Hey hey hey, it's the Fat Albert show. Okay, it's not. never mind. I
wonder how many of you even remember the Fat Albert show??? I vaguely do.
Oh, re-runs don't count. I'm talking original airplay. Anyway, as you can
tell, I'm likely to ramble tonight while I write. Sorry ahead of time.
Well, before I get any further off-course, I guess I'd better start the
magic.
Oh, real quick, I'm going to steal Yoshiki's little to denote thoughts. I'm tired of quotes for both speech and mental things. They seem to get confusing after a while.
Koushirou made his way home after the mall excursion, a little worn out from all the excitement, a little worried about what he was about to do, and hungry. He let himself in the apartment and put Tai's gift in his closet until he wrapped it later on. Koushirou felt a bit of curiosity as his mum was not home yet. Usually her outings with her girlfriends didn't last all that long. Kids and husbands and such kept them to an hour or so.
As Koushirou shut the door he realized the different meaning of girlfriend as opposed to boyfriend. It was perfectly acceptable for a girl to have a 'girlfriend' and almost acceptable for a "girlfriend" (yes, that way.) However, a boy never had a 'boyfriend' or god forbid a "boyfriend". "That is utter crap," he said aloud and walked to the kitchen to make himself a small snack.
Two peanut butter and jellys and a glass of coke later, he made his way back to his room. Koushirou flipped on his stereo and waited as the cd's took their sweet time spinning around for no apparent reason. Finally they settled back where they originally were and he was able to select one to play. VAST filled the until-then silent apartment with music. 'Touched' was the song that Koushirou selected. He stood facing the speakers with his eyes closed and his head hung while the music played. He swayed slowly side to side at first, then he broke into a flurry of movement as the music picked up. This was his song about Tai. There isn't much more that could be said.
"I looked into your eyes and saw, a world that does not exist. I looked into your eyes and saw, a world I wish I was in," he sang out, surprising himself with both the force he projected as well as the great voice he'd never really known he'd had before.
Once Koushirou got over his discovery he decided that he'd go on and wrap Tai's present. Until now, whenever Koushirou had wrapped a gift, he'd done it as quickly as he could with no real thought of what paper would look good with what bow and all that, but now it took him nearly an hour to wrap the box with Tai's present. When he was finally done it was a masterpiece, almost worthy of hanging in the Prado.
He was just adjusting the bow for the eighteenth time when he was rudely jolted from his little world. "Hey Koushirou, how you doing?" Mara said from almost right behind him. Stealthiness has always been one of her strong points, but with Koushirou's focus on the box in front of him and the stereo playing beside him, she could have arrived with an entire brass band and gone into a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and he'd likely not notice. Well, the box was tossed in the air as Koushirou fell on his side. Mara deftly caught it and looked down at her son. "Didn't wet yourself, did you?"
"Geez, Mum. You sort of scared me. And *no*, I didn't do that."
"I'll take your word for it, but remember who does your laundry. I'll know, Koushirou, I'll know." Mara grew a smile on her face and Koushirou had no choice but to do the same.
"No surprises, Mum. Trust me."
"Right. Anyway, what'd you get me?" Mara shook the box just a bit and listened to the shifting of the fabric inside. "Oooh, it sounds pretty."
Koushirou reached up and took the box from her. "It's not for you, Mum. I've not got your presents yet."
"Well, it didn't sound like socks or a tie, so it's obviously not for your father. (A/N: does anyone else ever remember giving their father anything aside from socks, ties, and drawers while growing up? I sure as heck don't..) So, who's it for?" Mara had leaned against the doorframe and crossed a leg in front of her.
"Well, actually, it's for Tai."
"That's nice," Mara said, hoping against hope that he'd continue. Koushirou said nothing more, so she was about to say something else when she saw a thought race across her son's face.
Koushirou's mind was screaming at him to go on with what he wanted to say once he'd said the present was for Tai. It was like there was a giant chicken holding the words at the base of his tongue, refusing to let them come out. So close.but he couldn't do it.
"Well, what did you get him?" Mara asked after Koushirou said nothing.
"Oh," Koushirou stammered, as if his mind was returning from somewhere else entirely, "it's a soccer shirt, one of the ones that Denmark wore in the World Cup."
"Weren't they the orange team?" Mara the-sports-watching-Mum asked.
"Yeah. That's them. He was always cheering for them during the Cup, so I couldn't think of anything more fitting."
"You're right. That is a pretty good gift. I'm sure he'll really like it." Mara stood straight again and made as to walk out of the room. "How does lasagna sound for dinner?" she asked.
"Yeah, that sounds great," Koushirou said as his mum retreated into the hallway. Then to himself, he continued. Great one, Koushirou. You had the perfect chance right then. Did you do it? No. He smirked at himself and blew a bit of air up in exasperation. He stood and set the perfectly wrapped present on his desk. He imagined the giant chicken fluttering its feathers around and making chicken-sounds at him. "Bok bok bok!!" Koushirou grinned at the insane image in his head and was then determined to have fried chicken along with his lasagna tonight.
Koushirou left his music on and walked out into the living room to find a book. He peeked in the kitchen and saw his mum swaying her hips to the music. Not quite yet, he told himself and he returned to his room and read until the luscious smell of baked lasagna rolled into his nose.
Well, it's time, Koushirou told himself, closing his book and taking a few deep breaths, steeling himself for what might happen. He foresaw both extremes simultaneously in his mind. In one, his mum was chasing him out of the apartment with a giant cleaver, screaming obscenities at him the whole time. In the other, they were sitting at the table just as nothing happened. Only time will tell, he thought and made the Herculean effort of walking to the dining room. One small consolation is that only Mum will be home tonight, was his last thought as he stepped into the dining room and saw his mum setting the steaming dish on the table and then twirling the serving fork like a six-shooter before plunging it into the dish. gulp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Across town, in the Hida household, Iori had just completed his kendo training for the day. He and his grandfather returned to the apartment and Iori went straight to the shower. It never ceased to amaze him how much he would sweat when he really didn't move all that much during the sparring. He shut the door behind him and pulled the soaked shirt off his frame. Yuk. He tossed it into the hamper and turned the water on. Once the water was perfect he flipped the shower toggle and listened as the thunder of the faucet became a steady hiss of spray.
He looked into the mirror while steam began to billow around him, fogging the edges of the glass slowly but steadily. He studied himself carefully, likely for the first time ever. He looked deep into his eyes and saw into his soul. I'm going to do it, he told himself, trying to quash the turmoil he saw and felt deep inside himself. He looked over his upper body, skinny by most anyone's standards, but beneath the skin lay wiry muscles waiting only for puberty to explode. To say that Iori wasn't really impressed by his boy's body was an understatement. TK loves me for who I am, no matter what, he told himself as the steam covered the rest of the glass. For whatever reason, he loves me. Iori moved away from the mirror and took off his pants and underwear, tossing them in the hamper along with his shirt. He stepped in the fog bank and felt all the tension and worry leave his body, taken by the water down the drain.
Iori had always loved taking showers. The warmth of the water had soothed him for as long as he could remember. Back when his father died, he spent many an hour in this particular place. He could cry in complete anonymity and not be risking someone seeing his softer side. Things have changed quite a bit recently, he thought as he remembered all the times he'd let himself come free around TK and the others in the last month or so. Now he felt as if he could cry or anything around TK and everything would be okay. The world wouldn't end, the ice caps wouldn't melt, life would go on. Funny how strong love is, isn't it? It can change anything.
Iori stepped out of the shower about fifteen minutes later, about as long as he could go at this time of day with five other people on the same water heater in his building (I hate that crap. I should get my own..). He wrapped his robe around him and tied the cords before he left the bathroom. He shut his door and dropped the robe, drying himself a bit with it before throwing on a long sleeved shirt and pants, covering up most of his lobster-like skin. He opened his door and started out to the living room and the biggest moment of his life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TK made it through practice, finally getting himself together for the final little intra-team scrimmage. All of the private time at the other goal had given him the chance to clear out his mind and put things straight, as funny a word as that might be for the moment.
TK had decided that no matter what, he was proud of the way he was. No matter what his mum or father might say could *ever* change that. He loved Iori. A *boy*. Big deal. He wanted to yell it out to the other fourteen people in the gym but didn't. It wasn't right. Maybe after his mum knew, then them. As they wrapped up practice the coach called TK over.
"Takaishi, I'm not sure exactly what was wrong earlier, but I'm glad that you fixed it. You'll be the same way tomorrow, right?"
"Oh, sure. Without a doubt," TK said as he set his ball in the rack.
"Great. Go on then, get cleaned up and go home. Make sure you get a good night's rest."
"Will do, coach," TK said as he picked his duffle bag up and went back into the locker room to shower and change. The coach walked over and organized the final cleaning, already imagining his championship..
TK got home and let himself in. His mum was only a few minutes behind him. He'd just stepped out of his bedroom when he heard the front door shut and the bolt turn. Ready to get it over with and not afraid of what anyone said, TK went on his way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tai was watching tv with Kari when they heard their mum and father shut the kitchen door. They were talking amongst themselves rather loudly, but in a friendly way. His mum was laughing, his father apparently having told a good joke.
"Well, Kari, it's almost time," Tai told her. She only looked at him for a moment.
"When are you going to do it? Over dinner?"
"No, I've thought about it and I've decided that it might be better if I wait until later. I honestly was hoping that you might decide to go to bed a little early tonight, say maybe nine or so, so that I could talk to the two of them alone."
"Sure, Tai. No problem. I'll just head off to bed after we finish dinner. I'm not really feeling up to dessert anyway."
"Thanks Kari, you're a great sister," Tai told her and made as to hug her, but remembered she was ill so he high-fived her instead.
"As if my greatness was ever in question," she posed to him, giving him a look of mock indignation.
"I'm sorry, you're highness," Tai said as he bowed deeply to her and scooted her bucket a bit closer. She grinned at his act and they talked quietly until dinner was ready. After the meal, Kari excused herself, feigning a queasy stomach, and headed off to her room.
Tai sat around with his mum and dad and watched tv with them for a while, trying to build up the courage to speak his mind. For being the old bearer of the Crest of Courage, this sure is hard, he told himself after another failed attempt to broach the subject.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dinner at the Izumi's was as delicious as it ever was. The meal was rather quiet without Luke's normal comments and the other's laughter. Mara and Koushirou ate in near silence, broken only by the occasion short question and answer. Well, this is going swimmingly, Koushirou told himself more than once during the meal. He had lost count the number of times that he had opened his mouth to simply blurt it out and found that damned chicken blocking everything again. Bok bok bok He'd shut his mouth as quickly as possible, hoping his mum wasn't paying all that much attention.
Mara was paying attention. She never claimed to be able to read minds, but sometimes Mara could read people like it was no one's business. She could pick up Koushirou's mood easily and knew that he was on the verge of telling her something of great importance. She had a very good idea of what it was, but the last thing she wanted to do was jump to conclusions. They finished the meal and Mara began clearing the table of the dirty dishes. Koushirou picked up his plate and gathered his courage and followed her into the kitchen.
"Mum, mind if I talk to you about something?" Koushirou asked, his voice barely squeaking out of his pin-point sized throat. His heart had jumped way up and was hammering just below his jaw line.
"Not at all, Koushirou," Mara told him, playing it very cool. "Would you mind handing me that bottle of detergent?" She asked him, trying to keep the situation calm.
"Oh, sure. Here you go." Koushirou handed her the bottle of dish soap. "You've always said that I can tell you and dad anything right?" Koushirou started, gathering speed.
"Of course, Koushirou. Is something on your mind, son?"
"Sort of. This has been kind of bothering me for a while now." Koushirou stopped, seemingly at a loss as how to continue.
"Okay. Go on, Kou-chan. You can tell me anything." Mara took a plate from Koushirou and dipped it in the water.
"Well, I don't know how to exactly tell you this," Koushirou said and stopped cold. He looked at her and saw her smile and felt a little up- swell in his heart.
"Take your time, Koushirou." Mara handed him the newly clean plate for him to dry. He handed her another dirty one and began to speak again.
"Um, Mum, this is really hard, so I guess I'll just go on and say it." Koushirou's voice began to tremble at this point, quivering so much that he had to stop before he lost it completely. Mara let the plate slide under the water and wiped her hands off with a towel. She turned her full attention to her son.
"Mum, I'm , I'm gay." Koushirou finally got the last bit out like it was a ten ton boulder, falling away and rolling wherever it may. He dropped his head and then looked up at her when she didn't make any sound at all.
"Koushirou, you're gay?" Mara asked him, placing a hand on each of his shoulders. "Yes." He said in an incredibly weak voice. "I'm gay." He looked up at her and was quite surprised by the warmth he saw in her eyes, far from the hate or indifference he was expecting.
"Oh Koushirou!" She said as she pulled him into a loving embrace. "I'm so proud of you!" Koushirou had pressed his face into her side as he started crying softly, so relieved. Mara's words weren't quite what he was expecting. He pulled back a bit and looked up at her.
"You're, *proud* of me?" Koushirou asked her, incredulous.
"Of course dear. I know how hard this must have been for you to tell me." Mara pulled him back into the embrace and Koushirou's tears began flowing again. Mara let a few of her own fall free, rolling down her face. She gently stroked her son's back and let him cry himself out. Koushirou finally finished and Mara let him go. He smiled at his mum and she returned it.
"Thanks, Mum. You can't believe how much better I feel right now."
"Koushirou, I have to admit, I've had an idea for a little while now. I've seen you go through periods of depression and then joy. I almost came to you about it a few weeks ago, but I decided not to. I didn't feel like it would have been my place to ask you about it."
"Thanks, Mum. I'm sort of glad you didn't. It wouldn't have been the same I don't think."
"So, if I can ask this, is Tai your boyfriend?" Mara looked at her son again and pushed his hair out of his face.
"Actually, yes he is," Koushirou told her, a little surprised.
"Wonderful." Koushirou's eyes were clouded with question. "I've thought of Tai as a second son for quite a while now, so now I guess he is a 'son in law'." Mara told her confused son and leaned in and kissed the top of his forehead.
"Mum, I have to say that I didn't think this would go over so well. Do you think that dad will feel the same way?"
"Of course he will, Koushirou. We've raised you for the last fifteen years now and you've become part of us. Do you honestly think that we would think any different of you just because you are in love with a boy instead of a girl?"
"I wasn't sure. I hoped that would be the case, but I wasn't sure."
"Well, I can tell you in complete certainty that my feelings haven't changed toward you in one bit. I will also say that your father and I will be here for you, and Tai for that matter, no matter what. Anytime, anyplace."
"Thanks, Mum." The two Izumi's finished the dishes, talking about the new changes in the household. Mara made it a point for Koushirou to unequivocally know she loved and supported him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Across town again, this time in the Takaishi household, TK was making his way out into the living room. His mum had headed into the kitchen and was beginning to set out items for dinner. She seemed unaware of his presence until he came up behind her and touched her gently on the shoulder. Once her heart returned to its normal place in her chest, she turned to her soon- to-be-dead son.
"TK, one of these days, you'll give me a heart attack." TK grinned at her.
"Sorry. You know that I love doing that."
"Yeah, you've been doing it since you were knee-high. It's always been funny to you," his mum said and set a bag of frozen peas on the counter.
"Some things never change, huh?" TK asked her and prepared himself for the bombshell he was about to drop.
"Yep. Some things will never change, TK," his mum echoed.
"I'm gay." TK said as plain and as clearly as he could. His mum dropped the bag of frozen peas from her hands and they both watched them fall, seemingly in slow motion, and landing with a small frozen splat sound on the floor.
"Excuse me?" she asked, trying to be sure of what she thought she heard. "You're, ah, gay?"
"Yes I am," TK said and beamed at her, grinning from ear to ear.
"You're kidding, right?" His mum asked, not sure if this was serious or another of TK's jokes.
"No, Mum, I'm as serious as a heart attack. (I love that line. Gotta love the Bloodhound Gang..anyway.)
"So you mean you're gay as in you don't like girls but, boys?"
"That pretty much sums it up, Mum. I'm gay."
"If I can ask, what brought on this sudden change of your, uh, orientation?"
"Oh, it's been this way for a long while now. Only recently have I let it out."
"Uh huh. Well, if I were to say that this is how I planned on spending my evening, I'd be lying."
"I didn't mean to surprise you, well, okay maybe a little, but there really is no diplomatic way to tell something like this, is there?"
"I guess not, TK," his mum said as TK bent over and picked the bag of peas up. "Well son, do you have an, uh, object of attention?"
"You mean a boyfriend?" TK asked, secretly enjoying the way his mum squirmed when he said the 'b-word'. She nodded. "Actually I do."
"Oh, wonderful." Ms. Takaishi obviously wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this.
"He is. He is simply incredible. And the best thing about all this is," TK started and watched as her eyes got big again, "is that you already know him."
"Really?" She asked, suddenly curious as to whom her son might fancy. "Who is it? Is it that Daisuke boy?"
"Oh please Mum, everyone knows that there is *no* way I could ever like someone like him (Poke at the many Takesuke shippers out on the seas of FFN---poke poke poke). Actually it's Iori."
"Iori? Little Iori? Well, he is the last person that I'd have expected, TK. The last boy, anyway."
"Well, that's how it is." TK said flatly, almost ending the conversation there. It continued a little longer, mostly TK talking about Iori's endearing qualities. By the end of the night, Ms. Takaishi was a little less surprised, but more curious about her son's revelation.
TK went to bed that evening with the clearest mind of anyone in recent history. He awoke the next day as light as a cloud; none of the previous worry was anywhere near him. (A/N: Well, that was a little anti-climactic after Kou-chan's episode, huh? I didn't set out to make it that blunt, but it sort of fell into place.)
Evening had fallen in the Izumi house. Luke wasn't home due to his out of town business. Koushirou had turned in about an hour ago, around eleven, after they had sat around and discussed everything under the sun. More than a few more tears had fallen from her son, mostly tears of joy and relief. They sat side by side on the couch for nearly three hours, simply talking.
Mara was oh so relieved. Finally she knew that Koushirou would get a restful night's sleep. The only thing that could have made it better was if he'd have come to her long before. Mara sipped her mug of green tea and sighed. It was almost a let down now that her son had gone off to bed. She was still a little psyched up about the whole incident. "Oh Koushirou, as long as you're happy, I don't care," she said softly as she picked up a pillow and held it against her.
Mara yawned and rubbed her eyes. She felt sleep coming on quickly. "Luke, of all the nights to be out of town." she said to no one as she pulled herself to her feet and stretched, groaning at the multitude of snaps, crackles, and pops as she rose. "You're getting old, girl," she told herself and grinned. Mara went to the picture window and looked at the street below, seeing a fresh batch of rain and sleet falling on the cityscape. Mara oh so much loved winter. Not.
She shut the curtains and blinds and went back to the living room. Mara bent over to pick up her mug, popping again, drawing a look of ire on her face. She stood and finished off her tea. She was nearly to the kitchen, on her way to deposit the mug in the sink when she heard a soft knocking on the door.
"Who the hell?" She thought. She set the mug down in a quick motion and pulled a large knife from the cutting block. Nine inches of polished steel glimmered in the dull light as she made her way back to the door. Another set of low rappings met her.
Mara peeked through the eye hole and what she saw made her toss the knife to the side and throw the door open. "Taichi?!" she exclaimed as she saw the soaking form outside her door. She pulled him inside and shut the door in another Mara-esque movements.
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Hey, anyone surprised at the ending? I hope so. I wanted to make it a little different, so I skipped Iori to keep you off balance. Anyway, as of 603 EDT, the only person with the correct guess of Tai is The Dragon's Spirit. So, he wins something. Who knows what. A gift story? Oh!! I know!! A chance to fight energy to the death!! I've not seen YuGiOh and you're going to kill me. Ha. You better bring a friend, buddy. I might not be the biggest guy on the block but I can scrap for days. Just kidding. I can't fight someone that I could have in my class. Happy early birthday , by the way, TDS.
I almost chose Iori, but I really couldn't do it. Between what Yoshiki has been putting him through, and what Yoshiki is going to put him through (I love beta-ing--inside scoops and all. ;), I couldn't do it in good conscience.
Okay, now for a little rant. HEY CLEAR SKIES!!! When are you going to update, Mr. True King of Cliffhangers!?!?!?! I've waited patiently now for, oh, too long, and I've got nothing. Boo hoo. Oh well. Get Lynne in gear and get busy. Don't make me have to swim across the Atlantic now. Okay, rant over.
In other news, I kept typing Tai's name as Kai all night. I need to go on and write that damn Beyblade fic that is bouncing around in my skull and be done with it. Max is soooo cute..
I can't thank you guys enough. Your reviews are what stoke my creative fire. There is a chance that this chapter might put me above 100 reviews. Do you know how great that would be???? Huh? Incredibly great. Let's see what we can do about that..
energy
Oh, real quick, I'm going to steal Yoshiki's little to denote thoughts. I'm tired of quotes for both speech and mental things. They seem to get confusing after a while.
Koushirou made his way home after the mall excursion, a little worn out from all the excitement, a little worried about what he was about to do, and hungry. He let himself in the apartment and put Tai's gift in his closet until he wrapped it later on. Koushirou felt a bit of curiosity as his mum was not home yet. Usually her outings with her girlfriends didn't last all that long. Kids and husbands and such kept them to an hour or so.
As Koushirou shut the door he realized the different meaning of girlfriend as opposed to boyfriend. It was perfectly acceptable for a girl to have a 'girlfriend' and almost acceptable for a "girlfriend" (yes, that way.) However, a boy never had a 'boyfriend' or god forbid a "boyfriend". "That is utter crap," he said aloud and walked to the kitchen to make himself a small snack.
Two peanut butter and jellys and a glass of coke later, he made his way back to his room. Koushirou flipped on his stereo and waited as the cd's took their sweet time spinning around for no apparent reason. Finally they settled back where they originally were and he was able to select one to play. VAST filled the until-then silent apartment with music. 'Touched' was the song that Koushirou selected. He stood facing the speakers with his eyes closed and his head hung while the music played. He swayed slowly side to side at first, then he broke into a flurry of movement as the music picked up. This was his song about Tai. There isn't much more that could be said.
"I looked into your eyes and saw, a world that does not exist. I looked into your eyes and saw, a world I wish I was in," he sang out, surprising himself with both the force he projected as well as the great voice he'd never really known he'd had before.
Once Koushirou got over his discovery he decided that he'd go on and wrap Tai's present. Until now, whenever Koushirou had wrapped a gift, he'd done it as quickly as he could with no real thought of what paper would look good with what bow and all that, but now it took him nearly an hour to wrap the box with Tai's present. When he was finally done it was a masterpiece, almost worthy of hanging in the Prado.
He was just adjusting the bow for the eighteenth time when he was rudely jolted from his little world. "Hey Koushirou, how you doing?" Mara said from almost right behind him. Stealthiness has always been one of her strong points, but with Koushirou's focus on the box in front of him and the stereo playing beside him, she could have arrived with an entire brass band and gone into a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and he'd likely not notice. Well, the box was tossed in the air as Koushirou fell on his side. Mara deftly caught it and looked down at her son. "Didn't wet yourself, did you?"
"Geez, Mum. You sort of scared me. And *no*, I didn't do that."
"I'll take your word for it, but remember who does your laundry. I'll know, Koushirou, I'll know." Mara grew a smile on her face and Koushirou had no choice but to do the same.
"No surprises, Mum. Trust me."
"Right. Anyway, what'd you get me?" Mara shook the box just a bit and listened to the shifting of the fabric inside. "Oooh, it sounds pretty."
Koushirou reached up and took the box from her. "It's not for you, Mum. I've not got your presents yet."
"Well, it didn't sound like socks or a tie, so it's obviously not for your father. (A/N: does anyone else ever remember giving their father anything aside from socks, ties, and drawers while growing up? I sure as heck don't..) So, who's it for?" Mara had leaned against the doorframe and crossed a leg in front of her.
"Well, actually, it's for Tai."
"That's nice," Mara said, hoping against hope that he'd continue. Koushirou said nothing more, so she was about to say something else when she saw a thought race across her son's face.
Koushirou's mind was screaming at him to go on with what he wanted to say once he'd said the present was for Tai. It was like there was a giant chicken holding the words at the base of his tongue, refusing to let them come out. So close.but he couldn't do it.
"Well, what did you get him?" Mara asked after Koushirou said nothing.
"Oh," Koushirou stammered, as if his mind was returning from somewhere else entirely, "it's a soccer shirt, one of the ones that Denmark wore in the World Cup."
"Weren't they the orange team?" Mara the-sports-watching-Mum asked.
"Yeah. That's them. He was always cheering for them during the Cup, so I couldn't think of anything more fitting."
"You're right. That is a pretty good gift. I'm sure he'll really like it." Mara stood straight again and made as to walk out of the room. "How does lasagna sound for dinner?" she asked.
"Yeah, that sounds great," Koushirou said as his mum retreated into the hallway. Then to himself, he continued. Great one, Koushirou. You had the perfect chance right then. Did you do it? No. He smirked at himself and blew a bit of air up in exasperation. He stood and set the perfectly wrapped present on his desk. He imagined the giant chicken fluttering its feathers around and making chicken-sounds at him. "Bok bok bok!!" Koushirou grinned at the insane image in his head and was then determined to have fried chicken along with his lasagna tonight.
Koushirou left his music on and walked out into the living room to find a book. He peeked in the kitchen and saw his mum swaying her hips to the music. Not quite yet, he told himself and he returned to his room and read until the luscious smell of baked lasagna rolled into his nose.
Well, it's time, Koushirou told himself, closing his book and taking a few deep breaths, steeling himself for what might happen. He foresaw both extremes simultaneously in his mind. In one, his mum was chasing him out of the apartment with a giant cleaver, screaming obscenities at him the whole time. In the other, they were sitting at the table just as nothing happened. Only time will tell, he thought and made the Herculean effort of walking to the dining room. One small consolation is that only Mum will be home tonight, was his last thought as he stepped into the dining room and saw his mum setting the steaming dish on the table and then twirling the serving fork like a six-shooter before plunging it into the dish. gulp
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Across town, in the Hida household, Iori had just completed his kendo training for the day. He and his grandfather returned to the apartment and Iori went straight to the shower. It never ceased to amaze him how much he would sweat when he really didn't move all that much during the sparring. He shut the door behind him and pulled the soaked shirt off his frame. Yuk. He tossed it into the hamper and turned the water on. Once the water was perfect he flipped the shower toggle and listened as the thunder of the faucet became a steady hiss of spray.
He looked into the mirror while steam began to billow around him, fogging the edges of the glass slowly but steadily. He studied himself carefully, likely for the first time ever. He looked deep into his eyes and saw into his soul. I'm going to do it, he told himself, trying to quash the turmoil he saw and felt deep inside himself. He looked over his upper body, skinny by most anyone's standards, but beneath the skin lay wiry muscles waiting only for puberty to explode. To say that Iori wasn't really impressed by his boy's body was an understatement. TK loves me for who I am, no matter what, he told himself as the steam covered the rest of the glass. For whatever reason, he loves me. Iori moved away from the mirror and took off his pants and underwear, tossing them in the hamper along with his shirt. He stepped in the fog bank and felt all the tension and worry leave his body, taken by the water down the drain.
Iori had always loved taking showers. The warmth of the water had soothed him for as long as he could remember. Back when his father died, he spent many an hour in this particular place. He could cry in complete anonymity and not be risking someone seeing his softer side. Things have changed quite a bit recently, he thought as he remembered all the times he'd let himself come free around TK and the others in the last month or so. Now he felt as if he could cry or anything around TK and everything would be okay. The world wouldn't end, the ice caps wouldn't melt, life would go on. Funny how strong love is, isn't it? It can change anything.
Iori stepped out of the shower about fifteen minutes later, about as long as he could go at this time of day with five other people on the same water heater in his building (I hate that crap. I should get my own..). He wrapped his robe around him and tied the cords before he left the bathroom. He shut his door and dropped the robe, drying himself a bit with it before throwing on a long sleeved shirt and pants, covering up most of his lobster-like skin. He opened his door and started out to the living room and the biggest moment of his life.
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TK made it through practice, finally getting himself together for the final little intra-team scrimmage. All of the private time at the other goal had given him the chance to clear out his mind and put things straight, as funny a word as that might be for the moment.
TK had decided that no matter what, he was proud of the way he was. No matter what his mum or father might say could *ever* change that. He loved Iori. A *boy*. Big deal. He wanted to yell it out to the other fourteen people in the gym but didn't. It wasn't right. Maybe after his mum knew, then them. As they wrapped up practice the coach called TK over.
"Takaishi, I'm not sure exactly what was wrong earlier, but I'm glad that you fixed it. You'll be the same way tomorrow, right?"
"Oh, sure. Without a doubt," TK said as he set his ball in the rack.
"Great. Go on then, get cleaned up and go home. Make sure you get a good night's rest."
"Will do, coach," TK said as he picked his duffle bag up and went back into the locker room to shower and change. The coach walked over and organized the final cleaning, already imagining his championship..
TK got home and let himself in. His mum was only a few minutes behind him. He'd just stepped out of his bedroom when he heard the front door shut and the bolt turn. Ready to get it over with and not afraid of what anyone said, TK went on his way.
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Tai was watching tv with Kari when they heard their mum and father shut the kitchen door. They were talking amongst themselves rather loudly, but in a friendly way. His mum was laughing, his father apparently having told a good joke.
"Well, Kari, it's almost time," Tai told her. She only looked at him for a moment.
"When are you going to do it? Over dinner?"
"No, I've thought about it and I've decided that it might be better if I wait until later. I honestly was hoping that you might decide to go to bed a little early tonight, say maybe nine or so, so that I could talk to the two of them alone."
"Sure, Tai. No problem. I'll just head off to bed after we finish dinner. I'm not really feeling up to dessert anyway."
"Thanks Kari, you're a great sister," Tai told her and made as to hug her, but remembered she was ill so he high-fived her instead.
"As if my greatness was ever in question," she posed to him, giving him a look of mock indignation.
"I'm sorry, you're highness," Tai said as he bowed deeply to her and scooted her bucket a bit closer. She grinned at his act and they talked quietly until dinner was ready. After the meal, Kari excused herself, feigning a queasy stomach, and headed off to her room.
Tai sat around with his mum and dad and watched tv with them for a while, trying to build up the courage to speak his mind. For being the old bearer of the Crest of Courage, this sure is hard, he told himself after another failed attempt to broach the subject.
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Dinner at the Izumi's was as delicious as it ever was. The meal was rather quiet without Luke's normal comments and the other's laughter. Mara and Koushirou ate in near silence, broken only by the occasion short question and answer. Well, this is going swimmingly, Koushirou told himself more than once during the meal. He had lost count the number of times that he had opened his mouth to simply blurt it out and found that damned chicken blocking everything again. Bok bok bok He'd shut his mouth as quickly as possible, hoping his mum wasn't paying all that much attention.
Mara was paying attention. She never claimed to be able to read minds, but sometimes Mara could read people like it was no one's business. She could pick up Koushirou's mood easily and knew that he was on the verge of telling her something of great importance. She had a very good idea of what it was, but the last thing she wanted to do was jump to conclusions. They finished the meal and Mara began clearing the table of the dirty dishes. Koushirou picked up his plate and gathered his courage and followed her into the kitchen.
"Mum, mind if I talk to you about something?" Koushirou asked, his voice barely squeaking out of his pin-point sized throat. His heart had jumped way up and was hammering just below his jaw line.
"Not at all, Koushirou," Mara told him, playing it very cool. "Would you mind handing me that bottle of detergent?" She asked him, trying to keep the situation calm.
"Oh, sure. Here you go." Koushirou handed her the bottle of dish soap. "You've always said that I can tell you and dad anything right?" Koushirou started, gathering speed.
"Of course, Koushirou. Is something on your mind, son?"
"Sort of. This has been kind of bothering me for a while now." Koushirou stopped, seemingly at a loss as how to continue.
"Okay. Go on, Kou-chan. You can tell me anything." Mara took a plate from Koushirou and dipped it in the water.
"Well, I don't know how to exactly tell you this," Koushirou said and stopped cold. He looked at her and saw her smile and felt a little up- swell in his heart.
"Take your time, Koushirou." Mara handed him the newly clean plate for him to dry. He handed her another dirty one and began to speak again.
"Um, Mum, this is really hard, so I guess I'll just go on and say it." Koushirou's voice began to tremble at this point, quivering so much that he had to stop before he lost it completely. Mara let the plate slide under the water and wiped her hands off with a towel. She turned her full attention to her son.
"Mum, I'm , I'm gay." Koushirou finally got the last bit out like it was a ten ton boulder, falling away and rolling wherever it may. He dropped his head and then looked up at her when she didn't make any sound at all.
"Koushirou, you're gay?" Mara asked him, placing a hand on each of his shoulders. "Yes." He said in an incredibly weak voice. "I'm gay." He looked up at her and was quite surprised by the warmth he saw in her eyes, far from the hate or indifference he was expecting.
"Oh Koushirou!" She said as she pulled him into a loving embrace. "I'm so proud of you!" Koushirou had pressed his face into her side as he started crying softly, so relieved. Mara's words weren't quite what he was expecting. He pulled back a bit and looked up at her.
"You're, *proud* of me?" Koushirou asked her, incredulous.
"Of course dear. I know how hard this must have been for you to tell me." Mara pulled him back into the embrace and Koushirou's tears began flowing again. Mara let a few of her own fall free, rolling down her face. She gently stroked her son's back and let him cry himself out. Koushirou finally finished and Mara let him go. He smiled at his mum and she returned it.
"Thanks, Mum. You can't believe how much better I feel right now."
"Koushirou, I have to admit, I've had an idea for a little while now. I've seen you go through periods of depression and then joy. I almost came to you about it a few weeks ago, but I decided not to. I didn't feel like it would have been my place to ask you about it."
"Thanks, Mum. I'm sort of glad you didn't. It wouldn't have been the same I don't think."
"So, if I can ask this, is Tai your boyfriend?" Mara looked at her son again and pushed his hair out of his face.
"Actually, yes he is," Koushirou told her, a little surprised.
"Wonderful." Koushirou's eyes were clouded with question. "I've thought of Tai as a second son for quite a while now, so now I guess he is a 'son in law'." Mara told her confused son and leaned in and kissed the top of his forehead.
"Mum, I have to say that I didn't think this would go over so well. Do you think that dad will feel the same way?"
"Of course he will, Koushirou. We've raised you for the last fifteen years now and you've become part of us. Do you honestly think that we would think any different of you just because you are in love with a boy instead of a girl?"
"I wasn't sure. I hoped that would be the case, but I wasn't sure."
"Well, I can tell you in complete certainty that my feelings haven't changed toward you in one bit. I will also say that your father and I will be here for you, and Tai for that matter, no matter what. Anytime, anyplace."
"Thanks, Mum." The two Izumi's finished the dishes, talking about the new changes in the household. Mara made it a point for Koushirou to unequivocally know she loved and supported him.
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Across town again, this time in the Takaishi household, TK was making his way out into the living room. His mum had headed into the kitchen and was beginning to set out items for dinner. She seemed unaware of his presence until he came up behind her and touched her gently on the shoulder. Once her heart returned to its normal place in her chest, she turned to her soon- to-be-dead son.
"TK, one of these days, you'll give me a heart attack." TK grinned at her.
"Sorry. You know that I love doing that."
"Yeah, you've been doing it since you were knee-high. It's always been funny to you," his mum said and set a bag of frozen peas on the counter.
"Some things never change, huh?" TK asked her and prepared himself for the bombshell he was about to drop.
"Yep. Some things will never change, TK," his mum echoed.
"I'm gay." TK said as plain and as clearly as he could. His mum dropped the bag of frozen peas from her hands and they both watched them fall, seemingly in slow motion, and landing with a small frozen splat sound on the floor.
"Excuse me?" she asked, trying to be sure of what she thought she heard. "You're, ah, gay?"
"Yes I am," TK said and beamed at her, grinning from ear to ear.
"You're kidding, right?" His mum asked, not sure if this was serious or another of TK's jokes.
"No, Mum, I'm as serious as a heart attack. (I love that line. Gotta love the Bloodhound Gang..anyway.)
"So you mean you're gay as in you don't like girls but, boys?"
"That pretty much sums it up, Mum. I'm gay."
"If I can ask, what brought on this sudden change of your, uh, orientation?"
"Oh, it's been this way for a long while now. Only recently have I let it out."
"Uh huh. Well, if I were to say that this is how I planned on spending my evening, I'd be lying."
"I didn't mean to surprise you, well, okay maybe a little, but there really is no diplomatic way to tell something like this, is there?"
"I guess not, TK," his mum said as TK bent over and picked the bag of peas up. "Well son, do you have an, uh, object of attention?"
"You mean a boyfriend?" TK asked, secretly enjoying the way his mum squirmed when he said the 'b-word'. She nodded. "Actually I do."
"Oh, wonderful." Ms. Takaishi obviously wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this.
"He is. He is simply incredible. And the best thing about all this is," TK started and watched as her eyes got big again, "is that you already know him."
"Really?" She asked, suddenly curious as to whom her son might fancy. "Who is it? Is it that Daisuke boy?"
"Oh please Mum, everyone knows that there is *no* way I could ever like someone like him (Poke at the many Takesuke shippers out on the seas of FFN---poke poke poke). Actually it's Iori."
"Iori? Little Iori? Well, he is the last person that I'd have expected, TK. The last boy, anyway."
"Well, that's how it is." TK said flatly, almost ending the conversation there. It continued a little longer, mostly TK talking about Iori's endearing qualities. By the end of the night, Ms. Takaishi was a little less surprised, but more curious about her son's revelation.
TK went to bed that evening with the clearest mind of anyone in recent history. He awoke the next day as light as a cloud; none of the previous worry was anywhere near him. (A/N: Well, that was a little anti-climactic after Kou-chan's episode, huh? I didn't set out to make it that blunt, but it sort of fell into place.)
Evening had fallen in the Izumi house. Luke wasn't home due to his out of town business. Koushirou had turned in about an hour ago, around eleven, after they had sat around and discussed everything under the sun. More than a few more tears had fallen from her son, mostly tears of joy and relief. They sat side by side on the couch for nearly three hours, simply talking.
Mara was oh so relieved. Finally she knew that Koushirou would get a restful night's sleep. The only thing that could have made it better was if he'd have come to her long before. Mara sipped her mug of green tea and sighed. It was almost a let down now that her son had gone off to bed. She was still a little psyched up about the whole incident. "Oh Koushirou, as long as you're happy, I don't care," she said softly as she picked up a pillow and held it against her.
Mara yawned and rubbed her eyes. She felt sleep coming on quickly. "Luke, of all the nights to be out of town." she said to no one as she pulled herself to her feet and stretched, groaning at the multitude of snaps, crackles, and pops as she rose. "You're getting old, girl," she told herself and grinned. Mara went to the picture window and looked at the street below, seeing a fresh batch of rain and sleet falling on the cityscape. Mara oh so much loved winter. Not.
She shut the curtains and blinds and went back to the living room. Mara bent over to pick up her mug, popping again, drawing a look of ire on her face. She stood and finished off her tea. She was nearly to the kitchen, on her way to deposit the mug in the sink when she heard a soft knocking on the door.
"Who the hell?" She thought. She set the mug down in a quick motion and pulled a large knife from the cutting block. Nine inches of polished steel glimmered in the dull light as she made her way back to the door. Another set of low rappings met her.
Mara peeked through the eye hole and what she saw made her toss the knife to the side and throw the door open. "Taichi?!" she exclaimed as she saw the soaking form outside her door. She pulled him inside and shut the door in another Mara-esque movements.
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Hey, anyone surprised at the ending? I hope so. I wanted to make it a little different, so I skipped Iori to keep you off balance. Anyway, as of 603 EDT, the only person with the correct guess of Tai is The Dragon's Spirit. So, he wins something. Who knows what. A gift story? Oh!! I know!! A chance to fight energy to the death!! I've not seen YuGiOh and you're going to kill me. Ha. You better bring a friend, buddy. I might not be the biggest guy on the block but I can scrap for days. Just kidding. I can't fight someone that I could have in my class. Happy early birthday , by the way, TDS.
I almost chose Iori, but I really couldn't do it. Between what Yoshiki has been putting him through, and what Yoshiki is going to put him through (I love beta-ing--inside scoops and all. ;), I couldn't do it in good conscience.
Okay, now for a little rant. HEY CLEAR SKIES!!! When are you going to update, Mr. True King of Cliffhangers!?!?!?! I've waited patiently now for, oh, too long, and I've got nothing. Boo hoo. Oh well. Get Lynne in gear and get busy. Don't make me have to swim across the Atlantic now. Okay, rant over.
In other news, I kept typing Tai's name as Kai all night. I need to go on and write that damn Beyblade fic that is bouncing around in my skull and be done with it. Max is soooo cute..
I can't thank you guys enough. Your reviews are what stoke my creative fire. There is a chance that this chapter might put me above 100 reviews. Do you know how great that would be???? Huh? Incredibly great. Let's see what we can do about that..
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