~a special gift for stillresisting~
A fic for: stillresisting
Written by: A secret someone!
Title: Skipping the Sugar Spoon
Written for: stillresisting
Rating: PG-13
Group(s)/Pairing(s): TOKIO, Gussan/Haruna Ai
Warnings: Het! Though really it's more gen/pre-het, and mentions of past het. This fic is one of those most elusive, nearly extinct stories in which everyone is (gasp) straight.
Notes: stillresisting, when I saw you wanted Ai in your fic I admit I flailed a little, as I utterly adore her. I hope I've done both her and Gussan justice in this fic, and I really hope this isn't too sappy for you. It wound up being mostly gen anyway.
Notes 2: This is an AU, and while it's set in the modern day, I will admit I stole a couple of romance novel cliches. I also have no shame whatsoever about letting Mary Poppins prompt my initial idea for this. I've also kept everyone their current age, but I did age Gussan's sons up a bit, to four and seven, just to make things a bit easier.
It takes two months. Two months of trying to juggle a more-than-fulltime job against taking care of two young boys, not to mention himself, before Gussan cracks. His coworkers, who are really more like his second family when he thinks about it, are surprised he lasts that long.
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"Have you considered hiring someone?" Mabo asks, leaning over the divide between their cubicles to deposit an insulated bag with a large pot of curry in it. It wasn't the first time Mabo'd made extra food for Gussan and his boys since his wife had died. Neither of them really talked about it, but Gussan was greatful nonetheless.
"Hire someone?" he asks. "What, like a babysitter?"
"Nah, more like a live-in nanny," Mabo explains. "Hey, Nagase," he calls over to another nearby cube. "Doesn't your sister have a nanny for her kids?"
"Huh?" There's a loud crash before the disheveled looking head pokes over the top of a divider.
"You said a while ago your sister has a nanny?" Mabo prompts, and Gussan turns to look at him as well.
"Oh yeah. But not anymore," Nagase says. "She hired a nanny while her husband got transfered to a foreign branch for work, but he came back a couple weeks ago finally so she doesn't need the help anymore," he tells Gussan. "The nanny was really awesome, though," he adds with a big grin.
"Yeah?" Gussan asks, thinking over the possibility. "Did she use an agency or something?"
"I think so? Want me to get the info from her?" Nagase offers.
"Yeah, that might a good idea..." Gussan says, nodding in agreement.
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She breezes into the restaurant like she owns it, looking nothing like Gussan expects a nanny to look. A pair of sparkly designer sunglasses perch on her nose, her nails are perfectly manicured, and her high heels click as the maitre'd leads her to the table Gussan waits at.
"I'm Haruna Ai," she says with a bright smile, pulling her sunglasses off and tucking them into her purse. "It's nice to meet you."
"Ahh... Yamaguchi. Err, Tatsuya," he stutters, looking over the gorgeous woman in front of him and reminding himself he's a thirty-nine year old man, not a teenager. "Thanks for meeting me here," he says after a moment, waving for her to sit before returning to his own seat. "You're a nanny?" he asks after a moment, not able to hide the slight tinge of amazement from his voice.
Ai laughs at his question, smoothing her skirt over her knees and sliding her chair a bit closer to the table. "I have been a certified childminder for over ten years," she says. "I have all my papers with me if you'd like to check. I took my recertification test about six months ago."
"Oh no, that's alright," Gussan says with a laugh, waving his hands. "You come with high recommendations from my coworker and his sister."
"Ahh, so you work with Tomoya-kun," Ai says, nodding. "The agency told me I was personally requested, but they didn't mention anything else." She pauses, looking over her menu when their waitress appears, taking a moment to select one of the restaurants specialty donburi bowls for her lunch. Gussan orders a different donburi bowl when the waitress turns to him, and she's soon bustling off along with their menus.
"Do you know Nagase well?" Gussan asks, having noticed the fond tone in her voice.
"We met several times in the years I worked for his sister, and the children were all very fond of him," Ai explains. "I think it's a wonder really that he doesn't have children of his own at his age."
Gussan can't help but laugh at that, though he quickly forces it into just a smile. "Well he's half kid himself most of the time. Which is probably why he gets along with them so well."
Ai laughs as well, nodding in agreement. "A very large child, at any rate."
Gussan smiles to himself- he likes her already, and wonders just what his boys would think of her too. "Do you mind if I ask how old you are? You said you've been doing this for over ten years, but I have to say, you don't look old enough for that."
Ai laughs at that and takes a sip of water before answering. "I'll be thirty-nine this summer," she tells him with a smile.
"You definitely don't look it," Gussan says, taking in her appearance once again.
"Hmm... There's perhaps one more thing I should say before this goes any further. Should you feel uncomfortable with the thought of me taking care of your children after this I'll walk out, no hard feelings and no questions asked," Ai says, spreading her hands flat on the table and looking at him. "But I'm not ashamed of either who I was or who I am now."
"Are you going to tell me you're a convicted murderer now?" Gussan asks with a nervous laugh.
"No, not that," Ai replies, face still serious. "I'm a new-half," she says. "In other words, I was born male, but I have since corrected that. While it has no baring whatsoever on my work as a nanny, I'm well aware of the fact that some people are uncomfortable with the thought of having a transsexual person as a live-in," she says mildly, stopping and waiting for his reply.
"Oh. Umm, that's it?" Gussan says after a moment. "I mean, I guess it makes sense that some people, umm... But it's fine with me," he hurries to say. "As long as the work gets done, it doesn't bother me?" he says, though there's distinct rise in the pitch of his voice at the end. "Have you lost a lot of jobs over the years because of that?" he asks hesitantly.
Ai smiles again as he stutters through his sentences, visibly relieved that he's not bothered by it. "A couple over the years," she says, not wanting to speak too in depth on past employment issues. "That's part of the reason why I've started saying it up front," she adds.
"That makes sense," Gussan says with a nod, thinking over things. "So what exactly is it you do as a live-in nanny?" he asks. "I don't really have a clear understanding of the whole thing, I'll admit."
"Ahh, I've brought all of the paperwork with me, though this doesn't mean we need to sign contracts today," Ai says, pulling a large envelope from her purse. "But basically, you'll provide me a private bedroom and an allowance as either cash or access to a back account. You're free to set up a separate account that I can drawl from if you go that route. I will take care of your children- two sons, correct?- taking them to and from daycare and school, packing their lunches, cooking breakfast and dinner for everyone, and taking care of any household needs we decide upon. That's usually keeping everything clean and grocery shopping," Ai tells him, pointing out the parts of the contract as she talks.
Gussan nods along with her, not trying to read the contract until she stops talking. "What's this bit about contract length and termination?" he asks as he skims.
"Basically you're agreeing to hire me for no less than six months," Ai starts. "Should you decide to end the contract before that you'll still need to pay me for the full six months. As for termination after that, my employment can be terminated by either one of us with cause, but I require one month's advanced notice of that."
"Okay," Gussan nods. "Oh yeah, how do I pay you?"
"You pay the agency, rather than me directly, and I receive my paycheck from them," Ai explained. "Is there anything else you want to know?" she asks as the waitress brings their lunches out.
"Umm, I think that covers everything," Gussan says as he adds his favorite toppings to his donburi. "Oh, when would you be able to start?"
"Well generally it's best to start at the beginning of a weekend that way children can get used to having a stranger around while still having a parent there as well," she explains. "But before that there's a home visit, preferably when the children aren't there, with myself and one of the managers from the agency. You'd be surprised how many childless people try to hire a live-in nanny just to have a convenient hookup," she says with a laugh.
Gussan laughs as well at that, shaking his head. "I assure you, I'm looking for someone that can take care of my sons, not me," he says. "As for the home visit, is Wednesday too soon? The boys stay with their grandparents that night."
"Wednesday should be fine," Ai replies, pulling her datebook from her purse and writing a note. "We can sign the contracts then, and I'd be able to start either Friday evening or Saturday morning most likely."
"That'd be great," Gussan says with a relieved laugh. "I feel like such a failure of a father for not being able to take care of my sons as well as I should."
"Things can get overwhelming, especially after losing a spouse," Ai says softly, reaching out to pat his hand gently.
Gussan nods, giving Ai a weak smile. "Reina did so much more than I ever realized when it came to taking care of the boys, as horribly sexist as that sounds," he says with a light attempt at a laugh.
Ai nods. "I've heard that before, so it's not surprising. It's just a matter of who takes care of what within a household. I'm sure there are things you do that she didn't know about either," she says. "And you'll have help here now too, which is a very good thing for your sons."
"Yeah... I hadn't thought of it that way," Gussan says, smiling at Ai once again. The whole idea of having a nanny is feeling better and better to him.
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"So, your new nanny is moving in today, isn't she?" Mabo asks, leaning over the cubical wall.
"Yeah," Gussan replies, looking up from his computer. "She's taking the train up from Osaka, and she should arrive around 7 or so."
"Is she hot?" Mabo asks, wiggling his eyebrows at Gussan.
Gussan opts not to answer that, instead balling up a piece of paper and throwing it at Mabo instead.
"You hired Ai-chan, right?" Nagase butts in from his own cubical.
Gussan nods as Mabo turns and repeats his question to Nagase instead.
"Oh yeah~" Nagase replies. "And she's got a huge rack too," he says with a wide grin, holding his hands on front of his own chest to demonstrate.
"Nice," Mabo says, turning back to Gussan. "Think you'll introduce her to us, or are you going to keep her locked away for yourself?"
"I didn't hire her to hook up with her!" Gussan shouts, giving the both of them dirty looks. "I hired her to take care of Ryusuke and Wataru while I'm working."
Mabo gives an overly dramatic sigh and turns back to Nagase. "Keeping her all to himself," he says with a sad nod before disappearing back into his cubical.
"I hate you both," Gussan grumbles as he gets back to work.
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Gussan jumps when he hears the doorbell, looking at the two small faces that turn back to see him before heading to the door. "Haruna-san, come in," he says, holding open the door for her.
Ai steps in with a smile, setting her single large suitcase just inside the door, and slips out of her shoes. "Yamaguchi-san, I look forward to working with you," she says, giving him a short bow. She's dressed completely differently from the first time they'd met, wearing a much more casual pair of capri jeans and a peasant-style blouse, though the wedge sandals she'd removed were just as high as the stillettos she'd worn before.
"The boys are in the living room," Gussan says, turning and leading her further into the house. "Ryusuke, Wataru, there's someone you need to meet," he says as he walks around the couch and urges the two to stand up to face Ai.
"Hello~" Ai says, smiling and crouching down to be on the same level as them. "I'm Ai-nee-chan and I'm going to be living here with you from now on," she smiles. "What are your names?"
"I'm Ryusuke, and that's Wataru," the older of the two says, studying Ai suspiciously.
"Tou-chan," Wataru whispers, turning to look at Gussan and tugging on his pants. "Is she our new kaa-chan?" he asks.
Gussan shakes his head, not sure how to answer, but Ai does. "I'm not kaa-chan, but nee-chan instead," she tells him. "We're gonna have lots and lots of fun together too, and we're gonna help tou-chan out as well, okay?" she asks him, and he nods slowly.
"What are we going to do?" Ryusuke asks, still looking uncertain about Ai.
Ai glances up at Gussan before looking back at Ryusuke. "Well, we're going to start taking care of all the things your kaa-san used to do so that your tou-san doesn't have to worry about it. And that way your tou-san will be able to do his best at work for you and your brother."
Ryusuke still doesn't look entirely convinced, but he nods after a moment anyway. He takes Wataru's hand and tugs him away, the pair of them sitting back down to watch TV again.
Gussan looks a little worried, but Ai only smiles at him. "That went better than it looked," she tells him before joining the boys on the floor without saying anything to them and watching along with them.
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It surprises Gussan just how quickly his sons take to Ai. Before the first weekend had even ended Wataru was shadowing Ai around the house, and by the end of the first week Ryusuke had warmed to her as well. And by the end of the first month it feels as though Ai has always been there, giggling away with the boys as they messily attempt to make cookies.
He leans against the kitchen doorframe, still in his suit from work, watching the trio while none of them realize he's home yet. It's a sight he realizes he enjoys seeing, one that he'd like to continue seeing as well, in the coming months and years. The thought of years surprises him a bit at first, but somehow... somehow it makes sense to him, keeping Ai in the imaginary scene one, five, maybe even ten years from now.
And maybe, just maybe, in one, five, or ten years from now, he'd be ready to walk over to Ai, wrap an arm around her waist, and plant a soft kiss on her lips.
Maybe.