day 24 - making up afterwards
When Seto went to bed that night, he left the door open a little just in case Mary needed an invitation. Kano complained about the band of light that fell across his bed, but Seto ignored him. He tried to fall asleep, but it took him longer that usual, especially considering the tiring day of work he'd just had.
Finally, tired and upset, he fell asleep. The next morning was no better; Mary was still nowhere to be seen, and Seto felt a cloud lurking over him as he got ready for work. Kido got up at some point while he was eating, and he greeted her wearily.
"Morning to you too," she said, squinting, "what's gotten into you?"
Seto shrugged, frowning into his breakfast. He didn't feel like explaining.
Work was a disaster. He'd signed on to some construction plot a week ago, replacing a paper route that had been significantly downsized as the paper focused going digital. Since then, he'd made a good name for himself by showing up bright and early every morning with a smile. But today that seemed to be too difficult a task. After his second time almost dropping heavy equipment because he wasn't paying attention, resulting in a long gash that ran from the heel of his palm halfway to his elbow, his supervisor sent him home.
"You're obviously sick," he grumbled, and Seto nodded numbly as he clasped a paper towel to the cut. "Don't come back 'til you're ready to pay attention."
For the second time that week, Seto headed home with a heavy step.
There didn't seem to be anyone home when he entered, and he went straight to the first aid kit, but it was missing bandages and gauze. He went to the sink instead, to run water over the cut and mope. He and Mary had never fought like this. Sure, she grew impatient with him at times, or she'd pout for awhile if he chose common sense over her. But it was always smoothed over quickly with a smile or a hug. It was like handing a child a favorite toy to comfort them.
Maybe that was the problem. Lately he'd noticed her pushing the limits of what she was capable of, such as standing up to Kano or going out in public or even just making as many little paper flowers as was possible in one day. Meanwhile, he was still treating her like the little girl who had hidden and cried because she didn't want to hurt him with her powers.
He had no idea how old she was exactly; neither did she. She'd mentioned counting at least one hundred summers since her mother died, but beyond that they had no clue. Even her rate of aging was a mystery to them. There had never been anyone like Mary before, so there was no one to compare her to.
Still puzzling over the situation, Seto suddenly remembered that Kido had a second first aid kit, one she kept in the girls' room. He turned off the water and went to go look for it. Technically, the girls' room was off limits to the guys, but Seto knew the rule really existed because of Kano, and Kido would surely understand if she found him in here as long as he explained.
He opened the door, and then froze. Kido's bed was empty and neatly made, as expected, but Mary's bed was topped with a tangled mess of blankets, and her long hair was poking out of the top of the nest. Seto was just beginning to hope she hadn't heard him come in, when she whimpered "Kidooooo," and turned to look at the door.
Her eyes narrowed the instant she saw him. Seto hovered in the doorway for a few seconds, before making his way to her side and sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"Hey," he said softly, and she made a little 'hmph!' sound.
"I'm not sorry," she told him, poking out her lower lip.
He hadn't slept much at all last night, and he'd had two bad days in a row. His head and eyes ached with exhaustion. Still, he smiled at her, the corners of his eyes wrinkling. "I am," he confessed, and she looked surprised.
"I wasn't thinking straight, so I was rude to you," he continued, trying to hold eye contact with her even though his eyes burned and he wanted to look somewhere, anywhere else. "I put my own ideas onto what kind of relationship I had with you, and I made all kinds of assumptions. And I'm really, really sorry. Mary, I hope you'll forgive me. It's okay if you and Shintaro become closer, or if you need someone else in your life, but I don't ever want to lose you as a friend. You're one of the most important people in the world to me."
Her eyes welled with tears, and she was the one to look away. "What kind of relationship did you think we had?" she asked, a little hoarse.
It seemed cruel to him to make him say it, to make him spell out the mistakes he'd made. "I thought. Because you stayed with me at night, I thought we were really close. And 'cause we kissed sometimes I thought we were in some kind of relationship, although I guess I never said it." It was becoming harder and harder to make sense, and he looked down at the gash on his arm, which was welling up but not enough to make it more important than this. "When I was a kid, I guess I fell in love with you. And I was kinda stupid about it and never really told you, exactly." That was really off topic, and he felt dumb just saying it.
"You should've," she told him grumpily, and his shoulders sagged. "I should've said something too," she added quietly, and he glanced over at her.
"I thought about it some," Seto said, when it became clear she wasn't going to continue, "and I think you're right. I've gotta stop treating you like a little kid." She stirred next to him, but he kept speaking. "Which means we've got to talk about stuff, okay?"
Mary nodded, and moved closer, like she was going to hug him. It was then that she saw the cut on his arm, and jolted out of bed. "Seto! What happened?!"
She brought his attention back to the injury and it began to sting again, but he was so relieved about her accepting his apology that he just laughed. "I was dumb today," he told her with a chuckle, but she didn't think it was funny, and hurried to get the first aid kit.
Minutes later, as she patched him up, she paused, her hands smoothing down the edges of the medical tape. "I guess it was pretty bad that I let Shintaro act like that," she said.
Seto was already shaking his head. "It wasn't your fault. I was in a terrible mood, or I would have never said anything. I love you, and I want you to do what makes you happy." Now that he'd said it, he couldn't seem to stop, and he could see the tips of her ears go red.
"It doesn't," she mumbled, "it didn't. I just wanted to feel like an adult." Seto felt his heart twist at her words, and he pressed a kiss to the crown of her bowed head. She looked up, her eyes wet.
"It's okay," he promised, "it's alright."
"You too," she mumbled, and he must have looked confused, because she clarified. "I love you too." Her face was flushed and she looked embarrassed, and it was ridiculous because it wasn't like it was a secret.
But he knew how hard the words were to get out, and he moved forward and kissed her, cradling her face with his uninjured hand. She made a happy thrumming noise and clambered into his lap, winding her arms around his neck, and he chuckled. Normally, he'd make an excuse at this point or mention how he wasn't technically supposed to be in the girls' bedroom at all, but she hummed again with enthusiasm and shifted in his lap, and he reminded himself he was going to stop being so overprotective.
Instead, he pulled her closer, setting with his back against the wall. She looked up at him quizzically, and he kissed the tip of her nose, then her jaw just under her ear. She squirmed and giggled, and he grinned at her fondly. After all, they did have all day.
…
Later, he went downstairs to get water, and found Kano on the couch, holding something red and fabric. The smaller boy stuffed it under a pillow as he came in.
"Soooooo," he said watching Seto over the back of the couch as he got himself a glass, "how'd it go?"
"How'd what go?" Seto replied as he turned on the tap. Kano rolled his eyes.
"You guys totally did it just now, right? Right?"
Seto spluttered, choking on the water. "No, we did not! We had a nice talk. Everything's worked out."
Kano pouted. "Boooooo, I thought you were gonna blow a gasket when he called her cute, and you just talked? Really? I don't know why I try."
Seto opened his mouth to ask how Kano knew. He hadn't told anyone about what specifically had happened. Then, his mind pieced it together. Shintaro's strange grin. Kano's timely arrival. The red jacket Kano had been holding. He slowly put the glass down on the counter.
"Kano," he said sweetly, coming to lean over the back of the couch. "Where were you last night?"
The blond boy cackled nervously. "I was just trying to help. You guys are like preschoolers."
Sincerely doubting Kano's benevolent motives, Seto proceeded to chase him around the house for the fifteen minutes.
