Chapter 28 To Be Or Not To Be
Nabiki greeted Ukyo and Konatsu as they entered the Kuno mansion, "Hello, newlyweds. You're here a bit earlier than I expected. After the way you were acting last night, I thought you two lovers would sleep in." She grinned at them.
Ukyo frowned at her and asked, rather bluntly, "Nabiki, how the hell did Ko-chan and I get married last night? The last thing I remember is drinking with you over some silly bet to see who could drink the most! The last thing Ko-chan remembers is leaving the night club and getting into your limo."
Nabiki face-faulted. "Uh, you two don't remember anything after that." The two of them simply shook their heads.
"I didn't realize you were that drunk. You sure didn't act that way, and I didn't think either of you had had that much more than me. Anyway, once the two of you got in the limo, you plastered yourself to Konatsu and started kissing him; almost like you had gotten into some passion spice." She hesitated, looked at the other two, and in unison, the three of them said, "Nah, couldn't be."
Nabiki continued, saying, "I remember making some sort of bad joke about if you got any closer to Konatsu, you'd be inside his clothing. You blushed and then started giggling. After that, you got a weird look in your eyes and whispered something to Konatsu. He shook his head several times, but you had such a cute pout that he finally said, 'Only if we get married, Ucchan!' You brightened up then and demanded that I draw up a marriage contract. I guess I wasn't as sober as I thought I was, because I thought it was a good idea. We filled out one of the forms that was in the briefcase that I had left in the limo. After that we dropped you two off at Ucchan's. This morning, after I woke up, I filed my copy of the contract down at the Nerima town hall, and then dropped a suitcase of clothing and the honeymoon travel vouchers off."
"So it's not a joke, we really are married!" Ukyo cried. Konatsu reached out and held her in his arms.
Nabiki looked unhappy. "I'm sorry, Ukyo, I thought I was helping. What can I do to help undo the mess that I made," she asked.
Ukyo's shoulders slumped as she collapsed against her new husband. "I'm so confused right now, Nabiki. I don't know what I want to do," she said.
"It will take at least a week to undo the marriage now that it has been filed. Do you want me to start the process?" Nabiki asked softly.
Ukyo felt Konatsu stiffen as he tightened his arms around her, waiting for her answer. Her eyes a little teary, she replied, "There's no real hurry to do that, is there? I mean, I was thinking maybe we would go take that trip to Hawaii, and find out how we feel about each other and about what we wanted in a relationship first." As she said that, she felt Konatsu relax, although he still held her tightly. 'He really wants this marriage to work. Do I feel the same way? Can I feel the same way? Can we really build something from this? Do I want to try?'
Nabiki frowned thoughtfully, while Ukyo's mind was racing with unanswerable questions. Finally, Nabiki replied, "No, there's no real hurry unless we want to try to get the marriage annulled. The only grounds that I know of that makes that easy are if the marriage didn't get consummated." Nabiki stopped talking as the blushing faces on the couple in front of her answered that question, and possibly several more. She cleared her throat and then asked, gently "Do you need to see Tofu?"
"That's where we were before we came here," Konatsu replied, still blushing, "We'll know something soon, he said."
After a brief pause, Ukyo asked, "Does anyone else know about this?"
Nabiki answered, "No, I haven't told anyone other than the town clerk, of course, but he won't have any reason to tell anyone. I just invited the family here for lunch, where I thought you could surprise them with the announcement. I guess that's not going to happen, now."
Konatsu said, "I don't know if that's a wise thing to do, or not. We're still trying to get a grip with what we did last night. I won't deny that I wanted us to get married. That's one of the reasons I came back after all! But I wanted it to happen only after we had gotten to know each other again, not because we got too drunk to know any better."
Ukyo added, "I think I want to talk to Mom first, before we make any announcement and see what she thinks. I care for Ko-chan, I've known that for a long time. I just don't know if I love him or not." Then she continued, a bit wryly, "After all, my track record with men isn't very good, is it?"
Nabiki couldn't help herself. She started giggling at the note in Ukyo's voice. After a few moments, Ukyo joined her. Ukyo was surprised that the giggling made her feel a little better about the mess she found herself in. Konatsu smiled to see his wife giggling.
Ukyo was relieved to see that Nodoka was the first one to arrive at the mansion. After hugging her mother, she said, "Mom, I need to talk to you in private." Nodoka looked puzzled, but followed Ukyo to the gazebo situated on the grounds of the estate, overlooking the large koi pond. She was even more puzzled when they arrived and a strange man was waiting for them.
"Mom, do you remember Konatsu? He used to serve as a waitress at the restaurant," Ukyo began.
"Yes, I remember. I forgot he really was a man, though. He looked so cute in his dresses," Nodoka said, "You look very handsome, Konatsu."
"Thank you, Mrs. Tendo," Konatsu replied, "You look lovely as ever."
Nodoka blushed prettily. 'My, my, he is a charmer,' she thought.
"Uh, I don't know exactly how to say this. Konatsu came back yesterday after being gone for two years. We went out to a night club to talk about old times and to catch up on what had happened during the two years we were apart," Ukyo said nervously.
"Uh, we had too much to drink last night apparently, and, well anyway, we woke up married this morning," Konatsu stammered. Nodoka fainted, Konatsu leaping forward to catch her before she fell. He carried her over to one of the chaise lounges and put her in it. "Well, that went well," Konatsu said to Ukyo.
Nodoka woke up from her faint, seeing an anxious Konatsu and Ukyo hovering over her. She lay there gathering her wits about her, "Do you love my daughter?" she finally asked.
Konatsu smiled and said, "With all my heart, Mrs. Tendo. That was the reason I left, and the reason I came back. I love Ukyo, and hoped that we would eventually get married."
Nodoka asked, "What about you daughter, do you love Konatsu?"
Ukyo sighed, and said, "I don't know, Mom. I care for him a great deal, and I know that he loves me. I know he wants this, and I'm thinking seriously about it. I wanted to talk to you and get your advice on what we should do. Should we try to keep it a secret or let them know we got married, just not how?"
"That's up to you, I suppose. I wouldn't try to hide it, though. If it works out, great, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't. The fact that you at least like each other gives it a very good chance of working, though," Nodoka answered.
Ukyo held out her hand to Konatsu, who gratefully took it. "Ko-chan, this isn't the way I imagined this happening, but I'd like to try. You're a good man, and gentle. That's a good foundation to build a relationship on." She kissed him, deeply, and then drew back blushing.
Nodoka watched them with wise eyes and said, "Konatsu, welcome to my family. Call me Mom." She got up and hugged them both, and lightly kissed Konatsu.
As they headed back to the house, Nabiki walked out to join them. "I think it's time for the rest of the family to meet my husband," Ukyo said, smiling, "Is everyone here?"
Nabiki smiled and nodded. Taking a deep breath, the new couple entered the house to face the music, knowing at least that two of the family were on their side.
That evening at Ucchan's as they finished packing for the trip to Hawaii the next morning, Konatsu said, "You're family took the news extremely well. I thought they would be more shocked at the quick wedding than they were."
Ukyo sat down on the bed and hugged her knees. After thinking about it for a moment or two, she replied, "After all of the craziness that they've seen, I think they can't be shocked by anything anymore. I bet most of them expected that you and I would end up together, anyway. After all, you've been carrying a torch for me for a long time." She blushed as she said, "I'm not quite sure why, I know that I never encouraged you before. In fact, I sort of took advantage of you for a while. I'm sorry for that."
"That's all right, Ucchan. I didn't mind because it allowed me to stay near you. Besides, remember, you rescued me and that meant that I owed you," Konatsu said.
Ukyo smiled briefly, and replied, "Well, you returned the favor, okay." She hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "Tofu talked to me briefly this afternoon. He got the results from the testing and I'm not pregnant. I hope you're not too disappointed." 'One less reason for us to stay married,' she thought, somewhat sadly.
"No, actually I'm a bit relieved. I want us to get comfortable with being married, before we have to worry about being parents. If we can make this work, which I hope we do, then we will have time for children soon enough," Konatsu replied.
Ukyo's face softened as she gazed at Konatsu. She walked over to him and hugged him, saying, "Ko-chan, thank you. You are so good to me, so gentle. It's going to be hard not to fall in love with you." She reached up and kissed him. Konatsu felt his knees begin to buckle as she kissed him. Finally, they parted, both of their faces a bit flushed. Ukyo smiled shyly and asked, "Ko-chan, is it okay if we just cuddle tonight? This is still too new for me."
Konatsu smiled tenderly and replied, "Dear Ucchan, I've waited this long, a little longer won't matter. I can wait until you're ready for more." Ukyo smiled, as they got ready for bed. After slipping into the bed, Konatsu held her in his arms as they slowly fell asleep.
The long flight from Tokyo to Honolulu was over and they were on the short hop to Lihue Airport on Kauai. Nabiki had gone all out, springing for first class tickets, so they were reasonably fresh considering how long they had been in the air. They had spent most of the time they were awake gazing into each other's eyes and sharing pieces of their past. After they landed at Lihue, and had made it to baggage claim, a driver holding a sign with their name on it met them. The driver placed their luggage onto a cart and showed them to a limousine waiting for them by the curbside. After bowing them into the car, and placing their luggage into the trunk. He drove them away, pointing out signs of interest on the way over to the hotel they were staying at on Poipu beach. On the way there, he pointed out one of the popular restaurants, the Plantation Garden restaurant at Kiahuna Plantation. As they drove up to the Sheraton Resort, the driver stopped and assisted both of them out. He handed them over to the doorman, and bowed to them, saying, "The car will be at your service. All you need to do is tell the concierge when you need it, and I will be here."
They were quickly whisked upstairs to one of the suites overlooking the ocean. As the bellboy carried the luggage in, Konatsu surprised Ukyo by sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her across the threshold. There they beheld a two-room suite, with a basket of fruit on the sitting room table, with a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket. Konatsu tried to tip the bellboy, but he just smiled and said, "Mrs. Kuno already took care of it. Thank you, anyway. Please enjoy your stay on Kauai." He left, shutting the door behind him.
Konatsu held his bride as she kissed him, enjoying the fact that they were together. Ukyo felt the warmth of his embrace and knew that she was loved. Konatsu smiled down at her and asked, "What do you want to do first, Ucchan?"
She thought for a moment, and then replied, "I'd like to go down to the beach for a while and just relax in the afternoon sun. I've got a swim suit that I've been dying for an excuse to wear." She entered the bedroom and a few minutes later came out dressed in a teeny, tiny, bikini. She enjoyed the expression on Konatsu's face as he saw her. "Like what you see, do you, Ko-chan," she teased gently.
"Yes," he said hoarsely. He went into the bedroom as well, and then came out wearing Speedos. Ukyo's eyes got wide as she took in the well built body of her husband. She blushed, as he said, "I take it this meets with your approval as well." She giggled as she took his arm. He grabbed a t-shirt while she put on a beach wrap. After grabbing the suntan lotion, the two of them left the room and headed down to the white sandy beach beside the hotel. There they were surprised to see a portion of the beach roped off, blocking access to a sleeping sea lion. A crowd of people was taking pictures of the sea lion. After getting some beach towels from the kiosk, they spread the towels on the beach. Ukyo took off her beach wrap and they lay down on the towels, gazing at the beautiful azure water.
Konatsu tenderly spread suntan lotion on her back, and legs, ensuring that she had good coverage. He was impressed by her muscle tone as he massaged the lotion into her skin. She sighed contently once he was done, saying, "Ko-chan, you do that so well. I just about melted, it felt so good."
They lay there for a while; just soaking up the warm sun and watching the people play in the water. After a couple of hours, Ukyo rolled over and gazed at her husband, and said, "Ko-chan, let's go back to the room. It's getting late enough that we should shower and get ready for dinner." They walked back to the suite, walking hand-in-hand. As they entered the bedroom, Ukyo said, "Don't leave. You can scrub my back in the shower."
She slowly took her bikini off, blushing slightly. She felt his gaze on her body as she stretched. She walked into the bathroom and started the water. As she got into the shower, she smiled as Konatsu joined her.
That evening, they had reservations at Naniwa, the Japanese restaurant there at the hotel. Once again, Nabiki had taken care of everything. Ukyo was dressed in an off the shoulder white dress, showing quite a bit of her cleavage. Konatsu had surprised her with a corsage, which he had placed around her wrist. Then he had kissed her deeply before they left the room. As they entered the restaurant, the maitre'd seated them at a semi-private table and turned them over to the care of the waiter. After ordering, Konatsu asked if she wanted some wine or sake to drink. Ukyo thought for a second and then replied, "Ko-chan, I think I want to remember my second time, so no. Let's just enjoy the evening."
Konatsu said gallantly, "Ucchan, you're intoxicating enough as well. Are you sure you're ready?"
She blushed and nodded, "Yes, dear, I think I am." They sat there gazing deeply into each other's eyes, talking without words, until the waiter brought their appetizer to them. They slowly ate their sushi, though Konatsu had misjudged and used too much wasabi, and had to drink a lot of water to clear the burn of the Japanese horseradish. The spiced ginger was just the right counterpoint to clear the palate for the next morsel. Then the tempura dishes arrived, shrimp tempura for Ukyo and vegetable tempura for Konatsu. They sat there in silence, drinking in the ambience of the evening. The sounds of the fish jumping in the koi pond surrounding the restaurant, combined with the gentle sound of the stringed instruments playing in the background, were very soothing.
After the meal was finished, they found the local nightclub, where they sat and listened to the music. Then, Konatsu asked, "Ucchan, would you like to dance?" She blushed and nodded, as he stood up and escorted her to the dance floor. He held her tightly as they glided gracefully around the floor, enjoying each other's company as well as the sound of the music playing. Finally, the music group took a break, so they used that as an excuse to go back to their suite.