Unbeknownst to what was happening in the outside world, Gray and Sato had awoken from their nap. They didn't want to sleep any longer for they, respectively, have some work to do. Sato went upstairs to revise for his examination that was tomorrow. Although he was more than ready for the paper, it was never a bad idea to revise through your work one more time.
By the time Sato finished his revision, a housemaid had already came upstairs to inform Sato that dinner was ready. Nodding, Sato packed up his study materials and placed it on the side. He stretched his body, especially his neck area. The kick from Gray had bruised Sato's neck and it was starting to flare up and become sore. Just as he was massaging his own neck, a warm hand came in to replace Sato. It didn't take a genius to realise that the person behind Sato was Gray. Gray started to rubbed and massage the pressure points on the neck.
Light moans came out of Sato's mouth unintentionally. The massage from Gray was simply too good. Although it ached slightly, it was the type of good pain, a stimulative kind of pain.
"Are you feeling better?" Gray asked caringly.
"Yeah.. After that massage, my neck feels less tight." Sato moved his head around to show Gray the mobility in his neck. Gray nodded in reassurance, yet, he still felt guilty on the inside.
When Sato saw that Gray was still guilt-ridden, Sato stood up and tip-toed to reach Gray's face. Dragging Gray's head closer to himself, Sato planted a light peck on the General's lips. Sato said while squeezing Gray's face, "I am fine, Gray. There is no need to feel guilty."
"Mmm." Gray gave in and smiled at Sato. He held the pale white hands that laid on his face as if he did not want to move to have dinner. He rather stand here and accept the warmth from the young man.
"Besides," Sato continued, "If you had not kicked me and knocked me out, a part of my memories may still be locked."
"That is true. Maybe I should kick you one more time in hopes that you gain back more of your memories." Gray teased Sato.
"Wh..What? Please no! At least not until I finish my examinations… I am scared that your kicks may knock all of my knowledge out of my head."
The couple laughed together. They headed downstairs to have dinner, only to be surprised by Melanie. She was finally home after going missing for a week.
"Mother, you're back." Gray greeted.
"Good evening, auntie." Sato too, greeted.
"Oh? You two sweethearts finally decided to come downstairs." Gray's mother teased the two of them.
"Are you feeling okay, Sato? I heard that my impulsive son had knocked you out." Melanie asked with a worrisome expression. She had already started to treat Sato as her son-in-law.
"Oh, I am fine, auntie." Sato nodded his head to reassure Gray's mother.
"Next time, don't be so rough with Sato, okay?" Melanie scolded his son as Sato watched sorrily from the sidelines. Gray didn't mind the scolding though. He nodded and agreed to not do it ever again.
"Come on, let us have our dinner."
The small family had a wide spread of food again. Once in Sato's life, this type of lavish lifestyle was something unattainable for the young man. Being able to enjoy such treatment, Sato was still grounded to earth and did not change for the worse. This was one of the core reasons why Gray loved that boy. He was true to others and had the heart of a Samaritan. In a world where many only want to attach onto others because of their wealth, it was a rare sight to find someone like Sato.
"Mother, where have you been this week?" Gray broke the peaceful silence.
"I had to go back to Country Y to attend an emergency meeting. Your father insisted that I stay for the remaining of the week. Of course, I could not decline such a request." Melanie smiled and blushed when talking about her husband. Even after all these years, She was still deep in love with her husband. Sato smiled when hearing Melanie's story. He hoped that would be him and Gray when they were older too.
"Anyways, the meeting had to do with the Underwater Highspeed Railway Project. You have heard of that right?" Sato and Gray nodded. The couple would always keep up with current affairs and so, knowing about such a widespread news was pretty normal.
The Underwater Highspeed Railway Project (UHRP) was as stated in it's name, a train line that ran underwater. The Train Line was not a typical underground railway that connected to countries. Rather, it actually ran through the sea using large glass pipes that would allow a train to pass through it. This Project was discussed and proposed by many countries around the world, but none of them have come close to the length of the railway designed and built jointly by Country Y and Z.
The current longest underwater railway line is only 500km long. Although it was by no means short, the UHRP had been constructing a 2000km railway track between Country Y and Z. The distance is many times longer, resulting in massive media attention. The UHRP had started five years ago and were now in the final stages of construction.
"Well, the Tobion family is one of the main investors in the UHRP. We have officially confirmed the completion date would more or less be in the first quarter of the year."
"Seriously? That is awesome!" Sato was extremely passionate when it came to the UHRP. As he was in Mechanical Engineering, the mechanical systems behind the Glass Tunnel was truly fascinating.
"Oh really?" When Melanie realised Sato was interested in the UHRP, she suggested a proposal. "Would you like to get a closer look into how the tunnels are built?"