Imperfect Desires

"Xiu!"

As always Jackie ran into Xiu's arms with an exclaim as soon as he entered the house and spotted Xiu in the living area. Although Xiu didn't know that he was gonna come with Nora, she didn't mind it. In fact, she was delighted to see him. Besides, she also didn't know that Nora was gonna come today. 

"Little brother, what a surprise!"

"Are you happy to see me here?" asked Jackie with excitement.

"I'm very happy!" replied Xiu with the same enthusiasm. 

"Ahem! Ahem!" Nora coughed from beside her brother. "I'm also here."

"Yeah, whatever..." 

Nora was left gaping at Xiu with disbelief in her eyes. Did her best friend just brush her off? Again? What charm did Jackie really have that he always managed to become the apple of Xiu's eye?

"Your daughter's father is here," informed Xiu as she pointed at Ah-Si who was staring at them.

Nora hit Xiu's shoulder saying, "You could just say Ah-Si is here."

Xiu shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention back to Jackie who was now frowning at the unfamiliar face in his sister's apartment. This was his first time seeing Ah-Si but from what he heard, he could tell who this guy was which didn't seem very pleasing to him. 

Nora was walking over to Ah-Si with Ava when Jackie beat her to it and his small leg lifted and he kicked Ah-Si's leg. Ah-Si was taken aback since Jackie's little figure just gave him a flashback of Xiu's fierce image. Now, he finally understood why Nora said Jackie was turning into Xiu's carbon copy. His temper and behavior were exactly similar to Xiu.

"Jackie!" shouted Nora at her little brother as she dragged him away from Ah-Si before he could kick again. "Don't be rude! How can you behave so impudently?"

"Let me go! I need to kick him again, how dare he made my sister cry so much?" Hearing Jackie's words, Nora was stunned. She looked at Xiu who was smiling knowingly to herself. "Only I can make my sister cry, no one else is allowed."

"Haha! Good going, little brother!"

Nora glared at Xiu, "Will you please teach him some nice things?"

"What did he say wrong?" questioned Xiu as she took Jackie's hand in her own and sat down at a side saying, "He said only he is allowed to make you cry because we are family. Ah-Si is not our family. So, as an outsider, we can't overlook the fact that he made our sister cry. Right, little brother?"

"Yes!" agreed Jackie.

"He is not an outsider," retorted Nora firmly.

"Oh, really? What exactly is your relationship with him then?" inquired Xiu.

Nora pursed her lips and glanced at Ah-Si before saying, "He's my..." Xiu's brows wiggled urging her to complete her sentence. But Nora was having real trouble finding the right words. "He's my daughter's father."

Xiu laughed again. She had expected this from her best friend. Apparently, Nora's brain would stop functioning whenever it came to Ah-Si. If it did work, they wouldn't take years to reunite and that too like this. "Sorry, that only means his daughter is a part of the family. He isn't. Unless you both..." Xiu trailed off suggestively before taking Jackie towards her own room. "We should give them some privacy."

"She..." Ah-Si only spoke after Xiu left along with Jackie. "She really doesn't think before speaking."

"She does," replied Nora as she tussled her daughter's hair and added, "It's just that you can't tell how her brain works."

Ah-Si looked at Xiu's closed door and nodded his head in understanding. Indeed, he had been having trouble understanding Xiu as well. It was just that whenever he thought she was simple, she would act in an unpredictable way and whenever he'd expect the unexpected from her, she'd turn into a very simple and straightforward person.

Nora touched his shoulder gently when she saw him lost in deep thought and said, "Don't think so much. The only person who can grasp the essence of her is her precious boyfriend."

"Precious boyfriend..." Ah-Si repeated with a smile. "It's weird how easily you described Darren. He indeed seems too precious to Xiu."

"That's because he is," agreed Nora. She had seen by Xiu's side and had seen what others hadn't. She knew more about the development of Xiu and Darren's relationship. She even knew how they both came to feel attracted to each other. When or how they started dating. She had seen them at all those stages. So, she's one of those people who could tell without hesitation that Xiu was as precious to Darren as he was to her. 

Ah-Si wasn't gonna stay long with her. He wanted to but he still had to leave with Ava. So, after much contemplation, he finally asked Nora the question that he had been planning to, "Would you like to go out tomorrow?"

Nora was taken aback but staring at Ah-Si, she definitely wasn't gonna take a leap in her stupid delusions as she replied, "Tomorrow? Are we taking Ava somewhere? I think it's a good idea."

 Ah-Si stared at her for a long while which made Nora feel jittery for some reason. Finally, he sighed and shook his head, "Forget it." Saying that he left with Ava while Nora was left staring dumbfoundedly at his back. Why did he look so mad at her? Or was that disappointment? Did she say something wrong again? 

In her own thoughts, Nora slowly closed the door and when it was about to shut, someone held the door, startling her. She looked wide-eyed at Ah-Si who was hunched over while he panted trying to catch his breath. 

"Why did you..."

Ah-Si straightened up and put his finger on her lips. "Keep quiet and listen to me. Stop overthinking and stop assuming on your own all the time." 

"Huh?"

He exhaled a long breath as he tried again, "Would you like to go out with me tomorrow? Alone? As in, on a date?"

Nora's eyes widened even more if that was even possible at this point because her big eyes were already like they were about to come out of the sockets.

"Can you say yes?"

"I..." Nora was a bit speechless at how straightforward he was being. Did he have to attack her heart out of nowhere? How was she supposed to process this? Especially to his eyes that had the same look as Xiu's when she was trying to ask for something. How was she ever gonna say no? So, she just nodded.

"Is that really a yes?" he asked with an excited look.

Nora nodded her head again, not daring to trust her words at all. She had been holding the door with her hand which helped her in standing.

Ah-Si kissed the top of her head shocking her again before he said, "I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye!" With that, he ran over to the elevator where his security team had been waiting with his daughter. Earlier, he was gonna leave because of Nora's stupid assumptions that he wanted to go on a family outing.

He obviously wanted that. But they had already jumped over a lot of steps. He was gonna have to start all over again. And taking her out on a date was the first on his list. His daughter would understand. He was after all doing it all for her. Okay, partially for her. Mostly, it was his own selfish heart that could never forget Nora.