Here's a little Poetica fun for Risque Tendencies. I, literally, wrote this in less than an hour and a half (between trying to order stuff off Amazon since the Internet on campus sucks) so it probably seems a little bit thrown together. It is canon and to tell the truth, I don't feel too comfortable writing Haruhiko or Misaki, but this is an attempt.
I wanted to be able to tie this in to my Terrorist series by using St. Marie Academy from the manga Yumeiro Patissiere. The two characters who show up in this one-shot who aren't from JR are from that series, but I won't be putting this story under the cross-overs.
I don't own. Never will, never want to…okay, maybe I do, but I still never will.
/GG/
What If
Glancing in every direction possible it was difficult to imagine the road had to end somewhere. The bus had dropped the college student off at St. Marie Academy, a school for those who wanted to bake. Now, on a normal day, Takahashi Misaki would have been thrilled to be setting foot onto such a campus. But when he saw that there was no end in sight to the road and that he was left in the middle of nowhere, all he wanted to do was throw back his head and curse the stupid rabbit who had sent him on a wild goose chase.
The prior day, after returning from class, Usami Akihiko had asked Misaki to go to the academy and pick up some documents needed for the book he was in the process of writing. Normally he'd have gone himself, but the presence of one rather pissed Aikawa-san had required Misaki to spend his day off traipsing around Middle of Nowheresville in search of documents on how to make the perfect desserts for his latest attempt at lowballing Ijuuin-Sensei's The Kan.
Misaki didn't quite know why it was necessary to write an actual book about cooking, nor did he know why Usami needed to constantly put the mangaka in his place. But Takahashi always ended up in the middle of it. Or, in the case of his day off, it ended up with him in the middle of nowhere.
"Stupid, Usagi, sending me out here to do his work…again," he snapped at himself as he started to walk down the road that supposedly ended up at St. Marie Academy. The boy continued mumbling to himself as he pushed forward; it wasn't really like he had a choice anyway. Instead he just thought of ways to punish his landlord when he got home. Ideas like withholding sex came to mind.
Of course that wouldn't work if he was stuck at Usami's penthouse. It wasn't like there was any real place to hide. Not to mention that after a while he himself would start to miss their dirty escapades. Not that he'd ever admit it…oh hell no, not in a million years would he admit that he actually enjoyed Usami's touch…his…
Honk, honk, honk!
Misaki was pulled from his musings, much to his relief, when a car passed him. He was grateful for the driver for making sure he didn't end up with a hard-on in the middle of the road. It came as quite a surprise when the car pulled over and stopped. He thought the driver might give him a ride. But when Usami Haruhiko exited the car he almost fell onto his ass.
"Uhhhh!" The words just didn't want to come out and he lost all thought on how to address Usagi-ani politely.
"Are you walking to St. Marie Academy, Misaki?" the older man asked, rather monotone.
"Yes?" 'Why in the hell did that come out a question, of course I'm going to St. Marie Academy!' he hissed at himself.
"I'll give you a ride, why don't you get in?"
Misaki nodded and walked to the door that Haruhiko had opened for him. In no way would this go over well with Usagi-san. When he was thinking of ways to punish the man, it hadn't been to run into his older brother and accept a ride from him. Misaki wasn't that type of vindictive person. It was only a coincidence he ran into the man after not seeing him for almost a year.
Once the elder was situated in the car and started moving, Misaki couldn't even think of a conversation starter. Usami-san seemed to be more than comfortable with the silence since he wasn't exactly making small talk, but Misaki wasn't able to handle the silence and it started to make him feel antsy.
"Usami-san, why are you going to St. Marie Academy?" he finally asked after too much silence.
Haruhiko looked at Misaki through the rearview mirror. It had been too long since he'd seen the boy. "I have been commissioned to build a new dorm wing on the girl's side as well as build a new kitchen for Henri Lucas's new elite classes," he answered evenly. Speaking with Misaki always made him wonder, what if? As in, what if he had chosen Haruhiko over Akihiko. The businessman wasn't one to dwell on the past anymore, thanks to the kid's wise words, but occasionally, when it had to do with Misaki, he would wonder. "And you are going…because…?"
"Someone didn't plan very well for his newest book and now I have to go collect some things," he said, smartly.
Immediately Haruhiko knew not to press the issue since it was about his brother. That was never a good topic to bring up, ever, when around the kid. He was likely to get his head cut off if so much as one word were mentioned about how inconsiderate this trip was on Misaki.
This brought another bout of silence as one wasn't willing to dwell further on the subject and the other wasn't too sure what else there was to talk about. Until he recalled exactly why Usagi-ani was going to the building in the first place.
"That's very impressive, you doing the design for this place," Misaki said, trying to keep the flow of conversation going with someone who clearly didn't want to talk. It was actually making him rather uncomfortable. "I like cooking, myself, so it's kind of cool that I get to see the place, even if only for a few minutes."
"I remember you mentioning you like cooking; Mr. Lucas has a studio in the city for people who want to take baking classes to learn how to make desserts. I finished the construction just a month ago. If you want to learn from him and his predecessors, I recommend taking a class."
Instantly the thickness of the air evaporated as Misaki felt Haruhiko ease up. It was the same on the other side. While the elder Usami son wasn't complaining about the uncomfortable silences that happened between the two, he liked it much better when Misaki felt comfortable. When the boy was comfortable, he talked, and when he talked Haruhiko could listen. He liked to listen to his brother's lover, however uncouth it sounded.
"What do they teach you to bake? I'm not perfect yet at many things, but I have always wanted to take a class that taught how to create something new."
For a few moments the older man pondered the question. He wasn't entirely too sure what types of sweets the center taught how to make. The times he'd been to the academy he'd been able to try everything from tarts to chocolate. Since the ones learning at the annex center in the city weren't grade-school learners intent on becoming culinary masters, he assumed they'd learn how to make simple things like pies, cakes, and cookies.
"I'm not sure I can answer that question for you. I am going to venture a guess that it's desserts from European countries since that's where the main school is located."
Misaki sat up as far as the seatbelt would allow and gazed at Haruhiko with wide eyes. "Really?"
"As a matter-of-fact, I'll be flying out to their main school in a month to consult on building a new school in Connecticut in America. Mr. Lucas has been wanting to get schools built all over the world and America seems to be one place that's hard to sell."
Before his parents had died, Misaki had wanted to go to America and visit the first Disney Land. His parents had taken him and Takahiro to Tokyo Disney when he was six, but he'd been told that if it wasn't Disney Land in America, then it wasn't really Disney Land. America had been a dream since childhood. So it was a given that he was a little envious of Usagi-ani for the opportunity to travel overseas.
Another silence fell on the two, only this time it was much more comfortable than the silences prior. Haruhiko couldn't help thinking that he'd offer to take Misaki with him, both to the European headquarters and to America, but he was smart enough to know the answer to the invitation. Being the gentleman he was, he kept his distance; not because of his brother's wishes, but because it was Misaki's wish as well.
"Woah, is that the school?" Misaki asked as a huge building came into view.
"Yes, that's the main classroom building. The students here may study dessert making, but they also attend classes in other subjects as well."
Misaki was in awe of how massive the campus was and had a hard time wanting to step out of the confines of Usami-san's car. But he did jump out, just like a little kid, excited to take in the new world around him. Inside, Haru smiled at Misaki's antics, and wondered again…what if?
"I assume you need to go to the office, correct?" Haru asked as Misaki walked around a few students to look at the giant statue in the front of the building.
"Uh…yeah," he answered as he made a turn about the statue.
"Then…"
Haruhiko didn't get the words out before he was interrupted by two young ladies running toward him.
"Usami-san!" One of the girls called out, happily.
Misaki watched as they surrounded the elder Usami and conversed with him. Never in his life would he have guessed that the introverted Usami Haruhiko could speak with young ladies like he did.
"Rumi-chan, Ichigo-chan, could you do me a favor?" the man asked.
Both girls nodded, the one called Rumi spoke. "Of course!"
"This is Takahashi Misaki, he needs to go to the main office to pick up some papers for someone. I am going in the opposite direction toward the kitchens; would you show him the way?"
The girls looked at Misaki, who nodded, shyly. "Nice to meet you," he said with a slight smile.
"We can do that," the girl named Ichigo said with a huge grin. "Make sure you stop by the middle school kitchen, Usami-san. We made white chocolate cupcakes today."
Haruhiko nodded and looked at Misaki. "They can get you to where you need to go faster than I, good-bye, Misaki."
He didn't even give the boy a chance to say thank you before turning around and walking off. Misaki noticed the girls watching him like a hawk as he disappeared around the corner. Then he heard the one called Rumi say something about how cute he was, even if he never smiled. Surprisingly, he caught himself thinking the same thing before shaking his head. No way was he going to corrupt two little girls with the perverted thoughts that had ended up planted in his head by one perverted rabbit.
"How do you know Usami-san?" one of the girls asked, catching Misaki's attention.
"He's my landlord's brother," he answered as they started to lead him into the building.
"You are so lucky you get to see him all the time, he's so mysterious. All the girls here want to know more about him and the rumors are always flying," the one named Rumi giggled.
"Rumi just has a crush on him since she tripped and he helped her up a few months back," Ichigo said with a grin. "Now she waits for him to show up and even goes to the office to see when he's going to come by to work on the new additions."
Misaki was quite taken aback to hear this. Could Usami-ani even know how much the students at this school seemed to admire him? He doubted it, but it was almost as if Haruhiko was acquiring a following like Usagi had.
"Does he come here often?" Misaki asked as he held the door open for the girls.
"When he's working with Henri-sensei or directing people on what to do. He always stops by and tastes what we make, even though he doesn't really like sweets all that much."
This information was making Misaki see the elder Usami son in a new light. Once he was out of his father's grasp and out of his brother's shadow, it seemed as if Haruhiko was coming into his own. After he grabbed the required documents and bid his guides good-bye, he found himself standing next to the statue in the courtyard again, looking in the direction Usami-ani had walked not ten minutes prior. Then, for the first time since he'd gotten mixed up with the Usami clan, he too started to wonder, what if?