Trifiesta June 14th (2019)- Home/ Family
Arms full of shopping bags, Yokozawa looked down at the still energetic fifteen years old girl. A beaming smile stretched across her face as she scanned the mall for her next target. The teens light brown hair had been carefully put in a pony tail using the worn out pink scrunchie that Yokozawa gave her shortly after they first met. When Yokozawa suggested to Hiyori that the scrunchie has fulfilled its role as a hair accessory and should be thrown out, Hiyori determinedly held the scrunchie out to him.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Yokozawa had said taking the scrunchie out of the teen’s hand.
Nodding her head in confirmation, Hiyori had turned around so Yokozawa could fix her hair. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the feel of the his gentle fingers moving with utmost care to make sure that he didn’t hurt her. While Hiyori typically said all that was on her mind, she held back from telling Yokozawa that she imagined this is what it would be like if he mother was still around.
A lot of what Yokozawa did made her feel as if she had a mother around. Yokozawa had that certain nurturing personality that she associated with mothers. He put in extra effort into helping Hiyori with everything she asked of him which reminded her of how her friends’ mothers acted. In addition, her father had continued to teasingly address the salesman as a mother never failing to elicit a blush from Yokozawa.
She found it secretly adorable how Yokozawa got all flustered. Though Hiyori made sure to defend Yokozawa when her father started going to far. This interaction brought amusement to her as it showed how close a relationship the two men had. Lately, something had changed. Hiyori didn’t know when it started, but watching this common display had left a strange ache in her heart. However, she couldn’t quite place what exactly the cause of it was.
Ignoring the mysterious ache, Hiyori focused back on listening to the multiple apologies and the repeated asking of if she was alright whenever the dark haired man assumed he had been to rough. She smiled at this cute side of the man that people missed out on due to being thrown off by his intimidating mien.
Hiyori made sure to deny being hurt each time. She could her relief in his voice each time he said to make she spoke up if he did or told her okay just making sure. It didn’t take long for him to complete the task as the salesman had plenty of experience.
“All done,” Yokozawa had announced when Hiyori had not moved for five minutes after he finished styling her hair.
“Okay,” Hiyori responded, spinning around to check how it looked in the hand mirror Yokozawa was holding.
“All good?” Yokozawa had asked, prepared to do it all over if she wasn’t satisfied with how her hair turned out.
“Yep it’s great. Thank you, Onii-chan,” Hiyori said throwing her arms around him in a hug.
To his credit, Yokozawa only slightly flinched at the action. He would never fully get used to how affectionate the Kirishimas were. Pulling away, the brown haired teen reached up the run her fingers over the pink scrunchie. This simple hair accessory had been around for a lot of events of her life. More importantly, it had been given to her by someone who irreplaceably important to her.
In someway this scrunchie became a symbol of their friendship and a connection between the two in Hiyori’s eyes. Getting rid of it almost felt like breaking an unspoken promise that they would continue to be a part of each other’s life. It is an extremely childish way to view it, she knew, but when she placed that significance to it there was no way she could toss it out.
“I’m sorry if I upset you,” Yokozawa had apologized sincerely.
“No, it’s okay. You are right. This scrunchie should have been tossed in the trash a long time ago,” Hiyori said dismissing his apology. “It’s probably stupid to keep it at this point, but it’s special to me.”
Ruffling her hair gently, Yokozawa smiled softly as he was able to relate to wanting to hold on to the important things in life. “In that case, I look forward using this scrunchie in the future.”
Spacing out, Yokozawa heard his name being called. Glancing around the mall, he noticed Hiyori standing there concern shining in her brown eyes. He must have been distracted for longer than he thought. The teen stood there examining him worried that she might have missed signs that he needed a break. From previous experiences, she knew Yokozawa would follow her lead even if he got overly exhausted.
“Do you want to go rest for a little?” Hiyori asks, guilty that she had let the thrill of going to the mall with Yokozawa make her ignorant to the state of her companion.
“I’m fine,” Yokozawa responds dismissing her offer. “Where to next?”
Observing Yokozawa for a few seconds, Hiyori decides to believe him. Although she made a note in the back of her mind to pay more attention to him. She wanted to both of them to enjoy the time spent together. Even though she is sure that Yokozawa has grown to hate going to anywhere that Hiyori could buy clothes from. Hiyori liked to look cute, so she could easily spend hours finding all the items required to make coordinated outfits.
Yokozawa is too polite to actually tell her this. It’s one of the things that she both loved about him and caused her to worry. People could easily take advantage of this trait of his. Of course, Hiyori had no intention of this happening as Yokozawa didn’t deserve to have people trample over him and his nurturing personality. She took pride in her self assigned role of being his protector.
Amused at the thought of how flustered Yokozawa would be if he found out about this, Hiyori held back laughter as she replies, “You choose where we go next.”
“Me? This trip is a way to for me to spoil you. I don’t have anywhere...,” Yokozawa said, until he saw the sweet girl’s lips form a pout as her face displayed the tell tale signs of disappointment.
“At least pick one shop to go to. For me,” Hiyori pleaded, while Yokozawa instantly recognized this behavior as being similar to what he would expect from her father.
Yokozawa felt conflicted between being impressed that she had learned an efficient way to get her way and wanting to yell at Kirishima for corrupting their innocent daughter. Silently, Yokozawa prepared a lecture to give his lover for teaching Hiyori to be manipulative. Of course, this little assault tactic wasn’t any less effective when Hiyori did it than when Kirishima did.
Giving in, Yokozawa scanned the area. Also, he searched his brain for anything he might need. Nothing came to mind. There was honestly nowhere he wanted to go. It occurred to him that to do something immature like to close his eyes and randomly point to a store. If not for Hiyori watching him, Yokozawa might have actually performed that action.
Suddenly, an idea come to him. It had been inspired by looking at Hiyori and recalling his conversation while helping put Hiyori’s hair up earlier today. Going over to a map, Yokozawa searched under the section of stores relating to beauty and hair supplies. Sliding his finger down the list, he stopped as one store stood out. Walking back towards Hiyori, Yokozawa bowed respectfully as one might expect a servant of royalty to do.
Offering an arm, Yokozawa requests, “Would you do me the honor of allowing me to guide you to our next destination, princess?”
Giggling, Hiyori composed herself and did her best to imitate the princesses she has seen in movies or read about in books. Placing her hand on his arm, Hiyori replies, “I grant you permission to do so.”
Both of them laugh unable to hold a straight face. Moments like these made hanging out with Yokozawa so fun. She always looked forward to their next adventure. Hiyori wondered when it was that she had started expecting Yokozawa to be there by her side no matter what. And when it was that saying goodbye when chose to go back to his apartment for the night had become so painful.
Yokozawa had fit into their home like the missing puzzle piece required to bring the color and sound into their world they didn’t know they had lost. At this point Hiyori couldn’t imagine not having him in her life. Yet, there was always that thought that someone could catch Yokozawa’s interest. That someone would cause the salesman to fall in love. That someone would steal Yokozawa from them.
Frowning at this, Hiyori couldn’t distinguish what the different unpleasant feelings that bubbled up inside her were. What Hiyori was sure of is that she didn’t want to share Yokozawa with anyone. She rejected the idea of Yokozawa showing his special smile to anyone else, of Yokozawa cooking with anyone else, and most importantly of Yokozawa giving his attention to anyone else.
It was selfish and maybe even cruel to desire that Yokozawa only focus on her father and herself. Yet, Hiyori believed that they understood the salesman better than anyone else. That they could make him happy. That Yokozawa was the only one that would ever fill the hole that would be created
if he left them for somebody else. The three of them were a family. And she would never give that up without a fight.
Shaking her head, Hiyori tightens her grip on Yokozawa’s arm. Yokozawa who had been walking along, stopped worried at the tension in the girl’s face. It confused Yokozawa that her mood had shifted so unexpectedly. The care taker side of him brought up that she might not be feeling well. Yokozawa was well aware of how reluctant she could be to speak up when she assumed it would ruin the good time they were having.
Placing a hand on her forehead, Yokozawa found that she didn’t have the signature warmth that came with running a fever. The teen jolted at his touch and gazed at him. She forced herself to stay near him, even though she was ashamed the thoughts that had crossed her mind.
“Are you okay?” Yokozawa inquires worriedly his eyes meeting hers.
Forcing a smile, Hiyori nods. “I’m great! I have been spending the day with you. How could I not be okay?”
Yokozawa could tell that something was off, but he didn’t press her for further details. He trusted that Hiyori would confess what was bothering her when it was necessary. Returning a smile, Yokozawa continued on to the shop.
Arriving in front of the shop, Hiyori quirked an eyebrow at the beauty shop. Admittedly, this hadn’t even made the list of possible places Yokozawa would choose. At first Hiyori had thought he made a mistake, however the salesman made no move to leave or gave any indication that this shop wasn’t the right place.
“I told you to pick somewhere you wanted to go, not somewhere you think I would want to go,” Hiyori complained sounding annoyed, once again showing the familiar resemblance to her father.
“And I did. I have a special reason for picking this store. You will see,” Yokozawa vaguely explains heading inside.
Intrigued, Hiyori followed Yokozawa as he made his way over to the area that had all the hair products a person would ever need for exploring what style hair they want. Specifically, Yokozawa made his way over to the area that displayed an army of colorful hair ties, bandanas, and hair scrunchies. Her eyes were drawn to row of scrunchies in particular.
“You see something that you recognize?” Yokozawa asked, as the teen took a closer look. “This is the store I got your pink scrunchie from.”
“Really?” Hiyori chuckled, her cheerful nature coming back. “Most people aren’t able to remember where a gift comes from.”
“I probably wouldn’t have if you hadn’t taken such a liking to the scrunchie. However, when you started treating it as a precious item and using it nonstop for years, I figured that it would be important to know where the scrunchie came from, so I could get you a new one when it wore out,” Yokozawa explained, an amused smile on his face that turned a bit sheepish as he spoke further. “It’s late, but I hoped that it would be okay for me to get a new one.”
Yokozawa finished speaking relishing in the beaming, sweet smile that was turned his way. Honestly, he was a bit nervous that Hiyori might get mad at him for doing this. Her reaction said she felt the opposite which was a relief. She searched the countless scrunchies for less than a minute. Looking over her shoulder, she grinned at him.
“You have to be the one to pick one out,” Hiyori ordered, grabbing his arm to usher him forward.
“Huh? Wouldn’t it be better for you to get one that would match one of you outfits or something?” Yokozawa asks caught off guard. He was hyper aware of his lack distinction and knowledge when it came to what was fashionable or “in” trend wise when it came to clothes or accessories.
“No it has to be the one you choose,” Hiyori said, a blush on her face as she continues. “That’s what made this scrunchie so meaningful.”
Tenderly smiling at the endearing girl, Yokozawa felt loved and flattered when he heard the reasoning behind her holding onto the scrunchie. Searching thoroughly along the row of scrunchies, Yokozawa picked up a light blue one, a pink one, a red one with white polka dots, and a black one with white stripes.
“Are you planning to get all of those?” Hiyori asks looking at the small handful of scrunchies Yokozawa had.
“I am. This way you can switch them up and they will last longer,” Yokozawa reasoned and then grinned at her. “Also, I mentioned earlier didn’t I about how I planned to spoil you today.”
“Thank you,” Hiyori replies with bright eyes, enjoying the special treatment.
Yokozawa ruffles her hair. Hiyori blushes and pushes the hand away. She does her best to give him a displeased look at his action with her cheeks puffed out. Yokozawa found this to be cute as they both knew that Hiyori actually liked when he ruffles her hair. In her opinion, it seemed like something you did to show affection to a younger child, so Hiyori was embarrassed to admit that it was comforting to her.
“You two make such a charming father and daughter pair. I hope I can achieve that strong of a relationship with my daughter when she gets older,” a man comments holding a baby in his arms.
A silence ensues as Hiyori doesn’t meet Yokozawa’s eyes or release her normal giggle as is typical when they receive this type of commentary. The reason being that this time the words finally sunk into the brown haired girl’s mind. It had been a slap in the face as things finally fell into place. She finally understood why she had an ache in her heart. The fog that had prevented her from truly putting together what she desired had lifted.
It all made sense. The reason why she had felt an ache when comparing how Yokozawa acted to a mother’s, why she panicked when people mentioned how she should get a new mother, why she disliked Yokozawa leaving to go to his apartment instead of staying the night and why she couldn’t stand the thought of Yokozawa treating someone else the way her father and herself were treated. The answer was so simple, yet it took four years for her to acknowledge this.
Hiyori didn’t want a new mother, she wanted a new father. She wanted Yokozawa to fill the role of being her dad. She wanted her father and Yokozawa be in love with each other. She wanted Yokozawa to step into the spot that had been left vacant after her mother had passed away. She wanted Yokozawa to be truly accepted and acknowledged as their family, as belonging to and with her father and herself.
Now the tricky part was how did she go about telling her father and Yokozawa about this. If she wasn’t careful she could end up destroying the perfectly stable and comfortable relationship they have developed. She wasn’t sure the best way to bring up the situation, but she did know that she was going to bring it up tonight. All Hiyori could do is hope everything worked out.
Blinking, Hiyori realized that Yokozawa had been staring at her. Nervous about what she had planned, Hiyori avoided looking Yokozawa in the eyes. Yokozawa frowned, for the second time that day Hiyori had been acting strange. Wariness made Yokozawa start to question whether it was the best idea to ignore these signs of something being wrong for much longer.
“Hey, I’m feeling tired. Can we go home?” Hiyori inquires in a soft voice.
Surprise flashed in Yokozawa’s eyes as she had been bursting with energy a short bit ago. Frowning, Yokozawa felt his anxiety and worry increase. The teen continued to evade his gaze as she shifted from foot to foot. While Yokozawa was originally going to wait for Hiyori to open up to him when she was ready, this he had definitely changed his mind. Her behavior concerned him and that warranted him questioning her when they got home.
“Okay. I will pay for these and then we can head back,” Yokozawa said, heading to the register.
As soon as he paid for the scrunchies, Yokozawa handed the bag to Hiyori. The teenage girl clutched the bag to her chest before walking ahead of him.
Entering the apartment, Yokozawa slipped off his shoes as did Hiyori. The pair walked down the hall towards Hiyori’s room. There was silence during the short travel. Both Yokozawa and Hiyori had different ideas on what they planned to have happen when they reached the room. Opening the door, Hiyori moved to the side to let Yokozawa in. The salesman put the bags of clothes and all sorts of jewelry they picked up from the mall on the floor near the closet.
Hiyori sat on the bed unable to freely speak due to the anxiety. The teen had already came to the decision that she should wait until her father got home to get what she needed to say off her chest. For now, she just wanted to be alone to prepare how to approach the important topic of their relationship dynamics.
“Hiyo,” Yokozawa began trying to inquire about what was bothering the teenage girl.
“I had a lot of fun today. Thanks for hanging out with me. I’m feeling worn out after all the shopping we did,” Hiyori interrupted while crumpling the bag containing the hair scrunchies. “Would it be okay if I laid down to rest?”
“Yes. Go ahead and rest up for as long as necessary. Call for me if need anything,” Yokozawa replies, disappointed and concerned at being cut off from talking to her.
“Of course. Talk to you in a few,” Hiyori said as she flopped on her side facing the wall.
Lips twitching, Yokozawa sighed as he closed the door softly behind him. Going to the living room, he pressed the power button on the television. The salesman sank into the couch. He was too worried about the Hiyori’s abnormal behavior to calm down. He racked his brain for anything he might have said or done to upset or offend her, but he couldn’t pin point anything.
Yokozawa really wished Kirishima was here. He was sure his handsome, smooth talking, lover would have been able to easily deal with Hiyori. They were partners in crime and amazing at reading each other. The father-daughter duo could tell when the other was feeling down or distracted by something even when to any outsider it appeared that Kirishima and Hiyori were fine.
Yokozawa worked hard to improve his skills on recognizing and interpreting the masks and little actions that father and daughter used when they were attempting to obscure their true feelings and opinions on subjects. Obviously, he still had a long way to go to reach their level of being able to read the two. So, it is frustrating when something like this happens where he gets shut out because he couldn’t read the signs of what had caused Hiyori to become distanced from him as she had.
Pulling out his phone, Yokozawa noticed that the time was 5 o’clock meaning that Kirishima wouldn’t be home for at least another hour or two. It occurred to Yokozawa that calling Kirishima would help alleviate some of the stress that built over Hiyori and his travel back to the apartment. Also, it might quiet the nagging voice in his head that demanded he be more authoritative with the teenage girl and tell her that they needed to talk.
Refusing to be a burden to his lover, Yokozawa dismissed the tempting idea. It would be bad to distract Kirishima at work over what could be Yokozawa overthinking things. Blankly, Yokozawa stares at the television screen hoping that Kirishima would be done sooner rather than later.
Two hours passed, before his lover returned from work. The light brown haired man drops his work items on the floor. He had been jealous that he got called in to work while Yokozawa and Hiyori got to spend have a fun filled day together. Kirishima figures that tomorrow all three of them could go to the park and have a picnic or go to the aquarium.
Honestly, Kirishima could care less about where they went, he just wanted to be around the two people that his world revolves around. In a jolly mood, Kirishima went to go playfully tell Yokozawa and Hiyori about how they better get some rest tonight because they were going to have a busy day entertaining him starting early in the morning the next day. The editor figured he would find the two out in the living room watching a movie.
He was mildly shocked to only see Yokozawa slumped on the couch. His lover looked tense and exhausted. Not at all the attitude he expected to see. Frowning, Kirishima stepped in front of Yokozawa’s sight. Gray eyes blinked rapidly as Yokozawa sat up straighter.
“When did you...welcome back,” Yokozawa said running a hand thru his hair.
Skipping the greetings, Kirishima went over to his distressed looking partner. “What’s wrong?”
Flinching, Yokozawa gave a bitter smile. “I don’t know. The day started off great. Then, Hiyo grew a bit distant. And when we got back she chose to avoid me by telling me she needed to rest. I have gone over all the details of the day, but I can’t figure out what I did that made her close herself off from me.”
Placing his arm behind Yokozawa, Kirishima rubbed circles in his back to soothe his lover. Yokozawa leaned against Kirishima’s shoulder, allowing himself to calm down and to break up the whirling thoughts in his head. It was a bit disorienting how all it took was Kirishima being near him to make him feel like everything would be okay. Kirishima places a kiss on his forehead giving a few minutes for his lover to destress.
“I’m okay,” Yokozawa breathes out, feeling foolish for being this worked up without having heard any of Hiyori’s side.
Removing his arm from Yokozawa’s back Kirishima takes in the sight of the tint of pink on Yokozawa’s indicating his embarrassment. Smiling, Yokozawa ruffles Yokozawa’s hair, pleased to see Yokozawa’s typically feisty reaction of swatting his hand away. The salesman sits up missing the warmth and smell that surrounded from being that close to his lover.
“How about we have a chat with our precious girl?” Kirishima says lacing his fingers with Yokozawa’s.
Nodding, Yokozawa has more confidence about investigating Hiyori’s strange behavior with Kirishima by his side. He squeezes Kirishima’s hand as he says, “I’m ready.”
Reluctantly, Kirishima unlaced their fingers as yells, “Hiyo, come here!”
Hurrying down the hall, Hiyori half heartedly smiles at the the two men sitting on the couch. “Welcome back.”
“I’m back,” Kirishima says as he motions towards the chair. “Take a seat.”
Plopping down in the chair, Hiyori begins to uneasily twirl a strand of her hair. Folding her hands together to keep them from shaking, Hiyori takes a deep breath. It was ridiculous to be this unsettled when in front of her father and Yokozawa. They were the people she trusted to listen to her, to protect her, and to find solutions to any problems appeared.
It just goes to show how desperately she wanted this conversation to go over well. The logical part of her said that she was overthinking things. To take the leap and get off her chest everything she figured out. Another part of her kept rolling out all the possible ways this could go horribly awry. Squeezing her hands together, Hiyori gathers her courage.
“My angel, I came home assuming to you two out here being adorable as you the two of you are. So, it threw me off when I came home seeing Yokozawa having a mini break down due to panicking that he had upset you in some way. I figured that Yokozawa probably just read to much into things, but you are sitting here looking as stressed as Yokozawa was when he came home,” Kirishima spoke up having decided that they would get to the main issue faster this way.
Guilt crossed Hiyori’s face at hearing about Yokozawa’s state. The last thing she had been trying to do was cause the man to worry unnecessarily. However, when she recalled how she had acted it isn’t hard to see why he would be. Her lips twitched. She dipped her head as she bit her lip.
“Are you upset with Yokozawa? Did he offend you in some way? Do you need to speak to me privately?”
Yokozawa winced when Kirishima said this. While Yokozawa knew that Kirishima doubted that this was the reason behind Hiyori’s mood, it didn’t prevent him from feeling attacked by the implication of those words.Worse, it caused a sharp pain in him That’s he might actually confirm this. Hiyori might actually ask him to leave while they talked. He would though if that’s what the situation called for.
This got no reaction from the unusually quite girl. Kirishima tilted his head at Yokozawa and gave a him a look that said ‘sorry, but can you leave so I can take care of this.’ Nodding, the couch creaked as Yokozawa got up.
Clearing his throat, Yokozawa fought to hide the sadness he felt at having to be dismissed from the conversation. He never imagined that it would happen, but even more surprising is how it felt like a punch in a gut that made catching his breath difficult.
“I’m going to head back home. Call me when...if I can come back,” Yokozawa said his voice rough as there seemed to be a certain finality that would accompany him walking out the door.
His body seemed to weigh thousands of pounds. Taking even one step brought the possibility of shattering the salesman. Kirishima could see his lover slowly breaking. As much as he loved his daughter, he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t let Yokozawa leave like this. Kirishima prepared to reach out when Hiyori suddenly sprang into action.
Head whipping up, Hiyori’s eyes widened as she processed what he said. The only thing that her brain focused in on was that Yokozawa was going to leave. That he said he was going home. It irritated her to hear him use that word to describe his practically empty apartment with that word. She felt as if she had been insulted in the one of the worse possible ways.
Sinking to the floor, Hiyori wrapped her arms around Yokozawa’s legs. She had a strong hold that one wouldn’t have guessed such a delicate looking body would be capable of producing.Effectively, the girl had immobilized Yokozawa’s legs.
“No! You can’t leave! I don’t want you to!” Hiyori yelled causing both of the men to jolt.
Shocked, Yokozawa froze at the teenage girl’s action. Blinking, Yokozawa didn’t dare attempt to move his legs for fear that he would lose balance and end up crushing Hiyori. Glancing at Kirishima, Yokozawa could see the exact same shock along with concern reflected in his expression. The silent question of ‘where did this come from’ passed between the two men. Meanwhile, Hiyori had buried her head against Yokozawa’s leg shielding her face from them.
“Why do you go back there? Why do you have to leave?” A muffled sorrowful voice came from the the girl drawing both men’s attention.
“I don’t have to leave...I-I....,”Yokozawa began, stuttering as he switched gears to adapt to topic brought on following Hiyori’s outburst.
“Then you shouldn’t go. You should just live here. Stay here”
“Hiyo....it’s not a good idea.”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
Conflicted, Yokozawa debates on how best to answer this. All kinds of possible things to say came to mind. Hit occurred to him that Kirishima had been silent so far. When he shifted his eyes over to Kirishima, the man looked at him shaking his head. It made sense, after all Kirishima had wanted an answer to this same question for years. So, Yokozawa couldn’t count on Kirishima to take care of this. It was his responsibility.
“People wouldn’t be suspicious if I moved in,” Yokozawa weakly explained. “They might treat you cruelly if they...”
Faltering, Yokozawa didn’t finish the sentence out loud. He look down as he felt the brown haired girl’s head shift. She met his gaze those big, beautiful brown eyes shimmered due to unshed tears. Yokozawa had to close his eyes for a moment as he despised being the reason for Hiyori’s sadness. What Yokozawa missed in this few seconds was the recognition that lite those brown eyes at his words.
“If they found out you were dating my father,” Hiyori completes his sentence.
Yokozawa stared dumbfounded briefly. His instinct had been to blame Kirishima for telling her even though he had promised to wait until she was sixteen. However, a quick peek at his lover revealed that Kirishima had also been blindsided by this. Kirishima remained composed, however Yokozawa could tell that now the man was rest to step in to do damage control.
“Yeah,” Yokozawa quietly confirmed realizing that no lies would fool Hiyori as she wasn’t asking if they were dating she was stating that she knew.
Releasing her grip on Yokozawa’s legs, Hiyori stood up. Her face was blank. Yokozawa stiffened not sure what to expect. Anger, disappointment or maybe even disgust. His heart was thumping so loud that he wouldn’t be surprised if all of them could hear. The couch creaked as Kirishima moved closer towards the two. It may sound bad, but Yokozawa couldn’t entirely be sure that Kirishima would be on his side if Hiyori began to hate him. To be fair though Kirishima has had Hiyori in his life longer than Yokozawa. And she is his child.
Breathing out in relief, Hiyori glared at them accusingly. “You should have told me. It would have saved us from all the trouble and stress today!”
“What are you talking about?” Yokozawa asked as soon as he could get his mouth working.
“The reason that I had avoided you is because I was afraid that of how you would react when I brought up the fact that you two should date among other things,” Hiyori explained shaking her head. “As it would turn out you two already one or probably ten steps ahead of me.”
“Y-you were going to ask us to date?” Yokozawa stuttered out.
“Yes,” Hiyori said. “I was so worried that you would be against the idea. Most importantly, I was afraid we might lose our close relationship. I didn’t want you to hate me.”
Yokozawa felt as if he was talking to himself. Those were the exact thoughts that kept him from telling Hiyori about their relationship in the first place. Or well at least it was the main one. Yokozawa felt as if the biggest of the weights dragging him down had been lifted. Kirishima had been right as always: Hiyori didn’t have a bigoted bone her body.
It made him ashamed for ever believing this precious girl would ever turn on him. “It was the same for me. I didn’t want you to hate me. The thought terrified me.”
“Never! I would never hate you,” Hiyori firmly stated.
Yokozawa smiled at Hiyori who had a grin of her own. Kirishima watched with his own tender smile. Reaching forward Kirishima went to pat them both in the back, but ended up using to much force.
“Ow.” “Ouch.” Yokozawa and Hiyori groaned as they turned narrowed eyes to Kirishima.
Raising his hands, Kirishima quickly says, “My bad. To be honest though you both deserved that for being idiots.”
Both Yokozawa and Hiyori went to deny that. Instead, they exchanged a glance and ended up chuckling. It had been stupid of them to keep get so worked up over something they both knew in the deepest parts of their heart was never going to be an issue.A peaceful silence occurred as all three of them sat on the couch. Yet, Hiyori hadn’t finished saying all that she had on her mind. Turning towards the two men, their was an excited sparkle in her eyes.
“When are you moving in?” Hiyori questions.
“I can’t,”Yokozawa quietly refused again.
“Eh? How come?” Hiyori badgered bit about to let this go.
“If I move in with you people will get suspicious. It could make life difficult. I don’t want to do that to you two,” Yokozawa answers aware that his resolve to not live with them was slipping away.
“And?” Hiyori asks as if Yokozawa hadn’t replied at all. “Is that all you got?”
Flustered, Yokozawa grasped for something else to say. In his mind this had been all the reason he needed. It had been enough to fend Kirishima off from pushing to much. Yet, Hiyori didn’t appear to be phased at all.
“Go ahead. Let people say what they want. I’m not some delicate flower that is going to wither up just because some people get off on putting other people down. As long as the three of us have each other’s backs we can handle anything,” Hiyori challenged, her hands balled into fists.
“I second this notion,” Kirishima pitches in, approval in his voice and eyes.
When faced with their confidence, Yokozawa has no choice but to be swept along in their pace. Although this time is a bit different. Instead of being dragged along by their pace Yokozawa finds himself wanting to dive in head first. All his insecurities and doubts be damned! There was still a bit of hesitation though that made him remain quiet.
Hiyori grabbed Yokozawa’s hand. “Many people have told or asked my father and me about having a new mother. And it always made me feel uneasy or angry. Some part of me never wanted another person be a part of the life my father and I had.”
Yokozawa had his full attention in the adorable girl. Kirishima also had a rare intensity in the way he watched his daughter and had his complete focus on her. Both of them were curious about where this was going to go. Hiyori squeezes Yokozawa’s hand and smiles so sweetly and lovingly.
“At least until you came around Yokozawa. You were always like a parent to me. And it took me way to long to realize this, but I do want a new parent in my life. Not a mother, but a father, more specifically you as my father as well,” Hiyori said, exhilarated to be able to put all the pieces together at last.
“Are you absolutely sure you are okay with me?” Yokozawa blurted out showing his lack of confidence and insecurities. “Do I deserve to take the place beside your father as his partner and fill the place a mother should be?”
“It has to be you. Only you,” Hiyori confirmed, making Yokozawa’s lips twitch in amusement at words he had been told before by her father.
“You are our family and it’s time for you to come to where you belong. Come home,” Kirishima and Hiyori said in unison with their typical cheery smiles. Both of them held out their hands. Their faces fully expressing the love they had for Yokozawa.
Yokozawa’s heart swelled. If he was being honest, he couldn’t dispel the feeling of beings a stranger here. Even though he practically came over everyday. It had been five years and that feeling had followed him for all that time. Now he was truly family. And now he truly belonged their.
Grabbing their hands, Yokozawa was pulled into a hug. And from the bottom of his heart, truly and sincerely, Yokozawa could say, “I’m home.”
