The Abandoned Omega

Chapter Twenty Nine

Jun lifted the budding flower with its eccentric curved stem and gently pushed it into the damp foam nestled in the unusual oil burner he had happened to find when rummaging in a charity store recently. All manner of vases, cups, plates and ornaments could be found in such places occasionally inspiring him to purchase for one of his displays. And seeing as he mostly sold these displays in Eiko's shop, she had even set him an allowance so that he needn't spend his own money on these things. The oil burner was one such piece, a modern design, the main ornament was a thick ceramic circular piece, hollow inside with the candle holder set in the circle and the oil bowl on top. Naturally, it was not a perfect circle, needing the stability of it's flat base.

Right at this moment, the oil bowl was filled with star shaped leaves, two deep purple daliah flower heads, with a few stems following a shallower curve than the ornament. The candle holder was also lending itself as a vase, with a single daliah sitting with in it.

Jun fussed a little bit more with it until two large hands settled upon his shoulders startling him from his daze. "It's beautiful," Kazuhiko reassured him warmly. "You know, you probably don't need to make such a fuss."

"But these are your parents," Jun replied, his voice revealing a little of his stress. "I can't just arrive empty handed!"

Kazuhiko noticed the slight tremble in Jun's pale fingers and asked him; "Are you worried?"

"What if they don't like me?" He murmured, his head cast slightly down. "I already know that your mother isn't particularly fond of your son because of his gender, I..." He suddenly couldn't get the words out. His gender was an obstacle, but only put there by others. He'd never found it a bother until those obstacles began to rear their ugly heads. That woman last night... she had been especially horrible. "Our first meeting wasn't exactly well planned."

"Yes and that is my fault," Kazuhiko admitted, rubbing Jun's shoulders as he spoke. "I probably should have introduced you to my parents sooner, but I didn't want their interference while I tried to convince you to give me a chance and later... I already have to share you with two small boys, I wanted to selfishly claim the rest of your time to myself!"

This made Jun smile and he turned around and stepped on tip toe to place a kiss upon Kazuhiko's lips. The man took advantage and deepened the kiss for a moment, but they were soon disturbed. "Mummy, have you see my star warrior?" Keiichi asked as he ran into the living room.

"It's in my wardrobe," Jun recalled seeing it as he picked a loose shirt to wear, which hung from his frame, just brushing past the swell of his stomach, keeping the new addition hidden from view.  "Though I have no idea how it got there." Kazuhiko chuckled as Kei ran off to locate it. He leaned down to resume their kiss, but didn't get any further than brushing his lips against Jun's as Kou began to wail loudly from his cot. Kazuhiko groaned.

Kou was teething and had been up three times in the night sobbing while trying to chew on his own tiny fist. He had fallen asleep at five this morning and although everyone had risen from their beds a few hours later, he had stayed asleep until now.

"This is a good thing," Jun grinned and eased himself from Kazuhiko's arms. "Now we can get him ready to see his grandparents. He probably missed them." Kazuhiko wasn't so sure about that, but went to see to the baby, while Jun prepared the tot some baby porridge for his breakfast.

An hour later, they were ready to go... or so they thought. Kazuhiko had left Kou's nappy bag behind and wasn't sure how many he'd left behind when he had decided to leave home. And then Keiichi decided he wanted the toilet. So ten minutes after they first thought that they were ready to leave, they finally did.