Goodbye to you
Mondays were Aiba-chan days to Misono. After the weekend of being with only Yesung, she was back at work and with Aiba. Except normally on Monday's Aiba slept in and she saw him when he came down in the afternoon--maybe sooner if it was slow and she went up to see if she could make him lunch. But today, Aiba was waiting for her as she unlocked the door to open.
"Aiba-chan!" she beamed at him. When he reached out and took her hand she smiled harder. "Good morning!"
"Miso, I have to tell you something." Misono felt her smile freeze and Aiba seemed to notice. "It's--it's a good something! Sho and I are getting married!"
"MARRIED!" Misono felt like her heart was going to burst with the sudden joy. "I want to be there! I want to be the--I can't be a man but I could be the best Misono? I have plans, you know, plans! Ever since I realized that you and aniki were sleeping together--sleeping sleeping together not just having sex!--I've been making all kinds of plans. Like flowers! And suits! And also kimono! But also if I have a dress and not a kimono maybe I want it to be orange because it's summer. Is it happening right away?"
Aiba smiled at her, his thumb smoothing over her hand. "I want to hear all about it," he laughed and Misono basked in the sound. "But before that..."
But Misono knew Aiba. She loved him and always had her eyes on him, she knew him. "But there's also a bad part, huh?"
He squeezed her hand. "Yes."
She looked up at him. Whatever it was, it would be okay. Because this was Aiba and this was her; together they could get over any of the bad parts. "Okay."
But they weren't going to be together.
"It's okay," Aiba told her hugging her close. "Come Again--"
"Can we not talk?" Misono interrupted, pushing out of his embrace. Her head was swimming. Aiba and her aniki were getting married and that was so, so fantastically wonderful. But they were also moving far away. She wanted to be right next to Aiba, right this second, forever. She wanted to be by herself, in her brier patch, with nobody on her bed but her. "I have to think," she said softly.
Aiba's hands hovered and then settled on her shoulders, solid and warm. "Let's go do magazines, huh, Miso-chan?"
She closed her eyes for a second in gratitude and heartbreak. Her Aiba, her first love, understood her so well. "Okay, Aiba-chan!" she replied, a shadow of her cheerful self.
She stayed until closing, working quietly whenever there weren't customers, and thought. By the end of the day, she'd come to several conclusions.
"Aiba-chan," she said, closing out the register and zipping the bank bag closed. "You know, even if you're far away it's not like when we were young. I can still talk to you every day and we can trade pictures all the time. Even regular letters are pretty fast. Plus you can always come visit. Or Yesung and I could maybe visit. So no matter what, we'll be together." They had phones and internet and so many things to keep them together when they were far away. It was so very different from her young years, when sister moving to another town meant possibly never seeing her ever again. Back then, leaving home so often meant leaving Misono behind entirely. This wasn't the case any longer. "And you and aniki are going to be having an adventure, a whole life." And that was amazing, it was wonderful, it was what she wanted for him, for them both.
She nodded, toying with the zipper tab. "So you know what? I'm not going to be sad! It's dumb to be sad while you and aniki are still here anyhow--why waste time together being sad when I can be sad once you're far away, right?" She looked at Aiba and met his crooked smile with her own. "But I'm going to miss feeling you on my skin."
Without a word, Aiba gathered her close and she leaned in to him, memorizing him again.
As much as she might have wanted the days to tick away just like always, things were changing. Misono was going to become the manager of Come Again. "I'd give it to you, if I could," Aiba told her, pushing the papers over to her to sign.
"I'm not allowed any property of my own," Misono said, distractedly. "But this is always your place to me anyhow so that's okay." She was going to have to learn a lot. All the special orders, and regular orders, all the bank things, deciding what to keep in stock and what not to. Taxes. "I'll do the taxes but I'm going to send them to you every time to make sure."
Aiba laughed, "I'll have to try not to get it confused with the new Come Again."
She loved him so much. Opening another Come Again, another perfect little place. She hoped that whenever it made enough to hire on help, that the new person would love him as much as she did. "I still think you should call it Come Again, Again'."
"That's a good name, but it'd be confusing, right Pinch?" Aiba responded, looking over at Pinch on the counter behind them.
Misono looked back at him too. He'd been coming to work with her every day. It was important. "He always sides with you," she told Aiba. "Because you two are the same."
"You left Pinch at the store," Aiba's voice was warm over the phone.
Misono curled up and looked around her room. "He can sleep with Aiba-chan tonight," she told him. "Yoda is going to sleep with me. Right, grandpa?"
Aiba laughed and Misono hung up with that sound sinking into her bones.
It was an average day, a regular day, a Thursday, when Misono went upstairs to Aiba's apartment and shed her clothes.
"MISONO." Aiba stared at her.
"You said I could sleep with you any time," she told him. "And I can't sleep in yukata because it wrinkles," she went on reasonably. "So I took it off." She looked down at her underpants. "You think aniki is gonna be mad?"
Passing a hand over his face, Aiba grinned at her, bright as sunlight. "I'll get you a t-shirt. And some shorts," he told her.
Misono stood there in the living room and then scurried after him. "I get to wear your clothes?" she beamed at him and hugged him from behind. "This is the best day ever!"
She was practically swimming in his clothes, even though the shirt was tight on Aiba and the drawstring on the shorts was pulled as tight as it went. "Cute!" Aiba told her and she posed playfully for a picture as he held up his cell phone. "What side of the bed do you want?"
Crawling on to Aiba's bed--which was really one of the most awesome beds she'd ever known--she smiled at him. "I want to be on Aiba-chan's side."
The sunlight was muted through the curtains and there was a breeze from Aiba's electric fan that stirred her hair. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep. She was only sure, when she woke up, that she and Aiba were back to back and breathing in tandem. She wiggled out of bed and went downstairs, still in Aiba's clothes. They were good work clothes, she decided.
Despite everything, the day came when it was time for Aiba and her aniki to leave. Misono made sure that Pinch was secure in his pet-crate as Yesung led her through the airport. "It's really going to be okay," she told Yesung, keeping her hand fast in his.
"Uh-huh," Yesung said. He glanced at her.
"I know I smell like sad," she told him "but it's okay. And--AIBA-CHAN!" She squeezed Yesung's hand and let go, racing across the lobby to where Aiba was in line with Sho. "Aniki!" She dropped Pinch's crate and threw her arms around both of them. "We almost missed you!"
Sho hugged her back. "You said goodbye at the party last night," he said. "But it's good to see you in the flesh one more time." He let her go.
She put her hand over his heart and closed her eyes. The gentle feeling of snow against her cheek, the power of a tiger, the light of stars. She sent a flood of luck into him, holding and holding until she was sure it would last him through the flight. "You still have five minutes saved up with me," she told him, dropping her hand. "So don't forget, okay?"
"Mimi." Sho hugged her again. "Did you come here just to say that?" he laughed.
Nodding Misono grinned up at him. "Only just a little bit!" She then looked at Aiba. "I had to come today. It's important." She picked up Pinch's crate and held it out to him. "I wrote down your flight stuff so Pinch is all tagged up and ready to go. He doesn't even mind riding in cargo because there are going to be pets down there with him. Plus, he might be a little bit afraid of looking out the plane windows."
Aiba looked at the crate as he took it. "Pinch--?"
"He's in your family now," she said on a breath. Then she smiled as brightly as she could manage. "He and I have been untangling for the last month. That's why he came to work every day--so that he could untangle from me and start getting attached to you. Normally it goes faster but this is Pinch's first time changing families."
"He--" Aiba looked stunned. "Miso--"
"Pinch is Aiba-chan's now. Well, and Aniki's. For forever." Misono folded her hands. She felt calm, peaceful. "He's going with you. He can babysit Melvin and Marcy if Dumbo wants to go on a date," she advised. "Pinch is a good babysitter. He--oh!"
Aiba had pulled her into hard hug, Pinch's crate banging into her back. "Miso," he whispered. A voice came over the loud speakers, reading off Aiba and Sho's flight number. "It's time," he said.
She knew what he meant. She hugged him back, going on tiptoe to get even closer, pressing her cheek against his, nuzzling. "I love you, Aiba-chan," she told him in Japanese. "We'll see each other again. I'll always be looking for you."
"I love you, too," Aiba whispered into her hair.
Yep, it couldn't be helped. "Aniki, please don't be mad," she requested and then, before anybody could say anything, she pressed her lips to Aiba's cheek. "See you later," she said, stepping back.
Aiba touched her cheek and then kissed her right on the mouth, just the way she'd once kissed Sho. "See you."
She beamed as Sho and Aiba hurriedly shoved Pinch's crate at the ticket lady and then made a mad dash for the security gates and the airplane waiting beyond it. She waved, laughing, and calling good luck after them. She bounced on her toes, waving and waving as Aiba and Sho waved back, until they disappeared from sight. "Yep," she said softly, going still and dropping her hand slowly. She let out a breath and took in another. "Can't be helped."
"Come here," Yesung said roughly.
She buried herself in his arms, hiding against his chest. "I just need a minute," she whispered, fighting back tears.
Yesung rubbed her back awkwardly. "I'm not going anywhere; take your time," he said.
"It's really okay," she said. But she took one minute and then another before she stepped back and linked hands with Yesung. Her vision was a little bit watery, but that was fine. When she saw Aiba and her aniki again, her eyes would be clear. "Let's go home."
"Aiba-chan!" she beamed at him. When he reached out and took her hand she smiled harder. "Good morning!"
"Miso, I have to tell you something." Misono felt her smile freeze and Aiba seemed to notice. "It's--it's a good something! Sho and I are getting married!"
"MARRIED!" Misono felt like her heart was going to burst with the sudden joy. "I want to be there! I want to be the--I can't be a man but I could be the best Misono? I have plans, you know, plans! Ever since I realized that you and aniki were sleeping together--sleeping sleeping together not just having sex!--I've been making all kinds of plans. Like flowers! And suits! And also kimono! But also if I have a dress and not a kimono maybe I want it to be orange because it's summer. Is it happening right away?"
Aiba smiled at her, his thumb smoothing over her hand. "I want to hear all about it," he laughed and Misono basked in the sound. "But before that..."
But Misono knew Aiba. She loved him and always had her eyes on him, she knew him. "But there's also a bad part, huh?"
He squeezed her hand. "Yes."
She looked up at him. Whatever it was, it would be okay. Because this was Aiba and this was her; together they could get over any of the bad parts. "Okay."
But they weren't going to be together.
"It's okay," Aiba told her hugging her close. "Come Again--"
"Can we not talk?" Misono interrupted, pushing out of his embrace. Her head was swimming. Aiba and her aniki were getting married and that was so, so fantastically wonderful. But they were also moving far away. She wanted to be right next to Aiba, right this second, forever. She wanted to be by herself, in her brier patch, with nobody on her bed but her. "I have to think," she said softly.
Aiba's hands hovered and then settled on her shoulders, solid and warm. "Let's go do magazines, huh, Miso-chan?"
She closed her eyes for a second in gratitude and heartbreak. Her Aiba, her first love, understood her so well. "Okay, Aiba-chan!" she replied, a shadow of her cheerful self.
She stayed until closing, working quietly whenever there weren't customers, and thought. By the end of the day, she'd come to several conclusions.
"Aiba-chan," she said, closing out the register and zipping the bank bag closed. "You know, even if you're far away it's not like when we were young. I can still talk to you every day and we can trade pictures all the time. Even regular letters are pretty fast. Plus you can always come visit. Or Yesung and I could maybe visit. So no matter what, we'll be together." They had phones and internet and so many things to keep them together when they were far away. It was so very different from her young years, when sister moving to another town meant possibly never seeing her ever again. Back then, leaving home so often meant leaving Misono behind entirely. This wasn't the case any longer. "And you and aniki are going to be having an adventure, a whole life." And that was amazing, it was wonderful, it was what she wanted for him, for them both.
She nodded, toying with the zipper tab. "So you know what? I'm not going to be sad! It's dumb to be sad while you and aniki are still here anyhow--why waste time together being sad when I can be sad once you're far away, right?" She looked at Aiba and met his crooked smile with her own. "But I'm going to miss feeling you on my skin."
Without a word, Aiba gathered her close and she leaned in to him, memorizing him again.
As much as she might have wanted the days to tick away just like always, things were changing. Misono was going to become the manager of Come Again. "I'd give it to you, if I could," Aiba told her, pushing the papers over to her to sign.
"I'm not allowed any property of my own," Misono said, distractedly. "But this is always your place to me anyhow so that's okay." She was going to have to learn a lot. All the special orders, and regular orders, all the bank things, deciding what to keep in stock and what not to. Taxes. "I'll do the taxes but I'm going to send them to you every time to make sure."
Aiba laughed, "I'll have to try not to get it confused with the new Come Again."
She loved him so much. Opening another Come Again, another perfect little place. She hoped that whenever it made enough to hire on help, that the new person would love him as much as she did. "I still think you should call it Come Again, Again'."
"That's a good name, but it'd be confusing, right Pinch?" Aiba responded, looking over at Pinch on the counter behind them.
Misono looked back at him too. He'd been coming to work with her every day. It was important. "He always sides with you," she told Aiba. "Because you two are the same."
"You left Pinch at the store," Aiba's voice was warm over the phone.
Misono curled up and looked around her room. "He can sleep with Aiba-chan tonight," she told him. "Yoda is going to sleep with me. Right, grandpa?"
Aiba laughed and Misono hung up with that sound sinking into her bones.
It was an average day, a regular day, a Thursday, when Misono went upstairs to Aiba's apartment and shed her clothes.
"MISONO." Aiba stared at her.
"You said I could sleep with you any time," she told him. "And I can't sleep in yukata because it wrinkles," she went on reasonably. "So I took it off." She looked down at her underpants. "You think aniki is gonna be mad?"
Passing a hand over his face, Aiba grinned at her, bright as sunlight. "I'll get you a t-shirt. And some shorts," he told her.
Misono stood there in the living room and then scurried after him. "I get to wear your clothes?" she beamed at him and hugged him from behind. "This is the best day ever!"
She was practically swimming in his clothes, even though the shirt was tight on Aiba and the drawstring on the shorts was pulled as tight as it went. "Cute!" Aiba told her and she posed playfully for a picture as he held up his cell phone. "What side of the bed do you want?"
Crawling on to Aiba's bed--which was really one of the most awesome beds she'd ever known--she smiled at him. "I want to be on Aiba-chan's side."
The sunlight was muted through the curtains and there was a breeze from Aiba's electric fan that stirred her hair. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep. She was only sure, when she woke up, that she and Aiba were back to back and breathing in tandem. She wiggled out of bed and went downstairs, still in Aiba's clothes. They were good work clothes, she decided.
Despite everything, the day came when it was time for Aiba and her aniki to leave. Misono made sure that Pinch was secure in his pet-crate as Yesung led her through the airport. "It's really going to be okay," she told Yesung, keeping her hand fast in his.
"Uh-huh," Yesung said. He glanced at her.
"I know I smell like sad," she told him "but it's okay. And--AIBA-CHAN!" She squeezed Yesung's hand and let go, racing across the lobby to where Aiba was in line with Sho. "Aniki!" She dropped Pinch's crate and threw her arms around both of them. "We almost missed you!"
Sho hugged her back. "You said goodbye at the party last night," he said. "But it's good to see you in the flesh one more time." He let her go.
She put her hand over his heart and closed her eyes. The gentle feeling of snow against her cheek, the power of a tiger, the light of stars. She sent a flood of luck into him, holding and holding until she was sure it would last him through the flight. "You still have five minutes saved up with me," she told him, dropping her hand. "So don't forget, okay?"
"Mimi." Sho hugged her again. "Did you come here just to say that?" he laughed.
Nodding Misono grinned up at him. "Only just a little bit!" She then looked at Aiba. "I had to come today. It's important." She picked up Pinch's crate and held it out to him. "I wrote down your flight stuff so Pinch is all tagged up and ready to go. He doesn't even mind riding in cargo because there are going to be pets down there with him. Plus, he might be a little bit afraid of looking out the plane windows."
Aiba looked at the crate as he took it. "Pinch--?"
"He's in your family now," she said on a breath. Then she smiled as brightly as she could manage. "He and I have been untangling for the last month. That's why he came to work every day--so that he could untangle from me and start getting attached to you. Normally it goes faster but this is Pinch's first time changing families."
"He--" Aiba looked stunned. "Miso--"
"Pinch is Aiba-chan's now. Well, and Aniki's. For forever." Misono folded her hands. She felt calm, peaceful. "He's going with you. He can babysit Melvin and Marcy if Dumbo wants to go on a date," she advised. "Pinch is a good babysitter. He--oh!"
Aiba had pulled her into hard hug, Pinch's crate banging into her back. "Miso," he whispered. A voice came over the loud speakers, reading off Aiba and Sho's flight number. "It's time," he said.
She knew what he meant. She hugged him back, going on tiptoe to get even closer, pressing her cheek against his, nuzzling. "I love you, Aiba-chan," she told him in Japanese. "We'll see each other again. I'll always be looking for you."
"I love you, too," Aiba whispered into her hair.
Yep, it couldn't be helped. "Aniki, please don't be mad," she requested and then, before anybody could say anything, she pressed her lips to Aiba's cheek. "See you later," she said, stepping back.
Aiba touched her cheek and then kissed her right on the mouth, just the way she'd once kissed Sho. "See you."
She beamed as Sho and Aiba hurriedly shoved Pinch's crate at the ticket lady and then made a mad dash for the security gates and the airplane waiting beyond it. She waved, laughing, and calling good luck after them. She bounced on her toes, waving and waving as Aiba and Sho waved back, until they disappeared from sight. "Yep," she said softly, going still and dropping her hand slowly. She let out a breath and took in another. "Can't be helped."
"Come here," Yesung said roughly.
She buried herself in his arms, hiding against his chest. "I just need a minute," she whispered, fighting back tears.
Yesung rubbed her back awkwardly. "I'm not going anywhere; take your time," he said.
"It's really okay," she said. But she took one minute and then another before she stepped back and linked hands with Yesung. Her vision was a little bit watery, but that was fine. When she saw Aiba and her aniki again, her eyes would be clear. "Let's go home."