Contrary to what anyone might believe otherwise, Mr Momoi was a rather observant man when it came to his only daughter.
She was his little girl, and like any loving father, he adored her. He practically worshipped the ground she walked on since the day she was born. On that same, aforementioned, day he had vowed that he would look after her, make sure not to let her come to any harm, protect her from anything and everything that may come to pass and be there for her when she needed someone to rely on.
She was his little girl, and she always would be, no matter how grown up she got. She was going to graduate from university soon and it felt like just yesterday that he was running after her in the amusement park, trying to keep her from getting into any trouble or falling over.
His Satsuki as growing up and becoming a woman, but in his eyes, she would always be his little girl. He would always look after her. He knew her better than anyone because he had looked after her his entire life.
This was why it was easy for Mr Momoi to notice the slight changes in his daughter's behaviour. Or, rather, it would be more accurate to say in her countenance? Something about her had changed. She still did the same things as before, she was still the same as always. But she was different.
He'd also noticed that she'd been spending a lot more time with the neighbours' kid than she used to in high school. They were attending the same university so he guessed it was normal, but still, it seemed peculiar to him. As far as he knew, Daiki-kun was one of her best friends—which, frankly, Mr Momoi found dubious at the age that the kids were—but he wasn't anything other than that. Or at least Satsuki hadn't mentioned anything to him and his wife about a change in status quo.
Thus why Mr Momoi thought his daughter would be much better off looking for a romantic partner rather than being tied down by an awkward friendship. Make no mistake – the Momoi patron loved Daiki—he was like the son he never had—but he didn't want the boy's relation to his daughter rob her of potential future prospects.
Satsuki's father was sitting in the living room, reading the day's newspaper, when he heard his offspring breeze through the premise and head straight for the door. She shuffled her shoes on, did a quick once-over at her outfit and prepared to go out.
Mr Momoi peered curiously at her from over the couch's backrest.
"Going out, Satsuki?" he inquired good-naturedly with a smile.
The beaming grin his daughter sent him when she finished putting her shoes on was absolutely heart-warming.
"Yep!" she chirped merrily. "It's a great Saturday for going shopping downtown! Dai-chan promised to come help me carry my stuff, so I am going to make use of that promise now."
Daiki-kun again, hm? Mr Momoi sent a curious glance her way.
"You seem to be spending a lot of time with Daiki-kun lately, daughter," he surmised thoughtfully and observed his girl for her reaction on the matter. "Is there something more going on there than you're letting on?"
Satsuki laughed at that, turning on her heel to give her dad a sheepish grin.
"What are you talking about, daddy? Dai-chan and I have always been like this."
Her father gave her a thoughtful hum, turning back around to get back to reading his newspaper.
He didn't know what reason his daughter had for lying to him about this, but he decided he wouldn't question her any further for now. He had yet to get used to the fact she wasn't a child anymore—she was already twenty-three years old and, being the independent and strong young woman that she was, she would probably be moving out of home soon. Even though she was still living under the same roof with them, the man couldn't grow out of the habits of needing to look after her all the time.
"I'll get going before I'm late. See you later, daddy!" she called out as she burst out the door.
"Have fun, Satsuki," her father wished her.
And he did mean it.
When his daughter had been very enthusiastic and very insistent on taking him and his wife out on some impromptu outing for lunch, Mr Momoi had been quite curious as to her reasons for it. It sounded a bit too formal for their family—it's not like they had anything in particular to celebrate or anything, which was usually the only reason that they went out to eat at a restaurant.
What the man found even more puzzling was Daiki-kun's presence at what he had assumed had been supposed to be a Momoi family lunch date. Not that he minded the boy's presence of course—it was nice to have someone to talk to about things that really interested him – being the only man in a household domineered by his two women was a somewhat intriguing position for the elder man.
Although he didn't quite understand the reason for their gathering, Mr Momoi was most certainly enjoying it. When the boy had been little, he had been quite the troublemaker and somewhat of a rascal, but he appeared to have grown up into a fine young man. His wit and humour appealed to the elder man and he was very glad that one of the greatest influences in his daughter's life ended up turning out to be such a decent boy.
"Excuse me, please," Satsuki said as she gingerly pressed a napkin to her lips. "I need to go make a phone call." She gave a bright smile to all three people she was leaving at the table while she stepped away from her chair. "I'll be right back."
Even if Mrs Momoi missed it, Mr Momoi certainly did not—the knowing, and encouraging look that she threw at Daiki on her way off.
The boy cleared his throat as he set his fork down and shifted his gaze out of the window. His whole body exuded an air of nervousness that didn't quite fit his carefree character.
"Dai-chan, you don't need to be so tense around us," Mrs Momoi told him amiably. "You've known us your whole life—we're practically family. You don't need Sacchan around to feel comfortable in our presence, right?"
Daiki coughed into his hand before giving the woman an uncertain look.
"Of course not, auntie," he said but still continued sounding rather unconvinced. "It's just that, err…" He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, letting his eyes wander from the pleasant woman he truly had known his whole life to the scenery outside the window of the restaurant they were sitting in. "I need to talk to you two about something."
At this both Momois peered at him curiously.
"We'd be happy to help you with anything, darling," Mrs Momoi supplied heartily, and it seemed the warmth of her tone and statement helped the young man steel his nerves.
"It's something important." He paused, looking down at his half-eaten plate. "Actually, it's very important. So I asked Satsuki to give me a chance to talk to you two about it."
Mrs Momoi put a hand over her chest as she looked at the boy, whose eyes continued being downcast.
"Oh, goodness—that sounds rather morose! Is everything all right?" the woman asked worriedly, and Daiki's gaze snapped up to meet hers.
"No, no! You don't need to worry, auntie! It's nothing bad. Everything's fine. In fact, it's better than fine. That's, uh… That's why I wanted to talk to you two."
"You're certainly being unusually formal, Daiki-kun. It's almost unnerving," Mr Momoi chortled to himself, earning himself a wry look from his wife.
The navy-haired adolescent gave a little laugh himself then, running a hand through the spikes of his unruly hair.
"Yeah, I know, I'm pretty bad at this kind of stuff. I'm no good at beating around the bush." The boy heaved a great sigh and sat up, straightening his shoulders and back. "So I'll just cut to the chase instead."
The truth was that from the moment Satsuki had left the table, Mr Momoi had a clue as to where this was going.
"Uncle—no, Mr Momoi."
Both men ignored the incredulous look Mrs Momoi gave the boy at the somewhat outrageously formal address.
"I would like to ask you to give me your daughter's hand in marriage."
If his statement hadn't been awe-striking enough, the fact that Aomine Daiki—the rascal and insubordinate, wilful child that he'd always been—was bowing his head to the elder man was most certainly flooring.
At the flabbergasted looks on the Momois' faces—and their complete lack of response of any type—Daiki figured out that perhaps he'd been a bit too straight to the point.
"I've already asked Satsuki and she said yes, but—as you said, you guys are practically family to me, so I thought I should come straight to you after and ask." He explained it so eloquently that it seemed hard to believe he'd been so nervous just a couple of minutes prior.
"Daiki-kun," Mr Momoi began and the boy's back tensed again as he listened raptly. "Are you serious?"
It was a simple enough question. And, although he was many things, Daiki wasn't stupid. He could tell that there was a lot more to that question that the superficial inquiry of whether or not he was poking fun at the mother and father of the most important person in his life.
He knew that the elder man was not only asking him if he was seriously asking their permission to marry their daughter, but also if he was serious about her.
"Never been more serious about anything in my life, uncle," he said truthfully.
And, from the determination the elder man met in the sapphire gaze, he could already tell that the boy's feelings were true. Neither of Satsuki's parents had heard anything about a romantic involvement from her daughter, but then again, they didn't really need to. It was her life and her business. All that mattered to them was that she would be happy, whatever choices she made.
And, although he was many things—he wasn't perfect by any means—Daiki was someone they knew, and someone they were aware they could trust.
From the way the young boy met his gaze defiantly, Mr Momoi knew that his role as the most important man in his daughter's life had been taken on by someone else. Knowing that was somewhat painful, but at the same time it was a relief as well. It was relieving to know that she wasn't alone, and that she would be well taken care of.
Because Mr Momoi had no doubts as to the fact that Daiki-kun would look after his girl in his stead.
Looking at the boy now—so young, full of hope and promise and spunk—he was reminded of his younger days, when he'd asked his wife's parents for her hand in marriage as well. The situation had been a world different, but he couldn't help feeling a strong sense of kinship to the boy who was starting to take small steps onto the road on becoming a man. Much like Mr Momoi had when he had been young.
So the Momoi patron smiled amiably, giving a gentle nod to the boy sitting across the table from him.
"All right then. Make sure you take good care of my little girl, young man."
Mrs Momoi, who had remained silent—dumbstruck—throughout their entire tight-lipped exchange, now started shedding silent tears of joy at what she was seeing and hearing happening. Her little girl, growing up and about to become a wife! Oh, happy day!
"Make her happy," the father instructed and Daiki grinned widely.
"It's my new mission in life," he said, tone joking but eyes completely serious.
As if on cue, Satsuki decided to re-join them at that moment, a smile on her face. Her mother managed to compose herself just on time not to worry her daughter.
"Okay, sorry for taking so long! Real estate brokers are such a pain sometimes, really!" she exclaimed, seating herself comfortably in her chair. "Did you guys have a nice chat while I was gone?"
Her pink eyes darted over all three of their faces, intrigued.
"Oh, we certainly had a nice little talk. Right, dear?" her mother said, turning to her father.
"That we did," the Momoi family head agreed good-naturedly, taking a bite out of his somewhat forgotten lunch.
Satsuki blinked in slight confusion a couple of times, turning to throw a curious glance at her fiancé. He just shrugged and picked up his fork again, resuming his meal.
The carefree conversations resumed at the table, while underneath it, long tanned fingers interlaced with creamy white smaller ones in a secret affectionate hold.
A/N: My lovely Miss Mugiwara asked me for something a bit more in the future, so here it is! It's not exactly what she had in mind for sure, but this is what came to me. I liked the notion so I decided to go for it. I hope you enjoyed it despite it being somewhat weird compared to the other pieces in here. I hope I didn't make Daiki seem too out of character. xd Then again, it's a weird situation for him, so… :D
Still haven't read the manga. No idea if I didn't botch something here with Satsuki's family. Correct me if I did! Or just try to find it in yourself to forgive me? xD
100 Situations, Table One; 018: True.
3rd March, 2013.