Disclaimer: Yep, the usual. Obviously, I don't own Gravitation and these
stories are for fun, not for profit. I'm borrowing characters from Maki
Murakami.
I appreciate all criticism, so please read, enjoy, and review. To those who do review: THANK YOU!! I love feedback.
Commitment
Part 4: Traditions
"Eiri, your family has never met with my family," Shu said. The statement was made out-of-the-blue on the evening following his proposal to Shu.
Eiri looked up from his reading, to where the other man sat at his small computer desk at the end of the long living room couch. "So?"
Shu looked back at him, saying, "So we should get them all together, sort of like a yui-no." [1] Shu twisted his new ring around his finger.
Eiri looked at him in silence for a moment, but he didn't budge or look away. "Okay," he said around his cigarette. He shifted his gaze back to his book.
"Okay?" Shu repeated incredulously. "Just like that?"
Eiri looked up again, touching a finger to the place he'd left off in his reading. "Isn't that what you want?"
Shu gave him a crooked grin and scratched his head. His hair was getting long, Eiri thought. "Yeah . . . but I expected to argue about it. I didn't think you'd give in so easily."
Eiri snorted. He had been thinking they should do this. He hadn't wanted to bring it up, though. The idea of spending an hour or two over dinner with Shu's parents, his sister Maiko, and Eiri's siblings, Mika and Tatsuha, did not thrill him. Surprise, surprise. Still . . . "I don't mind the tradition," he said, "but let's skip the traditional gifts, okay?"
Shu laughed. "What would I do with an obi for virtue?" He twisted in his chair, flapping his arms humorously, "Or dried cuttlefish? Oooo, how about konbu for breeding?" Shuichi cracked up, unable to speak. Eiri had to admit that the symbolism was largely lost on the union of two men. Shu wiped tears of mirth from his eyes, "I can't picture you wearing hakama, Eiri!"
"On formal occasions, I prefer to wear monk's robes, if I have to dress traditionally," he answered drily. He didn't like hakama. Shu nodded, still laughing a little. Eiri shook his head. "When do you want to set it up?"
"Well, it'll have to be after March twelfth, right?" It was mostly a rhetorical question. They had to wait until after the final funeral for his father. Shu turned back to his comupter to click up the calendar. "It should probably be a weekend . . . the fourteenth? That's a Sunday. Let's try for that."
"Alright. Do you have a pen over there?" Shu passed him a pen and he made a note on the scrap of paper he was using for a bookmark. He passed the pen back. "Have you told your parents, yet?"
"Uh, noooo."
"Why not?"
Shu laced his hands together and dropped them between his knees, looking at the floor. "I'm not sure they'll be as happy for me as . . . as they would be for Maiko." Eiri stuck his bookmark between the pages and set it on the coffee table with a soft slap. Shu looked up. "They like you," he said in their defense, "they just . . . I guess they've been hoping I'll 'come around and see reason'." That last sounded like a very familiar, oft- repeated line from parent to child. He had heard it from his father more than once. Shu looked down again, fidgeting with his fingers, pressing the tips of his index fingers together. He spoke quietly. "The last few times I've visited, they kept bringing up my 'social responsibility' to marry and have kids."
Kids? Not likely, Eiri thought. "Do you want *kids*?" The words burst out of him.
Shu's neck snapped up to see his expression. He stood, came over to him and kneeled on the couch, beside him, facing him. "Not really," he answered. He sounded like he hadn't thought about it, or like it didn't matter. "I just . . . I need you and I want to be with you, always. My parents . . . "
"They can't stop you from doing what you want, Shu," he said, with a hint of anger in his voice. "You're twenty-one, now."
"I know." His tone was concillatory.
"Hey, when did your parents think you'd 'come around', anyway? We've been together, more-or-less, for three years. You're twenty-one and you're gay."
Shu blushed and flipped himself around, so he could lean back against him. Eiri moved his leg and let him grab his arm off the back of the couch and hold it against his chest. "I know that!" he said defensively.
Eiri inhaled the scent of his hair. He said consolingly, "So we'll show them that won't change."
Shu squeezed the arm he held and pressed his pink-haired head back against Eiri's shoulder. "I love you," he said. Eiri had come to take comfort and peace from those words when Shu said them. He wrapped his other arm around the younger man, enjoying the closeness they had built.
"Maiko's really happy for us!" Shu said. "And Hiro and Fujisaki, K, and Sakano, and all the people down at NG. Even Tohma said, 'congratulations', but I can't tell if he meant it." He heard the frown creep into Shuichi's voice at the end of the statement.
Well, if everyone at NG knew, word would get around fast. "Do we have plenty of groceries?"
"Huh? Why are you asking that?"
"If you told everyone at NG, it won't take long for the media to get a hold of it. We won't be able to go out for a while, because of the extra attention. We might want to issue press statements, too, or cameras will camped out all over here." Eiri gestured toward the door. He hadn't thought about the press reacting to their personal lives, although he should have. Both men had a large fan-following. The news hounds were inescapable.
Shu groaned. "Eiri, I wasn't thinking, again. I'm sorry I— "
"Don't be." Eiri tipped his head back and kissed his forehead. "It doesn't matter when the media got a hold of the news. We wouldn't be engaged if I didn't mean to spend the rest of my life with you and I don't care who knows."
Shu snuffled and squeezed his arm some more crying, "you're so sweet, Eiri!"
"You might want to call your parents right away, before they hear about our engagement on tv."
"Eeep!" Shu squeaked. "You're right! My mom would be so pissed!" He let go and jumped up. He took a couple of steps toward the hall, came back and kissed him. "Love you," he said. He turned and leaped into the hall. Eiri supposed he'd gone after his phone.
Eiri picked up his book and read. Shu stayed in the hall to use his phone. Eiri could only hear occasional snippets of Shu's half of the conversation. It took quite a while. He had consumed about fifty pages while Shu spoke with his parents. When he came back into the living room, he looked a little drained, but otherwise okay.
Eiri marked his place with the bookmark without closing the book. "Well?"
"About what I expected, really," Shu said. "My mom had hysterics and my dad was . . . disappointed." He sat on the edge of the couch, butt and palms on the cushion next to Eiri. "While I talked to my dad, my mom . . . sort of calmed down. She'll be okay with it." That didn't sound promising, Eiri thought. Shuichi chewed his lower lip. "They said they'd come to dinner on the fourteenth."
Eiri swept one hand over Shu's shoulders and stood up. He laid his book on the table, followed by his glasses. "I'll call Kyoto, then." He looked at his fiance's downcast posture and said, "I know you're strong. Don't let them bother you."
He looked up and a grin spread across his face, erasing the self-doubt. "Thanks."
Eiri went into the study to use the phone. Mika picked up on the fourth ring, "Uesugi Mika," she said.
"Hello. Did you already change your name back?"
She sighed. "I filed the paperwork," she replied. "Why are you calling?" She sounded as sour as he usually did.
"I'm getting married."
"MARRIED? TO WHOM?"
"Shu."
Mika sputtered. "You're just saying this to make me crazy, aren't you? Push poor Mikarin over the edge?" She could be so melodramatic sometimes, he thought.
"I'm serious," he confirmed. He heard a hollow thump. It sounded like she hit the tatami mat, hard. [2] "Is Tatsuha there?"
"Hang on," Mika said, "I think he's out back." He waited a couple of minutes and his sister came back. "I can't find him. Can I tell him, or shall I have him call?"
Eiri shrugged. "You can tell him. Can you both come to dinner with us to meet Shu's parents on March fourteenth?"
"What? Once you've decided, you sure don't waste time, little brother!" Then she snickered. "Will Shuichi be dressing as a proper bride for the yui- no? Won't his parents be proud?" He could feel the texture of her bitter sarcasm. Worse, it was hard to deny the truth. Shu had done it once before . . . [3] Of course, the circumstances were different, this time. . .
"Shuichi will be himself," he said calmly.
Mika must have heard something in his voice. "Okay, Eiri. I'm guessing we can do that." She paused and they both listened to phone silence for a moment. "Have you talked to 'him'?" She asked softly.
"Not really. I told you about how the paper work went, already."
"How is he?" she asked. Her voice was almost a whisper.
"According to Shu; fine." He pulled out his lighter and a cigarette. Lighting up, he said, "I saw that the house is up for sale."
The power of her voice came back suddenly. "Good! I hope it's so full of memories that it chokes him to be there." She hung up.
Eiri wondered idly if it was considered 'unlucky' to invite a bitter divorcee to a yui-no. If one believed in that sort of thing, the answer was probably 'yes'. He leaned back in his desk chair and enjoyed his cigarette.
***
[1] Yui-no = Tradition of an engaged couple. The bride's and groom's families eat and drink together. The couple exchange special gifts symbolic of happiness and good fortune.
[2] tatami mat = bamboo floor squares in a traditional Japanese house or temple. The mats lift off the floor frames, allowing stuff to be stored between the floor and the ground. Thus, the slightly hollow sound when hit.
[3] track 16, volume 4 of the manga, or episode 7, "Ground Zero" of the anime.
I appreciate all criticism, so please read, enjoy, and review. To those who do review: THANK YOU!! I love feedback.
Commitment
Part 4: Traditions
"Eiri, your family has never met with my family," Shu said. The statement was made out-of-the-blue on the evening following his proposal to Shu.
Eiri looked up from his reading, to where the other man sat at his small computer desk at the end of the long living room couch. "So?"
Shu looked back at him, saying, "So we should get them all together, sort of like a yui-no." [1] Shu twisted his new ring around his finger.
Eiri looked at him in silence for a moment, but he didn't budge or look away. "Okay," he said around his cigarette. He shifted his gaze back to his book.
"Okay?" Shu repeated incredulously. "Just like that?"
Eiri looked up again, touching a finger to the place he'd left off in his reading. "Isn't that what you want?"
Shu gave him a crooked grin and scratched his head. His hair was getting long, Eiri thought. "Yeah . . . but I expected to argue about it. I didn't think you'd give in so easily."
Eiri snorted. He had been thinking they should do this. He hadn't wanted to bring it up, though. The idea of spending an hour or two over dinner with Shu's parents, his sister Maiko, and Eiri's siblings, Mika and Tatsuha, did not thrill him. Surprise, surprise. Still . . . "I don't mind the tradition," he said, "but let's skip the traditional gifts, okay?"
Shu laughed. "What would I do with an obi for virtue?" He twisted in his chair, flapping his arms humorously, "Or dried cuttlefish? Oooo, how about konbu for breeding?" Shuichi cracked up, unable to speak. Eiri had to admit that the symbolism was largely lost on the union of two men. Shu wiped tears of mirth from his eyes, "I can't picture you wearing hakama, Eiri!"
"On formal occasions, I prefer to wear monk's robes, if I have to dress traditionally," he answered drily. He didn't like hakama. Shu nodded, still laughing a little. Eiri shook his head. "When do you want to set it up?"
"Well, it'll have to be after March twelfth, right?" It was mostly a rhetorical question. They had to wait until after the final funeral for his father. Shu turned back to his comupter to click up the calendar. "It should probably be a weekend . . . the fourteenth? That's a Sunday. Let's try for that."
"Alright. Do you have a pen over there?" Shu passed him a pen and he made a note on the scrap of paper he was using for a bookmark. He passed the pen back. "Have you told your parents, yet?"
"Uh, noooo."
"Why not?"
Shu laced his hands together and dropped them between his knees, looking at the floor. "I'm not sure they'll be as happy for me as . . . as they would be for Maiko." Eiri stuck his bookmark between the pages and set it on the coffee table with a soft slap. Shu looked up. "They like you," he said in their defense, "they just . . . I guess they've been hoping I'll 'come around and see reason'." That last sounded like a very familiar, oft- repeated line from parent to child. He had heard it from his father more than once. Shu looked down again, fidgeting with his fingers, pressing the tips of his index fingers together. He spoke quietly. "The last few times I've visited, they kept bringing up my 'social responsibility' to marry and have kids."
Kids? Not likely, Eiri thought. "Do you want *kids*?" The words burst out of him.
Shu's neck snapped up to see his expression. He stood, came over to him and kneeled on the couch, beside him, facing him. "Not really," he answered. He sounded like he hadn't thought about it, or like it didn't matter. "I just . . . I need you and I want to be with you, always. My parents . . . "
"They can't stop you from doing what you want, Shu," he said, with a hint of anger in his voice. "You're twenty-one, now."
"I know." His tone was concillatory.
"Hey, when did your parents think you'd 'come around', anyway? We've been together, more-or-less, for three years. You're twenty-one and you're gay."
Shu blushed and flipped himself around, so he could lean back against him. Eiri moved his leg and let him grab his arm off the back of the couch and hold it against his chest. "I know that!" he said defensively.
Eiri inhaled the scent of his hair. He said consolingly, "So we'll show them that won't change."
Shu squeezed the arm he held and pressed his pink-haired head back against Eiri's shoulder. "I love you," he said. Eiri had come to take comfort and peace from those words when Shu said them. He wrapped his other arm around the younger man, enjoying the closeness they had built.
"Maiko's really happy for us!" Shu said. "And Hiro and Fujisaki, K, and Sakano, and all the people down at NG. Even Tohma said, 'congratulations', but I can't tell if he meant it." He heard the frown creep into Shuichi's voice at the end of the statement.
Well, if everyone at NG knew, word would get around fast. "Do we have plenty of groceries?"
"Huh? Why are you asking that?"
"If you told everyone at NG, it won't take long for the media to get a hold of it. We won't be able to go out for a while, because of the extra attention. We might want to issue press statements, too, or cameras will camped out all over here." Eiri gestured toward the door. He hadn't thought about the press reacting to their personal lives, although he should have. Both men had a large fan-following. The news hounds were inescapable.
Shu groaned. "Eiri, I wasn't thinking, again. I'm sorry I— "
"Don't be." Eiri tipped his head back and kissed his forehead. "It doesn't matter when the media got a hold of the news. We wouldn't be engaged if I didn't mean to spend the rest of my life with you and I don't care who knows."
Shu snuffled and squeezed his arm some more crying, "you're so sweet, Eiri!"
"You might want to call your parents right away, before they hear about our engagement on tv."
"Eeep!" Shu squeaked. "You're right! My mom would be so pissed!" He let go and jumped up. He took a couple of steps toward the hall, came back and kissed him. "Love you," he said. He turned and leaped into the hall. Eiri supposed he'd gone after his phone.
Eiri picked up his book and read. Shu stayed in the hall to use his phone. Eiri could only hear occasional snippets of Shu's half of the conversation. It took quite a while. He had consumed about fifty pages while Shu spoke with his parents. When he came back into the living room, he looked a little drained, but otherwise okay.
Eiri marked his place with the bookmark without closing the book. "Well?"
"About what I expected, really," Shu said. "My mom had hysterics and my dad was . . . disappointed." He sat on the edge of the couch, butt and palms on the cushion next to Eiri. "While I talked to my dad, my mom . . . sort of calmed down. She'll be okay with it." That didn't sound promising, Eiri thought. Shuichi chewed his lower lip. "They said they'd come to dinner on the fourteenth."
Eiri swept one hand over Shu's shoulders and stood up. He laid his book on the table, followed by his glasses. "I'll call Kyoto, then." He looked at his fiance's downcast posture and said, "I know you're strong. Don't let them bother you."
He looked up and a grin spread across his face, erasing the self-doubt. "Thanks."
Eiri went into the study to use the phone. Mika picked up on the fourth ring, "Uesugi Mika," she said.
"Hello. Did you already change your name back?"
She sighed. "I filed the paperwork," she replied. "Why are you calling?" She sounded as sour as he usually did.
"I'm getting married."
"MARRIED? TO WHOM?"
"Shu."
Mika sputtered. "You're just saying this to make me crazy, aren't you? Push poor Mikarin over the edge?" She could be so melodramatic sometimes, he thought.
"I'm serious," he confirmed. He heard a hollow thump. It sounded like she hit the tatami mat, hard. [2] "Is Tatsuha there?"
"Hang on," Mika said, "I think he's out back." He waited a couple of minutes and his sister came back. "I can't find him. Can I tell him, or shall I have him call?"
Eiri shrugged. "You can tell him. Can you both come to dinner with us to meet Shu's parents on March fourteenth?"
"What? Once you've decided, you sure don't waste time, little brother!" Then she snickered. "Will Shuichi be dressing as a proper bride for the yui- no? Won't his parents be proud?" He could feel the texture of her bitter sarcasm. Worse, it was hard to deny the truth. Shu had done it once before . . . [3] Of course, the circumstances were different, this time. . .
"Shuichi will be himself," he said calmly.
Mika must have heard something in his voice. "Okay, Eiri. I'm guessing we can do that." She paused and they both listened to phone silence for a moment. "Have you talked to 'him'?" She asked softly.
"Not really. I told you about how the paper work went, already."
"How is he?" she asked. Her voice was almost a whisper.
"According to Shu; fine." He pulled out his lighter and a cigarette. Lighting up, he said, "I saw that the house is up for sale."
The power of her voice came back suddenly. "Good! I hope it's so full of memories that it chokes him to be there." She hung up.
Eiri wondered idly if it was considered 'unlucky' to invite a bitter divorcee to a yui-no. If one believed in that sort of thing, the answer was probably 'yes'. He leaned back in his desk chair and enjoyed his cigarette.
***
[1] Yui-no = Tradition of an engaged couple. The bride's and groom's families eat and drink together. The couple exchange special gifts symbolic of happiness and good fortune.
[2] tatami mat = bamboo floor squares in a traditional Japanese house or temple. The mats lift off the floor frames, allowing stuff to be stored between the floor and the ground. Thus, the slightly hollow sound when hit.
[3] track 16, volume 4 of the manga, or episode 7, "Ground Zero" of the anime.