Akat had refused help with cleaning his place up, so Vira didn't have anything on his agenda. He would be leaving for Ekatweep that weekend, as he had been assigned a new project.
"Thanks, Vira. I'll be dropping by often until I finish setting up my place. I hope you don't mind."
Vira patted him. "Sen, you've become more of a brother to me now. You can drop by anytime. Call me whenever you need my help."
Akat smiled. "I will. I want you to see my place the way it was, not the way it has become. So don't think I'm not inviting you. I will, once it's habitable."
Vira laughed. "I'll look forward to it. I've got to start now, Sen. I won't be home to send you off, but I hope you don't mind."
Akat laughed. "I'm not a child. Don't worry. You have fun with your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend yet," Vira mumbled. Akat caught the "yet" part and smiled.
****
Vira waited for Saka to finish his morning rituals. He had made lunch and was chatting with Uncle Karn, who seemed to be in a good mood, as usual.
They sat together, drinking tea while waiting for Saka and Laika to join them for lunch.
"Vira, I need to thank you for taking care of Saka."
"It's my privilege, Uncle Karn!"
Uncle Karn smiled. "No other teachers would say that."
Vira felt a bit guilty. He wasn't exactly doing it as his teacher's duty. "Erm... I feel like you guys have become more of a family, so I can't draw the line. I'm sorry."
Pat. He got a thump on his back. "That's more like it. It would have pained me if you had done this out of obligation. I'm glad it's out of love." He sipped his tea.
He smiled shyly and replied, "I can assure you of that." Also, thinking the mood was perfect, he continued, "Uncle Karn, if I dated your son, would you be okay with it?"
Uncle Karn choked on his tea. Was his son smart enough to get the teacher on his side?
"Er... have you confessed to my son?"
Vira was taken aback by the rather strange response, as if Uncle Karn wasn't really surprised. Was he that transparent with his feelings?
"I thought I'd confess on graduation day."
Uncle Karn didn't know how to react. Should he consider Vira a gentleman or his son unlucky?
"Er... no, I don't really have a problem as long as both of you are happy."
Vira beamed a happy smile. "Please don't tell Saka about this yet. I want him to hear it from me."
Uncle Karn nodded his head. He didn't plan on interfering in their business.
****
Saka and Vira left for the mainland after lunch. They wandered around the bookstreets where Vira bought Saka his books.
Vira took him to a quaint tea shop called 'Raindrop'. Saka was excited.
"Sen! Can I choose whatever I like?"
Vira smiled, Saka's eyes were sparkling with excitement. "Of course! Eat whatever you like! It's my treat."
He spoke to Saka about his college days and how he spent time in this shop, watching passersby.
"The owner used to give me free cookies now and then." He smiled at the memories."Oh, what happened to the owner?"
"I guess he doesn't come here anymore." Vira shrugged. He hadn't seen the owner in the last two years.
"Hmm..."
After having tea, they went for a game of baseball. It was Saka's first time, and he was having so much fun!
After their thirty-minute intense workout session, Vira took him over to his house.
It was wrong to call it a house; it was an estate, to be precise.
Saka felt intimidated by the sheer size of the land, which could easily be half the size of Mann.
He suddenly felt out of place. Vira had many people who maintained the estate and served his family. They lined up to greet him, all excited to see him.
Saka could see the evident respect and love they had for their young master.
"Jun Vira," a very distinguished-looking man in his butler's overalls came to greet him.
Vira bowed humbly, a sign of respect towards the elders, but the old man just waved it off and hugged him.
"Saka, this is Uncle Rak, but to me, he has been a father figure."
Saka bowed to him. "Uncle Rak, this is Saka," Vira continued.
Uncle Rak grabbed Saka and hugged him tightly, completely taking him by surprise.
"I have heard about you from our young master. It's a pleasure, Jun Saka, to meet you in person."
"Likewise, Uncle Rak," Saka mumbled, feeling shy and overwhelmed. He felt surprised that Vira had taken the time to discuss him with Uncle Rak.
"Shall I place his bags in the guest room facing the courtyard, Vira?"
"No, Uncle, please could you bring it to my room? He'll sleep with me."
If Uncle Rak was surprised, he didn't show it.
Saka was very much surprised. Wait, what? He was going to share a room with his beloved Vira?
He followed with anticipation. This would be their first time alone.
Uncle Rak placed the bag down and said, "Please refresh yourselves. Dinner will be served in two hours." With that, he bowed and left, closing the door behind him.
Vira looked at Saka and said, "Make yourself at home. You can choose your side of the bed."
He pointed to his cupboard. "Place your bag there. I'm going to go and have a wash now. I'll prepare the bath after me, so you can take yours."
Saka nodded. He saw Vira dig through his closet for clothes and then disappear through a side door.
Saka turned his attention to Vira's room, which was huge! It was bigger than Saka and Laika's rooms put together.
The room itself was in shades of sea blue, white, and beige. It was pleasantly bright, with the evening sun's rays illuminating the room, and overlooked the courtyard.
Saka's eyes shone. He would be able to get to know what Vira liked. He saw a small marble chess set and some books, mostly on math, in the corner. A couple of cooking notebooks also found their place among onbook stack over his table. He had a lot of manga, which took Saka by surprise. Vira didn't seem like a manga person to him.
Some merchandise was enclosed in a glass case.There were a few pictures of Vira, laughing next to a lady whom Saka assumed was Vira's grandmother. She looked beautiful.
There were some pictures of Vira sitting close to a boy and smiling. They were probably in their early teens, Vira's scar more prominent. Saka wondered who he was. He took a picture and stared at it.
Vira had a very quiet smile, but the other boy had a wide smile. He looked handsome too. "He looks good," Saka muttered. Were they still in touch?
"Confessing to one, and checking out another, are we?"
He heard a quiet voice behind him. He had been so engrossed that he didn't notice Vira approaching him.