Gift Fic for acchikocchi
Title: Closing Time and Summer Days (2/2)
Pairing/Group: Akame
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Notes: acchikocchi, Happy Holidays. ♥ There’s a long winding explanation on why you get two fics but let’s just settle on the fact that I fail at this big time. :/ I just hope you’ll enjoy reading them. ♥ ♥
Summary: Closing Time - Kame is a stranger, visiting their utopia for a night.
Summer Days - Kid says the darnest things and Jin can only agree with them.
Summer Days
Jin is Saya’s godfather because he is the only one in the Kamenashi’s residence when Kaori’s water breaks. He is just supposed to pick up the baseball cap he left under Kame’s bed the night before and go on his merry way, but alas, it doesn't happen that way.
His dad’s vintage Corolla is old, so it is quite a bumpy and eventful ride. It doesn't help much either that his screams are louder than Kaori’s.
Seven hours later, as he stands awkwardly in the corner of the busy and humid room, gawking as the Kamenashis fuss over their new angel, Kaori motions him to come forward and the room suddenly becomes warm.
As he stares mesmerized at Saya’s sleeping form in the arms of her mother, he decides that the fainting in the ER was worth it - a little goddess is born that summer.
He should have known it'll be counter-productive for his finances later on, though.
***
When Jin opens the door one morning to find a beaming Saya in a green summer dress, hand in hand with her Uncle Kazu at his doorstep at eight o'clock and said uncle sports the same look that enabled him to debut earlier than the rest of their group, Jin simply scratches his nose and forgets all about the whole Dragon Ball GT marathon date with Pi.
"Uncle Jin, you forgot my birthday." Saya greets with a wry smile that Jin believes a seven-year-old girl shouldn’t have.
"I… did?" Jin’s eyes go straight to Kame's, who merely yawns in response.
Without sparing the other a glance, Kame crouches down to Saya’s level and tucks a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "But as I've told you before, it was for a good reason. Just like last year. And the year before that." He pauses to seethe at the other.
Jin mouths Holy Fuck! as he buries his face on his palms.
"Remember how fun it was in Disneyland? This time Uncle Jin will bring you to a better place. He even saved last month’s salary so he can buy you everything you want today. Uncle Jin loves you very much." He says slowly, tone stressing over the key words.
Saya latches herself to his left leg with passion and Jin can only glare at Kame, who just exhales both in relief and triumph.
***
While in Jin's arms, Saya finds the mole below his right eye amusing, so she keeps on poking it as they walk Kame to his car. Jin huffs and cringes, giving the thought to stop carrying Saya around soon serious consideration. She isn’t exactly three years old anymore.
"- I’ll sneak out before seven so we can have dinner together. Saya, always have your cellpho - Saya, stop doing that. You’ll blind Uncle Jin." Kame strides forward and gently pries her hands off of Jin’s face.
"But it’s so pretty," she whines, eyes wide in defense as she presses her cheeks against Jin’s.
Jin feels a bit light headed as Kame cups his face and traces a finger over said mole before nuzzling his niece's nose.
"He is pretty. So don’t blind him." He reasons before kissing her hair.
Jin can't stop himself from blurting out, "I’m pretty?"
Kame draws back to look at him, "You are." He laughs and Jin thinks this is the future.
***
The sedan's alarm beeps as Kame unlocks it to hop inside. The dark leather seat clashes with his light brown hair and Jin’s breath hitches when Kame’s fringe falls over his eyes as he abruptly turns his head to give him a gentle smile.
The older man knows he's probably blushing as Kame never fails to do that to him, but he still tries to cover it up with a frown. "Can you please get rid of your manager already? This is the fifth time he has screwed up your sched."
Jin bends down so he can be at eye-level with Kame through the window car, Saya’s arms tight around his neck. Her peachy scent wafts and it makes something inside Jin do somersaults. Thrice.
"I will." Kame closes his eyes briefly before looking back at them again. "I’ll see you two later," he whispers.
The fluttering of his eyelashes makes Jin lean forward to place a chaste kiss on his right cheek as Saya sloppily kisses the left one.
***
"What would a seven year old need an organizer for?" Jin examines the newly bought Bratz On The Go Organizer. "It even has electronic functions!" He is in awe.
"…I’m in first grade already." Saya reasons, her small hand secured on his larger one.
"So?"
She dips her head down, cheeks glowing, "I like Sasha, okay?" she mutters sullenly, doing that pouty thing that makes Jin want to give her anything she asks for.
With a long sigh, Jin gives up. "Okay, okay." He throws the box back on the shopping bag he's carrying. "What happened to the days when little girls were satisfied with just teddy bears and Barbie?" he wonders aloud as they navigate through the crowd in the street.
"We’re from different generations, Uncle Jin."
Jin’s laughter reverberates. "Are you implying I’m old?"
Saya blinks as she gives him a sympathetic look. "But you’re aging gracefully."
The way her little eyes shine in amusement, how her lips stretch on like they would go on forever, how her nose is slightly red in contrast to her green dress and that chaste happiness of hers that binds these warm fluttering feelings in his chest, make Jin swell with something so beautiful and beyond him, something that would burst any moment now and it’s incredible. Just incredible.
Jin thinks this can go on forever and he won't mind.
"Oh. I know!" She squeals and grabs the small yellow bag hanging from Jin’s shoulder. "Let’s put our new purikura on my new Sasha organizer!"
***
They are busy bickering about which picture should go on which box as they wait for their turn to cross the street, their banter brings easy smiles on those around them. An elderly couple looks at them fondly as Saya shrieks when Jin accidentally tears a page of her new organizer.
Despite the mechanical, industrial, busy, buzzing, steel aura of the metropolitan city they live in, Saya’s flowing dress melts everything cold and fierce around Jin and all he can see are her eyes that resemble Kame’s so much and her smile that turns nostalgia into a blissful feeling for Jin.
The autumn chill dances in the air as the lazy summer days come to its last stretch. And as a crisp wind breezes through, Saya’s loud giggles harmonize with what Jin thinks is a soft hymn from the goddess of the mountains.
***
As they cross the street, Saya flushes bashfully when confessing how she has fallen for her teacher.
"He’s really gorgeous. And nice." She swoons and Jin can't believe it.
"Gorgeous? What a vocabulary!"
Saya rolls her eyes. "Uncle Jin, you’re not listening to -"
"Akanishi? Saya?"
Saya heaves deep and her face visibly brightens the moment she recognizes the man standing several feet away from them.
"Uncle Koji!" She yelps, running with enough vigor for a bull.
Jin stands there and watches as Saya coos under the presence of her oldest uncle.
"Why are you with Saya?" Koji asks the moment he is within earshot. Saya’s little hands clutching his suede pants.
"Kame - Kazuya was supposed to take her out today, but his schedule got crazy last minute. So, I’m being a good god father." Jin tries to smile.
Dressed in a suit, feet clad in polished black leather shoes and hair cut clean and combed back, Koji looks years older than 29. Jin’s world of summer peachy scents and hazy green dresses clash with Koji’s straight, lean gray suit.
Koji nods before looking down at Saya. "Are you hungry? Let’s eat lunch together."
"I want cake!" She bounces, her ponytail swishing back and forth, face flushed prettily. It's so breathtaking it makes Jin think about how she will be a heart breaker in a few years.
"As dessert, of course." Koji ruffles her hair and the pout on her face makes something inside Jin do somersaults. Again.
Koji glances back at Jin. "C’mon, my treat." He doesn’t say anything else as he leads the way, Saya’s hand secure on his.
Jin scratches his nose as he trails after them.
***
Jin couldn’t even make the steak pass down his throat. It is stuck somewhere between his air pipe and gums, but he’s polite and it is free, so he tries not to think much about how much it tastes like wet, crumpled papers mashed together with glue.
Saya on the other hand is a bouncing bundle of glee as she tells Uncle Koji all about her slumber party with Uncle Kazu last night and her day with Uncle Jin.
"- and Uncle Jin and I were supposed to sneak inside my school to play on the swings because I can’t go there on normal days because there are so many kids like that Yoshino kid who would never let me go to the swings. He’s so mean, Uncle Koji, like really mean. But Teacher always scolds him whenever he sees - OH."
The spoons in Jin and Koji’s hands freeze in mid-air as they simultaneously stop eating and strain their necks to glance over where Saya’s attention has drifted to. The red-faced kids in the jungle gym squeal in delight as the family restaurant's staff starts giving out small toy tokens.
"You can play with them after you finish your food." Koji pats her head to make her sit again.
The little girl blinks at him. "Okay," Saya says softly and resumes eating her pasta. "Tastes yucky," she pulls out her tongue seven seconds later.
"Eat it, Saya." Koji smiles but the tick on his jaw says it all.
Saya is making her pleading face and Jin watches how Koji is losing against the seven year-old girl, so he leans forward and takes a bite from her pasta.
"But it tastes so good. Can I just have this instead if you don’t want it anymore?" he smiles winsomely.
Koji’s eyes widen but before he can say anything, Saya grabs the plate back. "No! This is mine!" She sticks her tongue out at Jin, who raises his hands in the air as if in surrender.
Jin slumps down and sighs satisfied, then catches Koji's narrowed eyes. Even when the older man remains tight-lipped, the creases on his forehead tell Jin enough.
***
It seems like Saya finds a new friend. He's a chubby little boy just standing rather idly at the corner before Saya grabs his hands to make him play with her, not leaving any room for arguments.
Koji and Jin remain at their table watching how Saya argues with the boys inside the jungle gym that she and her new friend - whom she has named as Chuba-kun without the kid’s consent - are supposed to go down the slide next.
Chin resting on his palms, Jin's elbows prop over the edge of the table as he lets out a low whistle the moment Saya pulls off her hair-band and throws it at the head honcho kid.
"A bit feisty, isn’t she?" Jin tries not to smile so much as his cheeks ache already.
Koji leans back and their eyes meet. The easy casual air around them slowly dies down as it gets warmer and almost suffocating.
Jin is the first one to break the eye contact. "Koji-nii-"
"No. Don’t. You are not my brother."
Jin's mouth closes with an audible snap.
Koji gathers his hands together and says softly, "I’m sorry. This kind of things… it takes time to get used to."
Jin closes his eyes patiently. "Kazuya and I have been together for five years now." He mutters, feeling small and vulnerable.
"That doesn’t mean anything." Koji is calm, his features set in a blank canvass. He resembles Kame in almost every painful detail, so that Jin feels like he is sitting across the future of Kame, if fame hadn't happened and clerical work didn't sound so mundane.
"It’s not easy to accept that your brother is gay."
Koji’s words don’t cut through or slice the remains of Jin’s ego. Not at all. Jin simply looses the grip he has on his arm because he doesn’t want his nails to leave deep, reddening crescent marks on his skin.
"It’s not that I hate you or anything," he faces Jin, jaw stiff and lips an unforgiving line, but his eyes drop, almost apologetic, sympathetic. Exactly the way Jin despises. "Because if I or my brothers or our parents - or even just Dad… if we hated you, you wouldn’t be here."
Koji sighs and he is aging before Jin’s eyes with every word that rolls off his tongue. "You wouldn’t be eating lunch with me and be the godfather of our niece, no." He glances at the jungle gym across the room and waves back at Saya before closing his eyes.
The older man exhales before continuing, eyes still shut. "You give happiness to our brother. We’re thankful for that. We really are, Akanishi. We haven’t been there for him all this time. Kazuya lives in a different world from ours. Influences vary. Maybe, it was our fault -"
"Are you saying that being a Johnny…" Jin interrupts and stops to take a deep breath to try and calm himself, his fists ache already and feel wobbly as he curls them tight. Koji’s eyes snap open and Jin counts till twenty before uncurling his fingers, "I’m telling you it’s not that. We are not. We… I… it happens. You can’t stop these things."
"Stupid fool," Koji’s last shred of calmness burns into gray ash. "How do you expect us to accept you two if you wouldn’t admit that… you’re gay?"
Jin runs his fingers over the table. "We’re more than that. Beyond that. You don’t know what happened. You..."
Jin pauses and lets out a loud sigh that drags with it all of the restraint he has left; body almost slumping forward as the air still in his lungs passes through his open mouth. He looks at the ceiling as he inhales from his nose, but it fails to bring color back to his face.
"… you don’t know how it feels to wake up one morning and realize you… you… -"
"You’re gay?"
"No!" Jin shuts his eyes and ears, letting instinct guide him. "No, Koji-san. No, you… Just… just waking up and knowing… realizing - to realize, feel… that you care so much for one person you can… fucking give up everything for him," his voice trails off, ending in a raspy whisper.
Koji’s eyelids fall closed as he massages the spot between his eyes.
"Because I can. I can give up everything for your brother..." Jin buries his face in his palms and tunes everything else out as his breathing slows down.
Silence consumes the table and the heartfelt laughter of kids, the lively conversation of the people around, the sweet sound from the chime as the main door welcomes new customers and the loud crash of broken plates from the kitchen are just a muddled mirage of echoes in Jin's ears.
He finally raises his head, evading Koji’s eyes to watch Saya playing instead. "This wasn’t easy for neither of us. I thought that you’d understand by now - that you would have accepted us. I… I don’t know."
Koji shakes his head. "I’m sorry. We think of you… and treat you as part of our family. We really do. But, honestly - you might hate me forever for saying this, but I know that what you have right now with Kazuya is… it won't last. What you have isn’t set to last a lifetime"
Another shake of his head and Koji feels his jaw grow numb. "You feel and act that way simply because you only have each other, to share the pressure of being who you are. So what you have right now - it… it isn’t love."
Jin doesn't lie to himself, Koji’s words will leave some scars but he decides not to say anything else as he spies Saya making angry steps back to them.
"Those boys are stupid. They say stupid things!"
***
Kame did sneak out of rehearsal before seven, but it being a successful attempt wasn’t the case. He brings Chinese take-out and four bento boxes from the combini across the street though, and as this isn't exactly the first time it happens, Jin doesn't mind it anymore.
Saya, on the other hand, is a different matter.
"It’s 10 already!" she whines, trailing after the blur of color that is Kame as he breezes through the kitchen, busy pulling out plates, balancing bowls and chopsticks in his arms while talking to someone on his cell phone.
"-Listen! Just replace those harnesses. Oh god. Just do it! Don’t wait for someone to fall! Listen! Hey! HEY! Christ! I’m hanging up now!" Kame stops walking, flips his phone shut and throws it on the counter. It skids on the surface and makes a screeching sound that causes Saya to whine louder.
"Uncle Kazu!"
Kame shots a weary glance at Jin, who is at the table taking out the food from the grocery bags. With a small smile Jin nods, urging him to just go and get it over with. After quickly dumping the kitchenware on the table, Kame sits on his heels, hugs his knees and gently rests his head against Saya’s, her features softening in the process.
"I’m really sorry, honey. C’mon, sit there. We’ll eat in a minute."
Saya tries to glare at him for a few seconds before melting at the soft look in his eyes and she just ends up nodding meekly. He kisses her nose before standing up again and tiptoeing to get a glass bowl from the top cupboard.
Saya climbs up the chair and rests her head on the table. Her hair is a messy black sea in contrast with the white tabletop. "Why couldn’t we just have cooked while we waited for you, Uncle Kazu?" She ends her question with stifled yawn.
Jin’s eyes never leave Kame or Saya, so the moment he realizes Kame is about to stumble down as his toes slip when he tries to shut the cupboard, the plates he's carefully arranging almost break as Jin rushes over to Kame’s side. The loud clang the plates make when they fall on the table jerks Saya from her state of near drowsiness.
Jin places a gentle hand on Kame’s hips to help him gain his balance. "Sit", he whispers as Kame briefly leans on him. Jin feels the other one nod and squeezes his arms before walking towards the table.
"What’s your question again?" Kame asks as he slumps down in the chair, resting his head on the table too. He lets his fingers trace the embroidery of the baseball cap Jin left on the table.
Saya sits up and places her chin on her palms, propping her elbows on the table. She eyes her Uncle Kazu with a wisdom her age might betray. "I said, We should have just cooked dinner while we waited for you. Grandma said take-outs are evil and I ate so many chips while waiting for you that I’m sure Mom would be furious."
Kame rolls his head, forehead pressed against the tabletop. He groans before reaching for Jin's baseball cap and blindly throwing it in his general direction - "Wha-Ouch! Hey!" - who is able to catch it in time. Pitcher’s aim, Jin thinks as he puts on the cap.
As he inches back, Jin lowers the cap's peak until his fringe almost covers his eyes. He decides to stay put at the corner of the kitchen for the moment, back pressed hard against the sharp edge of the counter, but its pricks are nothing compared to the crazy tempo his heart beats.
Jin bites his lip to stop himself from melting as he lets the view of Kame and Saya wash over him, immersed as they are in their conversation like it isn’t mundane in the first place. As if it’s exactly what matters the most at the moment.
"Sorry, honey," Kame stretches his hand and clasps it over hers, playing with her fingers occasionally, "but Uncle Jin and I can’t cook to save our lives."
Saya blinks at that. "Why?"
Kame pauses and considers for a moment. "We simply don’t know how to."
"Why? Can’t you learn?
"We’re too busy for that, darling."
"Oh. Yeah. Uncle Kazu and Uncle Jin can’t even take a bath."
Kame stares at her before doubling over in mirth. "What - "
Jin sits next to her with an amused smile as he finishes Kame’s sentence, " - are you talking about?"
"Dad said that people who work for TV and magazines, just like Uncle Kazu and Uncle Jin, are too busy and uh -" she pauses and squints her eyes, "uh... what’s the word again? AH! Dad said you’re too busy and intellectually incapable to even take a bath regularly."
Her face is so serious and her tone so matter-of-fact that only serves to make Kame laugh more. "Oh, Youjiro-nii", he slaps his hands over his thighs.
Jin wordlessly transfers take-out onto the plates and bowls, handing them over in the process.
"Yeah," Saya continues as she pops gyoza into her mouth. "He said I’m better off not marrying someone in the same work as Uncle Kazu and Uncle Jin."
"Marry? What?"
Tears form at the corners of Kame’s eyes, his shoulders shaking in laughter as he lifts his legs and bends his knees, the heels of his bare feet resting on the edge of the seat as his wriggling toes dangle in mid air.
The stressed, worn-out stance he had the moment he stepped inside the apartment twenty minutes ago seems like big fat lie now that his face glows in delight. And despite the deep bags under his eyes, his worries seem unimportant and meaningless now that he is in the comfort of their home with Saya and Jin, eating combini food that is a little too salty and almost cold, but they don’t care because it’s all the gourmet food they need.
Jin takes off the baseball cap and places it on the empty chair beside him, eyes focused on Kame across the table. He decides that he loves seeing that glow on Kame’s face. It might be a mix of an after-work glow and the blissful aura of contentment, but either way his cheeks color a lovely shade of crimson that brings life to his expression.
For Jin, Kame doesn’t shine - he glows. It’s a soft orange, dancing glow that Jin knows he probably reflects too. Like how the calm, cool moonlight is nothing but a reflection of the fierce, blinding sunlight.
And Jin has seen this glow numerous times already - on a crowded backstage, under the covers, inside a tent by the beach, during mornings or family dinners, after group meetings, in every rehearsal, onstage, off cam, on cam, not only during summer but also on fall, winter and spring - but especially on summer, yes, especially on summer.
"Where’d that come from? Don’t tell me he’s still not over his disastrous fling with that model. It’s been almost a decade!" Kame wheezes as he stops laughing to inhale deeply after finally having run out of breath.
"Yeah, marriage," she sighs like it is a very serious matter, her face suddenly brightening. "Speaking of!" Saya stands up abruptly from her seat and reaches for Jin, "I wasn’t finished talking about Teacher!"
"Teacher?" Jin repeats as he moves his chair closer to hers so he can make her settle down on his lap.
"I knew it! You weren’t listening to me," she makes a tired face. "The one I was talking about right before Uncle Koji showed up?"
Kame blinks at that, wiping stray tears from his eyes with the back of his hands, finally having calmed down. "You met Koji-nii?"
Jin flashes a small smile at him before feeding Saya a small pork cutlet. "Yeah. He treated us to lunch."
Saya swallows before making a disgusted face as the spicy pork cutlet mixes horribly with the aftertaste of the sweet and sour gyoza. "Yeah. Uncle Koji forced me to eat that yucky pasta. The resta - Hey! I was talking about something! Uncle Jin you keep on distracting me!"
She turns to him suddenly, elbowing Jin’s abdomen quite hard and successfully dodging his hand as he tries to wipe her chin clean from the gyoza sauce.
"Saya! Stay still! You’ll fall!" Jin grabs her before she can slip from his arms.
Kame chuckles at the two of them before leaning forward, he takes the napkin to wipe her mouth as Jin struggles to get them back on their seat.
Kame pats her head. "Go on, go on. Tell us about this teacher of yours."
Saya lets out a long exasperated sigh that earns a chuckle from Jin and a raised eyebrow from her uncle. "Go on, continue," Jin nudges her as he reaches over to get the bowl of rice for both of them.
"You see here, Uncle Kazu, I’m in love with my Teacher."
"In love? Wow."
Kame restrains himself from laughing or making any other kind of similar expression, because the way Saya’s face twists in childish worry demands not to be taken lightly.
"Yes. But," she puffs her cheeks and Jin can't stop giggling. Saya turns to him and seethes, "Uncle Jin!" she whines and her face is too adorable for him.
"No. It’s not you! Continue." He bobs his head, his eyes wide in obvious guilty defense.
She shoots him a dark look before facing her Uncle Kazu again. "As I was saying, he’s really nice and simply not like the boys in my class but…" she closes her eyes and the dreamy expression that crosses her face makes Kame exchange amused glances with Jin.
"But?" Jin indulges her further.
"He’s my teacher! He’s 24! I’m 7!" Saya lets the chopsticks fall, placing both hands over her heart and bowing her head.
"Ah. You and Me against the world." Kame says between mouthfuls.
"Hn. Forbidden love." Jin nods, patting her head.
"I think this is love." Saya mutters as she grabs the juice and gulps it down.
Jin pauses. "Love." And lets the word roll off his tongue as he feels the blood rush to his head again.
Kame smiles tenderly at her. "Tell me, how do you know if it’s love? Did your mum or your friends tell you it’s love?"
Saya sighs a little peeved. "Uncle Kazu, how old do you think I am? Five? Of course I know what love is."
Kame's eyebrows raise at her declaration.
"Fine," she mumbles. "Well, I once sneaked while Mom was watching this drama and the girl with pretty hair says that love is something like… uh," she pouts as she searches for the right words, leaving the other two hanging on her next sentence, "like… you don’t care about what other people say about it."
Kame blinks and Jin feels his hold around her tightening.
She takes their silence as a way of urging her to continue. "Like… see, in our situation. I’m his student! And he’s uh -" Saya raises her hands and stares at them, blinking twice before slowly bending some fingers down while the rest remain straight. She squints and continues bending and straightening her fingers for a few more seconds.
The way Kame’s features soften as he watches her makes Jin realize he doesn’t care about the world either.
"Ah yes - 17! He’s 17 years older than me! But I really, really, really, reaaaaally like him - no, LOVE! LOVE! I love him… yes, I love him and even if people like my classmates are grossed out because of it, which is like weird and stupid because they like those boys from the other class who are unlike Teacher, who is always clean and he smells great… wait what was I talking about?"
"That even if people say that it’s gross to fall for your teacher…" Kame smiles fondly.
There’s a small smile tugging at the end of Jin’s lips too as he starts neat picking the stir-fried vegetables. He is keen on isolating the zucchini and asparagus from the rest.
"Ah, yeah. I don’t care. I mean, he makes me happy. Who cares about what those girls think?" She ends with a loud "HA!" and clumsily bumps her hand to her chest.
"Indeed." Is the only thing Kame manages to say as his gaze lingers on Jin longer than necessary. "Why are kids so mature nowadays?" Kame adds moments later.
"You talk like Uncle Jin," Saya quips, toying with the pork cutlets on her bowl. "Generation gap," she answers anyway.
"Too much media influence, I say," Kame considers.
"But still," Jin continues picking the asparagus and zucchini. "Love or not, before we approve of this illicit daydream of yours, we still have to meet this dashing Teacher. No eloping, young lady!"
"I-lli-cit- what’s that?" She blinks as each syllable rolls off her tongue, but gives up inmediately. "Anyway, Uncle Jin, it isn’t a daydream!" She pounds her small fist against his chest. "It’s true love!"
"Just kidding, just kidding!" He shushes her, his fingers combing through her hair. "But true love or not, still no eloping!"
Saya sighs and squirms to face back to the table. "No worries, it’s one-sided anyway", she dugs on her bento with a forlorn look.
"That’s true love for you. Not everything is sugar and sunshine." Jin says as he transfers all the asparagus and zucchini to a plate and pushes it towards Kame.
Saya blinks at him and Jin ruffles her hair. "When you grow up, you will know the real deal. It does hurt, but don’t let that stop you. When you do find that one person you think is worth it, do fight for him. Just..." Jin sighs, "Introduce him to us, okay?" he pleads, eyes soft.
There is apparent confusion on Saya’s face but she nods meekly at him anyway.
Jin smiles at her softly. "Promise?"
Saya considers for a moment before nodding again. Satisfied with that, Jin starts eating the remains of the stir-fried. Kame catches his eyes and the tender smile on his face makes Jin resolve that everything is really worth it.
"Can we talk about other things now?" Saya makes a sour face as she gulps down a mouthful of the veggies Jin feeds her. "How was your day, Uncle Kazu?"
Kame has a mouthful of zucchini so Jin beats him to answer. "Heaps better than mine, I bet. I was with such a brat…" he pauses, " With Sasha, in fact."
Saya turns her head to him and leers. "I’m ignoring you now," she says miffed, but remains seated on his lap nonetheless.
As Jin tries to make peace with Saya, Kame stretches one leg under the table to let his toes tug and play with the frayed edge of the other’s jeans. Moments later, Jin’s big toe catches his and secures it between his two biggest ones.
Kame dips his head lower, feeling a bit silly and warm - he lets out a soft sigh - and cozy. Then he finally lifts his head and laughs when he sees Saya trying to fit gyoza inside Jin’s mouth
Jin tries to smile at him with strain and when Kame smiles back at him, Jin thinks this can go on forever and he really won't mind. Not one bit.
END
Back to Closing Time
Pairing/Group: Akame
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Notes: acchikocchi, Happy Holidays. ♥ There’s a long winding explanation on why you get two fics but let’s just settle on the fact that I fail at this big time. :/ I just hope you’ll enjoy reading them. ♥ ♥
Summary: Closing Time - Kame is a stranger, visiting their utopia for a night.
Summer Days - Kid says the darnest things and Jin can only agree with them.
Summer Days
Jin is Saya’s godfather because he is the only one in the Kamenashi’s residence when Kaori’s water breaks. He is just supposed to pick up the baseball cap he left under Kame’s bed the night before and go on his merry way, but alas, it doesn't happen that way.
His dad’s vintage Corolla is old, so it is quite a bumpy and eventful ride. It doesn't help much either that his screams are louder than Kaori’s.
Seven hours later, as he stands awkwardly in the corner of the busy and humid room, gawking as the Kamenashis fuss over their new angel, Kaori motions him to come forward and the room suddenly becomes warm.
As he stares mesmerized at Saya’s sleeping form in the arms of her mother, he decides that the fainting in the ER was worth it - a little goddess is born that summer.
He should have known it'll be counter-productive for his finances later on, though.
***
When Jin opens the door one morning to find a beaming Saya in a green summer dress, hand in hand with her Uncle Kazu at his doorstep at eight o'clock and said uncle sports the same look that enabled him to debut earlier than the rest of their group, Jin simply scratches his nose and forgets all about the whole Dragon Ball GT marathon date with Pi.
"Uncle Jin, you forgot my birthday." Saya greets with a wry smile that Jin believes a seven-year-old girl shouldn’t have.
"I… did?" Jin’s eyes go straight to Kame's, who merely yawns in response.
Without sparing the other a glance, Kame crouches down to Saya’s level and tucks a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "But as I've told you before, it was for a good reason. Just like last year. And the year before that." He pauses to seethe at the other.
Jin mouths Holy Fuck! as he buries his face on his palms.
"Remember how fun it was in Disneyland? This time Uncle Jin will bring you to a better place. He even saved last month’s salary so he can buy you everything you want today. Uncle Jin loves you very much." He says slowly, tone stressing over the key words.
Saya latches herself to his left leg with passion and Jin can only glare at Kame, who just exhales both in relief and triumph.
***
While in Jin's arms, Saya finds the mole below his right eye amusing, so she keeps on poking it as they walk Kame to his car. Jin huffs and cringes, giving the thought to stop carrying Saya around soon serious consideration. She isn’t exactly three years old anymore.
"- I’ll sneak out before seven so we can have dinner together. Saya, always have your cellpho - Saya, stop doing that. You’ll blind Uncle Jin." Kame strides forward and gently pries her hands off of Jin’s face.
"But it’s so pretty," she whines, eyes wide in defense as she presses her cheeks against Jin’s.
Jin feels a bit light headed as Kame cups his face and traces a finger over said mole before nuzzling his niece's nose.
"He is pretty. So don’t blind him." He reasons before kissing her hair.
Jin can't stop himself from blurting out, "I’m pretty?"
Kame draws back to look at him, "You are." He laughs and Jin thinks this is the future.
***
The sedan's alarm beeps as Kame unlocks it to hop inside. The dark leather seat clashes with his light brown hair and Jin’s breath hitches when Kame’s fringe falls over his eyes as he abruptly turns his head to give him a gentle smile.
The older man knows he's probably blushing as Kame never fails to do that to him, but he still tries to cover it up with a frown. "Can you please get rid of your manager already? This is the fifth time he has screwed up your sched."
Jin bends down so he can be at eye-level with Kame through the window car, Saya’s arms tight around his neck. Her peachy scent wafts and it makes something inside Jin do somersaults. Thrice.
"I will." Kame closes his eyes briefly before looking back at them again. "I’ll see you two later," he whispers.
The fluttering of his eyelashes makes Jin lean forward to place a chaste kiss on his right cheek as Saya sloppily kisses the left one.
***
"What would a seven year old need an organizer for?" Jin examines the newly bought Bratz On The Go Organizer. "It even has electronic functions!" He is in awe.
"…I’m in first grade already." Saya reasons, her small hand secured on his larger one.
"So?"
She dips her head down, cheeks glowing, "I like Sasha, okay?" she mutters sullenly, doing that pouty thing that makes Jin want to give her anything she asks for.
With a long sigh, Jin gives up. "Okay, okay." He throws the box back on the shopping bag he's carrying. "What happened to the days when little girls were satisfied with just teddy bears and Barbie?" he wonders aloud as they navigate through the crowd in the street.
"We’re from different generations, Uncle Jin."
Jin’s laughter reverberates. "Are you implying I’m old?"
Saya blinks as she gives him a sympathetic look. "But you’re aging gracefully."
The way her little eyes shine in amusement, how her lips stretch on like they would go on forever, how her nose is slightly red in contrast to her green dress and that chaste happiness of hers that binds these warm fluttering feelings in his chest, make Jin swell with something so beautiful and beyond him, something that would burst any moment now and it’s incredible. Just incredible.
Jin thinks this can go on forever and he won't mind.
"Oh. I know!" She squeals and grabs the small yellow bag hanging from Jin’s shoulder. "Let’s put our new purikura on my new Sasha organizer!"
***
They are busy bickering about which picture should go on which box as they wait for their turn to cross the street, their banter brings easy smiles on those around them. An elderly couple looks at them fondly as Saya shrieks when Jin accidentally tears a page of her new organizer.
Despite the mechanical, industrial, busy, buzzing, steel aura of the metropolitan city they live in, Saya’s flowing dress melts everything cold and fierce around Jin and all he can see are her eyes that resemble Kame’s so much and her smile that turns nostalgia into a blissful feeling for Jin.
The autumn chill dances in the air as the lazy summer days come to its last stretch. And as a crisp wind breezes through, Saya’s loud giggles harmonize with what Jin thinks is a soft hymn from the goddess of the mountains.
***
As they cross the street, Saya flushes bashfully when confessing how she has fallen for her teacher.
"He’s really gorgeous. And nice." She swoons and Jin can't believe it.
"Gorgeous? What a vocabulary!"
Saya rolls her eyes. "Uncle Jin, you’re not listening to -"
"Akanishi? Saya?"
Saya heaves deep and her face visibly brightens the moment she recognizes the man standing several feet away from them.
"Uncle Koji!" She yelps, running with enough vigor for a bull.
Jin stands there and watches as Saya coos under the presence of her oldest uncle.
"Why are you with Saya?" Koji asks the moment he is within earshot. Saya’s little hands clutching his suede pants.
"Kame - Kazuya was supposed to take her out today, but his schedule got crazy last minute. So, I’m being a good god father." Jin tries to smile.
Dressed in a suit, feet clad in polished black leather shoes and hair cut clean and combed back, Koji looks years older than 29. Jin’s world of summer peachy scents and hazy green dresses clash with Koji’s straight, lean gray suit.
Koji nods before looking down at Saya. "Are you hungry? Let’s eat lunch together."
"I want cake!" She bounces, her ponytail swishing back and forth, face flushed prettily. It's so breathtaking it makes Jin think about how she will be a heart breaker in a few years.
"As dessert, of course." Koji ruffles her hair and the pout on her face makes something inside Jin do somersaults. Again.
Koji glances back at Jin. "C’mon, my treat." He doesn’t say anything else as he leads the way, Saya’s hand secure on his.
Jin scratches his nose as he trails after them.
***
Jin couldn’t even make the steak pass down his throat. It is stuck somewhere between his air pipe and gums, but he’s polite and it is free, so he tries not to think much about how much it tastes like wet, crumpled papers mashed together with glue.
Saya on the other hand is a bouncing bundle of glee as she tells Uncle Koji all about her slumber party with Uncle Kazu last night and her day with Uncle Jin.
"- and Uncle Jin and I were supposed to sneak inside my school to play on the swings because I can’t go there on normal days because there are so many kids like that Yoshino kid who would never let me go to the swings. He’s so mean, Uncle Koji, like really mean. But Teacher always scolds him whenever he sees - OH."
The spoons in Jin and Koji’s hands freeze in mid-air as they simultaneously stop eating and strain their necks to glance over where Saya’s attention has drifted to. The red-faced kids in the jungle gym squeal in delight as the family restaurant's staff starts giving out small toy tokens.
"You can play with them after you finish your food." Koji pats her head to make her sit again.
The little girl blinks at him. "Okay," Saya says softly and resumes eating her pasta. "Tastes yucky," she pulls out her tongue seven seconds later.
"Eat it, Saya." Koji smiles but the tick on his jaw says it all.
Saya is making her pleading face and Jin watches how Koji is losing against the seven year-old girl, so he leans forward and takes a bite from her pasta.
"But it tastes so good. Can I just have this instead if you don’t want it anymore?" he smiles winsomely.
Koji’s eyes widen but before he can say anything, Saya grabs the plate back. "No! This is mine!" She sticks her tongue out at Jin, who raises his hands in the air as if in surrender.
Jin slumps down and sighs satisfied, then catches Koji's narrowed eyes. Even when the older man remains tight-lipped, the creases on his forehead tell Jin enough.
***
It seems like Saya finds a new friend. He's a chubby little boy just standing rather idly at the corner before Saya grabs his hands to make him play with her, not leaving any room for arguments.
Koji and Jin remain at their table watching how Saya argues with the boys inside the jungle gym that she and her new friend - whom she has named as Chuba-kun without the kid’s consent - are supposed to go down the slide next.
Chin resting on his palms, Jin's elbows prop over the edge of the table as he lets out a low whistle the moment Saya pulls off her hair-band and throws it at the head honcho kid.
"A bit feisty, isn’t she?" Jin tries not to smile so much as his cheeks ache already.
Koji leans back and their eyes meet. The easy casual air around them slowly dies down as it gets warmer and almost suffocating.
Jin is the first one to break the eye contact. "Koji-nii-"
"No. Don’t. You are not my brother."
Jin's mouth closes with an audible snap.
Koji gathers his hands together and says softly, "I’m sorry. This kind of things… it takes time to get used to."
Jin closes his eyes patiently. "Kazuya and I have been together for five years now." He mutters, feeling small and vulnerable.
"That doesn’t mean anything." Koji is calm, his features set in a blank canvass. He resembles Kame in almost every painful detail, so that Jin feels like he is sitting across the future of Kame, if fame hadn't happened and clerical work didn't sound so mundane.
"It’s not easy to accept that your brother is gay."
Koji’s words don’t cut through or slice the remains of Jin’s ego. Not at all. Jin simply looses the grip he has on his arm because he doesn’t want his nails to leave deep, reddening crescent marks on his skin.
"It’s not that I hate you or anything," he faces Jin, jaw stiff and lips an unforgiving line, but his eyes drop, almost apologetic, sympathetic. Exactly the way Jin despises. "Because if I or my brothers or our parents - or even just Dad… if we hated you, you wouldn’t be here."
Koji sighs and he is aging before Jin’s eyes with every word that rolls off his tongue. "You wouldn’t be eating lunch with me and be the godfather of our niece, no." He glances at the jungle gym across the room and waves back at Saya before closing his eyes.
The older man exhales before continuing, eyes still shut. "You give happiness to our brother. We’re thankful for that. We really are, Akanishi. We haven’t been there for him all this time. Kazuya lives in a different world from ours. Influences vary. Maybe, it was our fault -"
"Are you saying that being a Johnny…" Jin interrupts and stops to take a deep breath to try and calm himself, his fists ache already and feel wobbly as he curls them tight. Koji’s eyes snap open and Jin counts till twenty before uncurling his fingers, "I’m telling you it’s not that. We are not. We… I… it happens. You can’t stop these things."
"Stupid fool," Koji’s last shred of calmness burns into gray ash. "How do you expect us to accept you two if you wouldn’t admit that… you’re gay?"
Jin runs his fingers over the table. "We’re more than that. Beyond that. You don’t know what happened. You..."
Jin pauses and lets out a loud sigh that drags with it all of the restraint he has left; body almost slumping forward as the air still in his lungs passes through his open mouth. He looks at the ceiling as he inhales from his nose, but it fails to bring color back to his face.
"… you don’t know how it feels to wake up one morning and realize you… you… -"
"You’re gay?"
"No!" Jin shuts his eyes and ears, letting instinct guide him. "No, Koji-san. No, you… Just… just waking up and knowing… realizing - to realize, feel… that you care so much for one person you can… fucking give up everything for him," his voice trails off, ending in a raspy whisper.
Koji’s eyelids fall closed as he massages the spot between his eyes.
"Because I can. I can give up everything for your brother..." Jin buries his face in his palms and tunes everything else out as his breathing slows down.
Silence consumes the table and the heartfelt laughter of kids, the lively conversation of the people around, the sweet sound from the chime as the main door welcomes new customers and the loud crash of broken plates from the kitchen are just a muddled mirage of echoes in Jin's ears.
He finally raises his head, evading Koji’s eyes to watch Saya playing instead. "This wasn’t easy for neither of us. I thought that you’d understand by now - that you would have accepted us. I… I don’t know."
Koji shakes his head. "I’m sorry. We think of you… and treat you as part of our family. We really do. But, honestly - you might hate me forever for saying this, but I know that what you have right now with Kazuya is… it won't last. What you have isn’t set to last a lifetime"
Another shake of his head and Koji feels his jaw grow numb. "You feel and act that way simply because you only have each other, to share the pressure of being who you are. So what you have right now - it… it isn’t love."
Jin doesn't lie to himself, Koji’s words will leave some scars but he decides not to say anything else as he spies Saya making angry steps back to them.
"Those boys are stupid. They say stupid things!"
***
Kame did sneak out of rehearsal before seven, but it being a successful attempt wasn’t the case. He brings Chinese take-out and four bento boxes from the combini across the street though, and as this isn't exactly the first time it happens, Jin doesn't mind it anymore.
Saya, on the other hand, is a different matter.
"It’s 10 already!" she whines, trailing after the blur of color that is Kame as he breezes through the kitchen, busy pulling out plates, balancing bowls and chopsticks in his arms while talking to someone on his cell phone.
"-Listen! Just replace those harnesses. Oh god. Just do it! Don’t wait for someone to fall! Listen! Hey! HEY! Christ! I’m hanging up now!" Kame stops walking, flips his phone shut and throws it on the counter. It skids on the surface and makes a screeching sound that causes Saya to whine louder.
"Uncle Kazu!"
Kame shots a weary glance at Jin, who is at the table taking out the food from the grocery bags. With a small smile Jin nods, urging him to just go and get it over with. After quickly dumping the kitchenware on the table, Kame sits on his heels, hugs his knees and gently rests his head against Saya’s, her features softening in the process.
"I’m really sorry, honey. C’mon, sit there. We’ll eat in a minute."
Saya tries to glare at him for a few seconds before melting at the soft look in his eyes and she just ends up nodding meekly. He kisses her nose before standing up again and tiptoeing to get a glass bowl from the top cupboard.
Saya climbs up the chair and rests her head on the table. Her hair is a messy black sea in contrast with the white tabletop. "Why couldn’t we just have cooked while we waited for you, Uncle Kazu?" She ends her question with stifled yawn.
Jin’s eyes never leave Kame or Saya, so the moment he realizes Kame is about to stumble down as his toes slip when he tries to shut the cupboard, the plates he's carefully arranging almost break as Jin rushes over to Kame’s side. The loud clang the plates make when they fall on the table jerks Saya from her state of near drowsiness.
Jin places a gentle hand on Kame’s hips to help him gain his balance. "Sit", he whispers as Kame briefly leans on him. Jin feels the other one nod and squeezes his arms before walking towards the table.
"What’s your question again?" Kame asks as he slumps down in the chair, resting his head on the table too. He lets his fingers trace the embroidery of the baseball cap Jin left on the table.
Saya sits up and places her chin on her palms, propping her elbows on the table. She eyes her Uncle Kazu with a wisdom her age might betray. "I said, We should have just cooked dinner while we waited for you. Grandma said take-outs are evil and I ate so many chips while waiting for you that I’m sure Mom would be furious."
Kame rolls his head, forehead pressed against the tabletop. He groans before reaching for Jin's baseball cap and blindly throwing it in his general direction - "Wha-Ouch! Hey!" - who is able to catch it in time. Pitcher’s aim, Jin thinks as he puts on the cap.
As he inches back, Jin lowers the cap's peak until his fringe almost covers his eyes. He decides to stay put at the corner of the kitchen for the moment, back pressed hard against the sharp edge of the counter, but its pricks are nothing compared to the crazy tempo his heart beats.
Jin bites his lip to stop himself from melting as he lets the view of Kame and Saya wash over him, immersed as they are in their conversation like it isn’t mundane in the first place. As if it’s exactly what matters the most at the moment.
"Sorry, honey," Kame stretches his hand and clasps it over hers, playing with her fingers occasionally, "but Uncle Jin and I can’t cook to save our lives."
Saya blinks at that. "Why?"
Kame pauses and considers for a moment. "We simply don’t know how to."
"Why? Can’t you learn?
"We’re too busy for that, darling."
"Oh. Yeah. Uncle Kazu and Uncle Jin can’t even take a bath."
Kame stares at her before doubling over in mirth. "What - "
Jin sits next to her with an amused smile as he finishes Kame’s sentence, " - are you talking about?"
"Dad said that people who work for TV and magazines, just like Uncle Kazu and Uncle Jin, are too busy and uh -" she pauses and squints her eyes, "uh... what’s the word again? AH! Dad said you’re too busy and intellectually incapable to even take a bath regularly."
Her face is so serious and her tone so matter-of-fact that only serves to make Kame laugh more. "Oh, Youjiro-nii", he slaps his hands over his thighs.
Jin wordlessly transfers take-out onto the plates and bowls, handing them over in the process.
"Yeah," Saya continues as she pops gyoza into her mouth. "He said I’m better off not marrying someone in the same work as Uncle Kazu and Uncle Jin."
"Marry? What?"
Tears form at the corners of Kame’s eyes, his shoulders shaking in laughter as he lifts his legs and bends his knees, the heels of his bare feet resting on the edge of the seat as his wriggling toes dangle in mid air.
The stressed, worn-out stance he had the moment he stepped inside the apartment twenty minutes ago seems like big fat lie now that his face glows in delight. And despite the deep bags under his eyes, his worries seem unimportant and meaningless now that he is in the comfort of their home with Saya and Jin, eating combini food that is a little too salty and almost cold, but they don’t care because it’s all the gourmet food they need.
Jin takes off the baseball cap and places it on the empty chair beside him, eyes focused on Kame across the table. He decides that he loves seeing that glow on Kame’s face. It might be a mix of an after-work glow and the blissful aura of contentment, but either way his cheeks color a lovely shade of crimson that brings life to his expression.
For Jin, Kame doesn’t shine - he glows. It’s a soft orange, dancing glow that Jin knows he probably reflects too. Like how the calm, cool moonlight is nothing but a reflection of the fierce, blinding sunlight.
And Jin has seen this glow numerous times already - on a crowded backstage, under the covers, inside a tent by the beach, during mornings or family dinners, after group meetings, in every rehearsal, onstage, off cam, on cam, not only during summer but also on fall, winter and spring - but especially on summer, yes, especially on summer.
"Where’d that come from? Don’t tell me he’s still not over his disastrous fling with that model. It’s been almost a decade!" Kame wheezes as he stops laughing to inhale deeply after finally having run out of breath.
"Yeah, marriage," she sighs like it is a very serious matter, her face suddenly brightening. "Speaking of!" Saya stands up abruptly from her seat and reaches for Jin, "I wasn’t finished talking about Teacher!"
"Teacher?" Jin repeats as he moves his chair closer to hers so he can make her settle down on his lap.
"I knew it! You weren’t listening to me," she makes a tired face. "The one I was talking about right before Uncle Koji showed up?"
Kame blinks at that, wiping stray tears from his eyes with the back of his hands, finally having calmed down. "You met Koji-nii?"
Jin flashes a small smile at him before feeding Saya a small pork cutlet. "Yeah. He treated us to lunch."
Saya swallows before making a disgusted face as the spicy pork cutlet mixes horribly with the aftertaste of the sweet and sour gyoza. "Yeah. Uncle Koji forced me to eat that yucky pasta. The resta - Hey! I was talking about something! Uncle Jin you keep on distracting me!"
She turns to him suddenly, elbowing Jin’s abdomen quite hard and successfully dodging his hand as he tries to wipe her chin clean from the gyoza sauce.
"Saya! Stay still! You’ll fall!" Jin grabs her before she can slip from his arms.
Kame chuckles at the two of them before leaning forward, he takes the napkin to wipe her mouth as Jin struggles to get them back on their seat.
Kame pats her head. "Go on, go on. Tell us about this teacher of yours."
Saya lets out a long exasperated sigh that earns a chuckle from Jin and a raised eyebrow from her uncle. "Go on, continue," Jin nudges her as he reaches over to get the bowl of rice for both of them.
"You see here, Uncle Kazu, I’m in love with my Teacher."
"In love? Wow."
Kame restrains himself from laughing or making any other kind of similar expression, because the way Saya’s face twists in childish worry demands not to be taken lightly.
"Yes. But," she puffs her cheeks and Jin can't stop giggling. Saya turns to him and seethes, "Uncle Jin!" she whines and her face is too adorable for him.
"No. It’s not you! Continue." He bobs his head, his eyes wide in obvious guilty defense.
She shoots him a dark look before facing her Uncle Kazu again. "As I was saying, he’s really nice and simply not like the boys in my class but…" she closes her eyes and the dreamy expression that crosses her face makes Kame exchange amused glances with Jin.
"But?" Jin indulges her further.
"He’s my teacher! He’s 24! I’m 7!" Saya lets the chopsticks fall, placing both hands over her heart and bowing her head.
"Ah. You and Me against the world." Kame says between mouthfuls.
"Hn. Forbidden love." Jin nods, patting her head.
"I think this is love." Saya mutters as she grabs the juice and gulps it down.
Jin pauses. "Love." And lets the word roll off his tongue as he feels the blood rush to his head again.
Kame smiles tenderly at her. "Tell me, how do you know if it’s love? Did your mum or your friends tell you it’s love?"
Saya sighs a little peeved. "Uncle Kazu, how old do you think I am? Five? Of course I know what love is."
Kame's eyebrows raise at her declaration.
"Fine," she mumbles. "Well, I once sneaked while Mom was watching this drama and the girl with pretty hair says that love is something like… uh," she pouts as she searches for the right words, leaving the other two hanging on her next sentence, "like… you don’t care about what other people say about it."
Kame blinks and Jin feels his hold around her tightening.
She takes their silence as a way of urging her to continue. "Like… see, in our situation. I’m his student! And he’s uh -" Saya raises her hands and stares at them, blinking twice before slowly bending some fingers down while the rest remain straight. She squints and continues bending and straightening her fingers for a few more seconds.
The way Kame’s features soften as he watches her makes Jin realize he doesn’t care about the world either.
"Ah yes - 17! He’s 17 years older than me! But I really, really, really, reaaaaally like him - no, LOVE! LOVE! I love him… yes, I love him and even if people like my classmates are grossed out because of it, which is like weird and stupid because they like those boys from the other class who are unlike Teacher, who is always clean and he smells great… wait what was I talking about?"
"That even if people say that it’s gross to fall for your teacher…" Kame smiles fondly.
There’s a small smile tugging at the end of Jin’s lips too as he starts neat picking the stir-fried vegetables. He is keen on isolating the zucchini and asparagus from the rest.
"Ah, yeah. I don’t care. I mean, he makes me happy. Who cares about what those girls think?" She ends with a loud "HA!" and clumsily bumps her hand to her chest.
"Indeed." Is the only thing Kame manages to say as his gaze lingers on Jin longer than necessary. "Why are kids so mature nowadays?" Kame adds moments later.
"You talk like Uncle Jin," Saya quips, toying with the pork cutlets on her bowl. "Generation gap," she answers anyway.
"Too much media influence, I say," Kame considers.
"But still," Jin continues picking the asparagus and zucchini. "Love or not, before we approve of this illicit daydream of yours, we still have to meet this dashing Teacher. No eloping, young lady!"
"I-lli-cit- what’s that?" She blinks as each syllable rolls off her tongue, but gives up inmediately. "Anyway, Uncle Jin, it isn’t a daydream!" She pounds her small fist against his chest. "It’s true love!"
"Just kidding, just kidding!" He shushes her, his fingers combing through her hair. "But true love or not, still no eloping!"
Saya sighs and squirms to face back to the table. "No worries, it’s one-sided anyway", she dugs on her bento with a forlorn look.
"That’s true love for you. Not everything is sugar and sunshine." Jin says as he transfers all the asparagus and zucchini to a plate and pushes it towards Kame.
Saya blinks at him and Jin ruffles her hair. "When you grow up, you will know the real deal. It does hurt, but don’t let that stop you. When you do find that one person you think is worth it, do fight for him. Just..." Jin sighs, "Introduce him to us, okay?" he pleads, eyes soft.
There is apparent confusion on Saya’s face but she nods meekly at him anyway.
Jin smiles at her softly. "Promise?"
Saya considers for a moment before nodding again. Satisfied with that, Jin starts eating the remains of the stir-fried. Kame catches his eyes and the tender smile on his face makes Jin resolve that everything is really worth it.
"Can we talk about other things now?" Saya makes a sour face as she gulps down a mouthful of the veggies Jin feeds her. "How was your day, Uncle Kazu?"
Kame has a mouthful of zucchini so Jin beats him to answer. "Heaps better than mine, I bet. I was with such a brat…" he pauses, " With Sasha, in fact."
Saya turns her head to him and leers. "I’m ignoring you now," she says miffed, but remains seated on his lap nonetheless.
As Jin tries to make peace with Saya, Kame stretches one leg under the table to let his toes tug and play with the frayed edge of the other’s jeans. Moments later, Jin’s big toe catches his and secures it between his two biggest ones.
Kame dips his head lower, feeling a bit silly and warm - he lets out a soft sigh - and cozy. Then he finally lifts his head and laughs when he sees Saya trying to fit gyoza inside Jin’s mouth
Jin tries to smile at him with strain and when Kame smiles back at him, Jin thinks this can go on forever and he really won't mind. Not one bit.
END
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