Chapter 7
Date Night, Part II – Dressed to Deceive
The Sato Brothers, along with Alyssa and Sawako, all stood in front of the department store and stared up at the five-storey building. It really was quite the sight—Upper Heaven's department store was big enough to spawn its own separate building.
They had just finished having dinner over at the Belle of the Boulevard, and the members of Bump of Chicken even signed Haru's light blue dress shirt as well as the picture Sawako kept of her and Haru, with the words 'stay strong' written as a message from the band. But oddly enough, there were a couple of girls at the restaurant, especially the waitresses, who wanted Haru's autograph more than Motoo's. Sawako was still holding the photograph and was staring at it quite fondly. She still couldn't get over the fact that she met, and even performed, with such a band.
"I can't wait to show you my favorite brands, Sawako!" Alyssa squealed as she giddily grabbed onto the high school teacher's arm, causing her to almost drop the picture. "Come on, come on!"
Hiro laughed as he watched Alyssa drag her into the store, with the doorman opening the door for them, before she was even given the chance to respond. He turned around and saw that his little brother was still standing where he was, smiling at the scene he was watching. "Yo, little brother. You're not coming?" He asked.
Haru shook his head. "You guys go on ahead. I'll just go for a smoke."
"Whatever." Hiro shrugged and hurriedly followed the girls inside, who were already making their way to the elevator.
"Huh? Where's your brother? Isn't he coming?" Alyssa asked her husband, noticing they were one person short. Sawako also looked up at Hiro, looking a little worried.
The three of them could see Haru from where they were, smiling and waving from the other side of the revolving glass doors. He was already holding a lit cigarette between is middle and index fingers. "He said he'd catch up." Hiro sighed. "Apparently he needs to catch his breath with a cigarette."
Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "Just how is that going to help him?"
"Um, I think I should stay with him." Sawako tried to say.
"Nah, don't worry about him. He doesn't look like he has a problem. He's just probably itching to take a cigarette break." Said Hiro. "Don't worry about him."
Alyssa pulled her closer. "Yeah. And besides, I don't think he'd mind if I borrowed you for a while."
Sawako could only stare at her boyfriend until the elevator doors slid until they were closed, completely blocking her view as they slowly ascended to the third floor. Haru looked at the elevator until it closed, and sighed wearily as soon as the three of them were out of sight.
He slowly rubbed the back of his head after taking a long drag from his cigarette. He tried to remember everything Masashi said. "A band, huh? Crazy old man." Haru thought aloud.
Then again, he's never been wrong.
Haru shook it off his thoughts and took a final puff before he threw his cigarette into a steel bin nearby with half of it left. He then ignored the doorman, who grinned at him as a greeting. He thought it was incredibly cheesy, as if the man was telling him, "If you're not going to buy anything, you may as well just stay outside and out of our store, with all due respect, sir." Haru couldn't wait to slap him with their shopping bags later.
He walked rather calmly as he made his way to the elevator, and as soon as the doors opened for him, he slid inside and instinctively pressed the button that took him to the third floor: the women's department. Knowing Alyssa, this was the first destination.
By the time he had found them again, Hiro was sitting on one of the ottomans, while the girls were trying out some dresses a bit noisily, sharing one of the curtained fitting rooms at the more luxurious part of the store.
By some act of magic, Alyssa had somehow successfully convinced Sawako into picking a dress from a luxury fashion brand and making Haru pay for it. Well, he really didn't have a problem with that.
"Where are they?" Haru asked him, as if the answer wasn't obvious enough.
"They're already trying out dresses. You know how Alyssa gets. It's like a damn drug." Hiro groaned. "And poor Sawako's become her new Barbie doll."
"I feel sorry for her." Haru said with a laugh.
The boys turned to the fitting room when they heard the curtain roll to the side, revealing Alyssa first, who flaunted her short, bright-blue fitted dress. As usual, Hiro was just speechless, continuously asking himself how he ever got to make such a beautiful woman fall for him. Haru wondered about that too, ever since she met Alyssa, but never really found the answer. Perhaps it was what you call one of those miracles of love.
"Well, what do you guys think? I know I'm gorgeous, but you can't just stare at me all night." Alyssa pouted, noticing that the Sato brothers were just staring at her now, but Haru managed to look away and glue his eyes to the carpeted floor.
Hiro couldn't help but grin. "You look amazing, dear." He said. "Come to think of it, I don't think there ever was a time you sucked."
"I do hope that's a compliment." Alyssa said, adoring herself in front of the mirror.
"What about Sawako?" Haru managed to inquire.
"Oh, of course, of course! Come out of there, Sawako dear. Your boyfriend's just itching to see you in that Armani." Alyssa said, her hands traveling back into the fitting room to fetch the extremely embarrassed Sawako, who was hiding behind the curtain. She managed to pull her out, causing Haru to drop his jaw all the way to the ground in amazement as soon as he saw what she was wearing.
The dress was indeed by Armani: a fuchsia jersey evening dress with a v-neckline that complimented her perfect collarbones. Haru felt like he had died and gone to heaven, greeted by an angel in pink. I mean, that is pink, right?
Hiro saw his brother and couldn't help but laugh.
Sawako kept her eyes on the floor. She was more worried about the price of the dress than how she looked in it, so she was cautious as she stood, not wanting to have to pay for it in case she damaged it in any way. Still, she looked up at Haru. "Well, what do you think?" She asked him. In the end, his opinion was really all that mattered. She didn't care if everyone else thought she looked like a woman wearing garbage, as long as Haru thought it was nice.
Haru cleared his throat. He was obviously blushing. He looked like he was fighting the urge to stare at Sawako and was losing miserably. Alyssa couldn't help but giggle at the sight. She has never really seen him look so vulnerable.
"Well, um," He started to say. "I think, uh… that you look beautiful, no matter what you wear, really."
There was a short, awkward pause before Hiro and Alyssa laughed like hell.
Hiro fell off the chair and cackled on the ground, creating quite the racket and causing the other customers and clerks to look at them. "Oh, my God, Haru!" He managed to gasp between his laughs. "That is just rich! Where did you learn to talk like that? Christ! Make him stop! Somebody get security!"
Haru growled and gave his brother a livid look while Sawako blushed just as furiously. Did he really mean that? She asked herself.
"Oh, Haru, that's just so sweet." Alyssa said, still laughing, although unlike Hiro, she was trying her best to suppress it. "But we're talking about the dress she's wearing, not what you think in general, though I'm sure she'd look great in anything."
Haru sighed. Perhaps that was way too cheesy. "I know, I know. But I was serious when I said that too." He said.
Hiro got back on his feet again and crawled back to his ottoman. "The dress, damn it. We're talking about the dress." He said, still laughing.
"Fine! The dress looks great on her!" Haru groaned in defeat. But he wasn't really lying.
Alyssa looked down at Sawako with her lips twisting in dissatisfaction. "Hmm, I don't know, sweetie." She told her, fingering the silk fabric of her dress. "It's nice, but it looks a bit too 'high school' for you. You need something more mature. Mrs. Ayame likes elegance above everything else, after all. I don't think being bright and quirky is going to work on her."
Yeah, but so is being all rock and roll.
Haru and Hiro nodded at that. It was true.
"But she still looks great." Haru insisted.
"Oh, Haru, dear. You're in love. Of course everything is beautiful to you." Alyssa giggled. "Wait 'til you get married. That's when the ugly comes out."
Hiro nodded again. "Yeah, it's true."
Alyssa then gave Sawako another dress, and this time it was black. "Here, you should try this." She said, pushing the poor girl back into the fitting room until she was inside. "Call me if you need any help."
"S-Sure."
Haru leaned over Alyssa's shoulder. "Isn't Sawako a little too young for black?"
Alyssa crossed her arms and pouted at him. She loved wearing black herself; it made her feel well-dressed. "Are you saying I'm old?" She demanded.
"No! Of course not!" Haru shook his head defensively. "It just feels too mature."
"Then are you saying Sawako's immature?" She asked.
Haru growled like a frustrated child. "Damn it, stop misinterpreting me!"
"Goodness, you are way too uptight tonight, Takeharu. Take it easy, I was just kidding." Alyssa giggled. She then reached out for his shoulders. "Why don't you take your brother and look for decent suits? Perhaps that'll make you feel better. Besides, it probably won't take you that long. You're men, after all."
Come to think of it, she was right. Haru could just pull one suit out of some rack and buy it when it could take forever for these girls to pick out dresses that they actually want.
Haru looked over at Hiro, who just shrugged, saying, "You know, that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea. I'm just worried he might also call me beautiful."
That sent the two of them into another giggling frenzy, and Haru just stood there, watching them with a frown. Sawako also heard Hiro while she was trying to put on the new dress, causing her to giggle as well.
Hiro eventually managed to pull himself up while still laughing and dropped his heavy arm around his little brother's shoulder. "Ah, come on, come on." He said. "Let's get you a nice suit for mommy." He then began to drag him along towards the elevator, where he pressed the button that took them to the fourth floor.
Alyssa smiled at them swiftly as she waved goodbye until the elevator door closed, and after that it was back to business. She went back to the fitting room on a mission to make Sawako transform from this quirky high school teacher to Haru's elegant angel.
Haru buttoned the single breasted, navy-colored wool blazer that he wore over a light blue dress shirt with a white, spread collar as he tried to stand up straight while looking at himself at the mirror. The modern-fit suit he was trying to fit himself into was from Burberry, which Hiro himself picked out for him.
Haru wasn't particularly picky when it came to clothes and liked keeping things simple, so it was easy for Hiro to make him wear anything, unless it made him look like Willy Wonka or some Anime cosplayer. He just had this rather inconvenient hereditary illness that made him look good in everything he tried to wear. It was the same with his grandfather, then his father and uncles and cousins and other distant relatives, and now him and Hiro. It was like a curse, really, which was inherited by the men of the Sato family, as he liked to call it, although he'd be lying if he said he didn't benefit from it at all.
Hiro noticed one thing that was missing from his attire as he watched how he was trying to fix the lapel after buttoning the blazer down. "Where's your tie?"
"I decided to get one after Sawako's done picking a dress. I want to make sure that they match." Haru explained. He didn't take his eyes off of the mirror at all.
Hiro had just finished picking out his own suits from his favorite brand, Calvin Klein, so there was nothing much to do now but wait for Haru to find a suit that he liked enough to buy.
"You really like Sawako, don't you?"
That question made Haru pause as he tried to fix his cuffs. He glanced at his brother from the corner of his eye. "Of course I do, she's an amazing woman. Can't you tell?"
Hiro scoffed. "Oh, I think everyone can tell."
"Why are you asking me that anyway? Don't tell me we're about to have a heart to heart. It doesn't suit you."
"Of course not, you idiot. I was just curious."
"And why would you be curious?"
Hiro rested his chin on his palm and smirked. Perhaps it was time to be blunt. "Because I've seen you fall in love before and it didn't end that well."
That was when Haru completely stopped and dropped both of his hands to his sides, turning to his brother with an unreadable face. It was the same face that their father, Takumi, was always making. His expression was always like that, so indecipherable, so unyielding, and because of it, a lot of people had a hard time trying to figure out how he really felt. Right now his son Haru was wearing that face, and Hiro knew all too well that whenever he'd put that poker face on, something serious was about to go down. Last time he saw that face, Haru 'calmly' punched someone right in the face, which was back in high school. "That was high school, Hiro. People tend to be stupid when they're young and in high school." Haru finally said.
"Yeah, but you turned out to be more stupid than the usual case."
"Let's not talk about that, man." He shook his head. "Sawako doesn't even know about that. Well, at least not yet."
"What? Why haven't you told her?"
"Part of the past I'd rather forget. Besides, I figured she doesn't have to know."
Hiro couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief. The way Haru was answering, too. It was too plain and flat and in monotone. It didn't sound good at all. "Well, you should. Or else there's going to be trouble."
Haru raised an eyebrow. "Why would there be trouble?"
"Because when a lie is exposed after being kept for too long, it often goes out with a bang. You should know that. You experienced practically everything back when you were studying in Columbia." Hiro explained. "And it's really no different now despite the fact that you're trying, and failing, to live a middle-class life in Japan."
"Except that's not really a lie and I'm not like those idiots. I know how to keep a secret, especially when it's mine." He looked up at Hiro. "I do hope you let me deal with this myself."
Hiro sighed. "Of course. This is your relationship, so you take care of it. Just be careful. You're still my brother, you know."
"I will. I just don't want you going off on your own and decide to do the right thing by telling her the truth yourself. That sounds like something Alyssa or mom would do."
"Well, you better be thankful that I'm not a girl." Hiro joked, hoping to lighten the mood now that it's suddenly gone so serious.
"Thanks, Hiro."
"Just make sure you don't end up hurting the poor girl, okay?" Hiro gave his brother a light tap on the shoulder. "She seems like a nice girl, too. I actually like her."
"Me too, and that's why I want to disregard my stupid mistakes from years ago as much as possible. She deserves a man, not a boy."
"But looking at things that way just makes you seem more of a boy."
"What are you talking about? Takeharu Sato is a man. A very handsome man, at that." Haru laughed. "Don't you ever forget that."
Haru then cleared his throat as he finally finished fixing his suit from head to toe, and smiled at the image in the mirror, obviously satisfied with the way he looked. He didn't look like a boy at all; in fact, he looked more like the son of Takumi Sato now. Now all that's left to do is to get rid of that thin, rough stubble so he could finally complete the debonair ensemble. It was starting to get on Hiro's nerves.
"I like this. I'm buying it." Said Haru.
Hiro couldn't help but scoff again. "What? But that's the first suit you've tried on. Aren't you going to try anything else?"
Haru shook his head and smiled. "Nah, I think I'm good."
"Fine, suit yourself." Hiro mumbled, no pun intended. He then raised a hand and called the attention of a nearby male clerk and watched him as he made his way towards them.
"What can I do for you, sirs?"
"We're taking this." Hiro said, pointing at the suit his brother was wearing with his free hand, since his other arm was used as a hanger for the three suits he already picked out. "Can you get us a fresh one from the stocks?"
"O-Of course, sir." Said the clerk, looking into the tag and memorizing what was written on it before he strode away again and out of sight.
Haru turned to Hiro again. "I wonder how the girls are doing."
Meanwhile, back in the ladies' department, Alyssa has already managed to talk Sawako into trying her fifth dress, which was another one from Armani. It was exactly as the boys had predicted—she was in the middle of making a life-sized Barbie doll out of Sawako and was enjoying every second of it.
Alyssa was standing half-in, half-out of the fitting room, with the curtain partly closed. She was watching Sawako as she slid into her dress, looking pretty tired already. "So, how long have you and Takeharu been dating?" She asked her, hoping that a little talk would distract her from her little exhaustion.
Sawako made sure the dress was completely on before she answered, fixing her glasses. "More than four months already." She said. "Though I'm sure Haru doesn't know that. He insists on not counting because he said it didn't matter as long as we were happy together."
Alyssa nodded rather sarcastically, which Sawako didn't see. She knew Haru only said that because he was too lazy to count. "Sounds like he's really happy with you. That's a good thing."
"Yeah, and he's good at reminding me that. I just wish he'd share his problems with me, too." Sawako crossed her arms. "I don't know… sometimes he just acts like a boy. He's too focused on being happy that it makes him pay less attention to the things he needs to fix."
"That sounds exactly like Haru. Has he ever told you about his father, though?"
Sawako wondered if that had anything to do with what she just said. "A little. All I know about Mr. Takumi is that he was the one who 'convinced' Haru into taking C.E. in Columbia. Haru doesn't like talking about family that much."
Alyssa leaned back again. "Yes, and I understand. His father is quite the overachiever. It comes with being a successful businessman. His standards were unreachable, so it often drove poor Haru to be rebellious, to the point that Takumi would christen him the black sheep of the family. He was just never good enough. I think that's what made him who he is now." She said. "Though he never once said that he blamed him. Maybe it's because he didn't want to seem like one of the people who blamed their parents for every bad decision they made in life, like, some 'Boo hoo, my daddy doesn't love me, so I decided to become a stripper' kind of thing. Haru basically just thought of his father as a challenge."
"The poor thing…" Sawako leaned back until her back was dropped gently against the wall. Perhaps that was the reason he was so secretive?
"That's the reason Haru decided to leave Manhattan after he graduated. He wanted to live away from his father, but I never really expected him to come back home to Japan, to all places." Alyssa shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Even after everything he's been through, he's still as predictable as ever."
"And where is his father now?"
"Back in Manhattan." Alyssa said almost as immediately. "We asked him to come with us, but he told us he's too busy with work. Said something about business in Taiwan."
Sawako looked up at her. "And I'm guessing that's not the real reason?"
"Father's not in good terms with his son, so obviously he's not coming because he just doesn't want to see him. Classic daddy issues."
"Wow. Mr. Takumi sounds a lot like Haru."
He really did. Haru also had that annoying habit of going around and past a problem instead of facing it head-on. He looked at his problems as if they were the witches from that game Left 4 Dead—if you run into them and startle them, that's when they incapacitate you, and you'll be left to rely on other people to help you up again, so the best plan of action when encountering them was sneaking past them. And if there's one thing that Haru disliked more than his dad, it was relying on and being indebted to other people.
That made Alyssa laugh. "Oh, you have no idea." She said. "I've had my own troubles with Takumi myself. You know, once, when Hiro took me to meet his parents for the first time, Takumi told me in front of everyone at the dinner table that I didn't look like the most suitable choice for his son."
Sawako gasped. "Really? Just like that?"
"Yes." Alyssa nodded. "Of course I was hurt because I love Hiro very much, but he seemed more upset than me. In fact, Hiro was so upset that he decided to live with me until Haru fetched him home."
Alyssa remembered that incident quite fondly. It was actually the first time Haru has ever done something mature and she essentially noticed. See, her first impression of Haru was quite harsh; she thought he was just some cocky lacrosse-playing boy with a pretty face who preferred zip-up hoodies over suits, wears tacky sneakers, and drinks before doing something serious, so Alyssa thought he really was the black sheep of the Sato family. Plus, he and Hiro were always getting into petty fights so she thought he was pretty immature too. But after seeing what he did for his big brother, Alyssa's respect for the boy was raised significantly, and it was raised further after finding out his story and seeing him work his butt off until he finally got what he worked for—that diploma. That was when she finally confirmed that Haru deserved all the respect in the world and that he was truly a man that she and everyone else could count on.
Though she still couldn't help but wonder if he was still that man. A lot can change, and it looked like Sawako was gradually changing him. At least it seemed like it was for the better.
She nodded longingly, playing that moment in her head again. "You know, if Haru was a little older, I would have actually considered marrying him instead of Hiro." Alyssa joked, or at least Sawako hoped she was.
She then turned to the younger one again. "What is it about him that draws you, though? Aside from his looks, of course."
Sawako paused, thinking about it, since there really were a lot of reasons she found his boyfriend so magnetic, and it sure as hell wasn't the way he drank his scotch or the fact that he was probably as wealthy as Tsumugi. What was that one thing that drew everything together, though?
That was when the answer finally hit her like Thor's hammer to the face. "Well, you see, I used to be willing to be anything just to be with a guy I liked when I was younger. One time, a guy told me he wanted wilder girls so I tried that, but I overdid it." She said with a little laugh. "Then I went to study to become a teacher because of another guy. That didn't work out well, but I actually liked teaching, so I went at it."
She noticed Alyssa staring at her intriguingly, with her eyes shining. She looked like she was genuinely interested in her relationship with Haru. "But with Haru," She continued, "I don't have to be anything. I don't need to be a superwoman or a genius or anything like that. I just need to be myself, and he always reminds me to stay that way because that's when he loves me the most." She let out a laugh. "I'm sorry if it sounds so cliché, but that's really how he makes me feel. It's just so amazing to be able to find a guy like that in this day and age."
"No, it's fine. In fact, I think it's the most wonderful thing I've ever heard." Alyssa confessed. "I actually envy the kind of chemistry you have."
"Do you really think we're that compatible?" Sawako asked.
"What's compatible?"
The two girls immediately turned and found the Sato brothers walking towards their fitting room, with the suits they bought conveniently being carried around by the clerk they had found earlier. Hiro greeted the girls with a nod, smirking knowingly, while Haru just stood where he was, a couple of steps behind him, staring at everyone else. He looked so baked. It must have been the smell of new suits.
Haru looked down and saw the number of shopping bags by the fitting room. So apparently Alyssa had already bought her own dresses. They really couldn't be Sawako's, after all.
Alyssa immediately stepped out and closed the curtain behind her. "Oh, nothing, dear." She greeted Hiro with a quick peck on the lips. "I was just talking to Sawako about how her dress should match Haru's suit."
"Ah, Haru was actually talking about that, too." Hiro said, pointing at his brother with his thumb over his shoulder. "He hasn't bought a tie yet. He said he wanted to get one after Sawako was finished with her dress so that he could find one that matched it."
Sawako heard that and blushed behind the curtain.
"You are just too sweet, Haru." Alyssa said.
Haru just smiled shyly before he took a look around. "Where's Sawako, anyway?" He asked. He looked down at Alyssa. "Don't tell me you two are still playing dress-up."
"Hey, it's not my fault. Everything looks good on Sawako, but I just can't seem to find a dress that's 'elegant' enough, yet young at the same time." Alyssa explained. "Well, hopefully this next dress she's trying to fit into will be the last."
"Just a sec, I'm almost finished!" Sawako called from inside. Haru walked closer until he was directly in front of the fitting room. "It's okay, take your time." He told her.
Haru sat down on the nearby ottoman right next to Alyssa and let out a rather heavy sigh. Alyssa noticed this and immediately leaned over towards him, smirking. "You okay?" She asked. "Don't tell me you actually called my husband beautiful and now you're ticked about it."
"What?" Haru almost squealed defensively. "Of course not. It's probably just the Martini. I'm starting to feel a little dizzy."
"Well, you did down three glasses, for heaven's sake."
"I told you to take it easy on the drinks." Sawako called in an in-your-face kind of way from inside the fitting room.
"Yeah, I'm sorry." Haru called back.
After a while, the curtains slid to the side again and Sawako emerged, alone and barefoot, as she sloppily fixed her glasses, almost falling over. She was so tired that she thought that it was actually the dress trying to kill her.
Haru immediately stood up and stared at her from head to toe, and Alyssa and Hiro could only look at her in amazement. It looks like they found the jackpot.
The Armani that Sawako was wearing was a short, black dress with dark blue highlights, along with a boat-slit neckline and rhinestone detailing. Haru didn't even know what those things were. All he knew was his girlfriend was probably the most beautiful woman in Japan right now, if not the world, even though her hair was a bit of a mess and her face had turned pink from fatigue. Haru just wanted to pick her up bridal-style and take her back home, drop him on his bed, and kiss her face off. She was a perfectly imperfect angel in black. He surely wasn't going to take his eyes off of her any time soon.
Sawako noticed how they all looked at her. Even the clerk looked pretty amazed. "What is it?" She mumbled.
"It's nothing. You just look so amazing." Haru managed to say. "This is perfect."
"I couldn't agree more." Alyssa said, walking towards her and pulling the slightly ruffled dress down so it would straighten itself. "I absolutely love it. You have to buy this."
Before Sawako could protest or even see for herself how much the dress was, Haru had already asked the clerk to get a new one for them, and being the diligent clerk that he was, he immediately went back to find what they asked for.
Seriously, he doesn't get paid enough for this.
Hiro noticed that his brother still hasn't taken his eyes off of Sawako. "Whoa, easy, tiger." He laughed. "You know she can't leave the store wearing that, right?"
Haru shook his head to refocus himself. "O-Of course."
"Boy, the breeze sure is nice in here. Nice view, too." Alyssa told the other three as they all sat in a straight line facing the waters. All of them were sitting, except for Haru, who was standing on the boulders with his hands in the pockets of his coat. After leaving the department store, the Sato brothers decided to consume a couple of cigarettes before they finally call it a day and take the girls home.
It was starting to get a little cold, and Haru had to keep rubbing his reddened nose. He then looked down at Sawako, who was still dumbfounded after discovering the price of her new Armani dress. He even bought her a pair of new stilettos that were four times the price of her dress. The fact that she now owed Haru so much drove her almost to insanity. She'd never be able to find him a Christmas present that was just as amazing as everything he has bought for her tonight, and on such short notice.
He didn't seem to notice how she was practically falling apart, since he was making such a huge deal out of rubbing his nose. It was getting so red that it made him look like Rudolf.
Sawako squealed, almost fainting in surprise after Hiro tapped her on the shoulder while she was trying to think. "Hey, you don't look too good. Are you okay?" He asked her.
Alyssa looked up at Haru and glared at him for being such a bad boyfriend and not noticing Sawako before her husband did. Haru just raised an eyebrow. Clearly, he didn't get the message.
"Yes, I'm fine." Sawako started rubbing her arms. "It's just so cold."
"You can say that again." Haru nodded. That was when he finally took a cigarette from his pocket and ignited the other end. He looked up as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Come to think of it, it is getting quite cold. And I left my coat back at that car." Alyssa added.
And that was the last straw. Hiro put out his cigarette and threw it into the water. He then courteously removed his jacket so he could let his wife wear it, leaving his arm around her shoulders after doing so. Haru watched his brother, and he turned to him, grinning smugly, as if to brag about his chivalrous deed. It made Haru frown. For once he actually thought Hiro was being just genuinely courteous. He was so wrong.
Haru scoffed and did the same for Sawako, despite the fact that she already had her parka on. Then again, he always saw parkas as useless articles of clothing that weren't as functional as coats, but of course, he's never going to tell Sawako or Alyssa that. He didn't want to die just yet.
"Um, thank you." Sawako said.
Haru just smiled. "Yeah, sure."
The ride back to the Sato residence was short and silent. Hiro, after everything that happened that night, fell asleep with his head thrown back all throughout the ride while his wife was too busy keeping herself warm. Sawako just stared outside the window while Haru drove quietly, as usual.
He turned up the FM radio, and fittingly enough, Kazami's You was playing. Haru twisted the volume knob slowly up to 23% so that it wouldn't be too loud. It was actually a good thing—at least, on the ride home, he finally got a chance to relax, even though it was cold as hell and he was starting to grow pale. The heat from the car wasn't really helping at all. Damn Innova.
When he turned to glance at Sawako, he saw noticed that she was already asleep, her arms clutching his coat tightly, which she already used as a blanket. He realized that the other two were already asleep as well, and he chuckled quietly.
"I'll see you guys later." Haru told Alyssa and Hiro as soon as they arrived at the Sato residence and stepped out of the car. He pressed a button beside him so that his window would roll down.
"Be careful now." Alyssa said with a yawn. She then turned to Sawako. "Good night, sweetie. We had a great time with you tonight. See you soon."
"I had a great time too, Alyssa-san, Hiro-san. Thank you again for everything." Sawako said.
Hiro just smirked and waved. "No problem." He then looked down at Haru and gave him a suggestive look. After seeing Haru's confused face, he hit his shoulder quite heavily, laughing. "You kids be good, now."
"Yeah, yeah." Haru groaned, rubbing his shoulder.
Haru rolled the windows back up, afraid of another hit from his big brother, and drove off. Sawako sat back down and fixed her seatbelt back on. "They're such nice people." She said, referring to Alyssa and Hiro.
"Well, I'm glad you like them." Haru said with a nervous smile. "They looked like they liked you a lot."
"Yeah, so I've noticed." She couldn't help but let out a giggle.
"Did you have fun tonight?"
"Yes, more than I've had in a while."
"That's good." Haru smiled.
Sawako looked at him and smiled back as he kept his eyes glued on the road. She noticed that he already looked pretty tired, but tried his best to hide it. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't that good of an actor.
"Thank you again." She told him. "This is probably the best Christmas present anyone's ever given me. Now I'll have to think of something really big to get you."
Haru scoffed. "No, you don't have to do that, really. It's fine."
"But I can't just give you nothing after all you've spent on me tonight." She insisted.
"Don't worry about it. Let's just spend Christmas together, okay? That's more than enough for me."
Sawako just pouted and stared at him for a moment before she finally gave up and looked forward, staring at the road. Haru stole a quick glance, thinking that might have upset her, but in fact she was only thinking about whether or not she should settle with just spending the holidays with him as a Christmas gift. She'd have to pay him back one way or another, but doing that just won't cut it. If she doesn't think of a great present to get him before the 25th, she's going to regret it and curse herself until she grows old and dies for being such a bad girlfriend. The entire thing would be nailed on her conscience. She wouldn't be able to endure the torture for more than two days.
If Haru heard what she was thinking, he'd probably think she was insane. He kept taking quick glances as he drove, and every time he looked, Sawako was wearing a different expression on her face. Instead of trying to figure her out or wait for an answer to his invitation, he just kept on driving.
Perhaps that Armani dress was still driving her nuts.
Eventually they arrived at Sawako's apartment building, and after Haru turned the engine off, he stepped out and went around to where Sawako was sitting and opened the door for her. It didn't look like she wanted him to do something like that, and he didn't know why he did that either, but somehow he just felt like doing it.
"T-Thanks." Sawako managed to say, still a little surprised.
Haru grabbed her paper bag as well as her purse for her and lent her a hand as she stepped out of his car. Sawako almost stumbled forward, but he managed to catch her, causing them both to laugh.
Haru helped her until she was standing steadily again. "You should be more careful." He told her. He looked down at her feet. "I always knew heels were wearable death traps." He joked.
She laughed. "It all depends on the wearer, Mr. Sato."
"Whatever." He chuckled.
But they both could only laugh so much, and a few seconds later, they noticed the laughter slowly fading, until they were just staring at each other, keeping their smiles on, since they really couldn't do otherwise.
For the first time all night, Haru was given the chance to look down at Sawako, and he had to admit, it was exhilarating, as if it were his reward after a long, tiring night at Upper Heaven. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck, pressing their foreheads together. It made Sawako smile, even though Haru reeked of cigarettes and martini. Still, she really can't imagine him smelling like anything else. It sort of became his natural scent, something only he could pull off and still be attractive. If anyone else tried to smell like him, they'd probably just smell like pig crap.
"What are you smiling about?" He mumbled, pulling his face only a few inches away.
Just when Sawako was about to say something, something cold slowly found its way onto her nose, and it stayed there. She looked down, and Haru did the same. It was white, and moist, and cold, and…
Haru raised his eyebrows. "It's snowing."
They looked around and noticed that it was indeed snowing. The white stuff started falling from the sky and slowly to the ground, and suddenly it got a hell of a lot colder.
He then took her hand. "I really should be getting you home, at least before we both freeze to death." He said with a laugh, and Sawako just nodded and followed him back to her apartment as if it was his too.
Sawako sat down in front of the little table in her apartment, right in front of Haru, holding two mugs: one hot chocolate for her and some coffee for him. She let him use her favorite mug, which was monogrammed with the initials 'DD', which obviously stood for Death Devil. Every member of the band had one, and it was one of Norimi's crazy ideas.
Haru, being the observant engineer that he was, studied the mug as soon as it was handed to him. "Thanks," he said. After realizing what the two D's stood for, he smirked and looked at her. "Death Devil, right?"
"Yep." She nodded. She could sit more comfortably now, since she was wearing more snug clothes, which included a brown, oversized hoodie with the faces of the members of The Smiths printed on it, as well as a pair of red jogging pants. Normally she'd just wear a shirt and a pair of shorts, but since it was already so cold, she really had no choice. The heater could only provide enough heat so that she wouldn't be too cold that she gets frostbite, which meant she still had to wear warm clothes even inside her place. It completely sucked.
These were the times she wished she had already moved in with Haru, but she knew that was a big step, and she wasn't even ready for it herself, so she just waited for him to extend that invitation, even though he made it seem like it wasn't going to happen any time soon.
Haru laughed. "Some crazy merch you girls had." He said. "I wish I'd known you girls back then, I would have been a big fan."
"You'd probably run after seeing how wild I was." Sawako laughed.
"I told you, dear, I'd love you even if you became as wild as a mountain lion."
Sawako looked at Haru, who was grinning like a child, but he really sounded like he meant what he said. That was when she remembered what she told Alyssa when they were talking in the fitting room; Sawako could be anything she wanted for all Haru cared, all that mattered was that she was who she was. She just blushed and took a quick gulp from her hot chocolate, which really wasn't that hot anymore, thanks to the snow.
She couldn't help but wonder, though, if Haru was going to feel that way forever.
Haru looked out the window and saw the snowflakes still falling. "Man, when it snows, it pours."
"Shouldn't you get going before the snow completely eats your car?"
"Come on, I was just getting really comfy." Haru purred, which was totally uncharacteristic of him. "Besides, don't you want me to stay?"
The martini must have really gone to his head.
She tried her best to contain herself and not fawn over how incredibly cute he was being. "No, it's not that. You're going to have a hard time driving once the snow thickens, you know."
"That's no problem." He insisted.
"Fine. Suit yourself."
After taking a quick gulp of coffee from the mug, Haru leaned closer to Sawako until their faces were only about an inch away. Either Sawako's table was really small or Haru was just that tall. He was being really weird, too, and she really couldn't figure out why. It couldn't be the martini now, since it would probably take a lot more than that to drive him this crazy.
But it didn't matter.
Sawako couldn't take it anymore. Her hands flew from her mug to his face, caressing it softly and lingering on the stubble on his jaw. Within seconds, she leaned in and closed her eyes, meeting his waiting lips in a chaste kiss. He tasted like cigarettes and coffee, but she didn't mind. It just made him all the more kissable. She crawled on top of her table, sloppily spilling their drinks all over the place, with her lips still locked on his. He let her push him down on the floor until she was looming over him like the little devil she was. Haru had to love it when they do this; it always brings out a side of Sawako that people usually wouldn't think she had.
As strange as he was acting, though, Haru was still the same when it came to kissing her—so slow and so gentle, as if he was trying to tease her. The slothfulness was driving her insane.
She bit his lower lip to let him know how impatient she was, and he let out a small laugh, finally picking up his pace.
As always, once they started, they really had no reason to stop.
It was already 2:43 in the morning when Haru suddenly woke up, groaning in discomfort as he tried to pull himself up so he could sit. He kept blinking until his vision was back to normal, and dropped his hand on his top of his head so he could run his fingers through his hair.
He looked down and winced as soon as he realized he was only wearing boxers and the only thing that kept his body warm were the sheets that he was sleeping under. Sawako was lying right next to him, who, unlike him, was sleeping soundly with a smile on her face. He also noticed that she was wearing absolutely nothing under the sheets and tucked her in, but only so gently so he wouldn't have to disturb her as he slowly tried to stand back up.
Haru slipped his slacks on, fixing his belt, and threw his dress shirt on, buttoning only the first four buttons, before he walked towards the door that led to the hallways, grabbing his coat and taking it with him.
What he needed right now was a quick smoke.
He checked his cell phone for any messages as he leaned by the balcony, and oddly, there were seven of them that were unread.
"What the," He said. He immediately pressed the button that took him to his inbox to see if it was some sort of emergency, but it turned out that it was only his mother texting him for the past few hours, asking him things like where he was and all of that motherly crap.
He sighed in relief as he read the messages.
This was one of those things that he particularly didn't like about his mother. Back when they were still living in New York, he still had to ask her permission about everything, from dates with girls, to study groups, to gigs at bars and many other things, which really wasn't that bad because she always allowed him to go wherever he wanted. And sometimes when he forgets to tell her where he's off to, about two hours later he'd find his inbox full of messages asking him where he was, who he's with, and why he was there, and she wouldn't stop until he had replied.
Despite being clingy with her children, Ayame let her kids do what they want, whenever they wanted. It has always been like that with her, and she never regretted enforcing that style of parenting, even though it was in complete disagreement with Takumi's style, which was more of a dictatorship than actual parenting. As far as Ayame was concerned, though, her children can go where they want, drink what they want, smoke what they want, as long as they kept their grades up, went to Ivy League universities, got decent jobs, and knew how to present themselves to society, but mostly just high society. So basically, you're only allowed to do stupid, petty teenage crap as long as you don't screw up the rest of your life.
Haru was just thankful that Ayame wasn't as inquisitive as she was before, but she still had to understand that he was a grown man now. He really didn't need any of this.
Sato, Ayame - 7:43PM: How are you kids doing? Having fun at the mall? Your sister keeps bothering me about how you should have brought her along.
Arakawa, Takashi - 8:01PM: Just reminding you about our assignment next week, Sato. Clock's ticking. If we fail the second time, I don't think we'll be sticking around the Center for long.
Sato, Ayame - 9:12PM: Don't stay out too late.
Takada, Megumi - 9:22PM: Hey, Haru. I haven't heard from you in a while. How are you doing?
Sato, Ayame - 11:58PM: Be careful on your ride home, sweetie. It's a shame you didn't bring Sawako home. It would have been nice to meet her.
Sato, Ayame - 12:43AM: You sure are taking your sweet time. Why aren't you texting me back? Are you still at Sawako's?
Sato, Ayame - 12:47AM: If you planned on staying the night there, you should have told me first. Anyway, good night, Takeharu. I'll see you tomorrow.
Haru stared at his phone for quite a while, unsure of which one he should reply to first. That was when the fact that Megumi texted him finally registered into his mind. He scrolled back up and opened her message again, look back over it a couple of times before he stopped. The whole thing made him completely forget that the reason he stepped out of the apartment was to sneak a smoke. He didn't even notice how serious Takashi's message was.
Now, it was true. Since he and Sawako have started dating officially, Haru really hasn't spent a lot of time talking to Megumi. In fact, he hasn't talked to her at all since that day. Of course, if Megumi had suddenly stopped talking to him, he'd find it weird, too, considering how close they were.
In fact, they were really close. But more about that later.
He hit the button that prompted him to reply to her message and quickly typed in his message on the keypad.
Sorry, just been a little busy for the past few months with work and all. How about we talk over lunch some time again, like we used to?
Well, that was stupid. He shook his head and deleted the entire message in annoyance. He then clicked so he could give her a call—he didn't exactly know why he did that, either—and waited for a second ring before he finally decided that it was also a bad idea. He really couldn't expect Megumi to be awake at 3 in the morning. What was she, a sparkly vampire?
Haru sighed in defeat and cursed himself for being so worked up on a single, casual message.
That's when his phone suddenly vibrated in his hand, almost giving him a heart attack.
He looked down. It's Megumi.
"Hello?" He asked as casually as he could, walking a couple of steps further away from Sawako's apartment.
It took a while before Megumi talked. "Hey, Haru. Why'd you call?"
He paused, thinking about it. He actually didn't know the answer to that question himself. "Well, I just read your text and I kind of wanted to talk to you… until I remembered what time it was." He explained. "What are you doing up so late, anyway?"
"It's Saturday, you know." She said, as if she was talking to an idiot. "I was playing when you decided to call." She laughed. "Consider yourself special. I paused my Call of Duty for you, dummy."
"Really?" Haru couldn't help but chuckle. "Then I must be pretty damn special."
It was one of the things that Haru loved about Megumi, really. On the outside, she may look like the highbrow, straightforward college professor from the J. Women's University, but in reality, she was one of the boys, and was probably a better gamer than Haru and Yuji combined. When she wasn't out being her intellectual and beautiful self, she liked playing MMORPG's and maybe even fighting games on her PS3. She and Haru got along so well that they spent most of their free time together, and now that he was given the time to reminisce about it, he really couldn't help but suddenly miss her.
They both laughed for a while, until it got ridiculous and awkward. "I missed you." She finally said softly, in a way someone wouldn't normally tell her cousin. It felt more than that.
It made Haru smile, and he leaned back against the wall. "I missed you too."
He really had.
"Let's see," Megumi said rather cheerfully. "Should you be thinking of the ways you're going to make it up to me or should I decide for that myself? I've got a couple of things in mind."
Haru scoffed. "Like what?"
Megumi actually took a piece of paper from her desk nearby and prepared to write with her pen. "I was thinking, you could buy me lunch for a whole month." She explained. "Or maybe you could buy me a minimum of four new games for my PS3. So, what do you think?"
"I think that's a load of crap, Takada." He replied plainly.
"I know, right? I thought it was a little too light for you, too. You did go MIA for a while, you know." She said with a little laugh. "I can't think of anything worthy enough to be considered a punishment."
She may have sounded serious, but Haru knew she was just joking. This was her way of joking, which was probably a little weird, but still funny nevertheless.
"Maybe I should do the thinking. It's my fault for being invisible for a while." He suggested. "Don't worry, I'll think of something great."
"Oh, that's right. If I remember correctly, you just hate it when you owe someone something."
"You know me so well."
Megumi smirked. "Well, I really should be getting back. You know I'm a busy woman, Mr. Sato." She said.
"Yeah, I should get back to sleep, too." He laughed.
"Call me again, okay? I have so much to tell you."
"Sure, and me too."
"I'll bet." She told him. "Well, I'll talk to you later, Haru. Don't get into too much trouble, okay? I love you."
That didn't sound like something someone would tell a relative, either. Still, Haru looked as if everything was normal and he was accustomed to everything. "Yeah, me too." He then clicked to end the call, smiling at his phone.
For some reason he couldn't take that smile off of his face.
"Haru?"
That soft mention of his name totally came out of nowhere and almost made his heart jump out of his chest in surprise. He almost dropped his phone, too. He quickly turned, seeing Sawako lethargically walking out of her apartment, still rubbing her eyes. She had managed to slip into her pajamas and kept her hoodie of the Smiths hanging loosely on her shoulders.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Haru asked, quickly shoving his phone back in his pocket.
Sawako kept walking until she was right in front of him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "No, it's okay. It's just a little too cold." She said.
"Sorry."
"Were you talking to someone?" She asked, looking up at him.
"Uh, yeah." He stammered, looking at everything but her eyes. "It was my mom. I haven't really told her I'd spend the night here, so she was worried."
Unfortunately for him, Sawako knew him well enough to notice that it was the same face he always makes whenever he was lying, but she just played dumb and played along. "Aww, well, it wasn't your fault. I was the one who 'distracted' you."
Haru couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, it was the perfect distraction, by the way." He leaned down and kissed her again, pulling away as something suddenly came to mind. "Hey, this is going to sound a little crazy," He started, still a little hesitant. "But do you think it'd be a good idea if I moved in with you?"
Again, he knew what he was saying, but he didn't know exactly why he was saying it. He was worried he may have already gone insane.
Of course, Sawako was also surprised. "That came out of nowhere." She said rather flatly. Now she knew something was definitely up.
Haru just shook his head and rubbed a hand on the back of his head. "I know, sorry. I know that's a huge decision and I shouldn't ask it like it's no big deal." He said. "My house just feels so crowded lately, you know?" Yep, that was pretty much the perfect justification.
Sawako softened her gaze as she leaned her cheek against his sturdy chest, which surprised him a little. She knew he was definitely hiding something, but she also realized that she's been pretty forceful with extracting the truth out of him lately. That's probably the reason he's still so uptight and still so secretive. Perhaps if she gave him time to think about it and sort it out for once, then maybe then he'd learn to be more open to her.
Well, at least that's what she thought.
"You know, that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea." She said softly.
"Really?"
She nodded. "Are you sure, though? My apartment isn't exactly that lavish, Mr. Sato, as you may have noticed."
"Stop calling me that." He chuckled, pulling her even closer than she already was. "And yeah, it's actually more than fine. You know I can be anywhere as long as I'm with you, Sawako."
Man, he really knew how to sweep women off their feet with just words.
Sawako only purred in response. "Besides," Haru continued. "I'll only be staying until after my parents go back to Manhattan. I want you to move in with me after that."
"But what about my apartment?"
Haru just looked down at her with an indicative smirk, and Sawako immediately picked up what he meant: he wanted her to sell her apartment and move in with him and sell her apartment.
It took her quite a while to think about it. It was a pretty big decision, after all, and it's definitely not something you'd ask your girlfriend to do at 3 in the morning, for Christ's sake. Now she was starting to get even more suspicious than before, but she still had faith that her boyfriend would explain everything in full detail eventually. Besides, he has already done so much for her, and it was the least she could do until she finds a decent way to pay him back other than kissing him. Haru understood this completely, so he just stood there and held her, waiting patiently for the response he was expecting.
"All right, then." She finally said. It surprised him, too.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep." Sawako said cheerfully. "I don't know why I even thought about it. Moving in with you would be wonderful."
A grin suddenly appeared on Haru's face, and he kissed her forehead, obviously pleasantly surprised. He looked like he had proposed to her and she just said yes. "That's great!" He said.
Sawako just celebrated with him. She had to admit, she was pretty happy about it too. "Yeah, it is."
Haru leaned in again and kissed her, with her kissing back, after a second of hesitation. After they pulled away at the same time, he looked down at her and smiled again. "I love you. You know that, right?"
"Yeah." She said, nodding. "And I love you too."