Title: 18. Rage at the rage unblest
Pairing/Character/s: Yuki/Machi, Machi's parents
Word Count: 956 words
Summary: Yuki and Machi have their first fight. Yuki proposes. Hilarity everywhere, of course.
Dedication: For PocketxFullxOfxDreams, Phoenix1212689 and everyone else who wanted to but didn't ask for this request. You must know I'm very grateful for every one of you.
A/N: I can't remember how many times I've tried to think of a good way for Yuki to propose. Let me know if you guys feel cheated, alright? Haha SPOILERS UP TO CH. 136 (kind of, but not really.)
Machi's parents haven't called since the ten minute dinner two weeks ago. Neither Yuki nor Machi mentions it, preferring to bury the disaster under time. Yuki secretly hopes they'll leave her alone but Machi still wants to know if her little brother is 'free'. She also has nowhere else to live except the apartment her parents rent for her.
Yuki suggests she take his apartment, especially since he's leaving Japan soon. Machi declines, worried about the rumors that would start when an unmarried couple lived together. "I'm not desperate to move out, either," she argued.
And that was that.
Then one day, the package came. It was small, about 40cmx20cmx8cm and wrapped in heavy duty brown paper. Curious, Machi carefully inspects the label: To: Kuragi Machi.
There was no return address.
Once the paper is peeled away, Machi realizes that it contains a shoebox. Her thin eyebrows fly up when she looks inside the creamy white box.
It's a pair of slouchy brown suede boots. Light glows upon the supple leather, turning it a rich coffee brown. It's obviously very expensive. Machi instantly knows who sent them.
Just to make sure, she inspects the small ivory card tucked between the boots.
Machi;
Dear daughter, I have not spoken to you for a long time. You are angry with me. You must have been for a long time. My behavior at dinner was appalling but I was thinking of you. I am always thinking of your well-being. Maybe this is a futile effort from a worried mother, but I am truly sorry. Take this gift as a token of good faith for you in your new life.
Good-bye, my daughter.
Machi felt every patronizing word rub at her self-esteem. With every simpering comment, she got angrier and angrier until she kicked the shoebox across the room. Determined to know what drove her mother to this, Machi picked up the phone and ended the long silent treatment.
"Hello?" her mother greeted softly, obviously pleased at the name on her Caller ID. "Machi, what a wonderful surprise!"
The blatant flattery baffles Machi momentarily. She couldn't believe the horrible acting before her.
"Honestly, Machi, you should speak up. For heaven's sake, I'm your mother." Exasperation crept back into her mother's voice.
"Mother, why are you sending me things?" Machi demanded, anger rushing back.
"I don't understand." Another act.
"I received the shoes."
"Oh, that-"
"Take it back. I don't want it." Machi snapped, fed up with the entire thing.
Her mother took a moment to sulk. "Alright. I understand you're feeling hurt, but I wanted you to have something nice as Sohma-san's bride."
Machi felt her cheeks turn red. "We're not getting married."
"Don't be so shy, Machi. Sohma-san himself told me he has every intention of marrying you."
For some reason, Machi believed her. Her entire body clenched in horror, shock and maybe even a tiny dart of excitement. "Mother, maybe he meant something else..."
Her mother sighed loudly. "I don't have time for this. Ask the boy, will you? And next time you call, try to have a confirmed wedding date. Good-bye, Machi."
Just like that, she was gone. Machi had no one to focus her anger on but Yuki.
Yuki.
Machi pulled on her new boots, hoping the crusty snow on the ground would shrivel the suede into a dried walnut. As she ran to Yuki's place, her mind focused on the things she would scream to her boyfriend.
Yuki, you idiot, why does my mom know I'm getting married before I do?
When were you going to tell me we were getting married? At the ceremony?!
And... are you really proposing?
As soon as she gets to the door, she starts jabbing at the doorbell until Yuki opens the door with a bemused smile. "Hey-"
"I called my mother today," Machi blurted out, crossing her arms.
"Oh, um... Great?"
"Yuki, why did she think we were getting married?" His face blanched. About five seconds passed while he cleared his throat and then looked down at his bare feet.
"Maybe it's because... I told her?" Yuki flinched when his girlfriend sucked in a breath, probably in preparation for a loud scream. "But don't you want to get married?" He raises innocent gray eyes to her angry face. Slowly her anger dissolves into a blush. The image fills him with a feeling he can't pinpoint yet; the one he felt the night he almost proposed.
"You would want to marry me?" she asks quietly.
He laughs, a mixture of relief and affection. "Just think about it, Machi," he whispers, pulling her close. The warmth of his fingers practically scalds the cold skin on the back of her neck. "The whole world will know that you're not available anymore." She hides a smile, letting herself melt. "You can finally move into my apartment and I can see you naked all the time-"
She whacks him on the side of the head playfully. "I'm still mad that you didn't tell me something so important."
Yuki grins. "How mad were you?"
"My mother wants a wedding date already!"
"Hmmm... I'm free next week..." She whacks him again. "OK, OK. I was planning on telling you the night of that horrible dinner, but I didn't think we were ready. Do you think we're ready?" She shakes her head. "We've got a lot of time to figure the rest out, so let's just forget this."
"OK," she whispers softly, pressing her lips to the side of his neck. Machi concentrates on how warm he is, inside and out. "I love you."
Yuki suddenly realizes that the warm feeling has to be love, the kind that makes life worth living for. "Say it again."
A/N: Please PM me or review with any questions, comments, or requests. I promise to answer within a week. And this promise, I actually keep!