Chapter 64

Tian went out of his apartment, excited and scared as a teenager who is having his first date. He walked through the corridor, feeling his heart racing with every step he took towards his previous apartment, yet wanting to run faster even if it meant his heart would explode. Holding a bouquet of red roses in his hand, and looking at his watch waiting impatiently for the clock to reach two. Tik, tok, tik, tok, then he knocked on the door just after the long knob reached number 12.

The door opened, and Tian raised the bouquet in front of his face.

"Mmm, old man, what are you doing?" Ray said, crashing the moment Tian had on his imagination.

"Little brat, is your mother home?" Tian said after he moved the flowers away from his face

"Sigh, you can enter", Ray said, moving aside slowly to let Tian enter, even though he wanted to smash the door in his face.

Tian headed directly to the kitchen, then he saw her, standing in front of the oven and staring at the food she was making with her eyes filled with sparkles, just like when they were young. Her hair that was tied as a messy bun seemed so pretty to him, her normal white shirt and blue jeans pants seemed so special, even the slipped she was wearing seemed like Cinderella's shoe in his eyes. He stared at her, hearing nothing other than his heartbeats as if he fell inside his own chest, yet once she turned around and saw him, he realized that it wasn't time to freeze.

"Thank you for inviting me", Tian said, handing her the bouquet gently

She seemed astonished looking at the light blue shirt he was wearing, thinking that light colors suit him well, yet she didn't let that thought slip out of her mouth, so she grabbed the bouquet and walked back to the living room while saying nothing.

Taria put the flowers on the table, then she asked Tian to sit down and she went to continue preparing the food, however, she never knew that Ray and Tian are more dangerous than gunpowder and fire to put together.

"I can see you, old man"

"see what? Baby kid"

"Your eyes were following my mother, and don't call me baby kid if you want to keep your shirt clean"

"What would you do, ha? Wet me with your tears, baby kid?"

"I will wet you, but not with my tears", Ray said, then he splashed the water on his father. After that, a war began, with the two Leo brats throwing things at each other

Taria got out of the kitchen again to see the living room messier than a battlefield, with water everywhere and flower petals covering the ground she cleaned this morning. She stayed silent, waiting for Ray and Tian to look at her, and once they stopped fighting and turned to see her, she crossed her arms, and gave them a deadly smile that was scarier than a grim rapper's

"Get out of my house, and don't come back until the food is ready", Taria said

"Yeah, get out of our house", Ray said

"I was talking with you too, Ray, get out", Taria said, then the two of them found themselves behind the door.

"It's all because of you, old man/ baby kid", both Tian and Ray said at once, pointing at each other with angry looks in their eyes.

"Ugh, why should you be so similar to me? It feels like facing my younger self", Tian said, then a thought snapped in his mind and he said "Let's have a basketball game"

"How am I supposed to play against you when you are twice my height?" Ray said

"Leave that for me", Tian said, then he sent a message for someone and asked Ray to follow him.

Tian and Ray went to the parking lot and took Tian's car to the park, and once they reached it, one of the baskets was lowered to fit children while the other stayed at normal height.

"Let's start, kid"

"Ok, old man"

They started playing basketball, smoothly and competitively. Tian was amazed by Ray's fast movement and smart moves, controlling the ball perfectly and knowing exactly what he was doing. On the other hand, Ray started feeling tired yet he tried his best to not show it to the man he still holds a guard against, and after a short match, Tian scored a goal and ended the game

"Great job. You were amazing even though it's an unfair match, bravo, my son", Tian said, outstretching his hand for Ray to punch it, however, Ray gave him a cold sharp look and said "Don't call me your son. I only have one parent and I don't need you in my life"

Ray's words threw a huge rock that smashed Tian's heart. He knew he was wrong for leaving them, and he could understand that they weren't going to accept him fast, however, such harsh words getting out of a six years old child were more than he could take in.

"I understand your mother's point of view, but why are you so mean when you never even saw me before? If you are unable to love me then at least don't hate me that much", Tian murmured, yet his words were loud enough to reach Ray's ears.

"My mother… never said your name, not even once, yet she always saw you in me. I hated being compared to a person I have never even met, I hated being criticized as your son instead of being myself, but once everything started going smoothly, you came back out of nowhere", Ray said, walking in front of Tian and not looking at him at all

"Well, I think you misunderstood some things here and there. Your mother never said my name because she fears that saying the name of a precious lost one would leak some memories about that person, that's why she never mentioned her mother's name nor the name of the old man who saved her. Being criticized as my son is a family tradition for the person who is supposed to be the next family leader, your uncle was criticized that way too, and I didn't came from nowhere, I was here all the time", Tian said while smiling warmly

"What do you mean?" Ray asked

"Let's say that your father was forced to go on a really long journey with no coming back, however, life gave him a chance to come back and he took it", Tian said, patting Ray's head while his heart was being squashed to the point even saying journey about the hell he was living in wasn't enough to keep his sadness covered.

As a genius, Ray could tell how hard it was for Tian to say those words, and for the first time in his life, he felt guilty.

"(The prince never showed his weak side in front of any one other than his brother and the princess), so it was a lie after all", Ray said calmly

"The prince?" Tian said

"You were the prince in all the bedtime stories my mother told me", Ray said, filling Tian's heart with happiness after it was tightened

"Really! What did she say about me?" Tian said

"You were the prince who saved the princess from so many monsters. A brave, strong, cold yet warm prince with whom she fell deeply in love to the point she couldn't see anyone other than him through her life. Old man, I won't be home on the weekend, so my mother would be easy to kidnap", Ray said, and Tian suddenly remembered some memories of the past, memories that forced him to let out a laugh bright enough for Ray to see his mother's smile in that man's laughter.

That day, Ray realized everything clearly. He might not need a father as his mother was more than enough for him, yet his mother needed that father of his more than anyone else. The bedtime stories she told him were enough for him to realize that his queen was a little princess who needed the prince to complete her, and he realized, that the prince never really gave his princess up, even after leaving her alone for years.

Tian and Ray went back home, dirty and sweaty, while Taria was waiting for them, however, when she saw their bad condition, she asked both of them to take a shower before eating.

After a while, Ve's little brats got out of the shower at the same time, both drying their black hair the same way, with the same look in their eyes, which drowned Taria in her thoughts. She kept staring at them, thinking of a dream she had many years ago, a dream where she was happy with Tian and their son, however, she turned around once she realized that Tian was staring at her while she was smiling idiotically.

On the other hand, when Tian got out of the bathroom, the first thing he saw was Taria, smiling brightly while staring at him just like the past. Her smile was still able to give his heart warmth, and her sparkling eyes were still shiny like a lake under the night sky lights. He couldn't breath well, and he felt his heart knocking on the inside wall of his chest, yet her eyes turned back into being sharp before he could fall deeply in them.