We, From The First
#10. Partner At Two in the Morning

At two o'clock in the morning, Nico came out of his room to get some drinking water. At the same time, Aira also came out of her room. They stared at each other in confusion for a moment.

"You're awake?" Ask Nico.

"Yes. I woke up, and now it's hard to sleep again."

Nico just nodded his head and smiled.

After coming downstairs and making two cups of tea, Nico immediately caught up with Aira who was waiting for him on the balcony. Nico's hands each held a cup of tea, while he flanked a blanket over his arm. The blanket he had brought for Aira.

As soon as Nico was beside him, Aira immediately helped Nico put the teacup on the table. After that, Nico then covered the upper body of Aira with a blanket that he brought before finally sitting next to Aira.

"You're like this often? Since when?" Tanya Nico opened the chat on that morning.

"Every once since the accident a year ago. I. I still have nightmares." Answer Aira honestly.

Nico just sounded out sigh. Frankly, Nico did not know what to say to Aira to calm her down. Guilt because he was not beside Aira in the toughest moments, again disturbed his little heart.

"But not as often as before." Aira's voice sounded again.

After that it was quiet. All that was heard was the sound of the night wind accompanied by the sound of crickets faintly from a distance there. And among that silence, there was an expression of longing that almost broke. But for the second time, they had both refrained from going over the line unintentionally and unknowingly they had already stretched from the very first start.

After a long time arguing with his mind, Nico then looked at Aira who had just sipped her homemade tea. He said slowly, "Ra, sorry that I wasn't there for you in your toughest moments. Sorry, because there will be no promise to make your snack at that time. I'm sorry, because I've missed too much about you over the last six years."

Aira was shocked to hear Nico's statement. And suddenly, Aira felt like she wanted to cry. Not because Nico had hurt his feelings, but he always wanted to cry at the words of anyone who drags back his memories at the toughest times he's spent alone for a year.

Although he still holds a little bit of disappointment for Nico, he can feel and accept every inch of sincerity that Nico flows through his words. To dampen her crying, Aira tightly grasped the cup in her hand.

It is true that people say, that the chat that takes place between two people at two in the morning, is the most honest and sincere chat. Aira caught it well. If before, Aira was always alone when she woke up at two o'clock in the morning, now began to differ because Nico was beside her. And secretly Aira hoped, that it would go on like that in the right way.

Aira slightly gasped when she felt Nico put one side of the earphone on her ear, while the other side, she put it on her own ear. Without saying anything, as he used to do, Nico played Tommy Page's A Shoulder to Cry On. From the song, Nico seemed to want to convey that Aira would not be alone anymore, and Nico would always be with him, making up for the lost time series for this girl.

In the silence at two in the morning, Aira let the tears she had been holding fall. As the song continued to flow gently in her ears, her tears were dripping.

And Nico didn't say anything. He spent the rest of the night accompanying Aira to tears without a word, and that was exactly what Aira needed the most right now.

...****...

Rakha has just parked his bike in Nico's yard, which is quite spacious, when his attention was suddenly fixed on the figure of Aira who was sitting crouching while lifting something from inside a trench in front of the house. Curious about what Aira was doing, Rakha rushed over to Aira and squatted right behind her.

"Well, Ra?" Ask Rakha.

At the same time, Aira picked up a kitten that had fallen in the ditch. Apparently, he was still unaware of Rakha's presence.

"Hay... You must be scared, right? Where's your mom going?" Said Aira innocently. Aira was really sad to see the abandoned kitten.

Seeing Aira's adorable behavior, Rakha laughed silently while covering her eyes with her hands. Inwardly, I thought, why is this girl so sweet? And Rakha really just found out that Aira has an adorable side like the one she's looking at right now.

Aira carried the cat in her arms. As soon as he got up from his seat, how surprised he saw Rakha who was still crouching while laughing right behind him.

"Good, Rakha! Since when are you there?"

Rakha who had been laughing silently since then, now let her laughter break. Rakha was now standing right in front of Aira. He tried to control himself so as not to laugh again, but failed.

Seeing Rakha who just kept laughing, Aira felt embarrassed. Is it that ridiculous now? And yes, Aira's appearance was very messy this morning. His clothes were dirty because of the rest of the mud attached to the kitten who was in his arms. Sweat was still on his body because he had just finished jogging. Reflexively, one of Aira's dirty hands was raised to attach her hair behind her ears. But not yet had Aira's hand landed on her hair, Rakha hurriedly held her hand.

"Aira, your hands are dirty!"

Aira automatically pulled her hand from Rakha's grasp, and slightly moved away while saying, "don't get close. I smell sweat the same as mud."

Rakha, who had been able to control her laughter, immediately opened her bag and picked up the small towel she used to carry while playing basketball. Rakha uses the towel to coat the kitten still in the arms of Aira. Rakha then took over the cat.

"Uuuh..it's so funny to you! What's your name?" Rakha said to the kitten while deliberately mimicking the tone of Aira's speech earlier.

Aira who began to be sensitive immediately threw away her face while sighing softly. He felt a thousand times more embarrassed than before.

"Because he's white, and his eyes are blue, how about we just name him Snowy? You agree, don't you, Ra?"

Aira now raised her face and ventured to see Rakha's face. Not long ago Aira nodded, a sign that she agreed with Rakha's idea just now.

Rakha just smiled. Feelings warmed.

^^^To be Continued...^^^