Advent Drabblender, Door 24. Aka Airmail, Epilogue 3/4.
Brought to you with the help of my boyfriend (who fixed my computer (wohooo!)) and elvisvf101 , who helped me with grammar and ideas. Also, the poetry is obviously not mine, but Pable Neruda's.
December
Every once in a while, you do some really strange things, move in sync with their alien beat for a little while and then suddenly, all you can think of is: what the fuck am I doing here?
It was this thought that kept flashing through Ando's mind as he looked at the giant Christmas tree in his parents' living-room in New York. He wasn't sure what was worse: the cheap beer he had had last night which induced hangover like nothing else, or the blinking pyramid of glass and crystal that dominated half of the room.
At least the parental unit was blissfully absent now, but they had been more than happy to welcome him into their house and berate him for everything from his hair cut to his choice of job and eventually his moving to Japan. Both his mother and his father had carefully avoided the topic of the blonde he had introduced to them in summer, acting as if she didn't exist. Thinking of Minako, who was probably turning her house into Christmas-central and of Takeshi, who would grumble and shout at the dog only to leave all of his scrooging behind once he saw his girlfriend's wide smile, Ando wondered whether they would have minded terribly if he spent Christmas with them in their shiny new home. He could make himself useful, he thought with a pang of hope, he could pass the gravy during Christmas dinner or something.
While pouring himself a glass of his father's oldest whiskey (as forbidden as it was delicious), Ando had to grudgingly admit to himself that they probably would mind. Those happy and in love didn't want a stinking ball of misery by their side during the major holidays. He knew that both Ami and Umino were celebrating with their respective families, and Hiromasa had taken Makoto to his grandmother. Mamoru and Usagi were at the Tsukinos` house, and that left only Rei unaccounted for and he seriously doubted that she would share the holiday spirit with him. So a week ago, Ando had made a big show out of having to fly to New York for work reasons, announcing that unfortunately, he wouldn't be back before New Year's, but that he would make up for his absence with mountains of useless presents. Minako had shot him a knowing look, but opted for silence and when she dropped him off at the airport, she hugged him a little harder than necessary and asked him not to kick the poodle too much, a plea he chose to ignore after the stupid living cotton ball had bitten him in the leg ten minutes into his visit.
Feeling more than a little relief that his parents were away at one of their many annual charity functions, Ando strolled trough the living-room, filching through boring coffee table books, looking at pictures and wondering whether his parents had any idea what they were donating copious amounts of money for. While the concept of charity was good, Ando knew that his father only agreed to go because all of his partners were there and his mother was in it for the pretty new dress. Nevermind the starving children; they could take care of themselves.
Strangely, without his parents fluttering around him and nagging him, the house was too silent. It should have been peaceful, but it was just flat out unnerving. It wasn't as if Ando had nothing to do: he could do some writing, he could meet his editor, he could buy the presents he had promised his friends back in Japan, he could empty his father's bar, and if push came to shove, he could find himself a pretty girl and find some brief distraction. Not that it would work in the long run, he thought bitterly while kicking back another glass of whiskey, no woman could compare to Rei and that she resented him didn't mean that his own feelings were in any way diminishing. Of course, he had wondered more than once whether he should return to Tokyo at all. Distance made the heart grow fonder, and he was actually quite sure that Rei would accept him in time if he didn't manage to fuck it up beforehand. The thing was just that Ando began to belief that fucking up was what he did best. By asking Minako to come to New York with him in summer, he had almost destroyed her and Takeshi's relationship and while the couple was happy now, the extended trip to New York was still by no means forgotten; Hiromasa made a point of reminding both Minako and Ando of it at least once a week. Deliberately setting his glass down on the antique coffee table without a coaster and hoping it would leave a stain, Ando left the living-room and seconds later, the house.
"Oh fuck. Oh fucking fuck!" he burst out as the cold wind slapped him in the face. Even after having been here for a week, he hadn't got used to the insane temperatures in the city. Tokyo was a solid ten degrees warmer than New York, and not for the first time, Ando wished that fate had dealt him better cards - cards that allowed him to stay in the company of his friends while bumming around in the relative warm of his new home country. But at Minako's birthday dinner, his heart had been beating in his chest as if it were about to burst, and while it was the best and the worst feeling in the world to have Rei this close to him, it wasn't exactly healthy. Not until some time had passed.
Turning up his collar, he considered his options. He needed to do something, otherwise he would hail a cab and drive to the airport. The airport meant planes, planes meant Tokyo, and Tokyo meant a million conflicting emotions that no-one was ready to deal with at this point, least of all himself. Seeing a woman with shopping bags pass him by, Ando made his choice and set out to buy some presents. It didn't take him long to find the right things for his friends, and despite his threat, he made a point of getting them nice and useful things. Takeshi was the first one on his list, and he got him the finest set of pencils he could find. Umino was to be gifted with three new shirts, and since Ando wore Umino's clothes with alarming frequency, figuring out the right size was a piece of cake. It took him several shops to decide on something for Hiromasa and Makoto, and because it was so difficult, he decided to follow the Frank Xavier Cross tradition of present choosing and got them a nice set of knives. Both liked to cook, and Ando concluded that before cooking came cutting, so knives were a logical, if not brilliant solution. Ami got a new romance novel fresh from the press, and to tease her a little, he put the book in a medically themed cover. Abandoning his line of reasonable presents, he got Usagi a snow globe, knowing that the childlike woman would love it far more than anything she could actually use. Mamoru got a new watch (shiny silver, very elegant, if the saleswoman was to be believed) and finally, there were only the two women closest to his heart left to find something for, even though he had no idea what Rei liked. Other than tea and heartbreak, that was.
Since Minako liked everything, it was both incredibly easy and incredibly hard to get her something. A bubbly saleswoman tried her hardest to sell him a Kindle, and while her smile was lovely and her knowledge about the white piece of technology extensive, Ando could only shake his head in silent protest before fleeing. In an antique bookshop he used to haunt back when he still lived in the city, he found what he was looking for. It was simple, it was cheap, and Minako would love it. Nabokov's Lolita was put into his shopping bag alongside his other purchases, joined by another book before he even realised he had bought it, and off he went into the cold New York evening.
A week later, several colourful and one far more inconspicuous parcel were delivered to addresses all over Tokyo. Almost at the same time, the red, and blue, and pink, and yellow paper was ripped from the presents.
"Aww look, Hiro, Ando got us some new knives! We have to keep them far away from Usagi, or she'll accidentally cut her hand off."
"He got you a dirty book?" Takeshi asked a beaming Minako with a frown. She laughed, and began to browse through the pages. "It's not dirty, it's art. Now go and unwrap your own."
"Mamo, this is so nice! I like your watch, too. Very Tuxedo Mask, huh?"
"It's a medical textbook," Ami said to her mother while browsing through the pages. A sly blush crept up her chest, and she closed the book. "Just a medical textbook."
"Umino, why would a man send you new shirts? And what about this note? Sorry, old ones are no longer usable, they were lying on my bedroom floor far too long See you in the new year, Ando. Ando is a male name. Sweetie, is there something you want to talk about? You know you can tell your Grandma everything, you'll always be my little Umi-bear." Burying his head in arms, Umino took a second to curse his room-mate to hell and back before smiling tiredly at his grandmother.
The only gift wrapped in brown paper was carried to the door of one Ms Rei Hino, who was alone in her flat. Christmas did not have a hold over the small apartment, but there were a few candles lit to cast a glow in the dark. Opening the door, Rei accepted the present from the delivery man, already knowing who sent it her way. She had dreamt about it, had seen him walking the streets of a city unknown to her, had witnessed his search for countless perfect present before picking the leather bound book she now unwrapped with trembling fingers. It was a collection of poems, some marked by pressed roses between the pages. She flicked the first marked page open, and picked a random pair of verse to read.
The memory of you emerges from the night around me.
The river mingles its stubborn lament with the sea.
Too soon, too close.
Quickly pushing it shut, she put the narrow book on her empty shelves, where it would be waiting until she was ready or he had forgotten her.
January
Fireworks exploded in the sky, and just like last year, Minako stood alone on the balcony of the restaurant with an umbrella-topped cocktail in her hand while her friends were celebrating inside. And just like last year, she was pleasantly drunk. This however was where the similarities began and ended. Unlike last year, she was here with Takeshi and she was happy. The deep longing she had carried around her with herself for years and years was finally fulfilled; she had her man by her side and this time, it was to last.
"What are you looking at?" The familiar dark voice came from behind her, and Minako turned to meet her boyfriend with a smile. While all the other men had long since abandoned jackets and ties (in the case of Hiromasa not bothering with either in the first place), Takeshi was still in his suit and would remain so until they went home where he would change into his pressed and striped pyjamas. He didn't yet know that she had sneakily hidden all the top parts of his much beloved nightwear; it was her resolution to make him loosen up a bit and what better place to do so than in their home? That he looked spectacular half-naked was an added bonus, she mused.
Giggling, she reached for his hand.
"See, over there, that's your office building. Last year, I was standing right here with Ami, and I was looking at that building and there was some poor fellow in there working. That wouldn't have happened to be you?"
Takeshi took his hand from hers and shoved it into his pockets. "I don't remember."
"You're lying."
"Perhaps I am." His smile was nonchalant, giving nothing away. Of course, he remembered. He remembered the lonely night, he remembered worrying and struggling with his new and old identity, and he remembered having seen Minako in the arms of another man.
Her voice forced him back into the present: "Well, this year you don't have to work, this year you get to carry me home."
Leaning down and thus closing the distance between them, he placed a quiet kiss on her exposed collarbone. "And then what?"
Her eyes fluttered shut; putting on the daring dress had definitely been a good idea, his alert green eyes had been following her all night. The cold air smelled of the new aftershave she had gotten him for Christmas, the fireworks and winter, and it made her head spin in the best of ways. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him and winked.
"Depends on how nice you are to me, and depends on how many more of these I will have." She waved the glass around a bit, not noticing that the movement caused the drink to spill right on Takeshi's shoes.
Inside the restaurant, Ando and Umino were watching the lovers through the windows. The two men were smoking cigars, having decided that they needed a New Year's tradition all of their own. Mamoru and Hiromasa were at the bar, organising them more drinks, the girls had disappeared to God knows where and ever so quietly, Takeshi had pocketed his cigar instead of lighting it and walked on the balcony to join Minako. Smooth bastard, Ando thought while savouring the taste of the cigar on his tongue. He threw the couple one last glance and turned his eyes on Umino again. The youngest shitennou was wearing one of the shirts Ando had gotten him for Christmas, and it fit him perfectly.
"Nice shirt."
"Haha. The shirt is good, but instead of your little ambiguous message, you could have just sent a note saying Merry Christmas."
"Why? I thought it was time to enlighten your grandmother about your living arrangements. Can she come and visit us? Our flat needs cleaning again."
"My gran will not clean our flat, she's 82 years old. But she will come to visit me on my birthday, so the place needs to be tidy then."
"When's your birthday?" Ando held the cigar between his lips and whipped his Moleskine notebook from his jacket's pocket. “I should really know that, right?” Flipping it open, he searched for a pen.
"First week of March." Umino smiled and took off his tie, slinging it over the back of the chair, where his jacket already hung.
"Shit, we didn't celebrate it last year, did we?"
"No, we were preoccupied with having found everyone."
"I'll get you two presents for this year then. Which date?"
"Third. And you don't have to."
Scribbling Umino's name in the narrow margins of the calender, Ando answered with the cigar still in his mouth. "Shut up."
"Fine. How was your flight back?" Ando had arrived just in time to join them for the celebration, stowing his luggage in the restaurant's storage room. His clothes were rumpled, but he had made it in time, and that was all that mattered.
"Good. Long. Boring. Why isn't she here?” There was no need to specify who 'she' was. Umino checked his watch, and made an impressed face.
"Three hours and six minutes before you asked. New record. And I have no idea, ask Usagi. You here to stay?"
Putting the notebook away, Ando feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Tilting his head to the side, Umino observed his friend. "I think you do."
"Ever since when are you so fucking perceptive?"
"Always have been," Umino said matter-of-factly.
"Annoying quality, let it go."
"If it's a quality, then it's something good, so why would I let it go?"
"Fine, fine. What's taking Hiro and Mamoru so long? Can't be that hard to order some new drinks."
Undeterred, Umino continued. "So when are you leaving next? Valentine's Day? Easter? Lent? Saint Paddy's Day?”
There was a trace of annoyance in Ando's voice when he answered. "No, I'll be here for Easter."
"You have a standing invitation to come to my family for major holidays, you know? You don't need to sit them out in your parents' house. My grandmother would love to meet you," he offered with a lopsided smile.
Ando was silent for a minute. "That's... thank you, that's nice."
"Don't mention it."
They looked at each other, but averted their eyes before too long. Ando's gaze strayed to the balcony again.
"Ten quid that instead of happy-new-year-sex, he will have to hold her hair while she pukes. Girl can't hold her liquor. Right now, she can barely hold herself up."
Umino squinted his eyes, and looked at the two again. Minako had pressed herself close to Takeshi, and they were slowly swaying on the spot. A slow smile spread out on Umino's face. He had never thought to see the day: Takeshi was dancing, and it was awkward and completely and utterly graceless. Pushing his chair back and stubbing his cigar out, he got up.
"I've got to go find Ami. And fifty that there will be no puking. There'd rather be a baby than puking."
"Wait-what?"
Laughing to himself, Umino left a thunderstruck Ando behind and set out to find his girl. Minako wasn't the only woman in need of man to dance with.
February
Behind the counter of her café, Makoto watched Ami turn a deep shade of crimson. Also at her table and blushing equally hard was Umino. Both were smiling, and had abandoned the cake they had ordered to hold hands. Next to Makoto, Hiromasa scratched his head. "Why are they so red in the face?" He had come to help Makoto install a second oven in the kitchen, and now that his work was done, he enjoyed a cup of strong espresso before heading to his own work space.
"It's Valentine's Day."
"I know that, wife of mine, it's why you woke up to a bunch of red roses and breakfast in bed." Makoto laughed and pinched him in the side. "The breakfast doesn't count. Spock ate most of it and I'm not too fond of toast with drool."
"He only stole it because we were too busy celebrating Valentine's Day to notice him, therefore it still counts. And you got another present instead, so don't complain."
At the other end of the counter, still in earshot of Hiromasa and Makoto, sat Ando, who now choked on his coffee and put down his morning paper with a disgusted expression on his face. Turning to the married couple, he shook his head. "Hiromasa, your penis is not a Valentine's Day present, even if you wrapped a bow around it." Hiromasa opened his mouth, but Ando began to wave his hands just as someone attempting to stop a train might. "I don't want to know, okay, I don't want to know! It's bad enough that Minako spent yesterday evening theorising that Chibi-Usa will be conceived on Valentine's Day, hence the pink hair."
While putting some sugar roses on a cake with the precision of a heart surgeon, Makoto laughed. "Most reasonable theory Minako has ever put forward."
In that moment, Umino leaned across the table and kissed Ami on the mouth, causing the girl to giggle.
"Oh God, that's sickening," Ando muttered.
Hiromasa reached over the counter and punched him in the shoulder. "Leave' em be, it took them long enough."
"You're not like that, and you're married."
Closely examining the cake one last time before putting it in the cooled inside of the counter, Makoto's face was serious, but her eyes twinkled. "We also live in an apartment that is moderately clean, and Hiromasa wraps bright red bows around his penis." Hiro guffawed, Makoto grinned and Ando pressed his eyes shut.
"There is not enough bleach in the world to burn this image from my mind," Ando groaned while a laughing Hiromasa high-fived his wife. "Good one, love."
The small brass bell chimed, and Umino and Ami quickly disappeared through the doors without goodbye. Ami had forgotten her gloves, and Umino had left behind his scarf.
"Great, now I can't go home because they're sexing it up there." Ando got up and cleared the table, returning to his own seat at the counter with two plates of barely touched cake. Reaching over the counter, he fumbled for a clean fork, only to be slapped on the hand by Makoto. “You're not allowed behind the counter.”
Snorting, Hiromasa moved around and sat down next to Ando, claiming one of the slices of cake. Cheesecake with blueberries, he noted with pleasure. He didn't bother with a fresh fork and used Umino's instead. "Nobody would ever sex it up in your apartment. I think it repels women like wax repels water. Law of nature."
"Hey, it's not that bad any more. And Minako and Usagi both come to visit."
From behind the counter, Makoto interjected "Not saying much, both are slobs, ask their mothers" and handed Ando a fresh fork. "Ando, you could just order your own cake, you know?" Grinning roguishly, Ando took a bite of Ami's piece of cake. "Uh uh, too expensive, my dear. I can barely afford your coffee. You should offer free refills."
Hiromasa waited until Makoto had moved to the now deserted table to collect the gloves and the scarf before lowering his voice and turning to Ando. "You really think Ami and Umino are doing it?"
"They've been together for ages, of course they're doing it."
Makoto crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You don't get to speculate about that, you two. That's between Umino and Ami and no-one else, do you hear me?"
"Yes, mum, we do, and boy, your hearing is excellent," Ando quipped and picked up his paper again. Makoto put the scarf in front of Ando and the gloves in a drawer under the cash register and made a mental note to give them to Ami when she came by next.
"Don't call my wife mum, that's just wrong."
"So are bows wrapped around penises." The married couple grinned again, and Ando decided that it was probably time to hide somewhere until Valentine's Day was over.
Having finished the cake in record time, Hiromasa whistled for his dog. Spock had spent the morning lying in front of the radiator, dozing and chewing on an old rolling pin. "I've got to go to work. Wife, kiss."
Leaning over the counter, Makoto obliged him. "Thanks for helping me with the oven. And take this one with you, he's scaring away paying customers."
"Now that almost hurt my feelings." Ando put on his jacket and buttoned it up before donning the scarf Umino had forgotten.
"I meant the dog, but you can go too," Makoto laughed and waved them off. “And Ando, don't stop by Minako's and Takeshi's today.”
Ando made a face. “Wouldn't dream of it. Goodbye, Makoto.”
“Bye Ando.”
Just as the two men left, Hiro turned around once more, mischief all over his face. “I'll be home gift-wrapped tonight, love.”
Ando winced, and off they went, leaving a laughing Makoto and the chewed on rolling pin behind.
December
Every once in a while, you do some really strange things, move in sync with their alien beat for a little while and then suddenly, all you can think of is: what the fuck am I doing here?
It was this thought that kept flashing through Ando's mind as he looked at the giant Christmas tree in his parents' living-room in New York. He wasn't sure what was worse: the cheap beer he had had last night which induced hangover like nothing else, or the blinking pyramid of glass and crystal that dominated half of the room.
At least the parental unit was blissfully absent now, but they had been more than happy to welcome him into their house and berate him for everything from his hair cut to his choice of job and eventually his moving to Japan. Both his mother and his father had carefully avoided the topic of the blonde he had introduced to them in summer, acting as if she didn't exist. Thinking of Minako, who was probably turning her house into Christmas-central and of Takeshi, who would grumble and shout at the dog only to leave all of his scrooging behind once he saw his girlfriend's wide smile, Ando wondered whether they would have minded terribly if he spent Christmas with them in their shiny new home. He could make himself useful, he thought with a pang of hope, he could pass the gravy during Christmas dinner or something.
While pouring himself a glass of his father's oldest whiskey (as forbidden as it was delicious), Ando had to grudgingly admit to himself that they probably would mind. Those happy and in love didn't want a stinking ball of misery by their side during the major holidays. He knew that both Ami and Umino were celebrating with their respective families, and Hiromasa had taken Makoto to his grandmother. Mamoru and Usagi were at the Tsukinos` house, and that left only Rei unaccounted for and he seriously doubted that she would share the holiday spirit with him. So a week ago, Ando had made a big show out of having to fly to New York for work reasons, announcing that unfortunately, he wouldn't be back before New Year's, but that he would make up for his absence with mountains of useless presents. Minako had shot him a knowing look, but opted for silence and when she dropped him off at the airport, she hugged him a little harder than necessary and asked him not to kick the poodle too much, a plea he chose to ignore after the stupid living cotton ball had bitten him in the leg ten minutes into his visit.
Feeling more than a little relief that his parents were away at one of their many annual charity functions, Ando strolled trough the living-room, filching through boring coffee table books, looking at pictures and wondering whether his parents had any idea what they were donating copious amounts of money for. While the concept of charity was good, Ando knew that his father only agreed to go because all of his partners were there and his mother was in it for the pretty new dress. Nevermind the starving children; they could take care of themselves.
Strangely, without his parents fluttering around him and nagging him, the house was too silent. It should have been peaceful, but it was just flat out unnerving. It wasn't as if Ando had nothing to do: he could do some writing, he could meet his editor, he could buy the presents he had promised his friends back in Japan, he could empty his father's bar, and if push came to shove, he could find himself a pretty girl and find some brief distraction. Not that it would work in the long run, he thought bitterly while kicking back another glass of whiskey, no woman could compare to Rei and that she resented him didn't mean that his own feelings were in any way diminishing. Of course, he had wondered more than once whether he should return to Tokyo at all. Distance made the heart grow fonder, and he was actually quite sure that Rei would accept him in time if he didn't manage to fuck it up beforehand. The thing was just that Ando began to belief that fucking up was what he did best. By asking Minako to come to New York with him in summer, he had almost destroyed her and Takeshi's relationship and while the couple was happy now, the extended trip to New York was still by no means forgotten; Hiromasa made a point of reminding both Minako and Ando of it at least once a week. Deliberately setting his glass down on the antique coffee table without a coaster and hoping it would leave a stain, Ando left the living-room and seconds later, the house.
"Oh fuck. Oh fucking fuck!" he burst out as the cold wind slapped him in the face. Even after having been here for a week, he hadn't got used to the insane temperatures in the city. Tokyo was a solid ten degrees warmer than New York, and not for the first time, Ando wished that fate had dealt him better cards - cards that allowed him to stay in the company of his friends while bumming around in the relative warm of his new home country. But at Minako's birthday dinner, his heart had been beating in his chest as if it were about to burst, and while it was the best and the worst feeling in the world to have Rei this close to him, it wasn't exactly healthy. Not until some time had passed.
Turning up his collar, he considered his options. He needed to do something, otherwise he would hail a cab and drive to the airport. The airport meant planes, planes meant Tokyo, and Tokyo meant a million conflicting emotions that no-one was ready to deal with at this point, least of all himself. Seeing a woman with shopping bags pass him by, Ando made his choice and set out to buy some presents. It didn't take him long to find the right things for his friends, and despite his threat, he made a point of getting them nice and useful things. Takeshi was the first one on his list, and he got him the finest set of pencils he could find. Umino was to be gifted with three new shirts, and since Ando wore Umino's clothes with alarming frequency, figuring out the right size was a piece of cake. It took him several shops to decide on something for Hiromasa and Makoto, and because it was so difficult, he decided to follow the Frank Xavier Cross tradition of present choosing and got them a nice set of knives. Both liked to cook, and Ando concluded that before cooking came cutting, so knives were a logical, if not brilliant solution. Ami got a new romance novel fresh from the press, and to tease her a little, he put the book in a medically themed cover. Abandoning his line of reasonable presents, he got Usagi a snow globe, knowing that the childlike woman would love it far more than anything she could actually use. Mamoru got a new watch (shiny silver, very elegant, if the saleswoman was to be believed) and finally, there were only the two women closest to his heart left to find something for, even though he had no idea what Rei liked. Other than tea and heartbreak, that was.
Since Minako liked everything, it was both incredibly easy and incredibly hard to get her something. A bubbly saleswoman tried her hardest to sell him a Kindle, and while her smile was lovely and her knowledge about the white piece of technology extensive, Ando could only shake his head in silent protest before fleeing. In an antique bookshop he used to haunt back when he still lived in the city, he found what he was looking for. It was simple, it was cheap, and Minako would love it. Nabokov's Lolita was put into his shopping bag alongside his other purchases, joined by another book before he even realised he had bought it, and off he went into the cold New York evening.
A week later, several colourful and one far more inconspicuous parcel were delivered to addresses all over Tokyo. Almost at the same time, the red, and blue, and pink, and yellow paper was ripped from the presents.
"Aww look, Hiro, Ando got us some new knives! We have to keep them far away from Usagi, or she'll accidentally cut her hand off."
"He got you a dirty book?" Takeshi asked a beaming Minako with a frown. She laughed, and began to browse through the pages. "It's not dirty, it's art. Now go and unwrap your own."
"Mamo, this is so nice! I like your watch, too. Very Tuxedo Mask, huh?"
"It's a medical textbook," Ami said to her mother while browsing through the pages. A sly blush crept up her chest, and she closed the book. "Just a medical textbook."
"Umino, why would a man send you new shirts? And what about this note? Sorry, old ones are no longer usable, they were lying on my bedroom floor far too long See you in the new year, Ando. Ando is a male name. Sweetie, is there something you want to talk about? You know you can tell your Grandma everything, you'll always be my little Umi-bear." Burying his head in arms, Umino took a second to curse his room-mate to hell and back before smiling tiredly at his grandmother.
The only gift wrapped in brown paper was carried to the door of one Ms Rei Hino, who was alone in her flat. Christmas did not have a hold over the small apartment, but there were a few candles lit to cast a glow in the dark. Opening the door, Rei accepted the present from the delivery man, already knowing who sent it her way. She had dreamt about it, had seen him walking the streets of a city unknown to her, had witnessed his search for countless perfect present before picking the leather bound book she now unwrapped with trembling fingers. It was a collection of poems, some marked by pressed roses between the pages. She flicked the first marked page open, and picked a random pair of verse to read.
The memory of you emerges from the night around me.
The river mingles its stubborn lament with the sea.
Too soon, too close.
Quickly pushing it shut, she put the narrow book on her empty shelves, where it would be waiting until she was ready or he had forgotten her.
January
Fireworks exploded in the sky, and just like last year, Minako stood alone on the balcony of the restaurant with an umbrella-topped cocktail in her hand while her friends were celebrating inside. And just like last year, she was pleasantly drunk. This however was where the similarities began and ended. Unlike last year, she was here with Takeshi and she was happy. The deep longing she had carried around her with herself for years and years was finally fulfilled; she had her man by her side and this time, it was to last.
"What are you looking at?" The familiar dark voice came from behind her, and Minako turned to meet her boyfriend with a smile. While all the other men had long since abandoned jackets and ties (in the case of Hiromasa not bothering with either in the first place), Takeshi was still in his suit and would remain so until they went home where he would change into his pressed and striped pyjamas. He didn't yet know that she had sneakily hidden all the top parts of his much beloved nightwear; it was her resolution to make him loosen up a bit and what better place to do so than in their home? That he looked spectacular half-naked was an added bonus, she mused.
Giggling, she reached for his hand.
"See, over there, that's your office building. Last year, I was standing right here with Ami, and I was looking at that building and there was some poor fellow in there working. That wouldn't have happened to be you?"
Takeshi took his hand from hers and shoved it into his pockets. "I don't remember."
"You're lying."
"Perhaps I am." His smile was nonchalant, giving nothing away. Of course, he remembered. He remembered the lonely night, he remembered worrying and struggling with his new and old identity, and he remembered having seen Minako in the arms of another man.
Her voice forced him back into the present: "Well, this year you don't have to work, this year you get to carry me home."
Leaning down and thus closing the distance between them, he placed a quiet kiss on her exposed collarbone. "And then what?"
Her eyes fluttered shut; putting on the daring dress had definitely been a good idea, his alert green eyes had been following her all night. The cold air smelled of the new aftershave she had gotten him for Christmas, the fireworks and winter, and it made her head spin in the best of ways. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him and winked.
"Depends on how nice you are to me, and depends on how many more of these I will have." She waved the glass around a bit, not noticing that the movement caused the drink to spill right on Takeshi's shoes.
Inside the restaurant, Ando and Umino were watching the lovers through the windows. The two men were smoking cigars, having decided that they needed a New Year's tradition all of their own. Mamoru and Hiromasa were at the bar, organising them more drinks, the girls had disappeared to God knows where and ever so quietly, Takeshi had pocketed his cigar instead of lighting it and walked on the balcony to join Minako. Smooth bastard, Ando thought while savouring the taste of the cigar on his tongue. He threw the couple one last glance and turned his eyes on Umino again. The youngest shitennou was wearing one of the shirts Ando had gotten him for Christmas, and it fit him perfectly.
"Nice shirt."
"Haha. The shirt is good, but instead of your little ambiguous message, you could have just sent a note saying Merry Christmas."
"Why? I thought it was time to enlighten your grandmother about your living arrangements. Can she come and visit us? Our flat needs cleaning again."
"My gran will not clean our flat, she's 82 years old. But she will come to visit me on my birthday, so the place needs to be tidy then."
"When's your birthday?" Ando held the cigar between his lips and whipped his Moleskine notebook from his jacket's pocket. “I should really know that, right?” Flipping it open, he searched for a pen.
"First week of March." Umino smiled and took off his tie, slinging it over the back of the chair, where his jacket already hung.
"Shit, we didn't celebrate it last year, did we?"
"No, we were preoccupied with having found everyone."
"I'll get you two presents for this year then. Which date?"
"Third. And you don't have to."
Scribbling Umino's name in the narrow margins of the calender, Ando answered with the cigar still in his mouth. "Shut up."
"Fine. How was your flight back?" Ando had arrived just in time to join them for the celebration, stowing his luggage in the restaurant's storage room. His clothes were rumpled, but he had made it in time, and that was all that mattered.
"Good. Long. Boring. Why isn't she here?” There was no need to specify who 'she' was. Umino checked his watch, and made an impressed face.
"Three hours and six minutes before you asked. New record. And I have no idea, ask Usagi. You here to stay?"
Putting the notebook away, Ando feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Tilting his head to the side, Umino observed his friend. "I think you do."
"Ever since when are you so fucking perceptive?"
"Always have been," Umino said matter-of-factly.
"Annoying quality, let it go."
"If it's a quality, then it's something good, so why would I let it go?"
"Fine, fine. What's taking Hiro and Mamoru so long? Can't be that hard to order some new drinks."
Undeterred, Umino continued. "So when are you leaving next? Valentine's Day? Easter? Lent? Saint Paddy's Day?”
There was a trace of annoyance in Ando's voice when he answered. "No, I'll be here for Easter."
"You have a standing invitation to come to my family for major holidays, you know? You don't need to sit them out in your parents' house. My grandmother would love to meet you," he offered with a lopsided smile.
Ando was silent for a minute. "That's... thank you, that's nice."
"Don't mention it."
They looked at each other, but averted their eyes before too long. Ando's gaze strayed to the balcony again.
"Ten quid that instead of happy-new-year-sex, he will have to hold her hair while she pukes. Girl can't hold her liquor. Right now, she can barely hold herself up."
Umino squinted his eyes, and looked at the two again. Minako had pressed herself close to Takeshi, and they were slowly swaying on the spot. A slow smile spread out on Umino's face. He had never thought to see the day: Takeshi was dancing, and it was awkward and completely and utterly graceless. Pushing his chair back and stubbing his cigar out, he got up.
"I've got to go find Ami. And fifty that there will be no puking. There'd rather be a baby than puking."
"Wait-what?"
Laughing to himself, Umino left a thunderstruck Ando behind and set out to find his girl. Minako wasn't the only woman in need of man to dance with.
February
Behind the counter of her café, Makoto watched Ami turn a deep shade of crimson. Also at her table and blushing equally hard was Umino. Both were smiling, and had abandoned the cake they had ordered to hold hands. Next to Makoto, Hiromasa scratched his head. "Why are they so red in the face?" He had come to help Makoto install a second oven in the kitchen, and now that his work was done, he enjoyed a cup of strong espresso before heading to his own work space.
"It's Valentine's Day."
"I know that, wife of mine, it's why you woke up to a bunch of red roses and breakfast in bed." Makoto laughed and pinched him in the side. "The breakfast doesn't count. Spock ate most of it and I'm not too fond of toast with drool."
"He only stole it because we were too busy celebrating Valentine's Day to notice him, therefore it still counts. And you got another present instead, so don't complain."
At the other end of the counter, still in earshot of Hiromasa and Makoto, sat Ando, who now choked on his coffee and put down his morning paper with a disgusted expression on his face. Turning to the married couple, he shook his head. "Hiromasa, your penis is not a Valentine's Day present, even if you wrapped a bow around it." Hiromasa opened his mouth, but Ando began to wave his hands just as someone attempting to stop a train might. "I don't want to know, okay, I don't want to know! It's bad enough that Minako spent yesterday evening theorising that Chibi-Usa will be conceived on Valentine's Day, hence the pink hair."
While putting some sugar roses on a cake with the precision of a heart surgeon, Makoto laughed. "Most reasonable theory Minako has ever put forward."
In that moment, Umino leaned across the table and kissed Ami on the mouth, causing the girl to giggle.
"Oh God, that's sickening," Ando muttered.
Hiromasa reached over the counter and punched him in the shoulder. "Leave' em be, it took them long enough."
"You're not like that, and you're married."
Closely examining the cake one last time before putting it in the cooled inside of the counter, Makoto's face was serious, but her eyes twinkled. "We also live in an apartment that is moderately clean, and Hiromasa wraps bright red bows around his penis." Hiro guffawed, Makoto grinned and Ando pressed his eyes shut.
"There is not enough bleach in the world to burn this image from my mind," Ando groaned while a laughing Hiromasa high-fived his wife. "Good one, love."
The small brass bell chimed, and Umino and Ami quickly disappeared through the doors without goodbye. Ami had forgotten her gloves, and Umino had left behind his scarf.
"Great, now I can't go home because they're sexing it up there." Ando got up and cleared the table, returning to his own seat at the counter with two plates of barely touched cake. Reaching over the counter, he fumbled for a clean fork, only to be slapped on the hand by Makoto. “You're not allowed behind the counter.”
Snorting, Hiromasa moved around and sat down next to Ando, claiming one of the slices of cake. Cheesecake with blueberries, he noted with pleasure. He didn't bother with a fresh fork and used Umino's instead. "Nobody would ever sex it up in your apartment. I think it repels women like wax repels water. Law of nature."
"Hey, it's not that bad any more. And Minako and Usagi both come to visit."
From behind the counter, Makoto interjected "Not saying much, both are slobs, ask their mothers" and handed Ando a fresh fork. "Ando, you could just order your own cake, you know?" Grinning roguishly, Ando took a bite of Ami's piece of cake. "Uh uh, too expensive, my dear. I can barely afford your coffee. You should offer free refills."
Hiromasa waited until Makoto had moved to the now deserted table to collect the gloves and the scarf before lowering his voice and turning to Ando. "You really think Ami and Umino are doing it?"
"They've been together for ages, of course they're doing it."
Makoto crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You don't get to speculate about that, you two. That's between Umino and Ami and no-one else, do you hear me?"
"Yes, mum, we do, and boy, your hearing is excellent," Ando quipped and picked up his paper again. Makoto put the scarf in front of Ando and the gloves in a drawer under the cash register and made a mental note to give them to Ami when she came by next.
"Don't call my wife mum, that's just wrong."
"So are bows wrapped around penises." The married couple grinned again, and Ando decided that it was probably time to hide somewhere until Valentine's Day was over.
Having finished the cake in record time, Hiromasa whistled for his dog. Spock had spent the morning lying in front of the radiator, dozing and chewing on an old rolling pin. "I've got to go to work. Wife, kiss."
Leaning over the counter, Makoto obliged him. "Thanks for helping me with the oven. And take this one with you, he's scaring away paying customers."
"Now that almost hurt my feelings." Ando put on his jacket and buttoned it up before donning the scarf Umino had forgotten.
"I meant the dog, but you can go too," Makoto laughed and waved them off. “And Ando, don't stop by Minako's and Takeshi's today.”
Ando made a face. “Wouldn't dream of it. Goodbye, Makoto.”
“Bye Ando.”
Just as the two men left, Hiro turned around once more, mischief all over his face. “I'll be home gift-wrapped tonight, love.”
Ando winced, and off they went, leaving a laughing Makoto and the chewed on rolling pin behind.