Egg Rolls
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Yuuki fidgeted nervously, her clammy hands grasping at the hem of her skirt for the umpteenth time. She didn’t want to ruin her brand new uniform, but it was rather hard to keep from her bad habits when she was so nervous. She hoped her father wouldn’t be too mad when seeing her wrinkled clothing.
Keeping her eyes lowered to the polished tiles under her soft leather shoes, she tried to keep herself distracted with the rhythm of her feet as she walked, left right, left right, left right—
“Yuuki-chan, we’re here,” a soft motherly voice reached her ears. “This will be your class from now on.” Her eyes still lowered, she heard the woman beside her rap the door a few times. The noise inside the classroom subsided as Yuuki heard the teacher’s voice filter through, asking for her students to settle down before the door was slid open.
“Kazuki-sensei, this is Kuran Yuuki-chan, she’s the new transfer to your class this semester.” A gentle hand touched her shoulder and lightly encouraged her to step forward.
Holding her breath, she squeezed her skirt even tighter, and finally managed to look up into the face of her new homeroom teacher. Long honey brown hair framed her face, and her eyes were bright, matching the soft smile on her pink lips. Yuuki relaxed just a bit. This new teacher seemed nice.
“Well, Yuuki-chan, come on in, let’s introduce you to everyone.” Her teacher moved to step aside to let her in, and Yuuki felt nervous all over again. She didn’t like standing up in front of so many kids on her own. They always stared, and it made her uncomfortable.
But by the time she noticed, she was already inside the classroom, next to her new teacher, and she had no choice but to say something or they’d all laugh. Swallowing to get past whatever was lodged in her throat, she whispered, “Um, I’m Kuran Yuuki, it’s nice to meet you, please take care of me.”
“Yuuki-chan is new here, so please be kind to her, and show her around,” Kazuki-sensei placed a calming pat to her back. “Now, where should we put you? Yuuki-chan, would you prefer a seat next to the window or one up front?”
Oh, her seat…right. “The window is fine, thank you.” She tried to smile.
“Then you’ll be next to Ichiru-kun. Ichiru-kun, please raise your hand so Yuuki-chan knows where you are,” Kazuki-sensei requested. Yuuki looked up to see a pale boy, with even paler hair, raising his right hand. Unlike the other kids in the room, he didn’t seem at all interested in her, his gaze bored.
Hesitantly settling in her seat, she sent him a cautious glance. He was busy taking out his notebook and pencil case, flipping through to a clean page, and taking out a brightly colored pencil that contrasted sharply with his pale hands as he wrote down the notes their teacher was already starting to put up on the chalkboard.
Yuuki rushed to do the same, quickly fishing out a pencil. When she chanced another glance in his direction, she blinked when she realized he hadn’t been using a pencil, his characters written out in a beautiful dark blue hue across the white of his page. Looking back to his pencil case, she saw that it was filled with color pencils. Red, orange, green… There were five others in total, all in different colors.
She nearly jumped when she felt a sudden poke at her back. Turning around, the boy behind her snickered as she pouted, her cheeks flushing. Not even ten minutes since she first stepped in and already they were teasing her. She tried to block out the other boy’s snickering, concentrating on getting her notes right.
“Ow!” Yuuki blinked when she heard the laughing boy behind her hiss in pain.
“Ryu-chan, shut up, you’re gonna get us in trouble,” another boy reprimanded. ‘Ryu-chan’ scowled and sent the boy a glare. “If Ichiru didn’t fling his eraser at me, I wouldn’t.”
Ichiru? Yuuki’s eyes widened as she turned to the boy next to her. He was still taking notes. Why did he…?
“If you don’t want the next one in your eye, shut up and sit still,” Ichiru spoke, not even looking up from writing in his notebook. He hadn’t even turned, his bored gaze still on their teacher and the lecture.
‘Ryu-chan’ grumbled but went back to scribbling pictures on his page. They looked rather strange in Yuuki’s opinion. One of them was an oval with four legs all on one side, and another had six.
She had to stifle a smile when she heard the girl next to ‘Ryu-chan’ laugh and point out, “Ryu-chan, what is that? You’re so bad at drawing.”
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When it was time for lunch, the other kids all surprised her by suddenly crowding around Ichiru’s desk. She wondered what the fuss was all about when the boy pulled out a lunch box from his bag, unlike the rest of them, who all had school lunch.
“He chooses who can have a bite of his food everyday.”
“Eh?” Yuuki blinked up into warm honey brown eyes. “He gives them his food?”
The other girl nodded. “Yeah, but in return, they have to take over for whenever he has cleaning duties.” Yuuki’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that…bad?” She whispered. Skipping out on his own assigned class duties couldn’t be good. But she thought it was clever of him to have come up with a system like that so he’d never have to stay to clean up.
“Yeah,” the girl smiled, “but they don’t mind it, so…” She shrugged. “Oh,” she held out a hand, “I’m Wakaba Sayori, nice to meet you.”
“Kuran Yuuki, but you already knew that.”
About to nod, Sayori paused, looking back from Ichiru’s desk to Yuuki, and back again. “Ah, Yuuki-chan? I think you just got your first clean up duty today…” She tried to sound sympathetic, but she was smiling.
The empty glass bottle on Ichiru’s desk was pointing in Yuuki’s direction. Apparently, they spun it, and whoever it landed on got to have a part of Ichiru’s lunch and clean up duty for the day Ichiru was assigned to it.
“Eh?” The lunch box was pushed in front of her, the rest of the students giving her envious looks.
“Hurry up and pick something,” Ichiru said smoothly, looking directly at her for the first time. Yuuki thought the color of his eyes were unusual, but still, they were beautiful. She hadn’t ever seen anything like it before.
“Oi, what are you, deaf?” The lilac eyes she’d been busy staring at narrowed in slight irritation. Not wanting to anger him, Yuuki swiftly took a random piece and plopped it into her mouth. Her quick nervous chewing started to slow as she realized,
“It’s really good…”
One of the other students laughed, though not unkindly. “Of course it is, Ichiru’s Dad makes his lunch for him, and he owns, like, five restaurants just in Tokyo.”
“Really?” She looked to Ichiru who just shrugged. The pale boy took his lunch back and ate at a steady pace.
“Um, it was only an egg roll, but it was really good,” Yuuki murmured. She hadn’t known something as simple as an egg roll could taste that good. She bet not even the chef her father liked could get it to taste that way. “Thank you.” She whispered. Her father had always told her getting the chance to enjoy delicious food was a blessing and should be properly appreciated. Yuuki personally thought whoever Ichiru’s father was, must be an amazing person to be able to make something so wonderful.
“You’re welcome.” Ichiru said softly, sending her a smile. Yuuki blinked before ducking her head, feeling her cheeks warm. Ichiru had a nice smile. He should do it more often. He’d first seemed unfeeling and a bit cold, but when he threw that eraser…and just now, when he smiled… Yuuki felt her lips lift. Maybe Ichiru was a kind person that just didn’t seem like one at first glance. She hoped she could be a friend.
“But you know you still have cleaning duty right? Mine is a week from now, just so you know.” He added with a slight smirk, going back to his food.
Yuuki deflated. Maybe not so nice. “Right.” She muttered.
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As the bell rang for the last class, Yuuki looked on incredulously as she watched Ichiru ready himself in record time before rushing out the door. Terribly curious as to what could have him in such a hurry, she quickly grabbed her things and ran after him. Normally she should have been waiting for the driver to come pick her up, but she’d determined she wanted to get to know Ichiru a bit more, and she felt this was also something that would help her understand him better.
Coming to an abrupt stop by the entrance, she saw Ichiru run into the arms of a tall pale haired man that looked very much like the first grader himself. Milky white skin and the silvery hair…Yuuki didn’t doubt his eyes would also be the same beautiful lilac Ichiru’s were.
She watched, a bit awed, as Ichiru smiled brightly in a way she’d never seen during class and leaned in to press a kiss to the man’s cheek. The man in turn gave Ichiru a kiss to his forehead and hugged him close, turning to walk out of the gates.
The man was obviously someone very close to Ichiru, probably the wonderful father that made the egg roll she’d eaten. The way he was with Ichiru reminded her of her own father, and she suddenly had a desperate urge to see him. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as lucky as Ichiru in being able to see her father so often. He was usually always very busy with work, and she hardly had any time with him.
“I…won’t be able to see him will I?” She mumbled.
“Yuuki-sama?”
“Kurata-san,” she smiled. She followed her driver to their car, getting in and looking out despondently through the tinted windows. Going by a particular street, she perked up when she saw Ichiru and his father walking down the sidewalk. As they entered one of the buildings, she vaguely called out, “Where are we going?” This wasn’t the usual way to her home.
“Kaname-sama has requested you get fitted for a dress, Yuuki-sama. I’ll be directing us to the designer he’s appointed for your formal wear.” Kurata answered.
“Oh.” Yuuki didn’t sound at all thrilled to be getting measured and dressed up again. Unlike most girls her age, she disliked getting laced up in fancy dresses she couldn’t even walk comfortably in. She’d never forget the look Seiren, her father’s bodyguard, had on her face when she tried to (and succeeded) climb a tree and caused a huge rip in the silk gown she’d had on for that evening.
Her father hadn’t seemed to mind, merely cautioning her to be more careful the next time she felt like taking a swing on the branches. He did, however, get rather upset at her for possibly endangering herself by climbing so high. She could’ve fallen to her death, he’d reprimanded, and he didn’t find that amusing at all, whatsoever.
Kurata sent a sympathetic look through the front view mirror. “For what it’s worth, Yuuki-sama, I hear he has a special evening planned.”
Of course he did. A need for a dress always meant ‘special evenings’. Only for the adults though, Yuuki grumbled. None of it was special to her, unless getting bored out of her mind for hours on end was somehow special.
Well, she tried to think positively, at least wherever she might be going in that dress was bound to be nice. The places her father took her to, were always beautiful. She could at least count on that to make up for her less than interesting evening. Would there be shiny sparkling chandeliers, she wondered, or the high ceilings, with every surface painted with the style of famous paintings past. Or maybe it would be some place she’d be able to gaze up at the stars during the night.
Feeling a bit more excitement enter her veins, Yuuki smiled and relaxed back into her seat.
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Ichiru wriggled from the warmth of his father’s arms as he was placed back down, and looked up expectantly. His father had told him on the way, that two of the cooks were out today, and he needed to help out in the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, Ichiru had offered to help and his father accepted.
“Ichiru, go ahead into the kitchen for me?” His father was already discussing things with a waiter on the current situation. Nodding Ichiru did as he was told, swinging open the doors to where, as his aunt would sometimes say, ‘The magic happened’.
The kitchen was a whirlwind of activity, men and women dressed in white whipping back and forth, pots and pans clanking, and everything seemed to be steaming, the air a lot warmer than the controlled temperature in the restaurant. Orders were being shouted and demanded from one chef to the next, not one of them looking up from their cooking as they talked over all the noise.
Even as the owner’s son, they’d hardly noticed on his presence, and when they did, they never paused to greet him, merely sending him nods or smiles as they passed by. Ichiru sent back nods of his own, quickly finding something to do. He was a child in an adult setting, and admittedly couldn’t do much, but he liked to do whatever he could to help his father out.
“Ichiru-chan,” one of the senior waitresses called over. “Bring this order over to that table? Make sure you give them that smile of yours,” she winked, handing him a tray of food and two drinks.
The two middle-aged women he’d served had actually tipped him, admiring his desire in wanting to help out his father. Tucking the money into his pocket with a smile, he moved to head back into the kitchen, where he saw his father was already cooking in.
“Ichiru,” he smiled, beckoning him over. He lowered the plate of whatever food he’d just placed on it down to Ichiru’s level, crouching next to him, “can you tell me what sauce this is?”
Ichiru grinned, nodding. “Apple cider.” He loved it when his father tested him this way. Despite how busy the kitchen seemed to be, his father always took some time away from it to teach him things. Everything he knew about food, he’d learned from his father.
Going into a swift explanation of why he thought his answer was correct, his father smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. “Good eyes, Ichiru. Now can you take this, along with the rest of their order, to the right table?”
Stepping out of the kitchen again, concentrating on serving the customers properly, he didn’t notice a young girl and her father walk in, nor did he see the widening of her eyes as she noticed him.
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Yuuki had been so terribly glad the dress set up for the night wasn’t restricting or overly decorative. It was simple and elegant, and most of all, she could move in it. Her father had seemed to notice her relief, his eyes amused as he’d held out his hand for her to take.
The ride to their destination hadn’t been far from where she’d met up with her father, and when stepping out of the car, she noticed the area looked familiar.
“Yuuki, this way,” her father called gently, leading her in the right direction. “I finally had the chance of trying this restaurant, and I wanted to enjoy that first time with you.” His schedule hadn’t the time for a quiet evening meal, and now that it did, he wasn’t letting the opportunity slip by.
Entering the restaurant, Yuuki still felt it looked familiar, and was only half aware of her father talking with one of the waiters as she took a wide sweep of her surroundings. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, very much different from the coolly professional dining places her father had taken her to numerous times.
Seeing the happy smiles on everyone’s face as they ate, Yuuki felt her own lips lifting in an involuntary smile. She could understand how her father might’ve wanted to eat here, but she’d thought he’d be meeting with other adults again, and this wasn’t the type of place he usually chose to have those meetings in.
About to ask what they were really here for, Yuuki froze as she saw a very familiar figure walk across the restaurant, a tray in his pale hands and his face serious. She’d never mistake those eyes and hair.
“It’s Ichiru-kun…” Yuuki murmured, her hand tightening around her father’s fingers.
“Yuuki?” Her father inquired. He looked in the direction his daughter had been gazing at, but didn’t see anyone.
“Um, I just saw a boy from my class. He’s the one that gave me his egg roll and cleaning duty.”
Her father chuckled softly. “Is he eating here as well? What a coincidence. Would you like to see him?” He knew his daughter was expecting another boring meeting, and didn’t think it’d be bad to keep letting her think so until he had everything ready. He dearly hoped she liked her surprise. It pained him to see his daughter had forgotten her own birthday, more concerned with being happy over seeing him.
Every child should be expected to demand attention and presents on their birthday, and yet Yuuki had merely asked what the special occasion was when he came to see her. He’d almost faltered then, and nearly gave himself away. He only became more determined to make this night special, one she wouldn’t forget any time soon.
“It’s okay,” Yuuki replied, “He looked kind of busy.”
“Kuran-sama, this way please,” the waiter them led to an empty table. Yuuki sent the man a smile when he pulled her seat out for her, “Thank you.”
The waiter bowed. “Only the best for the Lady of the evening. I will be back in a moment to take your order.”
“Yuuki,” her father smiled, “choose what you like, this night is yours.”
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Back in the kitchen, things hadn’t calmed a bit. Rather, as the hours went by, the orders increased, and they were all running amuck in an ordered mess. Even through the chaos, Ichiru’s father kept a tight reign over his kitchen, looking over every plate that went past him and making sure the food was being made on time.
“Kei, is that cake ready?” Ichiru watched his father call to another one of the chefs, even as he expertly poured sweet caramel over the shaved coconut vanilla ice.
“Two minutes, Chef!” Kei called back, “Just the icing and it’s done!”
“Great, keep at it! I’m not having a little girl cry in my restaurant on her birthday, Kei,” his father smirked, checking another dish and nodding an okay for it to go through to the tables.
“Birthday?” Ichiru asked aloud. He hadn’t known the restaurant was hosting a party. As though reading his thoughts, his father smiled down at him, “She’s turning seven, and her father asked us to make her dinner tonight real special.” The menu for their birthday girl was personally requested, and it only contained her favorite foods. Her father had offered to pay additional fees for it, which he’d immediately declined. He wasn’t going to make a father put a price to his daughter’s happiness on her birthday.
Ichiru blinked. Seven? So she was the same age as him?
“Ichiru, why don’t you go with Kei when he brings out the cake? Wish her a happy birthday for me while you’re at it.”
Ichiru smiled, “Okay.”
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“Everything is so good! And they’re all my favorites,” Yuuki happily commented as she ate quickly and cleaned off her plate. The food was delicious, and she got to enjoy all of it with her father. It was just the two of them tonight, and she couldn’t have been more thrilled to have her father all to herself. Now she just knew tonight had to be special.
“I hope you still have room for something more, Yuuki,” he smiled softly, holding her hand across the table. “I’ve been wanting to tell you this all day, and it’s finally time.”
“Eh?” She followed her father’s line of sight and her eyes widened. A cake…? But why, was it dessert?
“Yuuki, happy birthday,” her father whispered, squeezing her hand.
“Oh, I forgot,” Yuuki blinked. Her father chuckled. “I guessed that, yes.” He watched as she looked down at the cake set in front of her, the chef sticking in seven little candles, lighting them with a match. “Do you…do you like it?”
Instead of answering verbally, Yuuki just slid off her seat and climbed onto her father’s lap, hugging him with all the strength she could muster. “Thank you, Papa,” she whispered tightly. “I like it, I like it, I really, really like it,” she rambled.
Ichiru and Kei exchanged a brief glance. Their well wishes could wait a bit more, they decided, and gave the two some privacy to share the moment.
“Thank you,” Yuuki whispered again. Her father merely pressed a kiss to her cheek and held her against him. “You’re the most important person to me, Yuuki, perhaps I should have done more—”
“No! This is good! I liked everything! It was all…everything was perfect,” she interrupted, glaring up at him, daring him to oppose her words. When he stayed silent, she continued to murmur, “I was really happy when you said there was no one else, and it was just you and me.” She bit her lip. “I never said it, but I, I never really liked those parties with all the other people. I just wanted to see you.”
Her father closed his eyes. “I know Yuuki, and I’m sorry, so sorry, for always forcing you to come…” But it was the only way he could spend time with his daughter, see her for more than a few minutes before having to leave again. He knew it was selfish of him, but he just had to see her face at least once everyday, and if that included having to take her to the parties he’d no choice but to attend, then he’d decided he would.
“It’s okay, Papa, as long as I got to see you, it was okay.” She hated that he looked so sad and lonely whenever he said things like that. Sometimes, even when he smiled for her, he still looked sad. Admittedly, he didn’t smile often, but when he did, she swore she could feel all the love he held for her in that one smile. It was his eyes, she’d concluded. They were always a dark wine red, but when he smiled at her, the colors seemed to change into something softer, warmer.
Everyone liked her father’s smiles, she’d heard many people say so, but Yuuki doubted no one loved them as much as she did.
But there were days like today, and small moments like now, that even with how much he loved her, she could tell something was still missing. Her father wasn’t the happiest he could be, she just knew.
He’d done so much for her birthday, she thought guiltily, and had given her a lot of things, but she hadn’t done anything for him in return. With her father’s arms around her, Yuuki turned on his lap to face the table. Smiling softly, she pulled the cake closer and closed her eyes, making the traditional wish before blowing as hard as she could, watching in satisfaction as all of the candles went out.
She couldn’t really give him anything, but she could at least do this much…
Both father and daughter turned at the sound of clapping. It was the chef from before, when her cake was brought in, and…
“Ichiru-kun!”
“Yeah, that’s me,” he said blandly, waving a hand. “My father wanted me to tell you happy birthday.”
“Your father?” Yuuki’s eyes widened. “Oh! That nice man you left school with,” she nodded. Ichiru flushed. “You saw that?” He demanded. He never acted like that in front of anyone but his father.
This time, it was Yuuki’s turn to blush. “Um, sorry, I just wanted to know why you left so fast. So that was your father right?” The man had looked too much like Ichiru not to be, and Ichiru’s reaction just now was proof enough.
The boy in question averted his eyes. “Yeah…” He muttered.
“Does your father happen to be the owner here?” Yuuki blinked up at her father. Owner? Oh! She remembered one of the boys during lunch mentioning something similar, that Ichiru’s father owned many restaurants. So this was one of them? Well, it was no wonder the food had been so delicious.
“Yes he does.”
“Is he, is he here?” Even Ichiru looked up at the question. Yuuki lowered her brows at the strange tone in her father’s voice. She’d never heard him sound so unsure of himself. Not to mention, he looked…scared?
“Papa, are you okay?”
“N-Yes, yes, I’m fine.” He tried to smile, but Yuuki was far from convinced. Neither was Ichiru. His lilac eyes narrowed.
“What do you want with my father?”
Want? Nothing more than to see him again…just a glimpse would be fine, he’d have blurted, but he could imagine how confusing, not to mention suspicious that would sound, and simply answered, “Nothing, Ichiru-kun, I just…is it alright if I can meet him? I’d like to thank him for the wonderful night we were able to enjoy because of his outstanding services.”
Phew, a rocky start, but a clean finish.
Ichiru raised a brow, crossing his arms. Yeah, this one was a smooth talker alright. He had half a mind to just simply reject him out of spite, but the man was still a customer, and his father would never forgive him if he deliberately caused trouble. Shrugging, he turned to go. “We’re really busy, but I’ll ask him.”
He completely missed the look of utter relieved joy that filled the man’s eyes at his answer. Yuuki, however, hadn’t missed a thing, and now she was more than curious. Why did her father want to meet the owner so much?
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Ichiru entered the kitchen just in time to hear his father bark out, “I need that chicken done now, Izumi!” and the other chef’s quick reply, “Yes Chef!”
“Chef, the lobster pasta is up!”
Checking it over, there was a sharp nod of approval. “Good job, Karina!”
“Dad?”
“What is it, Ichiru?” His father stuck a chopstick into one of the pots and tasted the sauce, nodding to himself, briskly moving over to stand behind one of the newcomers, advising them to lower the heat for that beef dish.
“Yes, Chef,” Jun murmured, doing as he was told. He looked back over his shoulder and was rewarded with a slight smile. “You did well today, are you sure you can stay longer?” Jun had a sick brother to take care of.
“It’s fine, he’s on one of his better days today.” Jun smiled.
“Take a few minutes after this one anyway. Call him to say you’ll be late at least. Have Kei take over for you in the meanwhile.”
“Thank you boss,” Jun said softly. His father didn’t seem to be able to hear it over all the noise, but Ichiru did, and he sent the young chef a smile before tugging on his father’s pants.
“Dad,” he called.
“Ichiru? Right, you needed something?” His lilac eyes scanned another plate, wiping off a bit of grease on the rim before handing it off to be delivered to another table.
“The birthday girl’s father wants to meet you.”
“Was something wrong?”
“No,” Ichiru wrinkled his nose, “he just said he wanted to thank you or something.”
“Mm,” his father looked over another order, quickly calling out the next few dishes that needed to be cooked. “Sorry Ichiru, but could you tell him I’ve got my hands full right now?”
Ichiru would’ve more than loved to do just that, but “I think he really wants to meet you.”
His father actually paused, for the first time since entering the kitchen, and crouched down to look him straight in the eyes. “Ichiru, he didn’t say anything to you, did he? If he’s pushing you to do this—”
“He isn’t, he just really looked like he wanted to meet you.” Ichiru shrugged, trying to look unconcerned. His father could be a protective worrywart sometimes.
“Alright,” his father sighed out. “Karina!” He called, “Take over for a few minutes!”
“Yes Chef!”
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Yuuki watched, as her father seemed to grow more and more nervous as time passed and they had yet to see either Ichiru or his father. She’d already asked him once whether he was okay or not, and he didn’t tell her anything, so she’d kept quiet since then, but it did worry her to see her father so beside himself.
It seemed she wouldn’t have to worry for long, though, as she saw Ichiru walk up to them, his hand in his father’s.
The two looked even more alike than she remembered when seeing them from a distance. One big and one small; Ichiru was like a miniature of the owner. Yuuki inwardly giggled when she realized they were even dressed similarly, with white shirts and dark pants under a white waiter’s apron tied firmly around their waists. She doubted Ichiru did a lot of cooking in the kitchen, so the lack of food stains on his shirt wasn’t anything out of the norm, but she’d always assumed chefs had at least those few stains, like a painter, on their uniform.
The owner’s clothing was spotless, save for the wrinkles around the arms. His long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing his pale forearms. He and Ichiru even shared that same glowing paleness.
“Zero…” She heard her father breathe a name by her ear. His arms grew tense around her, and he felt rigid behind her back. His eyes were glued to the tall man standing with her classmate. She assumed that was Ichiru’s father’s name.
“Kaname?” Zero blurted, nearly in a reflex to having his name called, as his eyes had already widened when recognizing the familiar figure waiting for him, even at a distance. It was Kaname, he thought a little incredulously. If his executive chef hadn’t called in sick tonight, along with the sous chef (he was starting to suspect there was something more going on between them), he never would have met him.
An amazing coincidence, he thought a bit wryly. Well it was no wonder Takuma had looked so happy today. Zero didn’t doubt the blond had had a hand (he’d probably just went right along and suggested for the brunet to try Red Clover’s) in helping Kaname choose a place to eat and celebrate his daughter’s seventh birthday.
“Dad, you know him?” Ichiru asked. That came as a surprise (the new girl’s father did seem a bit iffy), though his father seemed even more shocked than he was, at the moment.
“Yeah, he’s a friend of Takuma’s,” his father answered. When Ichiru sent him a blank look, he explained, “The one that’s always with Sara, the blond.”
“Aunt Sara? Oh, that Takuma, the smiley one,” Ichiru nodded.
“Yes, that smiley one,” his father said dryly. He looked back up to the tall brunet. “Sorry Kaname, I can’t talk right now, but I’ll have Ichiru give you my number. We can catch up some other time when my kitchen isn’t about to get rundown.”
“I’m sorry as well, for interrupting your work,” Kaname said softly. Ichiru refrained from scoffing. Yeah right he was, he thought derisively, the man looked way too happy for someone who was supposedly feeling sorry.
“That’s fine, it was good seeing you again, and happy birthday to you,” Zero nodded to Yuuki before going back to the kitchen.
Ichiru narrowed his eyes into a glare before reaching out to pull Yuuki out of her father’s lap and tugging her into the waiters’ changing room. Making sure the door was locked, he turned to the small brunette.
“What in the world is up with your dad?” He demanded. “He got all weird in front of mine, what’s going on?”
Yuuki blinked. “Um, I don’t know, I really don’t. They’re…they’re friends, right? Papa knew your papa, and it looked like they liked each other, so…”
“Friends? I guess…but still, your dad’s weird.”
Yuuki pouted. “He is not! I don’t think your papa’s weird, so don’t say mine is!” She crossed her arms.
“That’s because he isn’t,” Ichiru rolled his eyes. Yuuki glared. “Papa is not weird!”
“Is too!”
“Is not!”
“Is too!”
“Is—”
“Whoa, little children, what are you doing in here?” A dark head poked in. Ichiru frowned. “Keigo? Are you going home already?”
“Nah, not yet, just taking a break. What’re you two going on about? Could hear the both of you having it out way out here.” As the two seven year olds glared at each other again, it only took a second for him to figure it probably wasn’t a good idea to have asked that. The shouting started all over again.
“He said Papa’s weird!”
“Her dad is weird!”
“He is not!”
“Yes he is!”
“O-kay, hold it, little munchkins,” Keigo interrupted, waving his hands. “Don’t really know (or care) what’s going on, but,” he looked at Ichiru, “her papa’s not weird, and Ichiru, don’t say things that’ll upset girls, nothing good comes out of that, trust me, and you,” he looked at Yuuki, “I think that’s your papa out there, looking for you.” He jabbed behind him with his thumb.
“What?” Yuuki rushed out. Huffing a sigh, Ichiru followed her out. Keigo had a habit of smoking whenever he took a short break, and he had no plans to be anywhere near him when it happened. The smoke smelled horrible, and his father didn’t like it.
He gave Yuuki’s father an apology for taking her so suddenly, and handed off his father’s number to him, written on a napkin.
“We close at midnight tonight,” he added.
Watching them leave, he frowned. “He’s still weird,” he muttered.
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“Night Chef!”
“Good work!” Zero called back as two more of his chefs retired for the night. All of them had looked exhausted as they changed out of their uniforms. He was going to have to advise his executive chef to keep the fun late night activities at a minimum, especially if it was going to affect negatively in their work efficiency.
“Damn it Yagari,” Zero muttered, wiping off one of the steel counters, “you could at least put in the effort to be a little more subtle.” The other chefs and waiters had all talked about it with no small amount of amusement.
Feeling his phone vibrate against his thigh, he paused to answer it. “Yes?” Wiping the rest of the counter off, Zero held his phone between his ear and shoulder to untie his white waiter’s apron, nodding a thanks to one of the other remaining chefs for taking it for him as he continued his conversation. “Yeah, he did. Takuma told you?”
“He tells me everything.” Zero could hear the smile in her tone. “So, what did you think? Seeing him after ten years?”
Zero chuckled. She was fishing for information already. He had no doubt she’d be relaying everything to her fiancé once she was done interrogating him. “It was good. I’ll be having a nice talk with Takuma though, the next time I see him.” She laughed. “But he looked good, Sara, and his daughter was cute.” She had Kaname’s dark coloring, but looked more like her mother, he guessed. He hadn’t an idea what Kaname’s wife looked like.
“Is Ichiru going to have competition?” Sara asked teasingly. She was aware of how much her nephew was attached to his father. Zero shook his head, a smile on his lips. “Ichiru knows better than to think that.”
Her tone softened. “Right, you’ll always be his father, whether you’re related or not, right?”
“We are related, Sara,” Zero laughed, “You make it sound so dramatic. But you’re right.” He admitted affectionately, “I’ve raised Ichiru since he was just out of the hospital; he’s my son. It wouldn’t have mattered if we weren’t related.” Though on a more practical level, he was glad Ichiru looked so much like him, as no one questioned their relationship and Ichiru hadn’t any trouble in school about who his parents were. Everyone just assumed Zero was his natural father.
“I wish Shizuka were here to hear you say that.” Sara whispered, her eyes wistful. She dearly missed the woman who could’ve been her sister-in-law.
“What? Sara, did you say something?” Zero frowned. Her voice was too low.
“Nothing interesting,” she answered airily, “so are you meeting him yet? Has he called you?”
His smile turning flat, Zero asked, “You aren’t planning anything are you? You sound pretty invested.”
“Oh I am,” she smirked. That was between her and Takuma. She was more than sure she’d win though. “I hope he calls you, and soon.” She was tired of hearing Takuma whine about his childhood friend being so sad and alone, always trying to convince himself his daughter was enough.
Men could be so pathetic; they needed a woman’s firm support in making sure they didn’t self-destruct from being so emotionally constipated. Though, of course, Takuma was an exception. He just became a bit too involved when it came to things regarding Kaname. Sara on the other hand, was able to keep a somewhat objective perspective.
Well, she smiled, if it was for Takuma, she supposed she didn’t mind helping too much.
Ending the call with Zero, she stared down at her phone for a few seconds before shrugging. “Oh what the heck,” she scrolled down her contacts list, “I should give him an extra push. He’s probably floundering around like an idiot.” Coming upon ‘Lord of the Night’ (he hated the title, hence the reason why she used it), she pressed down on the call button.
“Sara, what do you want?” As expected, he sounded a bit off. Glossy lips lifting in a smirk, she answered, “What a rude way to talk to someone who gave you the chance to find your beloved Zero again. Not to mention, you even have his number, you sneak. I didn’t think you worked so fast,” she teased.
“Sara!” She laughed delightedly. Ah, how good it felt to get one over him. He was always such a perfect prince when it came to everything else it’d been a surprise to realize even he had his insecure moments. Zero brought out all kinds of interesting sides she’d never seen before, and it certainly made him more fun to mess with.
“Sara, what is it?” She frowned at the wariness in his tone. “I had a feeling you were just spending your darling time staring at that number and thought you might’ve needed a push in the right direction.
“I just got off the phone with him you know, and he said it was good seeing you again. He said you looked good, and that your daughter was cute.” She informed casually, staring at her nails. After a few seconds, she wondered whether he’d stopped breathing, it was so silent on the other line.
“Kaname?” She cautioned out.
“He…did he really say that?” His voice sounded so…awed and light and wonderful, she just knew he was daydreaming or something.
Biting her lip to keep in the laughter that was extremely close to slipping out, she nodded, “Mm-hm, almost word for word, there.” Bowing her head with a smile, she sighed affectionately. Goodness, he really had it bad, didn’t he? “But you know he didn’t really mean it in that way, and you have to help him see and understand you. He can’t connect the dots if there aren’t any to connect. You know that don’t you? If you really want him, give him everything you’ve got.
“And I hate to say this,” she really did, “but there aren’t a lot of people who can say no to your everything, Kaname.”
“Sara…” He actually sounded thankful she pulled the phone away from her ear to stare at it incredulously before shaking her head.
“Okay, icky bonding moment over!” She made a face. “Go call him and take him out on a date or something.” Without waiting for a reply, she hung up. It always made her feel weird when she did too many good deeds in a day. She had a limit, you know.
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Pressing a kiss to Ichiru’s forehead, Zero gently tucked him in, smiling as he closed the door to his son’s room. Ichiru was only seven, he shouldn’t be staying up so late, but his son was so purely determined he couldn’t say no.
“He’s so much like you, Shizuka,” Zero whispered. “I wish you could see him now, he’s grown so big since you last saw him.” His twin sister had only been given the chance to see Ichiru once, right after he was born, before her life had been cruelly stolen, so soon… She’d been so excited to have Ichiru, to be the mother they never had. Their father had raised both him and his sister; and he never remarried.
Though, now that he thought about it, he doubted Shizuka would have been too forgiving of having a stepmother. Their father had told them so much about their natural mother he didn’t think Shizuka would have been accepting of another woman filling that role.
The moment she saw Ichiru and held him in her arms, she’d laughed. “Don’t freak out when I say this, Zero, but he looks like our love child!”
Zero hadn’t, and still couldn’t understand how she’d known Ichiru would look so much more like him than her lover, but she’d been right. Getting their light hair and eyes wasn’t anything surprising, but his facial features were very similar to his own. If Zero were to bring out any old photos, Ichiru could easily look like his twin.
Shizuka hadn’t seemed bothered by it however, merely extremely amused. “I can only imagine what strangers will say if they saw us together.” Indeed.
But, he smiled wistfully, that never came to pass.
Heading for the fridge, he paused in surprise when his phone vibrated. It was in the wee hours of the morning; he didn’t think anyone would call…
“Hello?”
“Zero…?” The voice on the other line sounded adorably hesitant, but Zero hadn’t any trouble figuring who it was.
“Hey Kaname,” Zero smiled. “I guess Sara was right. She said you’d call.”
The brunet on the other line chuckled breathlessly. “She did, did she? Has she told you anything else?” It was so good to hear his voice again…
“If you know Sara, and I know you do, you can’t be seriously asking that,” Zero leaned against his kitchen counter, playing with his cup.
Kaname laughed dryly. “You’re right, and I shouldn’t.” He and Sara’s relationship was…complicated, he’d say. The simplest way to describe it was a love/hate friendship that spanned for most of their life. They’d never really liked each other in the least, and most likely wouldn’t have, until Takuma.
For the sake of a mutual bond, they’d both learned to slowly tolerate one another, and could now claim to be hateful friends. Of a sort. Mm. He could just be exaggerating. They had their soft moments. Very (extremely) few, but they did have them. The phone call from her just scant few moments ago could be used as an example.
“So, how’ve you been?” Zero asked softly. “It’s been pretty long, hasn’t it? I never even thought of you having a kid.”
“Neither did I,” his feelings were bittersweet on that particular subject. He didn’t like how it came about, but he’d never give up his daughter for the world. “And yours, your son, he’s in the same class as Yuuki.”
Zero blinked in surprise. “He never told me.” Though understandably, things had been really hectic as of late, but…
“I just had Yuuki transfer in today. She seems to like Ichiru-kun enough.”
“Does she?” So they’d just met today? “I’m glad she does. Ichiru can come off as a bit…” What was the word? “Detached.” A word one of the teachers had worriedly used. Zero had settled her concerns, of course, saying his son made up for his lack of energy at home.
And it wasn’t as though Ichiru had any trouble interacting with other children his age. Zero actually thought he was maybe a little too versed in knowing what to say and how to approach them. He was well aware of how his son used his lunch as a bargaining tool. He hadn’t been surprised at all when he found out. Ichiru was Shizuka’s after all.
Kaname chuckled. “I didn’t get such an impression.” On the other hand, he had the opinion Ichiru was a rather passionate individual; especially with how much he thought of his father. Kaname had easily detected the protectiveness in his eyes when he went to retrieve Zero. He was, in many ways, much like his father…
“Really? Then I think he’s taken a liking to you,” Zero said amusedly. His son hardly ever let anyone see anything of himself besides the bored and uninterested face he put up if they didn’t mean anything to him. He suspected Kaname had sparked something in him to act differently.
Well, this was Kaname, Zero shook his head, it was only expected. The brunet affected each and every person he met, whether it was in large or small amounts, though he himself had only seen two extreme reactions. Whenever someone met Kaname, they either liked him or hated him, and he’d never seen anything in between. Their opinions could change over time of course, but not many had the chance to have that time. Kaname never really cared for their thoughts anyhow. He had a hard enough time meeting his own expectations to care for any others’.
“Are you so certain?” Kaname tilted his head. The young boy hadn’t seemed to like him especially. He could only remember seeing disgruntled glares and sullen frowns from him.
“Yes. I know Ichiru.” Kaname smiled along at the light tone in Zero’s voice. He never thought he’d be able to hear him again, to talk with him so casually, and about their own children no less.
“Then I’ll trust in your words.” Kaname sounded amused.
Zero nodded. It felt surprisingly comfortable to talk with someone he hadn’t seen in ten years. It wasn’t as though their line of conversation was anything interesting, but the awkwardness one might expect from the amount of time they hadn’t seen each other was nearly nonexistent. Their words weren’t rushed or self-conscious, and their pauses weren’t uncomfortable or uneasy. “I never thought I’d see you around here again,” he commented, “felt a bit homesick? How did your daughter say her first day went?”
Kaname’s eyes turned wistful as he gazed out of his window. “Homesick…yes, I guess you could say that, but I just wanted Yuuki to enjoy her time here and find some fun at the schools I spent my childhood in.”
Zero paused from turning his cup around. “Kaname? Are you alright?” The tension he could feel from the other man was worrying. He didn’t doubt those were the reasons why Kaname had enrolled his daughter into Cross elementary, but it sounded as though there was something else…
“…I wanted her away from Yasuko,” Kaname muttered lowly.
Zero lowered his brows. Kaname? Who was Yasuko? He had a feeling he didn’t want to know. It was rare for Kaname to actively dislike someone. He felt plenty of apathy and indifference for a majority of those that he met, but unless they attacked him personally, Kaname never spared his attentions on anything that he deemed was a waste of his time.
Whoever this Yasuko was must’ve done a great disservice. Zero couldn’t even bring himself to feel any sympathy on her part. It took a lot for Kaname to show such disdain just with your name.
“Kaname, would you come by Red Clovers again?” Zero abruptly changed subject.
“If I can find the time, of course. Yuuki and I really did have a wonderful time there.”
“It’s good to hear you say that,” Zero smiled. “If your daughter is in the same class as Ichiru, I’d like to get to know her better.” She was Kaname’s after all. He’d like to see how she was like.
“Two of my chefs are going through a rough patch, and I don’t think a lot of work will get done even if they do come in,” Zero hinted. I’ll be around the restaurant a lot more often.
Kaname’s lips lifted in a slow smile. “That sounds rather terrible. Are they alright?” Not that he could feel much sympathy for them if he got the chance to see Zero again because of them.
“Mm, it’s nothing they haven’t gone through before.” Probably Yagari getting a bit too eager, and Cross, in turn, getting fed up with the lack of sleep. Otherwise extremely cheerful (on a near exasperating level), without his sleep, Cross was one disgruntled short-tempered chef.
It was like a cycle. They’d have everything patched up in a few days, most likely. “So will I be expecting you?”
“Most definitely.”
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And true to his word, Kaname arrived, with his daughter, a week later. Zero usually would have been gone by then, but unfortunately, his two chefs were apparently going through a more serious (Zero and the others thought the matter rather small) rougher patch than the usual, ‘I hate you, too much sex, leave me alone’ pattern.
When Kunuki, one of the senior waiters, poked his head into the kitchen to catch his eye, his expression anything but enthusiastic, Zero sighed. “He’s here again?”
Kunuki nodded. “Yagari-san’s ex? Yeah, he’s waiting at the usual table.” He paused. “Are you sure we can’t just, I don’t know, kick him out?” He whispered, his voice taking on a hint of desperation. He didn’t know how much more of the tension he could take.
“I feel you,” Zero said sympathetically, and he did, “I wish I could, but he hasn’t really done anything to earn it.”
Kunuki sent him an incredulous look. Zero shrugged. “Not to the restaurant, I mean. He’s being a perfect antagonist to Cross, but other than that, he’s just like any other customer here. Besides, both Cross and Yagari are nearly always in the kitchen. They shouldn’t be so affected.”
“Chef, the soup is up!” Karina called. Zero nodded and gave her an affirmative. Giving his attention back to Kunuki, he smiled wryly. “I know it’s a pain in the ass, but it’s only until those two get their acts together, and it shouldn’t take that long.” The intense physical attraction would do them in sooner or later. They could never keep their hands off of each other for long.
“Oh, and tell me when Kaname gets here?” He smiled. Kunuki blinked, but nodded.
He and the others had been surprised when they heard their boss had a history with the world renowned Kuran Kaname, but after knowing Zero for some time, they supposed it shouldn’t really come as a shock.
Their boss had a wide range of colorful contacts they couldn’t even begin to fathom. Shirabuki Sara, famous model and actress, along with Ichijou Takuma, another member of high society, were just two of many on a long list. Adding Kuran Kaname wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
“Chef? Table ten’s ready!”
“Right. Just hold out for a bit more, Kunuki?” Zero patted his shoulder.
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Yuuki smiled excitedly as she looked around the restaurant again. It was only her second time here, but Red Clovers was quickly becoming her favorite place, especially as it was with her father. She couldn’t believe she was getting the chance to spend so much time with him again.
Ever since her birthday, she saw a slight change in her father. It wasn’t something she could place an exact name to, but he did seem lighter, and his smiles were genuine. Yuuki couldn’t claim to be the smartest person in the world, but she had a feeling it had to do with Ichiru’s father, Zero.
They both seemed like great friends, and she hoped he would be able to see him more often. Zero seemed like a busy person too, from what she’d observed last week. He had to return to the kitchen so quickly…
Ichiru had said it was normal though, for the kitchen to be that busy. They usually had more people to help, which was why things were more manageable, but that night his father had had to take care of most things, and as a result hadn’t any extra time to spare.
Yuuki still frowned when remembering his comment about her father, but Ichiru had apologized for it the next day at school and they’d agreed he wouldn’t mention it again. Besides that, the boy was fairly nice. Yuuki had seen his sharp words were hardly meant to be taken seriously, and it was how he communicated with his friends.
“Mm? Yeah, Ichiru’s real nice once you get to know him.”
Yukimi, in particular, was rather close with Ichiru. Apparently, when his mother had passed away, and he couldn’t bring himself to come to school, Ichiru had been the one to visit him everyday (with his father’s food) to coax him out of his house and back to school.
“I kept telling him to go away, but he came back even after that. Ichiru’s a good person, and his father’s pretty cool.”
From what she’d heard of Zero from her own father, she quite agreed that yes, he was rather nice. Zero had helped both Takuma and her father through a particularly hard time when they were much younger, and they’d felt grateful to him since.
Not to mention, for Takuma, Zero had introduced him to the woman who would later become his fiancée. Sara was really very pretty, but Yuuki had some reservations regarding the famous actress, as it was more than evident that she didn’t exactly like her father. Well, Yuuki supposed their interactions were much like something between Ichiru and his friends, though their ‘insults’ were on a level Yuuki had a hard time following.
Grown ups could be so confusing sometimes.
“Yuuki,” her father gently called, “which table would you like to sit at tonight?”
Smiling, she tugged on his hand and led them to a table for two by the window. In her enthusiasm, she failed to notice the waiter and the customer, and yelped when she was nearly tripped over by another tall man.
Her father immediately scooped her into his arms and held her at his hip, soothing her with gentle strokes to her hair. Admittedly she was a bit surprised, but she still turned to give the man an apology only to see him snarling at the waiter with a rather fierce look in his eyes.
“Come on, just let me see him once! I just want to see what kind of who—”
Yuuki never got to hear the rest of his sentence with her father’s hand resting firmly over her ear, the other pressed to his shoulder. She was glad for it; the man’s expression was scary enough, she didn’t think she’d have wanted to listen to the rest of whatever he might have had to say.
Her father quickly took them to the table she’d chosen and kissed her cheeks, asking her to wait for a moment. She just gave him a nod to show she understood, and he was off. A kind waitress served her some juice and fruits while she waited for him and gave her some new napkins to tear apart in her anxiety when she ran out of those that were on the table.
She perked up when she heard the owner’s voice nearing their table. “Kaname, I’m really sorry about this, is your daughter okay? She wasn’t hurt, was she?”
“She’s fine, Zero. He wasn’t trying to hurt her.”
“He could have, Kaname.” There was a sigh. “Kunuki was right, we should have kicked him out the first time he came here only to be an ass.” Yuuki heard her father give further assurances before Zero spoke up again, “You don’t have to pay for anything tonight. I don’t think I would’ve been as calm if it was Ichiru.” He laughed a little. “I would’ve used one of my pans for something other than cooking.”
“I would’ve reacted the same way if he actually wanted to harm Yuuki,” she could hear the smile in her father’s voice.
“Right,” Zero sighed again, though he didn’t sound as tired as before. “You’re free to ask for anything on our list. Just tell Miki about it and everything should be fine.”
“Zero, you don’t have to—”
“Well I want to Kaname, so sit down, shut up and eat.” Yuuki giggled into her hands. She’d never heard anyone talk to her father that way, except for maybe Sara.
“Yes Mother.”
Zero snorted, “I would’ve hung myself years ago if I were your mother, Kaname.”
“Will you be making our food tonight?” Her father’s voice softened.
There was a moment before she heard Zero’s answer. “Don’t give me those eyes, and yes, I’ll be making your food. You didn’t have to ask.”
Eyes? She wondered what kind of eyes her father was making. Craning her neck, she tried to lean over and pouted when she only caught sight of the owner. She wished she could see him.
“I’d like it if you could make our food every time we’re here.”
“Of course you would,” she saw the smile on the owner’s face and was immediately reminded of Ichiru. “I’ll try, Kaname, but it’ll depend. I’m here most often, but I never know when something might pop up in another one of the restaurants.” Yuuki felt her lips lift along with the owner’s as she saw his eyes soften. “But give me notice in advance and I’ll try to be here for you.”
“Thank you, Zero.” Yuuki didn’t have to see her father’s face this time to know what expression he had on.
They really are great friends, huh? She sighed happily. When she saw they were approaching the table, she quickly covered up the torn napkins on her lap and faced back around.
By the smiles she saw on both of their faces, however, she supposed she didn’t seem quite convincing enough. Zero gave her a smirk and discreetly held out a hand, murmuring, “I’ll talk those for you, yes?” Laughing sheepishly, she handed him the torn napkins, her cheeks a bit flushed in her embarrassment.
Zero gave her a gentle pat to the head with his other hand before leaving.
Deciding there wasn’t much use in hiding what she’d overheard, she leaned over the table to ask, “So we’re coming here again?” She still remembered how much she liked those rolls. She felt extremely lucky to have Zero make food for them.
“I do hope so, Yuuki, I do.”
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“Sorry boss, I should have handled him better,” Chiaki kept his eyes on his shoes. Zero shook his head. “You did the best you could. I was the one who should’ve seen this happening beforehand.”
“It’s good we can at least keep him out from now on,” Kunuki said encouragingly. “He was a right jackass.” Not to mention, maybe the executive and sous chef can start to work together a little more smoothly. He knew how much they were starting to aggravate Zero. He wouldn’t be surprised if his employer just decided to send them off on an unpaid suspension of some sort.
“Zero, everything all right?” Kei walked over, his eyes narrowed, wiping his hands.
“Mm, at least for now.” Zero sent him a smile before turning to one of the waiters. “Chiaki, take Kaname’s table? And let me take care of their orders for tonight.”
Kunuki and Kei blinked, sharing a glance, and smiled. “He’s taking their order?” The chef asked rhetorically. Kunuki chuckled, shaking his head. “Apparently, they’re close.” Kei snorted. Close. Right.
Kunuki checked the time and rolled his shoulders. His break was over and it was time to head out into the front lines again.
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“Cooked for him?” Sara made a face. “Takuma, that’s nothing!” So much for her excitement at hearing something interesting, she lamented. She should’ve known there were some differences between what she perceived as ‘progress’ and what her fiancé did.
“It is, Sara,” Takuma smiled, unperturbed by her lack of enthusiasm and critical words. “Kaname sounded so happy.” Sara sighed and nodded pityingly. “Of course, with how long he’s been pining after him, being able to eat his food must be absolute heaven,” if Takuma noticed on the underlying hint of sarcasm in her tone, he never called her on it. “And? Anything else? He has to have done something else, right?” It’d been a week! Were men so slow?
“Oh, well, Zero got to know Yuuki-chan a bit more,” Takuma added, as though it was something huge that needed to be commended. Sara stared. “Sweetie, as much as I love you, you’re a bit of an idiot.”
“Sara,” Takuma frowned. “Kaname is trying—”
“Not enough,” Sara cut in decisively. “He should just jump him and get it over with.”
Takuma sent her an exasperated look. “You know he can’t do that.” Zero would hate him forever. Or something.
“Well, I’m going to give him plenty of chances.” Sara smiled beautifully. “And he better take the generous offers I’ll be presenting him with, or else.”
“And just how are you going to go about doing that, dearest?” Takuma asked dryly. Sara raised a brow. “I’m not telling you,” she said in her best ‘no duh!’ tone. “You’ll go off to tell Kaname all about my nefariously entertaining plans and everything will be ruined.”
Takuma nodded, defeated (for now) and contemplated sending a mail of warning to his best friend anyway.
Sorry Kaname, Zero too…
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Kaname suspiciously found himself with a lot more free slots in his schedule than he’d ever had in years, and it was rather unsettling. He wished he had an idea why, but he’d gotten nothing from besides the seemingly obvious.
Not one to waste his time, he’d of course, used it wisely. His phone between his ear and shoulder, he slid on his coat and smiled as he replied, “Yes, I’ll be there.” Coming to stand outside his office to lock the door, he received a raised brow from his secretary when he suddenly laughed softly, nodding, “Yes, I fear that as well.”
Mitsuki watched him go with a blink and a shrug. It was nice to see her boss actually lightening up for once. He was always so serious she’d wondered if he had a life outside of work at all.
Maybe it was a new special someone to start anew with, after that first disastrous marriage? Mitsuki hoped so, as Tsubaki Yasuko was one huge bit— she immediately cut off that train of thought, not wanting to insult her boss’ first wife even in her mind, and even if she deserved it and much more.
She also thought it was a sign – Yuuki-chan, her boss’ adorable daughter, didn’t look a thing like her mother and didn’t act anything like her either. Mitsuki liked to think of it as a personal gift from the high heavens to her boss for putting up with someone like Tsubaki Yasuko for two years.
It was a good thing they separated right after Yuuki-chan was born. Who knows how that woman could have corrupted that sweet girl?
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Zero had actually found himself worrying over what to wear before berating himself and reasoned, it was only Kaname, he needn’t dress up for him like a woman, and stepped out in casual clothes.
The past month and a half had taken a rather unexpected turn, all starting with meeting Kaname that night, and he was half afraid of where it would all lead. He knew all of this had to be leading somewhere, what with Sara and Takuma being involved. He was in the same boat as Kaname on this; completely unaware of what was being planned for them every time they met.
But their shared hours and days were wonderful; he had to admit. He distinctly remembered the brunet as more of a serious individual, and his recent bout of soft smiles and genuine laughter was a refreshing sight to see. Kaname looked good with a smile. Zero was glad to see his life had been so generous to him since the first time they’d met.
They’d touched nearly every topic possible, but there was one that had Zero rather concerned than not, which was the subject of Yuuki’s mother. He knew enough to conclude she was still alive and that Kaname…disliked her, but not much else. It wasn’t something he was dying to know, and he doubted it’d change anything between them if he did, but it was something he was definitely curious about.
If they were separated, then—
“Zero?” Zero nearly jumped at the soft voice by his ear and took a breath before turning around. “Kaname,” he sighed.
“I’m sorry if I surprised you,” the brunet smiled. Zero narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure you are,” he responded dryly.
“Anything planned for today?”
“Actually…I’d like to visit our school,” Kaname quietly murmured, his voice clear, yet his gaze uncertain, as though he expected Zero to refuse.
“You mean Cross elementary? If we can keep Ichiru and Yuuki from finding out we’ve been there,” Zero shrugged. It would be around lunch break for them and he’d like to avoid getting caught by his son. Ichiru would never let him live it down.
Kaname relaxed a margin, though he still felt as if his limbs were made out of lead and stone. He’d never felt so…nervous in his life. It was all he could do to keep from suffering from a panic attack right there on the street.
Breathing slowly, he tried to focus on Zero and their line of conversation. Even as they talked, Kaname couldn’t help but marvel at how much Zero brought out in him. Every moment they spent together was a mixture of wonder, awe, and of course, on Kaname’s part, the soft ache that came from the love he held for this one man and the possibility that his feelings would continue to be unreciprocated.
He hadn’t enough courage back then, to say anything, and with how his arrangement with Yasuko went, he’d regretted that lost chance so deeply… He was forever thankful for Yuuki however. He didn’t know how he’d have survived without her presence.
“Kaname? Hey, you alright?”
Kaname blinked down into soft lilac and couldn’t stop himself from stepping back, his hand pressed to his mouth, desperately trying to keep the flush from his cheeks. That…that had been too close. Zero had been much too close.
His reflexive reaction only seemed to worry the restaurant owner even more, however, as his hand tightened a fraction around Kaname’s forearm, his brows lowering. “Kaname…?” Raising his other hand, Zero gently pulled the brunet’s away from his face and cupped his jaw, running his palm down his warm neck and back up to his forehead.
He wasn’t suffering from a fever, his temperature felt normal, but still, something was wrong, wasn’t there? It wasn’t like Kaname to be so absentminded. Not to mention, his rather jerky response to having his name called…
“Kaname, you shouldn’t push yourself. Takuma would kill me if he saw you were over doing things again and I didn’t stop you,” Zero said softly, his lips lifting in a teasing smile.
Zero thought he was working too much? Kaname held in a laugh. Well, if thinking about the person you loved more than was healthy could be called ‘working’ Kaname was way past overtime.
“I’m fine, Zero.” He couldn’t stop the rush of warmth that came from seeing the blatant worry and concern that still lingered in Zero’s eyes. It was nice to know he cared, even as a friend. Kaname closed his eyes remembering Zero’s warm hand against his skin, feeling a childish part of himself wishing he actually had been sick and overworked if he could feel that again.
Ugh, are you listening to yourself? A voice that sounded suspiciously like Sara reprimanded. Kaname could care less. He was perfectly aware of how different he sounded whenever it came to Zero.
Still looking plenty skeptic, Zero slowly nodded. “Alright, but if you faint on me, don’t be surprised to find an ‘I told you so!’ post-it on your forehead. I’ll tell Yuuki about it too, so she can guilt-trip you into making sure you never do it again.”
“Oh Zero, not Yuuki, please,” Kaname shook his head, widening his eyes. “You’ve no idea how much she resembles my mother when she glares.”
His lips twitching, Zero tried his best to keep a straight face. “Then that should teach you better than to neglect your own health.” When Kaname’s eyes glistened, he couldn’t keep in the laughter and leaned up to rest his forehead against Kaname’s, murmuring, “She has no idea how much she has you wrapped around her finger.”
Kaname’s breath caught at Zero’s proximity, and tried to keep his pounding heart from killing him. Zero…Zero, Zero, Zero… He so wished he could hold him, just have him close, if only for a minute, a few seconds…
Did the man not realize what he was doing to him?
Zero was still laughing a bit as he tugged Kaname along. “Come on, we should get going if we want to explore the school a bit before classes end and we’re run over by midgets half our size.”
Kaname sent him a rueful smile. As much as he loved Zero, the man could be bad for his heart.
But I’m telling him today…
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Yuuki hummed a bit as she wrote down her notes. Lunch had just gone fairly well, and she was in a good mood. Ichiru sent her an annoyed look for the low melody escaping her lips, but she merely smiled back and continued to write.
Tapping her chin at a particularly hard problem the teacher had set up, she diverted her attention to the nice weather outside and let out a gasp. Thankfully, it was only loud enough for Ichiru to overhear, and he raised a brow, trailing her line of sight.
“Dad?” He whispered incredulously, exchanging bewildered glances with her. Yuuki herself could only shrug as she turned back around to stare out the window again. “Papa’s with him too,” she murmured. “I wonder why they’re here. School’s not done yet.”
“They’ve been spending a lot time together lately…”
Yuuki nodded. “I don’t mind though, since Papa always looks really happy.”
Ichiru frowned. “Mine does too.” Good friends, huh? He narrowed his eyes. Sure, they could be friends, but they didn’t seem like it. He didn’t think they were pretending or anything, but they were close in another way, friendship, but not. Close like Takuma and Aunt Sara.
He’d first thought Kaname was just weird, but he’d soon recognized the way Yuuki’s father sometimes looked at his Dad as the same way Takuma looked at Aunt Sara. He wasn’t stupid. He could at least see that much.
Sparing Yuuki a glance, he wondered whether she’d noticed. He’d learned the girl could be insightful in unexpected ways. It was possible she’d already seen the way her father was around his own, and came to her own conclusions about what was going on between them.
Giving her a soft nudge to get her attention, he smirked and nodded to the door. He almost thought she wouldn’t get it, but she smiled brightly in return and nodded. Setting his pencil down, Ichiru raised a hand,
“Kazuki-sensei, may I use the bathroom?”
“Of course, don’t forget to take the pass with you.”
Ichiru waited outside for nearly ten minutes before Yuuki slipped out and met him at the corner of the hall, the girl’s bathroom pass held tightly in her small hands. They both laughed quietly and made their way down the stairs, determined to see what their fathers were up to.
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“Well, we’re here,” Zero said as they walked around. Kaname smiled softly, spotting the playground. “I can’t believe we were once so small.” The swings, the jungle gym, the slide…they were like miniature toys.
Zero nodded. “I have to see a double of myself everyday. Ichiru looks just like me when I was a kid. And the things he sometimes does… Was I that annoying?” He rested against one of the bars on the jungle gym, using it as a temporary chair.
Kaname chuckled, coming to stand next to him. “I think we all ask ourselves the same question once we have kids of our own.” Yuuki was a darling, but she could be a handful.
“I can’t help but wonder how our father managed both Shizuka and I.”
“Riku-san was a wonderful father,” Kaname said softly. “I was rather envious of you for having someone like him back then.” If his own parents had lived, he imagined his own father to be somewhat like Zero’s.
“You never told me that,” Zero smiled up, tilting his head.
“Oh, but I was.” Kaname said wistfully. “I couldn’t help but think, ‘If only I could have someone as kind and caring as Riku-san as my guardian…’ I don’t doubt Takuma thought the same, despite his loyalty to his grandfather.” Riku was such an easy man to get along with, and even easier to love.
“But I’m glad you didn’t,” Zero suddenly whispered, his gaze unwavering, “I wouldn’t have met you if you did.”
Kaname’s eyes widened. “Zero…”
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“I can’t really hear what they’re saying,” Yuuki mumbled out, squinting as she tried to get a better look at her father and Zero, crouched around a corner of their school.
“We could get closer,” Ichiru whispered, nudging her along as they slowly neared their targets.
“They’re…really, really good friends, huh?” Yuuki murmured, her eyes strangely contemplative as she saw how close they were standing. Well, her father was; Zero had his bum resting on the jungle gym. Though actually, maybe it made them look…closer, in a way. And the atmosphere that surrounded them…it wasn’t anything she’d seen before with her father. Something new.
Ichiru snickered. “Yeah, really good friends,” he echoed, as though he knew exactly what she was thinking.
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Could…was it alright for him to hope? Did Zero…? Kaname could barely breathe.
“Sorry to sound like an insensitive asshole, but it’s true,” Zero smiled sheepishly. He leaned back a bit to better look up at Kaname from his position.
“I, no, you don’t, Zero,” Kaname whispered, “Sound insensitive, I mean, and thank you.” Not many people told him they were glad to have met him and actually mean it.
Zero laughed softly. He hoped Kaname didn’t look at everyone as he did now, in that completely captivating way, or it’d definitely be a bit disheartening.
Kaname swallowed, resisting the urge to fidget, and settled next to Zero on the jungle gym, closer than was strictly necessary, and inwardly sighing in relief when Zero made no move to keep any distance between them. A good sign, his inner Sara nodded with approval.
“Zero, I…” Kaname had to keep his lips from trembling; he just had to. The last thing he wanted was to lose control over his speech and babble like an idiot at what was possibly the most important moment of his life. He couldn’t, couldn’t, he emphasized, screw this up.
“…Kaname…?”
“Zero, I—”
“No! Don’t get that close!” They were interrupted by a hissing whisper.
Zero blinked and exchanged a look with Kaname before slowly getting up, heading behind the huge cherry blossom tree and raising his brows at the sight of Ichiru and Yuuki looking up at him guiltily.
“And what are you two doing here, instead of class?”
Before Ichiru could think of a fast reply that might pass off as a believable excuse (he hadn’t much hope of fooling his Dad, but he could try), Yuuki blurted, “We saw you from our room and wanted to know why you were here.”
Zero sighed and turned to send Kaname a look. “I was half afraid this might happen.” Looking back at the kids, he narrowed his eyes. “I don’t have to escort you back to class, do I?”
They both simultaneously shook their heads and rushed off. Zero saw them turn the corner and nodded, his gaze softening affectionately as he let out a slight laugh over the kids’ antics. He just knew he and Shizuka would have done the same if they’d seen their own father at school before it was even over.
Smiling, he turned to Kaname again and paused, surprised at how close he’d gotten. Raising his eyes, he tilted his head inquiringly. He wondered if he should just save Kaname the trouble and ask what was on his mind; the tall brunet looked rather desperate to say something.
He was trying to tell him something when the kids had interrupted, and Zero hoped it wasn’t anything terrible. Kaname looked far from happy, even now, as he looked up at him. Were they not going to be able to meet anymore? Had something happened? Zero briefly remembered thinking about Yuuki’s mother and his heart clenched. Maybe this was about her?
“Kaname—”
“Zero—”
They blinked then laughed, instantly relaxing. Shaking his head, Zero placed a hand on Kaname’s arm. “If it’s so difficult for you to talk about, you don’t have to force yourself, Kaname.”
“No Zero, it is rather difficult, but I do need to say it.” He covered Zero’s hand with his own.
The younger of the two raised his brow playfully. “Then out with it, Kaname, you’re only making me—”
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“Oh my god,” Yuuki marveled.
“Holy shit,” Ichiru whispered, knowing he’d regret saying it later. His Dad just knew when he said things he shouldn’t. But when you spent any amount of time in a busy kitchen, learning a few inappropriate phrases was inevitable.
“They’re…they’re…”
“Kissing? Yeah, big time,” Ichiru breathed out.
“Like Uncle Takuma and Sara-san…” Yuuki blinked, her wide dark eyes glued to their fathers. Ichiru laughed lightly, turning to her with an amused smile. “You thought that too?”
Yuuki nodded, her attention still on the two men under the cherry tree.
“When did you notice?” Ichiru asked, wanting to compare notes.
“I didn’t really get it until I saw Papa with your papa a third time.” She answered softly.
Ichiru nodded absently. “I wasn’t there for most of the time they met, but your dad looked a lot like Takuma when he’s with Aunt Sara, so…yeah…that was the weird thing I was talking about. Sorry about that, by the way.” He added quickly.
“It’s okay, you already said that,” Yuuki smiled. “So, um, my Papa and your papa… What are they now? Like Uncle Takuma and Sara-san? Are they going to get married?”
Ichiru shrugged. “Dunno, but if they did…”
“If they did…” Yuuki trailed off, “That would make your papa my Papa too, right? And my Papa would be your Papa.”
“That would make us siblings.” Ichiru finalized. They both shared a cautious glance before laughing quietly.
“That’s so weird,” Yuuki giggled. Ichiru sent her a smirk. “Well, as long as you don’t act too much like Aunt Sara, I wouldn’t mind you as a sister.”
Yuuki laughed harder, nodding. “I wouldn’t mind you as a brother either, Ichiru-kun.”
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“What?” Sara cried. “In a school? What were they thinking?”
“I know,” Takuma sighed. The number of students that could have seen them…
“Goodness, could Kaname get any more lame? You do not share your first kiss in an elementary school! So unromantic,” she chided.
Takuma stared.
“But,” Sara considered, oblivious to the incredulous look she was getting from her fiancé, “it was at their school and under that really nice cherry tree I’ve always liked. I guess he’s not a completely hopeless case,” she nodded to herself.
Takuma shook his head affectionately. “Thank you Sara.”
“Mm?” She momentarily broke off from her thoughts. She gave him a bemused smile as he pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “Thank you for helping them, even if it was only for Zero on your part.”
“Well, I had to save you somehow,” she teased. “Kaname was giving you premature wrinkles, and I couldn’t have that!”