Written 25.o1.o8
Waltz Turner, nickygirl, KoumiLoccness, the-lioness, ickle kat, Mrs. Radcliffe 13, SpiffyCookie, Yamora Love n Friendship, Sonora, blue9989, Mrs.Ishida-to-you, TheWitchLady, Kaze-kun and Jillianna…thank-you ;D
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My Funny Valentine
Chapter Eleven
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He stared awkwardly at the morning scene. This was definitely something he hadn't pictured. After shrugging on a clean shirt, he had joined his grandparents, Takeru and Sora at the dining table. He sent a demising glare at his brother's direction, who simply mouthed, 'I did ring you,' from the chair next to him. On Yamato's other side was Sora, whereas (unfortunately for them) his grandparents were seated the opposite end, hawking on their every little move. Just when he would grab for the butter for his toast, he could feel tension building within him right after his grandmother would snap about the concentration of lipids within the spread. After that he became fully aware of what he could and couldn't do for his own breakfast.
When Sora spoke with Takeru, Yamato was sure glad. This was because it guided his grandparents to observe their conversation while he took the opportunity to add a couple teaspoons of sugar into his coffee. Also, anything that took their leering eyes' attention was good enough for him. As he stirred his coffee, he picked up on what his brother and wife were talking about.
"…at a train station when the thought came."
"I never thought you'd get the inspiration from that spectacular book at a train station," she marveled. Her hands were clasped together and she was looking at his brother with admiration and respect.
"Trust me…that's what occurs to you when you're train has the common timetable of arriving late."
Yamato yawned as he watched Takeru's bored expression beforehand change in interest. Whenever someone spoke of his works his brother's reaction would always change. Not in an obnoxious way, but in a satisfied mien. He had heard these speeches from his brother so many times that it bored him.
Unfortunately, the yawn drew in attention from his grandmother and she soon began to assault him with listless questions. "So why did you get married? I heard even your parents didn't know. Have you prepared for the other room?"
"Huh?" Yamato said rather puzzled. "What other room are you talking about?"
"You know!" she argued. "There has to be some reason why you got so married so quickly. So…" his grandmother pointed Sora's stomach. "Is that going to be a boy or girl?"
Yamato almost squirted the coffee from his mouth, but didn't manage to stop it from all coming out as some drops trickled down the corners of his mouth. Sora handed him a serviette, looking equally astounded at how direct his grandmother had been. Takeru closed his eyes, presumably trying to preserve the memory and his grandfather just looked calmly around. Obviously the talk of Takeru being a novelist was down the drain since Sora was part of this conversation as well.
She chucked her head back, auburn dresses flouncing up and down as she laughed at the statement. "No, I'm not pregnant," she calmed down, smoothing out the large shirt that draped over her slim figure. He realised that it was the shirt that he had lent her that night. Sora continued, "That's not the reason why I married your grandson."
"Really?" his grandmother's eyebrows were raised now. "You're not in for the glamour, riches and fame?"
Taking his cue, Yamato rested his arm over her shoulder, showing off his fake wedding ring in the process. "I wouldn't have married her if she wanted that. We just-"
"…didn't want a big wedding," Sora concluded for him, staring lovingly at him. He picked up on the fake pseudo stare, and he exchanged it with his own.
"Oh, dear," his grandmother pressed. "That's so lovely. Isn't it lovely, Michel? Remember when we were young?"
Yamato's grandfather chuckled, eyes sparking. "How could I forget?" His grandfather beamed. "I'm proud with you, Yamato. Isn't it pride wrenching watching having your brother get a girlfriend before you?"
"Thanks, grandpa," he grumbled as he could just make out Takeru snicker.
His grandfather didn't speak as much as his grandmother, but whenever he said something it would either side with quirky or serious. "You've finally settled down with a woman. You know, Sora…" his grandfather captured Sora's nod and he kept speaking, "It's good you came into his life. I never saw him fancy any one other than his guitar. I was sure he was going to marry that instrument instead. Thanks for making my grandson normal."
"My pleasure," she said, smile wide.
"But you rushed into things…without even telling us, Yamato," she said crossly. "I'm scared it will happen again."
Sora questioned, "What do you mean?"
Takeru and Yamato wriggled on his seat, already knowing what she was about to say.
"It was the same with their parents, Sora," her tongue clicked. "They married young…and then catastrophe! They divorced only eight years after their marriage. That's why I'm worried about the both of you already…"
"Why? What's wrong about me being with Sora?" Yamato perked up.
"You think we didn't see that when we came this morning?" his grandmother said, as if expecting them to straight away acknowledge what she was thinking. Hell, Yamato always had trouble whenever it came to what any female was thinking. "What's wrong?" Sora asked. Then again, he was glad when Sora didn't know as well.
"Well, for instance," his grandmother was always melodramatic about everything. Her hands were now waving in the air to convey her point. "For instance it's a bad sign that you, Yamato, are sleeping in your own room while you are making Sora stay in the guest room."
"That's because we're still in the process of ordering a bigger bed for our room," Sora said. Yamato let out a raspy sigh of relief with the believable answer. Unfortunately, his grandmother wasn't persuaded that easily.
"No offense, honey. But that's already an indication of a relationship struggle, I know. If I were you, I'd take charge!" the older woman exclaimed. "I wouldn't even agree to marry him if he didn't have a bigger bed! That should always be on the top of your priorities first!"
"Why would you need a bigger bed?" Takeru asked naively. He had stopped munching on his cornflakes, looking at their faces then paled a deathly white pigment as he clicked two and two together. He let his head fall down over his cereal bowl and murmur, "Oh…that. Pretend I didn't ask. Forgive me if I barf right now."
This time Takeru couldn't help but intervene. "What has no groceries got to do with this?"
"Can we not talk about that?" Yamato hissed. Both he and his wife had the opposite reaction to Takeru. Whereas he was paling, they both had lush scarlet burning cheeks.
"I'm simply telling the truth," his grandmother protested, nose in the air.
Michel smartly took charge of the conversation from there. "So how did the both of you meet?"
Just as either Sora or Yamato came up with a good explanation excuse, the grandmother answered the question for them. "Oh, Michel…don't you ever keep up with the tabloids and magazines? It's even in France!"
The newly wed couple stared at each other, not sure what topic they were talking about now and how it was even related to them in the first place. Takeru appeared out of the loop as well.
When their grandfather admitted to being as clueless as they were, his grandmother spoke again, "They met at one of Sora's functions off course! I can't believe you forgot she's one of the new and rising international fashion designers. Soar for the Sky Designs, right?"
"Right," she agreed, looking nimbly at Yamato who was now avoiding her eye contact.
"You serious?" Takeru blurted out, he stared at the pair. "How come I've never heard of this?"
"I didn't even know either-"
His grandmother cut off Yamato again. "It's because her designs became famous at France first. They've only been released in Japan a couple of days ago. The main office is in Tokyo at-"
The musician drowned the words out. Somehow he felt furious and hurt at the same time. It seemed his grandmother knew more about Sora and he did. It was understandable that his grandmother knew about this considering she was always updated with the latest gossip and was a fashion guru…but still. Why hadn't Sora told him? Maybe this was her attention all along…to become famous (design wise) by marrying him. It was for the popularity. He cursed himself. He should have known. It all made sense now. He should have picked up on the signs earlier. Like the previous times she had unconsciously fixed up his tie or collar…or when he was curious to why she had a number of men's clothing in her wardrobe.
The rest of the breakfast continued with his grandmother babbling on until Takeru said that they would leave considering Yamato still had to get back to work on his music. As they left, Takeru took his older brother aside. He said placidly, "Sora. Did you know that about her?"
"No," he replied bluntly.
"Oh," Takeru said. Figuring out that it was best not to ask any more questions, he kissed Sora on the cheek right after their grandparents had tackled her with warm embraces.
"That was interesting," Sora commented once the trio had left Yamato's apartment. She was currently piling the dishes up and heading towards the kitchen. She called over her back, "Take the others, will you?"
He nodded quietly at her command, gathering the remainder plates and marched after her, placing them carefully into the sink. He stood there as and watched her tap her food. "Your jaw is tense," she said. Her arms were folded now and giving him dubious looks in contemplation. "You've been strange since mid breakfast. What's wrong?"
He ignored her scrutiny and went straight to the point. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
From the look in her eyes, he knew that she was aware what he was referring to. She was flustered now, there was a tinge of pink on her cheeks. She dropped her hands behind her back and said. "I thought it wasn't a big deal."
"A big deal?" he repeated incredulously. "Off course it would be a big deal!"
"Aren't you overreacting? I really thought you knew that I was fashion designer. I don't want to gloat it when I assumed you already knew!"
"Assume?" he laughed bitterly. "How could I assume when I had no idea? That's what I don't get about you. You always have this mysterious thing going on…and you never tell me anything. You're so secretive."
"Don't be so hypocritical," she counter-attacked. "I practically have to get you to open up to me. I'm making an effort. I'm trying, Yamato."
"I chose you to be my fake wife because you were a girl that no one knew about. You were a girl that wouldn't cause controversy. This complicates everything. Did you want everyone to know that you were with a famous lead singer? Is that your reason behind it? With the addition of getting an extra five thousand in cash? I had the impression that you wouldn't be like the others…"
"Yamato," she stressed his name for the second time. "I swear that I really thought you knew what I was. I didn't want your fricken' publicity for my own personal gain…I already had a signed contract before we even met."
"Really?" he sneered.
"Ah…you don't believe me," she sighed. Before he got his opportunity to remark back she interfered. "Relax. Take a seat and I'll tell you the honest truth since abbreviated my words when I told you I'd accept being your fake wife."
He took a deep breath, but did what she told, hopping up onto the surface of the kitchen's bench. She stalled a bit, pouring two glasses of water and handing one to him.
"The reason why I agreed so easily to your strange proposal was because it was something…new. I know, that sounds strange. I just wanted to relax and have a go at something. You see, I never really dated during high school because I was so consumed with stuff like getting accepted to the best design school, studying and even looking after my mother's florist that I never really had the time to do anything for myself. Mimi's always told me to try something new…"
"So you thought this would be fun?" he asked. She really had a different definition of fun.
"Different," she corrected. "I wanted something different. A break, perhaps? And when you just asked me…I couldn't reject it. Somehow you interest me. No, not in a love-at-first-sight way…but there's just something about me?"
"Well, didn't you already stereotype that I was the typical rock musician?" he said.
"Sort of. But still…your personality was really captivating. How you'd come in the café on rainy days, random occasions and order a damn orange juice from the bar. You and your bloody orange juice. A rock god buying orange juice…off course I found you intriguing after that."
"My orange juice caused you to think I was different? Whoa. That's a first," he laughed.
"And from our small talk. The way you'd talk about music. Especially when you talked about music…your whole posture would change and your voice wouldn't sound dead. It was like you were from a different world," she said. "Are you happy now? You must have loved that ego boost."
During her talk she had advanced towards him from the other side of the room. Her rose fragrance was instilling his senses. He had been vibrantly angry a few minutes ago, but now he was back to being his composed self. Even though it sounded naïve to believe her straight away, somehow he did. He was stupid for straight away assuming something of her. But was he also stupid for trusting her so easily. Even before she explained her reasons, he had already forgiven her.
"Okay."
"That's it?" she blinked, bemused. "Is that all you're going to say? You were so pissed off before."
"Is there anything else that I might want to know about my wife...when practically the whole world knows more than I do?" he said satirically.
"Not that I can think of. I think that's the biggest one," she said, a smile flashing on her features. She already knew that it was okay to play along with the small joke. His sarcasm had given him away. "I'm sorry."
He sighed, "It's fine. Next time…just tell me, it will save me the shock."
"Sure."
"You know - we're married…and that was our first argument," he said, fiddling with the ring on his finger. "Having a relationship is about trust. If you don't trust me…what's the point of our marriage?"
She was laughing at him now. "God, you're so corny."
He scratched the back of his head and mumbled, "Yeah, I know. I'm just not good at this thing."
"You're not alone," she said.
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He groaned, leaning back on his chair as he let his finger flop ungratefully onto the keys of the piano causing a loud echoing off-key chord in his music room. Sora stared at him, losing interest at the CDs she had been surveying. "What's wrong? Am I disturbing you?"
"No, you're not. I just can't think of anything. This is due tomorrow. Kanji will be ready with a guaranteed pitchfork or halo to give me."
In a way, it sort of was. Sora had decided to stay at his apartment to explore his music room, witness him compose a song and because she didn't really have anything else to do on that day. She had another day off from the designing company and she was working at the jazz café that night. It hadn't even struck noon yet.
Who was he fooling? He couldn't blame Sora for his lack of motivation and inspiration with composing a new piece. The last time he had gotten inspiration was from that walk in the park. When he thought he had composed a fantastic piece of music, Kanji had almost bitten his head off. In some way, he guessed he was right. Yamato couldn't completely wander off into a different style that wasn't his band's genre. But still…from his manager snapping at him a bit too harshly he found it hard to think clearly what to do. He didn't like doing something when his heart wasn't completely in it. It was tough luck though…he had been doing this ever since he had joined the Teen-Age Wolves.
"Perhaps you need to listen to some songs?" she suggested. "Like from your old albums to give your sense of style back."
"That would kill me. You really don't know how much times I've played each of them on tour…they're permanently stapled in my mind and I cringe every time I think of them," he said.
She shrugged, "Just trying to help."
"I know," he said tersely. He did some scales, running his fingers up and down the piano…but still nothing came to his head.
"What's this?" Sora picked something from on top of one of his CD stands to reveal something that Yamato had almost forgotten about. Hell, he hadn't even read it yet. He jolted out of his seat and stood by her. He took the creased piece of paper and read it aloud.
"Yamato, I know you're not really into our band any more. I wrote a composition, but somehow it feels like it suits you more than me. It's your choice with the lyrics. You can use this as a backup. Just in case. Somehow, I didn't know what to do with it…but I know you can do something with it. Enjoy. – Akira."
"He's got neat writing too," Sora complimented. "Do you mind?"
She had the tape in between her fingers. "I'd like to hear what he's got."
Yamato nodded, wanting to listen to it as well. When it was in the cassette player, the music flowed out like a soft breeze. It was a lilting tune and sounded very calm…but then there would be intense moments where the piano notes would be played vivace and would decrescendo back into the airy tune. Akira would always be Akira. Drugged up or not, he had talent. There was no denying it. He owed him. Akira was right. This song did reach him…
He stood up and sauntered to where his guitars were displayed. His finger trailed on the electric, but stopped when he saw his old acoustic. He picked it up gently, cradling it like a baby and strapped it around his shoulder. He listened to Akira's tape again and mimicked the tune, then found chords to suit it in the guitar. In half an hour it was all set…and he played the mellow tune and perfected the tune.
The tune sounded beautiful on piano…but on his acoustic guitar it sounded so heart wrenching. It was then he knew that it would be a song about heartache. He stopped strumming and looked up to see that Sora had been watching her the whole time. Her eyes were teary as she applauded him. Someone who got teary, emotional or cried over music really understood it (whether with lyrics or without) understood the whole meaning of it. And he was glad that Sora saw it like this as well.
He squirmed to the other side of his seat and let her sit next to him. She didn't comment. He didn't need her to tell him that she liked the piece. Though, she still complimented him. "You're amazing. In half an hour you managed to pick out the melody from Akira's playing."
"It's a habit. I've always done it," he said truthfully. "And it was a simple melody. I just have the trouble with the lyrics."
"It's not that hard," she said.
"We don't often get this opportunity to have our own lyrics. We have a crappy lyricist who's in charge. I'm not good at it. I only feel the music when I'm playing…when I sing it's completely different."
"You're lying. You know you can do it," she said. "What's the song about?"
"Having your heart broken."
"See, you're half way there. From the tune you've already found the crux of what the story you're going to portray."
"If you think it's that easy, give me an opening line," he prodded. He played the start of the song, strumming slowly. She turned Akira's letter onto a the blank side and pulled a biro from her short's pocket and began scribbling a line.
"So, what is it?" he asked. She gave him the sheet, but he refused to take it. He demanded, "That's words on the sheet. I know you're capable of singing. Plus, when I sing that it may be different from the tune you intended. C'mon Sora."
She gave in and closed her eyes. He played the introduction first and then she came in. "I remember, watching your back as you left. I remember, all the sweet things you said."
It was then that Yamato knew that he was a natural lyricist. Yamato always struggled with putting his emotions into words that had always been his brother's forte. He only could express his music through playing instruments…but with words, he couldn't. Sora had brought out true words of how he felt when he strummed the chords.
"You're helping me with this," Yamato stated. "We're going to get this song done by dinner. I'm taking you out if we ace this."
They pressed on, working hard as a duo. They clashed perfectly together. And then the time came when Yamato recorded his instrumental strumming so that it would be easier for Sora to edit words around in certain bits. As she sang, Yamato couldn't help but sing along in harmony. Their voices collided and it felt strangely satisfying. It felt as if they were on stage again, singing Sinatra's 'Summer Wind.'
A couple of hours went by and it was finally complete. He was playing the guitar now and singing the words she had written for him while she recorded him. By the end of the song he let out a long sigh. It was catharsis, all right. It felt good to know he had finally finished the composition with her help. The lyrics were breath taking.
She applauded again but stopped as he held her by the waist as he joyfully spun her around in circles, feet dangling in the air as she squealed.
"You're brilliant," he said.
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(a/n)
Yes, I know I haven't exactly updated for two months now…but I'll get into it – really. It took me long to update because I had to finish both LimitZ II and PPZ before I even thought about settling back to this one. I hope you had a fantastic Christmas and wishing you a belated 2008.
I've got to (sort of) important notices as well.
i) With LimitZ II and PPZ being completed, it means that I get to solely focus on this story. Thanks for your support and I'll try to get at least (hopefully) one chp coming up every fortnight.
ii) My profile can't be frequently updated anymore because my mac doesn't allow it to do so – thus I have to go to the library to return/borrow a book as well as update my profile
iii) Since I don't update my profile much nowadays, I decided to put up an LJ. As some of you may have picked up through my updates on LimitZ II and PPZ…I've been frequently mentioning this. For those who don't know…I thought I might as well inform you here as well. My LJ doesn't just contain work, for it also (unfortunately) contains other misc stuff that I randomly feel like putting up depending on my mood.
It's stringless-kite . livejournal . com (remove the spaces and it DOESN'T include a www before it)
iv) This will be my last 'full-length' story on After this, I plan to convert to fictionpress and start my own story from scratch, which I have been intending to do for years (literally). It doesn't necessarily mean that I will give up on altogether. I still may post one-shots here and there. Just not (I repeat) a full-length story
Sorry for the long author's note. I just had to get all of that out of the way before continuing. Next time it won't be as long. Hope you enjoyed this chapter (story) so far.