Flashback:
"Eight, Nine, Ten! Mia, I am coming!" Five-year-old Bryan said and went on to look for Mia.
He is now sure that she must be hiding behind the roses where she hid for the last five times already.
"Where did Mia hide? I can't find her." He said pretending to look for her and hear three years old Mia giggle in response.
He looked down getting bored of this hide n seek game now.
"Found you." He said coming behind Mia and Mia started laughing.
"Again!" She said clapping and jumping. She is having fun playing her favourite game.
"I am going to look for daddy. I want to play soccer." Little Bryan said and started walking.
"Mia too play." Little Mia said in her cute baby voice running to follow Bryan. Bryan stopped and turned back.
"You can't play soccer. You are a girl." He said shaking his head.
"Mia play!" She said tears building up in her eyes.
"Your daddy said you can't." He said still shaking his head.
"Mia play." Mia said now tears rolling down her cheeks. She starts crying whenever Bryan says no to her.
"Don't cry." He said wiping her tears and acting like a big boy.
He knows that Mia is really stubborn and will start crying if he doesn't let her play soccer with him but he doesn't want to play with her because her dad said so to him.
"Let's play hide n seek. But I want to hide this time." He finally said.
"Bain hide." Mia said and started clapping her hands laughing happily.
"It's Bryan!" He said upset at how she always pronounces his name wrongly.
"Bain." Mia said hoping she said it right this time.
"I will go and hide. Count till ten and no peeking. " Bryan said giving up.
"Ok!" Mia said nodding her head.
"One. Two. Thwee. Phor..." Mia started counting in her own baby pronunciation. Bryan ran and hides in the shrubs.
He knows that Mia will never be able to find him, that's the reason he lets her hide all the time. But this time he wants to waste as much time as he can so that their parents can come and he can play soccer with his dad. He is pretty smart for a five-year-old.
"Bain!" Mia started to look for Bryan calling out his name.
After calling and searching for a couple of minutes, tears started building up in Mia's eyes and soon she started crying out loud thinking that Bryan got lost. Bryan who was hiding and laughing panicked when he heard
Mia crying and ran out to her.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" He asked panicking.
"Bain!" Mia said hugging Bryan and he just patted her head just how his mom does when he is crying.
When he first met Mia, he hated her because she used to sleep and cry whenever he visited her. Then his mother told him how babies sleep all day and how they cry when they are hungry and how he was like that too when he was a baby. Two-year-old Bryan then started to play with Mia. And for Mia, Bryan was the only friend she had since she was born. Even now Bryan is the best friend for preschooler Mia but Bryan now has a lot of friends in his kindergarten. Still, he is found of Mia.
"Let's go and find mommy. I am hungry." He said once Mia stopped crying.
Mia reached into her pocket and took out a candy.
"Eat." She said offering her candy to Bryan.
"No. That's your candy, you eat that." Bryan said gently pushing her hand back.
"Daddy gave Mia candy and Mia give candy to Bain." She said and smiled.
"Thank you." He said taking the candy and they started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Sydney, Bryan's mom said walking towards them with Amelia, Mia's mom.
"Mommy!" The kids said and ran towards their mom. They lift their kids in their arms and kiss their cheeks.
"Were you a good boy and took care of Mia?" Sydney asked her son.
"Yes." He replied smiling and nodding his head.
"That's like my son." She said kissing his cheek again. Their parents have been keeping an eye on them from the restaurant window they were having lunch in.
They always come to this restaurant for lunch and dinner.
And, conveniently, the restaurant has a table just looking out to the garden where they can let the kids play and also keep an eye on them from inside. Plus it helps them to see how the kids behave when they are left alone as people from outside can't look inside.
"Look mommy, Mia gave me candy." Bryan said showing it to her.
"Did you say thank you to her?" She asked her son.
"Yes." He replied and she smiled.
"Mia, that's so sweet of you." She said to Mia who giggled.
"Bryan, thank you for taking care of Mia." Amelia said to him.
"Welcome." He replied. He really acts like a big boy when he is around Mia, maybe because she is younger than him and he only gets to act like an older authority when he is with her considering how he doesn't have any siblings yet.
"Mommy, where is daddy? I want to play soccer." Bryan said.
"He is still inside talking to Mia's daddy." She replied.
They always come here to spend a relaxed afternoon but it ends up with them discussing business. It is normal with how they have started their own company just a couple of years ago.
"You can play with Mia while we wait for your dad to come. We have a soccer ball in the car." Sydney said.
"Mia can't play soccer." He said shaking his head.
"Mia, you don't want to play soccer?" Amelia asked her.
"Mia want play soccer." She replied in her broken sentences.
"See. Mia also wants to play." Sydney said smiling.
"But she can't. She is a girl." He replied.
"Bryan, who said that girls can't play soccer?" She asked him upset at how her son is saying these things.
"Mia's daddy." He replied. Sydney and Amelia looked at each other shocked.
"Sweetheart, maybe he said that because Mia was a baby before and she can easily get hurt. But, now she is a big girl." Sydney said with Mia repeating, "Mia big girl." making Sydney and Amelia smiled in adoration.
"See, Mia also says so. She can play soccer with you but you have to be careful so that she doesn't get hurt. Ok?" She said.
"Ok." He replied to his mom.
"Then, I will bring Mia over to play soccer with you next time." Amelia said making Mia and Bray go
"Yayyy"
End of Flashback Bryan was sitting in his room holding Mia hand lost in the thoughts of the past.
"Mmmm." He heard Mia's voice and felt Mia gripping his hand.
He snatched away his hand and stood up from the bed walking backwards and away from the bed.