1 MOVING ON
By Android Eleven
A week later (yes, another week):
Yui giggled as she laid on her stomach on her living couch, watching her father stand in front of the hall mirror, trying to decide whether or not to wear his designer jacket over his brown turtleneck. After a moment of looking back and forth between the jacket in his hand and his reflection in the mirror he let out a silly roar of frustration. He dropped it to the floor and kicked his jacket at the door leading out of the apartment just as Matt was coming in.
"Whoa! What'd I do?" he exclaimed as the jacket just barely missed hitting him in the face.
By now Yui had fallen off the couch because she was laughing so hard. "Nothing," she explained, wiping tears away from her eyes, "Dad's just getting ready to go pick up Kari for their date."
TK grunted and went to pick up his jacket. "I told you already about six times- it's not a date. It's just a pair of friends who want to go out and eat dinner together."
"A pair of friends who want to go out ad eat dinner together ALONE," Yui pointed out, grinning. "Besides, if it's not a date, then why are you totally wigging out over a jacket?" She paused for a moment before adding, "Don't wear it, by the way. You look more… 'Down to earth' without it."
TK frowned, knowing he'd lost the argument, and said nothing. But he did throw his jacket on the couch before going into the kitchen for a glass of water.
Yui hurried over to her uncle the instant her father left the room. "Did you bring them?"
Matt smiled at her eagerness. "Of course," he replied, producing a bouquet of a dozen red roses from behind his back. TK had been so preoccupied he hadn't noticed that Matt had kept one hand behind his back since he'd arrived.
Yui grinned. "Do you have the card?" Matt nodded and handed it to her. "Good. So, when he's about to go out the door, distract him while I go through with the plan. Okay?"
Matt nodded, unable to stop the grin from crossing his own face. "Okay."
Just then TK came back into the room. Yui quickly tucked the card into the waistband of her green skirt before he could see it. "So, Matt, if something happens, call my cell, okay?" he asked, completely oblivious to the plot his daughter and brother were planning for him. He then noticed the roses in Matt's hands. "What are those for?"
"Huh? Oh, these are for you," Matt replied. TK looked puzzled.
"Oh, Yamato, you shouldn't have," he answered sarcastically. Yui giggled and Matt rolled his eyes.
"No, imbecile, they're not *FOR YOU*. They're for you to *GIVE* to *KARI*."
TK sighed with a mix of exasperation and defeat. "I told you, it's not a date."
Matt grinned and handed his brother the roses. "Yes, it is. And you know it."
TK said nothing, simply sighing again, but he accepted the roses. He leaned down and kissed his daughter on the forehead before heading out the door. Suddenly remembering the card at her waist, Yui ran after him.
When she reached him, the small blonde girl literally threw herself at her father's legs. He stumbled slightly before he realized what had happened. He turned around, with a great amount of difficulty, and looked at Yui. "Is something wrong, Sweet-pea?"
"No," she answered happily, "I just wanted to give you a hug for luck."
"Oh." Though puzzled, TK did nothing but briefly hug her back. She continued to cling to him. TK was about to ask her why she hadn't yet let go when Matt stuck his head out into the hallway and saw them.
"TK, I almost forgot! Where are the emergency phone numbers?"
"Taped to the wall beside the phone. It's the same place they've always been, Matt."
Yui had barely succeeded in getting the card out of her skirt so far. Matt had to occupy TK for at least another few seconds.
"Uh… Where are you and Kari going to be eating? You know, uh," Yui's hand had reached the bouquet TK had dropped to the floor when she ran into him, "In case I have to call."
TK gave him a strange look. "We're going to that French restaurant on Shibashi Street, but I've told you that, like, three times and you don't even have to know that anyway. I told you about fifteen seconds ago that you can call me on my cell phone. It's still the same number wherever I go. Are you okay, Matt?"
Yui had pushed the card deep into the middle of the bouquet, where it would be almost invisible unless you were to look closely. She wrapped her arm back around her father and gave him one final squeeze before releasing him and skipping back towards her uncle. "I'm sure he's fine, Daddy! Don't worry about him!"
She and Matt both walked back into the apartment, but she stuck her head out for just a second before they closed it. "Tell Kari we said hi!" she said before quickly shutting the door.
TK stood in hallway for a few moments, just thinking. His family was awfully strange sometimes. After a while he just shrugged and walked to the elevator. He'd worry about it when he got home.
Back inside the Takaishi apartment, Yui and Matt breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at each other for a moment before they both started laughing. "That was close," Yui managed through her giggles.
* * * * *
Kari was putting the finishing touches on her make-up when TK knocked on her door. She smiled to herself at the familiar sound. For some reason she had always been able to identify the sound of TK's knock, especially when she was younger. It had come in handy back then when he'd come to pick her up to go to movies or the prom and she wanted to leave before Tai could do his pre-date Spanish Inquisition ritual on poor TK.
Kari quickly grabbed a light jacket and went to answer the door. There stood TK, wearing a brown turtleneck, black dress pants and a shy smile, carrying a dozen red roses. "Hey," he said, staring at his feet. He looked up timidly and smiled widely. "Wow, you look great, Kari." There was silence for a moment before TK remembered the flowers he carried. "Oh, uh, these are for you."
Kari smiled softly and took the roses he was offering her. "Oh, TK, they're beautiful!" She took a few steps back into her apartment and went to fill a vase with some water. As the water ran, she unwrapped the plastic from around the flowers. As she did this, a square of paper fell onto the table. It looked awfully familiar. Blinking, Kari picked it up and turned it over.
Over the other side someone had drawn a happy face. And underneath it, it was signed, "Your Secret Admirer".
* * * * *
A few hours later, the two were back at Kari's apartment. Dinner had been delicious and the conversation was good, aside from a couple times when TK had noticed Kari looking at him in a decidedly calculating manner. It had been a little unnerving at the time because he had no idea why she was looking at him like that.
Anyway back at Kari's, she invited him in to talk for a while. "Sure, but I can't stay long. Matt's babysitting for Yui, so, knowing him, she's probably still awake, even though it's almost midnight. Matt's probably feeding her chocolate as we speak."
Kari chuckled. It was true that, when it came to backbone and unbendable will, Matt was jello in his niece's dessert bowl. All it took was one wide- eyed, pleading Bambi-look and Matt would do whatever Yui asked him to. He spoiled her rotten and no matter what TK said to him, nothing had worked yet.
"So, do you want something to drink?" Kari asked casually, hanging up her jacket and heading into the living room.
"Just a little coffee, please," TK said as he went to sit down. Kari went to make some coffee and TK looked casually around the room. Something sitting on the windowsill caught his eye. Realizing what it was, he frowned. He stood up and walked over to the vase sitting on the sill to study the wilting roses that were in it. Leaning against the bottom of the vase sat a small white square of paper. He picked it up and read it.
"To My Dearest Kari,
I've missed you.
Love,
Your Secret Admirer."
Somebody was sending Kari roses. Somebody that wasn't him. An unexpected wave of jealousy washed over TK, surprising him.
'Why should I be jealous?' he thought to himself, angrily. 'I should be happy for her. Aren't friends supposed to be happy for each other when things like this happen?'
But deep down TK realized that he and Kari weren't really "just friends". They never had been. And so, from his point of view, his anger and jealousy were completely justified. 'Why the hell do the women in my life keep screwing me over?'
After he stood there fuming for a few moments, TK decided to talk to Kari. Taking the card from the vase he walked into the kitchen. Kari was moving around, trying to find a pair of clean coffee mugs.
TK started to speak. "Kari-"
"Can you give me a minute, TK?" she interrupted. "I'll be right with you. By the way, do you want any milk or do you want your coffee black? I already know you don't want sugar."
With this simple statement, TK felt a small pang in his chest. She'd always known him so well; it was one of the reasons he'd always loved her so much. Even Matt forgot most of the time that TK hated sugar in his coffee. "Black, please," he replied hesitantly, taking a seat.
"Right-o, now you have to give me a minute to find you a cup," she said, never ceasing her movements around the kitchen. TK slumped sadly in his chair, studying the card in his head. After he looked at it for a while, he started to think that the handwriting looked vaguely familiar.
"Here you go," Kari said finally, putting a mug down in front of TK on the table. "Now watch out for the roses, there's not a whole lot of space on this table. I'll be right back." She turned and left the room, going in the direction of the bathroom.
TK sighed and took a sip of his coffee, staring dejectedly at the clear glass vase his roses rested in. After doing this for a while, he noticed a small white card sitting amidst the roses above the rim of the vase. Curious, because there certainly hadn't been a white card in there when Matt had handed the bouquet to him earlier that evening, he picked it up and looked at it.
A happy face. And it was signed, "Your Secret Admirer".
TK quickly held up the other card beside this new one and compared the handwriting. It was the same. And, now that he thought about it with a startlingly clear mind, he realized that it belonged to Matt. TK's thoughts suddenly rushed to his departure from home earlier.
~ "No, imbecile, they're not *FOR YOU*. They're for you to *GIVE* to *KARI*." ~
~ "We're going to that French restaurant on Shibashi Street, but I've told you that, like, three times and you don't even have to know that anyway. I told you about fifteen seconds ago that you can call me on my cell phone. It's still the same number wherever I go. Are you okay, Matt?"
"I sure he's fine, Daddy! Don't worry about him!" ~
It didn't take long for two and two to click together. No wonder they were acting so weird. Yui had been trying to put the card in the roses without him noticing and, to help, Matt had been distracting him. Well, embarrassing, as it suddenly seemed to TK, he had bought it.
It sure explained a lot, though. Yui giggling with Matt whenever TK wasn't in the room. Matt buying the three basketball tickets for a weekend when he would conveniently be out of town. The two of them had been conspiring together the whole time.
Kari came back in and TK smiled brightly, feeling suddenly cheerful. Kari had "realized" tonight that her "Secret Admirer" was TK and she had seemed genuinely happy all evening. There was no possible way that that could be bad.
* * *
A little while later TK had gotten up to leave after a long and pleasant conversation. Kari saw him to the door and when he left she walked back to her kitchen, feeling almost as though she was floating. She was picked up dishes and putting them in the dishwasher when a knock came from the door.
It was TK's knock. She rushed to the door. An instant after she opened it, Kari felt a pair of warm lips over her own. She raised her hands to cup TK's cheeks and kissed him back until she ran out of air. They reluctantly released each other.
"I just really needed to do that," TK whispered, smoothing Kari's hair. "I couldn't leave until I did." Kari nodded in understanding. TK kissed her again briefly and went to leave again.
"Thanks for a great night, TK," Kari said. TK grinned and waved, walking back down the hallway. He was almost to the elevator before she called out. "TK! Are you free next Saturday night!?"
TK chuckled. "Of course. I guess I'll see you then. Good night, Kari."
Kari smiled again softly. "Good night, TK."
* * * * * *
Author's notes: Almost done. I can't believe it! Two chapters in less then a week! I told you guys that I was back in my rut. See, this is what happens when I have both dedicated myself to my writing and a sugar high. Anyway, a couple notes other than how proud I am of myself. 1) There is at least one, if not two chapters left in Moving On, but at this rate, they'll be out in no time. And 2) I don't want anyone telling me that roses can't last for two weeks. My jackass-scumbag-cheating-ex-boyfriend gave me a half a dozens roses for Valentines and they lasted almost three weeks. Anyhoo! Enjoy, next chapter soon, and TOODLES! ^_^
By Android Eleven
A week later (yes, another week):
Yui giggled as she laid on her stomach on her living couch, watching her father stand in front of the hall mirror, trying to decide whether or not to wear his designer jacket over his brown turtleneck. After a moment of looking back and forth between the jacket in his hand and his reflection in the mirror he let out a silly roar of frustration. He dropped it to the floor and kicked his jacket at the door leading out of the apartment just as Matt was coming in.
"Whoa! What'd I do?" he exclaimed as the jacket just barely missed hitting him in the face.
By now Yui had fallen off the couch because she was laughing so hard. "Nothing," she explained, wiping tears away from her eyes, "Dad's just getting ready to go pick up Kari for their date."
TK grunted and went to pick up his jacket. "I told you already about six times- it's not a date. It's just a pair of friends who want to go out and eat dinner together."
"A pair of friends who want to go out ad eat dinner together ALONE," Yui pointed out, grinning. "Besides, if it's not a date, then why are you totally wigging out over a jacket?" She paused for a moment before adding, "Don't wear it, by the way. You look more… 'Down to earth' without it."
TK frowned, knowing he'd lost the argument, and said nothing. But he did throw his jacket on the couch before going into the kitchen for a glass of water.
Yui hurried over to her uncle the instant her father left the room. "Did you bring them?"
Matt smiled at her eagerness. "Of course," he replied, producing a bouquet of a dozen red roses from behind his back. TK had been so preoccupied he hadn't noticed that Matt had kept one hand behind his back since he'd arrived.
Yui grinned. "Do you have the card?" Matt nodded and handed it to her. "Good. So, when he's about to go out the door, distract him while I go through with the plan. Okay?"
Matt nodded, unable to stop the grin from crossing his own face. "Okay."
Just then TK came back into the room. Yui quickly tucked the card into the waistband of her green skirt before he could see it. "So, Matt, if something happens, call my cell, okay?" he asked, completely oblivious to the plot his daughter and brother were planning for him. He then noticed the roses in Matt's hands. "What are those for?"
"Huh? Oh, these are for you," Matt replied. TK looked puzzled.
"Oh, Yamato, you shouldn't have," he answered sarcastically. Yui giggled and Matt rolled his eyes.
"No, imbecile, they're not *FOR YOU*. They're for you to *GIVE* to *KARI*."
TK sighed with a mix of exasperation and defeat. "I told you, it's not a date."
Matt grinned and handed his brother the roses. "Yes, it is. And you know it."
TK said nothing, simply sighing again, but he accepted the roses. He leaned down and kissed his daughter on the forehead before heading out the door. Suddenly remembering the card at her waist, Yui ran after him.
When she reached him, the small blonde girl literally threw herself at her father's legs. He stumbled slightly before he realized what had happened. He turned around, with a great amount of difficulty, and looked at Yui. "Is something wrong, Sweet-pea?"
"No," she answered happily, "I just wanted to give you a hug for luck."
"Oh." Though puzzled, TK did nothing but briefly hug her back. She continued to cling to him. TK was about to ask her why she hadn't yet let go when Matt stuck his head out into the hallway and saw them.
"TK, I almost forgot! Where are the emergency phone numbers?"
"Taped to the wall beside the phone. It's the same place they've always been, Matt."
Yui had barely succeeded in getting the card out of her skirt so far. Matt had to occupy TK for at least another few seconds.
"Uh… Where are you and Kari going to be eating? You know, uh," Yui's hand had reached the bouquet TK had dropped to the floor when she ran into him, "In case I have to call."
TK gave him a strange look. "We're going to that French restaurant on Shibashi Street, but I've told you that, like, three times and you don't even have to know that anyway. I told you about fifteen seconds ago that you can call me on my cell phone. It's still the same number wherever I go. Are you okay, Matt?"
Yui had pushed the card deep into the middle of the bouquet, where it would be almost invisible unless you were to look closely. She wrapped her arm back around her father and gave him one final squeeze before releasing him and skipping back towards her uncle. "I'm sure he's fine, Daddy! Don't worry about him!"
She and Matt both walked back into the apartment, but she stuck her head out for just a second before they closed it. "Tell Kari we said hi!" she said before quickly shutting the door.
TK stood in hallway for a few moments, just thinking. His family was awfully strange sometimes. After a while he just shrugged and walked to the elevator. He'd worry about it when he got home.
Back inside the Takaishi apartment, Yui and Matt breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at each other for a moment before they both started laughing. "That was close," Yui managed through her giggles.
* * * * *
Kari was putting the finishing touches on her make-up when TK knocked on her door. She smiled to herself at the familiar sound. For some reason she had always been able to identify the sound of TK's knock, especially when she was younger. It had come in handy back then when he'd come to pick her up to go to movies or the prom and she wanted to leave before Tai could do his pre-date Spanish Inquisition ritual on poor TK.
Kari quickly grabbed a light jacket and went to answer the door. There stood TK, wearing a brown turtleneck, black dress pants and a shy smile, carrying a dozen red roses. "Hey," he said, staring at his feet. He looked up timidly and smiled widely. "Wow, you look great, Kari." There was silence for a moment before TK remembered the flowers he carried. "Oh, uh, these are for you."
Kari smiled softly and took the roses he was offering her. "Oh, TK, they're beautiful!" She took a few steps back into her apartment and went to fill a vase with some water. As the water ran, she unwrapped the plastic from around the flowers. As she did this, a square of paper fell onto the table. It looked awfully familiar. Blinking, Kari picked it up and turned it over.
Over the other side someone had drawn a happy face. And underneath it, it was signed, "Your Secret Admirer".
* * * * *
A few hours later, the two were back at Kari's apartment. Dinner had been delicious and the conversation was good, aside from a couple times when TK had noticed Kari looking at him in a decidedly calculating manner. It had been a little unnerving at the time because he had no idea why she was looking at him like that.
Anyway back at Kari's, she invited him in to talk for a while. "Sure, but I can't stay long. Matt's babysitting for Yui, so, knowing him, she's probably still awake, even though it's almost midnight. Matt's probably feeding her chocolate as we speak."
Kari chuckled. It was true that, when it came to backbone and unbendable will, Matt was jello in his niece's dessert bowl. All it took was one wide- eyed, pleading Bambi-look and Matt would do whatever Yui asked him to. He spoiled her rotten and no matter what TK said to him, nothing had worked yet.
"So, do you want something to drink?" Kari asked casually, hanging up her jacket and heading into the living room.
"Just a little coffee, please," TK said as he went to sit down. Kari went to make some coffee and TK looked casually around the room. Something sitting on the windowsill caught his eye. Realizing what it was, he frowned. He stood up and walked over to the vase sitting on the sill to study the wilting roses that were in it. Leaning against the bottom of the vase sat a small white square of paper. He picked it up and read it.
"To My Dearest Kari,
I've missed you.
Love,
Your Secret Admirer."
Somebody was sending Kari roses. Somebody that wasn't him. An unexpected wave of jealousy washed over TK, surprising him.
'Why should I be jealous?' he thought to himself, angrily. 'I should be happy for her. Aren't friends supposed to be happy for each other when things like this happen?'
But deep down TK realized that he and Kari weren't really "just friends". They never had been. And so, from his point of view, his anger and jealousy were completely justified. 'Why the hell do the women in my life keep screwing me over?'
After he stood there fuming for a few moments, TK decided to talk to Kari. Taking the card from the vase he walked into the kitchen. Kari was moving around, trying to find a pair of clean coffee mugs.
TK started to speak. "Kari-"
"Can you give me a minute, TK?" she interrupted. "I'll be right with you. By the way, do you want any milk or do you want your coffee black? I already know you don't want sugar."
With this simple statement, TK felt a small pang in his chest. She'd always known him so well; it was one of the reasons he'd always loved her so much. Even Matt forgot most of the time that TK hated sugar in his coffee. "Black, please," he replied hesitantly, taking a seat.
"Right-o, now you have to give me a minute to find you a cup," she said, never ceasing her movements around the kitchen. TK slumped sadly in his chair, studying the card in his head. After he looked at it for a while, he started to think that the handwriting looked vaguely familiar.
"Here you go," Kari said finally, putting a mug down in front of TK on the table. "Now watch out for the roses, there's not a whole lot of space on this table. I'll be right back." She turned and left the room, going in the direction of the bathroom.
TK sighed and took a sip of his coffee, staring dejectedly at the clear glass vase his roses rested in. After doing this for a while, he noticed a small white card sitting amidst the roses above the rim of the vase. Curious, because there certainly hadn't been a white card in there when Matt had handed the bouquet to him earlier that evening, he picked it up and looked at it.
A happy face. And it was signed, "Your Secret Admirer".
TK quickly held up the other card beside this new one and compared the handwriting. It was the same. And, now that he thought about it with a startlingly clear mind, he realized that it belonged to Matt. TK's thoughts suddenly rushed to his departure from home earlier.
~ "No, imbecile, they're not *FOR YOU*. They're for you to *GIVE* to *KARI*." ~
~ "We're going to that French restaurant on Shibashi Street, but I've told you that, like, three times and you don't even have to know that anyway. I told you about fifteen seconds ago that you can call me on my cell phone. It's still the same number wherever I go. Are you okay, Matt?"
"I sure he's fine, Daddy! Don't worry about him!" ~
It didn't take long for two and two to click together. No wonder they were acting so weird. Yui had been trying to put the card in the roses without him noticing and, to help, Matt had been distracting him. Well, embarrassing, as it suddenly seemed to TK, he had bought it.
It sure explained a lot, though. Yui giggling with Matt whenever TK wasn't in the room. Matt buying the three basketball tickets for a weekend when he would conveniently be out of town. The two of them had been conspiring together the whole time.
Kari came back in and TK smiled brightly, feeling suddenly cheerful. Kari had "realized" tonight that her "Secret Admirer" was TK and she had seemed genuinely happy all evening. There was no possible way that that could be bad.
* * *
A little while later TK had gotten up to leave after a long and pleasant conversation. Kari saw him to the door and when he left she walked back to her kitchen, feeling almost as though she was floating. She was picked up dishes and putting them in the dishwasher when a knock came from the door.
It was TK's knock. She rushed to the door. An instant after she opened it, Kari felt a pair of warm lips over her own. She raised her hands to cup TK's cheeks and kissed him back until she ran out of air. They reluctantly released each other.
"I just really needed to do that," TK whispered, smoothing Kari's hair. "I couldn't leave until I did." Kari nodded in understanding. TK kissed her again briefly and went to leave again.
"Thanks for a great night, TK," Kari said. TK grinned and waved, walking back down the hallway. He was almost to the elevator before she called out. "TK! Are you free next Saturday night!?"
TK chuckled. "Of course. I guess I'll see you then. Good night, Kari."
Kari smiled again softly. "Good night, TK."
* * * * * *
Author's notes: Almost done. I can't believe it! Two chapters in less then a week! I told you guys that I was back in my rut. See, this is what happens when I have both dedicated myself to my writing and a sugar high. Anyway, a couple notes other than how proud I am of myself. 1) There is at least one, if not two chapters left in Moving On, but at this rate, they'll be out in no time. And 2) I don't want anyone telling me that roses can't last for two weeks. My jackass-scumbag-cheating-ex-boyfriend gave me a half a dozens roses for Valentines and they lasted almost three weeks. Anyhoo! Enjoy, next chapter soon, and TOODLES! ^_^
