They Came Back

Chapter 2

Kingsley arrived at the apartment with several containers of takeout that Donald had requested. He hesitated to reach for the doorknob. He feared that it was all a dream, or it was all a hallucination. He wouldn't be able to handle the heartbreak if Donald really was dead, and his ashes had been ruined by the storm.

When he heard crying, he immediately opened the door. His face softened when he saw Donald sobbing in Sua's arms. Donald had never cried a single time in front of Kingsley. Despite Kingsley being his boyfriend and the person he trusted most, Donald refused to show such a vulnerability in front of him. Donald wanted to maintain the powerful figure even in front of Kingsley.

Kingsley quietly closed the door and sat down on the other side of Donald. He placed a silent comforting hand on Donald's shoulder.

Donald let it all out. He didn't hold his tears back. He no longer had to keep his mask up, at least not at that moment.

Donald regained his composure, and he opened up the containers of food that he had requested Kingsley to buy. "Mom, you should try these foods. They're really good. Ttosikki Chicken is the most famous chicken place in Yeongdeungpo. Mokoto has the best sushi. These tteokbokki, gimbap, and twigim are also good."

"I also bought some ice cream from the convenience store," Kingsley said, "and some canned coffee and juices."

Sua was surprised by the variety of foods Kingsley had brought. Her most recent memories of food were the bland hospital foods she had eaten until she no longer had the strength to eat. She was happy for her son to be able to eat such delicious meals.

"Mom," Donald said as they ate their dinner, "I entered the Olympiad in my third year of middle school. It was Kingsley's idea."

"Did you do well?" Sua asked.

"Yeah!" Donald answered, "I scored first place! I actually tied for first place with another student, Gray Yeon." He paused. "I think I might pay the White Mamba a visit later on. I did die in front of him and his friends. I also want to hear his answer to my question."

Kingsley wanted to keep Donald (and Sua) locked up in the apartment, like Rapunzel. He wanted to keep his boyfriend (and mother-in-law) safe from the dangers outside. He already lost Donald once, and he did not want to lose him ever again; but, Kingsley knew that wasn't a good idea. Donald would be against it and would resent him if he kept them locked up like prisoners.

"You should also apologize to them." Sua added, "you said you want to become Gray Yeon's friend. You can start by apologizing to him and his friends."

"You want to become his friend?" This was the first time Kingsley was hearing of this.

"If I had met him when I was younger, I feel like he and I could've been close friends," Donald said, "but I know that after all the choices I've made, and after all the pain the Union has caused him and his friends, that he won't want to be my friend."

Kingsley felt jealous of how Donald spoke of his desire to befriend Gray, but he didn't say anything.

After they finished eating, they all went to bed. Sua slept in the guest bedroom. Normally, Donald would sleep in his and Kingsley's bedroom, but he decided to sleep beside his mother while his mother held him and sang him a lullaby. Just for that one night, he wanted to be that young child again.

~They Came Back~

For breakfast, they ate their leftovers from last night. There had been so much food for all three of them, but Donald was happy that his mother had eaten a lot. The memories of the nights they went hungry still burned clearly in Donald's mind. The times when they did manage to get food, Sua would always give the food to Donald. Now that he was older, he would never let his mother go hungry.