Chapter Seven
Intruder

———

"Tai?" Hana said, looking up from Henry's shoulder. Her eyes were very red and puffy.

The intruder halted immediately, taking in the situation. "Did I come at a bad time?"

Hana laughed and wiped her cheeks. She stood up and gently took Henry's hand, leading him up to the man who was still standing with the door wide open.

Tai stared at both of them, unblinking, "I definitely came at a bad time."

"It really couldn't have been worse," Henry said with a shaky voice. He was extremely annoyed by Tai's entrance, but he had no energy left to tell him off for breaking and entering. "But, of course, make yourself comfortable. Our home is your home now." He wondered if his sarcasm was noticeable. Apparently, his sarcasm was blaring, because Hana smacked his arm.

"Don't be rude," she said to him.

Henry rolled his eyes and glared at Tai, who was pursing his lips awkwardly. "And I'm sure coming in without knocking is perfectly reasonable."

Tai grimaced and slowly placed a couple of plastic bags on the ground, "Sorry. I kinda forgot to let you know that I was here."

"So you thought just waltzing right in would solve the issue," Henry said. His throbbing headache was not improving his mood. "Alright, fine. Just come in. You might as well. Make sure to close the door, you blasted home wrecker." He began walking in the direction of the living room, far too grumpy to wait for Tai to join him.

"That's not what home wrecker means," The other man said.

"Look at how much I care! Well, you look at that, I don't!" Henry yelled.

Hana whispered an apology as she gave Tai a hug long overdue. They had never been the closest of friends, but they shared a bond nonetheless as two individuals who grew up together in high school and the first two years of college.

"I'm going to go get some barley tea, so why don't you two talk, hm?" Hana said firmly before shoving Tai into the seat across from Henry. She was making it blatantly obvious that she wanted them to talk out their pent-up emotions that had brewed over the year they'd been apart.

For a couple of minutes, neither made eye contact.

"So," Henry began, "How's your wife? What's her name? How'd you meet?" The awkwardness of the air around them penetrated him.

Tai leaned back into the chair, which seemed so small carrying his long frame. "Well, my wife's name is Yua, she's doing well, and I met her the day I married her."

"Go into more detail."

"Why do you want me to be specific?" Tai laughed.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I haven't seen or spoken to you in over a year?" Henry said.

That shut him up. Tai cleared his throat nervously, "Well, uh, her full name is Yua Miyazaki, and before you ask, no, she didn't take on my last name."

"Why?"

"You'll have to ask her that yourself."

Henry rested his cheek against his fist, "Is she coming over?"

Tai glanced at the pocket watch dangling from his black jeans, "She's busy with work at the ocean reserve right now, but she should be arriving in the next half hour."

"Oh, what section of oceanic preservation is she a part of?"

Tai smiled the special smile that Henry was certain only Yua could cause. "She works part-time as both a marine biologist and oceanic photographer. She has some pretty awesome pictures of old-world buildings like the Great Wall of China and coral reefs in our house."

Henry couldn't help but be in awe of Tai. He was so obviously in love that Henry wondered how Yua displayed her own affection. "Anyone who works at an ocean reservation is pretty amazing, but I sure hope she knows how to knock."

"Rest assured, she won't break in like I did."

"I'm pretty sure anyone could've come in in a better way than you. Anyway, tell me more," Henry said. "What were your first impressions and how did you end up falling in love with her? It's really rare for assigned partners to fall in love."

Tai stared at the gold wedding band on his ring finger, "You know how I preferred older people, right? Never anyone my age. They make me feel uncomfortable and nauseous for some reason, even if it was someone younger by a couple of days."

"Yes, I remember your very specific preferences," Henry replied. "Do you even know how creepy it was when we were in senior year and you brought college kids over to hang out with us?"

Tai glared at the man across from him. "Look, I went through some weird stages then. But we're getting off-topic."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off on your tangent about your wonderful life partner."

"I hate how sarcastic you are sometimes," Tai said, "Anyway, I remember when Yua walked into the wedding chapel. And then I see on her birth certificate that she's a year younger than me." He sighed, "And at first, I was really irked by her age, so we barely spoke during the first month of our marriage."

"Must've been awkward."

"It really was! I just didn't know how to talk to her. But then one day, maybe three months after we got married, she took me skyboarding."

Henry's eyes widened, "Really? But you're exorbitantly petrified of excessive elevation."

"Why do you use words that I don't understand?"

"Because I know you failed Language in high school and your confusion is funny."

"I'm going to ignore that," Tai said. "Anyway, it was the single most terrifying experience I've ever been through."

"Except for that one time you were caught vandalizing the school's skyrail and almost got expelled."

"You need to shut up and let me talk," Tai grumbled. "But actually, skyboarding was scarier than almost getting expelled. I was several miles above sea level on a flimsy piece of metal that stuck to the bottom of my feet. But Yua held onto me the whole time and for some reason, I wasn't as scared anymore."

Henry smiled, "It was the power of love!"

"Okay, no, not right then, but it did change the way I looked at Yua. I did eventually end up falling in love with her, but it took some time." Tai said, "It's hard to describe the way she is so you have to experience her for yourself. She's a very...enthusiastic person."

"She will have to knock first."

"I told you I was sorry!"

Henry brushed his hair to the side, "I know. But mere words prove nothing."

Tai stared at Henry in disbelief, "Then what the hell do you want me to do?"

"Go back outside and knock this time."

"Are you really going to make me do that?"

"I would love to, but Hana would get mad at me," Henry said. "Something about us not having seen you in a year and that I would ruin the mood of the reunion. She likes the thought of meaningful connections."

Tai's eyebrows furrowed and he had the decency to look ashamed. "About that."

"Yes, please. Tell me more about why you completely abandoned us all after I got married."

Tai clenched his hands and closed his eyes. "I have no excuses for what I did to you and Hana and everyone else. I'm sorry," he said.

He stood up from his seat and bowed, his forehead facing the floor and his hands glued to his sides. A formal bow, something Tai had refused to use in his rebellious youth. Henry felt his chest ache again, but rather than with anxiety, it ached with sorrow. He'd never expected to see utter regret and humility in Tai's shoulders one day.

His back was bent so far forward that Henry was worried he would snap in half.

"After Duvari disappeared, I didn't know how to approach you all. Kado and Juni especially. So I ran away, and I'm sorry." Tai's voice trembled, "I'm really sorry."

Henry reached out and pressed his palm against Tai's silky black hair, a formal receiving and dismissal of the bow. "I forgive you."

"Thank you," Tai said bashfully and went back to sit down. It was extremely unusual for him to look so uncomfortable, but so very relieved. How much had he changed in the time Henry hadn't seen him? Was it Yua that had affected him?

"I missed you a lot," Henry said softly.

Tai stared at him with remorse, "You're not making it any easier for me to feel less guilty."

"You'll get over it."

He became quiet, lost in thought. "How is everyone else?"

"Kado's still stuck in his edgy phase, for sure. Every time I see him at work he's always mad at something. I need to ask about Yuki, though. I heard she's in therapy. I haven't spoken to Corey in a while, but last time I checked, he's really climbing the ranks as a politician," Henry answered. "Duvari's obviously gone and I don't know about Juni."

"Isn't Corey a mid-tier now?" Tai asked. "How do politicians work again?"

"How do you not know about Aqu's politics?" Henry responded, his mouth open in surprise.

"I failed Debate in high school too, you know. Why are you so shocked?"

Henry stared at the Vietnamese man sitting across from him, his expression betraying nothing. The sun was pouring into the room with golden hues, painting Tai like he was the dusk. His red eyes had been set on fire.

"I don't understand how you didn't fail high school in general," Henry said.

"Can you just explain Corey's job to me? Politics has never made sense to me." Tai asked, but his wince did not go by unnoticed.

Henry frowned. Something was bothering him. Tai had always been nonchalant about everything, and he'd always been easygoing and rather quiet. But never rigid in countenance like he was now. Henry decided to drop the subject of high school for the time being.

"Well, there are three different levels of political power here: low, mid, and high." He began, "Low-tiers can only monitor small areas of Aqu and have to ask high-tiers for permission to make any changes to their assigned areas. They usually monitor a couple of neighborhoods. Mid-tiers monitor usually one to three districts and are able to pass small laws at the request of the citizens. They only have to ask permission from the high-tiers if the laws affect all of Aqu. High-tiers are allowed to do anything, but only at the request of the citizens. So by voting. It's one massive popularity contest, but Corey's been doing really well. He's been bumped up the power ladder in just three years."

Tai's eyes widened, "I still don't understand politics. Which district is Corey in charge of?"

"District One right now."

"The Slums, huh? I grew up there," Tai sighed. "I hope Corey is kind to them."

"He increased their freshwater supply by 25% a month ago, so I'd say he's treating them well."

Tai smiled, "I wonder how he does it."

"Does what?"

"Win people's trust."

"Maybe it's his luscious golden locks," Henry said. "And his warm brown eyes."

"It's definitely because he's still single."

"Literally no one wants to marry him. He has no filter whatsoever."

Tai crossed his arms, "But didn't he and Yuki date at some point? They were a couple still at your wedding."

"Yeah, they did date, and don't ever mention it in front of them or Kado," Henry shuddered, "The relationship ended so badly that they don't even have each other's contact information anymore."

"Oh," Tai said, his face registering shock. "That would make for an awkward gathering."

Henry sighed, "Yeah. A lot's changed since Duvari disappeared."

"Is there still no news about him? At all?" Tai's demeanor shifted into that of deep concern.

"No, we only know that he went missing a couple of days after my wedding," Henry tapped his knee anxiously. He didn't particularly like bringing up Duvari. "The last person he spoke to was Juni, I believe. You should talk to him."

Tai's eyes wandered to his watch and Henry wondered what he was thinking about; he donned such a listless expression. After a brief moment of stillness, Tai looked back up at him.

"We'll have to postpone this conversation," he said.

Henry blinked rapidly in surprise, "Why?"

"Brace yourself. My wife is here."