Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. :)
AN (1/4/09): Thanks again to La Fee Verte for beta reading. This is my first short fanfic focusing on Rui and Shizuka. Hope you enjoy reading it! -Maho-chan :)
Great Places
A Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction
By Maho-chan
The lights of the city stretched beyond her office window, the sky grown dark with the lateness of the hour. Shizuka braced her hands on her desk and contemplated her glamorous high heeled shoes.
Flex, stretch, flinch.
Shizuka sighed as pain shot through her toes. She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs then rotated her ankle that hovered just above the ground. She leaned back in her desk chair, closed her eyes and wearily uncrossed her legs again before stretching them out before her.
The shoes were killing her feet.
She had always said that great shoes would take one to great places. And while she still maintained that as true, she had to admit, these shoes, while incredibly beautiful, were undoubtedly against her own axiom. The pain in her toes and ankles confirmed it.
It was impossible to go to great places without some comfort.
As she straightened in her chair, Shizuka winced again. Sighing to herself, she inwardly admitted that her axiom would have to change. Great, beautiful and reasonably comfortable shoes would take her to great places from now on. As pain shot through her toes once more, making her eyes water, she realized there had to be an emphasis on the comfortable from now on.
Trying to focus on the files before her, Shizuka had a fleeting remembrance of the moment when she had bought the high heels that were now torturing her feet.
It had been spring and deciding that she needed a serious change, she had impetuously made the purchase, ignoring the slight discomfort that had already arisen after wearing them for only five short minutes in the store. The shoes had been beautiful and sophisticated as well as seemed daring and reckless, including the extremely high pick heels and the glittering straps that caught the eye.
She had been so taken with their beauty and so determined to be a little more daring that she had insisted on wearing them out of the store.
She had ignored the pain the first few times she had worn the shoes, reassuring herself that it wasn't so bad. But after wearing them several times, she had found them to be hurtful to her toes, damaging to her ankles and much more bother than benefit overall.
Sifting through the papers in her hands, her mind brought forth another memory.
It had been that spring that she had also met her ex-husband for the first time.
He had been gorgeous, sophisticated, daring, reckless and so appealing.
Shizuka smiled wryly to herself. She had loved him so much.
But after she had gotten to know him, and had gone so far as to marry him, she had also found that he was deceitful, insensitive and incredibly selfish.
He had hurt her, much more than she cared to admit to anyone.
As she accidently tapped one heel against the carpeted floor, the pain shooting up into her calve, Shizuka recognized some irony in her thoughts.
Her ex-husband was strangely similar to these unfortunate shoes.
Shizuka sighed.
She shouldn't have tried to wear the shoes today. But she had felt strangely compelled to after glancing at the calendar while she was getting dressed this morning.
This would have been their 2 year anniversary, had it all worked out.
Shizuka shook her head, feeling a bit irritated with herself. She had strapped on these terrible shoes, again feeling that urge to be more impetuous and daring. What made her want to be someone other than her steadfast self? She would have blamed the emotion on her ex husband but sadly she was too smart for that.
It had been her all along. Back then she had been running away from herself, from Japan and from her inheritance and old life. Determined to be anyone but the esteemed Toudou heiress, she had walked right into it.
Shizuka sighed again. It hadn't been all that bad, she mused to herself as she glanced up from her files and around her office. She had succeeded in becoming the lawyer she had wanted to become. She had finally returned to Japan and made peace with her place in her inheritance. She had slowly healed from her messy divorce. Her family and friends had welcomed her with open arms and life had resumed.
She'd learned from her experiences. And since then, luckily any urges she had to be unnecessarily reckless were confined to wearing risky footwear like the ones she wore now.
Shizuka nodded to herself, feeling a bit more optimistic. She had survived and come out stronger, despite it all.
Now all that was left was to get through this last case and go home for the night. The faster she worked, the sooner she could go home, take off the shoes and tuck them in a box, far out of sight.
Maybe she would get rid of the shoes entirely. Yes, that was what she would do.
And with the act of throwing away the shoes, maybe in a way she could symbolically let some more of past go, too.
Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door.
Shizuka raised her head. Even that slight movement of her body caused her aching feet to protest, the nerves tingling unbearably.
"Yes?" She said, fighting the urge to wince.
Her secretary poked her head in and uttered "You have a visitor." Shizuka peered at the clock. It read 8:30 pm.
Who could be coming to see her now? About to ask this, she was surprised to hear a soft voice say.
"Shizuka, it's me."
A delighted look dawned on Shizuka's face as she realized who it was.
"Rui, come in." She called out.
The secretary moved to the side and Rui came through the door, his hair tousled from the wind outside. He slowly sauntered through the door, surveyed the surroundings with mild interest before setting down the shopping bags in his hands and sitting in the chair before her desk. Shizuka watched him, barely noticing as the secretary closed the door softly.
Rui leaned forward and inspected the paperweight next to her computer.
Shizuka suppressed a small smile as he picked up the paperweight and began absently whistling a tune, instead of speaking to her.
Same old Rui.
She thought to herself.
His unwavering character had comforted her immensely since her return. He had slipped back into her life as though they had never been separated, showing up at her house for tea every Thursday and taking her shopping on Sunday afternoons. He brought her flowers once a month and took her to dinner most times.
And he had never asked what had happened, had simply been there for her without her even asking him to.
She leaned back in her chair, watching quietly as he set the paper weight down and sat back in his chair, still softly humming to himself. He regarded her calmly. She did the same to him, before beginning to shift the papers before her so that she could put away the file she was working on.
Somehow he always knew, always showed up when she was reminiscing about the past and feeling pensive. She didn't know how he knew but she welcomed his appearance every time, this childhood friend turned lover turned friend and now carrying out a role strangely in between all of those things.
Rui turned his attention to the two shopping bags he had set down next to the chair. He rummaged through them. Shizuka gave the bags a curious glance and inquired. "What is in there?"
"I brought food. We can eat it later at your house." Rui replied. Even though this was unplanned, once again Shizuka didn't question him. She was used to these impromptu dinners and appreciated them. If not for him, she would probably have missed many meals.
He rummaged through the bags for a few moments more and then sat back again. Once again, they gazed at each other, silently enjoying each others company.
Words had never really been that necessary between them.
But after a while, Rui spoke again.
"Also, I brought you something." He commented.
"Really?" Shizuka quietly replied.
"Yes. I saw it in the store and thought it was pretty. The size they had is your size." Rui said blandly.
Shizuka gave him a tender look. Ever since they were young, Rui had a habit of falling in love with things. He would become infatuated with rocks, sweets, and stuffed animals, anything that caught his eye. Sometimes he'd even give them to people he cared about. And after the rest of the F4 had refused to take on anymore of Rui's beloved belongings, many of them had unwittingly ended up with Shizuka.
Shizuka had thought he had outgrown the habit but it had resurfaced as of late. It was one of the many endearing things that she had always loved about him.
Rui opened one of the bags and took out a box. Shizuka furrowed her brow quizzically and then started as he stood and moved closer to her.
"Rui? What is it?" Shizuka asked curiously.
Rui knelt by the side of her desk. He placed the box on the floor and without meeting her stare, placed his palm against one of her feet.
Shizuka gasped, the pain rolling through her foot and up her ankle. Rui observed her with concern.
"It hurts?" Rui queried.
Shizuka nodded. "I made a bad choice." She said cryptically.
Rui focused on undoing the delicate straps. "Then this will be better for you." Rui said thoughtfully.
Silence ensued as Rui pulled off the offending heels that were causing her so much pain. Shizuka breathed a sigh of relief as the first shoe and then the second hit the floor.
Rui hummed to himself again as he rubbed the back of her ankle and then massaged her foot all the way to her toes. Shizuka let him, trusting him as always.
After both feet were massaged, Rui reached down and pulled the top off the box. Shizuka leaned forward and peered down into it, her eyes widening a little as she saw what was inside.
Again, how had he known?
She thought as he plucked the plush satin slippers from the box. He held them in his hands, turning them so that the light caught the glittering sequins sewn onto the vibrant fabric.
"Very pretty." He said to himself as he beamed at the slippers appreciatively. Shizuka stifled an amused little laugh, knowing that to Rui, such an admission was quite earnest.
Rui reverently placed the slippers on her feet, and then solemnly met her eyes. Shizuka was about to speak when he reached up and fingered a lock of her hair. She paused, wondering what he might do next.
Rui turned his gaze to her lips. He brushed her cheek with his fingertips before saying softly "Is that better?"
Shizuka nodded, flexing her toes in the slippers. "Yes." She replied simply.
"Good. If your shoes ever hurt, you should change to more comfortable ones. These are just as pretty as those are." Rui said bluntly before he pulled her close to him and placed a gentle and very sweet kiss against her lips. Shizuka kissed him back, naturally accustomed to his kisses. The kisses were another habit that they had slipped back into since her return.
After a few moments they pulled away to look into each others eyes. Rui stared at Shizuka expectantly.
As they watched each other, Shizuka felt her heart quicken as the mood between them began to change. She cupped Rui's cheek in her palm, identifying familiar emotions dearer and deeper than the obvious friendship they had already acknowledged. And as he leaned his face into her fingertips, she found those same emotions mirrored in the expression on his face.
"You are right; these are just as beautiful and are better for me. Thank you." Shizuka said meaningfully before leaning in to kiss him again.
They kissed deeply then, none of the sweetness lost to the undeniable warmth rising between them. The kiss was gentle yet passionate, as they expressed themselves in action rather than words.
And as they moved to fully embrace each other, Shizuka promised to herself that she would definitely prefer beautiful, comfortable shoes from now on.
Although she wouldn't think of herself as reckless, daring, or impetuous while wearing them.
She knew they would always, always be there to take her to great places where she belonged.
-Maho-chan (1/4/09)