Fic: White Petals
Title: White Petals
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #11--Gardenia
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Fujitaka/Nadeshiko
“You need to start seeing people, Fujitaka.”
“And by ‘people’ you mean eligible women my age.” The response was accompanied by a little chuckle.
“Well, yes, but I’m serious. I worry about you.”
“Why?”
“You’re at the perfect age to get married and settled down. I think you should at least consider the possibility of…”
“Of…?”
“Of dating and meeting women. It’s not that bad, honestly. Look at me! I’m married and happy.”
“I never said it was a bad thing. I just wasn’t ready for it. And I’m still not ready.”
An exasperated sigh. “Why not?”
A shrug. “I won’t be ready until I think the perfect woman is out there.”
“A little idealistic, don’t you think?”
“Idealistic, no. I prefer to think of it as overly romantic. Come on, I’ll pay tonight.”
~~~~~~~~
The last bell of the day rang loudly, startling the students who hadn’t been dutifully keeping track of the time. Their pencils began scribbling madly; Kinomoto-sensei always gave them a few extra minutes after class to finish up their tests.
The said teacher was sitting pensively at his desk, fingers interlocked to rest his chin upon. A slight frown furrowed his brow as he thought about the upcoming evening. His friend Jiro, well-meaning as ever, had set him up on a blind date with a woman who had once been his neighbor. Even after telling him he wasn’t ready to see women… Fujitaka sighed and looked down at the growing stack of tests that needed to be graded. If only he could use them as an excuse to get out of tonight!
The remaining students filed up and turned in their tests, thanking him for allowing them the extra time. He smiled and waved them on, still lost in his own thoughts. He wasn’t supposed to show up at the restaurant until seven; he had a few hours until he needed to get ready to go. Hoping to get his mind off the impending date, he took out a pen and began to grade the tests.
When he’d finished nearly all the tests he checked the time. Time to head out, he decided. He tucked the tests away in a desk drawer; he’d finish them Monday before school. He shrugged on his jacket and picked up his briefcase, allowing it to swing a little in his grasp as he walked down the empty hallways. The restaurant was not too far away from the school; he could make it easily walking.
As he entered the block of small, quaint shops and restaurants he found himself beside a flower-seller and her cart. The young girl smiled at him, and asked if he would like to buy some flowers. He smiled back and laughed. He didn’t want to be on his way to this date, but it couldn’t hurt to make it as pleasant as possible. The romantic buried in him said it would be sweet if he took flowers to dinner; the perfect woman for him would love it. He pointed to a miniature vase containing pale white flowers, asking if he could have one.
The flower balanced delicately against the tips of his fingers, he continued walking down the block. He was still early, so he decided to stop in the small park and wait out the remainder of the time. He spotted an empty bench and set out for it, absently stroking the soft, silken petals of the flower.
Midway there, he was surprised by a figure falling from the tree limb above. A girl’s voice yelled from farther down the path.
He looked down at the girl who’d fallen into his lap. She didn’t appear to be hurt, as she was smiling and brushing herself off. She looked up at him, worry filling her eyes.
“I’m sorry! Are you all right?” She asked.
He was suddenly at a loss for words. He didn’t know why, although he suspected that it was because he’d never had such a beautiful girl fall from a tree into his lap before. But there was something more to it than that…
The words came to his lips without a second thought, without him knowing quite why or how. “I thought an angel fell from the sky.”
Her eyes widened, and she looked a surprised. Then a faint blush rose in her cheeks, and she smiled. “Thank you,” she murmured shyly, eyes sparkling in the shaded light. He heard the soft pounding of her friend’s feet on the pavement, but didn’t look away from the girl. Her dark eyes and dark hair were beautiful and alluring… he could feel himself being drawn into and surrounded by their comforting darkness.
“Oh no!” she cried suddenly, reaching down towards his hand. “I’ve crushed it!” she cried in dismay.
He looked down at the white flower clutched in his hand. It wasn’t quite crushed, but the petals had been bent and it wasn’t nearly as pretty as it had been when he bought it. “Don’t worry about it,” he brushed it off with a smile.
“But… you were probably going to take it home to your wife! Were you coming home late from work?” she asked, eyes wide.
He laughed. “No, not at all. I’m not married.”
“Oh. Well in that case… I can’t leave you with such an awful looking flower. Not when it was so pretty before I fell on you. Here,” she offered, reaching up into her hair. Her hand disappeared from sight at the back of her head… and reappeared with a white flower identical to his in hand. “Take this one instead.” She took the flower out of his hand and replaced it, pinning the broken one in her hair.
Crushed or not, the white flower graced her dark curls perfectly.
“There. All better. You should get that in some water before it dies. Or you can dry it…” the girl began eagerly when her friend coughed loudly.
“We should be going, Nadeshiko. We don’t want to bother him any more than we already have.”
“Ah, gomen! I’m sorry to have kept you for so long!” And with a wave and a smile she turned and hurried towards her friend, the two of them continuing away from Fujitaka. He remained standing, speechless and immobile, in the center of the path in the park.
Surely… it was some kind of sign from fate that they had been brought together in the park that day, each carrying a single white gardenia.
Finally, Fujitaka turned away slowly and walked towards the restaurant he was supposed to meet Jiro’s ex-neighbor at. He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket, carefully dropping the white flower into its depths.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The woman turned out to be fairly attractive and animated. She was a nice lady overall, witty and amusing and interesting, but Fujitaka knew it wasn’t meant to be. He didn’t feel anything with her-nothing clicked between them, no part of their evening together told him that she was the woman for him.
He walked her back to her apartment, leading her up the steps and bidding her goodnight at the door. He leaned over and kissed her cheek gently-a chaste kiss that both of them knew was a sign that the date would not be repeated. He walked away slowly, wandering in and out of the flickering light of the streetlamps that lit his way. When he reached his own front door, he reached into his pocket for his keys, fingers brushing the soft silkiness of flower petals.
Once inside, he found a small bowl and filled it with water. Then he took the flower and dropped it on top of the water, watching it drift lazily over the smooth surface. He fell asleep at his table, watching the gardenia’s petals make tiny ripples in the water.
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #11--Gardenia
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Fujitaka/Nadeshiko
“You need to start seeing people, Fujitaka.”
“And by ‘people’ you mean eligible women my age.” The response was accompanied by a little chuckle.
“Well, yes, but I’m serious. I worry about you.”
“Why?”
“You’re at the perfect age to get married and settled down. I think you should at least consider the possibility of…”
“Of…?”
“Of dating and meeting women. It’s not that bad, honestly. Look at me! I’m married and happy.”
“I never said it was a bad thing. I just wasn’t ready for it. And I’m still not ready.”
An exasperated sigh. “Why not?”
A shrug. “I won’t be ready until I think the perfect woman is out there.”
“A little idealistic, don’t you think?”
“Idealistic, no. I prefer to think of it as overly romantic. Come on, I’ll pay tonight.”
~~~~~~~~
The last bell of the day rang loudly, startling the students who hadn’t been dutifully keeping track of the time. Their pencils began scribbling madly; Kinomoto-sensei always gave them a few extra minutes after class to finish up their tests.
The said teacher was sitting pensively at his desk, fingers interlocked to rest his chin upon. A slight frown furrowed his brow as he thought about the upcoming evening. His friend Jiro, well-meaning as ever, had set him up on a blind date with a woman who had once been his neighbor. Even after telling him he wasn’t ready to see women… Fujitaka sighed and looked down at the growing stack of tests that needed to be graded. If only he could use them as an excuse to get out of tonight!
The remaining students filed up and turned in their tests, thanking him for allowing them the extra time. He smiled and waved them on, still lost in his own thoughts. He wasn’t supposed to show up at the restaurant until seven; he had a few hours until he needed to get ready to go. Hoping to get his mind off the impending date, he took out a pen and began to grade the tests.
When he’d finished nearly all the tests he checked the time. Time to head out, he decided. He tucked the tests away in a desk drawer; he’d finish them Monday before school. He shrugged on his jacket and picked up his briefcase, allowing it to swing a little in his grasp as he walked down the empty hallways. The restaurant was not too far away from the school; he could make it easily walking.
As he entered the block of small, quaint shops and restaurants he found himself beside a flower-seller and her cart. The young girl smiled at him, and asked if he would like to buy some flowers. He smiled back and laughed. He didn’t want to be on his way to this date, but it couldn’t hurt to make it as pleasant as possible. The romantic buried in him said it would be sweet if he took flowers to dinner; the perfect woman for him would love it. He pointed to a miniature vase containing pale white flowers, asking if he could have one.
The flower balanced delicately against the tips of his fingers, he continued walking down the block. He was still early, so he decided to stop in the small park and wait out the remainder of the time. He spotted an empty bench and set out for it, absently stroking the soft, silken petals of the flower.
Midway there, he was surprised by a figure falling from the tree limb above. A girl’s voice yelled from farther down the path.
He looked down at the girl who’d fallen into his lap. She didn’t appear to be hurt, as she was smiling and brushing herself off. She looked up at him, worry filling her eyes.
“I’m sorry! Are you all right?” She asked.
He was suddenly at a loss for words. He didn’t know why, although he suspected that it was because he’d never had such a beautiful girl fall from a tree into his lap before. But there was something more to it than that…
The words came to his lips without a second thought, without him knowing quite why or how. “I thought an angel fell from the sky.”
Her eyes widened, and she looked a surprised. Then a faint blush rose in her cheeks, and she smiled. “Thank you,” she murmured shyly, eyes sparkling in the shaded light. He heard the soft pounding of her friend’s feet on the pavement, but didn’t look away from the girl. Her dark eyes and dark hair were beautiful and alluring… he could feel himself being drawn into and surrounded by their comforting darkness.
“Oh no!” she cried suddenly, reaching down towards his hand. “I’ve crushed it!” she cried in dismay.
He looked down at the white flower clutched in his hand. It wasn’t quite crushed, but the petals had been bent and it wasn’t nearly as pretty as it had been when he bought it. “Don’t worry about it,” he brushed it off with a smile.
“But… you were probably going to take it home to your wife! Were you coming home late from work?” she asked, eyes wide.
He laughed. “No, not at all. I’m not married.”
“Oh. Well in that case… I can’t leave you with such an awful looking flower. Not when it was so pretty before I fell on you. Here,” she offered, reaching up into her hair. Her hand disappeared from sight at the back of her head… and reappeared with a white flower identical to his in hand. “Take this one instead.” She took the flower out of his hand and replaced it, pinning the broken one in her hair.
Crushed or not, the white flower graced her dark curls perfectly.
“There. All better. You should get that in some water before it dies. Or you can dry it…” the girl began eagerly when her friend coughed loudly.
“We should be going, Nadeshiko. We don’t want to bother him any more than we already have.”
“Ah, gomen! I’m sorry to have kept you for so long!” And with a wave and a smile she turned and hurried towards her friend, the two of them continuing away from Fujitaka. He remained standing, speechless and immobile, in the center of the path in the park.
Surely… it was some kind of sign from fate that they had been brought together in the park that day, each carrying a single white gardenia.
Finally, Fujitaka turned away slowly and walked towards the restaurant he was supposed to meet Jiro’s ex-neighbor at. He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket, carefully dropping the white flower into its depths.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The woman turned out to be fairly attractive and animated. She was a nice lady overall, witty and amusing and interesting, but Fujitaka knew it wasn’t meant to be. He didn’t feel anything with her-nothing clicked between them, no part of their evening together told him that she was the woman for him.
He walked her back to her apartment, leading her up the steps and bidding her goodnight at the door. He leaned over and kissed her cheek gently-a chaste kiss that both of them knew was a sign that the date would not be repeated. He walked away slowly, wandering in and out of the flickering light of the streetlamps that lit his way. When he reached his own front door, he reached into his pocket for his keys, fingers brushing the soft silkiness of flower petals.
Once inside, he found a small bowl and filled it with water. Then he took the flower and dropped it on top of the water, watching it drift lazily over the smooth surface. He fell asleep at his table, watching the gardenia’s petals make tiny ripples in the water.