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Ryouta doesn’t remember this, but they’ve met before. Before that day, even. Back when he was just a fledging, clutching tightly on to his mother’s wing. “It’s my son’s birthday, you should come.” Ryuuji says. “You’re like family now, it’s time you are properly introduced.” He laughs and ushers him further in, while the young bird took hesitant steps towards them both.
“This is why you should come home more often,” his wife says. “He’ll hardly be-able to recognize you at this rate.” Her tone is light, her eyes are teasing, but there’s sadness to her statement, one that she doesn’t acknowledge.
“You know I work to take care of you.” Ryuuji replies, warm and affectionate. He’s always been like this, bright and brilliant, but oblivious to the important things. From the looks of it— his wife knows this too. He’s the kind of idiot who won’t realize the important things, until it’s too late.
“I just wish you’d take care of him, too.” She says. There’s a bite to her tone now, an edge to that helplessness that was there before. If he was someone else, he’d probably look away. This is a moment he shouldn’t be intruding.
His wife is strong, she’s frail and ill, but she’s strong and she won’t shoulder everything silently. They’re alike, husband and wife. Alike, but different— too busy being caught up in each other. Neither want to burden each other, but end up hurting each other anyways. He’s caught up in finding a cure to her illness, that he might die for it too. While she’s too caught up in the family, she’ll work hard for it. It must be a Kawara trait he thinks, to do something for the sake of another, no matter what you sacrifice.
He looks back at their son, and wonders what he’ll have to sacrifice.
He looks back at the bird now, for one last glance. He’s really grown up, the best of them both. He’s his father’s son, he’s his mother’s son and Shuu wants to remember. There’s every chance in the world that Shuu won’t get to see him again, see Ryuuji’s legacy again. The boy is smiling, nestled close against the container. The sacrifices must be worth something, if the boy could smile even now, he thinks.
He doesn’t put faith in wishful thinking, but for this— he will try.