Warnings: Mild Slash (Finn Bálor/Hideo Itami), Mild Profanity, Fluff. (a continuation of the tale started in Xmas Carols: Chapter 22 O Christmas Tree)
The Thursday after the great shopping expedition sees both Finn and Hideo back in the little independent cinema to watch another Japanese movie. It's another anime, and Finn's kind of disappointed, he'd been hoping they'd play something that wasn't all bright colours and super cuteness, but at least it's in Japanese, and he gets to hold Hideo's hand in the dark again, so it's not all bad. Afterwards, it's back to the pub, another rich plate of stew, some more ale, with tea and biscuits for afters. All in all, it was a nice little date, but he's still no idea if Hideo is aware that they're going on dates or not. He's not exactly made his thoughts on the matter clear, but that's no surprise. He's not exactly communicative, well that's not quite true, he communicates, he just doesn't say much. Silence isn't bad though, silence is nice, familiar really. There's a lot of time when Finn would like the rest of the World to place as much importance on words as Hideo does, but there's little chance of that, especially in the USA. People like the sound of their own voices here, people like their voices to be loud, and heard by everyone. Back home seems very subdued in his memories, and Japan positively mute by comparison. Different cultures, different ways of acting in public, different standards of what is and isn't acceptable.
A light shove has Finn startled from his thoughts, and catching himself from colliding with the wall of the building they're walking past. He turns to scowl at his companion, wanting an explanation for the rude shove he just got.
"What was that for?" He snaps, and Hideo looks at him, and then pointedly down at the ground, at a large dog stool Finn had almost stepped in.
"Dog..." He pulls an odd face, fishing for the right word, and Finn laughs, stepping around the dog muck on the ground, and starting to walk once more.
"Shit... Dog shit." Fin laughs, throwing an arm around Hideo's shoulders, feeling him tense up, and he quickens his pace slightly to get out from under Finn's carelessly, but harmless gesture.
"Ah." Don't do that... Not in public... It's... Just don't. His face is turned down to the street, watching where he's going, and Finn shrugs, turning to look up at the moon, walking along a little ways behind his companion. The Japanese aren't known for being a tactile people, he should have expected that, but it's still marginally disappointing. There's a sting in the air, and Hideo was nice and warm. "You are walking slowly." Ls still pose problems for Hideo, he's still very cautious with them, trying to make them as clear as possible. Vs he tries to avoid like the plague, and there's a part of Finn that wants to find someone with a good Russian name, something all Ls and Vs to force Hideo into practicing them more. Practice brings confidence, and confidence would bring more conversation.
"Thinking..." Finn shrugs, catching up, not taking his gaze from the moon. There's a lot to be fascinated by in the night sky, a lot to stare at, a lot to think about. It's easy to stare up there and feel for a brief second comfortable when he spots a familiar constellation.
"There is a story." Hideo says suddenly, his hand on Finn's arm, pulling him to a small park, and then dragging him to sit down on a bench.
"A story?" It'd be nice if Hideo told the story, but Finn isn't getting his hopes up too high. There's much more of a chance that this will be all Hideo decides to say on the matter, than he decides to actually tell the story. It'd be the sort of aborted half-conversation that Finn dreads. He's happy to listen to mistakes, he's happy to offer gentle correction, but it truly seems that pride will keep Hideo's lips sealed far more than Finn's kindness will open them.
"Ah... A story about the moon, my grandmother told it to me when I was a child." There's a hint of a smile on Hideo face, a smile that's nostalgic for memories that happened long ago, but are closely treasured. Finn stares up at the moon, wondering about this story, legend he supposes, but Hideo says nothing, just sits there, staring up at the moon too.
"What is this story?" Finn asks eventually, and Hideo laughs softly, moving a little closer, their thighs pressed together.
"Long ago, an old man lived on the moon." He frowns at his pronunciation of lived, annoyed that the L sounds more like an R, and the V like a B, but Finn nudges him slightly, hoping to distract him from his mistakes and move on with his story.
"Ah." C'mon, I wanna hear this story, tell me. Hideo turns to him, and Finn smiles encouragingly. A tentative little smiles creeps over Hideo's lips, and his tongue darts out, wetting them slightly.
"The old man was lonely. He had been on the moon on his own for a long time, and he wanted a friend, but not just any friend, a good, kind friend, a pet of sorts." Hideo pauses again, his attention on the moon once more. "So he went to the Earth, and disguised himself as a beggar. He went to the forest, where he met three animals who were friends. A monkey, a fox, and a rabbit."
"Strange animals to be friends, don't you think?" Finn chuckles, and Hideo snorts, tapping Finn's foot with his own.
"Do you want to hear this story or not?" He snaps, but the tone lacks any kind of heat. He's clearly going to tell the tale, even if Finn interrupts him multiple times.
"Of course, c'mon Jackanory, tell your story." Finn laughs, and Hideo looks at him oddly. He doesn't get the reference, and Finn shakes his head, knowing about British children's television isn't overly important, especially as they live in the US.
"Ah." Fine, keep your strange comments' origins to yourself. Hideo clears his throat, and relaxes on the bench some more, his hands folded in his lap. "'I'm so hungry.'" Hideo's old man impression is more amusing than it should be, and Finn chuckles softly. "The animals, being kind creatures agreed to get the old man something to eat."
"They really were kind... I can't see me just fetching some old beggar food just cause he said he was hungry." Finn laughs, and Hideo shakes his head, not commenting on the further interruption, but there's a smile on his face that forces one just as soft to Finn's lips.
"The monkey brought back a mountain of fruit for the old man. The fox caught a big fish, and laid it at the old man's feet, but the rabbit didn't know what to do. He could only eat grass, and grass was no good for a human to eat. 'Oh my... What to do? I have nothing to give the poor beggar.' The rabbit was distressed, but an idea came to him. 'Mr Monkey, will you bring me firewood?' The monkey brought the rabbit wood to build a fire with. 'Mr Fox, please help me make a fire.' The fox did as the rabbit asked, and the beggar watched confused." Finn feels just as confused by this story. He's not certain where this tale is going, but Hideo seems to be having fun telling it. The little wispy voice he uses for the rabbit is cute, far cuter than a grown man should be. "'Rabbit, what are you doing?' The old man asks, and the rabbit hops over to the fire. 'Mr Beggar, I have nothing for you to eat. Humans cannot eat grass like rabbits, but what I can do is this. I will go into the fire, and when I am cooked, you can eat me.'"
"What? No! This is a story for children, and Mr Rabbit is hopping off into the flames? That's not right!" Finn knows he sounds far more indignant than he perhaps should, but the rabbit's altruism is a little excessive, and if the bunny dies, so does Hideo's cute little rabbit voice.
"Shh, the story is not finished." Hideo smiles, and leans a tiny little bit closer to Finn, their shoulders brushing together. "The rabbit hopped into the flames, but they did not harm him. The old beggar transformed himself back to being the old man of the moon, and the animals were amazed. 'Mr Rabbit, you are the kindest of all the animals, but you should not harm yourself so willingly. Your life is precious. Come, my friend, I will take you home to live with me.' The old man of the moon took the rabbit home with him, and if you look, you can still see the rabbit up there today." Hideo's hand creeps over, his fingers lacing with Finn's, and he raises their joined hands, pointing at a section of the full moon. "There is the rabbit, happily living on the moon with the old man." Finn tightens his grip on Hideo's fingers, and rests their joined hands on his thigh, staring up at the moon trying to see the rabbit. If he squints, he thinks he can just about make one out, but it might just be his imagination, and willingness to indulge Hideo.
"What's the word for rabbit in Japanese?" Finn's not really asking for any real reason other than to have an excuse to sit on this bench a little longer. It's nice, tranquil, peaceful and quiet, away from the hustle and bustle of the street.
"Usagi." Hideo tells him quietly, seemingly content to sit on this bench staring up at the moon a while longer.
"You-saggy?" Finn has a feeling he massacred that word; Hideo's fingers squeezing his own.
"Usagi... It's a long Ooo sound, and short e." Hideo's fingers wriggle slightly, and Finn squeezes them lightly, stilling their small movements.
"Usagi? Yeah... I think I got it, usagi... Wait! That movie we watched tonight, wasn't the main chick called Usagi?" Finn's pretty sure she was, and he's sure there was something about moons in the subtitles. He'd not really been paying attention, he was much more interested in staring down at the little tangle of digits on his thigh, much more interested in watching Hideo's profile, and the calm contentment on his face.
"Ah." Yes, why do you think I told you this story? Cultural awareness, Finn, cultural awareness. "It is a famous anime... The English is Sailor Moon..."
"And the main character is called Rabbit? Ha, that's kind of hilarious." Finn chuckles, and Hideo shakes his head, a smile on his lips.
"Ah." If you say so. Hideo doesn't seem inclined to argue with him. "We should go." Hideo says after a while, and Finn nods, expecting Hideo to pull his hand back, or at least make some kind of move to stand up, but he doesn't. All Hideo does is sit still, staring up at the moon. "It is strange." He says after a while.
"What is?" Finn asks, not really expecting an answer. They really should head back, they've been sitting out there for a while, and they've another early start tomorrow morning.
"When I came to America, I was sure everything would be different, but it is not." He turns to Finn, staring at him. There's very little distance between their faces. It would be very easy to lean forward, to claim a real kiss from Hideo, a kiss like he's not had since Christmas. The quick brushes of lips against lips with the Pocky wasn't enough, wasn't anywhere near enough.
"No?" Finn's voice is almost inaudible to himself, so he's no idea if Hideo heard what he said or not, but the smile that flits over Hideo's lips suggests that he heard.
"No... There are many things that are very different." Hideo's eyes drift closed, and for a second it looks like he's going to kiss Finn, but instead he changes his mind, and pulls away sharply, standing, and stuffing his hands determinedly into his pockets. "The moon is always the same." His tone is short and final, and he starts walking out of the park. Finn sighs, scrubbing his eyes with the hand Hideo had been holding, the fingers on that hand far warmer than those on the other. The Japanese aren't big on public displays of affection. This whole incident had to freak Hideo out a little, but maybe he gets that these are date dates more than Finn had assumed. They'd come so close to kissing again, so close Finn could almost taste it, almost taste Hideo.
"Hey, wait up." He jogs up to Hideo, and bumps his shoulder lightly, drawing his attention from where it was fixated on the path. Something flits through Hideo's eyes, something longing. Finn wraps his arm around Hideo's shoulders briefly, pulling him close to Finn's side for a few seconds before letting him go. They take a few more steps, a few more feet are covered, before there's a tentative brush against Finn's fingers. He clings without thought, drawing Hideo closer to his side once more, their hands joined. It's a far bigger step than it might first appear. It's a tactic acknowledgement by Hideo that he is aware that there's more to these little outings than just two friends going out to see a movie together. It's a little admission that he's willing to see where this'll go, even if it's outside of his comfort zone, and it stirs something like butterflies in Finn's stomach. A fluttering sensation he's not felt since he was a kid going on his first date. "You know..." He smiles at nothing in particular, squeezing Hideo's hand gently. "The moon's the same in Ireland too."
The rabbit on the moon story is remembered as best I can from a drunk conversation with on of the Japanese teachers... but she was very drunk, and I was slightly more interested in K-TV. There are many different versions of the rabbit on the moon, and this is the one she told me.
Many thanks for the lovely and glorious reviews: AshJoiVillette, kathy. dietrich .98, Miss. nogimmicksneeded, Pucket, and Guest.
I now know that I stand not alone on this ship (raft/dingy/plank of wood), but still if you liked it, if you ship it, and if you'd like more, please review!