Disclaimer: All my base are now belong to CLAMP/Kodansha. And I do believe this is one of my base. The idea was mine, though. I'll take the blame for that.
Dedication: Tsuin Circe.
Notes: I can't help it - I think the Sonomi/Fujitaka pairing is funny. I know he loves Nadeshiko, and so does she, but c'mon! The house of the heart has many rooms, blah, blah, blah. Deal with my madness. Set sometime after the second movie. But no Bitch. (Oops. I meant to write 'Mizuki-sensei.' Understandable mistake, ne? ^_~)
Also, if I offend anyone you have my most heartfelt apologies. Such was never my intent. I do not mean to be derogatory or imply that any choice (or non-choice, as the matter stands) is either "good" or "bad." I'm from the Midwest. I can only plead an isolated upbringing.
To forestall any confusion, in the part set off by @@@ the POV changes from line to line, from Fujitaka to Sonomi, though I hope that becomes clear once you start reading it. Be warned! Sonomi's got a filthy mouth, and mind.
Circe's Note: Ha! Fujitaka and Sonomi are wildly, deeply, madly, passionately in love! No ifs, ands, or demos about it.
Chelle: I just can't write a story without her adding notes, can I? See what I live with?
Say you love me
Fujitaka was keeping a close and careful eye on his daughter. Not that she needed it. Li-kun hadn't taken his eyes off her since they'd met him at the festival. Even if that had worried Fujitaka - and it didn't - he had Touya-kun to take care of it, as Touya-kun hadn't stopped glaring at Li-kun since Li-kun had laid eyes on Sakura-san. Keeping Touya-kun in line was Tsukishiro-kun, so Fujitaka didn't have to worry about a fight breaking out - not that it would have. Touya-kun was slowly and surely getting used to the idea that Sakura-san was old enough to be in love.
He could have watched Hiiragizawa-kun, but Hiiragizawa-kun's attention was focused on keeping Akizuki-san from scaling him like a wall when she wasn't glomping onto Touya-kun, or Tsukishiro-kun in an effort to irritate Yue-san. Besides, he had the sneaking suspicion that Hiiragizawa-kun didn't realize he was in love with the person Sakura-san had her eyes out for.
That person being her best friend. Daidouji Tomoyo was a sweet and pretty girl, with the cleverest mind Fujitaka had run into in quite some time. He genuinely liked Sakura-san's best friend and enjoyed her company. But while Sakura-san was looking for Tomoyo-san for Tomoyo-san's sake, he was looking for Tomoyo-san because she'd most likely have her equally clever mother in tow. And then his festival could officially begin.
"Tomoyo-chan! Over here!" Sakura shouted suddenly, waving frantically. Hiiragizawa perked up; eyes scanning the crowd as Akizuki climbed onto his shoulders for a better view. Fujitaka took a moment to clear the excitement from his face before turning to offer the cheerful smile that he knew Sonomi-kun hated. Not his usual cheerful smile, though it was close, but the one that said he had her number and intended to dial it. Frequently.
"Hello, Tomoyo-san. You look lovely in that kimono." Fujitaka greeted her.
"Thank you, Kinomoto-sensei. Great-grandfather sent it to me. Did he send yours, too, Sakura-chan?"
Tuning the children out as they did him, he looked over at Sonomi. "Ah, Sonomi-kun! It's nice to you again."
"Kinomoto-sensei." She acknowledged. She followed the children farther into the crowds, not bothering to see if he was doing the same. Which he was, but only technically. He was really following her. She was such fun to play with.
"I've heard Daidouji Toys is coming out with a new product." Tongue in cheek, he very carefully hid a smile. "I wasn't sure if you were going to make it for our date."
"It's not a date, Kinomoto-sensei." He watched her blush madly. "Don't call it that, and don't say it loud enough for anyone else to hear." Her tone was resigned rather than angry or embarrassed. He knew that she knew he was baiting her. "I'm with my daughter, you're with yours. They are together; we are not. It's not like we planned this."
'But I did,' he wanted to say. 'Every boring staff meeting, all those hours uncovering things with paintbrushes, I thought of how I was going to make you lose your temper, stalk off in a snit, or blush like a little girl.' Since he didn't think she'd appreciate the thought he merely smiled, shrugged, and replied, "We always seem to end up going around these thing together. I've just started assuming that we'd see each other."
"That's bad luck, not a date. Don't ever call it that again. And quit smirking."
"Of course, Sonomi-kun."
She glared at him. He smiled sweetly back. He followed happily as she stalked away from him, still following the children. Apparently, she was already in a bit of a mood. That was okay. It never hurt to start with the upper hand.
Things were getting interesting up ahead. It appeared that Akizuki-san had gained an ally in her attempts to force Hiiragizawa-kun to play with the ducks. And while Hiiragizawa-kun could hold his own against Tomoyo-san, Fujitaka was willing to bet he couldn't do it while being forced to carry Akizuki-san and her "broken" ankle.
All in all, things were going well; he'd made Sonomi-kun blush and she was annoyed with him. He decided he could let her simmer until it was time to eat. Then he'd take the game up a notch or two. If he was lucky, and she forgot herself, maybe she'd throw something at him. If he recalled correctly, she had quite an arm and excellent aim.
+++
Sonomi refused to look at him as she headed for the relative safety of the kids. The presence of Touya-kun and Tomoyo usually seemed to deter him. Kinomoto-sensei wasn't going to get to her. She wouldn't let him. She felt him catch up and fall into step with her, and resisted the urge to sneak a glance at him. She was just going to ignore him until he gave up the fight. He wasn't going to affect her.
And damn him for wearing that suit. He couldn't make this easy on her, could he? Oh, no, Kinomoto had to go and wear the suit that she liked best - the dark one with the vest that emphasized his lean waist and solid chest. Of course, with the overcoat that nearly matched his burnt caramel hair and eyes he seemed even…. She scowled as she realized where her train of thought was going. Bastard. Stupid, tall, broad-shouldered, pretty-faced bastard. She'd kill him, see if she didn't.
Sonomi stifled a sigh as she felt him shift marginally closer as they walked. It wasn't enough to be considered impolite, but he was definitely closer than the crowds warranted. She turned her head away faintly, casting a look toward the sky, and all but heard the smugness in his smile. He had no idea how low his opening shot had been. She wanted it to be a date. She wanted to plan with him when and where they should meet, to know for certain he was going to be there when she arrived. To decide what she was going to wear not to keep him at a distance, but to draw him to her, invite him to walk closer and maybe take her hand.
Of course, if she really wanted to put an end to his teasing, she'd tell him just that. He'd bolt like a scared rabbit upon hearing that Daidouji Sonomi was crazy about him. Crazy being the operative word. He'd obviously driven her insane. Probably on the very day they discovered that their daughters were best friends. If she hadn't been completely nuts, she'd never have spoken to Grandfather about forgetting his old grudge (okay, their old grudge) against Kinomoto-sensei. Which was the stupidest thing she'd ever done, as this was the end result.
"I must admit I'm a little surprised to see you in a kimono, Sonomi-kun. It's not your usual style. Did Grandfather send it to you?"
She considered telling him to go to hell. 'Surprised?' 'Not her style?' He only saw her at public functions…how would he know what her "style" was? For all he knew, she went around home in dresses that were more lace and ribbons than dress. Hell, she could wear nothing but lingerie at home (her entire household was female) and he wouldn't know it. Did he think she never wore pretty, girly clothes? That she wasn't feminine enough to want to wear them? God, he was a jerk. She couldn't believe she loved him.
"He did." Very cool, very distant. Maybe he'd shut up.
Ahead of them, Tomoyo was luring her strange English friend closer and closer to the duck pond. He didn't appear to notice what she was up to, as he followed her with no signs of unease. His even stranger cousin clung to him, protesting that she couldn't walk.
"But Eriol! I hurt my ankle! You have to carry me!"
"Make Kinomoto-san or Tsukishiro-san carry you. You're still taller than I am." Tsukishiro-san and Kinomoto-san both glared at him.
"That's not very nice of you, Hiiragizawa-kun. She's your family." Tomoyo altered her direction a little more, coming closer to the edge of the water.
"Yeah! I want you to carry me 'cause I love you best of all." His cousin beamed.
"You're bigger and heavier than I am, Nakuru." The boy was, indeed, bent almost double trying to carry the girl. "I can't do this for very long."
"Kind of weak, aren't you, Hiiragizawa?"
"Would you care for a turn, Li-kun?"
"Nope." Li-kun grinned happily at him. "She loves you best of all, remember? She wouldn't want me to carry her. Would you, Akizuki-san?"
"That's right. Besides, you aren't as cute as Touya-kun. No offense, Li-kun."
Tomoyo wedged herself between the two boys, ostensibly to prevent a fight.
"I don't think he stands much of a chance against your pretty little girl." Fujitaka nodded ahead of them, grinning idiotically. She loved that grin, damn it.
She gave him a withering look and turned back to watch the kids. Idly, Sonomi wondered which of them was going to be more surprised when they discovered themselves in love. Hiiragizawa-kun seemed to believe that he was incapable of falling in love, and certainly not with anyone less than twice his age. Tomoyo, for all her self-awareness, clearly thought that as long as she was in love with Sakura-chan, she could love nobody else, and thus her feelings for Hiiragizawa-kun couldn't be love. Especially since she didn't want to love him. He didn't seem to want to be in love, either. However, Sonomi had discovered that love didn't give a damn about what you wanted. It just threw you head first at the most unsuitable person it could find and then it was sink or swim. She glared at Kinomoto-sensei without realizing she was doing it.
"She favors you." He murmured, eyes still on Tomoyo and Hiiragizawa-kun.
Sonomi stared at him in astonishment. Tomoyo looked more like Nadeshiko than anyone else in either the Amamiya or Daidouji family. Even her parents had commented on it, and they had refused to speak of Nadeshiko after her marriage. Tomoyo had her slender build, her gentleness, her easily feminine manner, her politeness, her paleness, her...well, not her grace, but not her mother's athletic disposition either. All the resemblance she bore to Sonomi was her strange eyes. The inky darkness of her hair was from her father, though both his and Sonomi's was stick-straight and baby-fine, whereas Tomoyo's curled wildly if it was too short…she'd looked a great deal like a dark-haired Shirley Temple as a child.
Her daughter was beautiful, though. He had that right. Even now, at thirteen, people approached them cooing "kawaii" at Tomoyo and telling Sonomi what a pretty girl she had. Kinomoto had called Tomoyo pretty. He'd said that Tomoyo favored her. That might mean he thought that she…. She flushed slightly, feeling a little giddy. She was acting like an idiot. Her anger at herself spiked again, and then aimed itself at her companion.
"She looks nothing like me, Kinomoto-sensei." She told him, as though he was exceptionally slow and she hadn't expected him to see it for himself. She looked back in time to see Tomoyo, supposedly off balance from Li-kun bumping into her, knock into Hiiragizawa-kun just as Akizuki-san declared that he was too small to carry her and leapt for Touya-kun, who didn't bother to catch her (in fact, he stepped back to avoid her). His arms wind-milling frantically, Hiiragizawa fell into the water.
"Oh, not physically, no. But she does have something of you about her when she's being devious."
+++
The ducks quacked loudly as they gathered around the newest member of their flock. Maybe he'd brought bread.
+++
Fujitaka watched as Tomoyo-san offered Hiiragizawa-kun the world's smallest, laciest, daintiest handkerchief to dry himself with. Watched the understanding that Tomoyo-san had pushed him in - on purpose! - flood his face before he reached for the handkerchief (and more importantly, her hand) at the same time Tomoyo-san pulled it back uttering "Oh, but wait! You probably don't want to use something so feminine!" Hiiragizawa ended up with his face in the water and a duck on his back.
He turned, chuckling, to Sonomi and found that she was walking away from them, anger radiating off her almost visibly. He darted after her, mentally reviewing what he'd said, trying to determine what had set her off. He'd had only half a mind on the conversation, wasn't paying attention to what was coming out of his mouth, but he didn't think he'd said anything provocative. Unless she had taken offense at the "devious" comment. But Sonomi was devious, and when Tomoyo-san was toying with Hiiragizawa-kun, she did look a lot like her mother. It was a rather cute expression.
From the way she stiffened as he approached her, he decided to pretend that nothing had happened. At least until he figured out where he had mis-stepped. Then he'd make it all better so she could go back to being cat-eyed with irritation. He liked that look on her.
He settled into step next to her, closer than he should have been. Closer than last time. She stiffened even more (which shouldn't have been humanly possible) and stepped away without looking at him. Whatever it was, it was serious; she preferred to ignore him when he did things like that. He searched for a safe, lighthearted way to begin.
"Akizuki-san seems to heal quickly. I think she used her injured foot to push off with when she jumped off her cousin."
Sonomi huffed slightly, but was otherwise silent.
"And even though Touya-kun dropped her, she's already up and pestering Tsukishiro-kun." He smiled hopefully. Which didn't work at all, as her eyes were still resolutely focused on the path in front of her.
The anger he sensed hadn't lessened one bit. Fujitaka was getting a little worried. He annoyed Sonomi-kun. He irked her. He irritated her. He infuriated her. He tormented, unsettled, and upset her. But never had he angered her. Not even when he began dating Nadeshiko. Granted, Sonomi yelled at him frequently, and once she'd thrown things at him, but she'd never been truly angry with him. He didn't like it. For some reason, her cold, silent anger scared him.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. He'd just have to make her laugh. He knew she had a short fuse, but it tended to burn out just as quickly as it flared up. Looking around with some desperation, he spotted his salvation close at hand. It was perfect…he had no stupider trick in his arsenal. And if his dumbest trick involved his most favorite food ever, well, that didn't mean he that wasn't doing it for Sonomi-kun.
"Wait here a second." He touched her arm to get her attention, then darted over to the booth selling cotton candy. The guy selling it looked at him a little strangely when he ordered five cones of it without being surrounded by a mob of clamoring children. He was used to that look, though. Even if he didn't usually buy quite so much.
He was pleased, and very surprised, to see Sonomi standing where he'd left her. He'd expected her to walk off and leave him there. Not that he wouldn't be able to find her in the crowd. He was tall, she had very distinctive red hair, and his new Second Sight was practically a Sonomi-locating radar. He beamed at her as he returned to her side.
+++
Sonomi watched Kinomoto-sensei all but bounce to the cotton candy and bounce right back again, smiling adorably. She tried to kill her answering smile, but didn't think she'd managed it as well as she'd hoped. Striving for some aloofness, any aloofness, she refused to speak, just raised one eyebrow in question.
"What color do you want? Pink or blue?" He brandished two cones at her, the other three held in his other hand. Lord, he had big hands. Wincing inwardly at her fixation she choose the blue, still wordlessly asking him about the three extras.
With a mischievous grin, he removed the paper cones and waded all four fluffy sugar clouds into a ball roughly the size of his fist. And stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. Sonomi choked, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Are you crazy, Sensei?!" He had to be. That much sugar could probably kill a man. Or at least keep him awake for a week straight.
After a minute, he swallowed and offered her a purple smile. "Pretty neat, ne?"
"What the hell was that all about?" She chuckled, then smothered it. She was mad at him. He'd called her daughter pretty and then all but told her that she was not. And he'd joked about it being a date. It wasn't the first time he'd done something like that. A fresh surge of anger and hurt swept through her.
"I do it to thrill the ladies." He lied gleefully.
She made a show of looking around and back to Fujitaka, clearly indicating the lack of a screaming horde of women. "I'm sure it impresses them beyond speech." She noted dryly.
"Yep." He replied proudly. "They're just trying not to make a scene. But of course you aren't impressed, Sonomi-kun. You probably have guys doing that for you every day of the week, and twice on Sundays. They probably show off and eat five or six at time. I can't compete with that." He looked at her for a long moment. "Are you going to finish that?"
@@@
"Yes." She moved her cone away from him. Was he saying that she wasn't like other women? As in, he wouldn't try to impress her because she'd couldn't find a man cute when he did something idiotic to cheer her up? "And no. Most of the men I know do not risk choking to death on candy trying impress me."
"Their loss." He stole some of her cotton candy anyway. "'S probably why they don't succeed."
"Excuse me?" Just what was he implying?
"You don't date. The men you know must not be trying too hard."
"Oh, they do." So she wasn't worth the effort, was that it?
"Sure they do. I imagine you have lots of guys hitting on you once they hear who you are. But if you aren't dating any of them, they must not be trying hard enough." Actually, maybe not. She was certainly beautiful, but her name seemed to inspire fear in a lot of people.
Oh. So she was only attractive because she was rich. Because lord knew she wasn't pretty.
"But I always wondered why you don't date. You go to all those social functions with Grandfather." A thought that had always made him feel oddly light. Well, he didn't date either, and misery loved company. Not that either of them was miserable. "Maybe it's because of the men you know."
So now she didn't like men, either. Just because she'd loved Nadeshiko, men simply didn't 'do it' for her. Clearly, because she didn't feel the need to go out with every guy with a line, she was a lesbian. Never mind that she'd been married and had a daughter to show for it.
"Unless…" he looked a little distressed, "your divorce uh…played a part in it. I sort of know how that is, time to heal and such making it hard to warm up to dating again." He flushed slightly at how personal a topic he'd brought up, and hurriedly looked away. Oh, no. He did not want talk about her ex-husband.
"Oh?" Of course Daidouji had divorced her; being a lesbian, she was probably frigid, too. God forbid she throw him out for being an unmitigated prick.
"But, ah, that's a good thing, too! Time, I mean. Look how successful Daidouji Toys is." he hurried on. He didn't want to think about it.
Well, well, well--she was boring, too! Didn't like to go out and have fun, did she?
"You care a lot about how the company is doing, and I know your job takes up a lot of you time. You probably know most of the men who aren't impressing you with stupid guy tricks from work, and they wouldn't hit on the boss, right? Must make dating hard." They'd better not be making passes at the boss. He didn't think she'd like it. He didn't, either, for some reason. Maybe because she deserved better than a boring, pinheaded, pinstripe-wearing, yes-man.
Ah. Heartless in addition to being a frigid, boring, ugly lesbian. She didn't even like to spend time with Tomoyo. And the men at work were afraid of her. Not only was she a heartless, boring, frigid, ugly lesbian, she was a bitch, too. Who couldn't, apparently, make the first move in a relationship. Nope, she was spineless! Like all modern women she wasn't capable of chasing after a man she wanted. No, no, no she was like a porcelain doll to be set upon a shelf and look pretty. Not that she was pretty.
"Hmmm."
Fujitaka didn't have a good feeling about that 'hmmm.' Sonomi-kun was being very quiet despite the fact that he was babbling on about her personal life. But she didn't seem angry anymore. She was just…distant. Maybe she was dating.
"But now that I think about it, I still can't see why you aren't dating."
Maybe because she was a boring, heartless, frigid, ugly, lesbian bitch?
"Even without the men at work there's got to be plenty of guys who are asking you out. So why you aren't going out with one of them? You're sure there's nobody special we should know about?" he teased. There wasn't a special someone. He'd be able to tell.
"No." She glared at him. Of course he wouldn't understand why she wasn't dating someone…given what he thought of her, she ought to be clinging to the first man to express interest in her. Any interest.
"Oh, come on now. You're telling me that Daidouji Sonomi doesn't have a secret boyfriend hidden somewhere?" No. He'd know if she had a boyfriend, wouldn't he? Sure he would. She'd look like she was in love if she did. Women in love were easy to spot.
Maybe she had him chained up in her basement so he couldn't leave his heartless, ugly, boring, frigid, lesbian bitch girlfriend. "Shut up, Kinomoto-sensei." She growled.
"There is!" Oh, god, there was.
No. She did not have a boyfriend because the idiot she loved didn't love her, and would be mortified if she asked him out. "I told you; there isn't. Drop it. Now."
"C'mon…What's his name?" He'd have to check this guy out, top to bottom.
"I'm warning you, Sensei…." He had about two seconds before that last fraying nerve snapped and killed everyone in a three-meter radius. Why couldn't he just shut up about it? This wasn't painful enough for her?
Fujitaka blinked. She was still angry. Not only that, but Sonomi was really angry. He only wanted to make sure that whoever this guy was, he was going to be good to her. He was going to have to risk prying it out of her. She'd understand that he was just looking out for her. He was her friend. Even if she didn't like him, he liked her.
"What? He's going to be embarrassed if you tell people?" He was surprised to hear the testy, sarcastic edge to his voice. Where was that coming from?
"OH, THAT'S RIGHT!" she roared. He'd gone too far. She followed as he took an instinctive step back, stabbing a finger into his chest for emphasis. "Any man would be humiliated to have people know that he's dating a boring, ugly, frigid, heartless, lesbian bitch LIKE ME!"
Well, at least now he knew that misstep was: everywhere. He ignored the crowd starting to form around them. "Sonomi-kun, I never…."
"Thought I could get a date if I wanted one? Obviously! That's the reason I'm not dating, isn't it? What other possible explanation is there?"
"Why don't we…." There had to be someplace private around here. Someplace where they could straighten out this mess without any further embarrassment. And why did she think he thought those things about her? He'd certainly never said anything to make her think that.
"Why don't we just have this out here, since everyone already knows what you think of me? You wanted to know why I'm not dating anyone? Right? RIGHT?"
"I…" Oh, this was bad. He'd never even heard of her being so furious.
" 'I'? Yeah, maybe it is because of you. Maybe I'm not tipping every man I meet into bed because I'm in love with you, you jackass!"
Hoe?
Oh. Oooooh, Sonomi's mind winced, she hadn't meant to say that.
@@@
Oh. No. She hadn't meant to say that. There was no way she'd said that. She must have said something so vile that his mind replaced it with something else, like the time she'd called him something so obscene that his mind had translated it as "cornflower" every time she'd said it. Daidouji Sonomi didn't love him. Well, they were practically family, so maybe she did. But she certainly wasn't in love with him like he was in love with her. She…wait…he was what?
Fujitaka's mind whipped around and looked sharply at his heart. Which simply asked him what he'd been thinking was wrong with him, for crying out loud? Of course he was in love with her. He'd been madly in love with her for quite some time. And could he maybe do something about it, as Christmas was coming up and wouldn't she look lovely tucked under the tree? In pretty red ribbons and maybe a shiny red bow? His mind gaped like an idiot. Then kicked into gear.
+++
Sonomi stared at him, striving for calm indifference. Her mental image of herself showed a little girl hopping from foot to foot in absolute panic, hands clapped over her mouth and eyes wide with horror. She hoped she wasn't actually making those distressed squeaking noises out loud.
Maybe they should have gone somewhere private. Maybe there was still a way to salvage this and walk away with a little dignity. Maybe…Sonomi stared as Kinomoto began to chuckle…maybe he was going to laugh. Oh, god. She'd never thought he'd laugh. Stutter out that he only thought of her as a friend, or worse, say that she was family and of course he loved her, but not that way. Or that he'd stare and say something stupid, like "How nice." One tiny part of her heart, that she'd been trying to squash, had held onto the hope that he'd say he loved her, too. But she'd never imagined that he would laugh at her. At her stupidly, desperately real, feelings for him. Not him, not Kinomoto-sensei, World's Nicest Guy. He wouldn't have laughed. She'd thought.
+++
Fujitaka couldn't help but laugh. He was in love with Sonomi. And he wouldn't have to worry about hiding it, or trying to sound her out about it, because he already knew that she loved him. It was relief and joy and surprise that made it impossible to do anything but laugh at his good fortune. He had been loved by Nadeshiko; a quiet, gentle, still-waters-run-deep kind of love that could never be replaced. Being loved by Sonomi would most likely be fierce and confusing, a chaos that never really settled into complacency. And his life wouldn't be as happy, as complete, as it could be without both of those loves.
He wondered if she'd want kids, and was surprised to find that he did. Not only did he want children with Sonomi, he wanted a lot of 'em. They'd have to start soon, if they were going to have four...or five. Five sounded like a nice number. Of course, they'd have to take their older children into account, how they'd feel about the marriage, having younger siblings at their ages, and such, but it would work out. They'd make it work…if she ever agreed to see him again, because she was angrily turning and walking away. Maybe he should have told her how he felt before laughing.
+++
For a moment, Sonomi could only stare at him in a numbed sort of daze. When the pain hit, she was jolted back to her senses and turned to leave. She was embarrassed enough; there was no way she was going to cry in front of him. Eyes burning wetly with tears she told herself he wasn't worth, she started into the mob around them. She should have known better…hell, she had known better. She wasn't Nadeshiko. He'd had that perfect love, there was no reason for him to need, or even want, the love she offered him. She never should have come within shouting distance of him once she'd realized what it was she felt. Look at what it had cost her. She wouldn't be able to look at him ever again.
As she took her second step, she saw a very familiar face. Oh, no. Grandfather. She'd never seen him look so scandalized. Something told her that he'd had a ringside seat for that little announcement. He was no doubt less than thrilled to find that his only other granddaughter had fallen in love with the same man who'd stolen away the first. Not that it would matter how she felt. Nothing was going to come of it. She resisted the urge to run, unwilling to lose whatever dignity remained to her.
+++
"Wait! Wait, Sonomi-kun!" He managed to catch her arm before she'd gone more than a few steps. He'd just found her; he wasn't about to lose her before he had her. Turning her around to face him, he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. Behind them, he could see the resolution that kept them in check and a wounded, vulnerable self-consciousness. He'd hurt her badly, he realized. She loved him in spite of everything she knew, in spite of herself, and that confession must have cost her dearly. And she didn't know how he thought, yet. She knew him, what kind of person he was, but that wouldn't necessarily tell her that he was laughing because he never should have been so lucky. Well, she wasn't going to go anywhere without knowing exactly how he felt. He pulled her a little closer, hand slipping down to hold her wrist, and watched her eyes come up and focus on his, determination shining in them.
"Let go of me, Sensei." She said softly. "I have nothing else to say, and I don't need to hear anything else from you."
"I think you do need to hear what I have to say." How best to say this? To explain that he knew what she thought was, and what he knew would be so? To tell her that the comparisons he knew she was making were fruitless and pointless because he'd never make them. That he couldn't make them, because he loved her and didn't want her to be anything but what she was, as he wouldn't have wanted Nadeshiko to be anyone but who she had been. It was going to be tricky, and she was probably going to hate him before she could love him again.
"Nadeshiko," he watched her eyes close for a moment when he said it, and waited for them to open again. "Nadeshiko was an incredible person. She was always cheerful and hopeful and optimistic. She was a dreamer and a romantic. She was probably the mildest, most even-tempered woman on the planet. She never yelled at anyone, even though there were times she certainly wanted to. She was peaceful and gentle and reasonable. We were very happy together. I don't think we ever fought in all the time we were married. Nobody could take her place. You are not Nadeshiko."
Fujitaka grabbed her hand before she could slap him. He threaded his fingers through hers and brought their joined hands down between them, wishing he hadn't caused the hurt and anger he saw in her eyes. He hoped she could see through it to the love in his own.
"You're temperamental and realistic to a fault. You're impatient with people who dream when they could act. You want what you want, when you want it, how you want it, you want it done your way, and you make no apologies for it. You're willful and stubborn and loud. You are moody, Sonomi, and I irritate you like nobody else ever could." He began to smile.
"We will fight constantly. I will tease you mercilessly. I will annoy you, and I'll do it on purpose. You'll poke at me, and prod at me, and needle me, and yell at me until I lose my temper and yell back. You'll force me to go places I don't want to go, do things I don't want to try doing, and you'll do it whenever I'm busiest. I expect that whenever one of us wants to concentrate on something, the other of us will refuse to be ignored. We'll bicker and snipe at each other and wonder why we ever wanted to be together in the first place. In short, there won't be a moment's peace between us until one of us smothers the other in their sleep. And I wouldn't want it any other way. You're unapologetically yourself no matter what the situation, Sonomi, and I love that most about you."
+++
Sonomi blinked. Staring at him, she attempted to sort through everything he'd just said, tried to sort out her feelings. Which, she thought, was a hopeless task. Stupid, stupid man. He just couldn't put things simply, could he? Oh, no, she told him she loved him in one short sentence at the top of her voice, so he had to throw around whole paragraphs. Complicated ones that weren't exactly flattering even if they did outline all the reasons why he loved…wait…he hadn't said he loved her. If he thought she wasn't going to notice that little detail, he had another think coming. He was going to say those words if it was the last thing she ever let him do.
"So…you love me?"
"Yes."
Not good enough. She stared up at him with her most vapid expression and vacuous eyes. "Yes?" She asked sounding utterly confused. "Yes what?"
"Yes, I love you, Sonomi." He rolled his eyes, making her frown. Which made him laugh again and pull her closer.
He leaned in, freeing a hand to cup her cheek and hold her still. Sonomi closed her eyes and reached up, meeting him halfway. Just like the end of a shouju manga, she thought. All the misunderstandings laid to rest, the main characters finally together, and happily ever after on the horizon. Then she frowned again. Like hell. Manga's were full of brainless twerps and the stories always ended with a kiss making everything magically all better. Well, a kiss wasn't going to make up for what he'd just put her through. She shoved him off her. Startled, he started to speak and she cut him off.
"Kissing does not make things okay, Fujitaka. You have some serious groveling to do before I forgive you for all this." She waved a hand at the applauding crowd, noticing that their children had arrived just in time to catch the end of things. Strangely enough, Tomoyo was soaking wet. And holding Hiiragizawa's hand. Touya caught her eye and mouthed what looked like "Took you long enough!"
"I'm not groveling. I'll make it up to you, but I'm not going to grovel." Fujitaka smiled down at her, clasping their hands more firmly together. He turned slightly, looking around at the crowd. Grandfather stood directly in front of him.
"Oh, no. Grandfather."
Sonomi smirked. Time to see just how far Grandfather's forgiveness extended.
"How much did you hear?" Fujitaka looked him right in the eye as he spoke.
"All of it, you granddaughter stealing b…"
"Great-grandfather…" Tomoyo sighed. "Don't swear in public. It's rude."
"Good!" Fujitaka beamed. Sonomi gaped at him. "At least you know I love her for who she is. Since I think her parents still hate me, would you want to give away the bride?"
Sonomi glared at him. Give away the bride? Whoever said that she needed to be "given" to a man? Did they think she was a piece of property to be traded? And he hadn't even asked her to marry him!
"I think I can talk them around to the idea. Maybe not her mother, but once I've got my son convinced that you're a good man, he should be able to handle her objections without sustaining too much damage." Grandfather laughed. "I think you'll do just fine with my little pixie-girl, Sensei, if you've always got such nerve."
Rounding on him, Sonomi growled. "Just what do you think you're doing? I never said I was going to marry you!"
"Just because I haven't asked you yet." He grinned down at her. Hissing in anger, she jerked her hand out of his and stabbed a finger into his chest. Again.
"Let's get something straight, Kinomoto…" she started.
"You know what I love best about these times when you want to kill me?"