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Hiroki digs his own grave in a way, it seems...

Sorry for the wait!

Hiroki's Birthday – Part 6

Hiroki sat at a table with a clear view of the entrance door to the family restaurant, tapping his foot and checking his watch every now and then, waiting nervously and rather impatiently for his mother. His mother's unexpected call from Nowaki's cellphone had truly driven an electrifying bolt of shock through him and he felt overwhelmed by how fast everything seemed to be spinning out of his control. Akihiko's warning (of sorts) just this morning was definitely not sufficient enough to prepare Hiroki to meet his mother in the next couple of minutes.

The bell above the door jingled and Hiroki looked up for the umpteenth time. But it was just a couple entering languidly – not his mother. He turned his gaze back down to the table, following the swirling grain patterns of the wood and tried to focus his thoughts.

He had asked Miyagi-kyoujyu leave for that afternoon and requested that the other man cover for him in return for the same service if ever needed. And, surprisingly, Miyagi had been quite kind and unusually generous, not even piling on his own work of the next three days onto Hiroki as an interest on the price. Of course, that made Hiroki suspicious of Miyagi's motives, but he left pretty quickly after that just incase Miyagi-kyoujyu happened to return to his better senses.

Hiroki checked his watch again and glanced at the entrance. He wished his mother would come soon so that he didn't have to suffer any longer with this anxiousness of the unknown and so that he could just get the whole thing over with. But, then again, Hiroki almost wanted his mother to arrive even later for what he knew was going to be an explosive confrontation, thereby allowing him some time to prepare himself.

Though he tried to honestly think of what he would say, Hiroki couldn't help but be distracted and avoid thinking of Nowaki and his own sexual orientation. The fact that he would be face-to-face with his mother anytime now also placed immense amounts of pressure and stress on him, so that all he could do was try to calm himself down and not succumb to his panic. He didn't think he was this nervous even when he made his stumbling advance on Akihiko that one time.

Then, with a sharp suddenness, he realised that this was his mother. The lack of contact these past months had dulled his recounts of past interactions, and admittedly, there were not many instances in which he tried to contact and reach his family during that period, and so, he had forgot just how perceptive his mother could be. Hiroki didn't think for one moment, thereafter, that his mother wouldn't notice and not figure it out. And with this new conviction, Hiroki couldn't even imagine what would happen after that.

Hiroki's heart beat hard. He shifted uneasily and uncomfortably. He tried taking deep breaths to return some semblance of calm back into his body. There couldn't be anything noticeable about him when his mother saw him, he knew. He looked around the restaurant, taking notice of all the people there and came to stare at two girls who kept peeking at him curiously.

After some moments of searching his brain, Hiroki vaguely and distantly remembered them from the hallways of the university, passing by him as he entered his and Miyagi-kyoujyu's office.

A frown immediately formed on his face as they whispered something to each other and glanced at him again. He glared back at them, sure that they were talking about him. They would probably stay around till his lunch with his mother, to see what happened and circulate gossip among the entire student population at the university.

But before he could do anything, the bell above the door chimed again, catching Hiroki's attention.

Immediately, his face smoothed out of the unpleasant expression at the sight of his mother in surprise. And Hiroki rose to his feet swiftly, exhaling sharply.

Sayomi was looking around the establishment for her son, when a movement in her peripheral vision directed her focus and she was quickly met with the familiar brown of her son's eyes, three tables over. Her first thought was how different Hiroki-kun appeared, surrounded by the strangely cheerful yellowish orange walls of the family restaurant. Unconsciously a smile slipped onto her face, all the while wondering when her son had started wearing a scarf around his neck.

Their meeting wasn't the explosive confrontation Hiroki for sure believed it would be. In fact, Hiroki thought, it was rather like being in the eye of a hurricane, cool and calm in the centre – which he compared to the current moment – while being surrounded by ferocious, blazing winds that circled higher and higher around him – the looming sense of doom and apprehension that something was just going to go wrong sometime in the very near future.

But Hiroki had relaxed with that one breath, ready to meet whatever came his way. The burden of waiting blindly had been lifted and had disappeared at the first glance of his mother. He was feeling an odd sort of calmness, like his mind was simply being still now. Yet, the trepidation and edginess hadn't quite left him, only simmering lowly somewhere deep inside him, he knew. He willed himself to believe that this was his innocent and unsuspecting mother, who simply wanted to see him and spend some time with him. And his mother's soft expression helped along his convincing.

Sayomi walked up to her son and lifted a hand. For a moment, it seemed as if she wanted to hold it up against his cheek, but then settled for placing it on his arm. She said with a tone of marvel, "You've changed, Hiroki-kun." Her voice trailed off at the end, leaving Hiroki guessing as to what she could possibly be thinking of.

Even though he wasn't as panicked or nervous as mere moments ago, he couldn't deny that this was still as awkward as ever and what he had expected. He just wasn't one of those amazingly, emphatically emotional people to be able to easily convey his feelings. Except maybe around Nowaki.

"Hello, mother," Hiroki stumbled over the words while smiling, the barest hints of it being strained hidden behind his customary awkwardness. He took a closer look at his mother and could easily see that she looked aged and older, but still lively. After a moment, Hiroki led his mother towards a table further in the back, ensuring more privacy from those 2 girls whom Hiroki wouldn't let himself forget so easily.

"Are those more wrinkles I see, Hiroki-kun?" His mother asked in an amused tone. He directed an irritated glance at her for her teasing start to the conversation and continued directing their path. He wasn't quite sure that the scowl on his face, previously, had quite left his face fast enough – for his mother had surely gotten a glimpse of it to tease him now.

With a roll of his eyes, he sat down opposite to his mother and said pointedly while picking up his menu, "What do you want to eat?" It certainly wasn't meant to be rude and his mother merely grinned in response before perusing her own menu.

Their talk over lunch left Hiroki uncomfortable and squirming for an appropriate (or evasive) answer at times, of course. And the questions of why Nowaki had not been introduced or mentioned much earlier, and Hiroki's abysmal record of contact were brought up as he had expected. He had managed through though. He also felt guilty during instances when his mother expressed worry for his over-exertion with work without actually knowing about Nowaki.

Unexpectedly, his mother had given him a gift for his birthday. He was so focussed on the matter with him and Nowaki that he had almost forgotten it was his birthday during those moments with his mother. But then he wryly reminded himself that that's how this whole situation started. Naturally, at the end of their meal together, Hiroki found that he had eaten much less than usual, and had to shake off questions from his mother regarding his eating habits as a result.

It was now evening. The sunset strewing reddish hues in the sky, while the trees swayed and rustled as light, cool breezes swept along the park on the way to his and Nowaki's apartment. Hiroki strolled beside his mother on the pathway, deliberately stepping on the rugged tufts of grass spilling over on the sides at times. It was a content atmosphere that surrounded them then and both were silent. Sayomi was satisfied with mere glances of her son.

Hiroki looked off to the side almost unconsciously as he tried to catch a glimpse of the bench Nowaki and he usually sat at whenever there were on the way home from somewhere. He stumbled over a step when he saw a dark blob of a head and intently stared at the stranger, willing him to turn to glimpse at his face, all the while wondering if it actually was Nowaki.

As fate would have it, it was indeed Nowaki. And Hiroki couldn't decide if he should catch his mother's attention over it or just leave his lover be. But as his luck would have it, his mother took the decision right out of his hands by excitedly pointing out his lover.

"Look, Hiroki-kun! There's Kusama-san. Let's go greet him." She went off ahead, easily crossing by him before he could even get a word out. Hiroki helplessly watched after her for a moment, feeling like control of the situation was wrenched away from him again. With a little sigh at the sudden change of events, Hiroki followed after his mother, quickly gaining on her lead and walking alongside her again.

"Kusama-san!" She called out. Hiroki couldn't help but cringe.

Nowaki's head snapped up and he expertly covered up his surprise with a welcoming smile Hiroki knew was often shown to customers during his part-time work at the flower shop. Standing up and responding with a greeting in return, Nowaki flicked a glance at Hiroki. A lot was conveyed and said in that glance. Hiroki knew that his lover was trying to gauge the atmosphere and determine if some hot-topics were disclosed or discussed. Hiroki gave a minute shake of the head and slight shrug of his shoulders while glancing at his mother. Nowaki nodded, easily masking the action with the conversation he started with Sayomi.

"Kamijou-san! Have a seat! Did you have a pleasant lunch?" Nowaki asked.

Sayomi smiled at this cheerful young man, whose smile – she had to admit – was oh-so-charming. And his manners! She glanced pointedly at her son, hoping to communicate silently her disappointment in his lack of manners by not even greeting his roommate properly. But of course, Hiroki was obliviously looking somewhere else, gaze distant. Concluding that her son was a lost cause, Sayomi turned back to Nowaki.

"Arigatou, Kusama-san. Lunch was good." She sat down at the offered spot on the bench and Nowaki followed suit. "Do you often come to this park?" She asked.

"Yes, it's very relaxing," Nowaki replied. "This spot under the tree gives you the feeling that you're the only one in the park. But you can still see the other people frequenting here if you just look towards the fountain and the main area of the park." He explained almost absentmindedly as he gazed at his lover who was currently turned some feet away from them, gazing up at the trees and the vibrant sky.

Nowaki answered another one of her questions and made some comments. He dragged his eyes away from the sight of his lover reluctantly – those brown strands and clothes fluttering in the evening breeze enticingly – only when Sayomi also shifted her eyes to follow his gaze. Then, Nowaki focussed more on keeping his sight directed away from his Hiro-san than on the actual conversation. Needless to say, he didn't remember half the conversation.

He was engrossed in his efforts and was so concentrated that he lost track of time. He only came back to his senses with a jolt when Hiroki was a step away from him. But Hiro-san wasn't just standing by, as Nowaki had first thought, he was striding towards them, Nowaki realised, as Hiroki came to sit in the space Nowaki and Sayomi had left between them.

"Mom, Nowaki is very busy at the hospital. He can't just drop by next weekend when it's week's end for the rest of us but irregular shifts for him. He needs to plan and schedule it well in advance to travel within the city even. Remember cousin Yuki? Nowaki's just as busy as him." Hiroki said.

Nowaki floundered for a moment, not understanding what Hiroki was talking about. But when his lover's mother merely expressed her disappointment and then hope that Kusama-san could still make it, Nowaki concluded that Hiro-san was picking up his slack and answering in place of him – for which Nowaki felt gratitude, fondness and a rush of affection run through him. He wanted to touch his Hiro-san – who was sitting mere centimetres away, leaning back, head turned towards Sayomi – as easily as always, but settled for shifting and subtly moving closer to his lover so that their sides were pressed flush. Hiro-san shifted too – maybe in subconscious reaction – and leant more of his weight against Nowaki, his upper body just slightly tilted towards Nowaki to an outsider's eyes.

Hiroki had been listening to the conversation happening behind him with half an ear, trying to appear as if he wasn't eavesdropping. When his mother extended her standard request to visit their family house, Hiroki had quickly stepped in to speak for his lover. He and Nowaki were so not ready to visit his parents' house together. That was such a scary and daunting idea that Hiroki immediately attempted to change the subject. When he felt Nowaki shift beside him, Hiroki rested sideways against his lover a little, quietly gathering support from the strength and warmth on his left side to continue the conversation with his mother.

"Mother, will you tell me why you really came to see me?" Hiroki asked. "Usually, you call before and insist that I come and visit you and father till I give in. But you came with no prior notice this time. Did something happen?"

Sayomi's eyebrows scrunched up a little in sadness. "Your father and I, we were just worried about you. Whenever we called, it would go to voicemail or you would quickly chat and say you're busy and have work to do before cutting the line. Then recently, it was almost as if you had started avoiding our calls. You must understand how concerned we were over your health – and your mental health included. Working so much and your mind being obsessed with work to the point of exhaustion, well, that isn't healthy for you at this young age. So, finally, after a month of deliberation between your father and I, we came to a decision." She couldn't help but glimpse at her son every now and then throughout her words.

Hiroki felt uneasy and certainly guilty when thinking that he had deceived his parents all this time for his focus hadn't been work most of that time, but rather, Nowaki. He couldn't look at his mother's face anymore and so, resorted to looking at the trees that surrounded the little enclosure in which they sat, at the park.

"You haven't been very forthcoming in this, Hiroki-kun, I know, and so it makes me worry. But your father and I believed it would be best if you found a partner and married her. We would like for you to attend an omiai."

TBC

Cliffie! But don't worry, next part (Sayomi's reaction) will be up soon. I'm guessing there will be 3 more parts before Hiroki's Birthday arc ends.

Any thoughts or comments? Please tell them to me! Thanks.