Chapter two of DI fic
Title: Islands Like Glass Towers - Chapter Two
Writer: lynxgriffin
Rating: No higher than G-PG for now
Spoilers: This takes place even before BBS, so there's some BBS spoilers
Characters/Pairings: Sora's dad/Sora's mom, with a side of Riku's dad/Riku's mom
Warnings: Pregnancy and/or childbirth in later chapters, plus adorable bitties. Also expect some Final Fantasy cameos.
Notes: Movin' along to chapter two, where I couldn't resist a few FF/Disney references. XD They're fun to squeeze in.
After nearly five years of marriage, Emi had gotten used to the routine of their day. While routine was inevitable for every couple, it was an especially strong fixture on the islands. Not a bad routine by any means; it was rare for any day here to be a bad one, but it was still routine nonetheless. Taro was always out of the house before the sun was up...fishing was best in the early morning, after all. He'd be back by mid-afternoon, which meant they had the rest of the evening to themselves. Still, she never saw him for breakfast.
So She was more than a little surprised to discover Taro holding a cup of coffee at the dining room table when she herself wandered down long after sunrise. He just sat here, his black hair messy and spiky as always, sipping his coffee as if he'd been waiting for her all morning.
"Honey, what are you still doing here?" she asked, voice full of concern. "Is something wrong?"
Taro seemed to find this amusing for some reason. "As a matter of fact, there is something wrong, Emi."
All manner of terrible things ran through Emi's mind, each crazier than the last. A storm had ripped up the nets and boats, or he'd gotten in trouble with the head fisherman, or there'd been some sort of accident on the way there. She didn't dare venture any of those ideas, although their run through her mind was more than obvious in her expression. "...What is it?"
His smile took on a mischievous tint. "The problem is that you're not dressed to go to the South Cliffs Hotel yet. And how are we supposed to get there on time if you're not ready?"
Emi blinked, crossed her arms and raised on eyebrow at her husband. He had to be putting her on. "The South Cliffs Hotel? No really, Taro, why are you home? What sort of trouble do you get into?"
"Nothing, unless me telling Koji that I was taking a few days off is troublesome! And he sounded fine with it to me." There was definitely something he wasn't telling her, but Emi could tell that he was being serious about it. Playful, but serious. "I thought you would like it?"
Of course, any spouse would love a trip to the South Cliff Hotel, for a number of reasons. And a hint of happy surprise began to replace the worried expression, although that didn't stop her from still being skeptical. "Come on, no one just takes a trip down there because they feel like it."
"Most people don't," Taro said, setting his coffee down so that he could stand and stretch. "But I'm not most people. I think we could use the vacation."
Emi stepped closer to him, arms unfolded now, trying to see what he was thinking behind those sky-blue eyes. "Maybe, but can we afford it?"
Taro hooked an arm around her waist and landed a kiss on her cheek. "Like I said last week...good crop of Yellowtail this year."
Emi knew that no crop of Yellowtail could be good enough to cover the cost of a stay at the South Cliffs Hotel, but that kiss was enough to convince her that this surprise was a good idea anyway. The concern-turned-excitement spilled over into a laugh and a smile. So much for any form of routine today. "Then I guess I better go get dressed, hadn't I?"
"Sounds like a good idea to me."
~~~~~~~~
While all the worlds felt this in one way or another, Destiny Islands was in particular a very small and closed world. The people that lived there had always lived there...they were born on the islands, and died on the islands. No one ever left, because why would anyone want to leave a world like this?
Well...sometimes, very rarely, someone did leave.
But the fact of the matter was that there was no easy way to leave, which also meant that the islands received very few visitors. Not so rare as islanders themselves leaving and never coming back, but rare enough. No one ever quite knew where these few visitors came from - there was no way to fly out, and no one had ever safely taken a boat to another landmass and back - but it didn't matter too much, since visitors rarely stayed long. And visitors never seemed to cause much trouble, and often left the islanders gifts or other strange objects not found anywhere on their world. So why not make their stay as comfortable as possible?
That was the reason for the South Cliffs Hotel...a small hotel and resort on the southernmost edge of the big island, set against the only cliffside found on any of the islands. If Destiny Islands was a paradise, the hotel was the one place that tried to step up the luxury of it even more. The best food the islands could produce, rooms that all faced the ocean at sunset (all six of them), an expansive garden, a spa, and plenty of secluded areas on the property for people to enjoy themselves. Visitors to the islands stayed there for free...after all, the Hotel was intended for them, and it wasn't like they weren't repaid in other ways. But for residents, it was the most expensive place on the islands. This made it reserved only for special occasions, and was therefore popular among newlyweds or the richest high school graduates. It was also the only place on all the islands where you probably wouldn't see any kids.
So Emi had a pretty good idea of why they were here, although was less certain as to why they were here. But whatever Taro was thinking, they were here at the very least to relax and enjoy themselves, and that was good enough for her.
They arrived there following a half day's bike ride...the cliffs made it very difficult to dock boats, and no cars existed on the islands. No sooner had the couple parked their bikes near the entrance when they were greeted by Kenta, the hotel's owner. He was a tall, talkative redhead...more learned than one would first think.
"Taro! Emi! Wonderful to see you two again!" he declared.
"Thanks for having us, Kenta." Taro shifted the bag on his shoulder, and joked, "must not be having too much business to let us back in, huh?"
"You haven't seen some of the high school seniors! I'll be praying for your guys' business when graduation rolls around!" Kenta replied. All in good fun, naturally...you couldn't run this sort of hotel and not be a people person, and Kenta was very good at managing his place given its limited use.
"Have you had any visitors lately?" Emi asked, always curious to hear about strangers to the islands.
Kenta shrugged. "There was this young man...Jim Hawkins, I think a few months back. Didn't stay here more than a night or two, though."
That was the problem with visitors...they were here and gone so fast sometimes it seemed like they had never been there at all. Usually the only indication they were there at all were some of the interesting things they left behind for trades. "Did he leave you anything interesting?"
"Actually, there was this one strange thing I should...oh what am I saying, there's plenty of time for that!" Kenta declared, throwing his hands in the air. "And here you two are with all your bags still! Come on inside, Rosa will get you set up in your room."
"Thanks, Kenta," Taro said. Kenta could get a little carried away talking about his guests, but there was no harm in that. He led the two inside the hotel and through the lobby, which contained some of the various trinkets that Kenta had collected over the years. While most of the books obtained went to the islands' library, stuff that had no other real place to be stayed here, and there was enough to keep a curious individual busy for hours.
They were met by Rosa, a pretty blonde married to the islands' doctor, and sometimes employed at the hotel...basically on a need-to-work basis. She smiled broadly at them. "I should be making you two dinner tonight. Room three, right?"
"Right. And don't worry about signing in, that's covered." Taro and Emi followed them through the lobby and down the wooden walkways to the available rooms. The place looked as pristine and relaxing as it was the first time they came here.
"It's lovely to see you two again!" Rosa said as they reached the third room, a large wooden house crawling with ivy and flowers and decorated with wood and stone sculptures. She held the door open for them. "Anything special in mind planned for this visit?"
Emi glanced towards her husband...smiling as always, but like her, he wore his emotions on his sleeve. He was happy about something, although as to what exactly she could just guess. Emi wasn't that worried...she'd get it out of him before the day was through. She always did.
"I think we do."
Writer: lynxgriffin
Rating: No higher than G-PG for now
Spoilers: This takes place even before BBS, so there's some BBS spoilers
Characters/Pairings: Sora's dad/Sora's mom, with a side of Riku's dad/Riku's mom
Warnings: Pregnancy and/or childbirth in later chapters, plus adorable bitties. Also expect some Final Fantasy cameos.
Notes: Movin' along to chapter two, where I couldn't resist a few FF/Disney references. XD They're fun to squeeze in.
After nearly five years of marriage, Emi had gotten used to the routine of their day. While routine was inevitable for every couple, it was an especially strong fixture on the islands. Not a bad routine by any means; it was rare for any day here to be a bad one, but it was still routine nonetheless. Taro was always out of the house before the sun was up...fishing was best in the early morning, after all. He'd be back by mid-afternoon, which meant they had the rest of the evening to themselves. Still, she never saw him for breakfast.
So She was more than a little surprised to discover Taro holding a cup of coffee at the dining room table when she herself wandered down long after sunrise. He just sat here, his black hair messy and spiky as always, sipping his coffee as if he'd been waiting for her all morning.
"Honey, what are you still doing here?" she asked, voice full of concern. "Is something wrong?"
Taro seemed to find this amusing for some reason. "As a matter of fact, there is something wrong, Emi."
All manner of terrible things ran through Emi's mind, each crazier than the last. A storm had ripped up the nets and boats, or he'd gotten in trouble with the head fisherman, or there'd been some sort of accident on the way there. She didn't dare venture any of those ideas, although their run through her mind was more than obvious in her expression. "...What is it?"
His smile took on a mischievous tint. "The problem is that you're not dressed to go to the South Cliffs Hotel yet. And how are we supposed to get there on time if you're not ready?"
Emi blinked, crossed her arms and raised on eyebrow at her husband. He had to be putting her on. "The South Cliffs Hotel? No really, Taro, why are you home? What sort of trouble do you get into?"
"Nothing, unless me telling Koji that I was taking a few days off is troublesome! And he sounded fine with it to me." There was definitely something he wasn't telling her, but Emi could tell that he was being serious about it. Playful, but serious. "I thought you would like it?"
Of course, any spouse would love a trip to the South Cliff Hotel, for a number of reasons. And a hint of happy surprise began to replace the worried expression, although that didn't stop her from still being skeptical. "Come on, no one just takes a trip down there because they feel like it."
"Most people don't," Taro said, setting his coffee down so that he could stand and stretch. "But I'm not most people. I think we could use the vacation."
Emi stepped closer to him, arms unfolded now, trying to see what he was thinking behind those sky-blue eyes. "Maybe, but can we afford it?"
Taro hooked an arm around her waist and landed a kiss on her cheek. "Like I said last week...good crop of Yellowtail this year."
Emi knew that no crop of Yellowtail could be good enough to cover the cost of a stay at the South Cliffs Hotel, but that kiss was enough to convince her that this surprise was a good idea anyway. The concern-turned-excitement spilled over into a laugh and a smile. So much for any form of routine today. "Then I guess I better go get dressed, hadn't I?"
"Sounds like a good idea to me."
~~~~~~~~
While all the worlds felt this in one way or another, Destiny Islands was in particular a very small and closed world. The people that lived there had always lived there...they were born on the islands, and died on the islands. No one ever left, because why would anyone want to leave a world like this?
Well...sometimes, very rarely, someone did leave.
But the fact of the matter was that there was no easy way to leave, which also meant that the islands received very few visitors. Not so rare as islanders themselves leaving and never coming back, but rare enough. No one ever quite knew where these few visitors came from - there was no way to fly out, and no one had ever safely taken a boat to another landmass and back - but it didn't matter too much, since visitors rarely stayed long. And visitors never seemed to cause much trouble, and often left the islanders gifts or other strange objects not found anywhere on their world. So why not make their stay as comfortable as possible?
That was the reason for the South Cliffs Hotel...a small hotel and resort on the southernmost edge of the big island, set against the only cliffside found on any of the islands. If Destiny Islands was a paradise, the hotel was the one place that tried to step up the luxury of it even more. The best food the islands could produce, rooms that all faced the ocean at sunset (all six of them), an expansive garden, a spa, and plenty of secluded areas on the property for people to enjoy themselves. Visitors to the islands stayed there for free...after all, the Hotel was intended for them, and it wasn't like they weren't repaid in other ways. But for residents, it was the most expensive place on the islands. This made it reserved only for special occasions, and was therefore popular among newlyweds or the richest high school graduates. It was also the only place on all the islands where you probably wouldn't see any kids.
So Emi had a pretty good idea of why they were here, although was less certain as to why they were here. But whatever Taro was thinking, they were here at the very least to relax and enjoy themselves, and that was good enough for her.
They arrived there following a half day's bike ride...the cliffs made it very difficult to dock boats, and no cars existed on the islands. No sooner had the couple parked their bikes near the entrance when they were greeted by Kenta, the hotel's owner. He was a tall, talkative redhead...more learned than one would first think.
"Taro! Emi! Wonderful to see you two again!" he declared.
"Thanks for having us, Kenta." Taro shifted the bag on his shoulder, and joked, "must not be having too much business to let us back in, huh?"
"You haven't seen some of the high school seniors! I'll be praying for your guys' business when graduation rolls around!" Kenta replied. All in good fun, naturally...you couldn't run this sort of hotel and not be a people person, and Kenta was very good at managing his place given its limited use.
"Have you had any visitors lately?" Emi asked, always curious to hear about strangers to the islands.
Kenta shrugged. "There was this young man...Jim Hawkins, I think a few months back. Didn't stay here more than a night or two, though."
That was the problem with visitors...they were here and gone so fast sometimes it seemed like they had never been there at all. Usually the only indication they were there at all were some of the interesting things they left behind for trades. "Did he leave you anything interesting?"
"Actually, there was this one strange thing I should...oh what am I saying, there's plenty of time for that!" Kenta declared, throwing his hands in the air. "And here you two are with all your bags still! Come on inside, Rosa will get you set up in your room."
"Thanks, Kenta," Taro said. Kenta could get a little carried away talking about his guests, but there was no harm in that. He led the two inside the hotel and through the lobby, which contained some of the various trinkets that Kenta had collected over the years. While most of the books obtained went to the islands' library, stuff that had no other real place to be stayed here, and there was enough to keep a curious individual busy for hours.
They were met by Rosa, a pretty blonde married to the islands' doctor, and sometimes employed at the hotel...basically on a need-to-work basis. She smiled broadly at them. "I should be making you two dinner tonight. Room three, right?"
"Right. And don't worry about signing in, that's covered." Taro and Emi followed them through the lobby and down the wooden walkways to the available rooms. The place looked as pristine and relaxing as it was the first time they came here.
"It's lovely to see you two again!" Rosa said as they reached the third room, a large wooden house crawling with ivy and flowers and decorated with wood and stone sculptures. She held the door open for them. "Anything special in mind planned for this visit?"
Emi glanced towards her husband...smiling as always, but like her, he wore his emotions on his sleeve. He was happy about something, although as to what exactly she could just guess. Emi wasn't that worried...she'd get it out of him before the day was through. She always did.
"I think we do."