There is a time for second chances, a time to start over, and maybe get things right this go around. At first, he'd met her, been blown over by her beauty, and slowly came to know the unique things about her. Yet, amid whatever mounting pressure, between new beginnings and being unsure of how things should go, he'd tried to run the race of their relationship.
It's only now with Shu's political career flourishing, with Jelly Fish doing particularly well, as he hears from his brother whenever he calls him, that some kind of realization hits in. Tsukimi's been busy, working an odd, almost impossible amount of hours, for a dream, a dream that she shares with Kuranosuke, a dream that Shu realizes he doesn't want to dismantle.
Perhaps, it was better to wait, to watch Tsukimi shine, to see the first glimpse that had drawn him to her, over and over again. Like a moth to a flame, he will watch her step up on that stage, show her designs off proudly, and while the spotlight clearly makes her nervous, her smile is what draws him back to her, then.
Shu doesn't feel worthy of standing in front of Amamizukan, hoping that when he does work up the confidence to knock on that door, that Tsukimi will be the one to answer, and that she'll give him one more chance. It's impossible to feel worthy of it, but he just hopes that he knows better now.
Plus asking Kuranosuke about how Tsukimi's feeling, how she's been, kind of gets somewhere, but that isn't the same thing as actually talking to the woman that stole his heart in a flurry, and that he's still willing to gift that very heart back to her and try to listen better. It has never just been Shu's life, so he's going to try to take this slow, get to know her better, learn that her timing is just as important as his is.
It's surreal, knowing that they've never kissed, and that he'd almost let their first kiss be the day of their wedding, and yet that he's still sure just as he was then, that Tsukimi means the world to him. Now, he's determined to let her know, to take this relationship slow, not to rush their wedding in a mad hurry, even amid mounting pressure to get married, since he has gotten older now and has no kids to his name.
Just, Tsukimi feels like the one to him, even after all this time, after losing touch for so long. It's not that he necessarily fears that Tsukimi might move on and leave him behind, but Shu knows that she could do so much better than him, so much better than a successful politician that had forgotten the importance of listening before.
Slowly, he raises his hand up in the air and knocks on the door, in three solid knocks, trembling almost entirely gone.
"I've got it!" He hears his brother's voice, all light and airy, as if life just sang to him.
"Shu?" Kuranosuke's standing before him, and the sight of his brother actually dressed like a man throws him for a loop in a way that it shouldn't. His long hair is lightly pulled back and held in place by a ponytail, and really his brother still looks so happy. Kuranosuke probably does have the better part of life, since he's living with Tsukimi, works alongside her, and knows her infinitely better than Shu feels like he does.
"Hi." He takes a deep breath, heart caught somewhere deep in his throat, and refusing to give up its powerful hold on him, "Can I talk to Tsukimi for a bit?"
"Why?" Kuranosuke somehow reminds him of a knight more than the princess that people gush about, whenever Kuranosuke is seen modeling Jelly Fish clothes.
"I wanted to apologize." It's as close to the truth as his heart allows.
"What did you do?" Kuranosuke backs up though, as if to let his brother in.
"I didn't listen." Perhaps, it should be easier to say, but the shame eats him up inside, and he just hopes that Kuranosuke understands. It will be so much easier if he does.
"Oh." Kuranosuke frowns, still looking a bit surprised that his brother is here on this doorstep, "Okay." Then, he's off to go get Tsukimi, leaving his half-brother standing there, quietly waiting.
"Are you sure?" Tsukimi looks nervous as she follows her friend and roommate to the door. Her glasses do nothing to hide the beautiful sparkle of her eyes, and Shu has to remind himself to breathe.
"Yeah." Kuranosuke grins, but it's forced. What's wrong with Shu's brother? It's as if Shu's seeing him for the first time, the ease in which he moves next to Tsukimi, the light in his voice from earlier, the frown that had marred his face just a moment ago.
With Tsukimi, the worry that had rose to Kuranosuke's face is almost entirely gone. He's smiling at her, and there's a glow about him. Suddenly, the world seems to look a lot different to Shu.
His brother had fallen in love. The man that nobody thought would fall in love, not after years of dodging settling down or his more obvious complaints about the women that he'd dated, how none of them were people that he'd want to be around for so much longer than their brief, tiny relationships.
Shu feels nearly sick. Both of them, he knows, had their own share of talk from others of neither getting married. Shu because he never dated before Tsukimi, and Kuranosuke because settling down seemed against his desire to be free.
Now, his throat burns, as if his heart has caught fire, and Tsukimi sends a nervous smile his way. "Hello, Shu." She's nervous, but she's still trying.
"I'm sorry." Comes out before he can think to slow it down, and he's not sure at first or anymore what he's apologizing for. Is it because he hurt his brother by also falling in love with Tsukimi? Is it like he thought when he first came here that he never listened to her well enough.
"Why?" Tsukimi looks lost, and Kuranosuke goes to leave to be stopped by her hand on his arm, as if she needs his brother for support after all this time.
"For rushing our relationship." Shu feels like he's choking on air, though no sound leaves that resembles that; his voice is perfectly uniform much like how his father and his uncle had taught him to be, "For not listening enough."
"It's fine." She looks down, a little awkward in her nerves. "I didn't tell you otherwise." She drops Kuranosuke's arm and smiles just a tad big back at Shu. "I should have said something."
"It's not your fault, Tsukimi." Shu's desire to ask her out, gets lost somewhere, because suddenly he feels like he can't, like he shouldn't. He wonders if Kuranosuke's felt like this for a while, if he had to bite his tongue and keep out words. It's an odd image, because Kuranosuke never was the sort to not say what he felt. Shu wonders just when his younger brother fell in love with Tsukimi, just how often his heart had been broke over all this, until suddenly there wasn't anything but those he loved most's pain to sort through.
"Okay." Tsukimi still looks a little lost, but she's coming around.
"If you want," Kuranosuke looks awkward as he speaks now, "The two of you can go get lunch. It's early enough, and there's a cafe that we, all, like just a little down the way." It's a relief, because even after all this time, Kuranosuke is the one that knows Tsukimi the most.
"Are you sure?" Tsukimi looks awkward, not quite hopeful, "Shu probably just came to apologize."
"No, I'd like that." Shu speaks up, still choking over his heart, but Tsukimi now turns to him with a sort of hopeful smile, and Shu wonders whether this hurts his brother like a blade to his heart. Almost wants to apologize to him, or invite him or something. But Kuranosuke usually speaks his feelings somehow, and he hopefully isn't hurting as bad as Shu feels he is.
"Okay. Should I go get dressed up?" Tsukimi looks towards Kuranosuke, and Shu wonders just how often Kuranosuke has helped her get ready, just how much it might have hurt him before.
"You're fine, like you are." Shu answers, before his brother could get a word in, and he realizes belatedly that she is. Tsukimi's dressed casually, and yet, Shu realizes that she's unbelievably beautiful in his eyes, still.
He hopes that whatever happens today, that he'll be able to cherish her in a way that doesn't rush her or leave her behind. Shu loves her, and for once, his heart is ready to listen and is clear.