Family troubles (409 views)

Sayaku loved the rain, ironically- but at the moment, with the thunder crashing outside, he felt it still safer to stay indoors. Finding a place to hide in the diner, he was a bit concerned since he had a feeling his cousins (one of whom had such a phobia she couldn't sleep during a storm for her life) were still busy. However, he couldn't help that- and he couldn't help his sister being stuck in the nurse's office either. So, he was alone.

Not for long, though. He soon noticed a familiar figure, which seemed both strongly enticing to visit, but also fairly concerning. Chad was clearly there, but somehow, something seemed off- and Sayaku knew how to read people, at least a bit. Wandering over, he tapped the table with a loud knock of his knuckles, hoping to gain the other boy's attention. "Something's clearly wrong if you're looking as dark as a yak's fur. What's gotten into you? You're normally way more easy to spot."

Sayaku wasn't gonna believe that blatant lie. Nope, not a lie that clearly was one with no actual attempt at hiding it, with how Chad was avoiding his face at any cost. Though, with the offer to join dinner, he could think it as if Chad was starting to like him awkwardly- but no, that just didn't seem like Chad. Not at all.

"You do realize I grew up with a giant family right? My entire family lives together, and my grandmother taught us how to read people enough to know when one was lying. And avoiding eye contact is a key sign of anxiety, and you are /not/ one to be anxious often. Especially with /me/." He sighed though, taking the seat across from him. When Chad offered him a fry, he took it- but only took a bite of it, before shoving the other half into his friend's mouth (though hiding a small piece he broke off so his germs wouldn't cause Chad any awkwardness besides being fed). He wanted to know just how out of it Chad was. That was about it. "But thanks for reminding me you tend to ditch. I've yet to have it happen, so I had no idea to expect that. For future reference."

"You seemed like you needed the fry more than I do. Besides, I don't eat fried food much. I prefer plain potatoes." He laughed slightly, glad to see the boy grinning at least a bit more. "Yep, pretty much. Actually, some are even more nosy. Be glad you're not dealing with my grandmother."

Leaning against the back of the booth, he gave the other boy a simple glance. "I'm from a small village in Norway dude. A small village in the mountains where everyone is family. Oh, and my grandmother's house is in the mountains and is more like an old-style compound where most of the family lives all together. At least five of my cousins and their parents all live there- and I don't mean all siblings. Though three of them moved here recently apparently. The twins are models now, which is weird. Oh, and Kennet is still taking sneaky photos and actually got in for taking them. So don't be surprised if some weird Norwegian kid starts acting as your paparazzi in the future."

Leaning his head on his hand, his elbow on his table, he sighed. "We were the only ones that lived separately. My sister moved to Japan when she was four, so I grew up mostly as an only child, y'know. She lived with our mom's brother most of her life, and it really freaked her out when he died in a car crash last year. She doesn't even remember our parents, even though they're still running the farm back home. And for the longest time, she didn't even realize I existed. If you want someone not nosy, though, go with her. She'll be too busy reading math books to care what's going on with you. Sadly, I happen to be particularly interested since, as you're already aware of, I'm gay and you're my type. And I already told you I liked you. I tend to be very concerned over the people I like, Chad. Because to me, friends are basically family."

"Oh it's not only for your body," Sayaku mused with a grin. "Sure, that's part of it, but that's just it- part. It's also because you're great as you are as a person too." He reached over the table to pat the boy's shoulder, his smile not fading as he did so. It wasn't like it was a secret Sayaku liked Chad- he'd already been pretty blunt about it. And Chad hadn't seemed to mind from the beginning. So, being friendly wasn't anything to worry about, right? And at that point, Chad was his best friend in his mind (though, albeit, that did make it awkward to like him too).

When the boy actually opened up about his family, Sayaku wasn't sure what surprised him the most about the story. Was it that his parents (or, at least his mother for sure) wasn't worth being called one? Or was it because Chad's art didn't sell- considering Chad's talent, that was pretty surprising too. Sayaku took some time to actually accept both sides of that coin. "Well, if she kicked you out for a reason like that, she doesn't deserve a son like you. Unlike her thoughts, you're pretty awesome you know. Both as an artist and a person. If she was smarter she'd be proud. Though, I don't like talking badly about elders in general. But...While it's not my place to say, I think you should join my family instead. They'll all love you anyhow. Hopefully your dad is better than your mom and understands what the word 'parent' means better."

"Your taste in women is just that women are women though, isn't it? I've never really seen you get especially close to them. Not that I'm one to talk." Sayaku laughed, adding, "And you join the family by just being called family. We're pretty simple folk. As I've told you, our village was basically just a giant family even though half of us weren't related by blood. It's just the compound where everyone's related. And even then, anyone that comes in is treated as family even if they only visit for a day."

Smiling vaguely, he was glad to see Chad getting back to normal a bit- and also opening up to him. This was a change to a degree, and one that Sayaku happily took. "And I have a lot of family, you know. My cousins that go to this school besides the paparazzi Kennet are twin girls. Actually, you're a lot like Mayura since you're energetic. Might be good for Yorie, as much as I hate to admit that obviously." With a chuckle, he leaned his arms more onto the table. "Your mother sounds more like just someone forced to take care of you like a bad foster family. It's good your dad is better to you. Don't know much about rich stuff, but...You sound happy talking about him comparatively. So that's good, right? That you at least get along with him. Even if his current wife isn't great either, at least he's good to you. And if she's bad to you...Well, that's her loss?"

"You do realize I'm biased about my family, right?" Sayaku mused. "Asking me whether Yorie is 'cute' or not...That's like asking a mother what she thinks of her baby. Except it's a cousin over a cousin." He had a meek but sincere smile as he spoke, trying to think it over. What made someone 'cute' anyway? He didn't think much about girls compared to guys, and to him, Chad was definitely more attractive that way. But...If he had to think on it... "I guess you could call her cute though. Yorie's on the shy side, but she's as loyal and sweet as a puppy. Or a baby chick. But if you call her the baby chick, then I guess that makes her sister the mama hen, more or less?" He laughed, adding, "Mayura's a good kid too though."

When he saw the awkward, clearly distressed expression, Sayaku stood up and moved to the other side of the booth, patting the other boy's back sincerely. Sure, he was trying to comfort Chad the way he'd treat anyone else, female or male alike- but he meant well by it. Even if his taps on the back were a wee bit harder than they should have been. "You're exactly right. It /is/ her loss. I stole the luck from her, didn't you know?" Grinning, he added. "But you shouldn't apologize for being honest, y'know. I mean, what're friends for if not to help each other?"

Sayaku smiled simply. "Don't really get the reference, but sure? I mean, I'd definitely help you out before I took care of tilling soil anyway." Of course, Sayaku was still a farmboy at heart- and so, if slang was a farm tool, it was still a farm tool, not slang. "And maybe she did at some point, who knows? I just know I stole her luck because unlike her, I /do/ get to know you."

"And I don't mind you meeting my cousins. As I said, friends are basically family anyway. And besides, Mayura and Yorie are practically tied at the hip- so it might be helpful to get them to reach out more since it's you. After all, your friendliness is pretty contagious if you ask me." Though, he could already see Mayura being upset with him over this idea. After all, Mayura was the particularly attached one- she needed to be in the same house as her sister or she'd probably have a panic attack.

He paled realizing just how sad his cousins were in ways. "Personal stories are depressing, sure. But they can be fun too. Like that time I got nearly rammed off a cliff is easy to laugh at. But at the same time, I spent a week afraid to leave the house because of that damn ram."

Sayaku chuckled as well- he didn't say it for pity anyhow. He'd been hoping to share and maybe get the laugh he got- so that was a relief. "I grew up on a farm, and I was in charge of the rams and cattle. Sadly, most of them didn't like me much. So...When I was fixing the fence on the pasture, one of them decided it was time for target practice. And sadly, our pasture was very, very close to a cliff."

He smiled simply, adding, "Though I did live in the mountains. But seriously. The ram had it in for me. I should've taken the chickens instead. A lot less dangerous. But a lot more cuts, strangely enough."

"Uh, we do. In Norway. Again, I moved here from out of country. That's where my parents still live. I can't help but worry about my mom for that." He laughed nervously, adding, "If there's a farm here though, I should help it out since I know the work well. Ah, but we did keep them generally penned up. The barn was connected to the pasture with a fence, and they couldn't get out of the fence- but that hole nearly could've killed 'em if they weren't careful. We wanted to be safe."

When he remembered Chad saying he would gcry working on a farm, he only laughed a little more. "But don't you think you'd be a radiant farm boy? I bet the animals would just flock to you happily. I can imagine all the chickens wanting only you to feed them. They're pretty picky. And the rams wouldn't lay a horn on you either- they'd just follow you. After all, you do shine well. You wanna pick up girls? Tell them about how hot it was working on a farm. They'll imagine you all sweaty and get excited. Not sure why, but imagining someone handsome sweaty can be pretty nice."

Sayaku turned a slight red from the boy's explanation of the image he could make. Ugh, Chad- why did he have to go and do that! He was already aware Sayaku liked him, wasn't he? "You do realize saying that to someone who likes you is awkward isn't it? Jeez, don't make me picture things like that or it'll seem like we're on a date. And I'm not a girl. So it wouldn't be one."

He had to take a bit of time to rub the salt out of the wound he felt, darting his eyes away from his eyes. He really needed to find a new crush- this was going to take a bad toll eventually. "Ah...farmwork isn't as bad as you think. I mean, it's hard, but...Maybe I"m just used to it? But it helps if the animals like you. I don't know why my mom put me on ram duty when I'm better with the chickens and they hate her."

"No, mom panics when I'm nearly rammed off a cliff. She was in such a frenzy, it was almost like a five year old having a tantrum...against a ram." He laughed nervously just remembering it. The flailing, the whining, the slight attempts at hitting the poor animal while being super weak about it- it really was just like a little kid. "My mother's the type who seems mature, but freaks out like a kid when she's upset. But she normally is really well composed...So I think the ram just found it as funny as I did, honestly. And I was laughing my butt off even though it hurt."

"Unlike me, the rams actually like my mom. So they won't hurt her. Again, we for some reason always worked backwards." He laughed nervously, remembering. "Animals are dangerous, yeah...But ours were domestic generally. I mean we raised them from birth- er, she did. I was too young to remember them being born, the rams at least. But rats are annoying. I mean, my sister says they're interesting, but...Personally, I'd never want them under my bed either."

Then he heard the idea of his mother having sense. "I can't say much for mom on that. Mom isn't the most well known for common sense. She's mostly known for caring and being a bit too spontaneous for her own good. I have a feeling dad comes out in the middle of the night to scold the animals for misbehaving while we're asleep honestly."

"They were farm animals, not pets. Rams are male sheep." He laughed a lot at that moment. Perhaps normal people didn't know these things- but somehow, the idea of a domestic farm animal being a pet was interesting. "It's easier to let the ewes get pregnant than to try to buy a lamb from a seller. All our cattle were family."

WHen he laughed and clapped his back, and laughed a bit more along with him. "Yeah. He always does his work later in the day for some reason, though, so mom has a joke she's in a 'forbidden relationship with a vampire'. But he's always keeping an eye on things, and keeping tabs on us. He's a character himself when he's up though. He's sorta like a super thing, dark haired santa claus."