A/N: I've named Shouta and Sawako's parents in the list below. Again, I am not following canon, this is set in the future.

Shouta's father: Kazehaya Mamoru
Shouta's mother: Kazehaya Kaori
Sawako's father: Kuronuma Takeru
Sawako's mother: Kuronuma Fumiko


Chapter 9

"I don't know Pin. It seems a bit too flashy." Shouta looked at the hideous tie with slight disdain. The dull mustardy colour didn't go well with the deep purple spots scattered about. Shouta was certain Pin was going crazy.

"But it complements my eyes!" The former teacher protested.

"Not in the slightest." Ryu deadpanned, straight to the point as always. He, along with Shouta, had been dragged through various stores to look for their outfits for the wedding. Pin had insisted they come along and help him out with his own suit, and they had been at it for hours. Nothing seemed to satisfy the guy.

"You are taking this way too seriously." Shouta groaned from his seat beside Ryu. Pin stood before a full length mirror, currently busy selecting a new tie. So far, he had settled on which pair of socks he would wear.

"It's my wedding! Of course I'll take it seriously." Pin grumbled and turned his back on the two young men.

"Isn't the bride supposed to be the star of the wedding?" Ryu exchanged glances with Shouta. If there was one thing that could keep Pin from doing anything stupid, it was his fiancée. Her happiness meant the world to Pin, and he was willing to do anything to see her smile.

Ryu's words turned out to have the desired effect and Pin seemed to realize that the young men were right. He couldn't wait to see Mai-chan in her white dress and just the thought of her put a smile on his face. He looked back at the selection of ties laid out in front of him, and started considering what his bride would prefer. He was so engrossed in the task that he didn't notice Shouta lean forward and whisper to Ryu, "He's so whipped."

"Have you picked a date yet?" Ryu called. Despite not having been the talkative type throughout his teenage years, the Sanada felt at ease around Shouta and Pin and therefore often initiated conversation.

"The 17th of December." Pin replied casually. They had both wanted to get married as soon as possible, but had also wanted a winter wedding. The solution was mid-December. Even if they could have gotten married in the beginning of the month, Pin knew how much his fiancée loved snow. That was why he had found himself suggesting the date, and she had been delighted. Her fairy tale wedding, she called it.

"There are around five months left. Why the hurry?" Shouta asked from beside his best friend. Pin just shrugged nonchalantly, and picked up two new ties.

"Isn't it obvious Shouta? He can't wait." Ryu chuckled at his old teacher, who now had a nice flush to his face.

"Shut up!" He snapped at the teasing. Never before had he been the one to be teased, and he much preferred to be the one doing the teasing. "Or I'll make you wear a dress." He smiled mischievously. Shouta and Ryu never got to protest, because Pin's phone suddenly went off. After speaking for a while, he turned to his companions.

"Wanna grab a bite with Mai-chan?" He asked them with a huge grin on his face.

Meanwhile, Sawako was spending time with hers and Shouta's parents. They were gathered in the Kazehaya household, laughing and chatting. The parents were all seated in the living room, while Sawako was off to the side, explaining Touta how integrals added up.

"And if you apply this formula here, you'll see that if I give you a derivative of a function, you can come up with a possible original function. In other words, we'll be taking the anti-derivative." She kindly explained to her brother-in-law.

"My, Sawako-chan is the only one who can hold Touta's attention for more than five minutes." Kaori, Touta's mother, chuckled lightly. Her youngest son could be a handful, but he was always on his best behaviour in front of Sawako.

"She was always good with children, right Fumiko?" Sawako's father laughed. He and Fumiko had always been amazed at Sawako's ability to captivate children and looked forward to being grandparents. Now that Sawako was married, their wish might get fulfilled soon.

"Yes. She'll be a good mother for sure." Fumiko smiled fondly at her daughter. She could just picture Sawako in a nursery, cradling her newborn to her chest with a loving smile on her face.

"I feel like Shouta has become a lot more responsible ever since he met Sawako." The Kazehaya patriarch, Mamoru, replied. He had been so very impressed with his son the past year in particular. He had a house, a car and he had settled down at a young age. His job was going very well, and he knew Shouta loved his work. "I just hope she can talk some sense into his brother."

"I can't wait till they start a family. I know it's a big step for every couple, but they seem so capable. I know they'll be great parents." Shouta's mother sighed wishfully.

"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" Takeru stroked his chin thoughtfully, and looked over at his daughter. She had just finished explaining the younger Kazehaya something, and was making her way to her parents.

"What are you all talking about?" She asked curiously, taking a seat beside her mother. Takeru couldn't help but notice how much their daughter took after his wife. It wasn't like he hadn't noticed it before, but these days she reminded him more and more of Fumiko.

"Oh, nothing important sweetheart. Do you have classes tomorrow?" He asked in an attempt to distract her. He knew the topic of children would embarrass her, so he switched to her work.

"Yes, I'll be having a new student actually." She proudly told them. Her class was small, but it was still her pride. "She visited once before summer break, and now she will be joining the academy."

'The Academy' was a talent developing program started by a few local universities, and it had classes of all ages. Sawako had taught the older students at first, but had then been offered the youngest group of children as a regular class. Her sweet and pedagogical nature made her very popular among students, and everyone loved her teaching methods.

"That's wonderful!" Both Sawako's and Shouta's mothers exclaimed.

"Are you going to assign them more books to read?" Mamoru asked from across the coffee table. He had always found it amusing how Sawako recommended literature to her students, when she was their math teacher. The administration of the Academy had approved of Sawako's suggestion, with that in mind that the children needed to develop their language, logical thinking skills, concentration and discipline. It was also important to teach them that reading was fun, so that they weren't entirely focused on school and academics.

"Yes, I will. Have you read anything interesting lately?" Sawako beamed at her father-in-law. In her first year of marriage, she had discovered that he loved reading books and always kept one close, even in the shop. That was what she and Mamoru had bonded over, and they regularly discussed what they read.

"Yes actually. There is this novel by-" The two bookworms were quickly engrossed in discussing whether the novel was suited for children or not. The house phone rang, and Touta went to answer it, while the adults stayed seated. When he came back, he had a grave expression on his face.

"Mom, Grandma is on the phone." Touta had never been very fond of his dad's mother. She was not the stereotypical, nice, old lady who baked cookies every Sunday. Quite on the contrary; she had a knack for making people around her very uncomfortable. Kaori got up and headed for the phone in the hallway, while her youngest son took a seat next to his father.

"Grandma is coming to visit." He announced with a calm expression, his eyes glued to his dad. His father and grandmother weren't on the best of terms lately, and he really didn't feel like listening to arguments for a whole week. Touta hoped his father would keep his temper in check.

"Did she tell you when?" Mamoru asked over the rim of his glasses, his expression guarded. He couldn't remember the last time his parents had visited them, and he actually didn't mind the absence of them. They had never really seen eye to eye, and arguments always broke out between them over the smallest of things. Touta just shook his head at the previous question. He would prefer it if his grandma decided to stay away for good.

Mamoru looked over at his daughter-in-law, and saw her biting her bottom lip in worry. He knew Sawako felt bad about his non-existent relationship with his mother, and probably blamed herself for the lack of communication between them. His parents had cut off contact when Shouta refused to marry a girl they had chosen. He wasn't particularly looking forward to his mother's visit, but he figured he would be able to clear the air between them. Kaori returned and informed them of when Mamoru's mother would arrive.

"She can stay with us." Sawako quickly volunteered, "I would love to get to know her better and I'm sure Shouta wouldn't mind." Everyone in the room knew she was being honest, and to her relief, Shouta's parents agreed that it would probably be for the best, seeing as they had a lot of room to spare. She was only going to stay for three days, but they would get to spend plenty of time with her.

Even if Mamoru felt slightly sorry for Sawako, he knew she would try her hardest to make his mother like her. She had after all convinced his mother to stay in contact with them, and he was grateful for that. He took a deep breath and steered the conversation away from his mother.

"Wasn't Shouta supposed to be here by now?" He frowned, trying to remember what his son had told him.

"He called and told me he was going to have dinner with Pin-sensei and Mai-chan." Sawako told him.

"She was his doctor, no?" He asked the noirette. He remembered the two of them mentioning Pin's fiancée once or twice, but that had been almost two years ago. Mamoru had been the only one who hadn't been surprised by the news. He had known the redhead for many years, and knew he had been waiting for the right girl all along.

"Yes."

"Have you seen her yet?" Kaori asked Sawako, who shook her head in response.

"She is usually as busy with work as we are." Sawako had agreed with Chizu and Ayane that they would visit her soon, but they hadn't decided exactly when. She had been planning her upcoming classes and had found little time to do much else. Thinking about her classes made her realize that she had to get up early, which in turn made her realize how late it had gotten. Bidding her family goodnight, Sawako soon found herself walking home.

The weather was perfect for a walk, and since she lived closer to the Kazehayas than to her parents, she would be home in less than twenty minutes. Sawako walked along, thinking about recent events and things she needed to take care of, like planning for when Shouta's grandmother visited. There was something not quite right about the sudden visit, but the noirette chose to focus on the positive aspect of it. She had a chance to get to know her better, which Sawako actually looked forward to.

Sawako had been lost in thought when she reached her neighborhood, and that was when she noticed that the lights in the house were on. She hadn't been expecting Shouta to be back so early, but she was glad she could spend some time with him.

Unlocking the front door and entering their hall, Sawako removed her flats and hung her coat on a peg on the wall. The weather was getting cooler in the evenings, but you could do with a simple jacket. Moving into the living room, Sawako looked for her husband and found him in the kitchen, looking out of the window.

"You are back early." Sawako stated suddenly and made Shouta jump. He turned around with a confused look on his face.

"Huh? Yeah. I didn't hear you come in." He looked at her almost apprehensively.

"You were kind of spacing out. Anyways, your grandmother will be visiting the day after tomorrow, and I offered for her to stay here for a few nights." She wasn't sure how he would take the news, seeing as he hadn't spoken to her in a while.

"Alright." He nodded his head and started fidgeting. He wouldn't look her in the eye for some reason.

"Is something wrong?" Shouta was acting weird. He would normally have kissed or at least hugged her by know, but he made no move to do either. He looked very much like he wanted to escape.

"No, everything is fine." He replied and looked to the side. He had been fine when he dropped her off at his parents' house. Something had definitely happened during dinner with Pin and Mai.

"How did dinner go?" Sawako questioned. She was starting to worry that Shouta and Pin had argued, but Shouta's face didn't reveal anything.

"Good. Mai-chan said hello." Shouta awkwardly told her and scratched his neck. Before Sawako could ask anything further, he quickly muttered something about going to bed and a meeting in the morning, so he walked off and headed upstairs, leaving Sawako to stare questioningly after him.


Shouta is acting weird and his grandma is coming over. Am I focusing too much on Pin's wedding? This is by far my most popular story, thank you for all the support! Until next time (=W=)/