34. First Driving Lesson I

Hello, everyone, Megumiai30 here, and even though this will be a two-part story, I'm going to save the other half for later. ;D Anyways, please enjoy this fanfic about... driving. The main couple will be Nagisa-Kayano(Nagikae), and their family! Here are their ages:

Nagisa and Kayano: 32

Juri: 7

Nobuto: 4

It took a bit of time, but Kayano finally did it! After several years of wanting to get her driver's license, she finally had the time and the resources to make it come true. It had been on her bucket list for quite some time now and with the help of her husband, who supported her, she had finally gotten it.

"Nagisa~!" She cheered as she flashed her new driver's license to her husband and her husband smiled in that warm way.

He gave her a tight hug and whispered, "Well done, Akari. I knew you could do it."

"Mhmm..." She snuggled in her husband's arms, and Nagisa wanted to kiss his wife until he noticed a throat clearing itself.

"Ahem. Don't forget that we're still here." Juri intervened.

"Right, sorry about that Ri-chan...Nobu-kun..." Nagisa apologized for trying to show affection to his spouse.

"All right! Now that I have my license, how about I drive today?" Kayano cheered to the horror of Juri and Nobuto who escaped their mother by hiding behind their father's legs.

Nagisa reassured them by whispering, "Don't worry, I'll be right beside her."

Juri and Nobuto nodded, oblivious to Kayano, who was basking in the fact that she had now her license.

The four then took their seats in the car, with Kayano sitting in the driver's seat for a change. Nagisa then instructed their children to fasten their seat belts and after they did so, focused on his wife, who was just sitting there waiting for his instructions.

Nagisa then fastened his seatbelt and then took a sigh out. He asked calmly to his wife, "Okay, Akari, what's the first thing you do before you start driving?"

Kayano, flustered and yet confused tries to reboot her brain into thinking about her basic training in driving.

"Oh, first you have to fasten your seat- no that's not right, you have to inspect your surroundings- no!"

Nagisa sighed and calmed his panicking wife down and she looked down ashamed. Wasn't she supposed to know all about driving now?

"I'm sorry, Nagisa..."

Nagisa smiled at her and put his hand over her's and helped her relax, "Relax. Everyone's the same in the beginning."

"Right! Now, first, I need to adjust my seat and fasten my seatbelt, and then..." She stuttered a bit until Nagisa let out a breath and smiled at her and pointed to the start engine button. Kayano chuckled sheepishly, "Right!"

She stepped on the brake and started the car by pushing the ignition button on.

"Okay, now please take the car out the road, Akari, and please don't be ashamed to make mistakes. I'll be right here with you, fixing your mistakes." Nagisa assured and Kayano grinned, nodding, and put the car in drive.

Luckily, Nagisa had parked the car so that the front was facing the road, and Kayano had an easy time taking the car out and taking it to the road. When she successfully took it to the road, Nagisa explained what they were going to do today.

"Now today, we're going to take it easy and head to my parents' place, okay?" Nagisa instructed.

Kayano nodded, her arms on the wheel, and even though she was trying to relax, she couldn't help but grab the wheel hard and stiff. Nagisa let out a breath, he knew that was normal since he had been through the same thing.

"Akari, you're doing well, now go to the next lane," Nagisa instructed very calmly.

Kayano nodded while focusing on the road, remembering to look at the left side view mirror before butting in. When she forgot to thank the person behind her, Nagisa raised his hand to say thank you in return.

"Oh! Sorry, I..." Kayano stammered out as she focused on the road, and Nagisa shook his head, even though he knew that she wouldn't be able to be aware of her surroundings.

"Don't worry, just drive... A little slowly!" Nagisa at first assured her, but then shouted in fear because she was going faster than the speed limit.

He held on to the handle as he was instructing his wife to go slower but she then came to her senses and stepped on the brake softly to slow down, but Nagisa being shaken by her show of speed, reached out and grabbed the hand strap that was conveniently located beside his head.

'I think I know why they have these things...' Nagisa thought in short relief.

After a while, Kayano was still stiff and as a result, when she was making a soft turn, was moving the wheel stiffly and roughly, leading to the family embracing themselves. Suddenly, Nagisa took her hand, and he felt that it was sweaty from handling the wheel too much.

"N-Nagisa?" She stammered, and Nagisa smiled,

"A little softer, my dear..." He guided her hand so that they would go a little softer, and added, "Don't turn the wheel drastically, just follow the road like so..."

Kayano nodded and tried to do as he said, but found it hard, but Nagisa helped her all along the way, guiding her hand on the wheel so that they go a little softer.

Afterward, Nagisa was directing her where to turn and go, and she followed his instructions like a child would with their mother or father and Kayano found out that his knack for teaching applied on the road.

Nagisa on the other hand was growing exhausted and couldn't wait until he took the wheel once more, because to be honest, she was still a beginner and he had thirteen years of driving up his sleeve.

In about thirty minutes, they reached the elder Shiota home and as she parked in the parking lot, Kayano whined, "Nagisa~! Could you please park? I don't know how to right now?"

Nagisa chuckled while letting go of the hand strap and replied, "Well, Akari it's something that you have to overcome, but you're right: let me handle this one."

The two switched places and Nagisa parked the car like so. The children let out a breath that they realized that they were holding and ran to their grandparents' place after Nagisa was done parking.

When they finally reached Nagisa's parents' house, Nagisa was worn down and beaten. Hiromi took notice of this right away and suggested, "Why don't you take a rest, Nagisa? It looks like you're beaten, and you'll need your energy if you're going to drive."

Juri and Nobuto, even though they didn't want to hurt their mother's feelings, suddenly tensed up when they realized that their mother could be driving and Nagisa rubbed his wife's back when he saw them, telling her with droopy eyes that she was wonderful, and dragged his feet to his old room, where he laid down and went to sleep immediately.

Kayano sighed out.

"What's wrong, child?" Hiromi asked her daughter-in-law once they took a seat in the living room while Nagisa's father was playing with his grandchildren.

"Well..." Kayano hesitated until she reached in her wallet to show her mother-in-law her driver's license with the green line on it.

"Congratulations, Akari-chan!" Hiromi congratulated her and then asked realizing, "Did you drive here?"

Kayano nodded looking down. She then whispered in a lonely voice, "I think I sucked. I mean you saw how Ri-chan and Nobu-chan reacted when you mentioned driving with them... and Nagisa grabbed the hand strap nearly the whole way here. I... I..." She suddenly let out a sigh and let out a tear.

Hiromi smiled and patted her back, "It's okay. I'll let you in on a small secret..." She motioned to her daughter-in-law to lean in her ear and Kayano did so and Hiromi whispered, "I nearly had a heart attack when I taught Nagisa driving for the first time."

Kayano giggled. His husband never brought up the subject, but he did mention that everyone was like this in the beginning. Kayano asked Hiromi, "How was Nagisa when he first learned to drive, okaasan?"

Hiromi took a sigh out and put a smile on her face, "Well... He was a little wild when he first drove. I remember when we were on the highway and there were a lot of times where he would go over the speed limit."

Kayano burst out laughing, "He did? He freaked out when I went over the speed limit."

Hiromi chuckled, "I see. He's now in a position where he can teach others. But I have to say, anyone teaching someone driving is a tiring task: I remember collapsing on my bed after that ride on the highway with Nagisa. You'll get better, I promise."

She laid a hand on her daughter-in-law's back and Kayano giggled out loud. Hiromi winked in return and assured her, "See? Everyone, even your husband, had some rough edges in the beginning, and that applies to you too my dear."

Kayano bowed in respect, "Thank you, Okaasan. I feel better now. Maybe I should drive the way home?"

Hiromi put on an elegant smile and said, "Leave that to Nagisa. That boy must be exhausted, teaching you to drive here. I have to say, not a lot of drivers drive the second they get their driver's license right away. I mean, it was a year until I let Nagisa take my car out and I remember Nagisa telling me that Karma's parents didn't let him take the car out."

Kayano chuckled nervously. Even though her husband was good at driving as in going safe and steady, she remembered riding Karma's car and barely coming out alive.

The women talked a bit until Hiromi motioned upstairs, "Now go wake up your husband; let's have dinner here today, alright?"

Kayano nodded, and asked, "Anything I can help with, Okaasan?"

Hiromi patted her on the head and assured her, "Don't worry. We were going to order takeout today. We'll just add four more servings since the children are growing, okay?"

Kayano nodded and headed upstairs to Nagisa's old room. When she peeked in, she saw her husband folding his hands and laying them on his chest, and sleeping peacefully. She giggled, having this newfound knowledge that her husband was on the wild side when it came to driving.

She tiptoed to the bed and laid down beside him, whispering in his ear, "Nagisa...Nagisa...!"

Slowly, his eyes opened and when he turned beside him, he was met with a pair of beautiful amber eyes smiling at him and he became wide awake.

"Akari." He smiled back at her and she pecked his nose.

"Wake up, okaasan said that she's going to order dinner and we're going to eat together." She tried to sit up but was stopped by Nagisa, who had grabbed her arm and led her back down.

"Nagisa?"

Nagisa took a breath out and kissed her and after they broke off, he started the conversation, "Listen. I thought about it, and I'm sorry for not trusting in you...I mean, I was a beginner too you know... And I believe because I enjoyed the feeling of speed, I was a little wild went it came time for me to ride the highways."

Kayano giggled and answered, "Don't worry. Okaasan told me all about it."

Nagisa giggled sheepishly and put his hand to the back of his head, "Well then, you know my story. The point is, no one is perfect, and I believe I should've trusted you more, so here," He handed her the car keys, but Kayano refused them saying, "No thanks, I think I can learn by watching you drive, and I don't know why, but my arms and hands are killing me."

Nagisa chuckled, it was because she had held the wheel too hard that they hurt but nevertheless, he agreed.

"Okay then, I'll drive home, but we're going out to the highway to practice tomorrow, all right?" He added with a mock stern voice, and she nodded smiling, "Yes sir!"

"By the way, Akari, I remember Koro Sensei driving, and even though he was a patient driver, he couldn't stand traffic lights."

"Oh really?" Kayano giggled and Nagisa nodded.

The two headed downstairs to eat whatever Hiromi had ordered with their family.