A/N: Heyyyyyy sweetpeas! Welcome back for the new chapter ;) I kinda ran out of ideas in this BUTTTTT I still managed to write it funny and present something for y'all, so I hope you'll appreciate :D and yuppppp! The secret I told y'all about at the end of last chapter??? *side eyes* you'll find out in this part n.n I'm not gonna say more so without any further ado, go ahead, read and enjoyyyyyy
—
Where We Always End Up — Chapter 4
It was finally that one rare day Mariam managed to wrestle a day off from her hectic work schedule. After an eternity of chasing deadlines, coordinating labs, and pretending like she was not stressed 25/7, she declared her off-day sacred and untouchable. And she'd decided: the morning was for ladies tea time. Afternoon and late evening were reserved for Max and the twins, and the rest of the night? Well, she hoped the universe would let her actually rest.
At around 10:30 AM, Mariam walked into Mariah's cozy living room with Hilary beside her. The place had a warm charm, filled with bright throw pillows, soft sunlight pouring in from the huge window, and the subtle aroma of herbal tea drifting from the kitchen. Mariah had already laid out a small tray of cups and cookies on the center table.
"Wow, this place is still as adorable as ever," Mariam said, plopping down on the fluffy floor cushion.
"Yeah, because I don't have legos thrown all over my sofa," Mariah smirked.
"Excuse me!?" Mariam shot back playfully.
Hilary chuckled, settling into the armchair. "Don't start already. We haven't even started the tea yet."
Mariah rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. Tea first, insults later."
They sipped quietly for a few seconds, enjoying the calm. That peace didn't last long.
"So, my annoying neighbour decided to crash into our place again last weekend," Mariam began, raising her brows. "Like seriously, who just waltzes into your living room like it's their second house? He even had the audacity to tell Max to change the TV channel."
Mariah nearly choked on her tea. "What? Did Max change it?"
"Max is too nice. He handed the remote over like it was diplomacy in action. Meanwhile, I was in the kitchen, ready to throw a spatula at the guy."
Hilary snorted. "I wish I had that kind of drama. Instead, I've got this one woman—the wife of one of Kai's clients—who just has to brag about everything at every single party. And always to me. Just me. I swear, it's like I wear an invisible 'please brag to me' sign."
"Oh no," Mariam leaned in with a smirk, "What does she brag about? Her overpriced nails?"
Hilary rolled her eyes. "Everythinh. Starting from her son's piano recital, her daughter's overseas school trip, their fifth car, and even how their dog only eats gourmet meat."
"Ugh," Mariah grimaced. "You know what? I'll trade you her for the grumpy old lady at the grocery store who gives me judgmental eyes every time I show up. Like sorry my hair's pink, ma'am. I wasn't born to please your dusty sensibilities."
Mariam cracked up. "Does she actually say anything?"
"No," Mariah sighed. "She just... stares. Like I'm violating her personal belief system just by existing."
Just then, little footsteps padded into the room. Lian, peeked around the doorway.
"Mom, I want ice cream," she said with an innocent blink.
Mariah raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you sick this morning?"
Lian froze, then gasped dramatically, clutching her stomach. "Ow, my tummy..."
Hilary and Mariam stared at her with blank faces, sweatdropping while Mariah deadpanned, "You had a fever this morning, in case you forgot."
Lian blinked again, her brain catching up to her busted lie. "Oh... right."
All three women sighed in unison.
"Go to your room, now. We'll talk later," Mariah said, giving her the mom stare.
Lian huffed, gave them the saddest little 'I'm dying' pout, and trudged off.
The moment she was gone, Mariam burst into laughter. "Leo and Luna do that all the time. Yesterday, Leo said his head hurt, and then two seconds later he was jumping off the sofa. Max was losing his mind."
Mariah groaned. "Ugh, I can't with these girls. Lian and Lin argue like it's a professional sport. There's no peace. And when I ask Ray to intervene he goes "It'll die down soon" I mean sir???? I'd get a headache to last for the entire next week by the time it eventually dies down." She rolled her eyes.
Hilary raised her hand. "Meanwhile in my house... there's just silence. Constant silence. Gou's like a ghost. Sometimes I forget I even have a son because he's so damn quiet. And when he talks to me by himself, I feel like the luckiest mom alive to have my son finally speaking to me after what seems like an eternity!"
"Lucky," both women said at once.
"Your son is just the mighty Kai Hiwatari, but younger, isn't it?" Mariah smirked at Hilary and she just shrugged. "He does talk more than Kai on weekly basis, but I guess you're not wrong."
"I wish I had more time off work," Mariam muttered, voice softening. "I want to be there more, you know? For all the chaos. It kind of hurts seeing Max losing his braincells alone, almost all the time. And I want to spend more time with my twins too and give him a break."
Mariah and Hilary reached over to pat her shoulder gently.
"I'm afraid that they'd drift apart from me overtime, cuz it feels like I don't give them enough time." She continued, a deep sigh following.
"You're doing amazing," Mariah reassured.
"Seriously," Hilary added. "They'll always admire how badass their mom is. Don't worry."
There was a short pause, the air getting just a little more nostalgic.
"I just realised that the kids will be graduating soon, in like a month..." Hilary said quietly.
"I know," Mariah sighed. "Feels like yesterday they were learning to tie their shoelaces."
Mariam smiled fondly. "My twins will be in the last year of elementary. It's going by way too fast."
(A/N: I read somewhere that in Japan, kids from ages 5-11 go to six years of elementary school, then go to middle school for 3 years from ages 12-14 and next 3 years they go to highschool from ages 15 to 17... So that's the system of education I'm gonna be considering for this ffn! You're welcome hehe)
Unbeknownst to them, Lian had crept back, peeking from behind the doorframe, curious about what they were talking about. Just then, a hand gently tapped her shoulder.
She turned and saw Ray standing there.
"Can I get ice cream?" she asked instantly.
Ray blinked. "Didn't you have a fever?"
Lian groaned. "WHY does everyone remember that I have fever except me?!" she stomped back to her room, muttering about injustice and dramatic betrayals. Ray sweatdropped and sighed.
—
The school cafeteria was its usual noisy mess. Kids chattered, trays clinked, and laughter echoed across the room. At one corner table, the usual crew sat together—Lin, Makoto, Gou, Leo, and Luna.
Lin picked at her lunch distractedly.
Makoto was hunched over his tray, his brows furrowed like he was already sitting in an exam hall.
Leo sighed heavily.
So did Luna.
Only Gou calmly ate his bread, his eyes distant.
"Are you okay, Lin?" Luna asked, noticing her friend hadn't taken a bite.
"I'm fine. Just... nervous," Lin admitted. "About exams and graduating."
Makoto groaned. "The teacher just had to announce the annual exams in the morning. Like, cool. Thanks for ruining the whole morning for me."
"Same," Leo agreed. "This is gonna suck."
"You guys will be fine," Gou said quietly.
"Easy for you to say," Lin huffed. "You study."
Gou blinked. "You're supposed to as well."
Lin let her head fall dramatically onto the table. "Middle school is going to be hard... I'll have to study... and attend more classes..."
"Exactly," Gou added. "Skipping won't be an option anymore."
Lin groaned. "NOOOOooooo."
Luna dabbed her eyes. "And we won't even sit together for lunch anymore..."
"Oh no..." Lin echoed. "I didn't even think of that..."
Gou patted Lin's head. "You're all being overly dramatic."
Leo added, "We can still meet on weekends. At your house, Gou."
Gou deadpanned at Leo. "Is it my house or a public gathering zone at this point?"
Makoto nodded solemnly. "The latter."
Gou sighed, already imagining a future of noise, chaos, and snack raids.
"Still," Lin said, poking at her rice, "Even this sucks today."
Makoto snickered. "They say bugs in rice add protein. Nutrition, Lin."
Lin gagged. "WHAT?!"
"Stop it Makoto." Gou glared as Makoto smirked.
"Simp." He mumbled to Gou to get another sharper death glare from him.
"I'm never trusting food again." Lin said pushing her plate back.
"Hey, want my bread?" Gou offered.
Lin looked up, at him then smiled and accepted it while glaring at Makoto. "At least someone here cares."
"Only about you." Makoto whistled only to be kicked under the table by Gou. He snicked again. Lin blinked, oblivious as ever.
Luna giggled, then snatched a cucumber slice from Leo's plate.
"Hey!" Leo protested.
"What?" she batted her lashes. "I just wanted one!"
"You always do this!"
"Do what?"
"Eat yours then steal from me!"
"You always complain!"
Gou, Makoto, and Lin exchanged glances.
"Another round?" Makoto muttered.
"Yuh," Gou sighed.
The bickering continued, but the table felt warm. Familiar. A little chaotic, but comforting in its own way.
Just like a little family. Just like bladebreakers back in the days.
—
As the day passed, school ended and all the kids went to their respective homes around the late afternoon. The afternoon sun peeked through the living room curtains of the Kon residence, casting a warm glow across the table. Lin stomped in with a loud sigh, a stack of books and papers in her arms that nearly covered her face. She dumped them dramatically on the center table, collapsing onto the couch like she'd just carried a mountain up a hill.
Ray, who had been sipping tea quietly while reading a book on the other couch, raised an eyebrow at his daughter and as he shifted his eyes to the center table, he blinked, staring at the pile as if it had grown legs.
"What's all that?" he asked cautiously, lowering his cup.
"My doom," Lin deadpanned, stretching across the cushions. "Exams are in three weeks, Dad and because of my minor attendance issue, Miss Koyanagi gave me these." She gestured to the mountain of work like it was a criminal sentence.
"First of all, your low attendance is not minor. And that looks like fifteen assignments!" Ray said putting his tea cup on the table.
"Fifteen assignments. One week. And she says it's non-negotiable. Apparently, I have to prove I've been learning even though I haven't been in class. Daddy, help me! This is driving me nuts!" Lin dramatically let out a groan.
Ray gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Okay, okay, sit up. Let's take a look at this." He picked up one of the books, flipping through the pages with a growing sense of dread. "This is a lot. You're really that behind, huh?"
Lin nodded with the expression of someone about to cry. Ray sighed and began gently quizzing her on the very basics of the chapters—definitions and key concepts.
She stared blankly at him for almost every answer.
"So what's this about?" Ray asked Lin.
"Umm... About atoms?" Lin blinked.
Ray stared at her. "Lin... This is mathematics."
"I'm so doomed." She groaned covering her face with a cushion, dramatically kicking her legs as Ray sighed, and turned pages of another book.
"What's gravitation?"
"Draciel's attack? I've heard Leo say that word a hundred times during battles." Lin said.
Ray stared at her again, horrified by her academic knowledge at this point.
"Lin, it's not beyblade we're talking about right now. And you don't remember anything about any apple falling from a tree? Do you know Newton?"
"It was free fall or something like that. And how is Newton even related to this? I'm confused now!"
Ray groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be a very long week."
Despite the looming mountain of work, he opened a notebook and started guiding her through the first worksheet. It didn't go smoothly. Lin would understand something for five seconds, only to forget it when they reached the next question. Her academic anxiety was clearly kicking in.
Mariah walked in with a towel wrapped around her hair, having just showered. She took one look at the chaos in the living room and raised an eyebrow.
"What's going on here?"
"Detention homework," Ray muttered, eyes still on Lin's scribbles. "Skipping classes finally caught up with her."
"You did it wrong again," he added, gently taking her pencil away and erasing something, as Lin stared at him like he'd personally offended her.
Mariah chuckled. "Didn't I warn you to attend your classes, Lin? I literally told you last week this would happen."
Lin looked at Mariah with a sour pout.
"You also said, 'Let her learn the hard way,'" Ray interjected.
"Exactly. So have fun," she smirked, grabbing a water bottle from the table.
"Oh come on, don't just walk away," Ray protested. "I can't do this alone, you know it!"
Mariah looked smug. "You were the one who said, 'Oh, the lessons must be boring,' when she vented about class. You earned this."
Ray gave her a deadpan look. "Alright, fine. We got this, Lin! We'll power through!"
Lin just groaned, resting her forehead on the book. "I wanna die."
"No dying until you pass, we're Chinese neko-jins. We don't give up." Ray said, patting her head. Then he gently pushed her forehead up with his index finger so she sat up straight again.
Mariah crossed her arms. "I doubt you'll survive this without help. Especially with the way you explain things."
Ray looked mildly offended. "What? I explain things great!"
Mariah gave him a look.
She watched this display for another five minutes; Ray telling Lin something, Lin not understanding or understanding and forgetting in five seconds. Mariah sighed before plopping down next to them. "Move. I'll help too."
Ray blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah. Otherwise you two are gonna make it until next year."
Mariah took one of the worksheets and explained the same concept Ray had just tried to teach.
"So you do it like this." Mariah said.
"Okay I got this, Mama!" Lin's face lit up with realization and she quickly started scribbling answers.
Ray gawked. "I LITERALLY said the same thing five minutes ago!"
"Yeah but Mom explains better," Lin mumbled, fully immersed in the task now.
"Oh yeah? Then why do you want me to sit here?" Ray asked with a mock frown.
"Company," Lin murmured shifting closer to Ray and leaning against him while scribbling down on her notebook.
Mariah burst out laughing while Ray just shook his head, his frown turning into a small smile at her reply.
Meanwhile, in Lian's room upstairs, she was sulking in her room. She had been grounded for two days for faking the fever she had that morning, just to skip school. And she was grounded because she had done that two other times that same week. The "talk" her mom had with her after Hilary and Mariam left, resulted in Lian being in the situation she was right now.
"I really don't like school." She muttered under her breathe, pouting as she scribbled down her homework.
Justice was swift in the Kon household, with Mariah in there.
—
Evening had settled over the dojo, where Tyson was currently giving his shoulders a workout—not in training, but by giving his daughter Mashiro a piggyback ride as they played their own version of tag.
Akaya's phone buzzed and she answered it casually. She stood by the kitchen counter, and held the phone against her ear. Her expression twisted in amused exasperation.
"Alright, Mako," she said. "But come back tomorrow right after school, okay? Yeah, love you too. Bye bye." Her expression had turned into a mix of surprise and resignation, by the time she hung up the call.
The call ended and she turned around just as Tyson twirled around with a squealing Mashiro clinging to his neck.
"What was that about?" he asked, slightly out of breath.
"Makoto's staying at Kai's penthouse tonight," Akaya said, stretching. "He called from Hilary's phone to let me know he's gonna 'study' with Gou."
"Study, huh?" Tyson looked incredulous. "I'm pretty sure Kai's son is the only one who'll be studying. It's gonna be more like Gou studies while Makoto raids the kitchen."
Mashiro gasped. "Oniichan's not coming home today?!"
Tyson gently put her down, smoothing her blunt bangs. "Nope, he'll be back tomorrow, pumpkin."
Mashiro puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms. "But Oniichan promised to play dress-up with me today! Hmph!" She turned away with a huff.
Akaya leaned down to ruffle her head. "He'll make it up to you. Maybe two rounds of dress-up next time, okay?"
"No!" Mashiro huffed, clearly disappointed.
Tyson and Akaya exchanged amused looks as Mashiro turned dramatically toward her doll house. That sass was pure Akaya.
—
Over at the Tates' residence, Mariam was in the middle of making small pancakes when the twins—Leo and Luna—decided to raise their daily chaos quota, since they were overjoyed at the fact that their mom was at home today.
"Can I help, Mom?" Luna asked sweetly, tugging at Mariam's apron.
Mariam looked skeptical but relented. "Alright, but be careful."
"Yayyyy! What should I do then?" Luna said putting on another apron, that belonged to Max and hence, kinda big for her.
Mariam smiled. "You can put eggs into the batter. Carefully."
Max was in the other room, vacuuming and humming to himself. Leo sat nearby on the floor, surrounded by folded paper, assembling a growing fleet of paper planes. As long as he didn't launch them into the ceiling fan again, Max was content.
Back in the kitchen, Luna was determined to prove herself. She reached for an egg, but it didn't crack. Mariam chuckled and just for fun, tapped the egg gently on Luna's forehead. It cracked—perfectly.
Big mistake.
Luna, taking it as a challenge, cracked the next egg entirely on her head. The yolk dribbled down her forehead.
"Luna!" Mariam gasped, grabbing tissues.
"Okay... tissue, tissue, tissue..." Mariam muttered while wiping the eggs off her head.
"Sweetheart, you're not supposed to wear the ingredients."
"I'm helping!" Luna beamed, oblivious. Mariam sweatdropped.
"Yes, yes you are... Thank you very much honey, that's a lot of help. You can go play with Leo now, since you've helped me so much..."
"No! I wanna be independent like you mom. I can do this!"
Mariam's heart melted at her statement but she sighed skeptically, afraid of the potential disasters that Luna could unintentionally create. She eventually let her stay. A minute later, the bowl slipped mid-whisk, and Mariam caught it, just in time.
"Careful Luna!"
"Oops?" Luna laughed nervously. Mariam took a deep breath before putting the bowl on the counter.
Then came the disaster of disasters; the cinnamon incident.
"A pinch, Luna. Just a pinch." Mariam warned Luna, as she kept insisting on putting cinnamon into the batter.
But Luna being Luna, dumped half the bottle in. Mariam facepalmed.
Eventually, Mariam took over, but since Luna insisted again, on making just one pancake, she let her. And little Miss Tate ended up making a highly irregular-shaped pancake, which she burned on one side.
"This is for Dad!" she declared proudly.
Max entered the kitchen, wiping sweat from his brow. Mariam handed him the lopsided pancake with a straight face.
"Made with love," she said.
"And possibly ten tablespoons of cinnamon," Max coughed, taking a bite.
Leo launched a paper plane from the table that landed right in Mariam's hair.
"Holy- That was a perfect shot!" Leo entered the kitchen, proud of his shot as the other three members of the Tate family sweatdropped at him.
Then they all burst out laughing together, what we can imagine is a picture of domestic chaos—a happy kind.
—
At the penthouse, Gou lay sprawled across his bed, eyes staring at the ceiling, while Makoto sat on a nearby beanbag, nose deep in a manga, before noticing him.
"Something wrong?" Makoto asked.
"Nothing just... thinking," Gou muttered.
Makoto closed the comic. "About?"
Gou sat up slowly, cross legged on the bed. "I think... my parents will have another kid."
Makoto choked on his spit. "WHAT?!"
"I'm serious," Gou grumbled.
"Did they say something? Did you hear fishy things at night? Did auntie puke recently? What exactly makes you think that?"
"It's just a gut feeling, okay?"
Makoto burst out laughing. "So you're telling me it's your psychic intuition?"
Gou looked at the window before silently nodding, his arms crossed.
Makoto smirked. "Oh really? What does your psychic gut say about Lin Xiao Kon? Are you gonna marry her?"
Gou's ears turned red as he side-glared at Makoto with the eyes of a burning phoenix. "Makoto, I swear to God—"
"Aww, don't be shy~"
Gou faced him now about to get off his bed. "Makoto Granger. Say one more word and I swear I will throw you out the window."
"Try me!" Makoto said getting off the bed too.
Gou hurled a pillow at him.
"Shut up!"
"Nope!"
They chased each other around the room, Makoto's laughter and Gou's grumbles echoing.
In the master bedroom, Hilary chuckled, resting her head against Kai's chest.
"Finally feels like we have kids at home."
"You think Gou's not a kid?" Kai blinked.
"No it's not that. It's just, Gou's always so quiet. Sometimes it feels... ghostly. It's not bad or weird, just empty. That's why I love it when his friends come over."
Kai gave a small smirk. "So... you like the noise now?"
Hilary nodded. "It makes the house feel alive."
Kai nodded and looked at her with soft eyes. The closeness, the warmth—it had been a while.
He leaned down a bit, and a faint crimson colour appeared on her cheeks. Kai's mauve stared into Hilary's ruby eyes for a few seconds and without another word, he closed the gap between their lips and kissed her... Slow and gentle.
And the rest, well… let's keep it family-friendly. (A/N: *winks*)
—
A/N: SOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOW WAS THE SURPRISE WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm pretty sure now y'all must have guessed what "secret" I was talking about in the previous chapter *side eyes* andddd I know y'all liked it ;) and I'm sorry for declaring the opposite at the end of chapter 2, now I realised I kinda also want that to happen (Hilary being pregnant) TT andddddd if y'all have more ideas, please lmk in my pms or the reviews... Bye bye for now, and I'll meet y'all again in the next chapter ;) don't forget to review :3
Shout outs: Thanks Rubies and Amethysts, kaihil fanfiction and Hilary's Destiny for reviewing my chapters... It really means a lot and it really motivates me to work harder and better as the chapters progress... Sending lots of love to y'all and my readers as well who aren't reviewing :)))