Chapter 3: Déjà Vu
He tossed and turned all night. Something was bothering him but he couldn't put a finger on it. The nightmare had ended, this time making him shiver. He pushed himself up as he tried to check the time – 2.45 am – the timer on his bedside table beamed mercilessly into his eyes. What had caused him to awake this time? His heart raced as a cold shiver went down his spine. 'Snow?'
Buzz… buzz… "Hello? Miaka? Is everything ok?" came the voice of someone just jolted up from the abyss of sleep
"Yui – chan … I need to tell you something important."
"Oh Miaka…" Yui chuckled. 'It might be something important that she called at this early. Then again it is Miaka.' She thought as she continued, "What is it Miaka. Can't it wait till daylight?"
"Daylight?" Miaka sounded confused. It was late evening in Tokyo. The sun had just left the horizon, blanketing the city in night.
"Miaka, it is 2 am here. Have you forgotten that I am NOT in Tokyo?"
"Oh sorry Yui – chan. The time difference might have slipped my mind in all this excitement"
"What is it that couldn't wait till daylight? I was going to call you to tell you something important in the morning. Anyway *yawn* go on." Yui was not in the mood to have a long conversation. She was tired after a long hard day at work and had just fallen asleep minutes before Miaka called. Silently she urged her mind to refrain from uttering the few English profanities that she had learnt from Glen.
"Yui – chan I am pregnant. You are the first to be told, well apart from Keiskue and Mitsukake and a certain arrogant blonde former Shogan."
Yui almost instantaneously bolted upright almost waking the man who was sharing the bed with her. A low stifled moan of annoyance was emitted from that person as Yui carefully untangled herself from the sheets and his firm grasp and walked towards the living room.
"Wow Miaka. That's wonderful. How is Nicholas taking it?"
"That infuriating baka knew and didn't care to tell me." Miaka was still annoyed at the fact that her beloved Nakago - as she called him - had not said a word about her pregnancy and proceeded to tell Yui all the events that had transpired over the course of that day. Yui listened in amazement as her best friend continued her rambling monologue. When she thought it was over, she suddenly became aware of the brilliant diamond ring on her left hand ring finger that dazzled in the moon light. Unconsciously fingering the diamond beauty, she braced herself as she prepared to tell Miaka of the most important news of her life. "Miaka… em… Glen…"
"WHAT did Tasuki do?" Miaka managed to spit out assuming the worst. In her mind, Tasuki was many things but most definitely not a coward.
Yui sensed the direction in which Miaka's thoughts were trailing. Before she could misunderstand anything, Yui managed to say, "Glen proposed Miaka. He asked me to marry him." An ear-piercing scream indicated that Miaka was excited. "That's not the only thing, we will be coming to Tokyo soon. Glen has a two-week photo-shoot in Tokyo. We will be there next week."
"It is about time that you came home. I miss you Yui – chan."
"I miss you too Miaka. Now I really need to go or Tasuki will think that I ran out on him. "Oyasuminasai Miaka."
"Oyasuminasai." *click* Miaka disconnected the phone feeling a sense of pride as she realized that her former seishi finally built up the courage to propose to her best friend. They had been dating for almost a year now. 'Well done Tasuki. It is about time that you proposed.' She slowly made her way downstairs towards the movie that she had paused at the interval.
Nicholas Raine poured himself another cup of steaming black coffee as he tried to concentrate on reading the fine print of the newspaper. It had been his fifth cup up till now. He had not expected his wife to stay out all night, as she had done. He couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried – worry? no it was not that he was worried but the thought of the former Suzaku seishi who were in love with their miko enjoying themselves, laughing with her. Her eyes illuminating to the clear emerald-green when she smiled. Jealous? He refused to believe that he would stoop to a petty emotion like jealousy, but he was jealous. 'It is going to be a long day.' He shrugged as he placed a note on the table and left for the business meeting in his office.
She awoke suddenly wondering what woke her when she noticed a pair of hands wrapped obsessively around her from the back. Confused, she looked around only to realize that she had slept on the floor watching the silly movie that Miaka rented. 'Miaka?' her thoughts wandered as she rested her eyes on her little russet haired sister-in-law who was fast asleep in the hands of a dark-haired man. 'Dark haired?' she pushed herself upright trying her best not to wake the sleeping pop star next to her. She deduced that somewhere in the middle of the movie they had all fallen asleep. She was sitting next to Andy and might have fallen asleep, the emperor in him decided not to awaken the tall blonde woman but to let her lie in his arms.
She got out of the grip she was in and decided to make breakfast for the boys and the girl with them. No sooner had she started the fire with the fry pan on that she heard a familiar gasp and looked around only to find Miaka trying to figure out why she had slept on Taka's shoulder. She managed to untangle herself but the moment she stood up, Stephanie saw the look of panic on her face before she dashed towards the bathroom, hand firmly clasped on her mouth. 'I wonder what it is this time' Stephanie thought worriedly as she turned off the fire and followed Miaka to the bathroom only to hear her lurching into the cold porcelain of the commode.
"Miaka is everything ok?" she tried to mask the worry in her words only to get a cheerful "I'm ok" form the little russet haired girl who quickly managed to dismiss it as nothing serious.
'I really wonder' Stephanie thought as she continued to make breakfast. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Miaka's worry as she gazed at her former lover. Something was bothering her and Steph swore to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Breakfast was eaten in relative silence. Steph kept glancing at Miaka, trying to pin point exactly what was going on with her. 'Of course you idiot.' Her mental voice suddenly exclaimed lighting an imaginary bulb in the process. 'She is pregnant!' Everything finally made sense – her refusal of sake last night, the heightened emotions, the morning sickness. 'Oh boy Nicky, this is awesome' her mind raced as she concluded the implications. She hadn't realized but a grin the size of a Cheshire cat had encompassed her face. Her thought process came to a grinding halt as she heard Keiskue's deep voice.
"Steph what's the matter?" he was worried. Her smile actually managed to colour her eyes turning her misty grey eyes to a shimmering steel grey.
"No… nothing" she managed to say trying to hide the amusing thought of Nicholas actually becoming a father and handling dirty diapers. As a child, he practically raised her and was a different person than this cold ice man that he become after the death of Adrienne.
Just as Miaka decided that it was time to go back home, Steph casually walked up to her and playfully asked her, "Hey Miaka, when should I expect my little niece or nephew?" She saw the instant stiffness of the young former miko and her eyes turned jade with shock. She also noticed how Miaka's face changed to three different shades of the red colour spectrum and knew instantly one of the reasons her ice sculpture of a brother loved this fiery miko.
"… How …. How did you know…?" her voice was low trying to avoid the curiosity of her former seishi. She shot a glare at her brother that would have instantly vaporized any normal person.
"Oh no." Stephanie was thoroughly amused. "It wasn't Keiskue. I figured it out all on my own." She sang happily. Needless to say she was so happy at the thought of being an aunt that she spontaneously hugged the little russet haired miko.
She was so caught up in the revelations of the morning that she hadn't realized where she was going. Her body seemed to move on auto – pilot as she entered Raine Consultancy. She entered the lift and pushed the button half expecting to meet her brother. However her legs had other plans. She had been so caught up in her daydream that she didn't realize where she was till she saw a lone figure stand at the edge of the board room. The moment she entered, he spun around pinning her with his violet gaze. Suddenly realizing where she was she tried to hide the shock on her face as she blurted a quick apology and was headed out the door.
"Wait." She heard him say in the deep English accented voice that stopped her dead in her tracks.
He was preparing for an important presentation for some really important people. Somehow his body urged him to practice in the boardroom as his upcoming meeting would be there. He checked the short presentation he had managed to make this morning when he abruptly awakened. Going through the slides once more he heard the faint click of the lock as the door opened admitting the beautiful blonde goddess he had encountered at the airport all those days ago and again when he first stepped foot in his new work premises. 'What is she doing here? I was supposed to be alone.' His mental voice stated in surprise. He swore he saw a glint of surprise flash across the blonde woman's face which was gone faster than it had appeared. He heard a stammered apology before she turned her back against him, hurrying towards the door. Intuitively he heard himself and was shocked that his voice was deeper and more seductive than the shakiness that he had expected.
"Wait."
He saw her stiffen with the sound of his voice. Without realizing, he had closed the distance between them. He noticed her platinum blonde hair wrapped itself snugly around her waist with soft curls. Her dark purple button down shirt and the deep ebony of her low waist jeans did remarkably to show off all of her well-toned curves. His eyes went to her feet. They were clad in black and golden strappy stilettos which invariably brought her to his height. He urged her around as he fought the urge to kiss her there and then. 'What is wrong with you. You barely know her and you think of her this way?' his mental voice kicked in. He did not wish to be labelled a pervert and silently studied the woman in front of him. He noticed that unlike any young woman of her age, this woman wore just enough make up to emphasize her eyes and her perfectly chiseled features.
"I remember that you told me, you'd see me soon." He shrugged sheepishly, unconsciously fidgeting with his fingers behind his back like a nervous school boy talking to a crush for the very first time. "I have met you two times already. At least tell me your name."
"Stephanie" she managed barely meeting his gaze.
"Stephanie…." He repeated softly, "I am Ryan. It is a pleasure to meet you."
They barely managed to lock gazes when a loud ring of a very familiar tone broke them both out of a trance. "I think you should get that." she heard him say unaware of the annoying tone she had allotted for her brother.
"Come to lunch with me. This afternoon. I will pick you up em…. At the gate."
Without thinking she turned around to meet his deep amethyst gaze and unconsciously, the word fell out of her mouth, "Yes"
A/N: Thank you Fourteen for the review. I hope you will like this chapter too. *Grins*
Here is the next chapter. Hope y'all like it. Reviews welcome.