BCJ 17 • him

***

A/N: events in italics are flashbacks ;)

Pete hid a smile as he watched Peter get along with the other boys by the beach. Even from a distance, he could hear Peter's screams as they took turns in hitting the beach volleyball. Peter still had that same smug look on his face, the very same look he had when Pete saw him at the orphanage years ago. And how could he forgot that? Peter was just as stubborn as he was and even caught him off guard.

"Anything?" Peter asked with his brows raised.

"Yes, certainly anything. That is if you can beat me on a one-on-one match," Pete grinned as he knew there was no way Peter could ever beat him. He was just trying to tease him as the confused look on his face amused him. "You can ask me to buy you anything. I'm loaded, Peter. I can you buy any toy that you want."

"I don't want you to buy me a toy," Peter responded in a low voice.

"Then, what do you want? Food? Fine. Just tell me and I'll get it for you."

"Adopt me."

Pete laughed as Peter finally said what he wanted. He knew Peter was kidding.

"Pfft. I know you have a lot of things you want me to buy for you, okay. Just list everything you want and let's see if you can beat me then."

"I told you, adopt me. You're gonna adopt me if I beat you on that match. Deal?"

Pete just shrugged as he just took Peter's condition too lightly. And besides there was no way he'd let a kid beat him.

"Are you okay?" Celeste's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Y-yeah."

"By the way, I heard Kavine is back in the country. And I heard she's back as well. Did she contact you?"

Pete stayed silent. As much as possible, he didn't wanna hear her name.

"I guess it's high time you reconnect with your mom, Pete. It's been years."

"Reconnect? Tss. She didn't even show up at my dad's funeral. I don't think I'd be able to look at her, Lest. I've got so much hate for her that I'd rather think she's dead."

"Pete. She's still your mom."

"She stopped being my mom when she chose his new family over my dad who was fighting against time, Lest. He knew Dad was dying yet she chose to go on with her life with her new family. And I'll never forgive her for that. I'll never forgive those who left me when I needed them the most, Lest. Never," Pete said with finality as he fought back the tears that were starting to well in his eyes.

***

"Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you extend our stay here? I don't wanna go back?"

Pete chuckled as he continued rubbing the towel on Peter's hair. As much as he wanted to extend as well for he was surprisingly enjoying their stay, he got a lot of things to do at the company.

"Let's just do this again once you're done with junior high, okay? And besides you still have to go on that community service, remember?"

Peter grumbled his disappointment.

"Fine. But promise me we'll do this again. It's been so long since you actually took care of me, Dad. We can't even talk like this at home since you always leave early and get home late."

Pete felt guilty as he looked at Peter's eyes. He wouldn't even deny his shortcomings as a father and he hoped the day would come that he'd be able to take care of Peter the way he should.

"Don't worry. I'm just fixing some things at work. Once I'm done with them, we're gonna have dinner together every single night."

"Promise?" Peter asked hopefully as he held out his pinky.

"Promise."

***

"Come on, Peter. Please talk to me. I already said I'm sorry for bailing out on you."

"No! You promised me! I waited for you all day yet you didn't come. You can just say you don't wanna adopt me! There was no way I'd be able to beat you anyway but you could have at least let me know you're leaving!"

"Something, something happened. That was why I left without telling you, Peter. But I'm back. See? We can have that match you've been wanting."

"NO! I hate you!" Peter howled as he entered his room and slammed the door.

"Just give him some time. He was really hurt when you left without a word. He wouldn't even talk to Kao unless he brought you with him. He'll eventually cave in," Miss Stella, the head of the orphanage, consoled Pete as they both headed back to her office.

"By the way, why did you disappear without saying goodbye, Pete? The kids were looking for you and I know for a fact you weren't even sick."

"Something just happened. I was confused about certain things so I needed some time to be alone."

Miss Stella did not say anything for a while.

"Is is about Kao?"

Miss Stella's statement caught him off guard.

"H-huh? No, no. What are you talking about, Miss Stella?"

"I saw how you look at him, Pete. I might be a bit old and single but I know how a person in love looks at the person they adore."

"E-excuse me, but I am not in love with him. I hate him, Miss Stella. And besides, he's just a friend, no, an enemy."

"It takes time to acknowledge how you truly feel about a person, Pete. You just have to embrace it."

"Can, can we stop this discussion, Miss Stella? I'm actually here to ask you what do I have to do to adopt a child from here."

"You're adopting Peter?"

"I'm still not sure. I actually don't know but the thought of leaving him here is bothering me."

"Well, you better think about it thoroughly, Pete. It's a huge commitment and it's not an easy process."

***

"Hurry up, Peter," Pete urged Peter to walk faster as they had to leave.

"Coming, Dad!" Peter said with a pout.

"We have to leave or we'll miss the flight."

It was just a two-hour flight and it would leave in two and a half hours but he didn't wanna get caught in the traffic jam so they had to leave early.

He was about to make some calls regarding the papers that he had to sign when he felt a presence behind him. He hesitantly turned around and immediately froze upon seeing who it was.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with a heavy tone, his face stoic as he tried not to land a punch on the guy's face.

"Pete. How are you?" John Kavine tried to reach out for a pat on Pete's shoulder but the latter immediately moved back.

"Dad? Aren't we leaving?" Peter's voice made him turn back. "Who's he?"

"Just no one, son."

"Wait, you have a son? Since when did you get married? Why didn't you tell us?" John Kavine sounded intrigued as he eyed Peter who was also looking at him with curious eyes.

Pete scoffed. He couldn't believe how Kavine acted like nothing happened.

"Is this your wife?" he added as his eyes moved to Celeste who just joined them.

"Let's go, Lest," Pete held Peter's arm and started walking towards the car.

He could hear Kavine's voice calling him back but he just chose to ignore him rather than confront him as he didn't wanna waste his time.

"Are you okay?"

He felt Celeste's hand on his arm.

He just nodded but in reality, he wasn't. Seeing John Kavine again just refreshed all the wounds he was carrying with him. He thought time would eventually heal him but he was wrong. Seeing him again just made him hate his mother more. John Kavine would always be a reminder of how his own mother ruined their family.

"Let's just get out of here."

But before he could even open the car door to let Peter and Celeste in, Peter sprinted back to the hotel and screamed a name he hadn't heard in years.

"Kao! It's you! It's really you! Dad! Kao's here! He's here!"

***