Rewritten Past

...Yeah. Yue gave up on questioning Alex's knowledge.

It was probably the internet.

She'd just chalk it up to that. He was smart enough to look things up, so it was probably that.

Probably.

...Probably.

Serena looked at Alex in amazement and said, "You're so talented, Alex..." Then she looked at April, slightly concerned. "...It'll be a bit hard for April in the future, won't it?"

"Hm?" Alex tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

April tilted her head too, mirroring his motion. "Yes, Mommy! What do you mean?"

Serena shared a look with Yue.

Yue sighed.

===

Fun fact. It turns out, microwave style pastries weren't common at this time.

I thought they were, considering all the Easy Bake stuff that was out. But apparently not? That, or Mama Yue and Miss Serena just weren't familiar with them.

Either way, mistakes were made... kind of.

Miss Serena just thought I had a natural talent for baking. Mama Yue though... it looked like she had given up on making sense of my abilities.

But either way, desserts were secured!

Since it was Monday, we had three whole days to prepare for Thanksgiving.

...Which was ABSOLUTELY going to be a dramafest.

I didn't think my grandparents would be there. Mom and Mama Yue's parents were across the country in Florida enjoying retirement and probably making more businesses at this time. Dad's parents... well, he only had a mom, and she wasn't really close to him at all.

Apparently, she was living somewhere in China. But even in the future, the only time I ever saw or met her was at her funeral, so... yeah.

That meant it would be a youngest generation and parent generation hubbub.

...Mm. I had to do some thinking about that.

Mom was pregnant, so it would be ideal to reduce her stress. And I DID still care for her. She was my mom, after all. But like, while she tried her best, she wasn't there for me like Mama Yue was.

So that brought up the question of how I was going to act when we went over.

I had two full days to think about it first, but it would definitely be important.

I could already guess that Mom would be feeling super guilty about having Mama Yue watch me all this time. And she would probably be worried I would think that I was being replaced what with the new sibling.

Dad... well, he was always running the vibe of 'as long as it doesn't rock the boat it's fine'.

But the problem was that I was basically a hand grenade tossed into the mix of our family drama now.

I mean, first was the fact that I was in stupidly good shape now that I was with Mama Yue. Then there was my excellent scholastics, not at all attributable to either of my parents. And most of all, there was the fact that Mama Yue and Miss Serena were DEFINITELY a thing on the down low, and April was coming along too.

So yeah, big mess.

I could practically hear the barbs being thrown our way already...

"Penny for your thoughts, Al?"

I blinked and realized that Mama Yue had taken a seat across from me. And I realized more that I had been spacing off while sitting at the kitchen table.

April and Miss Serena had gone off to get more groceries to prep the food, leaving just me and Mama Yue alone.

I sighed and then said, "Just thinking, Mom."

Mama Yue let out a sigh too. "I bet you are." She absently fiddled with her sleeve and said, "...Big Sis might cry. No, she'll definitely cry if she hears you call me that. And then with those bast- bad people there too, it's going to be a mess."

That was the understatement of the century...

Mama Yue paused and looked at me, hesitation clear on her face. "If... If Big Sis asks for you to go home. Would you, Al?"

"Hm? Of course not. You need me more, Mom."

I didn't even have to think about that.

Mom... well, my birth mom, Mei Li, was still my mom. But she had Dad and my future siblings to support her.

Mama Yue just had me.

I still remembered the past life. Without an anchor, she'd slip away into the cracks of society. And even though things were set up to catch her now, what with Miss Serena and her various investments, it was still possible that she'd stumble along the way without me.

And I wouldn't let that happen.

Besides, Mama Yue really was like the mom I wish I had as a kid. Cool, understanding, supportive, and most of all, unconditionally loving.

Well, that wasn't completely fair.

Mom loved me unconditionally too. But she was always so stressed that the 'unconditional' love had a set time duration throughout the day. She couldn't pause her life for me if I needed her.

Mama Yue could, and she had already.

...Was I a bad son?

Probably.

But I was already a far better son than I had a right to be in my past life by living 30 years under their expectations, never complaining, and doing everything they asked right until I had a mental breakdown and was seriously plotting a mass murder-suicide gambit to see how many I could take out before I was dropped, so...

Yeah.

Anyway! Dark stuff aside.

Mama Yue stared into my eyes for a long while, mulling over my response. Then she let out a mixed expression. A genuine smile, but eyes filled with guilt, triumph, sorrow, and happiness in equal measure. She opened her mouth to talk, but couldn't seem to bring herself to say anything. So instead, she just held me tight. "You're too good for someone like me, Al. But dammit, I don't care. I'm never letting you go." She squeezed me tighter and said, "You got that? You're stuck with me now. So no takebacks."

I hugged her back and said, "Obviously. I'm as much your kid as Mommy's."

Mama Yue nodded. "Yeah. I know." She pinched my cheek and said, "You've gotten all my sarcasm and glib tongue, you brat."

I chuckled and stuck out my tongue at her.

Mama Yue huffed and pinched my tongue too. But after that, she sat back in her chair and said, "...Have you thought about what to do?"

I sat back in my chair, rolling my tongue around to dampen the pain from her pinching it. But then I paused to consider that.

Well, also the fact that Mama Yue was talking to me like a mini adult instead of a kid.

Another plus in her books.

But back to the main point...

"I love Mommy. So I'm going to support her since my aunt and uncles are bad people. But I'm also going to tell her. I choose you, Mom."

Mama Yue pursed her lips. Then she slowly said, "It'll break your mommy's heart, you know?"

I paused and slowly nodded. "I know. It'll make her hurt. Probably for a long while. But it's not like I hate her. And I'm not leaving her. I'm giving her room to grow up too."

That was something that they probably didn't understand yet. My parents, Mama Yue, and my aunt and uncles.

Despite being 'adults,' Mom and Dad were still practically kids. After all, they were still in their early 20s. They had NO clue what they were doing.

It was better for everyone that I live with Mama Yue while my parents sorted themselves out.

The 'trauma' from their first child leaving them would also make them more aware of the impact of their parenting when my younger sister was born too.

...And man, that was a weird thought.