Chapter 18 - We are family

Part 6/9

“Found them!” Gaman announced cheerfully, entering the room with a pile of photo albums. 

Ren jumped back, neck on fire. He crossed his arms over his chest and hurried towards Gaman. Luckily, the man seemed to have missed their interaction. 

As Gaman started to show him photo after photo of Yuki as a baby and young child, almost always in his mother's arms, Ren was able to relax. There were pictures of Yuki holding his siblings, playing instruments and helping with chores most small children would never touch. 

“He looks so much like his mom,” Ren commented, carefully running his fingers over a picture where a six-year-old Yuki was nuzzling his little nose against the beautiful woman's, who was kneeling in front of him.

“It's almost haunting, isn't it?” Gaman muttered. “I'm fortunate to be able to see her so clearly in him.” 

Ren subtly looked at the man beside him. His distant gaze was so full of love, Ren felt humbled in the face of such a strong feeling.

“Yuki told me how talented your wife was with instruments. I wish I could've heard her play something,” Ren said, hoping he wasn't stepping over any lines. “I'm very fond of music myself.”

The man smiled so wide, it stunned Ren. “Yes, we heard. Yuki went on and on about the museum you took him to.”

“I didn't go on and on,” Yuki yelled over the sound of him pulling the dishes from the cupboards. 

Ren laughed. “I guess my Twinkle Twinkle performance made a bigger impression than you let on, Yuki-kun.” His voice dripped with impishness. He laughed even more when he caught Yuki’s blush before the boy turned back to the oven.

Gaman’s face became serious. He leaned close to Ren and whispered. “Yuki… he didn't get upset at any point, did he?”

The question was odd. Especially since he obviously didn't want Yuki to hear it. “Not that I…” Ren paused, remembering the strange behaviour Yuki had just as they had entered the museum. “Actually,” he whispered back, “he was staring at a plaque near the entrance for a beat. He looked a bit dejected.” 

“I see,” Gaman mumbled. “Well, he can't avoid it forever. But if it didn't seem to ruin the trip for him, that's all that matters.”

The front door burst open before Ren could say anything else. An excited Jones pulled a winded Daiki in with him. There was so much laughing and barking, the small room got very loud very fast. Ren was startled again at the unexpected noise. As soon as they were all inside, Jones got himself free of Daiki and ran towards Ren, putting his front paws on his human’s thighs. Ren chuckled at him, rubbing behind his ears.

“Did you have fun, boy?” he asked. Remembering how upset Yuki had been earlier at him talking as Jones in front of others, he refrained from doing so. Instead, he nuzzled Jones’s wet snout with his nose.

“Please, tell me the food is done!” Akari whined, throwing herself over the counter with the same theatrics Ren had seen from her older brother so many times now. 

“You're so demanding.” Yuki sighed. 

“I learned from the best!” She smiled slyly at him.

“I'm not demanding!” Yuki retorted back.

Ren chortled, once again observing their interaction. It was obvious that all the siblings had a high dose of drama running through their veins. Ren wondered if it came from their mother’s artistic soul. Regardless, he found himself enjoying the spectacle of it all.

“Food’s ready,” Yuki called out from the tiny kitchen. 

For the first time, Ren focused on the aroma that had filled the room. It smelled delicious. His mouth watered and he felt excited to try Yuki's food for what would hopefully be just the first time of many.

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Just before his siblings  came back in, Ren and Yuki's dad's voices had dropped to nothing but a whisper. 

Nothing wrong with that, Yuki tried to assure himself, as he dished the food out to his impatient siblings. 

They had lined up along the counter, in typical fashion. When Ren's turn came, Yuki’s heart quickened. One, because the boy had a look on his face that screamed he couldn't wait to try the food. Two, because Yuki had forgotten to ask about Jones. 

“Is Jones allowed some plain rice and chicken? I kind of made extra for him. Forgot to ask you first.” It felt like he was admitting how absent minded he could be. 

As always, however, the gentleness he found in Ren’s eyes lessened his worries. “I try to avoid giving him human food, but this is a special occasion. It wouldn’t be fair for him to be the only one not to try your cooking, right?” he said playfully.

Happy he hadn't made some grand mistake, Yuki finished dishing out the food and moved into the living room to eat. 

The twins and Daiki sat around the tiny coffee table on the living room floor, with Ren and Yuki on one loveseat, and his father on the other. His siblings were loud and obnoxious, like always. But that didn't seem to bother Ren, who wore a very fond grin while watching their antics.

“This must be loud for you,” Yuki's father said, as if he were apologizing for the constant ruckus. “You have any siblings, Ren?” 

Yuki tensed. He knew that family was as sensitive a subject to Ren as it was to him. It was hard not to worry. But the look on Ren’s face was relaxed as he shook his head.

“I don’t have any. It’s always been just me, my mother and Jones at home,” he answered, holding his bowl with care on his lap. Jones was sitting on the floor right beside Yuki, already digging into his own food.

“Oh, an only child? Ha, this really must be a lot of noise, then.” Just how he taught Yuki, his father successfully turned what was a tough topic of the past back into something light-hearted in the present. 

“It’s interesting,” Ren said truthfully. “I think it’s sweet how you all seem so comfortable with each other.”

“You have to be comfortable when you have so many people living in such a small house,” Gaman agreed. 

Yuki huffed. “You should see his house,” he teased, nodding at Ren. “Way too many rooms for two people.”

Ren chuckled through his nose. “I haven't always lived in a house, I'll have you know,” he stated. “In fact, this is only the second one. All the other places were apartments. Although my current home might be my favorite. Even though it may be too big for only me and Jones, I feel at home there.” 

“You've lived in different places?” Daiki perked up, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

“Yes, I’ve moved around a lot,” Ren explained. “My mom is an urban engineer and gets transferred from time to time. This is… well, considering I’ve lived here before, it’s the seventh city lived in.”

Right… he's always moving, isn't he? Yuki stuffed his mouth with food, hoping it would distract him from the conversation. 

“That must be lonely,” Aimi said in a comforting tone. 

Ren shrugged, looking at his bowl with a small strained grin. “It can be. But I’ve also gotten to see a lot of cool places, so it’s not all bad.”

He poked at his food, but didn't bring any to his mouth. That worried Yuki.

“You okay? You look off again,” Yuki asked quietly, leaning his shoulder into Ren's.

Ren looked at him with his eyebrows slightly curved up and nodded reassuringly. “Yes, of course.” He finally took some food to his mouth and chewed slowly. His eyes went wide, and he blinked at Yuki with a very surprised expression. “This is amazing! You weren't lying when you said you can cook.”

Rolling his eyes, Yuki showed a light smirk. He could feel his cheeks growing warm. It might not have fixed whatever it was that caused Ren to turn so quiet, but Yuki was grateful that his cooking had at least brought Ren out of his funk.

“Do you have a favorite city?” Aimi questioned politely. “There must have been one place you wished you never left.”

The question was a legitimate one. Obviously, Ren would have a favorite place. Still, Yuki was both extremely curious and terrified at the same time. 

Is it possible there is a place he loves so much he'd want to move back to?

When his attention was back on Ren, he noticed the grey eyes were downcast. For a brief second, something that resembled pain crossed the handsome features. 

Yuki was reminded of his old neighborhood, the construction and rebuilding that was slowly taking away what good memories he had there. He wondered what it would be like if he could never see that area again, even if it had changed. 

What if they had moved so far away, all places he had been with his mom were too far to visit? How lonely would that be? How painful?

Would he have wanted to move closer to where those memories were as soon as he could? Did Ren have plans to move somewhere he used to live? Was asking that even allowed?

Just as fast as it came, though, Ren's expression turned pensive. He tilted his head, considering the question as he slowly finished chewing some more of his food. “I really liked the places with beaches. Like Okinawa and Melbourne.” His eyes glimmered as a soft grin crossed his lips. “But my favorite place is definitely here.”

“Mel-b-orn-e?” Daiki struggled to pronounce the name, his mouth still full of food. “Where’s that?”

“Australia,” Ren answered, “ smiling at the little boy. “It’s a very nice place. There are a lot of unique animals there. And the beaches are beautiful.”

“That's where kangaroos live,” Aimi said. 

“Kangaroos?” Daiki gasped, eyes wide. He then went into a tailspin with questions about if Ren had ever seen or touched one.

Ren chortled at their excitement. “That’s right. There are many parks there where we can see kangaroos. Also koala bears. They’re really cute from afar.” He turned to Daiki with a serious expression, as though he was trying to be a responsible grown-up. “But we shouldn’t approach wild animals, so I’ve never touched any.”

“What other countries did you live in?” Daiki excitedly asked. 

Ren indulged his brother for some time, telling him all he knew about Australia and Korea. He talked about everything, from the difference in weather to the very interesting cultures. Just like Yuki expected, a lot of his stories were related to food. 

When Ren started talking about the music in those places, as well as all the places he had already played, everyone in the room became even more interested. It was a very dear subject to Yuki’s family. The more he talked, the more invested Ren became. And Yuki's family was enamored by his tales. 

Turns out he is even more interesting than I thought. And Kai wasn’t kidding when he talked about his talent. Ren’s really passionate and seems to be recognized for it.

Seeing Ren so lively and enthralled made Yuki happier than he thought it should.