Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to "The Secret World of Arrietty" by Studio Ghibli/Disney or "The Borrowers" by Mary Norton. If I did, I wouldn't have to worry about next month's rent/bills. -_-
Forever
Chapter 6
"L-lo-love?" I stuttered. Heat flooded my face and neck. "Surely you don't mean…" No, he couldn't possibly!
"I do, Arrietty." His voice was calm even as his focus darted all over me. "I love you."
"As a sibling you mean?" My chuckle was nervous, desperate. "I mean, come on, Sho! It's just so silly."
"No, Arrietty, I don't mean as a sibling." He frowned a bit. "I mean, I am in love with you."
"But we don't really know each other!" I protested. "I mean, we haven't seen each other in eight years!" My breathing sped up and I desperately searched for a way down.
Sho looked a little disappointed. "Arrietty, I'm only saying 'I love you' because I know what I'm talking about. As a child, I loved you. Although at the time I couldn't really have told you that. "He smiled. "I didn't really know it myself. No one had ever shown me what love really means. But living with Aunt Sadako finally showed me exactly what unconditional love is. She loved me when I was sick, when I was depressed. She loved me through the mood swings caused by my heart medication. She loved me through it all and she never once complained."
His fingers stroked my hair and down my side. "That's when I realized I loved you. At first I thought it was just like how Aunt Sadako loved me—like family. I tried dating other girls but none of them worked out. I got drunk after the last one broke up with me. Through the alcohol induced haze, I realized that I kept comparing each of them to you. None of them measured up."
The silence that stretched between us was deafening. "I—I." I took a deep breath, trying to compose my thoughts. "I really don't know what to say, Sho." I couldn't meet his eyes.
"Arrietty, it's okay." His voice was soft and quiet. "I can wait. I don't mind." He played with my hair a little. "There's a proverb that describes love in several different ways. The very first line is 'love is patient.' I'll wait for you, Arrietty." He smiled at me and my heart broke.
Tears poured from my eyes and I sobbed. My shoulders heaved as I shook my head. "But why? I can't do anything for you. I can't cook. I can't clean. I can't give you children or any sort of a life! I'm only a hindrance, a burden!" I curled in on myself, crying pitifully. "I should have died with my family. Then I wouldn't be a burden to anyone!"
"Arrietty!" His voice was shocked. "Don't ever say that, do you hear me? Never say anything like that ever again. You are not a burden to me. You could never be a burden—"
"Because I'm so small! I'm useless." I sobbed harder, trying to wish the world away.
The gravity around me increased but I didn't think anything of it until Sho's free hand wrapped around me. He lifted me higher still, bringing me close to his face. My eyes flew open when he pressed me against his lips. They were soft and warm and just a bit wet. I froze in shock. For all his previous declarations of "love" I didn't actually believe him, much less expect him to kiss me.
He pulled me back after a minute, setting me back in his palm. I scrubbed at my cheeks, feeling the earlier heat return with double its force. My stomach did an odd little flip flop when something tightened below. Those large, brown eyes of his just watched me.
"Now do you believe me, Arrietty? Do you believe me when I say I love you?" he asked softly.
I nodded my head. "Yes, I do."
His smile was so large and bright that funny feeling in my stomach returned.
"Good, I'm glad. I'll say it again: I love you, Arrietty Clock. I love you and I'm willing to wait for you."
"How did you know my last name?" I asked, eager to get off the topics of love and waiting. I didn't want to admit how much his words affected me.
He smiled and carried me to the living room. He settled us on the couch, still holding me carefully. "To be honest, I've met a few other borrowers over the years. They're in my graphic design office. At first they were really scared of me. One night, though, I was work late on a project. I glanced up to see them on top of the filing cabinet. I was going to leave them alone but the younger boy slipped. Luckily for him he caught the handle of the second drawer from the top and was able to stop himself from falling any further."
My eyes were wide as he told his story. There were more borrowers? That meant mother's fears weren't true! She would have been so happy to hear that—even from a bean.
"Before I could think, I was out of my chair and across the room. Carefully, I picked him up and set him on top of the cabinet with his brother and father. The brother—I think he may have been the older one—boxed the boy's ears then hugged him. Their father just watched me. Once I was sure they were okay, I left them alone and went back to work. About an hour later, though, the brothers appeared on my desk." He grinned as he recalled the memory, stretching out on the couch and setting me on his chest. He propped a couple pillows beneath his head so the angle wouldn't be too awkward on his neck.
"It was an interesting sight to be sure. Both of them were visibly shaking but they were brave enough to come see me again. Just like someone else I know." He winked at me and I blushed. "The younger one was named Toza and the older was Soka. Toza was the one who fell. Anyway, Toza slowly walked towards me and gave me a paper clip and squeaked out a 'thanks' before darting back to his brother. I just sat there for a minute before asking their names. When they told me their last name was Plug I asked why. They said it was because their family lived behind the plug.
"I knew one of your doors was behind. The grandfather clock that used to sit in the hall so I figured your name must be Clock. I was right, wasn't I?" His grin was cheeky and made me want to stick my tongue out at him.
"Yes, you were right. But how did you find the entrance behind the clock?"
"We moved it to clean behind it one day and Aunt Sadako and I found it. We agreed not to tell Haru because she'd probably tear the place up looking for y'all even though you weren't here any longer." He rubbed his thumb slowly up and down my back, just a gentle, no-thought motion. It was soothing.
"I think," he said in a reminiscent voice, "the worst thing about the fire for Aunt Sadako was the entire garden was torched, too. All the flowers were completely wiped out. The gazebo, too. Nothing was left. We rebuilt this house exactly where the old one stood but put in a guest house where the gazebo used to be. Actually, it's a little father back but all the same. Mari usually stays there when she sleeps over. She's more than welcome to stay in the house but she likes the guest house." He laughed to himself.
"She probably sleeps in the buff." I rolled my eyes and Sho laughed harder. "Well, it's a theory. There's been a time or two she's come in the house still pulling on a shirt. If that's the case, I have no problems with her sleeping in the guest house."
"You're such a loving brother." I laughed when he arched a brow at my sarcastic tone. "I bet you don't even make her pay for part of the electricity."
It was Sho's turn to roll his eyes. "She pays for about a quarter of the bill. She keeps the place stocked with food in a mini-fridge and a little shelving unit above it. She's a bit messy, though, and has had a couple problems with ants."
"Oh, well, I hope they weren't too bad."
"Nah, not really. A little bit of Raid knocked them right out." He shook his head and turned on the television.
The rest of the day was uneventful. In fact, it was uneventful for a while. The days blended into weeks and, before I knew it, my knee had healed. Sho had made the modifications to the doll house—bickering with Mari the entire time.
Mari found out I liked to sew and brought me all sorts of interesting fabrics to make clothes with. When Sho found I had picked up my father's cobbler trade, he made sure I had everything I needed to make plenty of shoes. I was flattered to have friends as good as these.
The weight on my heart lessened more and more as time passed. My guilt eased with it. Although I still missed my family, the wish to die so I could be with them vanished. In its place was the perspective of having narrowly avoided death and of having gained a new lease on life.
Sho and Mari certainly helped. Sho became unafraid to call me "beautiful" and "love." His favorite way to wake me up in the morning was to tell me "Good morning, Beautiful. Never forget how much I love you." But how could I forget? His words and actions were permanently ingrained in my memory. No matter I how I would turn out to feel for him, I would always remember just how much he loved me.
I glanced out the window one quiet afternoon and realized it was the middle of summer. Somehow, time had slipped away from me. My birthday was coming soon. I wasn't sure of the exact date, I only knew it was when the first leaf on the great oak in the garden turned colors. While the garden was only grass now, the massive tree still loomed over the fence and driveway.
"What are you thinking about?" Sho said as he came up behind me.
"Nothing much. My birthday is coming up soon." It wasn't meant to be a hint, just a benign statement.
Sho, however, saw it differently. "That so? Well, we need to have a party! You'll be twenty-three, right? When is it?"
"There's no need for a party. I've never had one before. Why start now? And yes, I'll be twenty-three, you stalker. And sorry, I'm not sure when the date is. It's just always been when the first leaf on the great oak turns colors." How many questions could I answer in one breath? I thought I may had just set a record.
"One, I'm not a stalker. I've just kept track of your age." He grinned and I muttered "stalker" playfully under my breath. He ignored me with yet another grin and a roll of his eyes. "Two, you will have a party. No if's and's or but's about it! And three, we'll pick a date since you don't have an exact one. When the first leaf turns, you said? That sounds like the first day of autumn." He was quiet for a moment. "How about this: I go get the calendar and we see when the first day of fall is this year. Then, if you like the day, we can call that your birthday. What do you think?"
I was left speechless at how much he apparently thought of me to help me officially pick a date for my birthday. While I realized that he told me he loved me, to have him show it to such an extent was flooring. All I could do was nod I his direction when he called again.
He stood and left the room. I heard him squabble with Mari for a moment about party planning before she realized he meant a party for me. After that, she was helping him hunt down a wall calendar before I heard her exclaim something.
"I'm such a dork! I have a calendar app on my iPad." I heard her running before the back door opened and closed. I saw her dart across the yard, her strides incredibly long and ground-eating. She disappeared into the guest house and reappeared a minute later. Again, she crossed the yard with amazing strides and I heard her come inside. Sho entered the room at the same time she did.
He had what I guessed was the iPad in his hand, flicking his finger across the screen. For a moment, he and Mari hovered above me. It was funny how both their eyes were riveted to the flat, black box. Sho knelt beside me and propped the iPad up where I could easily see it.
"Here." He tapped one box in the calendar. "This is the first day of autumn. Well, actually, it's the Autumn Equinox but this calendar doesn't have the first day of fall marked. This year, it's September 22 for the Equinox. Does that sound good?"
I sat there and thought for a minute. Each year my birthday was different. Some years it came late in August. Sometimes it was in mid-to-late September. A set date would be nice. I nodded and looked back and forth between Mari and Sho.
"Thank you so very much! September 22 sounds wonderful. You are both great friends." Mari chuckled as Sho's smile took my breath away and made my stomach do acrobatics.
"Y'know, Arrietty," Mari said, sporting a teasing grin. "Sho is more than willing to be more than a friend to you." She laughed outright when Sho gasped her name in a strangled voice. "Oh come on. I know you told her. Plus, it seems like every time we go grocery shopping together, you're always asking how you can show her your love and try something that may make her feel the same." She laughed again when Sho and I both turned red. "Whoops! Did I say too much? Silly me."
"Mari," Sho practically growled even as his cheeks flushed. "I can't believe you would blurt out something like that! I told you those things in confidence."
"Aww, is my baby brother embarrassed?" Mari cooed. When she reached out to pinch his cheeks, though, Sho tackled her to the ground and began to mercilessly tickle her. Mari squealed and writhed under him and I just sat there and laughed. That is, until she managed to get out from under Sho.
She looked at me with a certain glint in her eye and I had the feeling I was about to regret laughing. Before I could realize it, she had managed to pin me and was tickling me in much the same way Sho had been tickling her. My squealing laughter rivaled hers in pitch.
"Sho!" I called in between laughs. "Help me, Sho!"
"I'll save you, Arrietty!" he cried dramatically. He lunged for his sister, wrapping one arm around her waist and grabbing the hand that was tickling me. He lifted it off before rolling both him and his sister away from me. She squealed again when he sat on her legs, pinning her.
"I did it!" he said, one fist in the air triumphantly. "I defeated the evil hag that was torturing my love!"
"Hey!" Mari cried, grabbing a throw pillow and whacking Sho with it. "Watch who you're calling a hag! And get off me. You're heavy!" She grabbed his wrists and pulled him forward. She heaved her legs up and pitched him ass-over-teakettle, throwing him nearly halfway across the room. She smiled, tossed her hair over her shoulder and winked at me.
"That's how you rid yourself of an unwanted giant who decides it's a good idea to sit on a judo instructor's hips." She pulled her hair into a high ponytail and fanned herself. "Whew! I think I may have worked up a bit of a sweat." She laughed Sho muttered something unrepeatable. "Now then, who's ready for a trail ride?"
See? Happy, fluffy, sweet and cute. Love and hugs all around! And all written by hand. *hand spasm* Ooww...
Oh, and note to self/readers, never trust Mari with a secret. She'll keep it until she decides she doesn't want to anymore and you never know when that will be. -_-;;