Chapter Six: He's Just a Tsundere

He felt that he doesn't want to stop anymore and if only he could kiss him harder, he'd do it in a heartbeat but he stopped when he heard a forced cough.

"Keith, that's very low of you, you know," Kylie said with her lowest voice.

His heart-- that has been racing because of love and slight lust, was now beating harder because of fear. He got up and sat straight. He was thinking yesterday about how to hide his feelings so that Kylie won't find out about his secret. He was stressing about it, but he is doomed now.

Kylie helped him wash his face. They did not utter any words to each other the entire time. Keith could not even dare to look up. He doesn't have any face to show. Instead of returning to the ward, Kylie took him to the cafeteria. There weren't many people around. Only a few nurses come and go. Kylie bought him a cup of milk and bread while she had coffee for herself.

Once they settled down, she sipped a little bit without blowing it. Then she put down his cup and looked at Keith. "Why were you kissing Drake? He was sleeping. And why is he sleeping beside you? Did he stay all night? What's your relationship with him?"

Keith stayed silent.

Kylie blew her cup and drank again. "Okay. I'll ask one question at a time and please answer me truthfully." He put his cup down and leaned on her chair as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Why were you kissing Drake?" She asked but Keith remained silent. So, she changed her question. "Do you like Drake?"

Keith was so scared. His tears escaped his eyes. After coming out, he imagined becoming the joke material. He even imagined getting ignored by people he cared about the most.

"Keith… You know that we lived in the U.S. before you were born, right? The culture there is not as conservative as here. It's not like Taiwan is closed-minded about homosexuality. So, if you're scared that I will judge you and refuse to understand your circumstances, I'm telling you now, that I'm not ignorant. I can understand. I accept you." Kylie stood and hugged him.

"Kylie, is it okay if I'm gay?"

"Why not? Of course, it's okay."

"Will it not disappoint mama and papa?... They don't seem to be open-minded with it."

"Well, I don't know. Kiara's been doing very well at disappointing them. If you disappoint them, at least, they're already experienced at it. The impact will not be as heavy as you think."

"But it will still disappoint them."

"It's okay, it's okay. They're old. They have to deal with their disappointments by themselves. It's not your responsibility as long as you're not doing something worthy of disappointment." Kylie gently spoke on behalf of their parents even though deep down, she knew her mother is quite homophobic.

Keith cried for a while. Kylie patiently comforted him. When Keith calmed down, the milk she had was already cold. So, she bought a new one for him and another cup of coffee for her. Keith drank the milk, and it made his stomach warm. His eyes got swollen, and his nose got red.

"So, can we go back to our quiz bowl now? Why were you kissing Drake?" Kylie asked while squinting her eyes and hiding her grin with her cup.

Keith got red and felt embarrassed at what he did. "You already know."

"Know what?"

"That I like him." Speaking this fact out loud was as liberating as the times when he admitted that he farted because the people around heard and smelled that the fart came from him. It was embarrassing, but he has to come clean.

"Are you two in a relationship or are you at the stage where you like each other and still testing the waters?"

Keith pouted. "He's straight. He's naturally flirty. So, I'm not sure. For now, it's one-sided."

"There's nothing natural at how flirty he is with you… Have you thought about confessing?"

"I don't know. I want to be sure about my chances first. I don't want to fuck this up."

"You don't want to fuck this up but you were kissing him like that over there? What if he wakes up? What if he was awake this whole time?"

"…"

They went back to the ward at almost eight in the morning. Drake was still lying there with his eyes closed.

"Your crush is handsome, by the way," Kylie joked at him. And Keith immediately shushed his sister.

"Can you fucking shut your mouth or lower the volume of your voice?"

"My voice isn't loud, it's just clear,"

Keith felt better after talking to his sister. He does not expect things will go smoothly like this. It was comforting to see his sister's response after learning about his sexuality. It made him realize that her sister was very kind and mature. He has been hating how they constantly teased him growing up that he failed to see some characteristics that his sister possesses. Kylie left home early and became independent during college. They have a twelve-year gap which naturally made it hard for Keith to form a bond with his sister. And it felt surreal to be allowed to come out and be accepted by the person he least expected.

They agreed to keep things a secret between them for now. Later, they talked about what happened when they went home last night. The dogs were loud. Theo and Rio played with the dogs. It stressed her a lot since she doesn't like being around Keith's dogs. Kiara ordered a takeaway after cooking something that gave her stomach ache. Kiara also informed them about her interview at Mr. Ding's company, and her schoolmate during middle school started chatting with her. She was so happy that she even snuck some wine and drank it when she thought everyone was asleep.

A few minutes later, Drake's phone rang. Afterward, he looked at the phone screen, swiped it, and turned his phone off.

"Morning!" Kylie greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

"Oh. Sister Kylie, good morning. I did sleep well. I had a good dream, but I forgot about it now." He chuckled and went out of bed. He greeted Keith, "Morning."

"Hmm. Go wash your face." Keith sounded indifferent. So does his expression.

Drake took his backpack and teased Keith, "I won't go to the washroom if you don't greet me good morning."

Keith rolled his eyes and said, "Good morning."

"You're being moody again." Drake found him cute. He pinched Keith's cheek. "I'll be back."

Then he left. Keith finally smiled and looked at his sister that holding back her laugh.

"Can you show me how you rolled your eyes?" She asked while laughing.

"Why?"

"'Cause, it's so ridiculous… I always knew you're a tsundere. But that expression you pulled off, that's the epitome of being tsundere!!!" She laughed then when she calmed down. She grinned and looked at him full of judgment. "I'm so proud of you."

"…"

"So, he seems to act normal. Maybe he was not awake when you did that." Kylie reassured him

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Just don't do it again. You looked like a manic creep."