Christmas in Zonei Pt. 11

"What do you think, Kim?" Raeden asked, his voice neutral in spite of the conflicting emotions pouring off of him. "It's up to you. I could stay here with you, if you like. I can sleep on the floor."

Kim brightened at that thought, but then Hiroshi said, "No." You are a distraction that he can't afford right now. He will need all of his focus on his studies.

Taking in Kim's expression, Hiroshi's stance softened. "Raeden may visit every day." He addressed his next comment to Raeden. It would be good for you to train as well. Although you already know how to shield your mind, your shields won't hold up against a well-trained and determined interrogator. We'll set up times for you to come train with us.

Hiroshi shifted his gaze back to Kim. "It's decided then?"

Kim was torn but he knew that if he wanted to have any hope of fooling the telepathy tests that he should give it his all. And he desperately wanted to fool those tests. "Yes, I'll stay with you," he said, already feeling bereft.

Raeden patted his hand. "It's only for six days. I think it's the right decision—although in all the time I was with Lyzel, I never spent a single night apart from her. I'm not sure how I'll make it on my own."

"You'll visit me every day," Kim said, as much to assure himself as Raeden.

"Good. Let's get started," Hiroshi said, all business.

"Shall we eat lunch first?" Raeden suggested, reaching for the basket he'd set aside.

"And I still need to give you your Christmas present," Kim reminded him. Then he turned to his father. "I'm sorry, I don't have anything for you."

Hiroshi laughed. "You didn't even know you'd be seeing me, so how can I expect you to have a gift for me? And Raeden has already given me access to a small fortune, which I have been spending willy-nilly." He addressed his next comment to Raeden. "I assure you, I will pay you back as soon as I start working."

"You're getting a job?" Kim asked. Somehow he couldn't imagine his father going to work for the Corporation and there were few other jobs to be had.

"I have some ideas on how I can make money," Hiroshi answered, "but that will need to wait until you are trained."

As Kim got out his small package for Raeden, his father got up and went to the cupboard, returning with two beautifully wrapped packages. "I, of course, knew I'd be seeing you."

"Oh you shouldn't have," Kim said.

"I've missed all those Christmases," his father said, gazing at Kim wistfully. "This is for me more than for you."

Kim swallowed the lump in his throat and took the package that his father handed him. He let Raeden open his first. It was a long thin package that turned out to hide a traditional Japanese fighting knife, simple in design with a wooden handle and a bamboo scabbard.

Raeden's eyes widened as he took in the treasure. He ran his finger carefully along the blade.

"It belonged to my great grandfather."

"I ... it's very beautiful, but I can't take this. It's a family heirloom."

"You are my son's partner and protector. I want you to have it," Hiroshi said firmly.

"Thank you. I will cherish it," Raeden replied. He slid the knife into the inside of his boot. "Look. It fits perfectly."

Kim thought Raeden's claws were certainly a more effective weapon than the knife, however, it was a beautiful and unique gift. He smiled warmly at his father.

Carefully removing the exquisitely decorated paper from his own gift, he found a framed photo of his parents. They were young and sitting together on a park bench. His father was holding both of his mother's hands in his own and they were staring into each other's eyes. It was clear from their rapt expressions that they were very much in love. The picture was black and white and a little grainy, but it was printed on very high quality photo stock and matted in a black lacquer frame.

"Wow! It's ... I will cherish this always," Kim said, feeling overwhelmed with emotions. His parents looked so young. "How old were you when this picture was taken? How come I've never seen it before?"

"We were young ... younger than you are now, I think. And you haven't seen it before because I just discovered it a few years ago."

Kim looked at him in surprise.

"I've had much time on my hands, especially the past few years when they had no use for me. They let me have a laptop and access to parts of the infonet. I found a program that was designed to recognize visual patterns and trained it to look for me. Then I set it to comb through all of the old videos and photos that were available on the infonet. It found this one. I found pictures of you and your mother in the same way. I was able to find a snapshot or video of you every few months when you were growing up."

His voice became heavy. "When Raeden told me your mother had passed away, I had already guessed as much. The past several years there have been no new images of her and the few I've found of you—you looked very sad and lonely."

Kim nodded. "I was terribly lonely until I met Raeden."

Raeden pulled him closer, hugging him tightly. "You saved my life," he whispered into Kim's hair.

"Well, we need to get started with your training." His father broke the pensive mood.

"Raeden still needs to open his present from me," Kim protested.

"Of course." Hiroshi nodded.

Kim's hand shook slightly as he handed Raeden his small package. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will," Raeden responded. He made short work of the scrap of wrapping and carefully opened the box.

His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the contents. "How...?" Wonder was mixed with love and happiness poured off of Raeden.

Kim sighed in relief.

Raeden pulled him onto his lap and kissed him thoroughly until Hiroshi cleared his throat.

Kim felt his face coloring. "You like them? It's okay?" he asked even though he had already felt that Raeden loved his gift.

"Kim, it's amazing. How on earth did you find them?"

"My dad is not the only one who knows how to use the infonet. I just searched for used sapphire rings and then looked carefully at the photos until I found Lyzel's in a pawnshop in Zonee. But meanwhile I also found the other one for sale too. It is yours, isn't it?"

"Yes, we had them made as a pair." Raeden slipped the larger ring, the twin to the tiny ring that had belonged to Lyzel, onto his finger. Then he turned to Kim with the smaller ring between his fingers, clearly intending to slide it onto Kim's finger.

"It won't fit me," Kim said, "and it's not mine anyway. I got it for you."

"I could have it sized to fit you," Raeden said.

Kim shook his head. "It wouldn't feel right."

Raeden nodded silently. "Thank you so much, Kim. I will cherish these always." He put the tiny ring carefully back into the box and slipped it into his jacket pocket. Then he hugged Kim tightly again.

Kim sighed happily.

"Well, shall we get started with your training now?" Hiroshi interrupted his bliss.

"Not until we've eaten," Raeden said, shifting Kim off his lap and reaching for the picnic basket.