Chapter 3: Closer
Sighing from frustration, Aoshi set down the book he had been reading and took off his thinly rimmed reading-glasses. His hand came up to rub the bridge of his nose as he reached for the glass of warm green tea on the small table by his chair.
Tea always calmed him.
Aoshi took a sip from the soothing liquid and relished the feeling of it going down his throat. A sigh of satisfaction came from his throat and he set the teacup down again.
He'd been drinking a lot of tea as of late. And with the way things had been going with Misao, it was no surprise.
Aoshi groaned at the mere memory of his frustrating partner.
If they weren't skating, the pair would be arguing; or a combination of both. Sometimes Misao was just too difficult to work with. She always gave him so much grief whenever he tried to correct her skills.
Not that she was a bad skater, Misao just needed to be refined into something with more finesse.
'Like Megumi?' his mind questioned.
No, not like Megumi.
Megumi had been an easy partner to work with, as she was very content with being backseat to Aoshi's decisions. But she had lacked the passion to truly skate with him. Megumi had never thrown her entire will into skating.
She had never had shown the determination Misao did.
That was one thing Aoshi could admire about Misao, her undying love for skating. Whenever her feet graced over the ice, the young woman seemed to glow under his very gaze. He would watch as she closed her eyes softly and let the rush come up and consume her willingly. She clearly loved the sport just as much as he did.
Nevertheless, love for the ice was not enough. Misao needed work if they were to continue to skate together. And she needed to realize that he was undeniably more experienced then her, and respect him because of that.
Aoshi groaned again, feeling his headache coming back again from thinking this over so much.
"Aoshi-sama? Is something wrong?"
Aoshi turned his blue gaze up where his butler, Hannya, stood in the doorway of the library, clearly having heard Aoshi's frustrated noises.
"I'm fine, Hannya, just a headache coming on."
"Would you like me to bring you an aspirin and water, Aoshi-sama?" the older man asked, voicing his concern.
"Aa." Aoshi replied. And then a thought struck him.
"Hannya," he voiced before his butler could turn to the kitchen for the aspirin. "Could you bring me my laptop and cell phone as well? I've got something to take care of."
"Of course, Aoshi-sama," Hannya said with a short bow of respect before going off to retrieve Aoshi's things.
Sinking back into his leather chair, Aoshi closed his eyes and tried to relax once again. An idea had just come to him, and whether Misao liked it or not, she was about to become a lot more involved in their skating.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Sunday was now officially Misao's favorite day of the week, because it meant no screaming alarm clock waking her before 4:30. Aoshi had informed her that they did not practice on Sundays, as it was their one day a week to recharge and leisurely practice on their own time.
It also meant that the following Monday would usually be hellicious, but right about now, Misao was too preoccupied to care.
The small woman buried herself even more beneath her comforter as the sun's rays shone through her window and attempted to rile her from her much deserved sleep.
'Not today, Mr. Sun. Nothing is going to get me out of bed today,' she thought with a smirk.
"MISAAAOOOOOOOOOOOO!" came the roaring voice of her grandfather, who despite his age, still had enough lung power to quake the house.
'Oh can't the world leave me alone!' she thought angrily. Misao grabbed her pillow and flung it over her head, in hopes that whatever Jiya needed could be taken care of later.
However, it wasn't meant to be, as she heard the sound of her door being thrown open and footsteps growing closer.
"Up and at 'em Misao-chan. Someone's here to see you!" her grandfather said all-too cheerfully.
A groan came from beneath the pillows as Misao lifted up her blankets and asked,
"What insane person would want to see me this early!"
"I would," came a voice from behind the grinning form of Okina.
Misao rubbed her groggy eyes at the familiar voice and nearly gasped when she opened them and saw Aoshi's figure standing in the doorway. He looked all too good in those tight black jeans, deep violet shirt and leather jacket, or at least Misao thought so.
"And it's not even that early Misao, so get up," came the arrogant voice of her partner, and suddenly Misao remembered why she disliked him so much. She saw out of the corner of her eye, Okina backing out from the door, sensing the danger about to erupt.
"Aoshi- sama…" she said all too sweetly while rising up on her bed, causing the tall man to raise his eyebrow at the small woman in blue pajamas.
"Get the hell out of my room!"
Aoshi narrowed his eyes slightly at her shrill cry, stepping closer and pulling the covers off the bed. He was not going to tolerate this. She should be up earlier and kept disciplined.
"Get up, we have somewhere to go." he said, grabbing her arm and lightly dragging her out of bed.
He was met with a kick in the side.
"No need to get violent!" she huffed, slowly sliding out of bed and watching with amusement as Aoshi rubbed his side.
"Interesting form. Kenpo?"
"Yes." Misao said, walking to her closet and grabbing jeans and a zip up hooded sweatshirt.
Aoshi politely turned around while Misao changed, and could hear the almost tantalizing whisper of fabric drop to the ground and hear her shift as she moved.
His mouth went dry.
He was in her room, her personal space, on her day off. He wondered how she would react to what he had in store for her. He had taken the time and sense to tell the news to her grandfather, who after a few words of warning had agreed.
"I'm ready, Aoshi-sama, and this better be DAMNED important to interrupt my sleep." she grumbled as she followed him out of her room and down the stairs.
He frowned at her as they reached his car.
"You should have been up hours ago. You need more discipline, Misao."
She rolled her eyes and got into the metallic black sports car as they drove off towards the more rich part of town into the heart of Juuban.
"Aoshi-sama...where exactly are we going?"
"You'll see." he murmured, eyes obscured by the dark black sunglasses he wore.
Misao sighed, leaning back in the plush leather car seat and looked out the window and the rich houses and nice lawns. She figured Aoshi lived around there, the rich part of the city. Probably in a large house, but all alone. He really seemed like kind of a loner. Unless he had servants. Either way, he was called the Ice Prince for a good reason.
The car stopped in front of a large apartment complex that had a beautiful gold gated entrance and Aoshi got out of the car and Misao followed. They walked inside and Misao blinked, wondering why they were here. She was sure Aoshi lived in a house, so why were they at an apartment complex? They reached the elevator and went up to the tenth floor, where she followed Aoshi out to the corner apartment door, number 1002, and watched him pull out a key and open the door. She followed him inside and blinked at the rather empty apartment.
"Aoshi-sama, is this your apartment?" she asked.
"No."
"Then why are we..."
"It's yours."
She stopped, blinking.
"My...what?"
"Your apartment. I bought it last night. I live just around the corner and it would make things easier if you lived close by."
"...Are you INSANE!" she yelled, crossing her arms.
He almost blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"You cannot just...buy me an apartment like it's nothing and...are you insane! I mean I can't move in here! What about Jiya..."
"He approves. I asked his permission."
"He...GYAHH!" Misao stammered, closing her eyes and now fuming.
Aoshi sighed.
"I don't see what the problem is. You'd be living here for free and it's closer to me and the rink."
"Why did you...was it THAT difficult that I didn't live so close!"
"Yes. I want you closer to me." he said, his voice deep.
The way his eyes seemed to...flicker with something, turn warmer somehow, made Misao almost forget why she was mad. Almost.
"So you will be moving in as soon as possible," Aoshi said business-like, the former warmth evaporating from his voice. He turned his back to her and moved to scope out the rest of the apartment while Misao stood shell-shocked again from his words.
Perhaps it was a good thing Aoshi had walked into the next room, as the vein above Misao's eye began to tick rapidly.
"Aoshi…sama…" she grit out, her teeth grinding in frustration as she followed him.
Grant you, it was a large apartment, and Misao had always wanted to begin life on her own. And he had indeed gone through all the trouble to buy this for her…
But it was the high-handedness that would come to a screeching stop.
Aoshi turned to her when Misao entered the room, her fists clenched at her sides and a most menacing look on her face.
His eyebrow raised, and Misao sworn she could have heard a sigh come from his mouth.
"What's wrong now, Misao?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice.
Her eyes widened at his tone. How…how dare he speak to her like that! Like she was some child he had to baby-sit. Misao growled and made her way up to her partner.
"Listen you," she said, tilting her head up to look right into Aoshi's ice-chipped eyes. "I've dealt with my share of egotistical, testosterone-driven assholes before…but you, mister, certainly put them to shame."
"What-" Aoshi began, before Misao put her finger on his mouth and stopped anymore.
"No, I don't want to hear it," she said, her eyes alight with anger and passion. "When we first skated together, you had said I would be your new partner. You know what partner means, Aoshi-sama? It means we work together, as EQUALS, not as master and assistant."
"I-"
"Yes, Aoshi-sama. I'm telling you that this isn't working," Misao said, removing her finger from his face and running her hand through her hair in frustration.
'She's not…dumping me. Would she?' his mind asked at her exasperated words. Then he'd be partner less and have to skate on his own again.
So why did that bother him so much now? Why did he want her to stay so much?
He'd always wanted to be alone…but…
But...he was used to having her skating by his side. He was used to her attitude, her voice, her annoyed expressions. In the short time working together...he had believed it could actually work between them.
Skating-wise of course.
He glanced over at her and she seemed to be calming down, and then a strange smirk was on her lips.
It worried him.
"Well Aoshi-sama, since you set this up I'm sure you wouldn't mind moving my stuff in for me."
"Aa, I can arrange.."
"No no. You yourself will physical do it."
He blinked and looked at her.
She couldn't possibly..
"Don't give me that look. You're a strong man, it shouldn't be a problem. Unless its too much for a rich boy to do some labor?"
His eyes narrowed and he stalked towards her, causing her to back up against the wall.
He slapped his hands on the wall on either side of her head and bent foward to glare down at her.
"You try my patience, Misao." he murmured, his face close.
Her eyes widened, and Aoshi's eyes darkened a shade. Something was forming in the air between, a thick tension...
Aoshi pushed himself away from her.
"I will assist you after practice. Let's get you home." he murmured and Misao followed, unsure of what it was that had just transpired.
He had been so close...
And she had had the urge to reach up and brush his hair out of his face, just to touch him.
She had a feeling something was brewing, but not sure if it was a good thing or not.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX