"Sweet Bundle of Pretty" (a Chasing New Dawn short story)
When it comes to its open mics, Writer’s Studio has (mostly) strict rules. Whatever the readers read has to be double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12-point font and under two pages. So when I found out that there was a good chance I would be able to make the December 6, 2018 open mic, I wondered if I could even bring anything. Over the past two years, I’ve read some LJ posts and bits of pieces of Chasing New Dawn at other open mics, but none of those things could fit the guidelines.
But then, I had a flash of inspiration. Maybe I could bring something. A short story set a few years before the events of Chasing New Dawn, featuring two of its major characters - Daisuke Izumi, the resident pretty-boy womanizer, and Riley Pyrzynski, the resident genius. As I tried to work out the ins and outs of their relationship, and why they got together, I found that I actually liked their dynamic.
Now, Chasing New Dawn is a story set in the world inspired by anime and tokusatsu shows. Because I only had two pages to work with… The original draft had some allusions, but by second draft, I stripped even those out (without writing anything that violates Chasing New Dawn canon). Since I needed to have something that could be self-contained, I decided to focus on a fairly mundane situation, and delve into something that I was forced to actually dive into when I started working out the ins and outs of Daisuke and Riley’s relationship.
As I’ve written on the Chasing New Dawn Tumblr, I have been thinking a lot about how people on the autism spectrum are represented in the media. And, in the end of the day, I’m a sucker for romance. Even if it’s not necessarily conventional.
In Chasing New Dawn itself, Riley being on the spectrum was always something I hinted at without actually using the a-word. The version that I wound up reading at the open mic (I thought) laid it on pretty thick, but nobody seemed to get it. So after several more revisions, I wound up making it explicit.
As always, comments and feedback are appreciated.
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Sweet Bundle of Pretty
The Q Line train barreled down into Manhattan, toward the co-op where my parents and I moved to a few months after we left Japan, and where my parents still lived over a decade later. My mom kept my old room pretty much as I had left it. I was sure Riley would love to get a look at that time capsule, which, I admit, made me just a little nervous. Even back when we were just friends, she never got a chance to see it. Or talk to my parents all that much. Which was a big reason why she was fidgeting in the seat beside me, pushing her thumbs' fingernails into the sides of her index fingers.
This was still Category 2 Nervous Riley. But it was just one step away from her wincing and chanting “idiot, idiot, idiot” under her breath. I knew that was part of the Riley process, and I just had to let it play out, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
“Should I have worn a dress?” she asked suddenly.
At least she wasn't freaking out about her hair anymore.
“No,” I shook my head.“You look great, and if you wore a dress, you'd fidget in your chair all afternoon and tear the stupid thing off as soon as we're out the door. Don't get me wrong, I like me some naked Riley, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable.”
“Seriously, Daisuke,” Riley glared. “You rich people have rules and stuff. Isn't wearing a fancy dress to a social thing one of them?”
“Maybe for the WASPy types,” I shrugged. “Which, let's face it, my parents aren't. Honestly, my mom will probably be like 'Oh, so Riley-san has fashion sense now. That's very good.'”
For our meeting with my parents, Riley went with a variation of her standard business casual look - black slacks, boots, a choker and a teal button-up shirt with white labyrinth-like patterns. The colors went pretty well with the light-blue dye of her hair and the black frames of her glasses. She put on a little more make-up than usual - which still wasn't a lot - but it was enough that I wasn't allowed to touch her face until we were on out way home.
“Besides,” I added, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not exactly going for nice and preppy, either,” I gestured at all the black and leather in my outfit. “And you know how I used to dress.” To quote our friend Liamhain, like a gothy-mcgoth-goth. “Trust me, you’re fine.”
“Good point,” Riley smiled slightly, which was already progress.
“It’s going to be fine,” I said. “My people aren’t big on eye contact, so you don’t have to worry about that. And it’s going to be just four of us, so you won’t have to worry about sensory overload. Just… try to keep your hands on your lap and remember not to answer questions too literally, and you’ll be okay. I promise.”
“I just don’t want to screw this up,” Riley stared at her hands.
“You’re not going to screw this up.”
“I can think of at least six ways I can screw it up! What if I miss a social cue? What if I don’t get a hint? What if I blurt out something stupid?”
At times like this, I just wanted to hug Riley and never stop.
“I know all this social stuff is hard for you,” I said. “But you’re getting better. Like, compared to how you were when we first met, you’ve made amazing progress. You're way better at reading expressions. You can hold conversations! You can even do a little small talk! That’s pretty awesome.”
“I guess,” Riley kept looking at her hands.
“And speaking of blurting out something stupid - remember when I met your parents? I just want to point out that, when I first saw their place, I was the idiot who said ‘is that it?’ And, when we were going to have dinner, your dad asked me if I was okay eating with a fork. When you think about it, sticking your foot in your mouth is pretty damn neurotypical.”
Riley lifted her head and turned toward me. She didn’t exactly look straight at me, but Riley didn't need to.
“I… I know dealing with me can get… tiring,” she said. “I just want you to know that I appreciate it. So much.”
I reached over her shoulder and pulled her closer.
“You know what I keep thinking about?” I smiled. “I keep thinking about how you always knew what you wanted, and you never let anyone stop you. How you never take “I'm fine” for an answer. Sure, it used to be annoying sometimes, the way you wouldn't let things go, but most of the time, you were right and I was just being an idiot. I love how you always speak your mind, and never hesitate, because, damn it, the other people are objectively wrong.”
That got another smile out of Riley.
“Aspergers is part of who you are, Riles. I wish it didn't make things hard for you sometimes, but you know what - it's also the part of you that makes you awesome. You are so beautiful, you are so amazingly smart, and you care so much, and I just want my parents to see it.”
Riley reached over and squeezed me in a tight hug.
“You're pretty awesome yourself, you know that?” she said in my ear - the subway noise made whispering impossible.
“Of course,” I hugged her back. “But not nearly as awesome as you.”
We pulled apart and just sat there for a minute or so as the Q train rumbled underground. Only two more stops until Lexington, then a walk down a few blocks, and it's home old home.
My parents, and my old room, were waiting.
“It’s going to be fine,” I said as I put my hand over hers. “Honestly, I think my parents are just glad that I’m bringing a girl for a proper visit. Instead of, you know, trying to sneak you in and out of the apartment.”
“Oh really?” Riley smiled mischievously. “Be honest - how many other girls did you bring to your room?”
This was one of those times when I was glad Riley and I became friends long before we started dating. With other girls, I might hesitate, but Riley already knew my history. Hell, she probably remembered it better than me.
“A few,” I said. “Liamhain, Tara, Nicole, Yumiko, Supriya… Supriya actually got caught.”
“Because she got all theatrical and made loud sex noises?” Riley grinned.
I chuckled, because that did sound like something Supriya would do. “Nah. She was supposed to sneak out early in the morning, but she went to take a shower and get some coffee… and walked in on my parents eating breakfast.”
“Oh, I can just imagine how that went,” Riley smirked. She stuck her nose up and imitated Supriya’s shoulder shake. “Why, hello there, Mr. and Mrs. Izumi!” she said in a really obnoxious Cockney accent. “My name is Supriya Mazumdar, and I just gave your son a jolly good boinking!”
I did a double-take. “Why is your Supriya impression British?”
“I don’t know,” Riley shrugged. “I just like saying ‘jolly good boinking.'”
I pulled her closer and kissed the side of her head.
“I love you, you adorable dork,” I smiled.
Riley actually looked straight at me. The smile spread across her entire face, and .. Now, I don’t want to get too cheesy, but it really did feel like a sun coming up from behind the clouds.
“I love you too, you sweet bundle of pretty,” she said.
“Only a bundle?” I smiled
“It’s a pretty big bundle.”
I still wasn’t sure I deserved the “sweet” part. But, sitting there next to Riley, I decided that for now, at least, I was happy exactly where I was.
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