Not every idea was a good one.
Suzuki Touichirou had, in his time on this Earth, given life to more bad ideas than he could even count. This journey started when he had been two and stuck a fork in an electrical socket. He couldn't remember doing that, he had only been two after all, but mother had made sure to remind him at least ten times a year. Whenever she had reason to move the shelf from the wall, when she had been cleaning or just redecorating, she had made sure to call him over and show him where he had ruined the walls. Where the scorch mark was. Where the plastic of the outlet cover had melted away. She had pointed and said, not always in the same words, that he had done that on purpose to harm her. He had done it to make her life harder than it had to be. That he had it out for her. That wasn't true, of course, and if he had been more cognizant of himself at the time of the fork sticking he would have stopped and thought about how mother would have reacted.
That had always been his problem, not thinking things through.
He…was a man of vision….but he didn't always see the big picture. He was perfectly capable of seeing the flaws within himself as a person and he was perfectly capable of fixing those flaws. That was why, over the years, he had tempered his more terrible ideas. He'd gotten most of them out of his system in childhood, back when he'd met Tadashi. From sitting on top of the microwave to see if he could get radiation poisoning to riding a wagon down a mountain…that had been fun, actually, all the way up to the time thing with the noodles he'd had his bad ideas and gotten them out of his system….mostly….
This…may have been a bad idea.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" asked Suzuki. That was important. Shiori had told him that he needed to talk more, to make his needs known since she was telekinetic and not telepathic, and he…well he wasn't up to telling her what to do. Not sexually, anyway, since…well there was a lot of nuance there and he wasn't the best at social nuance. It was best to just let her do what she wanted to do. He was just along for the ride.
And it had to be a good one.
His back ached. Everything ached, actually. People were not meant to have sex on the floor. No, that was why people had invented beds…or futons…even couches could serve as a good spot for all things sexual. The floor…was not the place for this….but he wasn't going to say anything. He wasn't going to tell her that she was crushing him, that he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to get up in the morning, and that maybe…maybe this hadn't been the best idea…..
Yes. In retrospect renting out the aquarium so that Shiori could indulge in her twin loves of marine life and public sex may not have been the best idea for a number of reasons.
"Shiori?" asked Suzuki. She had her eyes closed and her mouth was doing that thing where she stuck her tongue out the corner of it every so often. That didn't mean that she was close, it meant that she was enjoying herself, but it didn't mean that she was close. He wasn't the best at reading faces, auras were a lot easier, but…well he had to focus on his own aura right now. There were thousands of tons of water around them, that was his estimate at least, and the only thing separating them from that water was heavy duty glass. Fish, too, the glass shattering would not have been good for the fish at all. He didn't care at all about the marine life but she did and if he accidentally killed those fish…well she would have bene upset…and her being anything less than completely and totally, deliriously, happy for every moment of every day was unacceptable.
The woman he loved needed to be happy at all times.
She still had her eyes closed. Her face was flushed. She let out these little sighs every so often…good signs. She was enjoying herself….but she wasn't close…and there was an art to this. Suzuki was not above admitting that it had been a while for him, before her, and he was out of practice…but he could do this. He had done this before…on a bed…but she didn't like beds for some reason so therefore they would have sex on the floor of the aquarium right in front of the large viewing window with all the tropical fish…that may or may not have been watching him…
The things he did for love.
"Shiori? Anything else you'd like me to do?" asked Suzuki. She was still grinding him down onto the floor…which now that he thought about it wasn't the cleanest….but maybe that didn't matter since he was still mostly dressed. He...had his limits...and getting completely naked in public was one of them. He could change the refraction of the light around him but that took focus that he did not have right now. Doing this in her garden was easier, at least the ground was soft there. Here…he was going to feel this in the morning….he was feeling it right now…
At least he was feeling something.
Whoever had invented the latex condom had been an idiot. Polyurethane was better. Thinner, warmed to body heat quickly, didn't have that awful latex smell to it…when he came to power he was going to mandate that all condoms be made of polyurethane…or maybe not. Maybe once he got to that point Shiori would be more open about having children. She didn't want any now, she said, she had too much work to do and the economy was bad. Well there was no shortage of work that had to be done and the economy had been terrible since the early nineties. Neither of them was getting any younger and Shigeko was getting to the age where she would start having her own children and it would have been odd to have uncles and aunts the same age as nieces and nephews….that is if he ever saw Shigeko again…she didn't want him….she had cast him out….she didn't need him anymore and…
….and maybe he should not have been thinking about his daughter while he was in the middle of having sex with his girlfriend.
Well that had certainly killed the mood…for him, at least. He thanked God that Shiori wasn't a telepath. He had no idea how he would explain the thoughts that came to his mind. He missed his daughter. That was normal. What was not normal was missing her while he was in the throes of physical intimacy. He couldn't help it. Thoughts of Shigeko snuck into his mind like thoughts of Masami had before. Masami…well at least he wasn't thinking about her….well now he was. The last time they had done this had been in the old house….and she hadn't been that enthusiastic…or that vocal…in fact she'd kept her eyes closed and spent most of it touching herself….honestly he got the feeling that he could have been made of silicon….and not in the good way….not that he should have been thinking about….the things that he and Masami could have been doing….for YEARS….
He really wished he was back in Shiori's bedroom.
He'd caught a better train of thought. Shiori…he loved her…and not just because she was intelligent, beautiful, good at math, nurturing, good with words, a good listener, someone who forever smelled of flowers and perfection, knew a lot of very interesting facts about marine life, had the softest hair he'd ever felt since Shigeko's, and loved him just as deeply as he loved her. No, there was also the fact that she was a sexual innovator. He liked innovation, new things, good ideas…and she had the best ones. Who would have thought that something that looked so painful would have felt so good?
Well, obviously, homosexuals.
Not that he was one…at least he thought that he wasn't one. Father had made himself perfect clear…but father had been born in 1947. Things were different now, people knew more about these things, and people were a lot more open about these things too. He hadn't even heard of homosexuality until health class back in his first year of middle school. He…knew that he was attracted to women…especially the one trying to snap his spine in two right now…but he also may have been….a bit…attracted to….members of his same sex….or maybe just one member of his…same….sex….
It would have been utterly perfect if Tadashi had been there.
Him in the middle…Tadashi behind him….Shiori in front…he arches his back. He's going to pay for that in the morning….but for right now he just….he needed to feel something close to that. One half of that equation…he's glad that Shiori can't read his mind. He doesn't know how he can possibly explain that he wants his best friend…former best friend….man he's known for some time….Tadashi….Fukuda….he doesn't know how he can explain to the woman he loves that he wants Fukuda to shove him down onto his hands and knees and bury himself within….well while Suzuki is within….and then….that would just be….
It would be…..
He stops.
"What…" muttered Suzuki. He stops moving…he has to. He lays perfectly still…Shiori stops moving too. She's asking something of him…and he knows that she's speaking…but right now his mind isn't supplying definitions for her words. Right now….right now all he can hear is the…he can't hear anything. He can only feel…and he knows what he feels. There…in his range…his considerable range….is…is….is his…
Shigeko.
He doesn't think. He just sits up and tugs his pants back up over his hips. His underwear is hopelessly twisted…but that doesn't matter now. He can feel….he spreads out his aura…he can feel Shigeko! This is…not….she's far away. She's nowhere near him…he…he is fine. His back his killing him, he's barely dressed, and there are visible cracks in the viewing window behind him. Shiori is also…not well. He can see her aura…feel it…and there isn't a since bit of happiness in it. That…makes sense. He sent her flying flat on her back right in the middle of sex…if he had been a woman then he would have been upset as well…or if he had been right in the middle of being taken by Fukuda he would have been more than upset…
He straightens out his clothing.
"What the hell was that, Touichirou?!" asked Shiori as she grabbed her underwear and slid it back on.
"I…I…" said Suzuki. He didn't know what he was supposed to say. The whole thing was…it made no logical sense. His daughter was HERE of all places? Why? They had an entire HQ in Tokyo. Tokyo was larger and near one of those Disney theme parks she loved. Had she sought him out? Why? And why now? Couldn't she have come here twenty minutes ago? Or from now? And how was he supposed to explain Shiori to her? And the fact that he'd divorced Masami? And the fact that a new sibling was coming, maybe, if Shiori changed her mind? And how…how was he supposed to explain…why he was in this predicament in the first place?
Father. Explain.
That was what she would say and…and Shiori was telling him to explain, too. She was practically looking him in the eye and saying 'Touichirou. Explain.' She was….well she wasn't saying that but he owed her an explanation…and he knew that time was running out. When a woman was upset with you it never ended. It just festered and festered until she left you with no warning…and he didn't know what he was going to do if Shiori ever left him…he couldn't lose the love of his life…not again…
He had to explain.
"….seriously?! If you're not into it then tell me to stop! Don't just shove me off-" said Shiori as she tugged down her dress and straightened her clothing. She was red…though maybe not in the way that she had been before. She was red and her eyes were narrowed…she was not happy with him…and he…he had to explain…he had to say something…..
"My daughter…I felt her aura." Said Suzuki. There. That was a good place to start. He…he knew what he was doing…mostly. She wasn't narrowing her eyes at him…and her clothes were straightened. Now all she was doing was looking at him….and he sort of wished that she had been narrowing her eyes. At least that was an expression he could have read.
"Touichirou….you said that you rented this whole place out…that it was closed to the public…." Said Shiori
"I did. Nobody is here but us. I even told the staff to stay away….why do you doubt me?" asked Suzuki
"Because you just said that your daughter is here!" said Shiori
"No, I didn't mean that she was in the building…I felt her in my passive range….but she is some distance away. She…she startled me…that's all. I hadn't expected to run into her here….I hadn't expected to ever see her again…not the way that we parted." Said Suzuki as he rubbed his back. He had no idea why Shiori was looking at him like that…or even what she was looking at him like. He…his back hurt…and he was going to focus on that…he knew what to do about that. Shigeko….Shiori…he had no idea what to do about them….
One thing at a time.
"Well maybe your kids miss their dad." Said Shiori. There was a tone in the way that she mentioned his children. She looked away from him, too, when she said that. He…did not have the mental space to try and puzzle that out right now….and he wasn't going to have to. She was not Masami, she was Shiori, and he could ask her to explain things and she would explain them to him. That was the beauty of their relationship.
"Shiori. Explain." Said Suzuki
"Excuse me?" asked Shiori. Her eyes were narrowed and her aura was focused on him…he'd made a mistake…but he had no idea why.
"Why you said what you said the way you said it…the tone you used. I don't understand and…and I'd like you to explain it to me." Said Suzuki
"I…it's hard…just…I like you a lot, alright? But…well you kind of abandoned your kids. You say that they kicked you out…but they're kids and you're their father. I mean I…I've enjoyed our time together…you're really good at sweeping me off of my feet…but this is…it's big, ok? You have three kids that you abandoned-" said Shiori
"I did not abandon them. I…well alright, I may have abandoned Mukai, but…well Fukuda found her a mother quickly so I'm not sure if that-" said Suzuki
"No, not when your…third child was born. I mean that thing that you told me about with your daughter. Just because she told you to leave that doesn't mean that you had to. Ok, what you did was really bad and I don't like to think about it…I mean…the other woman knew the risk of having unprotected sex on a one night stand…so you're not the only one who…was irresponsible in that situation….but keeping a sibling from your kids-" said Shiori
"I had no choice. I…was not equipped to care for an infant." Said Suzuki. That was….true. He had been a mess. He knew that if he had stayed with Mukai he would have…made a big mistake. He'd left…made a strategic retreat…and it had been the right thing to do. Mukai still being alive…she was living proof that he had done the right thing.
"So? That doesn't change the fact that you still had an infant to take care of. From what you told me it sounds like you just…just sent her to some random woman-" said Shiori
"I did not send her to any old woman. Fukuda found a home for her with a high ranking….well the Scars are the bottom of the upper echelon…but Mukai…Mi-cha…she has a mother who can care for her. I was incapable of caring for her…and keeping her near me…that wouldn't have been safe. My children…my older children…can at least defend themselves. Mukai…I was in no position to keep her safe or…or to be any kind of a father to her." said Suzuki
"Uh-huh, and what about now?" asked Shiori
"I…don't follow." Said Suzuki
"What about right now. Your daughter is in town and I doubt she's here to check out the castle or the theme park…and she had better not be on her way to the aquarium." Said Shiori
"That…would not be good. I have no idea how I would explain….you." said Suzuki
"Yeah…well you're going to have to do some heavy duty explaining. To her…and your other two. Not about me, no, about how you fucked up. Those are your kids and, yeah, you may treat them….or at least the oldest girl…like adults but they're not." Said Shiori
"But…I have no idea what to say." Said Suzuki. Shigeko was an adult. She was twelve. She was, chronologically, a child…but she was intelligent. She knew what she was doing when it came to caring for him and her siblings. She may not have been the best at running Claw, actually she nearly destroyed them financially whenever she came into power, but she ran the household as well as or even better, in some ways, than Masami had. He had complete faith in her judgement…even when it came to him…or maybe especially when it came to him. She was almost an adult and…and even if she had been a child…if she had been at his mercy like Sho was…he still had no idea what he possibly could have told her…about important things…
Like Shiori.
He loved her. He wanted to spend his life to her. He wanted to have children with her. Shigeko had been angry enough with him, when it came to his cheating on Masami, he had no idea what she would do when he realized that not only had he divorced her mother but also that her mother had been replaced. Masami was never coming back. The door…it had been opened to her for years…and she hadn't walked through it. He couldn't be expected to hold the door opened forever…especially for someone who had no interest in walking through it…
He had complete faith in Shigeko as a small adult…but he had no idea how she would react to these developments in his life and their family.
"How about you start with an apology for leaving them and then…I don't know. I don't have kids. If I were in their shoes I'd want to know why you kept a sibling from them, why you left, and what you were going to do to make this right." Said Shiori
"I meant about you." Said Suzuki
"Tell them that I'm your friend." Said Shiori. She didn't look at him when she said that. She looked away…and he didn't know why this bothered him. It wasn't like he was going to be able to do anything with the information written across her face.
"But…you're my girlfriend." Said Suzuki. He wasn't going to lie to his own children. He wasn't a liar, first of all, and second of all that was a stupid lie to tell. She was his girlfriend and once they left this period of courtship, when she finally let him impregnate her, she would be his wife and then they would share their lives….including the children he already had. Shigeko was here which meant that she wanted….well he hoped that this meant she wanted to reconcile. If they reconciled then Shiori would have to meet Shiori…both of the children…all three of the children….and he would have to explain who she was…but for some reason Shiori was…opposed? Opposed to this.
"When did we decide that?" asked Shiori
"We never declared that we were together but we are in love so I assumed…well I should have made some sort of romantic declaration, you're right." Said Suzuki
"No that's not what I….you know what? Those kids are probably confused enough with the whole 'secret two year old sister' thing. They don't need to know that their dad has a…how about you call me a close friend for now? They don't need anything else to process right now…and honestly, I'm not ready to be something in your kids' lives." Said Shiori
"But…you love me." Said Suzuki. She was the love of his life…but she didn't want to share in his life? Well now he had a pain in his chest to go with the pain in his heart. He loved her and he was going to share all things with her. He…he could understand her not wanting to be anything to Sho, he was somehow the worst of Suzuki personified, but Sho…well since Fukuda liked him so much then Fukuda could have him. As for Mukai…well she had a mother…and anyway she was two and two year olds…well they weren't easier than eleven and twelve year olds but their needs were much simpler. Shiori…she would have made an excellent stepmother in addition to being an excellent mother.
"I…I have feelings for you…but that doesn't mean that I'm up to being your kids' wicked stepmother." Said Shiori
"I doubt you'd be a wicked stepmother." Said Suzuki. Shiori? Wicked? That was impossible. She was the kindest woman that he had ever met…and yes, he was counting Masami as well.
"All stepmothers are wicked, I know from experience." Said Shiori
"That word can be used positively as well so that's what I'm going to do." Said Suzuki. She put her hand over her mouth and laughed. He had no idea what she was laughing at…and he had no idea why she was covering her mouth. He loved her laughter…he loved her face…he loved her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever been with, possibly the most beautiful woman in the world, and she didn't need to hide it.
"Touichirou….I like you a lot…but you need to get your life sorted out. Go. Talk to your daughter, see what she wants, and make up with her…and then ground her or take her phone away or put her in time out or something for the way that she treated you." Said Shiori
"I…don't really punish her anymore." Said Suzuki. That felt…wrong. The last time he had punished her…well it had been that slap…the slap which she had not deserved. It had feel wrong the moment he had been done with it…and he didn't know if he could do it again. Shiori….she was a woman and she knew about raising children…but she didn't know Shigeko.
"Well maybe if you did that more then she wouldn't be walking around acting like she's a grown woman." Said Shiori
"But-" said Suzuki
"No buts. Go and get your house in order. I'm going home. I have things to do….and things to finish." Said Shiori. She got up and offered him assistance in the form of a telekinetic lift…one which he was grateful for. His back…would not have made it easy for him. He accepted her assistance…her care…she cared for him.
Shiori.
"I…alright…I can do that." Said Suzuki. He…did not think that confronting Shigeko would be a good idea…or even if confronting was the right word. He knew that he had messed up, that he had made more mistakes than he knew how to fix, and he knew that….that when a person made mistakes they were supposed to learn from them. Suzuki…he was perfectly capable of learning from his mistakes…and he was perfectly capable of apologizing as well. Hopefully Shigeko would accept his apology…
And hopefully this wouldn't turn into another mistake.