Parental Pressure (5)

"Come, let's sit do—"

Iris didn't let him finish. "It's fine, just say it now." She crossed her arms, hugging herself, but her eyes never moved away from Kyro. If this had to happen, then she'd rather hear it right away, without any pleasantries. It'd be fast and painful, but at least over soon.

His expression faltered for a second, as if he wasn't certain what he wanted to do himself, but he swiftly schooled it into the cold mask she was getting oh so familiar with.

"You're not turning back into a fox," he stated, For a time after, he didn't say anything else, and she nodded in confirmation. This was a fact. "Yet you still don't want to return home."

'Home? Aren't I home already?' She looked around, puzzled by his words. Then, she realized her mistake. He wasn't referring to his home, but hers. The other country, the other life.

His statement was true, but she wasn't certain she wanted to let him know that. It was quite pathetic, even she herself thought that way. But if she lied, wouldn't he think that she stayed just because she wanted to freeload off of him?

After a moment's hesitation, she slowly inclined her head. The direction he was moving in made no sense to her.

"What are you planning to do then?"

"Me?" she asked, stunned for a moment. "Since when is it my place to choose? You rule here."

His expression darkened. But before she could think of defensive measures, he closed his eyes and calmed himself. His voice next was no different from before. "I'm trying to be nice here, but you're making it quite hard."

"Hard how? I'm not the one who's thinking to throw another onto the streets without anything!" This was uncalled for, and Iris knew it the moment she said it. "I'm sorry…"

"Is that how you see me?" he asked, ignoring her apology. There was no inflection in his voice, but the fact that she didn't notice any anger after such a blunder scared her. He had to be beyond furious inside.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she repeated, feeling like she'd done something unforgivable. He had always been kind to her, and she… she said that.

Her thoughts ran at a hundred miles per second, but no way to save the situation came to her. If he ignored her apologies, what else could she say?

"Whatever. It doesn't matter." He covered his eyes for a moment, then raised the hand up, pushing the hair back. "I don't even care. Stay here if you want." As he said that, he walked away from her, into his bedroom. "Just know that it's not going to last forever. I'm not going to always live on my own."

The door closed then, and Iris stared at the place she'd seen Kyro last. Just what had she done? Could it be that he had wanted to speak to her about her stay, not her leaving?

A lump formed in her throat, and her hands fell limp around her sides. This was a disaster. She had messed everything up. Again.

That 'again' echoed in her mind repeatedly, bringing back images she didn't like recalling. 'You're the past,' she told them. They didn't care, though, and she sat down on the ground, leaning back against the sofa's side.

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but she refused to cry. This was stupid. It was a simple mistake. Tomorrow, she was just going to tell him that, maybe try to cook something to show that she was really trying to apologize. Even if her skills weren't that good, it'd be her attempt that would matter.

And he would accept it with a nod, then return to his room without anything having changed. If he would even be home. He had work all day and in the evening he would certainly go to visit his father.

She pulled her knees close to her chest and put her head on them. "I'm an idiot," she whispered to herself, and a meow answered her. Raising her eyes, she noticed Lucy sitting by her feet. He was looking at her with his dark blue eyes as if trying to convey something.

When that didn't work, he simply stood up and came to brush his body past her legs. Her lip curled up for a fraction of a second, then fell back down again. "I did something really stupid just now," she confessed to him in a voice she herself could barely hear.

Lucy purred as she stroked his fur, and the urge to cry grew stronger in her. Why did she have to turn back? Everything had been so much simpler when she was still a fox. At least then she couldn't blurt out stuff she didn't mean and disappoint others.

"Do you think he's ever going to forgive me?" she asked the cat who didn't seem the least bit interested in her troubles. All his attention was gathered on making her pet him.

Even though Iris asked that question, she knew it wasn't the one that she was worried about. Her words weren't something that could never be forgiven, but the problem lay in the fact that it'd require time. And effort on her part.

But more than that, the other side would have to be willing to participate. If he just ignored her and acted like she didn't exist, what could she possibly do? The fact that he allowed her to stay was already a show of great generosity. If she started annoying him, there was no doubt he'd send her back the very next day.

'Maybe I should go back myself then… for the peace of mind of the both of us.'

The cat meowed at that moment, demanding her attention back, since she had stopped playing with him while in thought. "Sorry, sorry," she told him, scratching his ear. "Would you miss me if I left?" Lucy began to purr, and she took it as a yes.