Chapter Text
Nya Nia had been having fun. Today had been a busy day at the restaurant so Obaa-san had asked him to help with some of the deliveries around the local neighbourhood. He had happily agreed, snatching at the opportunity to escape the bustle of the crowd and enjoy some fresh air.
At least that had been a plan before some people had cornered him near the entrance of the park on the other side of the fence.
By people, he meant some not-so-nice boys from school who made fun of his second hand clothes and the second-hand toys he brought to display in class for the weekly show and tell.
Nya Nia didn’t think any of those things were important. Obaa-san told him that if you focus too much on the things that you could touch and feel, you could miss out on the everyday miracles that the world has to offer. Though he wasn’t a hundred percent sure what would classify as an everyday miracle, Obaa-san was elderly and wise so she must be right.
However, at times like this with him sprawled on the ground, the bright blue delivery wheelie bag a few inches away from him, he stared solemnly up at their sneering faces. He wished that he had shiny action figures and fancy clothes so they would just leave him alone.
“What do you guys want? Obaa-san wants me home on time and you are going to make me late.”
“Awww. Does little Nya Nia have to go running home to his mummy?” The ringleader of the group taunted with a mean smirk. The smile stretched out menacingly, and the eyes glinted. “Oops I forgot, poor Nya Nia is the abandoned orphan boy. He doesn’t have a mummy.”
The others chanted like mindless parrots. “He doesn’t have a mummy. He doesn’t have a mummy.”
Nya Nia looked up to them, disinterested. He had never had a mum yes, but he wasn’t an orphan. Not only that, but he had his Obaa-chan so their taunts did nothing in getting him upset.
*His boredom must have been too visible because he let out a sharp hiss of pain as he received a sharp kick in his side. He jerked away in shock and pain, not expecting the attack.
The grin on the ringleader’s face turned predatory as he pulled his leg again, poised to strike. Nya Nia scrambled to his feet and promptly fell face first in the dirt as the kick hit his calf. The others erupted in laughter.*
He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up again, fully intent on punching the brown haired brat in his jeering mouth when a sharp call instantly put a pause to the action.
The bullies all glanced behind Nya Nia and proceeded to take off with tails between their legs. Nya Nia, on the other hand, didn’t feel scared. It was only his friend, Wangnan’s older brother, Karaka after all.
A force slammed into his back, nearly toppling them both into the sand. Nya Nia hated how friendly he was becoming with this ground and glared at it in hopes of conveying his irritation. The whining in his ear only became louder the longer he avoided acknowledging the weight on his back.
“Nyaaaaa Niaaaa,” he continued, “Are you okay? What did Takaya and his friends want? Why did he kick you?”
He shrugged him off and spun to face him, vibrant green clashed with concerned yellow. Wangnan was dressed in his signature yellow tee and green khaki shorts. From the corner of his eye, he spied Wangnan’s older brother dressed in a white tee and black jeans. He seemed to be staring at his phone but he was aware how alert Karaka was to anything Wangnan-related.
“I am fine, Wangnan.”
“You don’t look fine.” He reached to touch Nya Nia’s left cheek, moving in thumb across in a gesture that came off as soothing.
He pulled back his thumb. “Is anywhere sore? Bruised?”
Nya Nia bit back a resigned sigh. Like a dog with a bone. He stretched out his arms in a T-pose and did a full three-sixty spin.
Facing him again, he put his hand on his hip and narrowed his eyes at his friend. “Happy?”
Wangnan had the audacity to flash him a cheeky grin.
“If you are done with your friend Wangnan, we have to get going.”
Wangnan turned to face his brother, “but Karakaaaa.”
The person in question just raised an eyebrow at him. “We would have more time if you had woken up earlier. I don’t want Dad breathing down my neck. Say goodbye and let’s go.”
Wangnan turned back to Nya Nia, pout in place and an apologetic look in his eye. “Do you want to hang out today?”
“I think your brother looks like he is about to commit murder.”
He waved his concern away. “He always looks like that except when he is watching the news. I meant later, Big Brother is taking me to the new ice-cream parlour.”
Nya Nia didn’t reply. His silence was taken as reluctance. “It will be fun, I promise. They even have that weird rainbow ice-cream flavour you like. I checked, well actually, Big Brother checked and told me but that was because I asked him to check. Dad said I could go today but I wanted to go with you since I haven’t had a playdate with you in a while. What is even a playdate what a weird name to call-”
“Wangnan.” He and Karaka called out at the same time. Well, more like snapped.
His face promptly crumpled and his head drooped. Nya Nia felt a tightness in his chest and an itch in his throat. He was just trying to be friendly. “Sorry for snapping. I will think about it, okay? Come to the restaurant later.”
Wangnan didn’t perk up like he expected him to. “Okay. Bye Nya Nia.”
He turned and trudged off, his brother trailing behind him. The tightness in Nya Nia’s chest didn’t ease. Picking up the wheelie bag, he dusted his clothes and slowly limped home as well.
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Hours later, recovered and in a fresh pair of clothes, Nya Nia picked at his lunch while sitting at the wooden dining table. The apartment where he lived with his Obaa-chan above the restaurant was quaint and cozy, but not even that could take his mind off of matters. He was swinging his legs underneath the table, eyes unfocused but in the direction of the cream coloured walls. He mindlessly rotated his fork in the middle of his food.
“You okay, Snowdrop?” a kindly voice asked, making Nya Nia jump and splatter pasta sauce on his face. He hadn’t heard her come up the stairs.
“Sorry for startling you, love.” Obaa-chan titled his chin in her direction as she wiped the stains from his face with her white hankie, smiling at him.
“I could have done it myself.”
“I know. I know. But if I don’t do these things for you now, I may never get the chance to.” Her smile emphasised her weary wrinkles.
His heart dropped into his stomach and he jerked up from his seat, eyes blown wide, “You aren’t sick, are you?”
She was about to laugh but something on his face stopped her. “Goodness, Snowdrop. I am healthy as a horse. It isn’t like you to think such morbid things. Is everything alright?”
Her knowing soft gray eyes peered at him, prodding him to talk to her. He turned away and buried his face in his folded hands.
“Snowdrop. Come on, things are rarely as bad as you make them up to be in your head.”
He peeked out from his position, meeting her non-judgemental eyes “They aren’t?” He sniffled.
She grinned. “You are completely adorable. Come on tell Obaa-chan all about it.”
So he does. He tells her about how he didn’t like the noise so he jumped to help with the deliveries. He tells her about meeting the bullies. He tells her about Wangnan.
All the while he talked, she held his hand and looked him in the eye.
When he had finished, she squeezed his hand. “Well, two of those problems have easy fixes. I am not going anywhere, my dear. I am planning to hold you so hard that you are going to get sick of me.”
“Do you promise?”
“Come here.”
He scrambled towards her and aimed to settle on the chair beside her but he was tugged into her lap. “Thank goodness, you are still so small. As I was saying.” Arms wrapped around him tightly, warm and secure he snuggled into her middle.
“About your friend, he said he was coming over. If I know anything about that nice Jahad boy, it’s that he will come. That one really likes you and has his head screwed on right.”
“I was really snappy to him. I don’t like when people are snappy to me, so it would make sense if he was angry with me.”
“He doesn't strike me as the type to hold grudges, snowdrop. Anyways you didn’t do anything that a good apology and maybe a free coupon wouldn’t fix.”
Silence. “That is bribery Obaa-chan.”
She poked him in his tummy, making him squeal.
“About those naughty kids, leave that to Obaa-chan.” She got up and set him back down on his seat, giving him a little pat and head rub. “Now let me heat up that for you.” She gripped his plate of now cold pasta.
She took the plate over in the direction of the kitchenette, disappearing from his line of vision. The blanket of her reassurances keep the warmth inside. Obaa-chan is right. Wangnan will come, then I will apologize. He nodded to himself, determination putting a bright shine on his jade painted eyes. Goal in mind, he felt lighter.
He started to swing his legs. I wonder what flavours I should get. The smell of spicy tomatoes drew Nya Nia thoughts away from ice-cream back to his lunch.
“Now eat up. Little boys need their nutrients to grow up big and strong.”
“I am not a little boy,” was Nya Nia’s intended response but it ended out as jumbled sounds because of a mouth stuffed with food. Obaa-chan just laughed, gave him one last head pat and left him to his own devices. She moved through the living room and opened the door, temporarily letting the noisy chatter of the active business leak into the apartment. Then she closed it and left him in the blissfully quiet room, munching away at this food.
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The sky was a pretty orange-pink colour and Nya Nia stared at his line of colouring pencils trying to pick how to fill in his elephant on the open page of his colouring book.
“Mr Elephant. Are you pink, orange or grey? Would you like to fit in with your herd or be like me?” He muttered sing-song to himself.
He finally decided on the grey and started to colour in his picture when he heard a loud “Nya Nia!”
He got up, bounded out the door and down the stairs winding up in the kitchen. Mr. Motorai, the chef, had been chopping up some dough, but when he burst through the back door the apron-clad man nodded in the direction of the door leading to the reception desk of the shop.
Nya Nia threw a thanks as he left to meet his Obaa-chan. When he peeked out, he spotted the yellow head talking with his Obaa-chan.
Before he could turn tail and run back upstairs, they spotted him and two pairs of eyes focused on his hunched figure. One a pair of encouraging grey, the other a disinterested amber.
“Hello Nya Nia. Guess who came to visit?”
He trudged over to his Obaa-chan, decidedly avoiding the heavy gaze on his person. “Who did?”
“I did!” Wangnan popped out from behind the counter, using the surface as leverage to scare Nya Nia’s soul out of his body. Nya Nia shierked, falling towards his Obaa-chan.
Once his heart steadied, he glared at his beaming friend. “What are you doing here?”
“Eeh, I invited you out for ice-cream earlier. Did you forget that already? Papa says that forgetting a lot of things quickly is a sign of old age.”
Obaa-chan coughed lightly, drawing the blond’s attention. “Of course those symptoms are inapplicable to the young at heart.”
She chuckled and reached over to pinch his cheeks. “What a charmer. Not eager to see you all grown up now.”
“What does that mean?”
“Oh, you’ll find out a bit.” Then she winked at Wangnan, in that knowing way that never failed to disgruntle anyone their age.
“Kararakakaka. What does it mean?”
“You’ll find out when you are older. Are you inviting your friend or not?”
“Oh yeah. Nya Nia, do you want to come with me for ice-cream?” Eager yellow locked him in place.
Nya Nia shuffled from one foot to another, nibbling on his lip. He had wanted to come as an apology before.. It was just Wangnan. I can do this, and I owe him.
He accepted the invitation and the absolute joy on Wangnan’s face made the pinpricks of anxiety almost completely fade. Almost.
After rushing to get ready, he was out the door in his favourite pair of denim suspenders, a short sleeved grey shirt and comfy grey shoes. He and Wangnan were walking a little ahead of Karaka.
He had been worried that they wouldn’t talk or worse would have been ignored. Yet, the thought slipped away from his mind as Wangnan was far kinder for someone their age than the norm.
They conversed about Wangnan’s dad’s job and how he had dragged his sons over to his workplace to ‘bring your kids to work day’ at his office. Nya Nia spoke about the fish had seen in the pond at the park on his way back from school last week. They chatted about their favourite shows and before Nya Nia realized it, they had arrived at the ice-cream parlour.
Karaka opened the door and Wangnan wasted no time running to the counter. Ignoring Karaka’s complaints, he hoisted himself onto one of the chairs. Nya Nia followed at a much more subdued pace, as he found the bright pink and yellow of the interior slightly overwhelming.
He felt a gentle hold on his shoulder. Karaka wasn’t looking at him but the warm palm on his shoulder was soothing and grounding. “Let’s go catch up with that rascal of a little brother I have.”
The hand guided him over to where Wangnan was bouncing excitedly on the other side of the visior. To his left, a rainbow of ice-cream flavours caught his eye. He let out a small noise of awe.
“Nya Nia, look! The lady in white said that we can watch them prepare our ice-cream if we pick one of the special combos.”
Nya Nia sparkled with excitement. “Really? Would they do any tricks?”
Wangnan’s head bobbed like an excited puppy. “The lady said if we’re good, then maybe.”
“Well, you best be picking flavours now.” A high pitched voice chirped somewhere to their right. The three males turned to focus on the attendant. She must be the one that had talked to Wangnan earlier. She was pretty, with brown hair and warm chocolate eyes. “We have some wonderful deals that I am sure you’ll love. We’ve got a flavour for everyone.”
Her eyes flicked from them to Karaka, and then she winked. Karaka made a weird wheezing sound that made the two younglings turn back. “Are you okay, Karaka?”
He cleared his throat into his hand. “Just peachy. Don’t worry about me. Go on, pick your flavours. We have a curfew after all.”
They both turned to face the lit screens displaying appetizing varieties to choose from. After two minutes, both boys groaned out in frustration. “There are so many! How could I possibly pick just one?”
The same girl from earlier wandered over from finishing with another customer. “Have we decided?”
“No dice, miss. Too much choice.”
“Well let’s see if I could help. Allergies?”
They shook their heads. “Favorite flavour of ice-cream?”
“Strawberry.” “Cotton candy.”
“And you sir? Oh let me guess. Coffee?”
“God no. Anything but coffee. I prefer tea.” She smiled in response.
“Noted. Ok kiddos. How about these?” She grabbed a menu and skimmed down the page before giving the page a satisfied tap. “For the knight who likes cotton candy, our signature Chewy Beary Blue. It even has gummies in it.”
Nya Nia liked that, if his excited gasp and loud acceptance was anything to go by.
“And for our strawberry loving soldier,” She put her finger on her chin in a thoughtful gesture. “How about our trademarked strawberry twirl?”
“Yes please!”
“Oh my lord, you two are absolutely adorable.” They beamed in reply. “Can I get you anything, sir?” She said, focusing on Karaka again.
“Anything with mint?”
“I know just the thing. Coming right up!” She chirped then gestured for Karaka to meet her at the till.
Nya Nia felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned to meet Wangnan’s eyes, the boy in question vibrating in his seat. “They are going to make the ice-cream now.”
Nya Nia smiled back, equally excited. Having finished talking with Karaka, the brunette asked them to wait as she turned to call out something to the back.
Another brunette popped out, “I heard that some warriors came looking for sweet treats.”
“We did!” Wangnan said, waving his hand.
“Would you like a show along with creamy goodness?” He asked with an impish grin, sky blue eyes sparkling with amusement. They nodded, leaning their faces towards the visor, almost pressing against it, before Karaka made a small, pointed noise.
“Glad to see you are eager. I promise not to disappoint!” He gave them a small salute with a stern expression that melted into another smile at their nods and fixed gazes.
The man was awesome. He scooped the ice cream out of the metal pans and rolled them around the surface. He juggled the scoops in his hand a few times, catching them with practiced ease.
His hands moved quickly and before Nya Nia could say the name of his Obaa-chan’s restaurant, the three of them had their ice-cream in their hands and were waving goodbye to the lady and the performer.
Nya Nia loved the flavour. It tasted just like cotton candy and it had been fantastic watching them getting made right in front of him. He had a lot of fun.
“Sooooo. Did you like it?” Wangnan asked, his lips smeared with melted pink cream. “I would like it a lot better if I didn’t have to watch you smear yours all over your face,” Nya Nia teased.
“But it is so good. So moisturising and soothing to the skin.” Wangnan defended.
“Wangnan smile.” Karaka called out, and Wangnan did just that.
“Why did you take a picture of me?” Wangnan asked, titling his head.
“Dad wanted a picture. You think that he’d be busy enough not to spam me with demand for pictures.” Nya Nia turned in time to catch the eye roll.
“Oh, let’s send him a selfie then. Come on, Nya Nia.” Before he could protest, Wangnan had pulled him closer and the camera shutter had gone off.
“Wait, why did you do that? Wouldn’t your dad be weirded out that a random kid from your class is in a picture with his sons?”
“You aren’t a ‘random kid’. You’re my best friend.” Ignoring the warmth in his cheeks, he was about to complain even further when a bright screen was shoved in his face.
Karaka let out an indignant roar in the background while Nya Nia focused on the picture in his face.
The bright screen showed a text conversation between someone that Karaka had saved as ‘Psycho Old Man’. The last pair of messages was the picture in question and a thumbs-up with a heart eyes emoji.
“See? Dad loved it.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to be in the picture. Now hand my phone back you brat.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go back to watching conspiracies.”
“Do you want to die, brat?”
Nya Nia laughed at the brothers’ argument and continued walking towards his home.
“Nya Nia, don’t leave me with him. Wait for meeeee,” Wangnan cried out, chasing after him. Nya Nia ate the last spoon of his ice-cream and glanced around for a bin.
It was close to the park entrance. He’s suddenly remembered this morning and his mood soured.
Wagnan caught up with him and noticed his mood almost immediately. “Are you okay?”
He gave him a strained smile. “I am fine.”
“Nuh uh, you don’t look fine. Did something happen?” Wangnan persisted.
Nya Nia took a deep breath. He can’t repeat what happened this morning. They had made up and it would be stupid to repeat a mistake twice in the same day. He steeled himself and turned to face his friend. Vibrant green clashed with concerned yellow.
“I am sorry for this morning.” Whatever Wangnan had been expecting, Nya Nia could tell that an apology didn’t make the list.
“Apology accepted and not needed.”
“But I was rude this morning.”
“If you say so. Thank you for apologizing. Hanging out with you today was fun.”
They fell into an uncomfortable silence until Karaka came and yelled at them for just standing around. Well, he didn’t yell, he just did that low voice shout thing that seemed unique to him.
The boys turned to look at each other and suddenly burst out laughing.
Nya Nia didn’t know why they were laughing but it felt really good to just laugh with the blond.
He arrived home and waved goodbye to the Jahads, who were picked up by their father.
Obaa-chan gave him a sandwich for dinner, before taking him upstairs for his bedtime routine.
That went on without his token protests as he battled with droopy eyes and sluggish movement. He had even nearly slammed his head into the sink.
At that point, Obaa-chan took over, changing him into his fluffy grey pyjamas with mini-white elephants with his sleepy compliance.
“Good night, snowdrop.”
“Good night, Obaa-chan,” he muttered back as she brushed some strands of his ear behind his ear. “I had fun today, Obaa-chan.”
“That is good. Sweet dreams.”
Nya Nia drifted off to sleep to the steady lullaby of his Obaa-chan’s retreating feet..