Review for The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause and some fiction
Hehehe. Long time, no post! Sorry about that. I've been somewhat busy and not really in the mood to post. I'm not going to force myself to post something if I don't feel like it.
Anyway, a few things. Yesterday, I took my sister to see The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. We had popcorn, soda, gummy bears, and nachos to munch on for the show, though the nachos never made it to the opening credits. The movie was very good, too! If you have little ones or like watching two well-known and well-respected comedians at work, go see it.
As you've already seen from previews, Tim Allen reprises his role as Scott Calvin, aka Santa Claus. Martin Short picks up the role of Jack Frost, and he wishes to become Santa Claus. Got it so far? Good. Onward.
Jack does everything he can to make things difficult for Santa while trying to be buddy-buddy at the same time. He tricks certain elves into leaving their stations with hot cocoa, plants a little doubt in the heart of Mrs. Claus, and ultimately tricks Santa in wishing he'd never become Santa in the first place. How can that happen? It's called wishing. ;) Go see the movie for more details.
What I really liked about this movie was the outtakes at the beginning of the ending credits. There is nothing quite like watching two comedians goofing off while they're trying to film a movie, but Tim Allen and Martin Short pull it off. It's fun to see and the kids will love it. My little sister certainly did!
Next movie I want to go see is Happy Feet. My man (Elijah Wood) is the lead character. Gods, I love him! He's so adorable!
Yes, yes, I know. My Elijah fangirliness is showing. Big deal. ;)
--
"Hey, Jo!"
With a strange feeling of deja vu, though her grandparents had not called out to her when they'd picked her Friday evening, Jo turned her head at the sound of her name. She'd just stepped off the bullet train that had sped her back to Chicago when she'd heard a familiar, feminine voice, Mel Evans, call out to her. She knew Mel's voice anywhere, even though their friendship was only six weeks old. For some reason, hearing Mel's voice reminded Jo of listening to her grandmother's Bangles' albums on occasion. The one vocalist, Susanna Hoffs, had a very distinct quality, and Mel somehow possessed the same likeness. Jo didn't mind listening to her friend speak in the least.
The other girl, who was now twenty-two, ran towards Jo, a very large and bright smile on her face. A weekend bag was slung over Mel's shoulder. Jo stood in place, and waited for her friend to catch up.
Like she had with Madison and Aimee, Jo took the time to observe Mel, noting some similar things as she had with the other two.
Mel liked colour, and lots of it. When she had dyed her hair, she had chosen the brightest shades of pink, green, blue, and purple available. Her chestnut-brown locks were now a myriad of pastels, and Mel's makeup tended to be on the shimmery side, much like the style had been in the early part of the twenty-first century. Mel also liked to dress on the gothic side. She didn't necessarily go for wearing black all the time, but there were several gothic styles that bordered on fantasy. It wasn't unusual to see Mel wearing a corset-style top with a pair of black jeans and suede boots.
Out of all of the members of the Science Fiction Project, Mel had not chosen to be a mythical creature. Though she loved them, she didn't really desire to be anything spectacular. Mel's affination was more in wizards and bards, their abilities to do spectacular feats, and the clothing they wore. Jo thought her friend would make an excellent bard, if they lived in a kingdom. Mel certainly had the voice to captivate an audience, and Jo had no doubts her friend would survive in such an environment. Everyone always loved live entertainment.
It didn't take long for the other girl to catch up with Jo, and they were soon walking towards the university transit. Mel still sported her rather large grin.
"Have a good weekend?" Jo inquired, keeping her gaze straight ahead of her. She had a feeling she already knew the answer to her question, if Mel's bouncy behaviour was any indication.
And bounce Mel did! In addition to the all-consuming, mega-watt smile, the former brunette had a skip to her gait. Happiness radiated from Mel the same way the sun showered the earth with heat. Whatever had happened had put her friend in very good spirits, and it was something Jo could certainly understand.
"Oh, yeah!" Mel gushed. "Melissa Cronkhite was in San Francisco this weekend. She was doing a book signing at Borders, and I went there to get some of my books signed. I didn't think I'd get the chance to meet her, but I did! It was soo exciting! And she was so nice, too! I couldn't believe it! As she signed my stuff, she asked me what I did for a living. When I told her I was a student, she asked what school. Can you believe that? Anyway, so I told her where. Here's where it gets really awesome, Jo, I'm telling you! She told me her daughter attends the University of Chicago, just like we do! I couldn't believe it when she told me! I wonder what her daughter's like . . ."
"She's probably the same as everyone else," Jo replied with a bit of a smirk. "Just going about her day, and getting her schoolwork done."
"You think so?" Mel inquired. They reached the transit just in time to catch the next train to the university, and they stepped inside.
"Yeah," Jo replied. "Why? What do you think her daughter would be like?"
"Honestly? I don't know," Mel responded, taking a seat. Jo remained standing. "I've thought about it ever since she told me her daughter attended our school. I mean, in a way, I think it would be kind of rough to be the kid of a famous novelist. Everyone would expect you to follow in your parent's footsteps, even if you didn't want to or if your parent didn't expect you to. I wouldn't want very many people to know I was related to a famous novelist if I were her."
Jo nodded her head in agreement. Mel wasn't grasping at an impossible idea, either. Jo's last name was O'Connell, the same as her grandmother's and mother's last names. Cronkhite was her grandmother's maiden and professional name, and Jo's mom had adopted it for her own writing alias. They used the name of Cronkhite to maintain a certain level of privacy. Only the most die-hard of fans knew about the mother-daughter relationship between Torie and Melissa Cronkhite, and about the fact Ryan O'Connell had married Torie Cronkhite some forty years prior. Only a die-hard fan would know who little Joslyn Anna O'Connell was, but most students at the University of Chicago weren't fanatical about her mother's and grandparents' works. Jo was simply a fellow studen who shared the same last name as a famous artist. As long as no one made the connection between her and her famous relatives, Jo could go about her life in peace, and she wouldn't be hounded by her classmates for her mother's and grandmother's autographs.
"Her daughter is probably very nice, though," Mel continued, her tone thoughtful. "Melissa was. She was very polite, too. I can't imagine her daughter being any other way. With a mom like that . . ."
"Her daughter probably is very nice." Jo smiled then leaned in closer to Mel. It was time to display a little trust of her own. Her friends had confided something very important to them, after all, and friends trusted in each other. Even if it was a tiny, insignificant detail about one's life, friends trusted each other. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she said, "I'm Melissa Cronkhite's daughter."
--
Okay, peeps. I really want to hear what you think of the Science Fiction Project so far. Your silence on the material is slightly scary.
--
At some point during the night, it had snowed. It wasn't a few flakes here and there when Tohma had awoken in the morning, either. The snow had not only covered the ground, but had buried nearly everything under at least six inches of the white, powdery-like substance, he had noted with mild annoyance as he gazed out the window of his hotel room. Tree branches were laden with the stuff, and the roads and sidewalks were undoubtedly slick with slush and ice. Flights, both incoming and outgoing, would be delayed.
His flight to Tokyo possibly being delayed was what truly irritated Tohma the most. He had come to New York on business. Tohma had not had much of a choice in the matter. His American offices had slowed in their production quota, and he had wanted to find out why. As a result, Tohma had called several meetings with his American staff for as soon as possible then booked himself on the first available flight to New York.
He'd had to leave without Shuichi, and it had pained Tohma to leave the younger man behind. It had made sense for Shuichi to stay in Japan, though. Bad Luck had begun recording its new album under a renewed, and improved, contract under NG Productions. From a business perspective, it was foolhardy to delay the process by taking the band's singer with him on a whim.
There was also Reiji from XMR to consider as well when he'd made the plans to return to New York and without Shuichi. The young girl still held a flame for Shuichi, and had not been pleased when the vocalist had opted, once more, to stay with NG. Tohma wouldn't have put it by her to try and steal the singer away. For all he knew, the reason why his American offices had been suffering for business could have been because of XMR.
His hunch had not been too far from the mark. The moment he'd stepped into his American offices and into the meetings with his executives, he'd heard varying tales of the same thing: XMR was stealing talent left and right from NG. His personnel had been powerless to stop the artists from leaving. It was aggravating to learn, but Tohma took comfort in the knowledge there was always more talent out there, waiting to be discovered.
The meetings also had not taken up too much of his time, and he'd decided he could have probably taken care of the problem from the Tokyo office. At least then he'd have been able to stay close to Shuichi and wake up every morning to the vocalist's peaceful, slumbering visage. However, he'd decided to travel to New York to remedy the situation. It was December, close to Christmas, and he had counted on being able to do a little shopping for family and friends when he wasn't in his meetings. The shopping had been completed, the meetings over with quickly, and the problem NG faced in America dissuaded for a short time. Tohma had wanted to go home, back to Tokyo and back to Shuichi, so he had arranged for a sooner flight.
A flight that had possibly been delayed now, or even cancelled, thanks to the weather. Tohma let out a sigh then turned on the hotel room's television. Though one could see what the weather was like just by looking outside, it wouldn't hurt to find out what exactly had been delayed and cancelled. He dressed himself as he listened. To his annoyance, his flight had been delayed, as he'd suspected it would have been, and it had been delayed indefinitely. More bad weather was on the way, according to one of the news anchors, and the airlines weren't taking any chances.
'So much for going home,' he sighed to himself, feeling rather melancholic about the situation. He ignored the laptop sitting on the desk. He'd brought it so he could keep in contact with Sakano and Shuichi, to make sure things in Tokyo were running smoothly, but he couldn't even look at the device, not when he'd have to tell them he wouldn't be home. It was depressing, though he would never let it show.
A knock on the door brought Tohma out of his saddened musings, a light frown touching his features then shook his head. He had not ordered room service, rarely ever ordered room service for breakfast, often preferring to grab a pastry from the continental breakfast bar when he stayed in a hotel, so he knew who was not knocking on his door. Since it couldn't have been room service, it left only one person to disturb him this early, as NG's American staff knew better than to bother him before he reached the office. Reiji. She was doing her best to try and irritate him for some reason.
He schooled his features as he walked towards the door. Yes, Reiji had been trying her best to get a rise out of Tohma, but had yet to succeed. He would remain as inflappable as ever when dealing with her. After all, he'd managed with Ryuichi. Conversing with a young female was hardly any different.
Bright smile in place, the one he always used to charm people, Tohma opened the door to greet the knocker . . . and ended up with an armful of a shivering body covered in a heavy winter coat. A lithe form had launched itself at him and latched on in an attempted vice grip, something Tohma's surprise had prevented him from avoiding. The heavy coat prevented his assailant's hugging attack from being too tight. Fortunately, Shuichi's light stature wasn't enough to knock Tohma onto the floor.
"You're here! I didn't think you would be! I was certain you'd have left for the office by now!" a familiar voice declared, the sound muffled thanks to Tohma's shirt.
"Shuichi?"
Amethyst eyes gazed up at him, sparkling with happiness, and the brightest smile crossed youthful features. Tohma felt his annoyance at the weather quickly dissipating though he couldn't help but wonder why the vocalist was in New York instead of Tokyo.
"Yeah," Shuichi murmured, snuggling closer. "My flight came in late last night. I was stuck at the airport with K until the weather cleared. I'm glad I chose warm clothing to wear. K wasn't kidding when he said New York could get dumped with snow! It's cold out there!"
"I can imagine it is," he said, feeling a slight chill seeping into his own clothes from the vocalist's winter coat. He quickly pulled Shuichi further into the room so the door could close. "Why aren't you in Tokyo?"
"K and Sakano-san gave everyone some extra time off for Christmas," Shuichi replied cheerfully. "Sakano-san wanted to spend some more time with Maiko. It's their first Christmas together, after all, and K wanted to spend some time with his family as well. I think Eiri and Hiro are still trying to sort some things out between them, though. They may have had a fight or something. Hiro looked rather relieved when we were given the time off. I don't know for certain. Anyway, Suguru went to Kyoto to see Tatsuha, Sakano-san and my sister were going to drive to Osaka to be with his parents, and K came with me to New York since his wife and son are staying here for the holidays."
The beginnings of a smile, a true smile, tugged on the corners of Tohma's lips. There was something always reassuring about hearing Shuichi talk. Perhaps it was the vocalist's inability to tell a convincing lie, or perhaps it was the easy-going nature in which Shuichi spoke. It really didn't matter, though. When he heard his young lover talking, his worries vanished for a while and all Tohma had to think about was Shuichi.
Tohma also loved how Shuichi felt in his arms. The vocalist stood a few inches shorter than he did, which made it easy for the two of them to curl up together when the mood struck.
Unfortunately, his young lover didn't stay in his arms for very long. Shuichi reluctantly pulled away from him and began to take off his winter coat. Tohma watched as the singer stripped out of his winter gear.
"It's so pretty out there, though," Shuichi said. "I love it when it snows. It always makes the air feel so clean. At least, I think it does, anyway."
"Would you like to go for a walk then?" Tohma inquired, his tone light and airy. "We could head towards Fifth Avenue and simply enjoy the weather."
A year ago, Tohma would have never made such a suggestion to anyone, not even to Mika. Why, he hadn't been able to sufficiently explain to himself. There had been a time he'd been something akin to a hopeless romantic, and a walk through the snow, or any other kind of weather for that matter, had sounded charming and quaint. Perhaps it had been due to the lack of enthusiasm from his former wife that had killed the desire in him. Mika had been a pragmatic soul, and undoubtedly still was.
Shuichi was not Mike, though, and Tohma had not failed to notice how much the younger man enjoyed outdoor activities. Rain or sunshine, Shuichi would head out the door to do something, anything the first chance that came his way. Tohma's suggestion was sure to please the vocalist.
Sure enough, the moment the words left Tohma's lips Shuichi's eyes widened, and happiness shone in those amethyst depths. The singer nodded his head vigourously.
"Yeah! Of course I would!" Then Shuichi seemed to deflate. "It would have to wait, though, wouldn't it? You have all of those meetings . . ."
A soft chuckle escaped Tohma, and he pulled his lover to him.
"No. It would not have to wait," he murmured, inhaling some and taking in Shuichi's scent. "I have no meetings today or for the rest of the week."
"Really?"
"Really," Tohma assured. "Everything's taken care of for the moment. So what do you say? Would you like to go for a walk?"
"You bet I do!"
* * *
Several minutes later, the two men were in the hotel lobby and heading for the main entrance. Their hands had met, and their fingers had intertwined, in spite of the fact they were both wearing gloves, but Shuichi hadn't seemed to mind. If anything, the younger man's smile had grown wider and brighter, and Tohma noticed the slight bounce in his lover's steps.
--
I hate to only give a teaser but I'm still meshing out this one. On top of trying to catch up on nano . . . Yes. I'm a masochist.
Some good news? I have plenty of songs on my iPod to listen to to aide in the writing process!
Yay!
Until next time, kiddos . . .
BTW, next post will be the 500th post party. Yep. I've written four hundred ninety-nine posts. Scary, huh?
Anyway, a few things. Yesterday, I took my sister to see The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. We had popcorn, soda, gummy bears, and nachos to munch on for the show, though the nachos never made it to the opening credits. The movie was very good, too! If you have little ones or like watching two well-known and well-respected comedians at work, go see it.
As you've already seen from previews, Tim Allen reprises his role as Scott Calvin, aka Santa Claus. Martin Short picks up the role of Jack Frost, and he wishes to become Santa Claus. Got it so far? Good. Onward.
Jack does everything he can to make things difficult for Santa while trying to be buddy-buddy at the same time. He tricks certain elves into leaving their stations with hot cocoa, plants a little doubt in the heart of Mrs. Claus, and ultimately tricks Santa in wishing he'd never become Santa in the first place. How can that happen? It's called wishing. ;) Go see the movie for more details.
What I really liked about this movie was the outtakes at the beginning of the ending credits. There is nothing quite like watching two comedians goofing off while they're trying to film a movie, but Tim Allen and Martin Short pull it off. It's fun to see and the kids will love it. My little sister certainly did!
Next movie I want to go see is Happy Feet. My man (Elijah Wood) is the lead character. Gods, I love him! He's so adorable!
Yes, yes, I know. My Elijah fangirliness is showing. Big deal. ;)
--
"Hey, Jo!"
With a strange feeling of deja vu, though her grandparents had not called out to her when they'd picked her Friday evening, Jo turned her head at the sound of her name. She'd just stepped off the bullet train that had sped her back to Chicago when she'd heard a familiar, feminine voice, Mel Evans, call out to her. She knew Mel's voice anywhere, even though their friendship was only six weeks old. For some reason, hearing Mel's voice reminded Jo of listening to her grandmother's Bangles' albums on occasion. The one vocalist, Susanna Hoffs, had a very distinct quality, and Mel somehow possessed the same likeness. Jo didn't mind listening to her friend speak in the least.
The other girl, who was now twenty-two, ran towards Jo, a very large and bright smile on her face. A weekend bag was slung over Mel's shoulder. Jo stood in place, and waited for her friend to catch up.
Like she had with Madison and Aimee, Jo took the time to observe Mel, noting some similar things as she had with the other two.
Mel liked colour, and lots of it. When she had dyed her hair, she had chosen the brightest shades of pink, green, blue, and purple available. Her chestnut-brown locks were now a myriad of pastels, and Mel's makeup tended to be on the shimmery side, much like the style had been in the early part of the twenty-first century. Mel also liked to dress on the gothic side. She didn't necessarily go for wearing black all the time, but there were several gothic styles that bordered on fantasy. It wasn't unusual to see Mel wearing a corset-style top with a pair of black jeans and suede boots.
Out of all of the members of the Science Fiction Project, Mel had not chosen to be a mythical creature. Though she loved them, she didn't really desire to be anything spectacular. Mel's affination was more in wizards and bards, their abilities to do spectacular feats, and the clothing they wore. Jo thought her friend would make an excellent bard, if they lived in a kingdom. Mel certainly had the voice to captivate an audience, and Jo had no doubts her friend would survive in such an environment. Everyone always loved live entertainment.
It didn't take long for the other girl to catch up with Jo, and they were soon walking towards the university transit. Mel still sported her rather large grin.
"Have a good weekend?" Jo inquired, keeping her gaze straight ahead of her. She had a feeling she already knew the answer to her question, if Mel's bouncy behaviour was any indication.
And bounce Mel did! In addition to the all-consuming, mega-watt smile, the former brunette had a skip to her gait. Happiness radiated from Mel the same way the sun showered the earth with heat. Whatever had happened had put her friend in very good spirits, and it was something Jo could certainly understand.
"Oh, yeah!" Mel gushed. "Melissa Cronkhite was in San Francisco this weekend. She was doing a book signing at Borders, and I went there to get some of my books signed. I didn't think I'd get the chance to meet her, but I did! It was soo exciting! And she was so nice, too! I couldn't believe it! As she signed my stuff, she asked me what I did for a living. When I told her I was a student, she asked what school. Can you believe that? Anyway, so I told her where. Here's where it gets really awesome, Jo, I'm telling you! She told me her daughter attends the University of Chicago, just like we do! I couldn't believe it when she told me! I wonder what her daughter's like . . ."
"She's probably the same as everyone else," Jo replied with a bit of a smirk. "Just going about her day, and getting her schoolwork done."
"You think so?" Mel inquired. They reached the transit just in time to catch the next train to the university, and they stepped inside.
"Yeah," Jo replied. "Why? What do you think her daughter would be like?"
"Honestly? I don't know," Mel responded, taking a seat. Jo remained standing. "I've thought about it ever since she told me her daughter attended our school. I mean, in a way, I think it would be kind of rough to be the kid of a famous novelist. Everyone would expect you to follow in your parent's footsteps, even if you didn't want to or if your parent didn't expect you to. I wouldn't want very many people to know I was related to a famous novelist if I were her."
Jo nodded her head in agreement. Mel wasn't grasping at an impossible idea, either. Jo's last name was O'Connell, the same as her grandmother's and mother's last names. Cronkhite was her grandmother's maiden and professional name, and Jo's mom had adopted it for her own writing alias. They used the name of Cronkhite to maintain a certain level of privacy. Only the most die-hard of fans knew about the mother-daughter relationship between Torie and Melissa Cronkhite, and about the fact Ryan O'Connell had married Torie Cronkhite some forty years prior. Only a die-hard fan would know who little Joslyn Anna O'Connell was, but most students at the University of Chicago weren't fanatical about her mother's and grandparents' works. Jo was simply a fellow studen who shared the same last name as a famous artist. As long as no one made the connection between her and her famous relatives, Jo could go about her life in peace, and she wouldn't be hounded by her classmates for her mother's and grandmother's autographs.
"Her daughter is probably very nice, though," Mel continued, her tone thoughtful. "Melissa was. She was very polite, too. I can't imagine her daughter being any other way. With a mom like that . . ."
"Her daughter probably is very nice." Jo smiled then leaned in closer to Mel. It was time to display a little trust of her own. Her friends had confided something very important to them, after all, and friends trusted in each other. Even if it was a tiny, insignificant detail about one's life, friends trusted each other. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she said, "I'm Melissa Cronkhite's daughter."
--
Okay, peeps. I really want to hear what you think of the Science Fiction Project so far. Your silence on the material is slightly scary.
--
At some point during the night, it had snowed. It wasn't a few flakes here and there when Tohma had awoken in the morning, either. The snow had not only covered the ground, but had buried nearly everything under at least six inches of the white, powdery-like substance, he had noted with mild annoyance as he gazed out the window of his hotel room. Tree branches were laden with the stuff, and the roads and sidewalks were undoubtedly slick with slush and ice. Flights, both incoming and outgoing, would be delayed.
His flight to Tokyo possibly being delayed was what truly irritated Tohma the most. He had come to New York on business. Tohma had not had much of a choice in the matter. His American offices had slowed in their production quota, and he had wanted to find out why. As a result, Tohma had called several meetings with his American staff for as soon as possible then booked himself on the first available flight to New York.
He'd had to leave without Shuichi, and it had pained Tohma to leave the younger man behind. It had made sense for Shuichi to stay in Japan, though. Bad Luck had begun recording its new album under a renewed, and improved, contract under NG Productions. From a business perspective, it was foolhardy to delay the process by taking the band's singer with him on a whim.
There was also Reiji from XMR to consider as well when he'd made the plans to return to New York and without Shuichi. The young girl still held a flame for Shuichi, and had not been pleased when the vocalist had opted, once more, to stay with NG. Tohma wouldn't have put it by her to try and steal the singer away. For all he knew, the reason why his American offices had been suffering for business could have been because of XMR.
His hunch had not been too far from the mark. The moment he'd stepped into his American offices and into the meetings with his executives, he'd heard varying tales of the same thing: XMR was stealing talent left and right from NG. His personnel had been powerless to stop the artists from leaving. It was aggravating to learn, but Tohma took comfort in the knowledge there was always more talent out there, waiting to be discovered.
The meetings also had not taken up too much of his time, and he'd decided he could have probably taken care of the problem from the Tokyo office. At least then he'd have been able to stay close to Shuichi and wake up every morning to the vocalist's peaceful, slumbering visage. However, he'd decided to travel to New York to remedy the situation. It was December, close to Christmas, and he had counted on being able to do a little shopping for family and friends when he wasn't in his meetings. The shopping had been completed, the meetings over with quickly, and the problem NG faced in America dissuaded for a short time. Tohma had wanted to go home, back to Tokyo and back to Shuichi, so he had arranged for a sooner flight.
A flight that had possibly been delayed now, or even cancelled, thanks to the weather. Tohma let out a sigh then turned on the hotel room's television. Though one could see what the weather was like just by looking outside, it wouldn't hurt to find out what exactly had been delayed and cancelled. He dressed himself as he listened. To his annoyance, his flight had been delayed, as he'd suspected it would have been, and it had been delayed indefinitely. More bad weather was on the way, according to one of the news anchors, and the airlines weren't taking any chances.
'So much for going home,' he sighed to himself, feeling rather melancholic about the situation. He ignored the laptop sitting on the desk. He'd brought it so he could keep in contact with Sakano and Shuichi, to make sure things in Tokyo were running smoothly, but he couldn't even look at the device, not when he'd have to tell them he wouldn't be home. It was depressing, though he would never let it show.
A knock on the door brought Tohma out of his saddened musings, a light frown touching his features then shook his head. He had not ordered room service, rarely ever ordered room service for breakfast, often preferring to grab a pastry from the continental breakfast bar when he stayed in a hotel, so he knew who was not knocking on his door. Since it couldn't have been room service, it left only one person to disturb him this early, as NG's American staff knew better than to bother him before he reached the office. Reiji. She was doing her best to try and irritate him for some reason.
He schooled his features as he walked towards the door. Yes, Reiji had been trying her best to get a rise out of Tohma, but had yet to succeed. He would remain as inflappable as ever when dealing with her. After all, he'd managed with Ryuichi. Conversing with a young female was hardly any different.
Bright smile in place, the one he always used to charm people, Tohma opened the door to greet the knocker . . . and ended up with an armful of a shivering body covered in a heavy winter coat. A lithe form had launched itself at him and latched on in an attempted vice grip, something Tohma's surprise had prevented him from avoiding. The heavy coat prevented his assailant's hugging attack from being too tight. Fortunately, Shuichi's light stature wasn't enough to knock Tohma onto the floor.
"You're here! I didn't think you would be! I was certain you'd have left for the office by now!" a familiar voice declared, the sound muffled thanks to Tohma's shirt.
"Shuichi?"
Amethyst eyes gazed up at him, sparkling with happiness, and the brightest smile crossed youthful features. Tohma felt his annoyance at the weather quickly dissipating though he couldn't help but wonder why the vocalist was in New York instead of Tokyo.
"Yeah," Shuichi murmured, snuggling closer. "My flight came in late last night. I was stuck at the airport with K until the weather cleared. I'm glad I chose warm clothing to wear. K wasn't kidding when he said New York could get dumped with snow! It's cold out there!"
"I can imagine it is," he said, feeling a slight chill seeping into his own clothes from the vocalist's winter coat. He quickly pulled Shuichi further into the room so the door could close. "Why aren't you in Tokyo?"
"K and Sakano-san gave everyone some extra time off for Christmas," Shuichi replied cheerfully. "Sakano-san wanted to spend some more time with Maiko. It's their first Christmas together, after all, and K wanted to spend some time with his family as well. I think Eiri and Hiro are still trying to sort some things out between them, though. They may have had a fight or something. Hiro looked rather relieved when we were given the time off. I don't know for certain. Anyway, Suguru went to Kyoto to see Tatsuha, Sakano-san and my sister were going to drive to Osaka to be with his parents, and K came with me to New York since his wife and son are staying here for the holidays."
The beginnings of a smile, a true smile, tugged on the corners of Tohma's lips. There was something always reassuring about hearing Shuichi talk. Perhaps it was the vocalist's inability to tell a convincing lie, or perhaps it was the easy-going nature in which Shuichi spoke. It really didn't matter, though. When he heard his young lover talking, his worries vanished for a while and all Tohma had to think about was Shuichi.
Tohma also loved how Shuichi felt in his arms. The vocalist stood a few inches shorter than he did, which made it easy for the two of them to curl up together when the mood struck.
Unfortunately, his young lover didn't stay in his arms for very long. Shuichi reluctantly pulled away from him and began to take off his winter coat. Tohma watched as the singer stripped out of his winter gear.
"It's so pretty out there, though," Shuichi said. "I love it when it snows. It always makes the air feel so clean. At least, I think it does, anyway."
"Would you like to go for a walk then?" Tohma inquired, his tone light and airy. "We could head towards Fifth Avenue and simply enjoy the weather."
A year ago, Tohma would have never made such a suggestion to anyone, not even to Mika. Why, he hadn't been able to sufficiently explain to himself. There had been a time he'd been something akin to a hopeless romantic, and a walk through the snow, or any other kind of weather for that matter, had sounded charming and quaint. Perhaps it had been due to the lack of enthusiasm from his former wife that had killed the desire in him. Mika had been a pragmatic soul, and undoubtedly still was.
Shuichi was not Mike, though, and Tohma had not failed to notice how much the younger man enjoyed outdoor activities. Rain or sunshine, Shuichi would head out the door to do something, anything the first chance that came his way. Tohma's suggestion was sure to please the vocalist.
Sure enough, the moment the words left Tohma's lips Shuichi's eyes widened, and happiness shone in those amethyst depths. The singer nodded his head vigourously.
"Yeah! Of course I would!" Then Shuichi seemed to deflate. "It would have to wait, though, wouldn't it? You have all of those meetings . . ."
A soft chuckle escaped Tohma, and he pulled his lover to him.
"No. It would not have to wait," he murmured, inhaling some and taking in Shuichi's scent. "I have no meetings today or for the rest of the week."
"Really?"
"Really," Tohma assured. "Everything's taken care of for the moment. So what do you say? Would you like to go for a walk?"
"You bet I do!"
* * *
Several minutes later, the two men were in the hotel lobby and heading for the main entrance. Their hands had met, and their fingers had intertwined, in spite of the fact they were both wearing gloves, but Shuichi hadn't seemed to mind. If anything, the younger man's smile had grown wider and brighter, and Tohma noticed the slight bounce in his lover's steps.
--
I hate to only give a teaser but I'm still meshing out this one. On top of trying to catch up on nano . . . Yes. I'm a masochist.
Some good news? I have plenty of songs on my iPod to listen to to aide in the writing process!
Yay!
Until next time, kiddos . . .
BTW, next post will be the 500th post party. Yep. I've written four hundred ninety-nine posts. Scary, huh?