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“ Why not? ” Jean chuckled over the line. Armin grunted while he struggled to press his clothes down in the luggage, ears pressing his phone between his shoulder.
“Because,” he breathed and sat on his luggage taking time out. “It’s in the countryside, the trip there takes hours on the bus and it’s boring, there’s absolutely nothing to do there.” he continued, relaxing his neck once he got a proper hold of his phone.
“ The more reason for me to keep you company, I’ll be a promising entertainment ” Armin rolled his eyes at his partner’s teasing tone. “It’s nothing but trees over there.” he added.
“ It’s autumn, I bet they’d be colorful ” Jean reasoned back.
“Which means it will be cold. There’s gonna be lots of raking and wood chopping, I mean lots. ”
“ I’m good and steady with an exe, and I’d be less worried about you. You can do the raking of course. ” Armin’s mouth was left hanging as Jean continued “ we can drink tea all morning to evening, we can talk for hours and hours. ”
Armin was left with an uncontrollable smile “There’s no way talking you out of this, is there?”
“ Then at night, we can take a nice stroll. Just you and me. ” Armin pursed his lips that were begging to grin in flattery and Jean added “ I’ll wrap my scarf around you when you’re cold and— ”
“—okay, okay.” Armin chuckled, one hand covering his blushed face.
“You can come.” He said finally.
When Armin said the bus ride was long, he was not joking. Jean’s buttocks were stiff as a boulder that he forgot how it felt like to have an ass once he got off the bus. Twelve hours long plane ride was nothing compared to a six hours cramped bus ride. Plus his precious Armin got sleepy and decidedly laid his head on Jean’s shoulder, he was too delighted to even twitch a muscle just to keep the warmth beside him.
Once they got out, Jean followed Armin into the open narrow trail in the forest. Jean looked around; the trees were high up, the leaves had turned in various shades of green, orange, red and brown. The sun was still golden bright, but the bird’s chirp and the creaks of insects told him that it was almost evening.
Jean took a glance at Armin who was wearing a warm smile, usually, the blonde would have turned his head to meet his eyes but when he doesn’t, it’s usually because something else was distracting his mind. “What are you thinking?” he asked.
Armin breathed in. “Nothing.” he smiled at Jean. “Just…. It’s been awhile since I came up here. That's all. I really miss him.” Jean knew how close Armin was with his grandfather, and ever since Armin left for the big city with his parents, he had rarely got the chance to meet his grandfather.
It was a more modern home than Jean had expected when they arrived. The windows are broad and generous, the roofs made of pleasant reddish tiles. The front door is paneled with glass, and protected by simple, flat-topped porches. Cypress trees rose up in the rear gardens. There were firewood stacked neatly on the left corner of the house. He recognized the pots of herbs that were well-tended and lined up nicely. Other than the fallen Autumn leaves scattered all over the lawn, it was a fairly neat place and well kept.
Jean waited behind Armin while he searched the keys and unlocked the door after. “You can take a look around for a bit, if you want. It’ll be awhile.” Armin said as he unlocked the front door.
“Sure.” Jean smiled, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. Jean has always been genuine and willing to follow Armin around, waiting for him, just as long as he was wherever Armin is, it was all that contented him.
Armin went inside and as Armin suggested, Jean took a look around outside the house. It was fairly breezy and smelt different from the bustling city. By the porch in front one of the large windows was a small garden table with two garden chairs situated at each side.
On the table there were two empty tea cups, a porcelain teapot and in the middle was a board game or some kind, composed of rectangles in a grid of nine with a set of twenty flat wedge-shaped pentagonal pieces of slightly different sizes. Each piece has its name written on its surface in Japanese characters.
Jean tilted his head in sheer curiosity. He almost jumped when he heard an old man chuckle.
The old man that appeared suddenly pulled out the chair and sat down slowly. He laughed again, exhaling as though he had been on a marathon. “Knees are weak, might lose a kneecap one day.” he laughed and looked up at Jean. He had light brown eyes and shaggy brown hair with a beard and mustache, for an old man he does seem pretty youthful and had soft features like Armin’s, especially around the cheeks.
Jean straightened his back, seemingly more self-conscious of his posture. He must be Armin’s grandfather, and the need to impress and make a good first impression had seemed gone haywire—suddenly forgetting how to properly greet—let alone an elderly—and your boyfriend’s most beloved family member.
“Sit down,” Old grandpa Arlert said, gesturing to the seat across from him. Jean blindly sat down, eyes not tearing away from the old man— say something god damn it! “You’re a curious chap, aren’t you?” the old man said.
“I-I-I’m Jean—” Jean stuttered, “Armin’s boyfriend—Sir—” Jean swallowed. Grandpa seemed to not be fazed at all by Jean’s obvious awkwardness, which was not what Jean had in mind—he was supposed to be charming! Where did that go?
“Ah,” Grandpa studied Jean’s features, the way his old wrinkly yet sturdy eyes scanned him was making him feel exposed like a naked baby. What looked like an approving smile and nod, grandpa asked him. “D’you know what this is? Jean?”
Jean looked down on the table, a good guess to what the old man was referring to. “Japanese chess?”
“Yes” Grandpa grinned. “It’s called Shogi. Oh—can you play?”
Oh God. Suddenly it felt like Jean was thrown into a gladiator’s field for a tournament to win the hand of the princess. Jean answered honestly nonetheless. “No.” he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. His usual confidence was probably taken by the Autumn breeze.
“Great! I’ll teach you then!” Grandpa exclaimed. “Armin loves Shogi, he even played against himself you know?” he laughed fondly. “This would be a wonderful chance for him to have someone to play with him, after all, you will be spending the rest of your lives together, are you not?” It made Jean blush, he was a little more romantic than Armin, and to be quite frank, he hasn’t really proposed to Armin to live together, but he did plan to after their semester ends. The thought of them being the college sweethearts to live long together for eternity made his stomach flutter.
“First, let’s have some tea.” Grandpa said and took the porcelain pot of tea and poured it for Jean first, the steam from the hot tea swirled to him and he inhaled the fresh scent—there was something a little different about the tea. It was clear and red, a little nutty and toasted, with a hint of spice—and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it but the feeling of calm and warmth washed over him. “I brewed this myself, you know. Ah! I will tell you my recipe—even Armin doesn’t know it.” Grandpa laughed. “But you must promise me to keep it to yourself, it is very sacred.”
Under the beautiful October weather, Jean and grandpa bonded over Shogi and tea. Both exchange the dear fondness they have for Armin and it made Jean blush every time he ever blurted his admiration for Armin, especially when grandpa would give him the teasing look.
Sometime, as the sun was about to set, they had just finished their game and their teas had long been drained. Grandpa sighed contentedly. “I can’t imagine the look on Armin’s face if you were ever to win this over him.” Jean laughed—the silly faces Armin makes are the hidden wonders of the world.
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment. Staring out at the open field where the Autumn leaves flew with the breeze, a squirrel was seen sprinting from tree to tree. Grandpa breathed in and said “Do this old man a favour, Jean.”
“Yeah?”
“Take care of Armin, well, would ya’?” Grandpa chuckled. “Always keep him warm at this weather—he’s truly sensitive, he could—”
“—catch a cold.” Jean laughed and nodded, he then took out a pair of gloves from his breast pocket. “I’d be damned if I ever let him get sick.”
Grandpa smiled. “That will do Jean, that will do.”
Jean shivered when the breeze met his skin, at the same time Armin’s voice was heard from the inside, calling for him. “Hey, Jean!” Jean looked at the direction of the front door expectantly, grinning eye to eye—he couldn’t wait to let Armin know just how much Jean had gotten along with his good old grandpa Arlert.
Armin came out with his ever angelic smile on his face, blonde hair swaying with his movements. “There you are, I’m just about done and—hey….” Armin approached him—just when Jean was about to open his mouth to say “Hey! Armin! I met your grandpa! And I play Shogi now too!” but Armin was the first to voice out. “You’ve found pawpaw’s Shogi board.” Armin chuckled, brows raising amusingly when he was by Jean’s side, looking down at the board. “And competing by yourself too?”
Wait—what?
Jean’s head whipped to his head to the side where Grandpa should be—and to his shock, the chair where grandpa Arlert sat was empty!
Grandpa Arlert was nowhere to be found too.
Jean felt chills crawling to his spine making the hairs on his body stood on one end.
Armin sighed reminiscently. “I really miss him.” Armin picked up the tea cup and inhaled the scent. “Hmm, it still smells like his specialty tea. Let’s visit his grave tomorrow morning. I really want him to meet you—Jean? Are you alright? Jean?”
Jean passed out cold on his seat—and then passed out again the next morning in front of grandpa Arlert’s grave.