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It was almost midnight, but there were still some vehicles going through the street. Kaede was driving alone, with Remember The Time by Michael Jackson playing in her car’s music player. She wasn’t that big of a fan of Michael himself, but she needed something else other than a tall cup of espresso to keep herself awake. So she played one of his CDs that were part of Rantarou’s collections.
That song was one of Rantarou’s favorites. Not only the upbeat yet relaxing beats, the lyrics also gave him—well, both of them, the nostalgic feels. The moment when they first met back in high school, the moment they fell in love… after all those years their memories of their best moments in the past had always been as vivid. It was also one of the songs that eased the motion sickness Rantarou always had.
As she finally arrived at home, Kaede parked her car in the garage and sipped her espresso until there were none left. Then, she got out from the car and went inside the house. “I’m home…” she said as she opened the front door. She blinked her eyes, noticing Rantarou wasn’t there to welcome her as he usually does.
Kaede went to the living room to find her husband sleeping on the couch while seated with their baby daughter on his lap, also sleeping. She smiled at them, then she bowed down to him to wrap her arms around his shoulder and closed her eyes as she rested her forehead on his.
Rantarou opened and rubbed his eyes. Although he was sleepy, he could still see Kaede right in front of him smiling. “Welcome home…” he said with a sleepy voice.
Kaede softly giggled at him, as she leaned down so her lips and Rantarou’s locked onto each other. Rantarou weakly smiled and kissed her in return. Their kiss was brief, but more than enough for both of them to say how much they’ve missed each other.
After parting from the kiss, Kaede took off and sat down next to him to see Setsuko, who was still sleeping on Rantarou’s lap. “Hey there, Sweetie…” Kaede whispered as she slowly picked up the baby and carried her in her arms. Feeling her mother’s embrace, Setsuko buried her head into Kaede’s chest. Kaede smiled at Setsuko, caressing her hair and humming Clair de Lune as usual.
“Say, uh… you want a blanket?” Rantarou asked her.
“Sure,” Kaede answered.
Rantarou got up from the couch and went to their room to take a blanket from the bed. Then, he went back to the couch to wrap Kaede and Setsuko with it.
“Wait, you’re not cold?” Kaede asked him in concern.
“Not really,” Rantarou shrugged. “Spent enough time in kotatsu, so I’m fine. Pretty sure you’re the cold one since you were outside for a long time.”
“Thanks…” Kaede smiled, crawling her way so she could lean on his chest while still having Setsuko sleeping on her lap. After that, she started singing softly, “Do you remember… when we fell in love… we were so young and innocent back then…”
Recognizing the song she just sang, Rantarou sang along with her. “Do you remember… how it all began… it just seemed like heaven so why did it end…”
“Do you remember…” Kaede continued while Rantarou gave a chaste kiss on her forehead. “Back in the fall… we’d be together all day long…”
“Do you remember… us holding hands… in each other’s eyes we’d stare…” Rantarou sang as they both gazed into each other’s eyes.
The two then continued to sing the chorus together. “Do you remember the time… when we fell in love, Do you remember the time… when we first met, girl, Do you remember the time… when we fell in love, Do you remember the time…” They kept singing the song together for the night.
After they finished, Kaede was the first one to doze off on Rantarou’s chest. Noticing she had fallen asleep, he smiled as he kissed her forehead. “Good night…” he whispered, as he held her in his arms and fell asleep as well.