title: so tell me, darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?
summary: "But seriously, Dad, just man up and ask Aunt Ryuko out already."
characters: Sanageyama Uzu, Matoi Ryuko, original characters, ghostly Mankanshoku Mako, Jakuzure Nonon
pairings: UzuRyuko, HoukaNonon, peripheral UzuMako, offhandedly mentioned unrequited IraMako
notes:Beware matchmaking children. This was supposed to be super angtsy but for some reason or other, the path took a sharp turn and never straightened back out. Ah well.
-.-
"You didn't have to cook dinner for us, you know."
Ryuko chuckles lightly, taking the empty plates from Uzu. She patters over to the sink, dropping them into the growing pile in the sink, and turns on the faucet, letting the water warm before picking up a sponge. "Don't worry about. I like cooking for you guys. Besides, Uzu, you suck at it."
"I do not," he argues, affronted, though the smile he wears tells a different story.
"You kind of do, Dad!" Yoko calls out from the living room where she had been shifting through Ryuko's stack of DVDs. One of Uzu's hand comes up to clutch dramatically at his chest.
"Even my own daughter," he gasps, smile growing as Ryuko's chuckling turns into loud laughter. He reaches over for the sponge in her hand and gently pries it out of her fingers, letting the soaked object drop with a wet plop into the sink. "The dishes aren't going anywhere, you know."
"I know," she says, amused, "but we both also know that if I don't do them now, I'll never get around to them."
Arata runs in just then and without preamble grabs both adults by the hand and drags them into Ryuko's modest living room. "Come on. Yoko wants to start the movie."
"What movie are we watching?"
"When Harry met Sally," Yoko answers, already settling on the sofa, legs stretching out comfortably. Arata releases Ryuko and Uzu and runs straight for the other end. He arranges himself so that he takes up the other half, leaving no room for either adult. Neither one looks the least bit repentant.
"I wanted to watch The Avengers," Arata grouses, grabbing a couple throw pillows from the floor to support his head.
"You can choose the movie next time," Ryuko promises, making herself comfortable on the loveseat, leaving Uzu standing there. No one moves despite the arched brow they receive from him and with a sigh, he settles on the ground in front of the sofa.
"Oh come on, Dad. Why not just share the loveseat with Aunt Ryuko," Yoko says innocently, gently kneeing her father in the shoulders.
Uzu twists his upper body to smile wryly at his daughter and flicks her gently on the nose. "You, my dear daughter, are not subtle in the least."
"Who says I'm trying to be subtle," Yoko counters, subsequently shushing her father as the previews start playing. Uzu shares a glance with Ryuko, his expression clearly saying 'can you believe this girl' and Ryuko chuckles silently.
Throughout the movie, Yoko would kick her father in the shoulders and point out, quite loudly, similarities between the relationship on screen and the relationship he shares with Ryuko. Arata, despite his reluctance to watch anything that didn't have to do with action and adventure, would also join in. Except he'd point out how stupid the main leads were. Something tells Uzu that his two kids had conspired against him tonight.
"Everyone knows they love each other," Arata announces as Harry coincidentally meets Sally yet again in the movie.
"Just like two other people we know. Right, Arata?" Yoko teases, shooting Ryuko and Uzu a large smile.
"Right," Arata agrees.
"Alright, you two," Uzu sighs, flinging himself onto their legs, one hand tickling Yoko and the other ruffling Arata's hair. Yoko shrieks in laughter, her hands pushing futilely against her father's attacks. Arata pouts and whines, scrambling backwards until he hits the armrest. "No more cracks about my love life."
"Bu – but Dad," Yoko gasps out between short bursts of giggles, "we were – weren't making cr –cracks about yo – ur love life!"
"Right," he hums, "and you aren't my daughter."
"Dad!" she cries as dramatically as she can.
"She's your daughter, alright," Ryuko notes wryly.
Uzu sniffs with as much dignity he can muster. With one last ruffle to Arata's hair, Uzu returns to his position in front of the couch with a huffy, "Just watch the movie, you two. No more snarky comments."
"My dad, ladies and gentlemen," Yoko announces sarcastically, arms gesturing toward him. Sighing, she leans back against the well worn cushions and promises, "Fine, no comments."
True to her word, Yoko mentions nothing more of her desires for her dad to date her Aunt Ryuko, but that doesn't stop her from thinking it nor does it stop her from sending knowing looks to the both of them. She sends them a lot of looks throughout the rest of the movie.
Uzu pointedly ignores the looks he receives. He is well aware of his children's intentions, given how unsubtle they are, but he has absolutely no plans to indulge them. At least not right now. Chancing a glance at Ryuko, a tiny smile flits across his lips at the sight of her entirely enraptured by the movie as though it was her first time watching it. It isn't.
It's well past midnight when Uzu decides it's time to leave. The credits for The Avengers are rolling, having been put on to appease Arata and Ryuko helps him shake awake Yoko. Despite tired protests, they shrug on their coats and go stand in the hallway as Uzu thanks Ryuko again for having them over.
When he joins his children out in the hall and Ryuko closes the door behind him with a soft click, Yoko tiredly, and yet still casually, states, "You know, Dad, I'd really love it if you made Aunt Ryuko our mom" and leaves her father spluttering and red faced in the hallway.
-.-
Nonon brings Satoru over for a play date with Arata and she stays for tea. There's a look in her eyes that spell nothing but trouble and Uzu isn't looking forward to whatever talk they're about to have.
He's right when she, quite frankly, says, "You're an idiot, you know that, Monkey?"
"Excuse you," he grumbles childishly into his cup of iced tea, "but I am not an idiot."
Nonon rolls her eyes and sets her teacup down, leaning forward onto her elbows so that she can pin him with a deadpan glare. "You're in love with Ryuko and yet you went and had a family with her best friend."
"Don't put it like that," he mutters. "I loved Mako."
"Loved," Nonon parrots wryly.
"Love," he amends sharply. Talking with Nonon always did test his patience. "I loved Mako when I married her and I still love her, even now."
"Yeah, I'm sure you do. It totally wasn't a Freudian slip of the tongue or anything."
"How do you even know what a Freudian slip is?"
"Houka," she simply says by way of explanation. With a sigh, she picks up cup and takes a demure sip. "Look, Monkey, you've been pining over Ryuko since she transferred into our school, okay? That's – almost twenty years, my god."
Uzu frowns into the rim of his cup. "That was high school, Jakuzure."
"It's Inumuta now," she corrects him offhandedly. Yeah, he knows. "That doesn't mean you stopped." She exhales noisily, watching the steam curl in front of her eyes. "I still don't understand why you decided to go out with Mankanshoku. Broke poor Froggy's heart, too."
"Because I love her."
"Alright. I can smell a liar from a mile away. So tell me the truth, Sanageyama. Why did you agree to date Mankanshoku?"
She's using his name. Granted, it's his last name, but she's not calling him 'Monkey' and that means she's all business. He briefly considers lying because he really doesn't want to have this conversation with Nonon of all people, but she's extremely good at detecting lies and it would only incur her wrath at this point. There's the look in her eyes where it means she will not tolerate any lying.
He sighs and keeps his eyes trained on the ice in his cup. "Because Ryuko was dating Mikisugi."
Nonon doesn't bother trying to hide her frustration as she throws her hands into the air. "Oh my god, you are an idiot." She pushes aside everything on the table and grabs him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him halfway across the table. "Listen, you brainless oaf, Ryuko has never, ever, gone out with that stripper of a teacher."
"What?"
"Oh my god," she groans, releasing him. "You're an idiot."
"I gathered that the first time you said it," he says.
"Alright," she sighs, fingers rubbing tiredly at her temples, "alright. Let me clear this up for you, okay? You, the big dumbass that you are, pine after Ryuko for years. She also likes you, lord knows why, and being the two wusses that you two are, neither of you do anything. Now, fast forward a couple of years, you two still haven't moved forward an inch and this dance is ridiculous. You think Ryuko's dating Mikisugi and, in your jealous fit, end up dating Mankanshoku, who you later marry and, oh look, have a family with. And yeah, okay, you love her. Except you still very much love Ryuko. And she still loves you despite everything. Are you clear? Do you understand?"
Uzu blinks, a little disoriented from everything Nonon just threw at him. He almost asks her to clarify, mostly because he can't seem to wrap his mind around the fact the Ryuko likes him, but the glare she sends him makes him think twice about it.
"Even I understood that, Dad." Uzu nearly jumps out of his seat at the shock and jerks around in his chair to find Yoko appearing from the hallway, her keys dropping back into her bag as she acknowledges Nonon. "Hi, Aunt Nonon."
"Good afternoon, Yoko."
"Yoko, what are you doing here?"
Yoko arches a quizzical brow at her father. "I live here? What was in that iced tea of yours, Dad?"
"Sugar?" he answers hesitantly. His tone turns wary in an instant. "How long have you been home?"
"Not long," she says, "though I heard Aunt Nonon's huge speech." Yoko sighs and runs a hand through her shoulder length hair and at length levels a look of complete seriousness at Uzu. "Look Dad, I'll keep this short. We know you love Mom and all – and we do too – but seriously, Dad? I think it's time you get yourself back out there, especially with Aunt Ryuko. Even Arata can tell you love her. And we like Aunt Ryuko. She, like, practically raised us ever since Mom died. So Dad? Man up and ask Aunt Ryuko out."
"And I prove my point," Nonon mutters proudly, smug smirk tugging at her lips as Yoko shuffles up the stairs, leaving him stunned and gapping like a fish.
"And what point is that?" Uzu snaps, glaring at the petite woman sitting across from him.
"That you need to man up and ask Ryuko out, as Yoko so delicately put it."
-.-
He finds himself in front of Mako's grave a week after the visit from Nonon, clutching a small bundle of daisies in front of his chest. He stares down contemplatively at the headstone and with a sigh, he kneels and places the flowers by the marker.
"Hey, Mako."
His fingers trace along the engravings of her name softly, wistfully, before leaning forward to place his forehead against the cool stone.
He comes here, a lot, when he wants to think or talk without having to worry about anyone judging him. He came here when Yoko got her first boyfriend – not without complaining to Ryuko first. He came here when he found out Arata was being bullied for not having a mom – though he did plan with Ryuko on how to get back at the bully. Looking back on all the times he's come to talk to Mako's headstone, he realizes it's always after he talks to Ryuko.
Even before, when things were going wrong and he needed someone to talk to, it had always been to Ryuko before anyone else. His lips quirk into a dry smile at the belated realization.
Not this time, though. This time, he's coming to Mako first.
"I'm sorry, you know? I love you, but it just sounds so stupid and insincere, but I really do. I wouldn't have married you if I didn't. And I love our kids – they're the greatest – and they miss you and I miss you and – I'm sorry."
He sighs and straightens, staring resolutely down at Mako's headstone. "I think there are some things that need to be cleared up, and I wish I could tell them to you while you were still alive –" He smiles a little ruefully and shakes his head. "When I first asked you out, I had done it because I wanted to make Ryuko jealous. Wanted her to see what a good boyfriend I could be and what she was missing out on by being with Mikisugi. Except it turns out she never was with him. And I'm pretty sure you knew that – my intentions, not the – yeah – and I don't know why you agreed to it.
"And while I did end up loving you and – well, you know the rest there, really – I never did stop loving Ryuko and I just – it took our children and Jakuzure – wait, no, Inumuta now, I suppose – to make me realize that. And you probably already knew that when you told me to go chase after the happily ever after that got away."
He pauses, eyes staring unfocused at a tree in the far corner of the graveyard.
"And I think I've finally come to terms with it all," he continues. "I love Ryuko, and I'm going to man up – as Yoko so lovingly put it – she's a lot like Ryuko, you know – and finally ask her out. But that doesn't mean I didn't love you any less and –" he laughs self-deprecatingly at how stupid he sounds but plows on. "All I can say is, I'm sorry, and thank you, for being there. And you'd probably send Ryuko to kick my ass for not realizing any of this sooner, so I suppose, thanks, for that as well."
He places a soft, lingering kiss to the cool, stone slab and as he pushes himself back onto his feet, a light breeze blows through the graveyard. The leaves of the trees rustle and the daisy petals dance, and were he the type to read into things, he would have interpreted it as Mako, smiling down and encouraging him. Except he isn't.
He leaves the graveyard feeling like a weight has been lifted off his chest and, tilting his head back to allow the sun to wash over him, he smiles.
-.-
He doesn't get a opportunity to ask until a few days later, when Ryuko comes over for their weekly dinner and movie night.
He helps her in the kitchen, washing the vegetables, and he thinks it's the perfect opportunity to ask and just as he opens his mouth, Arata comes running in, whining about how hungry he is. Yoko ambles in not long after and with the two of them loitering around in the kitchen, his chance slips away.
The second time he tries to ask that night, they're clearing the dishes and the children have run ahead into the living room to pick out a movie. He's arguing with Ryuko over who should do the washing, claiming that as the host it was his responsibility. A sudsy fight breaks out and they're laughing as they flick bubbles at each other. A smudge of soap smears across her nose and he reaches up to wipe it off, clearly a horrible idea because his hands are just as wet and soapy and all he does is get more soap on her. He's about to ask and he gets out her name before he's interrupted by a jarring crash.
It turns out that Yoko and Arata had started fighting over what movie to watch and, in their defense, they never noticed the vase on the coffee table before and therefore didn't know it was there to begin with.
Third time's not the charm because he gets a call from Nonon who spends a good ten minutes teasing him about finally getting his act together and another ten minutes go by as he listens to 'advice' from Inumuta. When he finally manages to extract himself from that particularly painful conversation, Ryuko's started up a game of Cheat with Yoko and Arata. With a sigh, he settles next to her and joins in the next round.
Uzu walks Ryuko out to her car after the game and he lingers on the sidewalk as she tosses her coat and bag into the passenger seat. Turning around, she hugs him, lightly and never lingering, and thanks him for having her over, even though they both know it isn't necessary. As she releases him, he realizes that if he doesn't take the leap now, he never will.
And so, he blurts out, "Wait!"
She pauses, fingers curled under the door handle, ready to pull. Over the hood of her car, she arches an eyebrow at his fidgeting form and replies, "Yes?"
"I was just – I mean," he flounders, arms gesturing vaguely. Trailing off, he coughs and clears his throat before trying again. "I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me."
"I did have dinner with you," she says a little hesitantly.
"Not like that," he hastily amends. "I mean, without Yoko or Arata. Just the two of us."
Her fingers slip away from the door handle and she rounds her car until she's standing back in front of him. He shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot, suddenly unsure of everything and berating himself for even opening his mouth.
"Just the two of us?" Ryuko repeats a little incredulously.
"Like a –" he stumbles over his words and just ends up mumbling the last of it into his chest as he curls into himself, hand stuffing deep into his pockets.
"Date?" she clarifies.
His lips thin and he nods jerkily. "Yeah."
Silence encompasses them and Uzu worries that he's overstepped his boundaries. He also worries that maybe Nonon was wrong and Ryuko didn't love him anymore. Maybe she never did.
"Okay."
He blinks. "Okay?"
She nods. "Okay."
"Okay," he repeats giddily, a wave of relief washing over him. He blusters on, "So seven? Or maybe six? Would six be better? I can come pick you up, or if you'd prefer –"
The amused smile on her faces stops his spluttering and he trails off, words catching on the tip of his tongue and dying before they make it out. She steps closer as she says, "Pick me up at six, and be sure to dress nicely. And we're going to have a long talk about everything, later."
He can only nod dumbly as she rolls onto the ball of her feet and presses a soft, chaste kiss to the corner of his lips. As she pulls back, he surges forward in a haze and fully captures her lips in a kiss, arms winding around her waist to pull her closer.
And somewhere from inside the house, Yoko's shrieks of glee could be heard.