[One-shot] - Bittersweet winter
Tittle: Bittersweet winter
Pairing: Ryoda/Eri
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG for kissing
Summary: It is winter and it’s a season where family suppose to gather (bad summary, gomen~)
It was early winter. But still it was far from snowing though. Despite that, the temperature was so cold the roads were slippery like ice. Ueda was half running half walking down the aisle in that icy cold evening. Going through various kinds of shops selling Christmas stuff, he can’t help but looked at the Christmas presents through the glass window. He made a mental note to buy something later for his love ones. He finally arrived at a big wooden house at the end of the road. Beautiful music and children singing can be heard coming from the house. Ueda smiled widely. It sounds so joyful, the children must be having fun, he thought. Ueda pushed open the wooden door slowly and peeked inside.
“Oh, my! You are here at last!!” a pretty woman in her late twenties greeted him cheerfully. Ueda wrapped his arms around her shoulder and kissed her cheek. She laughed.
“The famous Ueda Tatsuya is kissing me!” she chirped and bounced happily in Ueda’s arms.
“Come on, Cindy. We have known each other since ice age.”
“Yea, yea. Can’t I act like your fangirl sometimes??” she said and dropped Ueda’s arms from her shoulder.
“Cindy! Ok, now where is my little princess?” Ueda asked eagerly. At the sound of her name, the girl came running to Ueda.
“Mam…papa!!” Eri screamed and launched herself into Ueda’s waiting arms. Ueda lifted Eri and hugged her tight.
“Eri-chan, I’m sorry for coming so late. You can blame the other members of KAT-TUN especially a certain bakanishi,” Ueda said making apologetic face at his daughter. Eri just laughed.
“Aaahhh, uncle jinjin make mistakes again!” she twittered and Ueda laughed at her remark. After a little goodbye and see you with the owner of the daycare a.k.a Ueda ex-schoolmate, Cindy, they took off to their home not so far from there.
Ueda swung his daughter’s hand on their way back. The bubbly little girl swung back faster while skipping along the way.
“Eri-chan must be more careful next time in front of other people, okay?” Ueda said sweetly.
“Eri is sorry, mama,” Eri said. Her big eyes looked at ueda, threatening to cry.
“I’m not angry, honey,” Ueda quickly said, feeling a bit too harsh to his daughter. Suddenly Eri’s lips curled into her sweetest smile. Her big eyes closed completely when she smiled like that. She was so adorable. Swinging their hands back, they continue their walk home chatting merrily.
* * *
Ueda put Eri down on her bed and kissed her goodnight. Eri was already so sleepy by the time they arrived home and the next thing he knew, she already slept on the floor. After switched off the light in Eri’s bedroom, Ueda brought his tired body to the main bedroom. The bedroom felt empty now that left was only him. The king size bed suddenly too spacious to his liking. Ueda lied down on the bed and sadness overwhelming his entire being. He looked at the other pillow just above his head, the one which his love one usually used. But, it’s been a long time since it was last used all that left was coldness. Ueda fell asleep holding on the said pillow next to his cold and empty heart.
It was morning the day after and also his day off. Even if it’s not his day off, he will still take a leave from work since today was a very important day. Ueda flipped the omelette in the pan when Eri appeared at the kitchen. She dragged her bunny on one side and walked towards the kitchen table. She sat on the chair and placed her sleepy face on the table. Upon hearing the sounds, Ueda turned around and smiled seeing his daughter and her bunny, both face down on the table.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Ueda said in singsong voice. Eri looked up and yawned.
“Mama, you’re not working today?” she asked in her sleepy voice.
“Sweetheart, have you forgotten what day is today? Go clean and dress up. We are going to the grave after this.”
“Eh…what...but...” but she already dragged her floppy bunny towards the bedroom in the middle of her thinking process. Ueda chuckled at his daughter’s antics. He put the omelette on two plates and arranged it on the table. Then he proceeded to take the cups from the rack. Again, it was so painful to see three cups lined up on the rack. ‘It’s been this long, eh,’ Ueda thought. He stared at the cup with red ribbon painted on its white wall.
“Mama, are you crying?” Eri innocent question pierced through Ueda’s thought and he quickly brushed the tears away.
“No, let’s eat, okay?”
Wind blew coarsely at the graveyard as Ueda and Eri stood looking at the grave in front of them. Ueda put down the flower he bought earlier. Eri who stood beside him suddenly squatted too.
“Is this why papa can’t come home? Was papa down there?” she asked.
“What?” Ueda turned around to face Eri. He was perplexed.
“Was papa dead?” Eri asked again. Ueda was more than aghast now.
“What?! No! Today is your grandpa memorial day! So, you really forgot it. Your papa is at Osaka with those Kanjani doing whatever they doing there!” Ueda blurted out shocked. Eri blinked with a small oohhh.
“Oh my god, this is the worse! Even your daughter thinks you’re dead!” this time he said it more to a certain person. Ueda walked out from the graveyard fishing out his cell on the way. Eri followed him from behind clutching her winter coat dearly because her mama was walking real fast. Ueda dialed a number and again, as always, he got to the voice mail.
“Nishikido, you brat! I don’t care how you gonna make it but you better get your ass back here by tonight!! YOUR DAUGHTER THINKS YOU WERE DEAD!!!! Damn it! It’s been a month already, at least call us or I will make sure you are really dead!! Understand?!!!!” Ueda shouted at the phone furiously before hang up. He took Eri’s hand that had it tough following her furious mother.
“Let’s go back. I’m sure your grandpa will understand. Papa will be coming back tonight,” he said.
“Papa will?? Yayyy!!!!!!!”
That night…
Eri lied down on the couch, fighting to keep her eyes opened. Her legs were on Ueda’s lap who sat beside her, watching television.
“Why papa isn’t home yet?” the little girl asked. She was pouting and sleepy since it’s already her bed time. Suddenly, the latest K8 single CM played on the tv.
“Look, its papa!” Ueda said, trying to cheer the upset girl up. Eri looked at the direction of the tv halfheartedly. She has seen her parents on tv so much it didn’t have any effect on her anymore.
“Eri wants papa,” she said again. Ueda sighed. He really wants to kill a certain person right now.
“Come, let’s go to sleep,” Ueda stood up after switched off the tv and lifted his daughter to her room. After skipping the usual routine since Eri was already too sleepy to ask him to read her book, Ueda turned to his own room and plopped on the bed.
Ueda can’t tell how long has passed since he lied down on the bed, refused to go to sleep. Truth to tell, tomorrow he got tons of works to do. But he stared big eyes at his side quietly hoping that Ryo was at his side. Tears fell down his cheeks before he realized it and he muffled his cries with a pillow. 5 minutes…10 minutes and Ueda started to feel sleepy. Suddenly, he heard a rustling noise and felt a pair of arms sneaked around his waist and hot breathes at his ear talking in a husky and sexy voice.
“Hime, I’m really sorry. Yasu got so freaked out and hide behind the couch when I played your voice mail. And Yoko ordered me to pack on the spot and got on the first train back to Tokyo. Now, I feel really bad. Are you crying? Did Eri really think that? Hime, are you okay? You won’t kill me right? I’m so bus…” Ryo can’t continue his talking when Ueda turned around and hugged him and buried his face in Ryo’s neck.
“You don’t have any frickin idea how scared I am when Eri said that. Just the thought of you, dead, I can’t bear it. I don’t know how to live in the world without you,” Ueda was crying hard as he said it. Ryo was speechless. He didn’t realize that he was putting his family lives in total misery, especially his one and only hime.
“I’m sorry, hime. I’m sorry. I am really sorry for being such an arrogant bastard.”
“I didn’t really mean to interrupt with your work. I didn’t expect you to really come back. With you being here, I can’t ask for more. You are not an arrogant bastard, maybe sometimes, but there’s nothing for you to apologize,” Ueda said releasing his arms around Ryo’s neck and looked at him for the first time that night and the first time after a month. Ryo caressed Ueda’s smooth cheek and kissed him full on the lips.
“I miss you so much, hime. So much that I want to go back every single day,” Ryo whispered while their lips still barely touched.
“I miss you too,” Ueda whispered back and manage to smile. Ryo latched their mouths again while his arms brought Ueda’s body closer to him and make sure not to let it go for the rest of the night.
Dear fictional diary,
This is more to what happen in Eri’s thought only since Eri still can’t write and read yet. Eri think Eri heard papa came back nearly half an hour ago. That’s why Eri wake up. And Eri also heard papa sneaked into mama’s bedroom. Eri really wants to go there. Eri wants to see papa. Eri miss papa so much!!! But Eri is too sleepy to get up. Aaaah, Eri think Eri doesn’t want to disturb papa and mama. But, how Eri supposed to go to sleep now?? Papa and mama are too loud! What are they doing?? Eri wants to sleep! If papa is not home, it will be very peaceful. Eh, aren’t Eri a bit too demanding? Ehehehe…oyasumi~
Zzzzzzz…
OWARI