The hallway was quiet, save for the soft hum of the air conditioner and the ticking of the clock mounted above the living room door. Shin stood by the entrance, his arms cradling a sleepy Asahi against his shoulder. Beside him, Ai stood still, her fingers loosely entwined with Shin's free hand. The two of them faced the familiar figures of their parents, who stood just outside the door, preparing to head out.
Their mother stepped forward again, her eyes glossy but smiling. Her perfume lingered in the air, sweet and comforting.
"I'm going to miss you so much, sweetheart," she whispered, brushing a hand gently over Asahi's messy hair.
"Mmh…" Asahi stirred faintly, his sleepy eyes blinking open at her touch.
Shin gave his shoulder a light shake. "Hey, buddy. Wake up for a moment. Mama and Papa are going now."
Asahi lifted his head slowly, blinking again as if trying to remember where he was. Then, with a soft yawn, he reached his arms around Shin's neck and looked lazily at their mother and father.
"You're leaving already?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep.
Their father chuckled, stepping forward with a warm smile. "Just for a few days, Asahi. We'll be back to pick you up before you know it."
"Don't come too early, okay?" Asahi mumbled, his head dropping back onto Shin's shoulder. "I want to sleep with Onii-chan and Ai-nee more…"
Both parents laughed, the mother letting out a soft, fond sigh as she leaned in to kiss Asahi's cheek. "Alright, dear. We'll let you enjoy yourself."
"And be good, okay?" their father added, ruffling Asahi's hair. "Listen to your brother and sister."
"We'll miss you," their mother said again, this time including all three of them in her gaze. She gave Ai a quick hug too, patting her back with quiet affection before stepping away.
"Have fun," Ai said with a small, respectful bow. "We'll take care of him."
"We know," her mother replied gently. "Thank you, Ai."
With a final wave, their parents turned and headed down the path, their voices blending into the evening breeze as they exchanged soft conversation and laughter.
As the door closed behind them, the apartment seemed to exhale, returning to its usual stillness.
"Finally," Asahi whispered.
Shin raised a brow. "You tired already?"
"Wanna go to bed…" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his tiny fists. "Sleepy…"
Ai and Shin exchanged a look, the corners of their lips lifting in quiet amusement. There was a tenderness in the moment, like a shared secret only the two of them understood. Shin leaned down slightly and bumped his forehead against hers.
"Shall we?" he asked softly.
Ai smiled back and nodded.
Together, they turned and began the short walk toward the bedroom—Shin with Asahi dozing against his chest and Ai gently holding his hand.
Their room was dimly lit, curtains drawn halfway, letting the soft glow of moonlight spill across the futon. Shin gently lowered Asahi into the middle of the bed and pulled the covers over him.
Ai stood at the doorway, arms folded, a smile playing on her lips.
"He's a cuddler," she said softly.
Shin chuckled, brushing his palm over Asahi's hair. "He always was. Even as a toddler, he'd roll across the bed just to snuggle with someone."
Ai stepped closer, already slipping off her cardigan. "You're not complaining though."
"Of course not."
But once they got into bed, Ai realized exactly what kind of cuddler Asahi had become. The moment Shin laid down, Asahi latched onto him like a koala. One leg thrown over Shin's hips, arms around his waist, face buried in his chest. Shin wrapped an arm around him instinctively, smiling softly.
Ai, on the other hand, lay on the other side of the bed, watching with barely concealed exasperation.
"You know..." she said in a hushed voice, resting her cheek on her palm, "I don't remember agreeing to share this much."
Shin raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Are you jealous of a sleeping child?"
"He's not just sleeping. He's hogging you. I can't even hold your hand like this."
"You could climb over him."
"That's not romantic, Shin."
He chuckled, quietly trying to move one of Asahi's arms without waking him. It failed. Asahi made a soft noise and only clung tighter.
Ai huffed, tugging the blanket in a way that shifted it toward her. "This was our bed. Our night. I was looking forward to cuddling with you after everything."
"We are cuddling," Shin said with a smirk. "Just with a buffer."
She rolled her eyes. "You're lucky I love him."
"And me?"
"...Debatable right now."
"That hurts."
She smiled despite herself. "Maybe if I got a kiss, I'd feel better."
He turned slightly, stretching his hand across the gap, fingers brushing against hers. "I'd give you one... if our adorable little leech would let go."
"Tch." Ai scooted closer and kissed Shin on the cheek from the side. "Fine. I'll settle for that."
A small, sleepy voice rose from between them. "Are you two kissing...?"
Ai froze. "N-No. Just... whispering. Go back to sleep."
Asahi shifted slightly, mumbling, "Don't make weird noises when I'm sleeping. It's gross."
Shin covered his mouth, muffling a laugh. Ai blushed and glared at him.
"Not. A. Word."
Ai sat up with a sigh, glaring at the tiny back curled against Shin's chest.
"He's like a magnet. Every time I think he's finally relaxed enough for me to sneak in, he senses it and tightens his grip."
Shin offered her an apologetic smile, running his hand slowly along Asahi's back. The boy had shifted again, clinging tighter with one hand bunched in Shin's shirt, the other fisted against his chest like a territorial claim.
"I think he's evolved," Shin murmured. "This is a level above toddler clinginess. This is full-on love-struck koala."
"Love-struck?" Ai narrowed her eyes. "Don't say that. He's seven."
"Okay, seven-year-old territorial koala. Better?"
"Barely."
Ai leaned closer again, trying to reach under Asahi's sprawled leg to touch Shin's hand. But Asahi flinched in his sleep, mumbling incoherently, and latched tighter, turning his face deeper into Shin's chest with a low sigh.
Ai froze. "You've got to be kidding me."
Shin bit his lip, stifling a chuckle. "It's like he knows."
"He does know," Ai hissed, retreating back to her side of the futon with a grumble. "He's asleep, but he knows."
"Want me to try to move him again?"
"No," she said, then paused. "Yes. Wait—no. You'll wake him up and then we'll be stuck with an even crankier version of him."
Shin let out a long exhale. "So what now? You're giving up?"
"Not a chance," Ai said, narrowing her eyes in determination. "I'm not letting a tiny child beat me."
She flopped onto her side dramatically, reaching out again, this time aiming low, trying to snake her hand under the blanket and find Shin's fingers.
"I'll settle for holding your hand at least."
Asahi twitched again, his head turning slightly, mouth parting as he whispered something inaudible.
"Seriously?" Ai recoiled, glaring at the ceiling. "He's like a romance police."
Shin turned his head toward her, smirking. "You're so dramatic when you're blocked."
"Blocked? I'm being blueballed emotionally, Onii-chan."
He snorted, turning his face into the pillow. "You can't just say that."
"I just did."
She huffed and fell back dramatically, arms spread like she was surrendering to fate.
"I can't even hold you. We're trapped on opposite sides of this child-fort."
Shin slowly extended one hand over Asahi's curled-up form, palm up. Ai blinked, staring at it.
"You know he'll grab it if he senses motion."
"I'll risk it."
Gently, Ai reached out too, her fingers brushing his, then curling around them. Their hands locked, lightly, lovingly, over Asahi's sleeping form.
"Romantic rebellion," Shin whispered.
"Shut up," she whispered back, lips twitching into a reluctant smile. "This is so dumb."
"But worth it," he murmured, giving her hand a soft squeeze.
It was warm. Comforting. Ridiculous, given the circumstances. But Ai's heart gave that familiar flutter, the one it always did whenever he said something like that—something so easy and sincere, it made her chest ache with affection.
She stared at their intertwined fingers for a moment longer, then whispered, "He better not start drooling on you again."
"He doesn't drool."
"Yes, he does. He drooled on your shirt earlier."
Shin glanced down. "…Oh. Right."
Ai's lips curved. "Told you."
Minutes passed, slow and quiet, the stillness of the apartment settling over them like a second blanket. The hum of the air conditioner, the occasional rustle of sheets, the soft shifting of Asahi's breathing—all of it created a kind of fragile peace.
But Ai still couldn't let go of the frustration that simmered beneath her fondness. She wanted to be close to Shin. Really close. The kind of closeness she'd already had—and wanted again. The kind of closeness that left her breathless, clinging to him like nothing else in the world mattered.
And now she couldn't even lean on his chest.
She turned toward him again, chin resting on her pillow.
"…Hey."
"Hm?"
"Tomorrow night…"
Shin met her gaze, eyes soft.
"…Let's make sure he sleeps in his own room."
He gave a slow, understanding nod.
"Debatable."
"And maybe we… do something together before bed. Something just for us."
His smile widened slightly. "Like what?"
"I don't know…" she trailed off, cheeks flushing even as she pretended to think. "Maybe take a bath together. Maybe you wash my hair. Maybe we talk. Or maybe what we did today…"
She rolled her eyes playfully. "You know. The things couples do."
Shin's eyes didn't waver. He held her gaze, warm and steady. "I'd like that."
Their fingers curled tighter around each other.
"I'm serious," Ai added. "We've already done it. You know how much I wanted it. How much I want you.'
Shin didn't answer right away. His thumb moved slowly over the back of her hand again, thoughtful.
She paused, then added, "But it's killing me, sleeping beside you like this—after that—and not being able to even kiss you."
Shin's eyes softened further, filled with that mix of guilt and longing she knew too well.
"And I know Asahi is important to you. To both of us. I love him too. I love that he clings to you. It's sweet. It's cute. But right now?"
Her voice dipped to a whisper. "I need you, Onii-chan."
There was a silence between them that said more than words could. Shin didn't speak. He didn't need to. His fingers flexed gently, his thumb tracing the back of her hand in slow circles.
Ai closed her eyes for a moment.
"Tomorrow," she said quietly, "I want your arms around me. Just me."
Shin nodded. "Tomorrow. I promise."
Ai finally let out a breath and scooted just a little closer—not enough to disturb the boy in the middle, but enough to feel the warmth of Shin's hand more fully.
They lay there like that for a while, suspended in the space between intimacy and restraint, their fingers the only tether holding their quiet ache together.
Then, without warning—
"Are you two still whispering?"
Asahi's groggy, annoyed voice broke the stillness.
Ai flinched. "Y-You're awake?"
"You're being weird again," Asahi mumbled. "It's noisy."
Shin muffled a laugh into the blanket. "Sorry, buddy. Go back to sleep."
Asahi huffed and shifted again—this time, grabbing Shin's hand that had been holding Ai's and dragging it back to his chest like a teddy bear.
Their connection broke.
Ai let her head drop onto her pillow with a thump, groaning into the mattress. "I hate everything."
Shin's body shook with suppressed laughter.
"Don't laugh. This is the worst."
"This is parenting," he said under his breath.
"We're not his parents."
"Feels like it."
Ai peeked over at him, lips twitching. "You better make tomorrow night worth it."
"I will," Shin said, voice quiet but filled with sincerity. "I promise, Ai."
She didn't respond. She just smiled, soft and slow, and turned on her side, her back to them both—but not out of anger.
She just didn't want Shin to see how much she was blushing.
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END OF CHAPTER : 140 : WE'LL MISS YOU TOO, DARLING!
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