly. "You can tell me—I can take it, Nii- san."

"…" Kunihiro looked up, his hands clasping Tetsuhiro's tightly. The pavilion was strangely bereft of sound as the man hesitated. It seemed that even the trees were holding their breath. "That day, Father called me to ask about hiring a lawyer. He…wanted to write you out of his will."

In spite of his bravado, Tetsuhiro still felt like somebody had plunged a stake into his heart and was ruthlessly twisting it further in. He sank onto the bench, suddenly feeling weak, not even realizing when Souichi quietly came to stand directly behind him.

For all that his parents had done, for all the hope that he had supposedly buried away somewhere deep inside, this final rejection took the ground away from beneath his feet. Clutching the gift that his mother had gotten for Emi in his hands, Tetsuhiro looked up shakily, showing it to his brother as though in accusation. "T-then, what was today's visit for? Was it to get me to sign—to sign some documents to acknowledge that I'm no longer a son of the Morinaga family? Is that it? Was Mother the messenger? Or was that supposed to be y-you, Nii- san?" Tetsuhiro remained sitting, his hands stretched to his brother as though in supplication. "Why did you tell me this today? Of all days, on Emi's omiyamairi? Why?!"

"Morinaga- san, what the hell is wrong with your family?! Stop fucking around with Morinaga! Damnit, I knew that I shouldn't have promised to let that woman participate in Emi's blessing—get out, get out of our sights now! Shit…"

Held as he was against Souichi's hips, Tetsuhiro vaguely heard the man's furious bellows at his brother. He could feel the anger radiating from Souichi's entire body, the only soft gesture his hand cradling Tetsuhiro's head in a protective manner. He wanted to tell him not to shout at his brother but his throat had seized up so strongly that he could not speak.

"Wait, Tatsumi- san! I haven't finished the entire story!" Kunihiro's voice was raised defensively. "That was what Father had said, but he changed his mind when I told them about what really happened with Junya! Damnit, Tetsuhiro, will you stop crying! Shit—must you make me feel even guiltier than I already am? Tetsuhiro!"

Tetsuhiro felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, turning him firmly until he had no choice but to face his brother. Kunihiro was now kneeling in front of him and he was still gripping Tetsuhiro painfully. He regarded his older brother bleakly, too tired of the same tune to even cry.

"I told him everything, Tetsuhiro. Even—even about how Junya attempted suicide because of his unrequited love for me…Father was shocked beyond words, hah…" Kunihiro laughed harshly, keeping his gaze locked with Tetsuhiro. "I told him straight off that if he wanted to disown you because of your being gay, then he had better disown me too, for I am going out with Junya now...He hung up shortly after."

"No, Nii- san—you shouldn't have said all of that! Kami, what if he really disowned you? I don't want you to go through everything that I have…" Tetsuhiro held on to his brother's hands, knowing just what Kunihiro was feeling. The sense of having let his parents down, of being abandoned, had been awful, and he had never wanted his Nii- san to experience them.

"It's okay, Tetsuhiro. I should have been frank from the beginning. If I had, you, Junya, our parents—all of you wouldn't have been hurt so deeply and for so long…! If anything, I feel relieved now." Smiling crookedly, Kunihiro sighed and patted his hands. "Tetsuhiro, the fact that Mother is here means something, isn't it? I think you should give her a chance to say her part before cutting her off. Who knows—Father and Mother might just surprise us, after all."

"…Un." Wordlessly, Tetsuhiro glanced up at Souichi, not knowing that his tear- glistened eyes and downturned brow made him seemed like an utterly defenseless young boy. He wanted—no, he needed his new family's support so badly now.

"…She'd better say something actually worth listening to! Damnit, Morinaga!"

Matsuda- san served them tea at the dining table, not saying anything except to smile warmly at Tetsuhiro and Souichi. The seven of them had travelled to her house from the shrine, which had been the plan from the beginning. Even as Keiko, Kunihiro, Souichi and Tetsuhiro faced one another in silence, the feast that Souichi's aunt had prepared to celebrate their baby's one month was already waiting to be served in the kitchen.

Souichi thanked the matron softly, who nodded in acknowledgement before retreating to the adjourning room to look after Emi. With her gone, the dining room became awkwardly silent.

"Mother, was there something that you wanted to tell us?" Tetsuhiro ventured to ask, unable to withstand the stifling silence at the table.

Morinaga Keiko startled and she looked up from the cup of tea that she had been pondering over. Seated opposite Tetsuhiro and Souichi, she glanced warily at his the long- haired man, who was sitting straight with his arms folded. "Ano, I was hoping just to speak with Tetsuhiro…"

Souichi snorted derisively and he looked directly at Keiko. "That's really rich of you, wanting to speak to Morinaga now when you have ignored him for years! It's either you talk in front of all of us, or you don't at all!"

"Sempai, don't be angry, please…" Turning to his mother, Tetsuhiro spoke quietly, "Mother, what is it that you wanted to say? Sempai is—he's an important person to me. So, if you want to talk to me, I'd like him to be present too."

"…All right." Seeming to realise that Tetsuhiro was serious, Keiko gave up without a fight. She sipped her tea. "I'm really happy to see that our granddaughter is doing well. Your father would like to see her too, Tetsuhiro." Putting down her cup, his mother regarded him somberly. "Do you want to move back home, Tetsuhiro? Together with Emi."

"Ehh…?!" Her sudden proposal was so incredible that Tetsuhiro could only gape at her. What was his mother saying? It could not be that she was inviting him to go back to the home from where they had kicked him out! Then his brain registered the significance of her words. "Wait, with Emi? Did you just mean to visit you, Mother?"

"No, I meant what I said. Your father said that he's willing to forget about…everything if you bring Emi along and move back home. " Keiko steadfastly avoided looking in Souichi's direction as she grasped Tetsuhiro's hands. "Let's be a family again, Tetsuhiro."

"W-wait, I don't really understand; didn't Father say that he wanted to dis-disown me? Why would he want me to go home now, of all times?"

There was a clatter as Souichi pushed out of his chair. "Fuck it—! I knew that your sudden appearance here meant nothing well! Goddamnit, the two of you were plotting to take Emi, weren't you? You must be daft in the head if you think I'm going to let you do that!" Looming over a frightened Keiko, his roar was so loud that the entire kitchen reverberated.

"Is that true, Mother…?" Tetsuhiro blanched as the meaning of Souichi's words sank into him. "Is that why you travelled here? Instead of genuinely wanting to bless Emi, did you just want to lay claim on your granddaughter? You wanted to take Sempai and Emi away from me, weren't you, Mother? Was that what Father wanted? He—he only ever wanted his granddaughter but not her fathers, am I correct?"

"…No—no, Tetsuhiro!"

Keiko's hesitation before she refuted his words was proof enough. Tetsuhiro felt a sudden, overwhelming disgust and he rose heavily from his chair. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you have Emi, or take Sempai away from us. They—they are my family now, Mother. You can't just cut them away from my life!"

"What are you saying, Tetsuhiro? Are you going to disregard your parents for—for the likes of him?! I cannot believe you, son!" Keiko was looking up at him, her shock so honest and complete that Tetsuhiro could not even muster up his anger.

At that point, he realized it. No matter how much time passed, no matter whether he really returned home with Emi or not, the bigotry that his parents harboured against his sexual orientation would never be overcome. Feeling the last shreds of his hope wither and die, Tetsuhiro regarded his mother, feeling strangely calm. "As compared to other people, Sempai has never looked down on me for my orientation or avoided me because of that. Even though our relationship has given him a lot of trouble, he has never, ever thought of abandoning me. I swore to protect them, Mother but in fact, Sempai has always been the one protecting me—!

"Mother, I'm not asking you to do something that you are not prepared to do, such as accepting my homosexuality or even my relationship with Sempai but, at least try to understand just how important he and Emi are to me! This is the one, last request that I'm asking of you both." Bowing formally to Keiko, Tetsuhiro said quietly, "Thank you for attending Emi's omiyamairi. We won't be accepting the gift, so please collect it on your way out. Take care, and this time, it's really farewell."

"Tetsuhiro! If you go—if you really step out of this kitchen now, your father would really disown you! I'm serious! Come back here!" Keiko was on her feet, standing rigid and somber in her dark kimono. She brightened when Tetsuhiro paused at the doorway and turned back to look at her. "Tetsuhiro, I knew that you would listen—!"

Tetsuhiro put out a hand, effectively stopping his mother in midsentence. "Please, whatever you do, don't disown Nii- san, too. If you do that, you'd truly have lost both of your sons. Tell Fath—tell Morinaga- san that it'd be foolish to do that, won't you?" He turned to Kunihiro, who looked horrified at the way things had turned out. "Nii- san, thank you for coming here today, and for trying to help the situation."

"Tetsuhiro, I'm so sorry; I didn't know that Father would be so, so—" Helplessly, Kunihiro paused when Tetsuhiro shook his head to forestall him.

"It's okay, already. Nii- san, please take care of yourself and Masaki- san, all right? I'm counting on you. Goodbye, ne." Turning away from the duo, he stepped out of the kitchen, and out of his parents' lives.

The door slammed shut after what seemed an infinite amount of time.

Tetsuhiro continued to feed his baby her milk, kissing Emi's tiny forehead as she suckled contentedly at the bottle. "You're my sweet darling, Emi- chan. Papa loves you very much. You are as precious to me as Daddy is, and always will be." Her button- bright eyes gazed up at him while he spoke, as though her little brain comprehended the full meaning of his words. Tetsuhiro snuggled her close. There was no way, no way that his world would be complete without her in it now.

Matsuda- san reentered the living room just then, joining Souichi at the other couch without speaking. None of them brought up the fact that Keiko and Kunihiro had just vacated the house. The only hint left of their presence was the heavy atmosphere that settled into every nook and cranny of the living room as the adults kept their own counsel.

Patiently, Tetsuhiro waited until Emi had finished most of the formula before he removed the bottle, setting it by the coffee table. Footsteps approached them and he looked up to smile at his lover as Souichi reached them and leaned close to carry their daughter.

"I'll burp her. Thanks, Morinaga."

The conversation broke the uneasy silence that had held them prisoner. Tetsuhiro looked on affectionately as Souichi began to pat their daughter's back to incite her burps. "You are welcome, Sempai."

"…" Souichi did not reply but he did not break his gaze with Tetsuhiro. There was probably much he wanted to say about the confrontation with Keiko but for now, the older man kept his mouth shut, following Tetsuhiro's lead.

Seeing that Sempai was occupied with Emi, Tetsuhiro turned to the other person in the room. "Ah, Matsuda- san, do you need help with the food? Let's have lunch! You and Kanako must be feeling hungry already. Sorry for the delay, ne." Tetsuhiro sprang up from the sofa, clutching the empty bottle in his hands.

"Ahh, all right, Tetsuhiro- kun. I've already cooked the food so it's just a matter of reheating and serving them. Having you help out would be great." Matsuda- san hurriedly smoothed her worried expression away and smiled warmly at him as she took his arm and steered him to the kitchen. "You can be my taster, too!"

"Ahhaha! That would be my pleasure, Matsuda- san." Touched that she was being so gentle, Tetsuhiro turned back to the couches where Souichi was. "Sempai, let's eat in a short while, okay? You must be hungry, too."

"…Yeah." In that one word, Tetsuhiro knew that Sempai had understood his intentions. With their daughter nestled against his shoulders, Souichi's frown was gone, replaced with a neutral expression that was uplifted with a small smile. "Let's celebrate Emi's omiyamairi together, then."

The bedroom was darkened when Tetsuhiro came out of the shower, a towel slung around his neck as he dried his hair. In the gloom, he could just make out Souichi's figure as he lay slumbering on his side of the bed.

Padding quietly across the room, Tetsuhiro sank onto the sheets, noticing that Souichi's hand was stretched over a little bundle near his chest. Ah, their daughter was there too.

Emi was dressed warmly in a fuzzy pair of pajamas, her tiny hands and feet protected from the cold spring night by matching mittens. She was lying on her belly, her head facing Tetsuhiro as she lay in dreams beside her daddy. A little bubble of drool popped from her slightly ajar mouth.

Tetsuhiro stroked one mittened hand tenderly, chuckling when Emi wrinkled her nose and retracted her hand. She remained sleeping, though, a little angel with a thick head of hair and soft, fair skin. Placing the towel on the bedside table, Tetsuhiro settled onto the bed and stretched out his legs, facing inwards so that he could look at his daughter's and lover's sleeping faces. Their identical, peaceful expressions in sleep were so unbearably sweet that Tetsuhiro felt himself tremble as he raised one hand to stroke Souichi's face.

"…Mhmm, Morinaga…" Souichi's sighs were half- uttered as the man shifted under Tetsuhiro's touch. Like Emi, he moved his face away from the contact, a little frown forming at his brow. "…Don't…Emi…"

Tetsuhiro put down his hand, chuckling a little as Souichi, still obviously asleep, mumbled something else indecipherably. It seemed that Sempai was dreaming of him. Lying in bed like this with his lover and daughter, the fact that he was now effectively not the son of Morinaga Masahiro and Keiko seemed like something from a dream, unreal and unable to touch him.

"…Oh, Morinaga…sorry, I think I fell asleep." This time around, Souichi had really awakened. The man made to sit up, his glasses slightly askew but Tetsuhiro pressed him gently back against the sheets, smiling softly. Souichi lay back obediently but not without some confusion and suspicion. "What, Morinaga—"

"Shh, it's nothing, Sempai. Just go back to sleep, okay? Tonight, I just want the three of us to be together…" As he whispered those words, Tetsuhiro was already plumping up the pillow for Souichi and himself, adjusting the blanket so that the adults were covered but Emi was not smothered by it. When he was done, he sank into the cozy bed, heaving a sigh that was filled as much with contentment and resignation. Turning to look at Souichi, he lay his palm over his lover's on their baby's back. "I want to be with the two of you forever, Sempai."

"…Baka, whoever said that I want you to pester me for so long! Tch…!" Despite his words, Tetsuhiro felt the other man's fingers brush his hand lightly. "Well, for the sake of Emi, you'd better not go anywhere else, get it, baka? Definitely not back to that place!"

"Un, Sempai!" Childishly, Tetsuhiro cuddled closer until his head was resting against Souichi's shoulder. Emi was like a pearl in the cocoon of warmth between their bodies. "I won't look back anymore, Sempai. But well, I guess you can't call me Morinaga anymore, Sempai, since I'm no longer a part of that family, haha." His voice shook just a little.

"—Idiot, then what else do I call you? Don't be so morose, already! I'll punch you if you say something like this again!" Souichi grinded a fist against Tetsuhiro's head until the younger man begged for mercy. "Besides, you are going to be entered into the Tatsumi family registry; you'll be a part of my family, and that's that!"

At his words, the tears that had been prickling behind his lids started flowing out quietly. Tetsuhiro nodded numbly, rubbing away the saltiness as he hugged a protesting Souichi tightly. He had never imagined that there would come a time when Sempai would be so close to him, so close that he could feel his heartbeat against his collarbone as they embraced in the dark, their daughter nestled between them. "I love you, Sempai…I love you so much! So much…"

"B-baka! You're gonna squash Emi if you continue behaving like this! Move, idiot—!"

Smiling at Sempai's antics, Tetsuhiro felt the last pangs of hurt and regret drain away, leaving him covered in goosebumps and feeling strangely vulnerable. As they settled down gradually into the rhythms of sleep, he kissed Souichi softly on the lips before settling down to lie by the man's shoulder.

His family had reached a partings of the way, and Tetsuhiro had made his choice clear. In some ways, such a clean cut made things easier to bear—rather than the ambiguity of being a runaway son, his parents' final decision had removed all ties of obligation between him and them. From now on, Tetsuhiro would truly lead a life separate from them, a life that he could dedicate to loving his new family.

Oh, everybody wished that things could be simpler, that the thickness of blood could overcome even the highest of obstacles. However, his family had tried, and things had not worked out. Was it possible to appoint blame on to anybody, or to circumstances? Tetsuhiro could not answer that but as the goosebumps finally receded and he could really close his eyes to sleep, his heart felt oddly at peace.

Goodbye, Father, Mother.

To be continued.

A/N: I initially wanted this to be the last chapter for Incendium but I think that it did not suffice to be one :p I do hope that you enjoyed this, nonetheless :) The next chapter should be the last one :) Thank you!