Author's Note: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Writer's Block is a bitch.

The Simple Life

-Previous Chapter

It didn't matter that they started off poor. It didn't matter that they didn't live the way that they used to. All that mattered to them was that they could act and they had each other. Yup, life was grand. For them.

-Chapter 2

Ito woke up to the sunlight softly hitting her face through a space in the blinds, her internal alarm clock ringing like crazy. She felt a warm arm encircling her waist, knowing full well whose it was. She pulled it off slowly and gently pushed the blanket off in order to not wake up her sleeping partner.

Walking into the kitchen, Ito took out a pan from one of the cabinets, dousing it lightly with a little oil. She opened the fridge to find anything she can cook for breakfast and for Makoto's lunch. She took out a couple of tomatoes and a couple of eggs from the cooling compartment and placed it on the countertop.

It's been a week and a half already since they sought out on their own. And, so far, they've been doing pretty good for themselves. The construction site was nearly halfway finished so Makoto had less work to do. Seeing that the site will be complete eventually, Makoto had spent some of the extra hours before nightfall to look around for little jobs here and there to support him and his wife.

Ito had finished cutting the tomatoes into little slices before putting her hand above the pan to feel if the oil was hot enough. It was and she slid the tomatoes off the cutting board with her knife and into the frying pan. Ito heard the tomatoes sizzle and winced a little whenever some of the oil jumped out of the pan and onto her arm or hand.

She added the scrambled eggs and let her mind wander, letting her hands poke absently at the eggs with a fork.

Ito looked at the ring on her left hand. She smiled, repeating the two words she was now called as: Ito Narita. It was almost like a dream come true. Almost. Now, it's real. She was living it, and now she's content.

The eggs were done and the daydreaming girl-no, woman, put it into a bowl and let it cool off on the table. That's right. Ito had grown up now. She's no longer the tomboyish-girl she was when she was still going to high school.

Letting her mind wander again, Ito began cooking Makoto's lunch and packed it into the only Tupperware they had.

---

Makoto woke up to the smell of food. Feeling the empty space beside him, Makoto got up and stretched. Carrying building blocks everyday can be murder on your back. But he didn't mind. He had to make money… not only for himself, but for the woman he chose to live with for the rest of his life.

Makoto took off his nightclothes and put on a pair of baggy jeans and one of the muscle shirts he always wore at the construction site. There was no need to dress so formally there. Who were you going to impress? The boss? Yeah right.

He casually walked into the kitchen, taking a bowl and a pair of chopsticks from the cupboard.

"Morning, 'Ling," Ito cheerfully rang out; closing the lid of the plastic ware he was to take with him to work. Saying the word 'darling' was a bit too lovey-dovey to Ito, so she settled for ''Ling'. (I'm sorry, if it's sounds too Comedy Central for you guys. Remember the Pikachu from Drawn Together? But my aunt uses this with her husband and I thought that it was kind of cute!)

"Morning, sweetheart," he replied, kissing her on the cheek before sitting himself at the table.

They tried calling each other these pet names on the first day. It was so embarrassing for the both of them that they were red all day. But they eventually got used to it and it actually grew on them. Calling each other these things gave them this nice, warm feeling of being newlyweds, which they were.

The two ate their breakfast in silence.

---

Makoto finished brushing his teeth and was sitting on the floor tying his shoelaces. He stood up, stretching his back a little more; he had a whole day ahead of him, and took his lunch from Ito.

"Bye, sweetheart," he said, kissing her on the lips, before opening the door to leave.

"Later." Ito waved to his disappearing form in the hallway. Once he was out of sight, a frown made its way to Ito's face. She was happy that she can support Makoto by staying at home and being a good 'housewife', cleaning and fixing everything, but she wanted to work at an actual job! She didn't want Makoto to be tired when he came home.

He was working at a project, lifting things or whatever men did there, and, when the project was finished, he would work again at another job! He even had a weekend job at a fast food restaurant!

Ito's frown deepened as she dumped all of Makoto dirty clothes into the washtub. She didn't want for Makoto to be the only one carrying the load here!

Plus, she thought with distaste, being at home only made her even lonelier. She wanted, no, needed Makoto to be with her. But she knew that she was being selfish. Makoto was out there working his skinny ass off and all she can think about was herself.

'Jeez, Ito,' she chuckled to herself,' You're acting like a pregnant woman already!'

Ito abruptly stopped laundering and blushed a bright red. She gulped, looking down at the soaked boxers in the tub.

She shook her head, as if it would erase her thoughts. 'Bad Ito! Bad! You're not supposed to be thinking things like that!'

---

It was lunch break at Makoto's work. The other men that worked there were around their thirties or a little over 40, and Makoto was the only one there under 20.

They all sat together on one big bench, eating their packed lunches, and chatting before they have to continue work again. Makoto unwrapped the cloth that covered his lunch, not talking to the other workers.

They ignored him. If he wasn't going to talk to them, then they weren't going to talk to him. His silence presented him as the quiet one, with no desire to mingle with others.

It stayed this way until one man, Hiro, 43 years of age, noticed a very shiny object encircling Makoto's left ring finger. He was usually the guy you talked to when it's your first day on the job. And you'll hang out with him until you find other friends with the co-workers.

Hiro walked up to him, his plump figure hovering over the spot next to Makoto. "Hey, there, new guy," he greeted, placing his own lunch on the table," Makoto Narita, is it? Are you new here?"

Makoto looked up from his unopened lunch and smiled," Yes, I am. I just moved here a week and a half ago. And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Hiro, Hiro Kanashiro," the stout man introduced, offering his hand to the young lad. (Ha! It rhymed!)

Makoto shook it with no hesitation and motioned back to his lunch. "It's nice to meet you."

"Same here, Mako!" Hiro sat himself next to him and began biting down on a sub sandwich.

A few other men followed Hiro in suit and introductions were exchanged.

"Say… Mako?" Hiro asked with a mouthful of sandwich.

"Yes, Hiro-san?"

"Why do you have that ring? Shouldn't you take it off while you're working?"

"This?" Makoto looked at his 'wedding' ring as he opened his lunch. The other men awed at the content of it. There were all sorts of complicated recipes and other yummy goods. (I'm sure you don't want a description of every little thing in there, right?) "It's my wedding ring."

Everyone, including Hiro, had their mouths agape. "Are you serious! How old are you?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm eighteen," Makoto said nonchalantly, popping one of the shrimp tempura into his mouth.

"How old is your wife!"

"Eighteen."

Hiro coughed and choked on his sandwich. He himself married his wife when they were 22! And he thought he married early! "Don't you think you're, um, rushing things a bit?"

"Well…" Makoto started, putting down his fork," I wanted to wait a little longer, but it seems fate didn't want to do the same… You see… it all started when my sister Sakura eloped when I was 11…" And as he told his story, all the men ate their lunches; captivated by the events Makoto had gone through until the lunch break was over.

As for Ito… she's currently trying to get the dirty thoughts out of her head as she continued clipping her husband's clothes onto the laundry line, but to no prevail.

----

thundersister: Ehh… Things are getting so jumpy on me! Is this the life of an author? You have to keep things moving in their own pace… ARGH! That's too hard! It's like asking a Star Wars junkie to create a spa service for Paris Hilton wannabes or asking Britney Spears to write an encyclopedia or something!

I don't know what I'm talking about! I'm going crazy! Maybe I'll tell you in the next author's note if I'm sane then!

By the way, I believe Ito is older than Mako in the manga. For all those out there that disagree to this, I must say one thing first. If they were born in the same year then Ito would be older than Makoto. She was born on July 23 while he was born on September 18. (I think, that's what it said in the profiles, right? checks again)

So the age difference isn't that bad people. It's only by a month or two. (laughs)