After Story: Potential

Chapter Twenty-Two: Pairing Off

Kotomi had settled down, but we continued to lay on the grass...well, I laid on the grass, serving as an oversized mat for Kotomi. At some point I had started absently caressing the back of her head; her hair was so soft. Even though she had stopped crying she was still warmer than usual, and I could feel her hot breath through the fabric of my shirt.

"Tomoya-kun?"

"Hm?"

"We are getting married, are we not?"

"Yup, we are." I gave her a gentle squeeze.

I felt her sigh; I knew her well enough to know that it was a happy one. "I cannot wait." She angled her head to look up at me. "I cannot wait until-"

"All right, you two, get a room or something." Kotomi's words were interrupted by a familiar voice. We looked over to see Kyou with her fists on her hips and mock irritation on her face. "The sight of you two is making me sick."

"Jealous, Onee-chan?" Fujibayashi quipped before quickly covering her mouth. If Kyou noticed, she didn't let on.

"Fine," I said as Kotomi and I got to our feet. "Shall we, then?" I extended my hand toward her and sent her a wink, hoping she'd get the hint.

"Tom-" She cut herself off, then nodded. Without missing another beat she gently swatted my hand. "What'cha talkin' 'bout?"

I had to contain myself as both of the twins' jaws dropped.

"I can't believe it! Finally!" Kyou exploded when she finally got her wits about her. "How long did we work on that?!"

"I wouldn't count on a repeat performance," I said. "This may have been a one-time-only."

"What the heck?" Kotomi 'retorted'.

"Okay, maybe a two-time-only," I amended. I reached out and laid a hand on her head. "Good job."

"Thank you," she said as she dipped her head with a blush. "It surprised me as well."

It was then that I noticed that things were starting to wind down at the baseball field; there were fewer people, not to mention that the sun was definitely lower in the sky. Had Kotomi and I fallen asleep?

Pops confirmed it as he approached us. "Have a good nap, you two?"

"I guess so," I said as I felt a sudden need to stretch. "Did everyone have fun? Looks like a lot of them are gone."

"I think so," he replied. "It seemed to take Sanae's mind off of things...which was the reason I set this whole thing up in the first place."

"That is good," Kotomi said, clearly relieved. "She – well, both of you – needed a distraction, however minor."

Pops grunted his agreement. "Listen; are you two free tonight? Sanae and I were talking earlier and we'd like to help you with your wedding. You'd have dinner with us, of course."

"But are you not-" Kotomi started to ask, but cut herself off. "Th-That would be wonderful, thank you."

I raised an eyebrow at her apparent blunder but decided to keep my thoughts to myself.

"Is it okay, Tomoya-kun?" she asked as she turned to me.

"I don't see why not," I said. "I make it a policy to rarely turn down free food."

Pops burst out laughing. "I like your style, kid. It'll definitely be worth your time! Sanae's a great cook...as long as it isn't bread."

"Pops..." I shook my head sadly. "She's right behind you."

"My bread is...My bread is..." Sure enough, Sanae had somehow managed to show up in time to hear her husband's insult.

"Sanae...?" Pops took a hesitant step towards her.

Without warning she whirled and ran away in tears. Almost at the same time, Pops ran across the street into the bakery. A few seconds later he emerged with his mouth full of bread. "FFANAE! I UFF OO!!" he shouted as he ran in her last known direction.

The four of us watched rather stupidly as the whole scene unfolded. "Nagisa'a parents are... interesting, aren't they?" Fujibayashi observed.

***

I tugged at my collar as I watched Pops work on his cigarette across the table. It was weird; even though Nagisa was gone, I still had this feeling of 'meeting the parents'...

"So, how's the job going?" he asked after taking a draw from his cigarette.

"I-It's going fine," I replied. "The shop has its ups and downs but, overall, it's doing well."

He took another draw and blew it out, fortunately toward a nearby window instead of toward me. "Is it going to be enough if you have a kid or two?"

"P-Probably not," I stammered. Why was he interrogating me in the first place? I found myself hoping that Sanae would rescue me again.

"So what's your backup plan?"

"B-Backup plan?" I looked over at Kotomi, who simply smiled sweetly. "We're hoping to send me to school to learn philosophy."

"To do what?"

"I-I'm not sure right now."

"You're a good kid, brat, but you're not exactly inspiring faith right now."

I'd finally had enough and launched myself to my feet. "Well, what do you want? I lost my mom when I was a kid, had my future taken from me at fifteen and, for all intents and purposes, no parents! I'm doing the best I can with what I have!"

I grabbed my coat to leave; I figured I'd worn out my welcome, but Pops shot to his feet: "Wait a minute, kid: What do you mean you had your future taken from you?"

I paused, then put my coat back and sat down again. "Dad and I fought a lot. When I was about fifteen we got in a big one, and he accidentally broke my shoulder."

"And?"

"I was really into basketball...and I thought that I would be able to play professionally, so..." I shrugged. "Broken shoulder, broken future."

"Damn." He put out his cigarette and pulled a fresh one from a pack. "That sucks. Sanae and I know what it's like to have to give up your dreams."

"Thanks," I said. "And sorry about my outburst."

"Don't worry about it," he said, waving his cigarette. "But in the future, don't kick yourself out; that's my job, got it?"

I chuckled; what in interesting guy. "Yeah, I got it."