AW, GROW UP ALREADY!

Chapter Eleven

A Family's Like a Loaded Gun

"Would you stop pacing?" Yaya pleaded. "You were less nervous at your job interviews."

"I'm not nervous," said Tsubomi, absently pawing the curtains on the windows. "Like my family makes me nervous. I'm just restless. I've been in this cold, miserable hospital for two days now. It works against my best interests."

"I don't mind it," the brunette yawned. Then she winced. "What I don't like is this hockey helmet."

"Well, you have a concussion, so you have to wear it."

"And you have a broken nose, so you have to stay in the hospital."

"Hm. Touche."

Any fourteen-year-old would jump at the opportunity to take time off from school. But to Tsubomi, when the alternative is a hospital, Astraea Hill starts looking a lot more appealing. There was hot food at the Hill, wholesome activities, and it wasn't mainly populated by crazy old people suffering from dementia. What Tsubomi really hated was how cold Osaka Community Hospital was. Why were hospitals always cold? They'd make you sick if you weren't already.

(Ironically, Osaka Community Hospital's motto was: "For People Who Don't Like Hospitals.")

The only good thing about being stuck in this hospital was that she got to be with Yaya all the time. That was something she didn't have at Astraea Hill; kouhais and senpais weren't allowed to room together. Though Tsubomi never let Yaya know this (she'd probably laugh) the pink-haired girl often thought about living with her. It was easy for Tsubomi to picture Yaya lounging around on the couch while she cooked dinner.

"Do you want cole slaw with your meat loaf?" Tsubomi would ask.

Yaya blinked, and fingered the bandage on her forehead. "What?"

"Hm?"

"You, uh, just offered me cole slaw and meat loaf, Tsubomi-chan."

"Oh! Uh…" The pinkette blushed. There was no graceful way out of this other than to brush some lint off her sweater and change the subject.

"So, even though I'm basically on good terms with my family," said she, taking a seat next to Yaya's bed, "I want you to hold off on your perverted jokes."

Yaya feigned offense. "Is my Tsubomi-chan ashamed of me?"

Tsubomi shook her head. "No, it's not like that at all. It's just that, you know…" She itched an eyebrow. "My parents don't know we're together…and for the time being, I think it's best that we keep it that way."

The senpai nodded. Then she winced, for it hurt to nod. "I can respect that. I'll be polite --- I'll even be charming."

Tsubomi sighed and smiled. "Great. Thanks." She took Yaya's hand and caressed it. It had been such a long time since they last hugged or kissed, and at this point, Tsubomi's body was screaming for any sort of physical contact. "Do your parents know about us?"

Yaya almost nodded, then stopped to save herself some pain. "Yeah, they know. Which is why you've got to meet them: to convince them that Okuwaka Tsubomi is not someone I made up to show them I'm over Hikari-chan."

"So, uh…" The kouhai scraped her throat. "Are they…okay with us?"

"My mom, for sure. Not too certain about my dad…" Now it was Yaya's turn to change the subject. "If you won't let me be perverted when your family gets here, I have to get it out of my system." Before Tsubomi could ask what she meant by that, Yaya trumpeted, "YOUR DAUGHTER IS HOT!!!"

"Yaya-senpai!" Tsubomi anxiously looked at the door, which was propped open.

"SHE GIVES ME LADY-WOOD!!!"

"Shut up! They could be right down the hall!"

"SHE GETS ME OFF SO---Mmph!" Yaya grunted as Tsubomi deftly clapped a hand over her mouth.

The pinkette leaned in and hissed through clenched teeth, "You're only kidding yourself, baka. If you don't shut your trap, I'll hold this pillow over your face until you stop struggling!"

Yaya smirked once Tsubomi took her hand off her mouth. "You wouldn't kill a patient, would you, Izzy?"

Tsubomi scowled. "You did not just make a 'Grey's Anatomy' reference…?"

"Oh, I so went there…"

"Hiya!"

Tsubomi jumped. She would recognize that greeting anywhere. She hurriedly rose from her chair, smoothed her skirt, and smiled.

"Hello, Mother."

"Oh, hello dear!" Yaya watched as Mrs. Okuwaka, a tall medium-proportioned woman with white hair and blue eyes, embraced Tsubomi. The older woman stroked her daughter's fuchsia locks. "We're so glad you're okay."

"Yep. Heh. All in one piece." Tsubomi sounded genuinely happy to see her mom, but her smile was so strained and tight it looked like her face would crack.

"I heard some crazy lady screaming down the hall." In popped Mr. Okuwaka. He was tall and a bit chubby. At first glance his hair appeared to be red, but, Yaya noticed, it was actually dark pink. Mr. Okuwaka looked like Perez Hilton, when he had pink hair. "She said something like 'your daughter is sexy,' or whatever."

Tsubomi's smile tightened, and she tried to laugh. "Um, yeah. I dunno. Must've been one of the geriatrics having a psychotic break. Heheheh."

She caught Yaya grinning and shot her a glare that would've made birds fall dead from trees.

Mrs. Okuwaka also took note of the raven-haired girl laying in the bed. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, uh, this is Yaya-chan."

Her father harrumphed, and shook his head disapprovingly. "Tsubomi. Mind your manners. You know better than to address people so informally."

"…Yaya-senpai," the pinkette corrected.

"Sheesh," Mr. Okuwaka cringed, his butterscotch eyes flashing. "You address your senpais with such rude honorifics? What kind of an impertinent brat have I been raising?"

"Uh, Okuwaka-san --- er, sama." Yaya thought that if she wanted to get in her girlfriend's parents' good graces, she'd have to be as respectful as possible. "Tsubomi-chan and I are really good friends. I don't mind if she addresses me so informally. Our age gap hardly matters to me. Heh, as my friend Hikari-chan used to say, 'Age is only a number.'" She could feel herself glaring at Mr. Okuwaka, who was looking at her in such a way that said, 'And I should give you the time of day, why…?'

Besides, Yaya continued inwardly, no one calls her "brat" but me.

"In fact," said Yaya, "I was the one who pushed Tsubomi-chan out of the way of that truck."

No sooner had the words left Yaya's mouth than Mrs. Okuwaka was at her bedside. The blanc-haired woman kneeled, the brunette's left hand enclosed in both her own, her head bowed so low that her chin touched her chest.

"We appreciate what you've done!" Waterfall tears were streaming down Mrs. Okuwaka's face. "I don't know how I can make you fully understand just how much Tsubomi means to us! She's our pride and joy! She really sets a fine example for Akiko!"

"My sister," Tsubomi explained. Then she gave her father a quizzical look. "Where IS Akiko?"

"Serving a detention." Mr. Okuwaka seemed to stand a bit taller. "That girl done disappointed us again."

"But never Tsubomi!" Mrs. Okuwaka cried. "She never fails to meet or exceed our standards. Oh, thank God you saved her!" Every word of that last sentence was punctuated by a shake of Yaya's hand.

Yaya looked at Tsubomi. The kouhai was bashfully kicking at the floor, her eyes averted. This whole spectacle was making Yaya a little ill. She had an aunt and uncle like Mr. and Mrs. Okuwaka. They had one child, and at family events they always had to shove his successes down everyone's throats. Now he was a wimpy layabout, twenty-eight years old, and he lived in his mom's basement.

Yaya scowled at her girlfriend. Oh my God, you ARE a brat.

Yaya's anger simmered a bit throughout the visit. It came to a head after a doctor had to practically drag Mr. and Mrs. Okuwaka out of the room because visiting hours had ended.

"You really are the golden girl of your kin."

Tsubomi detected the resentment in Yaya's voice, and her tone turned defensive. "Well, I'm the oldest. I sort of set the standard for Akiko."

Yaya shook her head. "I really feel sorry for Akiko. She's never going to succeed if she has to live in your shadow."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence there, Yaya-senpai, but you've never even met her."

"I don't have to. I already know that she's like me --- a disappointment…a reject."

Tsubomi sighed. They never brought up the issue of Yaya's esteem in the Nanto family. It was like a mine field. The pinkette tried her best to tread carefully.

"Look…I know how you feel about your family…But mine's not the same. No two families are alike." Tsubomi had always thought of families as dysfunctional snowflakes. "I imagine it must suck for you to always be compared to an older sibling --- but it sucks for me, too. If you're the oldest, you've got to constantly be on the ball. One little slip-up, and it's your head! Would you like that?"

Fierce anger was burning within Tsubomi. Yaya was a great girl, but she could be really short-sighted sometimes. The kouhai wished Yaya would be a little less selfish.

Selfish. Yeah, right. She pushed you away from a truck, and YOU'RE calling HER selfish?

"I'm sorry." Tsubomi lowered her voice. "I've just been kind of tense lately." She wrung her hands and paced about. "It must be this goddamn hospital…"

"It's okay. I know what you mean. I can't wait to get out of this hellhole either." Yaya smiled a little. "You're lucky; you get to leave before I do."

"Yeah…" The pinkette suddenly realized that Yaya would be here for a pretty long time. At least long enough for her wounds to heal. The senpai had actually gotten stitches. Tsubomi hadn't; the kouhai was predicting a discharge within a day or two.

Now Yaya's smile showed up full, though a little lopsided. Her brown eyes burned warmly. "Sit down with me, Tsubomi-chan. Relax. Watching you pace around like that makes me nervous."

Tsubomi complied, but kicked her legs a little. She was not the sort of person to sit still when things needed doing. But then, what needs to be done?

"Tsubomi-chan…" For some reason, Yaya's voice had lowered to a whisper. "How long has it been since we last kissed?"

"Two weeks on Wednesday."

"Well, I have a theory…" Yaya smiled seductively, and tapped her chin. "How uptight do you think we'd be after a makeout session?"

"Yaya-senpai! It's a hospital!"

"Hospital sex is hot," Yaya justified. "Let's fuck the pain away."

Tsubomi frowned. Isn't it Kizuna-chan's job to make references to pop songs?

"I'm not having sex in a hospital."

"Okay. Just kiss me, then."

The kouhai then became aware of how badly she needed to kiss Yaya. Had she always felt this way? Why would she pass up an opportunity like this? But she was hell-bent against having Yaya get her way. So she said, "Just one kiss," and leaned in to give Yaya a chaste peck on the lips.

Yaya hooked her arms around Tsubomi's neck and yanked her in for a wildly aggressive kiss. Her cheek pressed hard against Tsubomi's nose, mixing the pleasure the pinkette felt with a trace of pain. When they pulled back, Tsubomi had to admit she did feel a bit more relaxed.

Goddamn it, she's persuasive, thought Tsubomi as she indulged herself in a bit more kissing.

When Yaya said "Let's fuck the pain away," it was a reference to "Fuck the Pain Away" by Peaches.

The chapter title is a reference to a lyric in "I Could Be Dreaming" by Belle & Sebastian.

Tsubomi's parents turned out crazier than I'd planned, honestly.

NEXT CHAPTER: Tsubomi and Hikari go to work, and Astraea Hill receives assistance for the Drama Festival from unexpected places.