DISCLAIMER: Nope.
WORDCOUNT: 1287
SUMMARY: Future fic. Not that far away, though.

Written for the 'stars' challenge at smmonthly

PERSPECTIVE

by Leni

Shouno Kirasawa, drink still in hand, sat down on his couch and looked at his garden through the glass doors.

Three figures were sitting on the grass – a boy with unruly hair, a honey-haired toddler and a young blonde woman. Shouno's eyebrows shot up as the toddler began chewing eagerly on blonde hair. "Tora…." He made to stand up, ready to reprimand his youngest daughter, when the blonde's laughter stopped him. She was successfully prying her hair back from Tora's grip; as she tickled the little girl with one hand, with the other she regained the last strands. Then she turned to Hiro, Shouno's eight-year-old son, and told him something, an ever-present smile on her face. The boy grinned back at her and then got a packet out of his coat pocket and offered one cookie from it to his sister. Tora's eyes widened happily as she reached forward and began munching as eagerly as she'd done with the hair.

Shouno's eyes widened no less, and he drank slowly as he considered how difficult it normally was to make Hiro play nice with little Tora. And yet this woman seemed to accomplish it effortlessly. He recalled the situation earlier, when the children had been none too thrilled at the arrival of a grown up bunch for their father's birthday. But then she'd come in, and after the introductions and some polite chat, she'd slowly retreated from the adult groups choosing to play with the kids instead. How those two had convinced her to sit on the grass in her elegant pantsuit, Shouno had no idea, but there they were, laughing as if a formal meeting wasn't taking place a few meters away.

"Usako? Rei wants us to be in time for the meeting, at least this time. Usako!"

Right. Usagi was the woman's name. Usako only for her husband. Shouno looked in the direction of the voice's source, dimly aware that the blonde was doing the same,

"Just a minute, Mamo-chan!"

Shouno had to stifle a laugh at the nickname. Mamoru Chiba was a recent addition to their medical team, one of the most exigent across Japan, and in these six months he'd proved that his knowledge more than made up for his youth. Always solemn, earnest and hard-working, he didn't seem like a Mamo-chan. Mamoru-kun, maybe, at the very most. Everybody in their floor called him Chiba-san, and he'd never made an attempt for easier camaraderie.

But then, Mamoru Chiba also didn't seem a man to get married to ever-grinning blondes. Shouno had thought the same in the two occasions he'd seen Usagi Chiba. At the hospital function last month, she'd been a sunny presence on her husband's arm. While Chiba-san had entertained himself reviewing some tough cases with his co-workers, his wife had easily made quick friendship with the younger nurses. That night many had wondered at such an odd match, but on the dance floor it was clear that they belonged together. Nobody could look so enthralled during a simple slow song and not be head over heels in love.

The second time Shouno had seen Mrs. Chiba had been when he and his wife encountered the couple at a theater play. A new interpretation of Shakespearean works, the publicity had announced. It hadn't been too bad, but neither had it been too new. Nothing to write home about, definitely. But the scene Shouno remembered most vividly was when he turned around almost at the end of the play. There he discovered Chiba-san's shoulder fully occupied by a sleeping blonde head. His colleague hadn't seemed the least frazzled at such behavior, when at work he'd glare admonishingly for the littlest mistakes. Instead, he'd been holding his wife towards him gently, one arm around her back. His other hand had rested almost protectively on top of hers.

Now Shouno looked at the pair. One was still busy, playing with his children, while the other stood patiently beside the couch. "Sit down, Chiba-san. Those two will steal Usagi-san away for as long as they can." Other husbands would have rolled their eyes at that, but the younger man almost smiled as he moved down to sit.

"She likes children," he said, gently looking on at the scene.

Shouno looked out, too, and he had to laugh at the antics of the trio in the garden. "Your wife is truly astounding," he couldn't help but comment.

Chiba-san nodded.

Shouno wondered how to phrase his next question. Many had noticed the age difference at first sight, but hadn't really remarked on it. After all, twenty-seven and twenty-three weren't such a great deal. But Tokiyo-san had just met Ami Mizuno, another promising discovery in the medical world. He said that Dr. Mizuno was an old friend of the couple, and that she'd let escape that they were high school sweethearts. A four years gap while in high school? Now that was a matter of curiosity.

Shouno finally decided that sometimes the direct approach was the best option. It was his birthday and he had a drink in his hand; he just might be forgiven for his impertinence. "How did you two meet?"

Chiba-san turned to face him, looking surprised at the admittedly nosy question. "We had a mutual friend," he said slowly.

Shouno nodded, looking at him expectantly.

"We also frequented the same places," he continued. Then he frowned, obviously uncomfortable under the perceived scrutiny.

Chiba-san rarely participated in the usual chit-chat during their breaks, and when he did he always left as soon as the conversation turned to him and his private life. Shouno had the feeling that he'd do the same at any second now, so he moved to the chase. "I bet she made quite an impression on you."

The younger man nodded, and his expression suddenly softened in the exact way Shouno's did when he remembered seeing Miara across a lecture hall in college and knowing that he had to ask that girl out. "She made me see stars when I found her," Chiba-san admitted.

Shouno chuckled. So reclusive Mamoru Chiba did have a heart. Ah, the wonders of young love. "You are truly a romantic, Chiba-san."

The other man shrugged. "Not quite," and there was this secretive look in his face.

Shouno was about to question him on that strange response, when the glass doors opened and a three-year-old bounced out just to jump onto her father's lap. He smiled into Tora's laughing eyes, and then at a more serene Hiro, who was also coming to sit at his side.

Behind them walked Usagi Chiba, and after nodding at Shouno politely, she reached for her husband. Her eyebrow arched quizzically upon seeing him, though. "What are you laughing at?"

Shouno did a double-take. Laughing? Chiba-san definitely wasn't laughing; he didn't even look very amused at anything. But his lips did twitch suspiciously before answering. "I was telling Kirasawa-san how you made me see stars in our first meeting."

Something very weird happened then. Instead of feeling flattered, Usagi-san pouted. Then she narrowed her eyes at her husband and put her arms akimbo at her waist. "You always exaggerate," she told him in an almost scolding tone. "It was just a crumpled piece of paper!"

Shouno didn't get the joke, but Chiba-san gave a long laugh, which made half of the guests whip around in bafflement. His wife shook her head in exasperation, but finally she smiled along, too.

As the couple said their goodbyes around the room, Shouno thought that he still didn't have the least idea of how they'd met and fallen in love. But whatever role that 'crumpled paper' had played, the fates must have been in a fine mood when they reunited those two.

The End
02/02/06

FEEDBACK: pets it