A/n: Love this pairing, and I wish they had more manga time. Most of their relationship was hinted at, but happens off-panel. Frustrating! But that's what fanfiction's for. This story sort of leads up to that heartwarming last scene in the manga, though, of course, I've added some dialogue. Please review!
Disclaimer: Don't own, can't own, won't ever own... except in my dreams.
Shigure's Best (Only) Selling Romance…
Ever since Hatori had lost Kana, he had believed love was a thing of the past, a nice memory he could only revisit in his dreams. It had numbed him into hibernation like a bear, walking through the motions of life without any true joy. Ayame and Shigure scolded him for being so cold, and nobody knew that better than Hatori himself.
But what did you get when spring had blossomed into summer, which melded into autumn, which frosted into something else? Winter.
"Oh, Haa-san, my heart bleeds for you," Aya said with a sigh, clasping his hands to his breast. His tea sat untouched in front of him, heat rising into the air in wisps. The Mabaduchi Trio knelt around Hatori's table, relishing his new apartment. In the weeks since the curse's lift, the three had been rejoicing in their newfound freedom. At least, the idiots had been. Hatori was slightly uncertain where his liberation left him; what did he do next?
Hatori sipped his tea. "I highly doubt that. You'd be wasting away on the floor, and then I'd have to treat you." He sighed. I thought I deserved a break, he thought.
Ayame ignored him, continuing his tirade. "But, you were getting on so well with Mayu-chan! What could you possibly do to distress her so deeply?" Ayame stared at his friend quite sternly; he had a soft spot for the stubborn, defiant teacher.
"Did you make a move on her, Haa-san? YOU PERVE!" Shigure gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. "The horrors! Oh Aya, our little Mayu must be scarred for life!" he turned back to Hatori, slapping his hand. "Shame on you, Hatori-kun! You should know not to make moves on innocent young women, especially ones so much younger than you." He sighed, exchanging hopeless glances with Ayame.
"Shut up, the both of you. It was nothing like that." Hatori shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. "You two are ridiculous."
Shigure folded his arms, leaning over the table. "We only want you to be as happy as we are, Haa-san. Is that so wrong?"
"Does happiness include being madly in love?"
"Well, if you cannot muster up the courage to confess to her, Haa-san, please, confess to me!" Ayame grasped his hands, patting them comfortingly. "I will hold your feelings close to my heart!"
"Aya!" Shigure gasped, looking wounded. "You would cheat on me?"
Ayame whirled on his other friend, holding out his hand. "Never, Gure-san! You will always be the flower in my heart!" He blew him a kiss, then grinned as they sent thumbs up at one another. "Yeah!" they chorused.
Hatori sighed, pressing a finger to his temple. "I think I'm getting a headache," he muttered.
Ayame sensed his shift in mood and quieted, his face contorting to a grave, seriousness that was rarely seen. He shifted, focussing intently on Hatori, who leaned back under the weight of his gaze.
"So, what really happened, Haa-san?"
Clearing his throat, the collected doctor looked unusually flustered. Ducking his head, he muttered, "I sort of… called her a man."
"WHAT!" Shigure shrieked. "You called Mayu-chan a MAN? I admit, her feminine qualities are sometimes in doubt, but to be so abrasive! To be so blunt, so honest! How could you be so senseless?"
"You really don't know when to be serious, do you?" Hatori asked, voice taught with anger. Shigure cut off in surprise, cocking his brows at the quivering doctor, whose fingers had clenched into fists.
"How did this come about?" Ayame asked, propping his chin on his hand. His long silver hair trailed across the table. Shigure picked up a strand and fiddled with it absently, showing only trace signs of remorse.
"She asked me if… I liked her at all, and I said yes, of course. She's like one of the Mabaduchi Trio." He flinched at the memory.
"You… compared her to them?" Yuki asked, entering the apartment, Machi trailing behind uncertainly. She hadn't met Hatori yet, so she lingered awkwardly in the doorway until Yuki took her hand. A flush crept up her face, and Hatori felt a sudden longing to make Mayu blush like that. It was so cute. "No wonder she would be pissed off."
He brushed the thought away. "What are you doing here, Yuki-kun?" he asked instead.
"Nii-san called me up," he said. "Machi was over, so she came too."
"OHH, were you doing dirty things in your apartment?" Shigure asked, hurrying over to grab Machi away. She squeaked, turning crimson as he held her face in his hands, seeming to inspect her for something. "He didn't scar you, did he? The men in this family have a habit of doing that. We're shameless!"
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER, YOU CREEP!" Yuki roared, snatching a dazed Machi away. She clutched his arm, looking slightly wary. Yuki glared at Ayame, directing his rage at Shigure towards his flamboyant older brother. "WHY DID YOU CALL US HERE?" he growled between gritted teeth, eyes flashing dangerously.
"To help us reach a solution, my dear brother," Ayame said. "You claim to be the most sensible of us all, don't you? And maybe your lady friend can give us some secret hints into the minds of women…" He waggled his eyebrows at Machi, who stared back at him wordlessly.
As Ayame turned to confer with Shigure, she leaned over and whispered, "Are they all this stupid all the time?"
"Yeah," Yuki whispered. "Just think, if we get married, Kakeru will fit right in."
Hatori smothered a laugh with his hand as the girl choked and stuttered an illegible response. His mirth died away when the lock on the door, which had slid shut behind Yuki and Machi and locked with a satisfying click, turned. The door opened to Mayu as she strode in, pocketing a key.
She stopped when she saw the gathering, shooting a glare at Ayame. "I thought you said Hatori was out," she accused, then sighed in defeat. "But it is you, so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised." She glanced at them suspiciously. "What's going on?"
Hatori wanted a hole to swallow him up so he could vanish from this world. She hadn't changed much since the last time he'd seen her yesterday. Her long blonde hair was swept back in its usual ponytail, and there was that cute little freckle right beneath her left eye.
"Haa-san has called you here to apologize," Ayame announced. "And we are witnesses to his undying love for you!"
"WHAT?" she squawked, as Hatori started in surprise. He looked at her, to see her face burning like fire. She turned to flee, but he found himself rising to his feet, grabbing her arm. "Wait, Mayu."
"What? What do you want, Hatori?" Her tone was guarded.
He glanced over his shoulder to see Ayame and Shigure giving him the thumbs up, and Yuki hissing, "If we weren't really needed, you shouldn't have called us over here, Nii-san!"
Ayame fluttered a hand at him dismissively. "Why, do you have better things to do, Yuki-kun?" Shigure asked slyly, glancing sideways at Machi. "Say, Machi-chan, what does our little charmer do to woo you?"
He didn't hear Yuki's heated response as he turned back to Mayu, who still regarded him cautiously. "Do you want to go somewhere?" he asked, taking her hand. Her eyes roved to their intertwined fingers, and a pretty flush crept up her neck.
"Maybe."
"Oh, Mayu-kun! Come to Gure-san! He's missed the warmth of your embrace!"
Mayu all but shoved him out the door.
"What the hell is that man's problem, anyways?" Mayu growled, slumping in the passenger seat of the car as Hatori drove her to a nice restaurant. She crossed her legs, knees bumping awkwardly against the armrests. "Why do they make cars so small nowadays?" she complained, brows furrowed in annoyance. "Not all of us can be small!"
Hatori smiled at her rambling. Lately, she had been able to coax laughter out of him; it felt odd laughing with someone that wasn't Kana. Not bad, but refreshing, a wonderful thing he had never felt before. Mayu was so different from Kana in so many ways- in some, more open, in others, more disclosed and frustrating. She got mad when she was mad, cried when she was sad…for other people.
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Did she ever cry for herself? He wondered. In some ways, she and Kana seemed to be the same.
But it wasn't fair to compare her to Kana, when Mayu had so much else to offer: she was funny, sarcastic, realistic, but also so defensive she had him in stitches after an argument that would have weighed heavily between him and Kana.
This, though, was different. He of all people understood Mayu's insecurities about her height. To add salt to the wound…
"I'm sorry, Mayu. About what I said… I really meant…" he trailed off as he felt the heat of her gaze on him. She was waiting for the snow to melt, for the winter in his heart to break forth into spring again.
He expected her to interrupt, but she said nothing, leaving a tense, heavy silence for him to fill. How did he say what he felt, put it into words? The appreciation, the longing, the stirring joy rising within him, reawakening from hibernation?
How did you seal the deal?
Hatori pulled over to the side of the road, turning to her gravely. "Please forgive me if I seem too forward," he said gravely. "This is the first time I've done this before."
"What?" Now she looked bewildered, glancing outside the car at the rushing traffic, as though someone would rush in to rescue her. Before she could protest, he cradled the back of her neck with his hand, leaning forward and kissing her.
The rest, as Shigure would say grandly, is left to the imagination… or lack thereof.
"So that was the first time you've seduced a woman in your car?" Mayu asked as they sat in the restaurant, all forgiven between them. Her hair was cut short, feathery and light. Coupled with her slight flush, it made her somehow seem younger; not that he minded.
And no, I don't have a penchant for young girls, he told the fainting Shigure in the back of his mind. Then he shook his head at his own craziness.
"I think you're blowing it out of proportion, Mayu," he pointed out. "Stop being unreasonable."
She looked over the menu, glancing at him with a cocked brow. "So you didn't like it then?" she asked.
He groaned, covering his face with his hands. Then he noticed the smile twitching at the corners of her lips. Straightening, he blinked in astonishment. She was TEASING him? "You've been hanging out too much with Shigure and Ayame!"
She launched across the table, slapping a hand over his mouth. "Shush!" she hissed, glancing across her shoulder furtively. "They're like demons! You say their names, and they show up!" Satisfied that they had not heeded their summoning, she sat back, relaxed.
"There you go, being unreasonable. Again."
She snorted. "Nobody can trump the Stupid Duo about being unreasonable."
"I suppose," he conceded. He leaned back in his seat, watching her as she thumbed through the choices, making corresponding faces. A chuckle rose in his chest, but he restrained it, not wanting her to stop. She was so cute. It was funny; he could see them like this, forever, growing old and bickering affectionately.
With Kana, life had been a wonderful dream, flying by too quickly. But with Mayu, this was a beautiful reality, and they had all the time in the world. That, of course, didn't mean he'd waste it.
Impulsively, he reached over and took her hand, squeezing it tightly. She looked up, surprised, then smiled serenely. "So, do you think I'd look good in a bathing suit?" she asked.
"Is that a trick question?"
"NO! I just thought it'd be nice if we went on vacation together, that's all…"
"Hmm. Maybe Okinawa?"
"Oh, I've never been there!" She sighed, eyes lighting up in excitement. "Oh my gosh, I just saw an image of Hatori in a bathing suit!" She squealed, then collected herself. "Of course, you don't have to wear a bathing suit if you don't want to…"
He cocked a brow. "What, you'd rather I go around naked?"
She threw the salt shaker at him, looking as though she'd bitten something far too spicy. "You've been hanging out with the Stupid Duo too much!" she muttered.
He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder what they're doing now."
She stared at him. "Do you REALLY want to know?"
He shuddered. "Not really."
"Didn't think so."
"Now, now, Machi-kun, you have to stand still!" Ayame said, measuring her with a frown. The girl stood, swathed in a pink, rose-studded wedding gown, glaring daggers at her boyfriend. Wedding music blared in the background, and the sewer hummed pleasantly under his breath.
Shigure whispered, "She doesn't look too impressed, Yuki-kun. You'd better do something before she dumps you."
"Can this get any worse?" Yuki muttered.
The door slammed open. "OH, YUN-YUN!"
"Dammit." Yuki and Machi stared at each other in surprise.
"I think that's the first time I've heard you swear, Machi," Yuki said.
"There's a first for everything."
"Speaking of first," Shigure said, grinning, "Have…?"
"SHUT UP!"
"Oh," Kakeru pouted. "I feel animosity, with an undercurrent of love… what?" he asked as they stared at him murderously. "What?"
"Run… for…your…" Machi gritted her teeth.
"LIFE!" Yuki roared. They both sprung at him, despite Ayame's tearful protest not to ruin the dress. He sighed, leaning on Shigure's shoulder. "My dear Gure-san, I need your loving support…"
"Lean on me, Aya, lean on me…"
Yes, ever since Hatori had lost Kana, he had believed love was a thing of the past, a nice memory he could only revisit in his dreams. It had numbed him into hibernation like a bear, walking through the motions of life without any true joy. Ayame and Shigure scolded him for being so cold, and nobody knew that better than Hatori himself.
But what did you get when spring had blossomed into summer, which melded into autumn, which frosted into something else? Winter. But even winter couldn't last forever.
As Hatori and Mayu left the restaurant, plans for the future laid out ahead of them, he looked up at the sky and wished Kana every happiness. Because he was content right where he was, looking forward. With Mayu.
Because what happens when winter melts?
It becomes warm again, and life reigns anew. Just as the trees burst forth in bloom, or the sun yawns and shares it's warmth with the earth, a heart can begin to stir and stretch for another's once again…
THE BEGINNING