Mom Son Duo

Usagi's POV:

{At Usagi's house}

"I'm leaving!!" I huff, snatching my bag like it personally offended me and pouting harder than a toddler denied candy.

Mom giggles, completely unfazed. "Oh, Usagi, don't be like that—we're just teasing you! Right, Okami-kun?"

Okami, the traitor, nods with a sheepish smile. "Yeah… just having a little fun. You're cute when you pout."

"Ugh!!" I spin dramatically, like I'm in a tragic soap opera. "You two have been ganging up on me since we got here! You always do this!"

Mom tries to muffle her laughter behind her hand. "Sweetie, you're just so easy to tease. And honestly? Even cuter when you're flustered."

"Don't enable her!" I glare at Okami, who just shrugs like this is simply his cross to bear.

"You're the one who brought me here, bunny. You knew this would happen," he whispers, smug.

I shoot him a dagger look. "Oh, just wait till we get home, Okami-kun. No more teasing then."

He smirks. "Promises, promises."

"Is that how you talk to my Okami-kun?"

Okami immediately clutches his heart like he's in a tragic play. "Look, Mom! She's threatening me again!" he says, dramatically.

"Aahh! I hate you both!" I cry, flailing my arms like a true drama queen. "He's my boyfriend and you're my mom—why do you always take his side?!"

Mom laughs, totally unapologetic. "Why not? I always wanted such a good, well-behaved son."

"Well-behaved?!" I squawk. "You don't know him, Mom! You don't know what he's like behind the scenes!"

"Don't say that, Usagi," Mom says, still giggling. "He's just a shy, teasing, funny boy."

Okami shoots me a sly grin. "Yeah, Usagi. I'm adorable. Accept it."

I groan and bury my face in my bag. "This is betrayal. Betrayal, I tell you."

Okami wiggles his eyebrows, completely unbothered. "Oho? Should I be excited or scared?"

Mom laughs way too hard for my comfort. "Sounds like someone's in trouble~"

I jab a finger in his direction. "Big trouble. No teasing privileges for a whole week!"

He gasps like I've just canceled his birthday. "Cruel. Unjust. I demand a retrial."

I cross my arms. "Denied."

He pouts. "You're so mean to me, bunny."

"And yet you keep coming back." I shoot him a glare, but it's totally undermined by how red my ears are.

Mom sighs dreamily. "Young love is so dramatic. I love it."

Mom suddenly gets that look—the one that means she's about to ask an uncomfortable question. "So, you two... have you thought about, you know, getting married or something? I mean, I know it's only been three months, but you're living together now…"

I freeze, blinking. "M-married?! Mom, we still have so much to do!"

Mom waves her hand like it's nothing. "Oh, darling, your career will happen, but you know, I want to see my grandchildren before I die."

"Ugh, you're only 47, you're not going anywhere anytime soon!" I roll my eyes.

"Oh, don't say that. Who knows when the heavens will call me?" she sighs dramatically.

"Stop saying that, Mom!" I groan, wishing I could sink into the floor.

She leans in, eyes gleaming. "Still... Usagi, you two should take things seriously. Think about it, okay?"

I give a half-hearted nod. "Hm, I know, Mom. We will."

Mom pats me on the head like I'm a child. "Good girl. Now go cut the veggies for dinner."

"Ugh! Why did you invite us for dinner if you're just going to make me do it?" I protest, crossing my arms.

Mom shrugs, grinning like a cat. "Eh, but I want to talk to my Okami about many things…"

I groan, burying my face in my hands. "I hate this. You're using me as your personal maid."

"Fufufu, he's more adorable than you, you know," she says, smug.

"Hmph, then just abandon me and adopt him!" I snap, glaring at her.

Mom chuckles. "Maybe I will."

I throw my hands up in exasperation. "Just wait till Dad gets home! Then I'll see what you two do! Ganging up on me like this—rude, meanie, bad guys!!!"

Okami raises an eyebrow, utterly unfazed. "Oh no, not the Dad card. Whatever shall we do?"

Mom snorts, holding her stomach as she laughs. "Oh sweetie, your father will just side with me like he always does. You're outnumbered."

I huff, puffing my cheeks out. "I swear, the world is against me today!"

"Poor bunny," Okami teases, ruffling my hair. "Look at how tough you are, fighting against the world."

"Shut up, Okami," I mutter, slapping his hand away, but even I can't hide the smile creeping onto my face.

I stomp into the kitchen like a woman on a mission. Grab the chopping board. Slam the container. Pull out the knife like I'm about to enter battle.

CHOP.

SLAM.

SCRAPE.

THWACK.

Each violent chop echoes my suffering. And yet—yet—from the living room, their laughter continues.

"Did you see her face? Like a puffed-up pufferfish!" Okami cackles.

"She's so dramatic, I love it," Mom giggles.

CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP.

I am not crying. I'm just aggressively slicing a cucumber within an inch of its life.

"Bunny, you okay in there?" Okami calls out, laughing.

"I HATE THIS DUO!" I scream over the sound of kitchen warfare. "TRAITORS! BOTH OF YOU!"

More laughter. More betrayal. Even the knife seems to pity me at this point.

Chop… chop… scrape…

I sigh softly, resting the knife on the board for a second.

I don't know whether to feel annoyed or… happy.

I say I hate it, but… maybe I don't. Not really.

Okami never gets along with people this easily. He's always been a little awkward around others. But with Mom… they just click. It's like they've known each other for ages. The way they laugh together, tease me in sync—it's embarrassing, yes, but also kind of… sweet.

I peek through the kitchen door. He's laughing—really laughing—with his head thrown back, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. There's something about the way he looks when he's like this… so at ease, so himself. Not trying too hard. Just… being Okami.

And not just with me anymore.

I feel my cheeks warm, and I duck my head quickly, pretending to focus on the vegetables.

He's so cute when he laughs like that… I can't help smiling a little, even if my face is all red now.

"Haha, it really brings back memories," Mom says, her voice all fond and dreamy. "She was so cute back then… all chubby and squishy-squashy~"

Huh?

What is she talking about now?

I wipe my hands on a towel and wander out of the kitchen, suspicious. "Mom?"

There she is. Sitting on the couch with Okami, phone in hand, giggling. Okami's leaning in close, his eyes shining with too much amusement.

Oh no.

"Mom!" I gasp. "Why are you showing him those pictures?!"

She blinks innocently. "Eh? But he already saw them before. What's the problem?"

"The problem is I delete them every time you send them to me!" I make a grab for the phone. "Give it back!"

Too late.

Right on the screen is a photo of me—barely four months old, cheeks puffed out like little dumplings, eyes closed, curled up in a fuzzy yellow onesie. A tiny, squishy baby burrito.

Okami coos. "Awwww, look at this little bean. Is this what you used to look like, bunny?"

I nearly implode.

"Moooommmm!!"

She just laughs, completely unbothered. "You were the cutest baby I've ever seen. Of course I'd keep them forever."

I clutch the phone to my chest, face burning, unsure if I want to cry, scream, or disappear.

Why do they always gang up on me like this?

"Oh yeah, forget that baby pic," Mom says suddenly, perking up. "Okami-kun, you know, just last month while I was cleaning, I found this photo of hers—it's a little damaged, but let me see where I put it…"

Okami blinks, intrigued. "Oh? What photo?"

My heart drops.

No.

No no no.

Mom rummages in her drawer, humming innocently. "She had just gotten her head shaved that day—like, completely bald. And she was wearing this giant skirt that was twice her size. It kept slipping down, haha!"

"MOM!!" I squeak, halfway between horror and disbelief.

She finds the picture with a triumphant "Aha!" and holds it out like she's offering him a national treasure.

Okami takes it, and the moment he sees it—he wheezes. Like full-on, can't-breathe, shoulders-shaking kind of laughter.

"Oh my god… Bunny, you look like a mini monk trying to cosplay!"

I yank the photo back with both hands, my entire soul combusting.

"That was one time! The salon messed up, and the skirt was from a hand-me-down box!!"

Mom's laughing so hard she wipes her eyes. "She cried so much that day. Even tried to tape a flower to her head to 'look pretty again.'"

I bury my face in my hands. "Why do you do this to me?!"

Okami reaches over and gently pokes my cheek. "I dunno… I think you looked adorable. But I like this version better."

I peek up, eyes wide.

He smiles—soft, sweet, real.

And just like that… all the embarrassment in the world can't hide the fact my heart just did a little somersault.

"When did you two become so close, huh?" I cross my arms, pouting at them from the kitchen doorway. "Ahahaha… seriously, what even happened?"

Okami chuckles, glancing at Mom with that soft smile of his. "The moment you brought me to meet your family, remember?"

Mom nods, eyes warm. "It really brings back memories…"

Okami laughs shyly. "Haha, yeah. I was so nervous that day."

"And I really scared you, didn't I?" Mom says with a teasing glint in her eye.

He grins. "You did. A lot. But you were also really kind to me… ever since then."

I narrow my eyes. "Ugh, you two. It's been two years! You still won't tell me what you talked about when you made me go outside that day!"

I puff my cheeks. "Mom, you were terrifying before meeting him! You sat me down like it was a job interview. But then I come back from the market and suddenly you two are mother and son and I'm just—just the unwanted girl child!"

Mom pats Okami's shoulder like he's her favorite. "It's a secret between mother and son~ Now go, go, make dinner!"

I groan dramatically. "I hate you, Mom!"

She smiles sweetly. "Aww, I love you, Usagi~"

"Hmph! No 'my Usagi' for me?"

"Haha~ I love you my Usagi!"

I turn my back with a flick of my ponytail. "No thanks!"

But my heart's doing little flips anyway.