Advent '09 [3/25]
Advent 09
December 3rd - 22 days to go
Lory had wanted to leave as early as possible so that he could get to Italy faster, however, due to the time differences, and the difficulty that the Italian airport they were landing in was having thanks to another heavy snowfall, the departure time was pushed back to early evening.
It still meant that they would arrive in Italy relatively early in the day...but it didn't stop Lory from pouting the entire time until they were ready to leave.
Kyoko didn't care about any of this; she was just elated to finally be going on holiday. The President had given her and Kanae the day off to sort out what they would each be taking and all the extras they thought they should be taking. She had spent the entire night and most of the day packing and re-packing her clothes in a suitcase that Lory had sent to the restaurant where she worked and stayed.
As soon as the company car drew up outside she was out the front door like a shot. The driver looked a little alarmed but Kyoko was too busy waving goodbye to the couple who had started her on this road and who she had to thank for this opportunity.
If it wasn't for them she would never be here.
The entire ride to the L.M.E. building she was thrumming with excitement, barely able to keep still in her seat. The driver had become increasingly nervous and was noticeably twitching by the end of the journey. Kyoko thanked him happily, oblivious as to just how fast he seemed to drive off afterwards.
Standing outside the building, Kyoko closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of freedom. When she opened them again she caught sight of Kanae standing near Ren and Yashiro just inside the entrance. Picking up the handle of her suitcase she quickly made her way over to join them.
"Kyoko." Kanae nodded to her in greeting, "How are you? Did you get everything packed?"
"Yeah! I had some trouble deciding just what to bring. What about you?"
Kanae glanced at her bag warily, "My brothers and sisters all decided that they wanted to help..." she trailed off uncertainly, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure just what they've added."
Kyoko joined Kanae staring at her bag in apprehension.
"I'm sure that...they wouldn't have..." Kyoko started to reassure her before having to stop. The problem was that she had met Kanae's family and knew what they were like. In the end she just asked, "We're they on sugar or not?"
"On."
Both the girls shivered.
-/-
Yashiro glanced over at Ren who was standing next to him and trying to look casual whilst surreptitiously looking over at Kyoko every few minutes.
Yashiro grinned. It seemed like Ren couldn't deny himself for very long. It might not even be that hard to come up with a plan to get them together!
After all, he had the whole month to work, without interruptions.
Starting now!
"Ren." He said quietly, "Why don't you go over and talk to her?"
Ren looked away from Kyoko to Yashiro and raised an eyebrow, "Why would I do that?"
Yashiro grinned. "Oh. No reason!"
Ren furrowed his gaze but before he could open his mouth to ask just what Yashiro was planning, Yashiro had shoved him in the direction of Kyoko.
Ren stumbled, taken completely off guard.
"Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko asked, looking at him innocently, "Are you alright? Did you trip? You didn't hurt yourself did you?"
"I'm fine," he reassured her, then turned around and shot his the most evil glare he could muster at his manager who had the gall to smile and give him the thumbs up.
"Um...not to be rude...but was there something you needed, Tsuruga-san?"
"No, no..." Ren tried to say, but he lost track of whatever he was going to say afterwards when Kyoko smiled brightly at him.
"I know! You want me to carry your bags for you!"
"Um...no..."
"Don't worry, Tsuruga-san! I won't damage your case!" With that she strode over to Ren's case before hauling it back to where hers was standing. "You can trust me!"
Ren just nodded before making his way slowly over to where Yashiro was standing with his head in his hand.
"Do I want to know how you managed to do that?" Yashiro asked despairingly.
-/-
Pretty soon Lory arrived in the entrance hall with Maria in tow, and ushered them all in to the limo that had just driven up outside.
Kyoko was excited, but even so she noticed that Maria was quieter than usual. Concerned, she stood by the small girl whilst they were waiting to be processed. Maria didn't say anything, just moved closer to Kyoko and held her hand, her grip increasing with every step they took closer to Lory's private jet.
-/-
Lory was watching his granddaughter in concern. He had brought up that they were flying by plane, offering to accompany Maria by boat if she didn't want to fly.
Maria had been adamant though, saying that she wasn't scared and that she would be fine.
Lory hadn't been sure but he didn't want to insult Maria by saying that he didn't think that she could handle it.
If his granddaughter said that she could do this then she could.
It wouldn't stop him from worrying or watching her closely in case she became upset. He had already briefed his cabin crew and had a professional medic on board just in case anything went wrong.
-/-
The private jet was extravagant, that was the only way Kyoko could describe it.
The area where they were ushered into was a huge, open space. Instead of rows of seats there were plush single chairs and a sofa along one of the sides, the flooring was carpeted and everything was done in browns and creams.
Kyoko had never seen anything that screamed money as much as this did and she had never felt so out of place.
Lory, Ren and Yashiro seemed completely at home in the environment.
Maria, whilst looking nervous, wasn't completely blown away by what she was seeing which told Kyoko that she was used to this sort of thing.
Even Kanae seemed at home, quickly sitting down in one of the chairs and relaxing completely.
Kyoko stood stiffly in the doorway for a moment, smiling wanly at the stewardess who motioned for her to take a seat. She headed over to the chair next to Kanae but stopped short when Yashiro cut her off.
"You don't mind do you Kyoko? It's just, I have a bad back. Look! The seat next to Ren is free! I'm sure he won't mind!"
Kyoko smiled, "That's fine, Yashiro-san." She turned and saw the glare Ren was shooting at them and quickly revised her opinion.
Nervously she made her way over to where Ren was buckled into the sofa.
"You don't mind, do you Tsuruga-san?"
Ren smiled politely at her, "Of course not Kyoko-chan."
Kyoko's eyes widened at the sight of the smile and she fought down a shiver. That was one of his 'I'm really, REALLY angry right now' smiles. She sat stiffly next to him and was so caught up in what he could be angry about and whether or not he was angry at her she completely missed take-off.
A little disappointed that she had missed her first take-off in a plane, she nevertheless amused herself with looking out the window and trying not to attract Ren's attention lest he turn that polite smile on her again.
-/-
It was halfway through the flight that Maria's nerves gave out.
The stewardess had dimmed the lights two hours ago and Yashiro and Kanae had already fallen asleep in their comfy chairs.
Ren hadn't said a word in the four hours that they had been up in the air so Kyoko had relaxed a little in her seat and was leaning back, daydreaming of what she would do in Italy when they arrived.
She was broken out of her thoughts at the sound of a quiet sob. Opening her eyes she looked around in concern and spotted Maria curled tightly into a ball in her seat, silently crying.
"Maria-chan?" She called out quietly, trying not to disturb Yashiro and Kanae.
Ren turned to look at the sound of her voice and as soon as Maria saw that they were both looking at her she let out a louder sob and scrambled out of her chair and over to them, climbing into Ren's lap and burying her tear-stained face into his chest.
Kyoko looked on in worry when Maria didn't stop crying, Ren murmuring quietly into her ear and gently rocking her.
Kyoko, feeling helpless, moved closer to them and started to stroke her hair, Maria's hitching sobs calming down a little at the action.
Both Ren and Kyoko kept comforting Maria until she had fallen into an exhausted sleep. It was only then that Kyoko worked up the courage to question what had just happened.
"What was wrong?"
Ren stayed silent for a few moments. Kyoko was just beginning to think that he wouldn't answer her when he started to speak.
"Maria...doesn't like flying."
"Why?" Kyoko asked, confused.
"It has to do with her Mother." Ren said shortly.
Kyoko was horrified and ashamed. How had she forgotten that? Maria must have been completely distressed for hours and she hadn't even noticed!
"Then why did the President make her fly? Isn't that cruel?"
Ren turned to look at her, his expression soft as he cradled the small girl to his chest, comforting her in her sleep. "My guess is that he offered another way for Maria, but she decided that she wanted to fly. She doesn't really look like it but she's very stubborn, and once she decides to do something there's no force that could possibly make her change her mind.
"She knew what she it meant but she came anyway. I guess she wanted to prove that she could and that she wasn't held back by what happened.
"Because of this, it's sometimes easy to forget that she's young."
Kyoko stared at Ren. Just now, her heart had skipped a beat at the look on his face.
She turned her attention back to Maria and went to remove her hand from her hair so that she could sleep in peace. She was startled slightly when Maria reached out in her sleep and grabbed her hand, but she wasn't cruel enough to deny the child any comfort, even when it meant that she was half leaning on Ren to stay comfortable at the angle she was in.
-/-
Kyoko fell asleep soon after, leaving Ren the only one awake in the cabin.
Lory had checked in once an hour later and had smiled softly - if a little sadly - when he had seen them sitting together before going back into the cockpit, leaving Ren alone with his thoughts.
He was tired, his biological clock telling him that it was getting close to two in the morning in Japan but he couldn't sleep.
Kyoko was sleeping, her head on his shoulder and her hand still holding Maria's, and Ren couldn't puzzle out just what he was feeling. His skin was hot at the points of contact between Kyoko and himself but instead of feeling uneasy he was filled with a sense of contentment.
Was this what having a family felt like? This sense of peace?
The idea that nothing could harm you?
He didn't know, and he wasn't sure that he was ready to answer that question.
Instead he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling.
The thoughts in his head made sleep a long time in coming.
-/-
When the plane finally touched down in Turin airport it was midday. However, to the weary travellers it was more like very early morning.
The only one that didn't seem to be that adversely affected was Ren, but even he was looking tired standing there with Maria asleep in his arms.
Lory, instead of becoming over-exuberant at the sight of all the snow, just cajoled them all into the luxury bus that he had hired to drive them halfway up the mountain to his mansion.
Kyoko was exhausted, but that didn't stop the feeling of wonder at the view out of the window. She tried to look at everything, even as her eyes kept drooping shut.
The going was slow as the road were icy, so when they arrived at the mansion two hours later it was all they could do to just stumble into the rooms they were directed to by the temporary staff, change and fall into a deep sleep.
After all, there was always tomorrow.