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Kaoru had long known it was coming, but even so the call had been a slight shock to him.
Maybe that's just the nature of the situation.
His father was long gone, killed in an accident years ago, in a year that Kaoru wishes he could forget.
It was also the year that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer.
She had managed on her own for quite some time, but now her treatments were making her weaker, making it harder for her to take care of herself. And since Kaoru was an only child, it fell entirely on him to become her caretaker while she fought this.
His immediate next call was to the soul he trusted more than anyone, the only person he'd want helping him through this.
"Kaoru you realize it's two in the morning right?" was how Kojiro greeted him when he picked up the phone.
"Yeah," there was no venom in his voice this time, which caused Kojiro to start worrying.
"Wait. Kaoru, what's wrong?"
"My mother is getting worse. I need to move her in with me so I can care for her, and I need your help." Kaoru was actually biting his lip as he spoke.
But he need not worry, because all Kojiro said was, "I'll be right there."
Despite her condition, Kaoru's mom greeted them with freshly baked cookies. "Kojiro-kun! It's been so long since I've seen you, but Kaoru still tells me all about you!"
Kojiro rubbed the back of her neck, a slight chuckle escaping his lips. "Well, with you living with him, you'll see a lot more of me, Mayumi-san!"
Mayumi patted Kojiro's cheek as he hooked one arm around hers (Kaoru had the other). "That's good. Kaoru says you run a restaurant, does that mean you'll be cooking for me?"
"Anything you want, Mayumi-san!" Kojiro grinned. Kaoru's parents had always treated him like a second son, so he was more than willing to help Kaoru take care of Mayumi. Kaoru would do the same if it were one of Kojiro's parents.
They helped Mayumi down the stairs and into Kaoru's car, before getting in the car themselves.
"We're going to keep paying rent on your place, Okaa-san," Kaoru explained as they started driving, "That way you can move right back in once you're well again!"
The fake optimism in Kaoru's voice fooled Mayumi, but it did not fool Kojiro, who took Kaoru's shaking hand and gave it a squeeze. He kept up the facade, however. "Yes of course. This is only temporary while you fight this! As soon as you've kicked cancer's ass, you'll go back home!"
"Language, Kojiro!" Mayumi chided him, "But I appreciate the sentiment. I hope to beat this as well. I need to live long enough to see you two get married."
They both went silent.
Adjusting to his mother's schedule took some work, but Kaoru got used to it. He had Carla add her chemotherapy appointments to his schedule, and he picked up the juice she liked from the grocery. He built handrails in his bathtub and got used to staying with her when she showered, washing the places she couldn't reach.
One thing he never got used to was waking up to her ridiculous drama shows at 6 in the morning. She didn't watch them loudly, his walls were just thin.
"Master, your alarm isn't set to go off for another two hours and 35 minutes," Carla so helpfully proclaimed when she could tell Kaoru was stirring in his bed.
"Yes, I know Carla. You can turn that alarm off," now that Kaoru was awake, he wasn't going back to sleep.
"Turning off alarm."
Kaoru rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he padded his way down into the living room to where his mom was watching the TV. "Okaa-san, what channel is even showing dramas at 6am?"
"Oh, none of them!" Mayumi cheerfully waved him away, "I'm watching this on Netflix!"
Kaoru sighs. Netflix, of course. "Right. You know, since you're watching on Netflix you don't have to watch it on the TV. You can watch it on your laptop, or your tablet. And you can use headphones!" Anything so he can sleep in until his alarm at 8:30.
Mayumi just looked at him. "You kids and your computers. You have to watch TV shows on a TV set."
This was retaliation for the piercings in high school, wasn't it?
"Right." He started making himself some coffee. "So, I have a meeting with a client today that I can't move, so Kojiro is going to take you to your appointment. It's easier for him to close up the restaurant than it is for me to move my meeting."
He pours his coffee and repeats himself, since he didn't get an answer. "Okaa-san? Kojiro is taking you to your appointment today." He started to worry because she wasn't responding. "Okaa-san?"
"Huh?" she turned around to face him. "Did you say something, Kaoru? I got caught up in this scene in my drama."
Kaoru groaned.
With Mayumi living with him, Kaoru and Kojiro's after closing Sia la Luce dates became Kaoru's apartment dates, even though Mayumi insisted she'd be fine for a few hours.
She underestimated how long they could spend at Sia la Luce just bullshitting.
"It's fine, Okaa-san. We're both more than willing to just hang out here. We should be doing that more often anyway," Kaoru reassured her. "Kojiro's customers tend to think that he's still open when they see me at the bar, so it's just as well that I'm not there when the place is closed. It's fine."
Mayumi frowned a bit. "I don't like that you're uprooting and changing your entire life for me, Kaoru."
"Okaa-san," Kaoru took her hands in his. "You took care of me for 18 years and made me who I am today. You and Otou-san. The least I can do now is return the favor, no matter what changes it makes to my life. Now, come Okaa-san, it's time for your bath."
Mayumi nodded and made her way to the bathroom. She had quickly accepted that at least while she dealt with the side effects of the chemotherapy and radiation, she was going to at least need Kaoru close by in case she fell.
Kaoru stood up as well, but Kojiro stopped him. "He'll be right in, Mayumi-san." Once she was gone, Kojiro held Kaoru's head in his hands and gave him a soft, lingering kiss. "I'm so proud of you, Kaoru. You're handling this so well."
That caused Kaoru to break down crying. "I'm really, really not darling. It's breaking my heart to see my strong, wonderful mother so sickly and frail. So weak. It's not fair!"
Kojiro held him close and let him cry. "Oh, Kaoru," He gently shushed his boyfriend. "It's okay, it's gonna be okay. Everything is going to work out."
Kaoru cried in Kojiro's arms for a while, and then he composed himself and stood up. "Will you still be here when I'm done making sure my mother gets bathed and in bed?"
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," Kojiro gave him one more kiss. "I'll meet you in your room?"
Kaoru nodded.
Kaoru needed to help his mother into her pajamas and walk down the hall to her room tonight. He made sure she was in bed before he headed for the door. "Kojiro told me the doctor said the prognosis is looking good. You might be out of the woods soon and you'll be able to go home."
"That would be nice," Mayumi said with a yawn. "I know you want your place back, Kaoru."
Kaoru blinked. "No… that's not… I want you to be able to go home because I want you to have your independence back. Your strength back."
"I get that," she smiled, albeit a bit weakly, "But you can't tell me you don't want your old life back."
Kaoru just shook his head. "You're impossible sometimes, mom."
It only took a few more treatments before Mayumi was well enough to be declared cancer free. She needed to stay with Kaoru for a few weeks after that to get her strength up, but she was happy to be in her own home again.
"You sure you don't need anything Okaa-san?" Kaoru asked, lingering at the front door.
"I'm sure Kaoru. I'm glad to have my place back, and my independence. Just like you said," Mayumi kissed his cheek.
Kaoru blushed. "Well, if anything comes up, I'm a phone call away."
"I know dear," Mayumi smiled, "Now, isn't Kojiro waiting for you in the car?"
"I… Yeah," Kaoru's cheeks got redder and he gave her a final hug before going back to his car. He got in on the driver's side and sighed. "I'm actually gonna miss having her around."
"You'll feel differently in the morning, when your alarm actually goes off at 8:30am," Kojiro said with a kiss.
Kaoru chuckled. "You're right. Why are you always right?"
Kojiro shrugged as Kaoru pulled out of the parking lot. "You're a great son, you know that right? Mayumi-san is lucky to be your mom."
Kaoru just smiled. "I know. And I'm lucky to be her son."