It'll Come Naturally

Rain pressed the elevator button and waited. When the door opened, he frowned. Fred walked out of it, with a surprised look on his face. They weren't expecting to see each other at Annie's place at such an hour.

"Mr. Xia, what a coincidence. Are you also here to visit the kids?" Fred asked with a casual smile as if Rain was, by no means, a threat to him.

Rain was in no mood to exchange pleasantries with him. "It's late. What brings you here, Mr. Chen?" Compared to Fred's enthusiasm, Rain's voice sounded cold.

"Well, it's not that late. We often meet at this time." Fred ignored Rain's reproachful tone. He kept his voice cheerful, trying to show off how decent he was, unlike Rain, who seemed narrow-minded.

"Oh, do you? I forgot that you guys were close. Well, have a nice time," Rain said with a bitter smile and walked into the elevator. He pressed the button and left without hesitation.

Fred snorted in smug satisfaction and walked swiftly to Annie's door and knocked.

Annie had just asked the children to take a shower when she heard the knock on the door. She ran excitedly to open it. She assumed that Rain had come back. She threw the door open quickly, but her smile froze when she saw that it wasn't Rain. "Why do you look so terrified after seeing me?" Fred noticed the smile on her face disappearing in a flash. He could tell that she was expecting someone else at the door instead of him.

Annie wasn't terrified. She was just disappointed. She forced a smile and said, "Come on in. What brings you here at this hour?"Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Fred walked in and asked, "Where are the kids? Have they slept already?" He was surprised that Joyce and Huey were not around. They usually got excited when they heard his voice. But today was somehow different.

"Not yet. They are taking a shower. They just came back home." Annie poured him a glass of water and put it down on the table in front of him. She was feeling a little uncomfortable because she knew that he must be there for some reason.

"Oh? Did you guys go out? I met Mr. Xia at the elevator," Fred said carefully, waiting to see Annie's response to the mention of Rain's name.

"What? You ran into him here?" Annie blurted out. She was worried that Rain might have thought that something was going on between Fred and her.

"Yeah. Is something wrong?" Even though Fred knew very well that he wasn't the one who had Annie's heart, her concerned look still made his heart ache.

"No, nothing's wrong," she said quickly and looked away from him. "Um... I've been following your show. It's pretty good," She said, dismissing the subject to hide her embarrassment.

Fred grabbed the opportunity. "That's why I'm here. I was hoping you and the kids would come to the show this Saturday. I've reserved tickets for the three of you." Fred looked at her with expectant eyes. He was worried that she would turn down his offer.

"Oh! For the show? I should probably ask the kids first. I'm not sure if they'll be interested in the show," Annie said, in a vague tone of voice. She wanted the kids to decide for themselves.

"Yeah, you're right. I forgot to ask the kids about their opinion. Besides, I am available on Sunday. Why don't we take the kids out for a picnic? The countryside landscape around S-city is mesmerizing." Fred immediately changed his plans into something that Annie couldn't possibly refuse. He had to take the kids into consideration when making plans.

"I can't say right now. I have to check my schedule first." Annie didn't know whether Rain would ask to meet the kids on Sunday, so she couldn't decide without consulting him first. She didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble for anyone.

"All right. I'll wait for your answer." Fred could already tell that Annie wasn't interested in going out with him and felt disappointed.

"I am so sorry, Fred. My hands have been full recently, so I can't give you an answer at such short notice," Annie explained when she saw Fred's face fall.

"That's okay, I understand. We can always go out another time," he said, smiling bitterly, "Anyway, it's really late and I should leave. Good night." Fred began to stand, ready to leave even though it had been less than ten minutes since he had arrived. "Don't you want to say hello to the kids?" Annie asked, surprised. Fred always asked to see the kids before leaving.

"It's already late and they are still in the shower. If I stay, they might end up playing with me and it would be too late for bed. I'll see them next time," Fred said, walking towards the door. Annie was the reason why he came to her place and the kids were just an excuse. Now that she was right in front of him, there was no need for him to use the kids as an excuse.

"Okay, I'll see you later," Annie said, walking him out.

"See you." Fred walked out the door reluctantly. He was so close to blurting out to her and asking whether she felt his affection or not. But he kept his emotions in check. If her answer was negative, then it would ruin their friendship forever.

Rain hadn't left after going down the elevator. He was waiting in his car to see how long Fred would stay at Annie's. He snorted when Fred left only a few minutes later. Rain drove away without a word as he already had the answer he was looking for. Time flew by and a whole week passed in an instant. It was Saturday, and just as Annie had expected, the kids were not interested in the show. So she turned down Fred's offer. But the kids were into the idea of having a picnic. So they took off to the countryside on Sunday morning. "Mommy, don't we need to take a tent for the picnic?" Joyce was a fun-loving kid and she had a keen interest in everything new.

"No sweetie. We are having a picnic, not a camp," Annie answered. She was looking out the window and enjoying the landscape alongside the road.

"Oh... I thought we will be having a tent." The little girl pouted, her little lips turning upside down.

"Joyce, do you want a tent? We can get one later," Fred comforted her when he saw her sad face in the rear view mirror.

"Really, Uncle Fred?" Joyce's eyes popped out in excitement once again. She felt like she was the happiest kid in the world at that moment.

"Of course, I would never lie to you!" Fred said. He was relieved that he had already prepared a tent in advance. She would be surprised if he pulled out the tent at the picnic spot.