Author's Notes: To Ashley: It's okay, it was just hard to reply to your comments and reviews because you don't have an account, so I wasn't sure how to let you know. Thank you for reading my Asukamura fics!
Italics = Thoughts
Moshi Moshi - Standard Japanese Greeting when answering the phone.
Okonomiyaki - A Japanese battered pancake, but much different than American pancakes in that the batter can be a mixture of cabbage, flour and milk, egg, and other ingredients such as cheese or any sort of protein or veggie you like, making its translation of "grilled as you like it" very fitting.
Though this isn't very Valentine's themed, I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and post this for the holiday Enjoy~
"This movie is supposed to be scary?" Asuka asked, gesturing to the television screen; at the two women conducting a séance to connect with the main actress's dead daughter.
She felt Shinsuke shrug his shoulders as she was currently resting her head on one of his arms. "The genre said horror."
"It's too weird to be scary. Like I'm way more busy trying to figure out what's going on to be scared," she complained, though not blaming him. She had picked the movie after all.
A week after their date at her house, Shinsuke invited her over to his place for dinner and a movie.
Asuka came with a gift, which she presented to him immediately. Unlike him, she couldn't wait to give him the gift because the longer she held onto it, the more her anxiety of what he would think of it weighed on her.
He had been reluctant at first upon her request for him to open it right away in her presence but acquiesced when she insisted.
His teeth flashed when he smiled, his eyes crinkling. "Still think I'm a kitsune?" he chuckled, holding up a fox-shaped suncatcher from the gift box. She had seen it at a small craft festival in town and couldn't resist purchasing it for him.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Shinsuke," she replied, innocently batting her eyelashes at him. "I don't intend to get you drunk so your illusion will wear off and expose your tail."
Shinsuke eyed her shrewdly. "I'm watching you."
With the gift-giving out of the way and her spirits brightened at his reception, he began showing her around. His house wasn't much bigger than hers and was organized, well in a chaotic sort of way.
Many small succulent plants occupied his windowsills – he lovingly hung his new sun catcher above them. There was artwork everywhere; a mixture of purchased prints and sculptures, as well as his paintings, littered the house. She quickly realized which were his after seeing the same signature on multiple works, a variation of his usual signature. Shinsuke's style varied from complete abstractness to vaguely recognizable subjects, to portraits. The least organized room was his art studio, while the most structured rooms were his bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, though they still carried an air of controlled disorder.
Shinsuke apologized shyly for the clutter of his home, but Asuka waved it off.
"I like it. Makes it look like you've lived in here."
"Heh…I guess I can be a bit of an accumulator," he admitted with a hint of a blush.
She examined his paints and some of his works in progress. "Well seeing a little of your personality here and there is nice." She winked at him.
Shinsuke's cheeks flushed a little darker and she found it absolutely endearing.
A well-kept wooden patio deck greeted them as soon as they stepped out his back sliding door. Beyond the deck was a reasonably sized fenced-in backyard for a home located in the city of Orlando. Next to the house was a medium sized shed, which contained all of Shinsuke's surfboards and other swim gear.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were looking to become a surf champion or something," she said as she looked over each board. There were boards of all shapes and colors, but most of them were longboards.
"Maybe when I've retired from wrestling and can put more focus on it." He blushed again. "I'm not that good."
"You look good doing it." She winked at him.
He blushed once more but covered it with faux cockiness. "Then I'll definitely have to improve."
After touring his home, they began the task of cooking dinner, which was filled with as much playful banter and flirting as their previous kitchen adventure. They fixed okonomiyaki and soba noodles, and after cleaning up the remnants of their batter battle, they enjoyed their dinner.
Once they finished eating, Shinsuke brought up his Netflix account and asked her to choose a movie. Asuka wanted an excuse to snuggle up with her boyfriend so decided on horror, and thus picked the movie Hereditary. He didn't complain about her choice.
However, the further they got into the movie, the more it seemed to not have the desired effect she had been looking for. Sure there was some disturbing imagery and themes, but the closest they got to a snuggle was her leaning her cheek on his shoulder.
The movie was long, and between that and the warmth of Shinsuke's body, she found herself dozing off during parts of the movie that were less exciting.
"Should we turn it off then? Find something better?" he asked, his chin having fallen lightly against her head in what she assumed was a sign of tiredness.
"Part of me wants to finish it considering we've survived watching it this far," she replied. "But another part of me wants to put us both out of our misery." She pouted. "I wanted to cuddle."
Shinsuke chuckled lightly beside her. "You think watching scary movies is the only reason to cuddle?"
"No…but don't you guys do that all the time?" She shifted so she could look up at him. "Can't a girl want the same thing?"
"So you wanted me to whimper and jump onto your lap?" he said jokingly with a wink.
"I'm an equal opportunist, Shinsuke," she teased back.
"Hmmm…" he rumbled, maneuvering himself on the couch so that he was sitting sideways, facing her. He then draped both of his long legs over her lap and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Leaning in towards her ear, he whispered huskily, "I'm scared Asuka-chan. Hold me."
Asuka was caught between giggling at his antics and letting his voice bewitch her. "There, there." she wrapped her arms around his larger frame and patted his back. The sight of them sitting like that had to be comical. "Is that better?"
"Much better..." his breath tickled the shell of her ear pleasantly.
Her body quivered for a much different reason than fear and she turned her head to face him, the smooth skin of her cheek abraded by the stubble of his jaw. Smokey eyes met hers, drawing her in instantly like a moth to the flame.
Their breath mingled as their lips inched closer.
At the very same time a phone began ringing within the movie, so too did her cell phone go off. For some reason, the dual abrupt jarring sounds dispelled the magnetism pulling her towards Shinsuke and she squeaked in surprise.
Shinsuke also jumped, so much so that he was no longer halfway seated on her. They first both eyed her phone then looked at each other, chests heaving from the startle.
"Are you gonna get that?" he asked almost tauntingly.
Asuka glanced at him with wide eyes but managed to peel herself from the couch to grab her phone.
Oh no…
It felt like a massive blush lit her face up like a match. Her phone continued to ring unanswered in her hand.
"Well?" Shinsuke prodded.
She glared at him for rushing her but answered her phone. "Hey, dad."
Her boyfriend's mouth dropped a little, but then he covered it as though preventing a laugh.
"I thought you weren't going to answer the phone," said her father.
"Sorry, I was just busy…um…just had to turn off my skillet," she replied. Just then the son in the movie screamed bloody murder as some invisible force slammed his head down on the desk.
"What is that awful sound?" her father asked.
Asuka scrambled for the remote and muted the movie. "Just a movie."
"Watching a movie while cooking? That doesn't sound like you."
"Er well…I've had to multi-task lately," she replied.
Shinsuke poked her in the side, causing her to squirm. He seemed to be finding this whole situation humorous. Asuka smacked his hand away, but he continued to try and find a way to torment her, prodding her with his finger or making silly faces.
"I see," her father said. "Anyways, I called to see how you were doing. The last time you called you sounded sad. Your mother and I hadn't heard from you since and we began to worry."
"Ohh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just got caught up in work." Asuka kicked herself for not calling her folks back. First, she had been too wrapped up in her own little cloud of misery, then she got completely distracted by Shinsuke.
"Are you sure? You sound unfocused," said the voice on the other end of the line. "Maybe we should Facetime."
"Ah no, there's no need—"
"Nonsense. I want to see my daughter's face."
"But really I'm okay—"
Before she could throw together words persuasive enough to discourage her father, her phone began pinging, signaling that he had already requested a video chat. She had no choice but to answer.
"What's with that face, Rainbow Girl?" her father asked as soon as the video feed connected, letting her see his bespectacled face. "You look apprehensive."
Of course, the only other person that could look through her noh mask was her father.
"It's just…well…" she began, glancing nervously at Shinsuke. He had stopped trying to provoke her the moment he realized she was video chatting with her father. "I'm at a friend's house."
"Ohh well there's no need to be embarrassed by your old man!" her father laughed, "Let me say hi to her!"
"Uh…" Asuka tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. Most of the time she didn't mind her dad's over-friendliness, but at the moment she wished he was more traditionally reserved.
"Well," she said turning to Shinsuke. "You did say you'd like to meet him."
Shinsuke blanched. "Right now?" he mouthed.
Asuka nodded and motioned him over with her head, silently telling him, If I've gotta get grilled, so do you.
Her boyfriend's throat bobbed as he swallowed but slowly he crept over to sit right beside her so that his face could fit onto the screen too. He managed a small smile and wave. "Hi."
Her father's face went from jovial to stern in a matter of seconds. "Is that?" he asked.
"Nakamura Shinsuke? Yes," she answered, already guessing where her father's line of questioning was headed.
"Is he?" her father went on.
"My boyfriend? Yes." There was certainly no use in lying anymore.
With each answer, her father's face became more and more severe. "You don't mind if I speak to my daughter alone, do you, Nakamura-san?"
"No, of course not," though Shinsuke's voice was steady, she could feel his anxiety in the tenseness of his body against hers. He then got up and meandered out onto the back patio to give them some privacy.
"How long have you been seeing him?" her father cut straight to the chase.
"We've known each other for a few years now..." At her father's expression, she quickly amended, "But I haven't been seeing him that long! I mean we've been close for a few months and we became official two weeks ago." She felt like a babbling mess.
"Why didn't you tell me anything?"
"I was going to, but you don't exactly make it easy…" she admitted. "I was a little afraid you would scare him off."
Her father sighed. "You know I have a good reason for my actions."
"I know you do, dad. But I'm a grown woman…I don't need your constant protection."
"You were a grown woman when—" her father's voice cut off. "You're my only child. I just don't want to see you get hurt like that again."
Asuka bit her lip to fight off tears. "I know…but believe me when I say I've learned from it. I won't let that happen again. Please trust me on that. Besides, Shin's a really great guy. I…I was kind of in a slump before and he was there for me, helped pull me out of it."
"So…that's why you hadn't called." It was more a statement than a question.
"More or less," she sighed a little too. "I'm really sorry, dad."
"Tell me more about him and you're forgiven."
She did, summarizing her time with Shinsuke to the best of her ability.
When she finished he became still and silent, then he said, "I wish to speak to him. Alone."
This time Asuka gulped but said "Okay" before stumbling to her feet and making her way to the sliding glass door. Shinsuke glanced back at her from his seated spot on one of the wooden steps.
"He wants to talk to you," she announced, holding her phone out to him.
Shinsuke looked her over, appearing to be gauging her emotions. Instead of letting him in, Asuka shut herself off from everything, becoming numb. Numb to the fear of what her father would say to Shinsuke. Numb to memories drudged up to the surface from the depths of past, memories she was not yet ready to address.
She barely registered Shinsuke accepting the phone from her, nor her returning to the inside of his house. She didn't realize she had curled up into a semi-fetal position on his couch. Unconscious to the passage of time, she only came back to herself at the sound of the sliding glass door opening and closing.
"How did it go?" She asked, practically jumping to her feet.
Shinsuke silently looked her over once more while strolling up to her. Her phone was on homescreen again when he handed it back, which told her the call had ended. "Not bad," he said, brushing her cheek with his fingers. Clearly, he sensed her distress – though hopefully not the full extent of it. "He asked a lot of questions is all."
She blinked up at him. "He wasn't scary?"
"Maybe a little, but nothing out of the ordinary." He chuckled when she let out a relieved breath. "Fathers are supposed to be a little scary for boyfriends, weeds out the unworthy, no?"
"I guess so." She buried her face in his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. "I was just scared he would go over the top and you'd run off or something."
He held her even closer and kissed the top of her head. "It's going to take a whole lot more than a threat to my life to come between us."
She pulled back in order to see him. "Wait, he threatened you?"
"Sort of. Said if I hurt you in any way that'd he'd come find me." To her surprise, he gave her his fox grin. "Then he invited me over for dinner next time we tour Japan."
"What? Really?" Hope blossomed in her chest.
"Yeah. Oh, he told me to tell you that he loves you and is very proud of you. And that he's sorry for interrupting your date."
The fear Asuka's heart had been harboring earlier dissipated completely. She knew her father as a great judge of character and knew that he wouldn't entrust such an important message to someone he had even an inkling of dislike for. He could have easily asked Shinsuke to pass her back the phone, but no, he trusted her boyfriend – a man he practically just met – with his words.
They will like each other when they properly meet, that she was most certain of now.
"You look more at ease," Shinsuke commented lightly, appearing pleased that her tenseness had passed.
"Hm? Ohh, yes," she responded after waking from her daydream. "I wasn't expecting him to find out like that, but it seems to have worked out for the better."
"That's good," he hummed, dropping a sweet kiss to her lips before turning his attention to his own cell phone.
She raised a pink brow. "What are you doing?"
"Thought I may as well call mom," he said, mouth widening in a cheeky grin.
Asuka's heart palpitated in her chest, starting up another round of nervous racing. "Shinsuke…" she whined, hoping her pout would make him take pity on her.
"Equal opportunist, right Asuka?" he winked at her, then directed his voice towards his phone. "Hello, mother."
Author's Notes: My friend and I watched the movie Hereditary, which my cousin recommended. It was supposed to be scary and thrilling and all that, but the scariest thing about it was when the little girl spirit would randomly cluck her tongue. For the most part we were just left wondering what the hell we just watched (and I've watched some effed up horror movies). It's also probably widely known about Japanese horror and cell phones, so that was the reason behind Asuka and Shinsuke's reaction to her phone ringing, especially after watching a "scary" movie.
Constructive Feedback is always welcomed~