Disclaimer: T-T FCKYEAH! t(-_-t)
I wish I owned this.!
Author's Note: Oya~! This fic was requested from a dear friend of mine…. She's a die-hard RyoSaku fan! Poor me. Bear with me.
RYOSAKU! AU! OOC!
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Serendipity
They say serendipity means specifically the act of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it. A "happy accident" or " pleasant surprise." Meeting Ryoma turned out to be all of that and more. Two strangers, meeting only by fate and serendipity, but nonetheless changing my life. That is, until we met again and found out we were linked in a way no one could have foreseen. Fate was surely mocking us, but maybe a happy ending wasn't completely off the table...
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Chapter 1
Four months earlier
I'd watched the city come in to view with a plethora of emotion. Dread currently over powered the rest. I had done everything I could to get out of here, and now I was thrown back here with no choice. I wanted to please my father. Seeing Tokyo only made me miss my home more. I was in my third year at Tokyo University, and my mom had recently moved into the city after her and my dad divorced a couple years back. I twisted the invitation around and around in my hands.
You are cordially invited to join us in celebrating the engagement of
Sakuya Ryuzaki and Sachiko Kuruma,
November 17th at 5:00.
RSVP by November 8th
The invitation was all pearly with a lavender border. I wanted to gag. I'd never even met this Sachiko woman. I knew she had two kids, one a little older than me and another still in high school. From the pictures I'd seen, she was blonde and busty with sparkling blue eyes, nothing like my brown hair, hazel eyed mother. For some reason, that bothered me. I sighed.
My mom was already upset with me for missing Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to spend it getting to know my dad's new family. I hated hurting my mother. My father and Sachiko were planning on tying the knot on Valentine's Day, how unoriginal. Maybe I should be mean to Sachiko, and her kids. That might make my mom happy. But then my dad will be hurt and I guess he doesn't really deserve that. Or I could just go home and forget all about this. I'm sure he'd understand. Then again –
"The pilot has turned off the fasten seatbelt sign, please feel to move about the cabin. Keep in mind that your contents may have shifted during the flight; use caution when opening the overhead bins. Welcome to the Big Apple."
I had over thought myself right through the landing. After a kind, older man helped me get my luggage out of the bin, I hurried into the busy NARITA airport. I followed the rest of the passengers to the baggage claim, waiting twenty minutes before I was able to procure both my suitcases. I grunted in effort to pull them off the belt. I'd been studying abroad in Spain for two months; naturally I was going to use some free time to shop. It had been the experience of a lifetime.
When I finally emerged onto the sidewalk outside, I shivered and slipped on a hat. The sun was hiding behind a massive cloud. Now, for hailing a taxi. I raised my hand at multiple ones, that just passed by me without a glance.
"You're not from around here, are you?" said a deep voice from behind me with a chuckle.
I turned around and my snappy comeback slipped off my lips, fluttering away in the wind.
At first look all I saw was gold. The gold of the deepest jewel, darker than bottle gold but nonetheless flawless. Shaking away from their trance I took in the strands of brunette hair sticking out from under a beanie, and then the most perfect lips on the planet. I'd encountered many European men on my trip, but this guy was gorgeous.
"I…well technically no. I live about an hour and a half away from the city. But I haven't been home in a while."
He smiled, teeth perfect and white. "It shows. Your taxi hailing abilities are wavering. Allow me?" He stepped into the road and stuck his arm out. Immediately, a cab pulled over.
"Oh come on now, that's cheating. She's a woman!" I said, pointing to the driver. It was indeed a woman, with straggly hair and missing teeth. She was eyeing the man beside me, practically salivating.
The man turned to look at her, and returned his gaze to me. "Na, but she's definitely lesbian."
I laughed, and his smile grew. "So where are you headed?"
"toyama ken."
"What a coincidence," he spoke to the cabbie over his shoulder "toyama ken, please."
"You don't mind sharing?" I asked.
He looked at me as though I were crazy. "Let me get that luggage for you" he answered, and he began loading my things in the trunk. He carried a briefcase and small suitcase on wheels.
"I'm Ryoma" he introduced himself once we'd settled into the backseat.
I stuck my hand out for him to shake "Sakuno."
"Whoa, you have baby hands! How old are you?"
I giggled at his large hand engulfing mine. It was so warm, that I could feel the heat through my glove. "Don't you know it's rude to ask a woman her age?"
"You look barely older than a girl" he answered, and I had to smile.
I got that a lot. "20."
"Ouch, you are a baby" Ryoma answered back.
"What? Okay, how old are you?"
"23" he said with a grin.
I playfully shoved his shoulder. "Gosh, you're old." He rolled his eyes at me in mock annoyance. "So were you away on business or pleasure?" I asked conversationally as the cabbie played with the radio.
"Business. I work for a software company; I was overseeing some transactions being made in U.S. Rather not bore you with details."
"Ahhh. Still, it sounds impressive for someone your age. Did you go to school at all?" I bit my lip, hoping it wasn't offensive.
But Ryoma just grinned. "I commuted to Woodridge U. I was on a five year MBA program. Graduated last winter and was set up with this gig straight away. I had some connections."
"Mmmm, impressive indeed" I murmured.
From there we settled into polite conversation. It continued on through the cab ride, and when we reached the station, Ryoma refused to let me pay for the cab. I purchased my ticket to toyama ken and stood beside him while he purchased his. We stared at each other heavily, lingering so as not to come to the moment we'd begun to dread.
"Well Sakuno…it's been a pleasure. Have a safe trip to…" I held out my ticket for him to read. To my surprise, his face split into an enormous grin. He held out his own ticket that read toyama ken' as well.
"Must be fate" I said nonchalantly, but my heart thumped extra hard.
"Must be. I daresay we're inclined to sit beside one another on this train ride as well."
"I'd be delighted" I answered.
And on the train ride back, that's just what we did. Not a moment was filled with silence. Ryoma was on his way to visit his mom after just coming back from business. He was fresh out of school, and while he wasn't working for his dream job, it was a start. I explained to him how I'd been in Tokyo and was returning home for my father's wedding. It had been nearly three hours that we'd spent together, and so I felt it was okay to confide in him.
"…Meanwhile my mom's back home with my brother, probably throwing darts at my picture for deserting her. She'd honestly believe I'd try to replace her with this lady my father is seeing. I haven't even met the woman! So now I'm here to meet this lady's daughter, who is in high school and her son, who is still living at home; probably some loser." I paused to catch my breath from my rambling and caught Ryoma's face. He looked taken aback and I blushed. "I'm sorry. It was a long plane ride; I had a lot of time to think…and over think. Tell me more about you."
His gorgeous smile returned and he obliged. He entertained me with goofy stories from his work place and named the places he'd been sent to. When we finally emerged onto the platform in, toyama ken, he helped me with my luggage once more, and we stood there, awkward for the first time since we'd met.
"So I guess this is the actual end of our trip together" I began, half smiling.
"Yes, I suppose it is…"
We stared at each other once more. "What if –" "I hope I'm not being too forward in-"
We chuckled nervously and I said "You go first."
"I was going to, well, I wanted to ask for your number. In case you have some spare time during your stay."
I couldn't help it; I beamed at him. We swapped phones to punch in the numbers. "It was nice meeting you, Ryoma" I said lamely, trying to prolong the moment.
"The pleasure was solely mine, Sakuno" he responded in the same lingering tone.
At last I remembered my father was waiting for me out front. A similar thought must have crossed his mind because he held out his hand to shake. I took it again, feeling the flow of electricity. With one last look at him, I gathered my belongings and turned my back on him. There was a ball of tears in my throat, over what, I couldn't tell you. I was already calculating the chances that he would call. It didn't look good.
But when I emerged out of the station, I momentarily forgot all about him. My dad was waiting outside his car, arms folded. His face lit up when he saw me and I realized just how long it had been. Forgetting my things for a second, I fast walked to him and threw my arms around his neck "Dad!"
He held me tightly, lifting me off my feet. "Welcome home, Sakuno."
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A/N: I don't know Ryoma's address!
