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"It has been so long since I last saw them!" we roll our luggage out of the terminal, a widely animated smile plastered on my profile at the thought of seeing my family again after so long. As much as I want to deny it, I miss seeing Tooru's dopey face, because unknowingly, it became a peculiar routine every morning and invigorated me for the rest of the school day. At the beginning of the year, his absence made it much more challenging for me to merely get up from bed and stay energized for an hour.
My excitement instantly skyrockets when my family comes into view as an equivalently matched expression encompasses them when my brother physically launches towards my direction, making us tumble into the marble floor.
"My adorable imōto is back!"
"Oniichan," I cry and glare half-heartedly, missing his accustomed childish antics rather than embarrassed as I usually would have. I tightly return the embrace while I murmur, blushing while doing so, "I missed you."
He chuckles as he squeezes his grip around me, feeling his chest vibrating under where my head is situated, "I missed you, too—"
"Hey! She's my imōto too, y'know!"
My older sister, recognized as the eldest sibling, appears out of the blue and mercilessly shoves my brother away from me, a pitiful cry emanating from him as he collapses to the ground and instantly throws powerless daggers at the person squeezing the life out of me.
Typically, I would feel embarrassed by their childish antics, but I missed them too much to disregard it, "I'm glad I'm able to visit. It was hard to get used to not seeing any of you every day anymore."
I unintentionally squeak when another pair of short arms tightly wrap around my waist, looking down to find my nephew, Takeru, and he says, "We missed you! It wasn't the same without you."
My core clenches at his thoughtful words as I ruffle his soft locks affectionately. However, nervousness quickly arises when my sister finally notices Seijuro after being brought into my mother's embrace.
"Oh, and whom might you be?" She asks sweetly, an overly excited expression appearing on her features. Tooru stands up from his fallen position and frowns at the sight of Seijuro, clearly displeased with what is to come.
I deeply flush as I glance at my boyfriend, who smiles softly at my timid look before drawing his full attention to my sister, "I am Akashi Seijuro, Katsumi's boyfriend."
My mother squeals as she sways me around while my sister tugs my cheeks teasingly, "Oh my, our little baby finally has a boyfriend! And such a handsome one at that! For how long now?"
I whine at their behaviour and attempt to respond between my sister's tugging, "It has been about— three months now."
Seijuro prince-like laugh immediately wins over my mother's heart as he proceeds to speak, " I hope I am not intruding on your family reunion—"
"No, of course not!" My mother interrupts as she nears him with her gentle motherly grin, "You are very much welcome here! You will be staying over at our house, yes?"
"Um—" I start nervously, knowing my mother would be incredibly disappointed with the response, "He actually booked a room on a nearby hotel—"
"That is outrageous! He has come all this way to meet us, and you expect me to leave the poor boy alone in a hotel?" She places her hand on his shoulder with a pointed look, which gradually softened when her gaze lingered on him, "You will stay over at our house. You seem like a very sweet boy, Akashi-kun, and I want to thank you for taking care of my baby when I couldn't. I want you to enjoy your time here with my family. I will take care of you like you are my own son."
I smile to myself as my dear father tenderly pats my head. Seijuro may seem only appreciative of my mother's request, but I can see her words had affected him on a more intimate level. I can see his eyes shifting, pupils slightly dilating from being exposed to a mother's love after so long, the lack of familial intimacy in his own house catching up to him. Seijuro had already revealed to me his father's whereabouts, the unnatural expectations pressured onto him that forever demolished any hope to rebuild their relationship anew. To have a parent's undivided attention and loving touch is truly a blessing, one he absolutely craves for, and currently, my mother is doing just that, which makes my chest warm at their interaction.
As they continued to speak, my concentration falls on my sister, who discreetly sends me two thumbs up while mouthing 'good job' at me with a poorly conducted wink.
