An Easter Holiday to Hopefully Forget Solo

Time set: Backdated to last Easter Holiday
Warning: mentions of affairs (._.)

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“ Mister Tone?”

“Been a while, hasn't it Mister..” Hanako’s prolonged silence provoked a gruff response from the guard behind the counter of the lobby.

“ I see boarding school hasn’t changed you one bit. I didn’t expect you to be home this easter. Didn’t you tell your father you weren’t coming home?”

“ Ah yes, that~” Hanako’s eyes gleamed with an all too familiar cheeky-ness to them. “ That letter he sent me all so suddenly. Weird isn’t it? Usually, he wouldn’t bother asking me if I was going back home for the holidays or not. He’d just sent a limo ready for me at the station no matter what. But this time he asked me? Surely it can’t be the limo driver complaining about waiting for my possible appearance for too long?”

“ I see...you lied in your letter”

“ Lied? No no, I simply changed my mind last minute. I totally forgot to tell him about it. Oppsies~. Anyway, I’m here now so would you be a kind guard and open this door up for me?” It seemed the guard was too tired to ask more questions. Hanako was ready to tell him his marvelous adventure of taking the public transport by himself to get here, but with a loud click of the door being unlocked, it seemed that the explanation wasn’t needed. He sent a quick salute to the annoyed guard before entering the room that held several elevators.

Upon jumping into one, he held out his resident card for the elevator to scan. It responded with a pleasant beep and the doors closed, intending to bring Hanako to his home. The highest penthouse. Being in a magical boarding school really made him forget how convenient elevators are. That place lacked way too much technology. His mind wandered to the home that he hadn’t visited in forever. How was his greenhouse doing? Was his room in the same place as it was? Did the expired peanut butter jar still sit in its somber place in the kitchen? He doubted the last one. Would he be greeted with a nice lunch as a celebration of his return? The cameras in the elevator now had a tape of Hanako laughing like a maniac for a few seconds. Gosh, what a joke. His father didn’t even expect him to come home. Hanako heavily doubts there would be anyone to greet him. Perhaps except the butler.

But to his pleasant surprise, he was wrong. For when he took his first step in his almost unfamiliar home, there was a candlelit lunch set up. No butlers were in sight and the lights weren’t even on. In addition to the candlelit, a bunch of colorful flowers was set on the table, clearly intended to please the eyes. Food was set up and its heavenly smell almost made him waver if not for his intense shock.

He was quite pathetic, wasn’t he? Having himself believe that this beautiful lunch set up was for him for a second there. His unconsciously growing smile turned bitter by the second. Something..wasn’t right here. His questions would soon be revealed the second the door behind him slammed shut. Lights were suddenly turned on. Around the corner of the room, he caught sight of a bouquet of red, followed by the unfamiliar sight of the smiling figure of his father. Whose joyous face now resembled Hanako’s.

“ Hanako! I- you-”

“You...took those roses from my garden” Hanako eyed the bouquet in his father's hand, and unexplained anger bubbling up inside of him. There was no evidence that made him accuse his father of that. But Hanako took the flash of guilt in his father's eyes as a sign that it was true. They look way to fresh. “ Why “

He had plenty of questions. Too much that he could not specify one at the moment. Why was there a nice lunch set up? Why were his flowers sacrificed? Why was there no one else around? How did his usually stoic father look nervous, frustrated, and guilty at the same time? Hanako wasn’t that dumb. He clearly wasn’t the one his father was expecting. This scrumptious lunch was not for him. The roses certainly weren't supposed to be his gift.

An innocent light bulb popped up in his head. This lunch screamed a date. Candlelights, roses, it all makes sense! His mother was going to come home. Hanako had a very complicated relationship with her. But he could barely control his innocent grin that seemed to deeply confuse his father. As much as he loathed his mother, the fact that his father went his way to surprise her with lunch, Hanako wanted to jump for joy. It’s been a long time since he saw his mother, that is true. But it was an even longer time since he saw his parents getting along. The thought of his parents interacting more hasn’t crossed his mind much. He only knew the two weren’t exactly lovey-dovey with each other. Has something changed during his stay at Hogwarts? Whatever it was, he was going to support it!

“ Ahhahah~ I didn’t think you had it in you, dad.” Hanako’s genuine chuckles only left the older man in a more confused state. One Hanako failed to realize. He dropped his luggage at the side of the door almost excitedly. “ Don’t worry- don’t worry. I was never here. Take all the roses you need. Take all my flowers if it makes her happier. We can talk about my unexpected existence later. I’m quite hungry as well but I’ll eat somewhere else. Just enjoy the date~!” just as he was about to exit through the door, Hanako poked his little head back in the room to see his dumbfounded father with an almost foreign smile.

“ Thanks “ Hanako gently told him before closing the door. Thanks? Thanks! Gosh, he should’ve recorded how nice he sounded when he said thanks. Dee would’ve been proud of how genuine it was. The boy chuckled at himself, so drunk on happiness that he bumped into another stranger once he arrived at the elevator. “ Oh, I’m sorry Ma’am. I didn’t look where I was going.” Gah! He sounded so genuine! He should really record himself for Dee. She’d be so proud.

“ It’s no trouble, kid. You seem to be enjoying your day”

Hanako beamed at the stranger. “ Yea, I am! Thanks, stranger. You have a nice day as well~. Oh-” he stepped aside the elevator. “ Sorry, I blocked your way”

The stranger was a lady that seemed to be around the same age as his father. She stood tall and confident that Hanako couldn’t help but admire her. “ Thank you “ she promptly said before walking out the elevator. Did he just have a nice short conversation with a stranger? Score! This was the best day ever!

He entered the elevator with a smile, while his mind wandered on to where he should go next. But just as the elevator closed, he caught a glimpse of a familiar stranger. The elevator was built in the middle of the apartment and it was meant to give a full view of all the available rooms in the apartment. With this being the highest block, there weren’t a lot of doors to see. He could even see the door to his house from here.

He could also see the same stranger entering the same door he left.

--Time skip--

He tried to be positive, really. That was what his year was about, right? To learn to not be an asshat to both himself and others. But why was it so hard to forget the stranger that entered his house. She looked so natural doing it that one would suspect she was a resident. Or...a frequent visitor.

No. She’s probably the dinner planner. His father was not the romantic kind. Surely, he needed so much help that he needed to pay for someone to help. Nevermind the fact that Hanako waited for his mother to come through the lobby doors for 2 hours, before deciding that the food his father prepared had already become cold. Never mind the sympathetic look of the lobby guard when Hanako told him to call if his mother came by before going out to have a lonely lunch.

It seemed that his vibe was so down that the servers allowed him to pay for only half of his meal. He began a dreadfully long walk until the sunset and the time came for him to go home. In the elevator, he pleaded. Please let his mother be home. Even traces that she ate the food his dad prepared for her would be enough.

There actually was proof the food was eaten clean. Not by his mother, apparently. His luggage was moved to his room. And in there, his father sat in his armchair. Arms intertwined and eyebrows crossed in worry. He first asked how Hogwarts was.

“ Cut it out “ Hanako mumbled “ You never liked small talk. Then get to the point. Where's mom? “ From his silence, Hanako already knew the answer. “ Okay, fine. When did it happen, then? Or did she finally run away for good?” Even more, prolonged silence ensued between the two. His father stood up and glanced down at the shorter boy with a blank look. He didn’t look worried anymore. “ Don’t talk about things as if you understand, Hanako,'' his father said with a frown on his face.

Hanako, too tired to deal with this now, held his hands up in surrender but never took his eyes off his father. “ Fine. I don’t pry. I couldn’t care less about what you do behind mom’s back. Am I supposed to ask her name the next time she comes around, or do you save me the time? Because honestly, I promise you that I’ll pretend I’m not here if my one curiosity of mine is fulfilled. Don’t you think I deserve to know that much?”

His father pursed his lips and was given a few seconds to think about Hanako’s wish. In the meantime, Hanako was glancing over his small bookshelf, picking a book to put on his face later. In case he needed something to cover his crying face. Finally, his wish was answered.

Alana Romero

Hanako kept his end of the deal. For 2 weeks of freedom, he locked himself in his room. Eating meals in his own space and only going out to work on his garden on the roof. Eternally grateful that the homewrecker didn’t come up here easily. In fact, he didn’t seem to sense any other presence in the house other than him and the few servants. His father changed tactics, he presumed. He was never contacted after that horrible day. The next thing he knew, he was packing his stuff for school once more. 2 weeks felt like an eternity. And his arrival seemed just like a simple nightmare. If it weren't for the excessive gifts he received from his father over the weeks, he would’ve thought of it as just that. A nightmare.

He asked himself a burning question as he clicked his trunk shut. Would he prefer that he never came home? To stay in the ignorant bliss of his parents' relationship? For that little bud of hope, he had for them to fester and grow?

The answer: yes.
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@Martyna Romero