Notes: Okay. We have the age old good news and bad news. The good news is that I've gotten a new (and sooooooooo much faster) computer. Bad news? All my data isn't on said computer yet…So I'm still using my dinosaur. Now, that means while I'm using the new pc, updates are going to be a bit more sporadic (actually, probably the same ::shrug::), so…yeah. With any luck, I'll have all data transferred to the new machine soon; I'm getting really tired of switching the monitor, internet, and speakers back and forth…
Oh! Got a question in one review about what I'm going to do with Taiki and Yaten…um…I think I semi-answered that in this chapter.
Special Text: Text in paragraphs equals flashbacks, text in sentences equals thoughts, text in single words only equals emphasis
Warnings: Thar be shounen ai in this here fic.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be.
Life's Little Surprises
By Rosethorn
Chapter 5: Domestic Tranquility?
"Hello again, Usako," Mamoru said, touching the gravestone. He felt—as he often did when visiting—a small breeze pick up. He had gotten used to the strange breeze that always vanished when he was done talking to Usagi. "It's been a while since I came to visit you, I know. It seems every time I think of it, it's pouring rain or snowing or something comes up where I can't. Seiya says that it's a sign that I'm not supposed to do what I had wanted to do. You remember Seiya, right?" The breeze swirled gently around him, causing the flowers scattered around to nod. The raven-haired man smiled.
"I thought you would. I haven't told him about you yet…I'm still just getting to know him." The breeze blew harder at this, making sure to pick up some small rocks and throw them—gently—at Mamoru, as if in protest. The raven-haired man shielded his face with his hands, protesting. "It's just not right yet, Usako! I will tell him, I promise!! I just want to get to know him better first." The breeze gave one last puff before subsiding. Mamoru sighed.
"Would it make you feel better if I told you about the lunch I had with him two days ago?" Nothing. "Oh don't be like that, Usako." Almost grudgingly, the breeze blew softly. Mamoru smiled. "Well," he began, head tilting to the side. "Seiya met us—by us I mean Makoto, Mina, Motoki, Haruka, and Michiru—on our way to have lunch to escape the hordes flocking the arcade…"
"Sa…" Seiya said, looking over to his friend. "What's new in the world of academia?" Behind him, he could hear Mina choke, and he wondered what it was he had said. He surreptitiously glanced over to the man beside him to see the most pole-axed expression ever gracing a human being on Mamoru's face.
'Strike one, Kou! Oh yes, I'm doing spectacularly! Foot? Will you carefully insert yourself out of my mouth? Thanks ever so!' he thought to himself grimly.
"You—you want to know about my profession?" Mamoru asked, clearly stunned and more than a little puzzled. Seiya's eyebrows rose and he nodded slowly. Mamoru shook his head quickly.
"I think I need my ears checked for wax buildup," the blue-eyed man said, bringing his hand up to bang one ear first, then the other. "I could have sworn you said you actually want to know about what I do." At that point Motoki, his wife, Michiru and Mina were all laughing while Haruka's lips twitched.
'What did I say?' Seiya asked himself, clearly bewildered now. 'Is it that he rambles on and on about it or does no one ever ask or what?'
"No need for the doctor visit, Mamoru!" he said finally, silently willing his voice to not carry the note of uncertainty that somehow slipped through anyway. "I did ask about your career. What is it? Am I not supposed to?"
"No!" chimed in everyone standing there, with the exceptions of Mamoru (who was beginning to blush), and Haruka (who was busy pretending Seiya didn't exist). Seiya's eyebrows flew up, and his eyes widened.
"Ok. I get it. No questions about…Mamoru's job in front…of Mamoru's friends," he said, pretending to write down the information on his hand. "Got it." Mina and Makoto both laughed, Motoki soon joining in. Mamoru shot them all a rather dark look. He decided to start talking to Michiru and Haruka instead, much to the amusement of the rest of the group.
As they finally reached the deli, Seiya glanced over in the direction of the mall and blanched. Mamoru, who had decided to talk to everyone again, gave the other man a concerned look.
"A horde of fans?" he asked, bracing himself to sprint. Seiya shook his head quickly, causing Mamoru and the others to all let out a sigh of relief.
"Worse," Seiya then said, causing them all to tense up again. "Yaten." Mamoru turned and sure enough, saw the white-blonde head of the keyboardist. He began to laugh, causing Seiya to glare up at him.
"It's okay," he said with mock sympathy, patting the singer on the shoulder. "I'll protect you from the big, bad Yaten." Seiya gave him a disgusted look, grabbed Mamoru's hand (still on his shoulder), lifted it, and dropped it off his person. The rest of the group laughed. Glaring at them all, Seiya marched, with as much dignity as he could muster, to the deli—only to trip on a wrapper that was on the sidewalk. He didn't fall, but he might as well have, judging by the laughter he heard behind him. Fuming silently, he plotted Mamoru's revenge—Yaten's too. It was, after all, the blonde's fault that this all started
"After that, it went pretty much without incident," Mamoru continued, still chuckling. The breeze around him carried the noise of some church bells chiming softly in the distance, sounding much like laughter. He grinned, enjoying the fresh air as well as the feeling of Usagi's "presence" about him.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering one last part of the few days previous. "There was the one mishap between Seiya and Haruka…"
"So, Tenou-san," Seiya asked between bites of his sandwich. "When are you and Kaiou-san going to be performing next?" He gulped to see the glare that the blonde was leveling him. "Erm…scratch that question, Tenou-san…" he said meekly, deciding to continue eating in silence. Michiru, who was watching the whole exchange, rapped Haruka sharply on the arm. The blonde jumped and gave her partner a look that clearly said "what?!"—which Michiru calmly ignored and continued giving Haruka a penetrating stare. The pianist sighed before turning back to Seiya.
"Next month," she said flatly, turning back towards Michiru, face asking the violinist—rather sarcastically—if she was happy now. Seiya promptly choked on his food.
"P-pardon?" he asked, after managing to breathe again. The blonde pianist's cool blue eyes frosted over as she glared at him. He swallowed again, ducking his head back to his plate. "Never mind," he murmured, deciding that if he wanted to eat his lunch normally—rather than have it cut off his air supply, or be put in strange, uncomfortable places—he'd better just let everyone else carry on the conversation.
Which doesn't really help me any, he thought to himself a bit sadly. I mean, if Mamoru doesn't know that I can carry on an intelligent conversation… He sighed again and picked at the remainder of his lunch. Michiru once again jabbed her partner in the ribs sharply. Haruka turned and glared before getting up.
"Seiya-san?" The singer looked up. "A moment, please?" She gestured towards the door. Seiya gulped and nodded weakly.
Well, he thought nervously. She won't kill me in front of witnesses…I hope… They proceed outside, and out of Mamoru's line of sight. In about twenty minutes, they both return, a small smile on Haruka's face, a relieved expression on Seiya's. Mamoru shook his head slightly before deciding to just give up.
"And that, Usagi," Mamoru concluded. "is the whole and eventful tale of lunch with Seiya." Again, he heard the pealing of bells in the distance and grinned. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He paused a moment, frowning slightly. "Ne, Usako? Is it…would you…Oh for heavens sakes! I feel like there's a connection between Seiya and I…and I don't feel like it's the right kind of connection…rather, it's not the connection that I feel I should have with him…" He sighed, running a hand through his midnight hair. "I feel…I feel more connected to him that I've ever been with any other person except you, Usako. It …it frightens and confuses me. I've only just met him!" Sighing again, he turned his blue eyes up to the sky. "Where do I go from here, Usako?" The breeze provided no answer as it gently blew by him.
oOOo()oOOo
"Ne, Taiki?" Yaten asked, walking into the room with a rather large and rather fake smile plastered on his face. The brunette looked up from his new book (that he had managed to finally get!) briefly, noted the blonde's expression, and resumed his reading.
"No, Yaten," he stated flatly. Yaten's eyes began to fill with crocodile tears. He began to sniffle for emphasis, causing the bassist to twitch an eyebrow in annoyance. "I said no, Yaten," he declared. Yaten's sniffling got louder. Taiki sighted. Normally the blonde wasn't this persistent about something unless it really mattered to him. Though, if only the blonde would come out and ask normally instead of behaving like the PMS-ing woman Seiya accused him of being! If he were to ask normally, Taiki almost certainly wouldn't have a problem with whatever it was. But not, Yaten had to annoy him to death before Taiki would acquiesce—just to get the keyboardist to shut up.
"Oi! Yaten!" a third voice called from upstairs. "You crying over a broken nail or are you just badgering Taiki to do something for you again?" The blonde's pity-part abruptly halted, much to Taiki's relief.
For that, he thought. I'll make sure that his revenge is less harsh than Yaten's. The revenge, of course was for the bets Yaten and Seiya had made that day that the Three Lights' agent had called. Granted, Taiki wasn't planning on doing anything major, just springing a leak in Yaten's waterbed, and setting Seiya's alarm clock ahead by four hours. Originally, he was going to rubber cement Seiya's sheets together, but after the singer had saved him from a rather nasty migraine, Taiki had amended the plans.
"By the abrupt silence," Seiya drawled, voice growing louder as he descended the stairs. "I believe I can safely assume that it was the latter." The blonde glared at him, his hair almost spiking in vexation. Seiya gave him an amused look. "So what was it this time, Yaten? Beauty secrets? Extra money for a makeover?" Yaten's face was turning a rather interesting combination of red and violet.
"You…" he growled, his finger shaking before him. "You…" As steam began to come out of the keyboardist's ears, Seiya decided it was time to yet again take a strategic retreat.
"HeyTaikigottagobeforeYatendecidestokillmewithhisbrandnewnailsthathejustgotmanicured!" he yelled as he dashed out the door, Yaten still standing there sputtering. Taiki merely nodded before turning the page in his book. Glancing up again, he chuckled at the sight of his friend.
"Ne, Yaten?" The blonde glared down at him. Taiki merely raised an eyebrow. "Now, it seems to me that in his last sentence, Seiya said you had just gotten a manicure…" he trailed off innocently, watching with glee as Yaten fumed more.
"Why that—Seiya!!" With a battle cry, the keyboardist quickly ran for the door and quickly followed his friend outside, yelling obscenities all the way. Taiki reflected with some irony the fact that while Yaten hated to run, he had no problem chasing two or more miles after Seiya when the singer had gotten him riled up. Not only that, the chases allowed Yaten to stay slim and trim, though the blonde hardly needed to worry about the exercise the way he ate. Yaten tended to pick as his food, which was why Taiki made great pains to make something that his friend was more inclined to eat. Seiya he didn't need to worry about; the man was a bottomless pit. But Yaten…
Biting his lower lip, Taiki put his book down for a moment as he brooded. It hadn't escaped his notice that Yaten had gotten a lot thinner. Hell, you could almost cut paper with the keyboardists chin now! The clothes that were once skin-tight on the blonde were now becoming incredibly loose…He'd have to talk to Yaten later. Granted, if it were something serious like anorexia or bulimia, Yaten would not admit to it. He just rant and rave at Taiki until the brunette would give up and go away. Taiki sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
On the other hand, his friend had always maintained a rather high metabolism. When they were younger, Yaten rivaled Seiya in the "bottomless pit" department, and unlike Seiya, wouldn't gain an ounce from anything he ate. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Taiki came to the conclusion that, while it was probably nothing serious, he was going to talk to his friend and make Yaten aware of his concerns. Despite appearances, Yaten did care about his "brothers'" happiness—he just hid it well.
Well, he thought as he got up. I do have a waterbed to "adjust"… A positively evil smile graced the bassist's face as he made his way to Yaten's room to execute the plan that he had gotten, irony of ironies, from the very book that the blonde had helped him find again in the mall. Of course, Yaten didn't know that…and with any luck, after this debacle with Seiya, he'd blame the singer, rather than Taiki.
After all, Taiki thought with no small amount of self-satisfaction. Where would the fun be if he thought it were me
oOOo()oOOo
Owari for this chapter! Feedback would be most appreciated (do I even need to state that?)
Cheers!
Rosethorn
Thank you's:
Kou Haruka: Thank you!! Um…thank you for all the reviews ::sweatdrops:: You're one of my more persistent reviewers ::laughs:: I don't mind though. It means that I need to get off my butt and get some work done, ne? Well, in any rate, I'm glad that you like the entire story so far. I hope this chapter lives up!
Chou ni Natte: Thank you! Coffee and laughing sometimes has a truly amazing combination. I have this friend who gets super-bouncy off of laughing…only. Period. It's kinda scary at times, but I love her anyway ::laughs:: Anyways, I'm glad you like it so far!!
DarkParis: Thank you!! Don't worry about someone else creating a Seiya/Mamoru fanfic! Do one yourself if that's what you dream of doing!!
::scrolls through the rest of Kou Haruka's reviews to reach the next reviewer::
tenchisailor: Thank you! Yes, it's an oddball pairing, I know, but it's kinda fun to write actually…For their relationship…I think opposites can attract. That doesn't mean that all will go well for them there. There'll be a few fights, but if you really care about the person, you'll find a way somehow to make it work. As for a rebound…not really. Mamoru fights getting together with Seiya (as you can see when he's talking to Usagi), so I think he'll see Seiya as Seiya. ::passes out tissues:: I know it's sad about Usagi-chan dying, but like I've said previously: it was either that or bastardize her. I picked a more flattering option.
mamoruUSA: Thank you!! I'm more of a U/S person myself…::shrug:: To each their own, ne? I'm glad you like this story!! Bad guy or girl? Right now I'm leaning towards Mamoru's grief being the enemy in this case. That and his sense of loyalty to the now-deceased Usagi. As for Taiki and Yaten…um…that'd be spoiling it. That's it. ::sweatdrops:: In all honesty, I'm not quite sure yet, although I'm 80 sure of what I'm going to do with them…