That time *I* flinched.
It looked like it backfired. I was going to tease Auntie Yue, but...
I guess her maternal instinct was too strong?
Auntie Yue looked at me, blushing a bit. She coughed and said, "Little Fatty. C-Call... me that again?"
...Well. Gotta commit to the bit.
I played innocent and said, "It's fine to call you that then, right? Mom?"
Auntie Yue let out a strange sound. A mix between a cry, a sob, and a cough. Then she covered her face, now a bright red. "...Why is THAT word the one that makes me feel like this? It's just being called Mom. It's not that big of a deal... it shouldn't be... but... Mom, huh?" She shifted her hands down, covering her mouth. But there wasn't any hiding the joy in her eyes. "...F-F-Fine. Just a bit. You can call me mom if you want. B-But only when we're alone. Got it, S-S-Son?"
...Oh.
Definitely underestimated the maternal instinct my Auntie Yue had.
It was nice though. A bit weird, but I guess I'd get used to it.
I mean. My mom and dad DID just bail on me. Even if it was for 'good reasons,' objectively something like this would have happened anyway. A child left alone would definitely cling to the first adult who made them feel seen.
Of course, my mom was ABSOLUTELY going to be heartbroken about it later. But I'd make it up to her.
And she'd probably be busy with my younger sibling anyway.
Considering how much time was freed up between her and my dad, and how loveydovey the two apparently were, I was probably due for a younger sibling announcement any month now anyway.
But back to Auntie Yue.
I smiled at her. A soft and genuine one. "Okay, Mom."
Auntie Yue froze. Then she let out a soft smile too and pulled me into a hug. "...Love you, Alex."
I tensed, caught offguard. But then I leaned against her and said, "Love you too, Mom."
Auntie Yue let out a soft sigh, just holding me for a few moments. But then she let go and said, "Okay! Enough mushy stuff." She lightly slapped her cheeks and said, "Come on. I have to prep for work and stuff. You go do your usual things, Kiddo. Gotta burn off all the food you ate."
"Yeah, yeah." I stuck my tongue out at her. Just to tease her a bit and lighten up the mood.
Auntie Yue rolled her eyes and then walked over to her usual spot at the kitchen table, sorting through various documents.
As she did, I suddenly realized why she was so emotional today.
Right. The whole reason we were AT Jack-in-the-box in the first place. It was that time of the month.
And Auntie Yue got ambushed with all sorts of feels ever since we bumped into April and Miss Serena.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
At least, regarding her being so moved over me calling her mom.
But whatever. Like Auntie Yue said, I should go burn up my extra energy. So back to training.
I grabbed my spare clothes and went to change in the bathroom. Then I went back to my usual spot at the wooden training dummy and started my usual combat practice.
Punches, kicks. Stabs made with a practice rapier that Auntie had bought me...
Mm. Since we'd gotten closer, I guess there wasn't a need to hide my skills as much now.
Time to show off a bit~
===
Yue's eyes kept flitting up to her cute little son-
NEPHEW. Alex was her nephew, not her son.
...Even though she had practically raised him. And was the first person to hold him. And made sure to watch him all night after he was born so the nurses wouldn't switch him by accident.
...Stupid time of the month. Making her all emotional and stuff.
'Still...'
Yue rested her elbow on the table and leaned on her hand, watching Alex.
'...He takes after me a lot, huh?'
It had been three months since Yue had started taking care of Alex. September, October, and now November...
Ah. Well, TECHNICALLY, it had only been two months.
But it felt like three.
In fact, it felt like she'd been taking care of him all her life.
It was just so natural now to see the little boy around her space and in her life.
And it seemed that she'd rubbed off on him a lot too.
First was the way he trained.
Yue had never properly put Alex through any wushu forms or other martial arts forms. But it seemed like he had naturally figured things out from the movies he watched with Brother-in-law in the past.
The way he flailed around was similar to Jackie Chan's drunken master style. The way he used the rapier was similar to the typical wushu flourishes in the Shaw brother films. Then the punches, kicks, elbows...
It was a mishmash of things that didn't seem to have a whole. But it worked for the kid.
Seeing it inspired Yue to want to get back into training herself.
...And she definitely wasn't secretly training when Alex was at school. Definitely not.
Still...
Considering how Alex had said he wanted to be an Olympian...
'...Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid me. Being all stupidly proud.'
Yue couldn't help but smile as she watched Alex train.
Because it was for her.
It was definitely for her.
The fact that he was working so hard. The fact that he had started talking back to her. The fact that he was so amazing.
...All of it was because Alex thought SHE was amazing.
And that thought made Yue want to give him the world.
'Not that he'll need it.'
Yue chuckled softly as the rhythmic thuds of flesh against wood echoed in the condo.
Her cute little nephew was going to go places that even she couldn't reach.
Yue might not have been the academic prodigy like her Big Sis, but she knew enough about the real world to tell potential when she saw it.
And Alex had plenty of that.
Grit. Devotion. And a surprisingly mature mindset of continuing to simply MOVE. To accumulate enough attempts to make up for any failures gained along the way.
Just like how Yue kept running through audition tapes until the roles she had recently gained. Like the pink power ranger and that assassin in Rush Hour 2.
...Not that she told Alex about them yet. She was planning to keep them a surprise until the weekend.
Yue had already made all the plans to take Alex with her to the shoots in Los Angeles next week.
There'd been a bit of push back on that, but considering that Yue had made it an absolute requirement, they eventually caved.
'...Alex was right. I AM pretty good.'
Clearly she must have been since they accommodated her.
But anyway.
Life was good. The future seemed bright. And-
*RING*
Yue blinked.
Alex paused mid-swing of his fist. "...Is that the phone?"
Yue quickly stood up. "I've got it."
It was weird.
Nobody called Yue. And the number of people with her landline could be counted on three fingers: Big Sis Mei, Brother-in-law, and now Serena.
But Serena wouldn't be calling this late.
...Would she?