Chapter 18 - We are family

Part 3/9

The movie ended up being some ridiculously plotted love story between two musicians who were once rivals, turned lovers. There were a lot of strange jokes Ren wasn't familiar with, but Yuki seemed to think they were funny. It at least helped a bit to ease the horrible feeling that had filled his heart earlier. 

Not that it was the movie itself that held his attention. Instead of staring at the screen, Ren had found himself gawking in awe of Yuki's facial expressions. 

“Hey, I picked one where they were musicians. I thought that would catch your interest.” Yuki pouted, obviously noticing how distracted Ren had been. 

“There was barely anything about their performances in it,” Ren jokingly complained. “I'm surprised you like these kinds of movies.”

“What can I say? I'm a sucker for romance.”

That tidbit of information meant more to Ren than it should have. It left a bittersweet taste in his mouth. But he chose not to look too deeply into it.

Yuki went into the kitchen and started pulling items out of the cupboards. “You have no allergies or sensitivities or anything, right? I know you said you loved food, but I still want to make sure. I'd hate to make something and then have you be unable to eat it.”

“Nope, you can go all out. Amaze me.” Ren smirked.

“Ok! You can sit while I cook.” 

“Don't you need help?” Ren asked, walking towards the kitchen island.

“You go sit right now!” Yuki commanded, putting a hand on his hip. Ren chortled at how insanely adorable he could be and obeyed.

Just as Ren sat back on one of the loveseats, Yuki popped up from under the counter. “Oh! Since we are hashing things out, when do I get my payment for cooking for you? I don't want you dragging out the idea of playing the piano for me again. I want a set timeframe.” 

The recital popped into Ren's mind. But he shook it away, showing a playful grin instead. “You still haven't told me what you thought of my last performance,” he deflected. “I want to be sure you were satisfied."

Yuki smirked, leaning forward on the kitchen island. "Well, I guess that depends. What answer will get me another performance the fastest?"

Ren's cheeks and neck burned profusely. It was ridiculous how he still couldn't deal with compliments to his piano skills after so many years. Especially hearing it from Yuki. 

"I'll take it I did okay, then," he joked to mask his shyness.

“Near perfect Watanabe Ren is worried about his performance?” Yuki teased. “Considering you moved me to tears, one would think I wouldn't have to say how utterly amazing you were. But if you need to hear it—” Yuki stopped short, his blushing cheeks darkening again. “I-I really enjoyed it.”

Ren cleared his throat loudly, stomach twitching. “I mean, it was already a special song to you. You were bound to like it anyway.” He took a deep breath. It was overpowering how Yuki's praise could make him feel both extremely excited and timid at the same time. Ren didn't know how to deal with it. 

“Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I… really liked playing for you.” He fixed his gaze on his twiddling thumbs. 

“Then no more fighting me when I ask you to play,” Yuki teased, sounding very pleased with himself. “I need to go to the washroom,” Yuki stated, leaving a dishcloth he'd been holding on the counter.. ”Then I'll start dinner prep. I'll be right back.” 

Yuki showed Ren his natural smile while biting his cheek before he left. Ren closed his eyes for a beat, trying to keep a hold of himself.

Almost as soon as Yuki was gone, the front door rattled. Ren bounced off the couch, straightening his clothes. He grasped Jones's collar firmly and asked him to sit. The dog complied, making his appearance perfect for whoever walked in. 

When the door fully opened, three chattering voices entered the apartment, as though they hadn’t seen the extra set of shoes. The door closed and they looked up. The twins were the first to react to Ren. They were stunned. 

The girl with her hair tied tightly in a high ponytail stood in front of the other two, her arms stretched as far as they could go. She huffed. “Who the fuck are you and why are you in our house?”

The other twin was somewhat shaken as she whispered, “You don't think he's one of the stalkers do you?” 

Ren raised his eyebrows, startled at hearing such a young girl swearing and slightly offended to be mistaken for one of those thugs. 

“Uhm…” He cleared his throat. “I’m Yuki’s friend. Watanabe Ren.” He bowed his head briefly. “I’m sorry for the intrusion.” Beside him, Jones let out a low bark.

“Is that a dog?” a small boy squeaked from behind the girls. He hurriedly flipped off his shoes and shoved his way between his sisters. 

“Daiki! You can’t just run up to a stranger's dog!” the protective sister yelled, trying to grab his arms, but the boy slipped through. 

Ren’s heart stopped for a beat, afraid Jones would react negatively to the sudden approach. But he only had the time to turn towards his dog before the little boy lunged forward, enveloping Jones' whole head in with a hug.  He rubbed Jones fiercely behind the ears.

“Ahhhh, his ears are so floppy!” Daiki giggled as he leaned into Jones's face.

Blinking in disbelief, Ren watched Jones give the boy’s right forearm a big sloppy lick. He stretched his neck forward, sniffling every inch of the boy’s face he could reach. When he got to the neck, the boy started giggling again, as though he was ticklish. Ren’s mouth fell open.

“Like I said.” Yuki chuckled when he re-entered the room. “Jones, you’d make a horrible guard dog.”

“Yuki,” the one girl who had remained quiet, spoke softly. “Does Dad know you brought a dog into the house?”

“Yes, Aimi, I did ask.” Yuki rolled his eyes. Turning to his other sister, who was now smirking at him, he asked, “What, Akari?”

“Daiki is never gonna let it leave.” She grinned. “And I thought you didn’t want to have anyone over right now?”

Ignoring her, Yuki turned back to Ren and sighed. “You probably caught their names, but the one being attacked by Jones—” He glanced at the boy whose entire face was being excitedly licked “—is my little brother Daiki. These are my sisters. They’re identical, so pay attention to their hair to tell them apart. Akari’s is up. Aimi’s is off to the side. Though as soon as you hear one of them speak, you can always tell the difference.”

All Ren could do was blink from one to the other, trying to process all the information that was being thrown at him at the same time. He felt a little dizzy.

“I’m surprised you came back together,” Yuki continued to question his sisters. “Your schools are in opposite directions.”

“What do you care?” Akari said snarkily. “We would have been here sooner if we hadn’t met up with Daiki.”

The two bickered back and forth, while the quieter sister got all their jackets and hung them by the door, before joining their brother on the floor with Jones. They all looked so similar. It was overwhelming.

The twins and the little boy had distinctively different faces than Yuki’s: leaner and with sharp chins. There were no freckles on the twins, while Daiki had just a few on his nose. None of their eyes were Yuki’s color either. They were all a very light limpid brown. Daiki, with a haircut similar to Yuki’s, was the only one with black hair in the family. From what Ren had seen in the pictures, it was inherited from their mother.

“I’ll start dinner now, I guess.” Yuki sighed, walking the few steps it took to get to the kitchen. 

“What's his name?” Daiki asked loudly, calling Ren’s attention back to the floor. Jones was on his back now, tongue hanging out, loving the belly rubs he was getting.

Feeling his shoulders relax, Ren smiled and sat back down. “It’s Jones.”

“Jones.” Daiki’s eyes sparkled when the dog reacted to his name. “I really like you, Jones!” 

Ren pressed his lips together as his smile grew larger at the boy’s sweetness.

“Be careful, Daiki,” Akari whispered in her brother’s ear when she joined them on the floor. “I’m pretty sure he’s the one who’s gonna take Kai’s place.”

The little boy’s eyes suddenly watered. “Really?” he looked at Ren. “Are you going to replace Kai?”

“There is nothing to replace!” Yuki yelled from the kitchen. “Kai and I are just friends!”

Ren frowned. “What do you mean?” he asked the siblings. “How could I replace Kai?”

“Akari, stop. You’ll just piss Yuki off,” Aimi said in a hushed tone. 

“That’s what little sisters are for,” Akari sneered. “Do you know Kai?” she asked lightly, her smile turning innocent. 

Ren didn’t buy it one bit.

“Yes. We studied together when we were fourteen, then met again last year when I joined the same school as him again,” Ren answered, still very curious about all that ruckus.

“Kai’s the best!” Daiki cried. Yuki groaned in the kitchen. “But he doesn't come by very much. He spends too much time with his stupid boyfriend. I told Yuki to date him, but he won’t listen.”

Ren’s mouth fell as wide as it would go. It took him ten seconds to process what Daiki had said. Then, he started laughing. Hard.

“And I know Yuki liked Niko, but Niko’s stupid,” Daiki finished, completely ignoring everyone's reactions.

“Daiki, I told you not to talk about people like that!” Yuki yelled.

Trying to refrain himself from laughing even more at the mental image of Yuki and Kai trying to date, Ren took a deep breath. He cleared his throat and said, “Actually, Niko is a very smart guy. And really sweet, too. You’d like him if you gave him a chance.” 

“Nuh-uh!” Daiki argued, shaking his head vehemently. “He’s mean to Yuki, so I don’t like him.”

Unfortunately, Ren could not blame the boy for feeling that way. It was better just to avert the subject. He shot a knowing glance at Akari before looking at Daiki again. “Did you know I almost dated Kai when we were younger?”

The boy glared at him. “No. Why? Can you help Yuki?”

Ren wrinkled his nose teasingly. “He’s not that big of a deal, you know? He can be very cranky and,” he hunched and bent forward a bit, covering the side of his mouth as though he was going to tell them a big secret, “he’s not a very good kisser.” Daiki looked disgusted at the thought. Holding back another cackle, Ren sat comfortably on the loveseat again. “I think your brother can do better.”

“I don’t want better, I want Kai!” Daiki whimpered resolutely. “People are mean to Yuki! Kai’s not.”

Ren threw a fond gaze at the boy, letting go of all the teasing. “I understand. You really should want your brother only with a partner who treats him super nicely. He needs someone who can take care of him too, doesn’t he?”

“Yes,” Daiki said glumly. “I guess that is better.”

“Much better,” Ren agreed.

Akari chortled. “Better like you?”