That night Sora asked Mizuki, "Would you mind meeting my grandmother when she gets back from Norway?"
"I'd love to meet her!" Mizuki replied promptly, before asking, "Norway?"
He grinned as he explained, "She said she's doing some kind of grandmother exchange. It sounds like some kind of student exchange, except it's old women who collect typical books and toys from their country, and then go stay with families with young children. They leave them with stories, books, and toys from another country when they go home again."
"I've never heard of anything like that, but it sounds kind of cool," she commented after a moment.
"I'd never heard of such a thing either, but my grandmother can be a little wild. This is actually one of her more tame adventures?" Sora replied with amusement.
"She always sounds interesting whenever you've mentioned her." A little hesitantly, Mizuki brought up the question she'd avoided before, "My parents told me that you told them your parents died in a boating accident?"
He kissed her gently before replying, "Yes, I wasn't trying to hide it or anything, it was a long time ago now and I don't think about it much." He looked at her anxious expression and asked, "What's wrong Mizuki?"
"I'm curious but I don't want to make you talk about it if you don't want to," she explained hesitantly.
He cuddled her for a moment, and then assured her, "You can ask me anything Mizuki, I'll just tell you if it's something I don't want to talk about."
"Okay," she agreed without asking, 'What happened?'
He answered the unspoken question, "I stayed with Takumi during that school break. My father owned a yacht, which I didn't find strange because Takumi's parents were just as well off, and so were a lot of the parents of kids at our school. Now I realize that's because it was a private school, but back then it was just my school. Apparently a big storm came up and something went wrong. I was told that the ship smashed up against rocks in an area where it's GPS claimed it wasn't."
Mizuki couldn't prevent the little gasp she gave, but Sora shrugged and continued calmly, "I can only assume that it happened because my father believed the GPS, but at the time all that information meant nothing to me. I was only eleven and, well, I think I must have been kind of a spoiled brat. I didn't care why, and didn't deal with it well."
Mizuki interrupted, "Nobody deals well with their parents suddenly dying Sora, even people in their forties and older. My mother was a mess for like a year after my grandfather died a few years ago."
"I suppose not," he agreed. Mizuki hugged him tightly, and after a moment he continued with a little more emotion, "I think I was kind of still in shock at the funeral. A lot of adults came, friends and associates, some said they were relatives. I didn't know more than a few of them."
"Takumi stuck with me through the whole thing. His parents have always been crazy busy and missed the first part, but they both managed to take the time to show up later. My relatives that I'd never met…" Sora paused. "Apparently some of them were my half siblings, but that's the only time I've ever met them," he explained hesitantly.
Mizuki sat upright and exclaimed a little angrily, "How awful of them Sora!"
He blinked at her, and then actually smiled, "It's okay Mizuki, I didn't know who they were back then so it didn't hurt me, don't worry."
She could only stare at him, unable to imagine siblings who had never bothered to meet him until their father died. He reached out and ruffled her hair as he told her, "Anyway, those people were arguing over who would have to take care of me, when Takumi got angry and told them that if they didn't want me, he'd keep me!"
Mizuki nodded as though agreeing with the friend she'd yet to meet, and Sora told her a little triumphantly, "His father had arrived by then, and when they told Takumi not to be ridiculous, he stepped forward and told them very quietly and calmly, 'My son is not being ridiculous, you're being ridiculous. Sora-kun was left in our care, and until you provide legal documentation proving your guardianship, we're keeping him.' He was so cool. Takumi was so cool. I just cried."
"Wow, I'm glad they claimed you!" Mizuki exclaimed approvingly. "Did you stay with them long?"
"It wasn't long, although it felt like it was. About a month later my grandmother showed up to take me," Sora explained.
Mizuki studied his face for a moment and asked, "Were you relieved?"
He shrugged. "My grandmother is really pretty cool, although it took me a few years to realize that. She'd been traveling somewhere, and hadn't been able to return home until a couple weeks after her daughter's funeral, but I just blamed her for not being there. Takumi threw a fit when he found out that she planned to take me away. But weirdly, she actually spent time and listened to both Takumi and I, even when I shouted that I didn't like her."
"You get along well with her now?" she asked when he paused.
"Yeah, now I'm glad that she didn't take me seriously when I told her I didn't want anything to do with her. Back then she'd been fighting with my mother for a few years, and while I had met her before, I really barely knew her," he explained. "But afterward she talked with Takumi's parents, and they helped her find a nearby apartment so that I could stay in the same school. She stayed there with me until I finished high school, and I think it might be the longest she's ever lived in one place, from her stories." He admitted a little sheepishly, "I already told her I would introduce you, so I hope that you'll like each other."
"She sounds amazing Sora, I think I'll really like being able to meet her," Mizuki assured him.
--
In the morning they showered together again, before leaving to meet Mizuki's family for breakfast. Mizuki couldn't help looking back a little regretfully, even though she liked the fact that Sora could spend every weekend with her at home.
Sora reluctantly headed to his own home after dropping her off at work, and spent the evening doing mundane things like laundry, and preparing for his own work week.
--
The next weekend Mizuki took Sora to the place she'd wanted to take him two weeks before. He looked around the paintball arena a little doubtfully and asked, "Seriously Mizuki?"
"You don't think it'll be fun?" Mizuki asked a little unhappily.
He bent and kissed her before assuring her, "I'm willing to find out, if this is what you want to do."
They spent the next couple of hours chasing each other back and forth through an obstacle course in mock ninja outfits, armed with paintball crossbows and paint bombs.
Afterward Sora grinned at her and agreed, "This was also fun. You're totally covered in paint."
Mizuki complained, "Only because you're tall enough to see over half the obstacles. And you're fairly well covered too Sora."
He grinned and admitted, "I already knew you're flexible and in good shape, but you're also surprisingly agile. You made it over several barriers I would have sworn you couldn't."
The colour wouldn't wash off completely after a single shower. Mizuki had a few purple spots that wouldn't wash off even after a fairly warm and sweaty work shift.
--
Sora arranged a visit to an art gallery for their Sunday morning date. After wandering the displays for a bit he asked a little anxiously, "Do you like this sort of thing? Your expression is a little strange."
Mizuki looked up at him and grinned. "I'd never have guessed you'd take me to this kind of thing. I don't know if I like it yet. This is the first one I've been to, unless you count Aka-nee-chan's school displays."
"Akane-san is an artist?" Sora asked with surprise.
Mizuki shrugged and replied, "She's a housewife. But she might've been able to become an artist if she'd had more confidence. I think she's a lot happier being a mother."
--
On Monday, to Mizuki's shock, Haibara sent her a message on her school tablet. The classmate who was secretly waitressing asked, 'Are you OK? Did someone hit you? Don't talk to me, just message back.'
'I'm fine, it's paint. Thanks though.' Mizuki replied promptly.
Even though the message should have highlighted her social isolation within her school, she couldn't help feeling unaccountably cheered.
--
The next couple of weekends passed affectionately, but uneventfully. Mizuki and Sora both finally began to take their time together for granted, without treasuring it any less somehow. The fact that they were together every weekend became what was normal, rather than a special event.
A month after Halloween, Sora's grandmother finally returned from overseas, and visited him.
"What a dreadfully tiny apartment Sora," Haruko complained.
Sora promptly offered to put her up in a hotel for the night. "I know you'll prefer having your own room," he added teasingly.
"I think so," she agreed. "This is even smaller than the place you had while you were in college."
"I was sharing that with Takumi," he pointed out.
--
Sora warned Mizuki the night before, "I won't be able to pick you up from school and I'll be bringing my grandmother with me."
Mizuki nervously informed her parents, and then cleaned her room, the main room, and even the kitchen that night.