XXx Aya xXX
I blink rapidly to make sure I'm not seeing things.
But no…she's standing right there in front of me, looking exactly the same as the last time I saw her. At that minute, my shock is overridden as my hand slips from Mitsukuni's as I take a few steps forward.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I ask before I launch myself at her.
She beams at me and releases the iron grip she has on Chika's ear in time to catch me. The impact nearly knocks her off her feet, and she just barely manages to grab onto the back of the nearest chair. Her other arm loops around my body and crushes me to her chest.
"Geez, turn the crazyass strength down a few notches," she laughs as she strokes my hair lightly. "In case you forgot, I'm no martial artist."
"Shit," I reply before jumping back and letting her stand upright again. "Right. Sorry. I forgot for a second there. I just got excited."
"Understandable," she says as she straightens out her jacket. "I haven't seen you face to face in, what is it now? A year? I think you've grown!"
"No, I haven't," I groan. "But seriously what are you doing here? I thought you had a long term contract."
"I did," she replies with a sunny smile. "And I still do. As of this morning I'm docked here in Tokyo for three days. So I came to look you up."
Excitement bubbles up in me and I jump into her arms again. She lets loose her trademark cackle in response, taking me back to the good old days when she was around all the time. It's been a while since I've heard it. It's one of the few things that can actually make me miss France.
"So are you going to introduce me or not?"
I glance up to see her glancing over my head at Honey, who's standing awkwardly in the entryway to the sitting room. I step out of the hug and grab her hand before proceeding to drag her over to him. His eyes quickly dart between the two of us and our faces, and the spark in them tells me he's already noting some similarities.
"Honey this is my Aunt Élise," I say as happily before turning to look up at her.
As soon as the words leave my mouth, a smile breaks out over Honey's face and he bows to her respectfully.
"I've heard a lot about you from Aya-koi," he says happily. "It's nice to finally meet you."
Élise looks down at him with a calm and slightly scary expression. I can feel Honey's confidence plummeting quickly, and for a minute I can feel a chill pass over the room. After a long nail biting silence, Élise finally puts a hand on her hip and points at Honey with her other.
"Him I like," she says with a grin. "The other one not so much. Please tell me it's him you're engaged to."
"Yeah, he is my fiancée," I reply, trying to cover my laughter as Honey's shoulders slump visibly and he lets out an audible sigh of relief.
A smile crosses Élise's face as she crouches down to be level with us. Her eyes linger on Honey again, but this time she has the warm look in her eyes that she reserves for only a handful of people.
"You're so cute!" she says as she ruffles Honey's hair before turning to me. "I approve!
But still, you have no idea how disappointed I was when I found out we missed your departure by a week and a half. And then I went to go see Adèle to find out when you'd be back again, and then she said you were flying off to Japan to get married! I nearly tore down her office!"
"Yeah," I sigh with a sheepish smile. "They dropped that bomb on us a little less than two weeks ago."
I glace over at Honey, and give him a small smile. In response he takes my hand and laces our fingers together. He looks a little embarrassed that Élise is watching us with an ever growing smirk on her wine colored lips, but he gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.
"But we're doing just fine," I reassure her. "It's Honey, so I really don't have anything to complain about. And now it makes living in the same house a bit easier too."
"That's a relief," Élise sighs and she puts a hand to her chest. "All I could think about these past few months is if Valérie engaged my poor little niece to some creepy old guy. I've been so cut off from everything on that ship."
"That was the idea."
We turn to see Mama standing in the doorway, and my levels of joy plummet below sea level. This is so not good. As soon as Mama takes that one step inside the room, the tension in the air is thick enough to cut with a knife.
"You always know how to make me feel so warm and welcome," Élise sighs dramatically. "But I'm not here to play house. Adèle told me I could find you here. What the hell are you thinking marrying Aya off just like that? I'm not even married yet!"
"Well we all know who's fault that is," mama replies. "Even Adèle got married three years ago. You're the one behind the times Élise."
"For fucks sake Valérie she's just turned eighteen!"
"I don't see how it's any of your business about what we decide for Aya's future," Mama says icily. "Besides, you've demonstrated just how much family matters to you, so I understand why no one's asked you for your hand."
"That's hitting a little below the belt there," Élise says through grit teeth. "You know why I did that. But then again you've also decided that every decision I make is the wrong and selfish one. So I won't bother wasting time to explain it again."
"I wasn't planning on sitting through it anyways," Mama snaps. "Now if you'll please, you've overstayed your welcome."
Élise holds her hands up in mock surrender, and takes a step back. She turns on her heel and rolls her eyes before looking down at the two of us with an apologetic smile on her face.
"Sorry about that," she mutters as she leans in to kiss the crown of my head. "But the saint has spoken. I've gotta go. But I'll text you now that I have a cell signal."
I look over at her sadly as she turns and gives Honey a kiss on the cheek.
"Take care of ma petite fleur ok?" she whispers to him as she straightens up.
And with that, she pulls her sunglasses down over her eyes and shows herself out.
XXx Honey xXX
"What was that about?" I ask as I follow Aya into her room.
"Mama and Aunt Élise are like oil and water," Aya says tiredly. "The laws of the universe don't allow them to mix."
She throws her bag down by the base of the coffee table and falls down into her loveseat. I sit down next to her and she leans over, resting her head on my chest and wrapping her arms around my torso. My arm snakes around her waist while I weave a few locks of her hair between my fingers.
"Two family feuds in one day is a bit much."
"So how'd this one start?" I ask her, only half joking.
"It's a bit of a long story," Aya sighs as she looks up at me through her lashes.
"You have homework?"
"Nope."
"Me neither. Go ahead and start, I'm listening."
"My Mama, Valérie, is the oldest of three siblings," Aya mutters. "Élise is the middle child, and my Aunt Adèle is the youngest. And with Mama being the eldest child, she was babied and shown a lot of favoritism by my Grand-père. He was grooming her to take over the financial firm he owned, so she was raised to be very studious, responsible, no-nonsense kind of woman.
And she was. She got perfect grades and took all kinds of honors courses in her years in the Lycée. Élise was never able to live up to that. She did the opposite of whatever Grand-père wanted since he found her hopes and aspirations a joke. Both her and Adèle were supposed to serve in smaller jobs beneath Mama, but Élise wanted to be a singer instead of an office worker.
So she dropped out of the Lycée in the beginning of her second year and got a job as a nightclub and lounge singer. Grand-père was furious and demanded she quit what he saw as a 'shameful' profession. He kicked her out of the house when she chose her passion for music over the family business, and she was living on her own for a few years. But she ended up getting a job working as a singer on a round the world cruise line the year I turned fifteen. Since then I only get to see her when her boat docks somewhere in France. So, about three times a year if we're lucky."
I watch as she sighs and shifts her position so she's sitting up straight again. Her eyes are dark as she looks down at her hands, which are fisted in the sleeves of her sweater and rest stiffly in her lap.
"Mama was in charge of the family firm until she met Papa," she continues. "The Atsumi clan was working on building a chain of dojos in Europe, and he happened to be in charge of the one in Paris. When I was born they decided to come back to Japan once Papa could train instructors to run the dojo smoothly without him and Mama could train my Aunt Adèle to take her place as head of the firm.
They were always busy, so my childcare was juggled by one of our maids, Laurine, and my Grand-mère Joséphine. At the time, my Grand-mère had divorced my Grand-père and had let Élise live with her in one of her family's old houses. By then she had a boyfriend, and he was always real nice, but they were so busy taking care of me they never really got alone time."
She pauses for a minute before looking up at me with a mixture of guilt and longing in her eyes.
"I feel terrible for thinking it, but sometimes I wish Élise was my Mama instead…She was there for everything. All my first days of school, the shots and blood tests, birthdays, bring your parents to school day; she was. Her boyfriend helped me with my homework and even tried to teach me to play the flute and guitar. They were even the ones who taught me how to ride a bike. They know me better than my own parents do..."
Her eyes have gone glassy again, but this time she looks like she's beating herself up about crying twice in one day.
I honestly don't know what to say to this, so I just pull her closer to me again and stroke her hair while I wait for her to calm down. Her shoulders shake, but I can hear no sounds coming from her. Instead, she just lays there, biting her lower lip until I'm sure she's going to break skin.
"If she means this much too you, then I'm glad she approves of us," I murmur into her hair. "Even if she does think this is happening too fast."
"I kind of agree with her," she replies as her arms tighten around me. "I do love you, more than anything. But I'm still only eighteen. And you're seventeen. As much as I do want to marry you, there's that small part of me that wonders if I'm ready to be a wife."
"No one ever said it would be easy," I reply I pull her back to face me. "But I think you can do it."
"How can you have so much faith in me?" she asks as her thumbs glide softly over my cheeks. "Don't you ever doubt me at all?"
"I always try to keep faith in my doubts," I respond with a smile. "Besides, you said it yourself earlier. 'Please give me just a little more credit than that, and stop doubting the way I feel about you.'"
"Ok that's not fair," she whines as she rests her forehead against mine. "You can't just do that after all the anxiety you've put me through today."
"Ok then," I reply as one of my arms detangles itself from her. "Promise. From now on no more doubts, from either of us. And if something does happen, we just talk about it like sane, rational people."
"Where's the fun in being sane and rational?" she jokes as her pinky curls around mine. "But deal."
She leans over our hands and presses her lips to mine softly. I'm all too happy to return it, and my hands move back to their pervious spot on her waist. But they've just settled there when we're interrupted by the sound of Aya's notification ringtone.
She groans as she pulls away from me and shifts back in the chair. She pulls her phone from inside her jacket pocket, and glances at the lock screen quickly. Her face lights up as she leans against me and quickly types in her password to read her message.
"Aunt Élise is wondering if we want to sneak out and meet her for dinner on her ship tonight since it's her night off," she says with a glint in her eyes.
"Sounds fun," I reply.
"Just give me about five minutes and we can leave," she says as types out a quick reply.
"Are you talking about your five minutes or the actual time that is observed by the rest of the world?" I joke as her phone rings again.
"Smartass," she shoots back as she elbows me in the ribs while reading the message. "Five normal minutes. Aunt Élise said she'd be waiting to meet us in a taxi at the end of the block."
"Ok, be sure to actually watch the clock," I say before kissing her cheek. "I'll see you in five minutes."
She nods and makes a playful shooing motion with her hands.
Taking the hint, I turn to leave. I only need and change out of my uniform, but who knows what Aya will do with her five minutes. Sighing, I step out into the hall and close her door behind me.
This has been one long weird day.
XXx Aya xXX
I shove my phone back into my pocket as I rush to my bathroom. Grabbing my paddle brush I proceed to yank it through my hair with one hand and search my makeup bag for my eyeliner with my other. Fumbling with the many pencils, lipstick and lip gloss tubes I eventually find it and toss my raspberry lip stain along to the side with it.
Once that's done with it I focus on combing through my hair while keeping an eye on the clock. Maybe I should have asked for ten minutes…
Luckily, I'm able to clean up and redefine my eyes in about thirty seconds flat. I guess my rushing to get my makeup before before school starts actually did something for me in the long run. I'm out of the bathroom with a minute and a half to spare. So I dig out the first pair of jeans and the first long sleeve shirt I can lay my hands on and make the quickest change of my life. Just as I'm zipping up my platform boots there's a knock on my door. Grinning, I shrug back into my jacket as I trot over to the door.
"See?" I say with a triumphant smirk. "I can be ready in five minutes!"
"I guess there are such things as miracles after all," Honey jokes as he takes my hand. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah," I reply as I elbow him in the ribs for his last comment. "Is Mama still standing guard downstairs?"
"Yup," he replies as he steps into my room and closes the door behind us. "She's planted herself in the sitting room with about a gallon of tea, a large fruit tart, a strawberry crepe, a plate of chocolate covered raspberries, and about three boxes of macaroons."
"Three boxes?" I repeat in awe. "Damn this is serious…she substituted the chocolate mousse cups for more macaroons…so no front door. Let's go out the back."
"Does she always get like that after she fights with your Aunt?" he asks as I pull my phone out of my jacket to text Élise.
"Now you know why she doesn't like having her around. With the way Mama eats after they've had a fight there's no way she'd be able to stay a size three."
"Oh…" Honey trails off. "So…uh, should we get going then?"
"Sure," I reply as I slip my phone back into my pocket. "Lead the way."
In that moment Honey's eyes light up and before I know it my feet are no longer on the ground. Arms are secured firmly around my waist and legs, and Honey is walking directly over to the Large windows behind my bed.
"What are you doing?" I hiss, trying to keep my voice steady as Honey unlocks my window.
"Just something I always wanted to try," he responds with a smirk as he throws open the window.
"Oh you're not…" I whimper as he steps up into the window frame.
"Hold on," he instructs as his grip on me tightens.
With that warning I throw my arms around his neck and bury my face in his shoulder. I feel him jump, and a scream bubbles up in my throat as I get that horrible feeling in my stomach that is associated with falling a great distance. But as soon as it starts, it's over, and I can feel him land firmly on the ground.
"You ok?" Honey asks as he lowers my legs to the ground.
"I'll let you know when my body stops shaking," I mutter.
"I'm sorry," he says as he strokes my hair. "I guess I should have warned you."
"Y-Yeah," I stammer as I let go of him. "OK, I think I'm good."
He takes my hand and we begin walking towards the exit in silence. I clutch his hand and take a quick glance over my shoulder at my bedroom window.
"We're just going to leave it open?" I ask as it gets farther away. "What about bugs?"
"I tipped Kimi-chan off about us leaving before I came to get you," Honey replies. "She'll get it for us."
"And until then?" I press as we reach the front yard. "I don't like bugs."
"It's ok, Kimi-chan has one of those electric fly swatters."
XXx Honey xXX
"Oh! Do you want to tell the next story?" Élise asks her boyfriend, Christian.
"Why are you guys are dead set on embarrassing me to the point of wanting to hide under a rock?!" Aya whines as she shifts deeper into the white sofa seats of the ship's main lounge.
Her face is flushed heavily, and she's sinking deeper into the folds of her jacket in an attempt to hide it. She glances my way for a minute and catches my eye before rapidly averting her gaze.
"Come on, be honest," Christian says to me as he leans forwards from across the table, his bangs falling over his blue eyes that are radiating mirth. "How much has Aya actually told you about what she was like as a kid?"
"Not much," I confess as he takes a sip of his coffee.
"Well then you're lucky," Élise cackles as she leans on Christian's shoulder. "Cuz tonight we'll tell you everything you could ever want to know!"
"Oh!" Christian exclaims as he sets his cup down. "Here's a winner! The first time we tried teaching Aya how to ride a bike in our backyard, she was terrified."
"NO!" Aya exclaims as she covers her face in her hands. "You promised!"
"Come on, what's the big deal?" Élise asks with a wave of her hand. "You're going to marry the guy anyways! Anyways she was how old?"
"I'd say she was about six or seven," Christian muses. "But anyways, we were having her practice around the backyard since the one Élise's mother had was very spacious. So Aya's too terrified to open her eyes unless one of us was holding on to the bike. She was doing fine, we had let go and everything, and we were about to tell her to open her eyes to show her she was doing great."
"Then we turn around when my Mama comes out back to tell us that lunch is ready," Élise picks up. "We literally look away for fifteen seconds and this girl rides her bike straight into the pool."
A laugh escapes a throat and a second later a pillow hits me in the face. Aya gives me a grumpy glare and picks up her coffee. She glares down at her cup and sips it slowly to avoid burning her tongue like she did a few hours earlier.
"What about that time we went out to Loire Valley and she was intent on catching butterflies?" Christian asked as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes.
"Oh yes!" Élise squealed. "She had just seen the movie Le Papillion right? She wanted to catch some of her own."
"But she caught that bee instead," Christian chuckled. "It stung her right in the middle of her palm. And she cried for a good ten minutes."
"You've never had good luck with bees have you Aya?" Élise sighs.
"It's not her fault," Christian replies with a warm smile on his face. "They just love our petite fleur."
"If you're quite finished," Aya mutters. "I think I'm going to call it a night."
"Oh shit!" Élise exclaims as she glances at her phone. "I didn't realize it had gotten so late. And you two have school tomorrow on top of that."
We get up and stretch, and I wrap my arms around Aya before she can get away.
"Why are you so mad Aya-koi?" I ask as she tries to remain angry.
"Wouldn't you be if people keep bringing up embarrassing stories about you in front of people that you…" she trails off and her eyes flicker over to the seats across from us.
Élise and Christian are looking up at us with a certain warm glow in their eyes that makes me feel proud.
"So this is really it huh?" Christian sighs as he ruffles Aya's hair. "Our petite fleur has really grown and blossomed."
"I just can't believe my little niece is getting married before I am!" Élise moans as she elbows Christian in the ribs. "Hurry up and propose to me already!"
"What? Do you only want to get married so you can beat Aya?" Christian asks, a faint blush forming high in his cheeks. "You wound me deep Élise."
"No!" Élise protests. "I want to get rid of my shitty last name too! Lémieux is a much better than Ouvrir le Coeur. It has way to many syllables."
"Nice to know your reasoning behind wanting to be married is deep and through and contains lots of thought," Christian teases as he kisses Élise's temple.
"Glade we're on the same page," she giggles before turning back to the two of us. "And by the way. I wanted to invite you and your friends to our show tomorrow night. It starts at five but we don't go on until the second half which starts at seven. We can all have dinner here and chat. They sound really interesting from what the two of you have told us."
"We'll let them know," I reply before bowing to them. "I'm glad to finally get to meet you. Though I wish the visit could have lasted longer."
"Don't worry about it," Christian says with a wave of his hand. "We'll work something out so we can be here for the wedding. But for now it looks like our petite fleur is in good hands."
XXx Author's Notes xXX
Here you are! Sorry this took me like ages to write. I got distracted midway because a friend of mine was reviving an old fic and needed some help so I was flipping out creating a pair of characters for her to help with the plot. But I am back and this happened...
I think it went well...how about you? Did Élise deliver? I personally lover her to pieces and am excited for the next few chapters just because of her and her general overall weirdness.
So I'll see you guys soon then? Please let me know what you guys thought! (omgguysican'tbelieveyougotmeover170reviewsiloveyouallsomuch)
lotsa love, Krystal