My Boy Builds Coffins
Shimizu Brothers Carpentry — as it was unofficially known — had been in business a great many years and was highly reputed by its patrons, despite the fact that the current owners were not brothers and only one of them actually bore the name Shimizu. It was a modest shop, small in size and unadorned with any identifying baubles on its shopfront. Although it had changed hands from father to son and so on throughout its history, the only changes that had been made to it were to add glass windows to allow viewing of the treasures within and tiny golden writing at the front door that proclaimed "Est. 1823" in a careful hand.
Within the shop, visible only if a passerby looked up at just the right moment, was a back room where the owner of the establishment carefully crafted each and every item for sale. Most passerby walked directly past, as it was not a shop one entered aimlessly. Every person who set foot on its floors had a purpose.
On that particular day, at that particular time, it was the right moment. The shop owner was bent over his latest masterpiece, silver bangs escaping from the tail he had tied the rest of his hair in. His face was a mask of concentration, aqua eyes focused unerringly on assembling the sides of the cabinet that had been commissioned. His careful hands worked with precision, and he had just gotten them assembled when he heard the faint tinkling of the shop bell.
He glanced up briefly from his work, seeing that his partner and best friend, Sora, had already rushed up front to tend to the customers. The brunet was good with people. Better than Riku was, though he could certainly deal with customers when he had to. He just preferred not to. Still, their voices carried easily through the shop and he couldn't help but overhear their discussion.
"Oh, we're just passing through," a feminine voice said airily to Sora's polite inquiry.
"Thank you though," a second female voice tacked on hastily. "We don't mean to take up your valuable time."
Riku's hands worked deftly, never betraying that he was focusing just as intently on the conversation as he was on his handiwork.
"Ooh, Kairi, look at this!"
"Natsumi!"
He heard two pairs of heels clicking across his shop floor, and looked up to see that the pair was turned away from him. Sora looked over at him with a puzzled expression and shrugged, seeming unsure if he should follow them or leave them be. Riku shook his head slightly in response. The two were likely tourists, ducking into the shop because they were bored and had nothing better to do. It would be better for Sora to return to his work than to run around catering to their whims.
Sora glanced back at the girls one last time before returning to his work. Their voices had dipped a little lower, only some words carrying to Riku's back room where he was trying to get back to his work. But that brief glance had revealed that the girls were of noble birth, one blonde, and the other with hair a deep burgundy, both dressed in finery. He and Sora had patrons of all sorts, but for two girls to be alone — and looking as young as they did — was unusual, and so he couldn't help the way his attention was still divided.
"What exactly are we doing in here?"
The redhead was trailing behind her friend as she made her way through the shop, drifting closer to where Riku worked.
"Having a bit of fun, Kairi. Calm down."
Riku looked back up at them, scowl beginning to form at the thought of these two girls treating his shop like a carnival. Boredly perusing his work was one thing, loudly and thoughtlessly belittling it was another.
"Oh yes, because it's such fun to sneak away from Dilan and Aeleus."
"Don't be such a spoilsport. Besides, you can't tell me this isn't beautiful."
Kairi grimaced slightly, and Riku was surprised to see that the piece the blonde was referring to was in fact a mahogany coffin he had recently finished and was waiting to be picked up. His scowl dropped and his brow furrowed in confusion. He clearly hadn't heard her right. That, or she had noticed that he was watching them and was poking fun at him. Kairi shifted uncomfortably beside her.
"I suppose the craftsmanship is beautiful, but that's awfully morbid…"
"Morbid? You really think so? Wouldn't it be romantic to die young and beautiful?"
The more she spoke, the harder Riku found it to return to his work. He searched her face for any sign of insincerity or ridicule, but all he could find was a genuine confusion at why her friend didn't understand her point of view. Her friend didn't look at her when she replied.
"You shouldn't speak that way, Natsumi."
Natsumi paused for a moment before reaching up to, surprisingly, toy with the lace at the collar of her dress. There was something suddenly melancholy about her expression, although she still wore a small smile. Riku's hands hovered uselessly over the cabinet as he watched them, the two girls seeming oblivious to the fact that there were still two people in the shop besides themselves.
"You're right," she said finally. "Do forgive my brooding."
Kairi seemed to hesitate, guilt crossing her features.
"There's nothing to forgive." Her voice was soft and contrite.
"Oh, don't coddle me, Kairi."
Natsumi was suddenly crossing the room towards her friend, her giggles following her as she grabbed onto the redhead's arm.
"You and I both know you can't stand when I do that."
Their eyes met and a small smile tugged at Kairi's lips. Her hands clasped down over Natsumi's.
"You're absolutely right — you're an utter nightmare when you speak that way."
"What a horrible thing to say!"
And yet both girls were still laughing unabashedly as they made their way towards the door.
"Well you're hardly able to argue against it."
"You wound me. Come, let us save Dilan and Aeleus from their overwhelming worry."
"You mean irritation. They are impossibly patient with you!"
The door closed behind them and their voices faded as they got further from the shop. It was only once their voices had faded completely that Riku pulled himself out of the trance he had been in, just in time to see Sora reemerge from his own workspace.
"They left?" The brunet glanced around the shop and upon finding it empty looked back at Riku. "That was strange."
"They were tourists," Riku replied, finally able to return to his work.
"Which piece was that blonde girl talking about?"
His words caused Riku to stiffen, his hands freezing above his work.
"Hm?" Sora had been looking around the shop but when Riku failed to answer him, his gaze returned to his friend. "What's wrong?"
Riku shook his head, a small sound of irritation passing his lips. A visit from two vapid girls shouldn't have had him so off kilter. He forced himself to return to the cabinet yet again. He had a deadline after all, and Riku Shimizu never missed a deadline.
"That one," he said, gesturing across the shop. "For Lady Stone."
Sora's eyes widened and darted up to find the piece that belonged to the Lady Riku mentioned.
"The coffin? Are you sure that's the one she meant?"
Sora wasn't ashamed to praise Riku's work on his coffins, though most other people shied away from such things and anything else that had to do with death. There was a reason the shop had been renowned for its coffins since Riku had become its main proprietor. They had people from all walks of life coming through their doors, rich and poor, every single one of them more than satisfied with his work.
None of them ever wore particularly admiring or pleased expressions, considering the circumstances under which they ordered the item, but the steady stream of business that came through the shop said enough.
"I very nearly had to tell her not to touch it."
"Huh."
The brunet looked across the shop again, towards the door the girls had disappeared through. Outside, the world was bright with sunlight, people walking past the shop in both directions. He appeared searching for those girls, though it was clear they were long gone. Briefly, Riku couldn't help but wonder if they would be back.
"Sora."
Sora turned his attention back to Riku, the latter giving him a pointed look. He immediately nodded and began to head back to his work, but not before first glancing out the window one last time.
-x-
The light outside was waning by the time that Riku was placing the finishing touches on his commission. It had taken him far longer than he would have liked to complete the project, and he was trying very hard not to acknowledge that it was because he was still off balance from the visit by those two girls. Even so, the work he'd done on the cabinet was as careful and precise as he always was, and he had no doubt that the customer would be pleased.
Sora had already left for the day, having nothing to do until Riku passed along the cabinet to him for the finishing touches. While Riku was a relatively patient man, there was something about adding on tiny details and family crests that he just couldn't manage. Sora was essentially the opposite — excitable and with very little patience — but when it came to those tiny details, he suddenly had the patience of a monk.
Riku exhaled and leaned back, staring up at his ceiling. As good as he was at his job, he'd always wanted something more out of life. Something insubstantial that he couldn't name, though he tried to. And without knowing what it was, he didn't know how to act on it, so instead he did nothing but stay in his shop and carry on the tradition of the Shimizu men before him. He sighed again, reaching up to rub the back of his head. A spark of irritation ran through him as he realized he wasn't alone. He hadn't heard the door, which meant the bell above it was broken again.
"You don't have to skulk around like that," he said, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice.
"Oh no? Thank goodness, I thought skulking was a necessity, considering the esteemed proprietor couldn't be bothered to greet his customers."
The vaguely familiar feminine voice took him by surprise — his eyes jolted open as he whirled around to look at her. He'd been expecting Sora, not a waif of a girl in a dress that cost more than all the items in his shop, especially not so late at night — and without a chaperone on top of it.
He frowned, looking up at her. He waited for the derision so common of the upper class, but upon her lips was a barely contained smirk, and her eyes shone with mischief. It took a moment longer to realize that her tone had been teasing and inexplicably familiar instead of condescending. Her demeanor had him completely at a loss for how to respond, letting the silence stretch between them.
Finally he said, "The shop is closed."
Instead of heeding his words, Natsumi came closer, and he had the distinct impression that she would have sat down next to him had there been anywhere for her to sit.
"Most shops lock their doors when they close."
He directed his narrowed eyes towards the door. Sora must have forgotten to lock it when he left, as he often did. It wasn't usually a problem, but then again, he didn't usually have strange noblewomen coming to his shop unescorted after hours.
Riku stood. He was a good deal taller than the girl in front of him.
"Most noblewomen don't appear in carpentry shops unescorted late at night."
Her smile didn't falter.
"Oh, it's hardly late," she said, waving a flippant hand towards the twilit world outside.
He arched an eyebrow at her. She was throwing him off-kilter again, so nonchalant about everything he said to her, when any proper lady would be mortified to be alone with a man, let alone a carpenter like himself.
"You should go home."
The words left an awkward feeling in the back of his mind. It was a wonder she'd made it to his shop unscathed. How could he possibly send her away with by herself? His eyes flickered to the window again, where night was rapidly falling.
"I will," she took a few steps away from him. "After I place my order."
He felt his irritation mounting higher.
"And what could I possibly do for you? Fashion an armoire? I'm sure you already have plenty."
"A girl can never have too many armoires," she quipped with a smile.
"You're wasting my time, and soon it will be too dark for you to travel safely. You really should leave."
Riku began walking towards the door in an effort to enforce his words, ready to open it and show her out.
"I need a coffin."
Her words stopped him mid-step. He looked back at her with wide eyes, hand outstretched above the door knob, but moving no further. He was almost certain he hadn't heard her correctly. The girl stood there, and he was finally paying attention to where she had gone when she moved away from him. She was once again standing next to the mahogany coffin, the one she had genuinely admired earlier. Her hand hovered just above its polished surface, gloved fingers spread apart.
"What for?" The words were said before he could stop them, immediately pursing his lips afterwards. The question was highly inappropriate and he especially had no business asking it of a member of nobility. "Forgive me," he said, turning away from the door and instinctively bowing apologetically.
He would have continued speaking, but the soft look on her face — the same melancholy smile she'd given her friend earlier — stopped him again.
"It's quite alright. I can understand your surprise. It's for…" And this time her fingers did brush the coffin, for the briefest of moments. "...someone very close to me."
He looked away.
"I'm so sorry."
She pulled her hand back, clasping them in front of her as she cleared her throat and turned to fully face him.
"Yes, well, we've been expecting it for some time now."
It was an admirable attempt to sound flippant, and somebody less observant might have taken her word for it. But Riku could tell that the knowledge could not make this person's impending loss any easier. Her words from earlier that day made a bit more sense now. He frowned. What other option did he have but to acquiesce to this grieving woman's request?
"Of course, I'll make your coffin."
She smiled again, her stance relaxing as she did so, and he felt his cheeks warm.
"It's such a relief to hear you say that."
He looked away from her, reaching up to rub the back of his head. He knew that his coffins were renowned, that they had even become a symbol of status in the upper echelons, but to hear her say that it was a relief? The statement made his already red cheeks even redder. He mimicked her actions from earlier, clearing his own throat, his gaze finding her again. The girl was watching him curiously, her smile now just a quirk of her lips.
"You really should be getting home."
When her response was to giggle at him, he felt even the tips of his ears burning. It was different from the way she'd giggled with her friend. It was like she'd just shared a secret with him, even though she hadn't spoken.
"Yes, you said that already. Very well." She strode past him, stopping with her hand on the door knob. "I'll return tomorrow to give you the specifications."
She had just started to open the door when movement — and rational thought — returned to him. Riku darted forward, gripping the edge of the door and preventing it from opening further.
"Wait, don't you need an escort?"
Natsumi looked up at him with wide green eyes, and suddenly his breath caught in his throat. They were much too close. He couldn't tell if he could actually feel her warmth through her dress or if he was imagining things. Her hand lifted from the doorknob just slightly before she stopped.
"You're quite kind to worry…"
It took him a bit longer than it should have to realize she was waiting for him to introduce himself.
"Riku. Riku Shimizu."
"Riku." She smiled softly and his heart pounded in his chest. "It's very kind of you, but I'll be fine, I assure you."
He hesitated, still having misgivings about her going anywhere on her own, let alone through the dark back to her home. But before he could say anything more, she whispered, "Until tomorrow," and slipped out the door, disappearing into the night.
-x-
He spent the rest of the night working by flickering lantern light to repair the bell above his door. It needed to be done, and even though he knew he could, and should, have Sora do it in the morning, he couldn't stop himself from tinkering with it far longer than he should have. By the time the sun was rising and the light started to seep through his windows he had the bell fixed, opening and closing the door several times to be sure. He'd have to talk to Sora about opening or closing the door too forcefully. Again.
His eyes found the street outside, devoid of people, and certainly empty of any fair-haired noblewomen. He looked away with a frown, gathering up the now spent lantern and moving back farther into the shop. Would she really be back? She'd seemed truly pleased that he'd agreed to make her coffin, but in the light of day it was harder to believe that it wasn't some flight of fancy or a bored girl's prank. With the sky pinkening and the sounds of the town coming to life, it was easier to believe that last night's encounter had been a figment of his imagination — a side effect of being overworked.
The door opened and his head darted up and with an inaudible curse, he realized it didn't matter what kind of encounter it had been, real or fictional. The disappointment he felt when Sora walked through the door was nonsensical, but he felt it all the same and wasn't foolish enough to delude himself into thinking it was for any reason other than this: He'd wanted it to be Natsumi walking through his door again.
He tried not to scowl as Sora greeted him, but his friend was always quick to pick up on his moods. Sora looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he made his way to his work station.
"Something on your mind?"
"You broke the bell again," Riku said without looking at him.
Sora turned his raised eyebrow towards the bell, unfazed by his friend's curt tone.
"But it was working just fine."
"Because I spent all night fixing it."
Sora paused.
"Why were you here so late? You were almost finished with the cabinet when I left."
"I had other things to finish up."
His friend still looked vaguely disbelieving, his lips parting slightly before he thought better of what he'd been about to say. Riku would tell him when he was ready, as he always did. He instead turned towards the finished cabinet.
"That ready for me?"
"Yes," Riku said, without even looking to see what Sora was talking about.
Sora frowned. Somehow, there was something a bit different about Riku's deflection today. Still, he kept his words to himself as he grabbed the cabinet to begin taking measurements for the adornments.
Riku felt the breath pass his lips in a relieved sigh. It was both a blessing and a curse that Sora knew him better than anybody. He was just grateful that today Sora had decided not to push his buttons. He busied himself with tidying his workspace, and then moving further to the rest of the shop. Every time the bell rang, he looked up quickly, only to be met with more disappointment. The only customers in that day were ones who were picking up, and since Sora was busy with his own work, Riku was left to tend to them.
As the day went on, his hope began to fade, turning into bitter resignation. It seemed he'd been played for a fool after all. When the bell rang next, he didn't look up. Not even when he heard the unmistakable click of a lady's shoes.
"I must say, I was expecting a somewhat warmer welcome." His head snapped up, cheeks already burning at her words and the coy, if not somewhat tired smile she was wearing. "You seem surprised to see me, yet I distinctly remember informing you I'd be here."
She held a gloved finger to her lips, faux thoughtfully, and he once more found himself in a position of being teased and having not the slightest clue what to do about it. Riku glanced over at Sora, who, at some unspoken cue Riku wasn't aware he'd given, hastily abandoned his work to go to the back room.
"I wasn't sure you'd actually come back," he confessed.
"Oh, Riku, I said I'd be back, didn't I?" She looked away, trailing her fingers across one of his projects before looking back at him from underneath her eyelashes. "You should know I always keep my word."
If his cheeks hadn't been flushed before, they would have been at the familiar way she used his name.
"Is that so?" he managed to ask.
"Oh, yes," she said, smiling. "And if I do recall correctly, I also informed you I'd be needing a coffin."
Her smile and matter-of-fact tone left him frozen before he remembered that he had a business to run, which included fulfilling her request. He nodded at her, pulling Sora's chair from his workstation over to his own. She followed his motion for her to have a seat, smoothing out her dress as he gathered up paper and a pen to take note of her requests. He couldn't help but glance up at her every so often, noticing the way the sunlight shined on her hair, and how she gestured with her hands. Every time she caught him looking, she gave him an impish smile that immediately sent him looking back down at his paper and scribbling furiously.
"I think those are all the details I need," he said quickly, reviewing everything he'd written. "Unless you—" He cut off as she moved suddenly, rising from her chair only to crouch beside a shelf. "What are—?"
She put a finger to her lips, eyes deathly serious before she motioned to the window. Following her gaze, Riku could see two burly men standing outside of his shop, one dark-haired and one auburn-haired. The dark-haired one stood with his arms crossed as the two conversed, neither of them looking pleased. When the auburn-haired one looked into the shop and caught Riku's eyes, he stiffened. He didn't like the looks of these men at all.
The pair stood there for a moment longer, then, seeming to come to a consensus, continued walking past the shop. Riku let a moment pass before he looked back down at her, certain that in the silence he'd be able to hear a pin drop. He opened his mouth to speak but paused. Did she look paler than she had just a moment ago?
"Are you okay?"
She nodded.
"Are they gone?"
Riku glanced back out the window, even though he'd see them leave just moments ago.
"They're gone."
Natsumi breathed out a deep sigh, smiling sheepishly as she used the shelf to get back on her feet.
"Who…?"
"My guards. They take their jobs far too seriously."
"You snuck away from them?"
She laughed breathlessly and his heart skipped a beat.
"Of course! They mean well, but they're dreadfully boring. I can't stand being cooped up all day." The blonde smoothed out her dress, voice making it sound as if it was the most natural thing in the world to sneak away from home. "What?" she asked when she noticed his gaze. "Surely you don't just sit in your shop all the time."
"Well…"
His cheeks turned pink. For some reason he didn't want to tell her that was exactly what he did most days, though he didn't usually stay overnight in his shop.
"Oh, I see." She leaned forward, making sure she caught his eye again. "The famous coffin maker is too busy for hobbies. All work and no play, hm, Riku?"
"That's not—"
Natsumi waited for a moment for him to continue before speaking.
"Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?"
"Fix it?" He flushed deeper. "How? I couldn't—"
She brought her hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles, and the action brought his attention to the stray hairs that escaped her chignon. He'd never met a more disheveled or more intriguing aristocrat. Or one that he actually hoped he'd see again.
"Very well, next time, then, hm?"
Without consciously deciding to do so, he found himself nodding at her, and when she smiled at him, he couldn't help but smile back. He was beginning to feel very grateful that she'd entered his shop the previous day. Guiltily, he even felt grateful that she had a reason to continue coming back.
"Next time," he confirmed, still smiling.
"Oh!"
He followed her quick glance to the window, finding that her guards were once more outside. And this time they could clearly see Natsumi standing with Riku inside the shop.
"Drat. I've been spotted!" She rushed towards the door, pausing just long enough to say one last thing. "Don't forget, I always keep my word."
Riku watched as she left, the shop bell ringing behind her. She approached her guards, that bright smile once more on her face. The dark-haired man spoke to her, his demeanor chastising. Neither of the guards smiled, but Riku could see something, a bit of tension, soften around their eyes. With a hand on her shoulder, the dark-haired man began to steer her away, but not before she glanced behind her, catching eyes with Riku and winking at him.
"I'll hold you to that, Natsumi."
-x-
Though he never outwardly admitted it to Sora, his friend still seemed to catch on to how eagerly Riku anticipated her visits. Without their asking, Sora became their lookout, noisily moving around the shop whenever he saw Dilan and Aeleus coming. Their visits always seemed far too short, filled with mundane discussion of the materials to be used for her coffin and explanations of what he'd finished so far and what he had left to do. That is, until she would tease him and he would become acutely aware of his heartbeat — and his status.
He always tried to redirect their conversations back to the task at hand and she would smile at him knowingly, but let him change the subject. As he showed her the different styles and materials so that she could explain to him exactly what she wanted, the space between them slowly shrank, though they couldn't seem to abolish the last breath that separated them. His hands hovered over different woods and cloths, hers trailing along delicately beside his. She was close enough to touch, to see the way her eyes weren't just a solid shade of green, but had shades and hues that made them fathomless. In the short time he knew her, he'd gotten lost in them more than he could count. Natsumi never said anything about it, but he was almost convinced the same thing happened to her.
Riku found himself in his shop more often than not, dropping everything else when she walked in the door and ignoring the way she teased him about living there. He'd gladly live in his shop if it meant one more moment in her presence. Eventually, they ran out of details to talk about and he knew that her coffin would be finished very soon. It was on complete impulse that he lied and told her hadn't had enough materials and it would take a few days longer for him to finish it. And as she left again, he was certain she saw right through him, but she never said a word, only thanked him for working so hard on her coffin.
"Sooo, when are you going to tell her?"
Riku's gaze snapped over to Sora, having almost completely forgotten he was even there. He felt his cheeks warm, a feeling now as familiar as his best friend's face, or the way his heart leapt when he heard her voice.
"Tell her what?"
Sora grinned at him cheekily.
"That you're hopelessly in love with her."
Riku jerked, smacking his elbow painfully along the shelf behind him.
"That I'm what?" he hissed through clenched teeth as he gripped his elbow.
"You heard me."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't."
"So, Riku." Riku didn't answer. "When are you gonna tell her?"
"We have a working relationship only."
It wasn't what he wanted to say, but it was what he'd been having to tell himself the whole time. It was one of the only things that kept him from behaving as he wanted and taking her hand in his, or touching her face. He could only imagine that her skin was as soft as it looked.
"Right. That's why you look at her like she put the stars in the sky."
Riku turned towards Sora sharply.
"I do no—"
"Yes, you do."
He opened his mouth, intending to deny it again, but Sora always had been able to draw the truth from him.
"How am I supposed to tell her that?"
It shouldn't have been possible for Sora's grin to become even cheekier.
"Like this: Natsumi, I'm hopelessly in love with you."
Riku pursed his lips, pretending to busy himself with Natsumi's coffin. There really was almost nothing left to do on it and he felt a weight in his stomach at the thought. He knew when it was completed there would no longer be a reason for her to come to his shop. It was impossible for him to deny how much he much he wanted her visits to continue.
His hand trailed over the wood of the coffin, solid mahogany, and a reminder of the different worlds they came from. She'd picked all of the most expensive features without even batting an eye and yet, he had the distinct impression it wasn't because she was trying to show off.
"I can't, Sora. She… We're just too far apart."
Sora was silent for a moment, but Riku knew better than to believe he didn't have anything more to say.
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't follow your heart."
When Riku looked at him, he was struck by the wistful expression on his face. Was it possible Sora had fallen in love as well and he hadn't even noticed it? Riku's hands clenched into fists.
"If I did that, I'd run away with her and never look back."
After another long moment of silence, Sora said, "Would that be so bad?"
Riku didn't answer. He couldn't rightly explain what was holding him back, if there was a tiny voice of doubt in his head that she didn't care for him the same way, or if it was shame that he, as a carpenter, couldn't give her the life she deserved. All he knew was that he had a project for her that he needed to finish, and he'd never wanted to complete something less in his life.
He knew that when her coffin was done and her visits ceased, he'd miss her smile and her laugh. He'd miss the way she teased him like they'd known each other all their lives instead of just a few weeks. The way her eyes lit up when she saw him, and how she absentmindedly pushed loose hair behind her ear. He frowned at the coffin.
"I have to finish this."
It was his job, and more than that, he wanted to please her, and so, like he always did, he'd complete it with care and precision.
-x-
Natsumi's hands ran carefully over the edge of the mahogany coffin, gloves slipping lightly across its surface. Though part of Riku wanted to ask if she liked it, the greater part of him knew it was better for him to stand back and wait silently. She had that melancholy look on her face again, and there was a wistfulness in her eyes. He wondered, not for the first time, who the coffin was for. A fear had begun to grow in him. An unfounded one to be sure, but he couldn't stop himself from wondering — could the coffin be for a departed lover?
He wasn't sure how long they'd been standing there, both silent as she inspected the nearly finished coffin. All he knew was when her fingers trailed deeper into the coffin and pressed against the green silk inside, he imagined what they might feel like between his.
"I knew it," she said softly, not taking her eyes off the coffin.
"Knew what?"
His voice was just as soft, hardly daring to speak, as if by speaking he'd scare her away. He held his breath, waiting for her to speak again. Natsumi lifted her hands and ran them along the wood one last time before she turned to him.
"That you were the right man for the job. It's perfect."
Her praise set him at ease, a weight lifting from his shoulders. He wasn't one to desire people fawning over his work. It was enough to see their faces when they came in, and have the steady flow of business that had made his coffins so well known in the first place. But he'd be lying if he said he hadn't been worried about what she'd think of it.
"It's almost done," he said, unable to properly express how he felt.
It seemed an odd thing to be proud of an item somebody would soon be buried in. All it was waiting on were the adornments that Sora was currently running an errand for. Natsumi glanced back at the coffin.
"Yes, I suppose it is."
Riku felt his heart clench at the words. It almost seemed silly, how much he was dreading her visits ending and yet, he couldn't help himself. Sora was right: He was hopelessly in love with this odd aristocrat.
"Is it terrible that I don't want it to be?"
His eyes widened as his gaze snapped up to her. For once, her smile wasn't coy or teasing. It was sheepish, even somewhat tired, waiting for his response.
"Natsumi, I—"
Her sharp intake of breath seemed to echo through the empty shop and he realized it was the first time he'd addressed her by name. His heart began to pound at the realization. It was far too familiar of him, but he found he didn't care. Before he could second guess himself, he joined her next to the coffin. That breath of space was still between them, but now it seemed like something inconsequential and barely tangible.
"I don't want it to be, either."
He wasn't sure when their hands had ended up resting side by side on the coffin. She was close enough to touch again, but he found himself unable to look away from her parted lips. That is, until she spoke and he met her gaze. The setting sun shined through his windows, lighting her hair like spun gold and bringing out the lighter shades of green in her eyes. He couldn't tell if the dark circles under her eyes were actually there, or just a trick of the light.
"Thank you, Riku. It's beautiful."
It was nearly overwhelming how much he wanted to reach out and bridge that distance, to take her in his arms and ask her to stay with him. To ask her to run away with him like he'd told Sora he would if he deigned to follow his heart. After a moment of hesitation she leaned in close and he closed his eyes to savor the feel of her soft breath on his face.
"Will I see you again?" he managed to whisper.
Her laughter was like the dust motes drifting in the sunlight that came through the windows of his shop.
"Oh, someday, I suppose."
And though the words held no certainty, he held them close as a promise. A promise that one day her feet would tread his floors again. That one day they could be more than what they were — a lord's daughter and a carpenter.
He kept his eyes closed as if somehow the action would keep them suspended in that moment in time, as if somehow it would prevent her from having to leave him once more. A tiny part of him he couldn't quash believed that, if he kept his eyes closed, she might kiss him. But then the bell above his door jingled and his eyes shot open and she was gone as if she never was.
The dust motes in his window swirled and taunted him.
-x-
After she'd left that day, Riku had been unable to stop himself from sitting down with a pen and paper. The words he wanted to say to her came easier on paper, filling the page with his thoughts and feelings, his desires, his fervent wish for her to return his feelings and for the two of them to spend the rest of their lives together. This, he resolved, would be how he told her, how he'd ask her to leave with him and never look back. He read over the letter once, then folded it and kept it in his pocket to give to her the next time she came to his shop.
Days passed, turning into weeks, which turned into nearly a month with no word from Natsumi. He had expected her to have the coffin picked up by now, and couldn't come up with any logical explanation as to why she hadn't. Riku couldn't explain the maelstrom of feelings within himself, knowing with certainty only that he was tired of the worried glances Sora kept casting his way and that he had an ever present feeling of nausea that had entirely chased away his appetite. He threw himself into his work, ignoring the packages of food Sora brought to him and unable to keep his mind from wandering back to her.
In the days after her last visit, he found himself looking up reflexively every time the bell rang, waiting for it to be her. Disappointment washed over him every time it wasn't her, every time another customer came in asking to purchase something or for him to make something. He kept glancing at her coffin, set off to the side and waiting silently. Her words the last time they had spoken had made it seem like he would be able to see her again. But if that were true, where was she? Eventually, the only conclusion he could come to was that he had behaved out of turn and she didn't want to see him again. Even that didn't feel right though.
He stopped looking up when the bell rang, stopped listening intently for the click of a lady's shoes. Yet when Sora asked him what they should do with the seemingly abandoned coffin, Riku steadfastly refused to do anything about it. The days went by like this, one seamlessly slipping into the next as his life returned to the same monotonous routine he'd had before he met her.
So when the bell rang that day, it was once again Sora who turned to greet the customer as Riku worked and caught bits and pieces of the conversation. His friend's polite greeting went in one ear and out the other, but the customer's response made him stop.
"Yes, I'm here to pick up a coffin that was commissioned."
"Oh, uh…" Sora faltered, blue eyes wide and silently begging Riku for help.
Riku stood tensely, turning to address the customer. He'd be damned if Natsumi's coffin was leaving with anybody but her.
"There must be a mistake," he said. "I only have one coffin here at the moment."
The man's gold eyes found him, looking him up and down before sliding behind him to land on the coffin in question.
"I'm quite certain there's no mistake. It was commissioned by Lady Natsumi, was it not?"
It was then that Riku noticed Dilan and Aeleus standing behind the man, expressions grave. The hairs on the back of his neck immediately stood on end. Something was very, very wrong.
"Yes, but—"
"Then it appears this is what I'm here for." The man crossed the room with ease, strides long and purposeful. "I see why my wife was so insistent upon you being the one to fashion her coffin. Your work is impeccable."
Riku froze, the words echoing in his ears. There was no way he'd heard the man right.
He couldn't make himself move as he watched the man reach out and run his fingers over the coffin, eyes roving over it, inspecting Riku's work. There had to be some mistake. Natsumi wasn't married, she would have told him.
Wouldn't she?
Though the man had only spoken praise, there was a disdainful look in his eyes. His silver hair fell over his shoulders as he leaned down to get a closer look at the coffin.
"The coffin." Riku found himself speaking without consciously deciding to do so. "Who…?"
Natsumi's husband looked up at him, gold eyes calculating. If Riku didn't know any better, he would have thought the man smirked at him.
"She didn't tell you?" Riku didn't answer. "This coffin is her own."
Riku at once felt hot and cold, trying to process this sudden onslaught of information.
Natsumi was married.
Natsumi was dead.
Natsumi's husband was here to pick up her coffin.
His hand clenched painfully around the piece of paper in his pocket.
"Yes, well, we've been expecting it for some time now."
She had known. The moment she had walked through his shop door, and back even further, she had known. Known that she was going to die. Known that she was asking Riku himself to build her own coffin. She'd known it all and said nothing. How could he expect that she would have told him of her husband?
People were talking around him, but he couldn't understand what was being said. None of it mattered. All that mattered was reliving every moment she'd ever spent with him, every whisper, every look, every almost touch that might have sullied her perfectly white gloves. No, she had never lied. But she had never told the truth either.
She'd held them suspended in time, each moment breathing enough hope into them to think that there would be another and another after it, forever. After all, hadn't he held his breath every time the bell above his door heralded someone's arrival, wishing with everything in him that it would be her?
His fingers loosened again.
The husband, the death, none of it changed anything. He was in love with her, and she'd been in love with him, too.
It was just far too late to admit it.
He vaguely saw Dilan and Aeleus walking across the shop to grab the coffin, his mind screaming at them to wait, to stop, to tell him it was all just a cruel joke, but his body wouldn't move.
Then all at once the transaction was over and the man — Natsumi's husband — and his entourage were leaving, taking the coffin, and his last piece of Natsumi, with them. He watched as they walked away, unable to do anything to stop them. What could he have done even if he had tried to stop them? Keeping the coffin in his shop wouldn't bring her back, wouldn't give him the time he'd needed to confess his feelings to her.
Nothing had changed, but nothing would ever be the same, either.
"Riku…?" Sora's hesitant voice broke the silence. Riku looked up with a start, as if he was coming out of a dream. "Are you… okay?"
The question was so inane — it sat between them, unanswered.
He wasn't sure how much later it was when Kairi came in, face pale and eyes red, dressed all in black. It had taken quite some time to get Sora to finally stop badgering him, although he could still feel the worried glances. He was working when she came in, trying to keep himself busy, though just like before he was unable to keep his mind from returning to Natsumi. He felt adrift, lost in a way he'd never known before. They'd never spoken of a future together, but suddenly the days ahead of him seemed bleak, full of wasted potential.
The redhead stood in front of him and he couldn't bring himself to continue working, even though she hadn't spoken yet. Suddenly she leaned down, throwing her arms around him.
"I'm sorry," she choked out, voice thick with tears. "I'm so sorry."
Riku stiffened, for a moment unable to process what was happening. He couldn't embrace her back, couldn't move or even speak. All he could do was blink furiously and take a deep shuddering breath. He didn't know this girl at all besides her name and that she was Natsumi's best friend. But in that moment their pain was the same, and he knew that she understood everything without him saying a word.
"The wake starts tomorrow. She would want you to be there."
Before he could do anything, Kairi released him, turning on her heel and leaving his shop.
-x-
Riku knew intimately the details of how to make a coffin, the shapes, sizes, and materials. He'd seen all manner of people enter his shop, all of them sharing a common feature in their grief. He knew that it weighed heavily and couldn't be soothed easily. He'd seen it in many forms, but none of that could have ever prepared him for what it actually felt like to grieve for somebody he'd loved in a way so much different than family.
Though going to Natsumi's wake was an impulsive decision, Kairi didn't seem the least bit surprised to find him standing there. She offered him the smallest of smiles and then left him without a word to cross the room, approaching Natsumi's husband. It didn't take him long to realize that she was distracting the man, keeping his gaze carefully away from where a very familiar coffin rested.
He felt his breath catch in his throat as he stared at it. From where he stood he was unable to see anything, just the smooth mahogany and green silk. He stared at it, willing himself to move forward, but just like the day he'd discovered the truth, he was unable to do anything. Instead, he found himself leaving, not having done what he'd gone there to do. The next day found him in the same spot, Kairi once again providing a distraction. And once again, he left without doing anything.
The third and final day of the wake, he arrived with a packed bag and new resolve. He knew that this would be his final chance, the only opportunity he had left. Kairi caught his eye, her gaze stern. She knew it was his final chance as well as he did. He waited to be sure Natsumi's husband was distracted, and then, took a deep breath and forced himself forward. The moment he reached the coffin, he wasn't sure which was harder: Forcing himself across that room, or looking down and seeing her serene face, so still and peaceful it caused him to frown. This wasn't her, quiet and still.
She was supposed to giggle and tease him, full of life and mischief. It was easy to imagine her eyes opening, to hear her voice in his head, "Silly, Riku, I always keep my word, remember?" But she hadn't made any promises, it had been him who decided that her words were a promise. So how could he be upset with her for not keeping it?
He didn't realize how much he was expecting her to wake up until she didn't. She lay there, hands folded over her heart and face paler than it had ever been in life. His vision blurred, and he reached up harshly with one hand as the other clenched around the letter that had never left his pocket. As soon as the paper crinkled between his fingers an idea occurred to him.
Riku finished wiping his eyes, and then looked around the room surreptitiously. Nobody was paying any mind to him, except those behind him waiting to say their goodbyes. He angled his body slightly and pulled the letter out of his pocket, quickly hiding it within the coffin. The only hope he had left was that his words might reach her in death, as they hadn't been able to in life. His lips parted, but he had to swallow thickly before he could speak.
"Goodbye, Natsumi."
With that, he quickly left, forcing himself to keep his eyes on his feet.
-x-
After fifty-two years, with no warning and no explanation, Shimizu Brothers Carpentry closed its doors for the final time.
-x-
A/N: Hi all! This oneshot has been a long time in the making, and I am so, so happy it's finally finished! Now that it is, I'm planning on returning to my other stories, though I still unfortunately don't have a schedule for that. Despite the content, I really enjoyed writing this. It's fun to put Riku and Natsumi into different situations and watch how their relationship evolves each time. I purposely left some parts open to interpretation, and would be happy to see your theories as to those details and answer any questions you might have about this piece. It is a oneshot, so there will be no more additions to this universe or story. I hope you enjoyed, and as always, if you have time, please leave a review!