The Funeral and Awkward moments
As Mercedes listened to the dull hum of her phone, she made sure she had everything. She would be leaving in the next hour or so, and she was making the rounds of making sure her friends were awake.
"Hello," Chandasea questioned.
"Good morning friend," Mercy sighed. "We have an hour before we have to get to the airport, and I just wanted to see if you and Keith were dressed and ready."
"Yes, well Keith needs to put on pants, but other than that we are ready to go."
From the background Mercedes could hear Keith yelling for Chan, and their puppy wining. Mercy couldn't help but chuckle before telling her friend where to meet up with everyone. She had already called Shyanne, leaving Shizuo on her list of supporting friends to call. Mercy's phone pulsed as she dialed her tall friend's number, but before she could finish her there was a knock at her door.
"Honey, someone's at the door." Kurenai muttered, from the living room.
"Thank you mother, I'll get it."
When the door opened, Mercy couldn't help but smile. Standing in front of her was Shizuo with a duffel bag hanging from his shoulder.
"You ready to go, or are we waiting for the others?" He questioned.
"I was about to call you." Mercy muttered. "I was going to meet up with everyone, but your presence is going to make this so much easier." Mercy glanced back to her mother before allowing him inside the house. "Shyanne will be here in a moment. Now all we have to do is meet up with Chan."
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Shizuo questioned, placing his bag next to Mercy and her mothers.
"Naw, everything's already been done." Mercy paused. "Did you already eat?"
Shizuo glanced questioningly to Mercy. She naturally shrugged her shoulders, before disappearing into the kitchen. Kurenai introduced herself, before calling him over to the couch with her. Even though it's only been a year since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it seemed to have hit her hard. She has her days when she was her normal self, but on her bad days, she can barely walk. Today seemed to a bit of a neutral day, because she was having a hard time walking, but she is managing to have coherent discussions.
Shizuo hadn't noticed how long their conversation had been, but when Mercedes walked into the room with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and three glasses of orange juice.
"Shyanne called and said she's picking up coffee," Mercy muttered handing out the food. "So I've made the four of us breakfast."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome,"
Before they could finish their food, the front door burst open, revealing Shyanne.
"Good morning friend…..s"
"Morning, come and eat. "Mercy scooted closer to Shizuo, to allow her friend to sit. "When you're done we can leave."
"Ok, so no worries dude."
"The ceremony was beautiful." One of Mercy's father's good friends whispered, wiping away a stray tear. "If you, or Kurenai, need anything, anything at all, please, don't hesitate to call me." She sighed, hugging Mercy's tense body.
"Thank you for coming."
Her voice sounded cold, almost distant and unrecognizable. Everyone around her flinched, this wasn't her normal behavior. Mercedes glanced to the kitchen, as she watched her mother rush around the house cleaning. This was how Kurenai avoided being, what she considered, and sobbing mess. The other guests chatted somberly, ignoring the mourning wife and child.
"Mother, please let me help you." Mercy muttered, trying to grab a plate from her mother.
The older woman glared at her daughter, before snatching the delicate chine from her. When her mother walked away, Mercy sighed unsure what to do at the moment. The other guests were talking, and she really didn't feel like listening to people's apologies. For the moment, Mercedes leaned against the dining room table and breathed in the familiar oak scent.
"How are you holding up?" Shizuo questioned, looking at the back of Mercy's head.
Slightly jumping, Mercedes looked back, to see the tall blond leaning against the door jam. "I'm fine, just tired, thank you." She forced a smile on her face, before hugging him. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
"To the best of the situation, I suppose you could say I am enjoying myself." He sighed, running her fingers through his hair. "But the real person to be worried about is you."
Somehow the space between the two had closed and Shizuo had his arms around her body. His warmth washed over her body, as she reluctantly wrapped her arms around him. Tears rushed to her eyes, forcing her burry her face deeper into his chest.
Her scent danced into Shizuo's nose, as he hugged her tighter into his body. At the moment he hated how he felt. He hated the joy and the excitement that took over, when she was this close, the timing wasn't right. Mercy's shoulders shook suddenly and his shirt dampened. This was the first time he had every truly seen her cry, it made the frozen disposition she presented to the world melt away, and he could now see the innocent girl her friends constantly talked about.
"Now this is a refreshing sight to see." The elderly woman, who was introduced to Shizuo as Mercy's mother, intruded on the moment.
Both froze, unaware that they were being watched by her mother and friends. Shizuo waited till Mercy had wiped her eyes, and pushed away from him. Though a slight pang of sadness replaced the joy their touch brought. Shyanne and Chandasea cooed quietly at their friend's modest embarrassment, as Kurenai smiled brightly.
"Izaya, I've heard so much about you from my daughter." Kurenai touched the tall man's shoulder. "You know, for a while I worried she would be alone forever, but it brings relief to my heart knowing she has such an amazing man holding her close. Now Mercy, I think we should clean up, and get ready for bed."
"Yes mother, I'll send the guests away, goodnight mother."
"Goodnight everyone, I pray your rooms are to your liking." The pepper haired woman bowed, before walking down the hallway.
The four young adult now openly showed how tense they had gotten. Mercedes forgot to mention to her mother about the break up, and she now wished she had. Mercy spared a glance to the young man who accompanied her. His muscles tightened as his breathe became barely noticeable. He was sick with anger, but he was trying desperately to control it.
"I apologize for my mother." Mercy muttered, slightly tripping over her words. "With all the commotion I managed to forget to tell mother about our break up." She half smiled, tears once again brimming her eyes. "It's all really my fault; please forgive my scatter brained moments."
Before the others could say anything, Mercedes walked out of the room. It didn't take her long to gather all the grieving guests, but it felt like forever before she was able to actually say anything.
"My mother and I are grateful that so many of you joined us, in sending my father off." Mercy started, fighting the urge to lock herself into the closest closet. "Unfortunately it's getting late, and mother went to bed."
"If you need anything, call." A few of our guests muttered as they walked out of the front door.
"Thank you, so much for coming. Please, drive safely." Mercy muttered pleasantly.
"So, Keith and I'll do the dishes." Chan broke the silence momentarily.
"Bu-"Keith groaned.
"It's fine, mother has already done the dishes, and I've already picked up." Mercy sighed. "I know this is lame, but I am exhausted, so I'm going to bed. If you want, or need anything, you know where my room is. Channy and Shyanne know where everything is, night."
It was another long night for Izaya, as he leaned back into his chair so he could get a better look of the screen. Since breaking up with Mercy, Izaya found a new experiment to distract him. He decided to leak out some business information, to make Mrs. Namie's life just a little more complicated. It was childish, but it also helped to accelerate the war between the dollars and yellow scarves.
At the moment Izaya was talking to Mikado, the leader of the dollars, about some of the rumors going around. Though he couldn't stop glancing at the surveillance cameras he placed around Mercy's house. The night before, he watched Shizuo place the silver haired girl in her guest bedroom. Watching that made Izaya see red, but now there was nothing. Nobody was at her apartment. Just darkness.
"What are you doing?" Namie's voice pierced through the silence of his office.
"Nothing," Izaya sighed, glancing out the room sized window. "It seems everything is working ahead of schedule."
"Isn't that good?"
"How's your brother doing?" he smirked wickedly.
Instantly Namie glared at him, before tossing a pile of papers on his desk and storming out of the room. Izaya glanced at the new pile and sighed. Looks like he wasn't going to sleep tonight, so he clicked the large red X in the corner of his security camera screen. His work was in a crucial stage, which meant there was no room for distraction. He would need to disconnect the cameras sooner or later, but now he had work to do.
"Do you think we should talk to Mercy?" Chandasea questioned when the movie ended. "You know, about the Izaya subject."
"I refuse to be the one who wakes her up, to talk about that ass." Shyanne muttered.
"I didn't mean right this moment." Chan rolled her eyes. "I meant like tomorrow, before we head back home."
"Sure I guess we can do that."
"Cool, whelp, I'm going to bed." Chan muttered quietly, "Shizu-chan, would you like me to show you your room?"
"Yes, thank you."
Mercedes walked around the kitchen in a haze, as she made breakfast. The others were still asleep, giving her some time to herself. She didn't sleep well the night before which resulted in her looking through family photos, until she passed out.
"Good morning sunshine."
Mercy jumped at the sudden noise, but recovered when she saw Shizuo. "Morning, I'm not done with breakfast yet."
"It's fine; can I ask you something…about yours and Izaya's relationship?"
Shizuo watched as Mercy physically flinched, but continued cooking. "Sure, why not? I know it's been bothering you guys for a while."
"Come here, the food won't burn if you leave it for a moment."
Without another thought, Mercy walked over to Shizuo and stopped when her legs touched his knees. At her close proximity, Shizuo pulled her closer, so she stood between his legs and rested her head against his shoulder. He breathed In Mercy's sweet lilac scent as he rested his chin against her head.
"Did you love him?" Shizuo questioned.
Mercy nodded quietly against him. "I believe I did at least."
"I see," Shizuo sighed. "Do you want me to kill him?"
Mercy smiled, chocking down a laugh, and shook her head. There was no need in harming him, it wouldn't do anything beneficial. Taking a deep sigh, Mercy wrapped her arms around Shizuo's neck and looked deeply into his red-ish brown eyes. When she had given herself to Izaya, something he said bothered her, until now. At this moment, standing in Shizuo's arms, she realized what her ex hinted at. Shizuo had feelings for her.
She swallowed hard, before allowing her lips to brush against his. His body tensed up, momentarily shocked from Mercedes actions. Unsure if she was doing the right thing Mercy started to pull away, but was stopped when Shizuo's hands pulled her back to his lips. The kiss tender and loving, soon became rougher and more passionate. His left hand enveloped the back of her neck, holding her tightly to him, as his right hand held her close. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat, that the two pulled apart.
"You can call me Cupid thank you." Shyanne smiled cockily.
Mercy rolled her eyes, before plating the breakfast food. "How did you sleep?"
"Wonderful, I forgot how amazing this place was." She smiled.
"Shizuo, the three of us practically grew up in this house. There have been so many laughs, fights, tears, and good memories here." Chan sighed, walking into the room. "So why are we calling Shyanne Cupid?"
"Shizu-chan and Mercedes were making out a minute ago."
"Ew gross," Keith muttered.
"Now you know how I feel about you." Mercy laughed, sticking her tongue out at him.
"At least I'm hot!" Keith shot back, holding back a chuckle while doing so.
"Don't lie to yourself Keith, and I'm no longer feeding you!"
"That's not nice," he whined. "Channy, make her feed me anyways."
"Sorry, once Mercy decides to do something, no one can convince her to do anything else." Chan smiled, patting her darling husband's cheek lovingly.
Mercy over dramatized a gag, as she put plates in front of most of her guests. She wasn't really going to leave Keith to starve, till lunch, but she wanted to mess with him just a little. She wasn't sure if she liked Keith, but she loves him because he makes her best friend happy and he genuinely loved Chan. Another groan exited his lips, when she neglected to give him a plate.
"Babe, why don't you try and be nice to her. Maybe apologize." Chan sighed, glancing at her friend.
"I'm sorry Mercy, you're really hot, and if I had-"
He stopped when he noticed Mercy's hand go up, as if surrendering. All the while he didn't notice the death glares he was receiving from everyone else in the room.
"Keith too much information, a simple, 'I'm sorry,' would have savviest." She pushed a plate forward. "Enjoy."
Without another breath, Keith already had half of his food gone. Everyone, including Chandasea, laughed at his unhealthful eating habits.
"What time is your flight home?"
"We have four hours." Shyanne smirked, sending her friend a cocky grin. "Chan, Keith, and I are already packed and ready to go. So we can go to the zoo, or something awesome."
"O, let's go to the music museum. It's been forever and a day." Chan cheered.
"No, I want to go to the zoo, or aquarium!" Shyanne shot back.
Feeling the impending argument, Mercedes sat in between the two girls. "Ok, how about we take turns with what we do during your visits?" The two girls looked at each other, before nodding.
"Who's going first?" the two chimed.
"Well, I was thinking Shyanne, since she first suggested it, but now I think we should flip for it." Mercy pulled out her lucky coin and flipped it.
"I call heads." Chan yelled, jumping to her feet.
A small smirk played on Mercy's face, as she looked at the quarter on the floor.
"Tails, sorry love, looks like we are going to the zoo." Mercy yawned. "If we have time, we'll head off to the museum."
"Promise," Chan pouted slightly.
"I promise," Mercy smiled, touching her friends forearm. "Now, go shower, so we can leave soon."
"Ok, but no sex, you two, while we are gone." Shyanne teased before walking out of the room.
Mercy sent Shizuo a questioning glance, before starting to wash the dishes. Things were quiet between the two, as they waited for the others. Neither of them knew what to say, after their unusual acts of P.D.A. It wasn't till Shizuo leaned against the counter, nearest the dishwasher, that Mercy dared another glance to him.
"I'm sorry." She muttered, glancing back down.
"For what," he questioned, looking down at her with a warm smile.
"For kissing you without thinking about the consequences." She sighed. "Sometimes I don't actually think."
"Its fine, I understand this is a hard time for you. With your father's death and Izaya's betrayal, I can wait till you are ready."
He didn't sound disappointed or anything. He was just happy enough to know Mercy had feelings for him as well. Mercy sighed, leaning over her granite counter tops.
"Thank you, things are going to be real hard now, without my dad, and I just need to focus of my family." She sighed, sending him a tired smile. "You're a great guy Shizu-chan."
As Chan and Shy, fought tears, both Mercedes and Shizuo worked on checking in the luggage. When Mercy glanced back at her friend, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"You guys are being ridiculous. I'll visit you at the end of next month." She sighed, poking her hip bone out a bit. "And as soon as I have time, I'll e-mail you today's pictures."
"Promise," Shyanne questioned, allowing a few tears to slide down her face.
Mercy tenderly touched her friend's cheek, wiping the tears away, before answering.
"Yes, so no worries. Now remember, I want all four of you to text me when you get home."
Mercy watched as her friends walked into the airport, before allowing a sigh to leave her lips. The half hour drive back home went by relatively quickly with the thoughts swarming through Mercy's head. Yes the funeral plans were over with, but now Mercy had to think about contacting nurses for the house, and what to do with her father's clothing. But somewhere in the dark depths of her mind, she couldn't help but focus on the cruelty funerals bring. Forcing the people -who are morning the most- to cook, take care of guests, console them, and then clean when everyone leaves just seemed cruel.
"I'm back mom!" Mercy called out, when she finally walked into the house.
She was met with only silence. Something a kin to panic rushed through her, before Mercy put her stuff down. Her mother is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, so Mercy wasn't too worried about the wandering, but something terrible could have happened. When Mercy reached her mother's room, she found her right where they had left her, sleeping on her bed. Mercy took in a deep sigh, before closing the door again. There was no reason to wake the tired woman.
More than an hour passed, as Mercy developed the pictures and sent them to her three friends, when she got text messages from the small group saying they were home. 'Now what to do,' Mercedes wondered as she leaned against the back of the couch. She had already cleaned the entire house and cooked dinner. 'Maybe now would be a good time to start work, on some of the local writers,' Mercy wondered, as she walked to her desk.