Hey, everyone. How's life been on ya?
Haha--so maybe this story wasn't so well received, but hey. It was received. And that's all I ask for. :]
I'll be looking for your support and guidance in the future as well. :]
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
A brief silence settled in again before it was shoved aside as Shuu started saying, "Haruka, listen—"
The woman cut him off, dropping her gaze, "Nice to meet you, Shuu."
The night had progressed without any trouble. Haruka sat between Hikari and Satoshi, with Takeshi sitting in front of her, squeezed in between two males that she was on less than pleasant terms with. Which was just fine with her. She wasn't attempting to rebuild the connections. Not now. Not ever.
Despite that, it was nice talking with Satoshi's two friends who actually did talk to her. Masato would pitch in every now and then, never directly at her. Shuu remained silent, staring at Haruka, not looking away even when Haruka accidentally made eye contact. It unnerved her, but she pretended she didn't even notice, finding comfort instead from the hand that held hers under the table. The warmth gave her the strength to smile—just as it always had.
"Hey, Haruka, Haruka—"
Hikari seemed to start most of her statements this way.
"How did you meet Satoshi? He keeps refusing to tell us!"
Haruka glanced over at Satoshi, silently telling him she was reluctant to answer. She missed the two hardened glares that noticed this.
"Hey, give the girl some space, Hikari!" Haruka felt grateful to Takeshi as he went on, "You've been asking her questions nonstop, huh?"
Haruka was about to subtly agree and change the subject when her brother spoke, "Oh, actually, I'm pretty curious as well. Haruka—dear sister, why don't you tell us?"
Masato's third statement directed at her was just as cold as the first two. She stared down at the table, feeling pressure against her. She made no notion to respond; Satoshi spoke up on her behalf, "Man, why are you guys so inquisitive? It's not that big of a deal—not at all like how Takeshi and I met—"
"How long has it been since you guys met?" Masato's voice clipped.
Enough. This was ridiculous.
"It's been about two years," Haruka snapped back without missing a beat. Her eyes narrowed, having been raised to glare straight back into her brother's eyes. His eyes did not waver although internally he was surprised.
"How long have you guys been dating?"
"One and a half years."
"Sleeping together?"
Haruka's shocked expression whirled to Shuu. The first thing he asked… She could not believe his nerve. Surprise ebbed away, quickly replaced with fury.
Satoshi wore an astonished look as well, "What?! Shuu, how—"
"How could you ask something like that?!" Hikari scolded him.
Takeshi went on, "Yeah, man. That's really not cool."
Haruka stopped the chatter by standing up. He had no right to ask her that. Her chest rose up and down quickly, fueled by anger. Her breathing slowed down, she obviously calming herself. She leveled her blazing eyes with his and said, "That's really none of your business. However, since it looks like you're insinuating something, I will say this: I wouldn't have sex with anyone unless I truly loved them."
"You love Satoshi?" Shuu asked, emotionlessly.
"Yes. I love Satoshi." Haruka hoped no one would notice her firsts shaking. It was purely out of anger, she told herself. It didn't have anything to do with talking about love with Shuu.
"You seem to have gotten one heck of a girl, Satoshi! What did you do to deserve her?" Hikari broke in, laughing, patting Satoshi's arm.
He lightly blushed and responded, "Heaven knows I got way more than I deserve."
Haruka turned her head to look at him in response, anger gone. She sat back down, leaning into Satoshi, her cheeks bright red as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "You're the one who got the short end of the stick, Satoshi. You're stuck with a hard-to-manage girl like me."
"You're way too sweet for him," Takeshi chuckled.
Satoshi sent him a look, although he laughed as well.
Smiling, Haruka responded, "Oh, he can be a pain in the butt. But even those moments grew on me."
Hikari giggled at the love that was plainly between the two, "You guys are such lovebirds."
"Actually… Haruka—" Satoshi sounded strangled. His face showed his inner turmoil as his mouth opened and closed wordlessly. He went on like this for a few awkward seconds before he slumped over in defeat, "Can we go talk outside?"
With a small smirk at her boyfriend's failed attempt, Haruka accepted his offer.
As they stepped out into the cold night, Haruka wondered when it had become so dark. There had still been some light when she had left the house what seemed to be moments before. Then, quietly thanking the street lights, she turned to Satoshi, grinning, "You were never good at being subtle."
He blushed at her slight teasing, "Cut me some slack. I tried."
She giggled and asked, "So… Since you suck at subtlety, I'll ask outright: what were you going to tell me?"
"Well… here goes nothing at punishment number two: you know we've been going out for a while, right?"
"Right…"
She saw something move by the restaurant's door behind Satoshi. Her eyes flickered over to the door as Satoshi went on, "And you know we promised to take things slowly because of your previous relationship?"
A coldness surrounded Haruka, "Yes. Are you really going to—"
"And you know that I love you?"
She shut her mouth, searching his eyes for some hint of what he was trying to say. Being unsuccessful, she shut her eyes and replied, slightly restless, "I know. And I love you, too. Endlessly. Satoshi, just what are you getting at?"
"I was wondering if you and Shuu would like to move in with me."
Her eyes shot open. She stared at Satoshi until she found it overwhelming to have him gaze straight back. "I… I… you… Shuu—no, wait. You. You. Are you kidding?"
The hurt in his eyes didn't go unnoticed. "If you didn't want to, you could've—"
"No! No. Just… wow. I wasn't expecting this. I just… hold on. Let me think," Haruka hesitantly spoke. Her feelings sprawled everywhere as adrenaline pumped through her veins. Happy, surprised, reluctant, guarded…
The last time she'd moved in with someone—
She shook her head. Now is not then.
Haruka glanced back at Satoshi, "And… you're not urging me to… you know, have sex or anything?"
His eyes widened as he started speaking at a hundred miles per second, "No! No no no no no! Of course not! Not that I don't want—I definitely want to. But this has nothing to do with how much I want to—!"
"That's enough," Haruka interrupted, putting a finger to his lips. A little smile graced her lips as she went on, "I need to talk about this with Shuu, not to mention that I need to roll this around in my mind a bit more."
Satoshi looked down, a sad expression set upon his face. She almost laughed at how downcast he was, but gave him a light kiss instead. His eyes widened in surprise as she walked past him into the restaurant, "But let's just say your odds are in favor right now." His entire face lit up as he rushed back into the restaurant as well.
Excusing herself from Satoshi, Haruka stood in the hall where the restrooms were. She quickly dialed her home phone, and after three rings, a bright chipper voice answered, "Hello?"
"Hey, dearie. It's mommy." Haruka smiled at her son's squeal of excitement.
"Mommy, I finished showering already!"
Laughing a little, she responded, "I'm so proud of you. I knew you'd be quick today—you even beat your record!" His giggle was heard through the cell phone. She went on, "Hey, is Kasumi there?"
"Yep! Hold on, mommy. 'Sumiiii! 'Sumiiiiiii!"
"Give me a sec, Shuu!" Kasumi was heard in the background.
A second later, Kasumi's voice replaced Shuu's kid voice, "Hello?"
"Hey. You're not going to guess what just happened."
"Oh, hi, Haruka. I'm doing well, thanks."
"No time for sarcasm!"
"Fine, fine. What's up?"
"He asked me to move in with him."
Haruka grinned at the scream from the phone, "What?! No way! That's so… Well! What did you say?!"
"I said I need to think about it some and that I need to talk with…" Haruka trailed off, watching another person walk into the hallway.
"You mean Shuu? You've gotta talk it over with Shuu, right? Oh my—"
"I gotta go," Haruka hastily interrupted, disconnecting the call and turning off her phone. She pocketed it, trying to move past the man with an agitated "Excuse me."
A hand shot out, stopping her.
"Haruka."
What's this? Comments and flames are welcome??
[Why yes, dear reader, comments and flames are, indeed, welcome!]
