[Chaptered] Landslide (Chapter 2)
Title: Landslide
Author: shiroikazex
Pairing: Hikaru x OC
Genre: Angst, romance
Rating: PG
Summary: Set roughly 10 years or so into the future. He has somehow managed to hold on to the two things he loved the most, but for how much longer?
Note: Still um STILL slowly working my way through!!
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter -4
When he drags himself into the bathroom, he cringes at his reflection. Days of drama filming on end and an exceptionally bad night’s sleep have taken their toll on him. He attempts to look awake--he had a chase scene this morning to film--but fails ultimately and drags himself back out of the bathroom.
Her side of the bed remains undisturbed. He barely slept the night before, slipping into moments of unconsciousness purely because of exhaustion, but waking at the quietest of sounds in anticipation of her coming to bed.
She never did, though.
He stumbles down the stairs after getting dressed and is engulfed by the aroma of fresh scrambled eggs. Something tugs at the back of his stomach, but he chooses to ignore it. He steps into the kitchen just as she unloads the contents of the pan onto a clean porcelain plate.
"Morning."
"You're early," she says quietly. "I was gonna go wake you in 15 minutes but…"
"Filming got rescheduled. Car's coming in a minute."
Almost on cue, a car horn blares outside of the door. She looks around, panicked.
“What about breakfast? Aren’t you gonna eat?”
He takes the plate from her and scoffs down a few scalding bites before heading for the door.
“Wait-I haven’t even started on your lunch-“
He waves her off.
“I’ll grab something at the studios,” he mumbled with his mouth full. “Ittekimasu.”
“Wait there’s something I need to tal-“
The closing of the front door cuts off the rest of her words. He jogs through the front gate and hops into the waiting black car.
She walks back into the kitchen, clears the empty black lunchbox laid out next to Satomi’s pink one and starts on making Satomi’s lunch bento. On the dinner table, untouched and unnoticed, is a compiled list of financial firms that are hiring, and their respective contacts.
Hikaru jogs up the front steps slightly earlier than usual, returning before eight for the first time in months such that he could prove to her that he did care. A futile attempt, but an attempt nonetheless. He hardly notices that the lights aren’t turned on until he actually steps into the entryway and everything is pitch black.
He flips the switch, panic and confusion rising in his stomach. There’s no sign of either of them.
“Satomi?”
The house is deathly quiet. He pulls out his phone just as headlights hit his back and he turns to see their car pulling into the driveway. Moments later she steps out, dressed in a smart suit and her hair in a neat ponytail, with Satomi’s little schoolbag slung over one shoulder and a large plastic bag from the convenience store in her hand. Satomi climbs out after that and immediately runs towards him.
“Papa!” She shouts happily and clings on to his leg. “Papa, you’re home early!”
He ruffles her hair and picks her up. Shutting the door behind him, he heads for the kitchen, where Reika is unloading the contents of the plastic bag.
“Yes, princess. How was your day?”
“Great! Satomi was at obachan’s house today!”
His eyes dart towards Reika, asking for an explanation.
“Why was she at your sister’s place?”
“I was out, so I left her with my sister for a while.”
“You were out?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” she cuts him off quickly. “Satomi, dinner.”
“Job hunting? Didn’t I tell you last night that-“
“Listen-Just listen for a moment,” she takes a deep breathe to suppress her rising anger. “I will make this work. Flexible hours was one of my criteria-“
“This is Japan. Not America.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“…Reika, be rational-“
“No, you-“ she jabs a finger in his direction. “-be rational. I’m getting a job, for god’s sake, not getting a divorce.”
He stiffens at her statement.
“Whoever said anything about a divorce?”
“N-Never mind that.”
He takes a step towards her and lays both hands on her shoulders, holding her down, as if physically representing the weight of his demands. She turns her head to the side as he moved in for a kiss.
“I love you. You know that, right?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“I'm not. Don’t do this. You’re my wife. I need someone to be there for the things I can’t be there for. You're supposed to be... my pillar of support. You're supposed to back me up.”
“Your wife? I feel like your maid,” she shrugs him off. “Clean. Cook. Pick your daughter up from school. That’s all I do nowadays.”
“Well, I still go to bed with you, don’t I?”
Her steely gaze wiped the smirk clean off his face.
“It was a joke-I didn’t mean it-“
“Go on then, replace me. I’ve already been downgraded to your maid and someone you go to bed with-“
“Geez, Reika, what brought this on!?” he says exasperatedly. “Downgraded?”
“I feel-dispensable. And if one day something happens to us, I won’t have a life to go back to. I won’t even have the means to support Satomi-“
“Whoa whoa whoa, ‘something happens’?! What are you talking about?”
“If we ever get divorced!” She snaps. “Given the track record of people in your line of work-“
“What?! You think we’re headed for a divorce? How the fuck did you even pick that up? What did I-What brought this on?! We’re happy-”
“I only said ‘what if’-anyway that’s hardly the point.”
“Reika, I’m not going to leave you, who the heck gave you that idea anyway?!“
“Just-If you do, I want to be able to stand on my own,” she says quietly, defeated. “I don’t want okaa-san to be any more disappointed in me than she already is.”
It hits him suddenly where this could possibly be coming from.
“Wait, did your mother-“
“Leave her out of this.”
“-bring up the divorce thing? She was asking about how much ‘allowance’ I was giving you the other night-“
“So what if she did, Yaotome?”
He runs his fingers through his hair, a lousy attempt at soothing his sudden rage.
“Now I know-she’s always been trying to break us apart, why are you even listening to her now?”
“Because she’s right for once!”
“Is this it? Is this the main reason why you’re so bent on getting a job? Because if it is-“
“It’s not! I told you yesterday why I’m doing this! I’m just telling you what she said because you asked! I’m doing this for myself-“
“Under your crazy mother’s instructions-“
“I told you to leave her out of this!” She steps towards him, eyes ablaze. “This is about us-“
“No, this is about you-this is about you being paranoid and selfish and picking a fight out of the middle of nowhere.”
“There wouldn’t be a fight in the first place if you just let me get a job! I still don’t see how this is a bad thing-“
“Mama…”
“What is it?!”
Satomi jumps at her sudden outburst and looks towards him for help.
“What is it, princess?”
“…We forgot to buy pudding from the combini.”
“I’ll go get some for you right now, alri-“
“I’ll go. You tuck her in. I’m going for a walk. Satomi, no more desserts today. I’ll keep them in the fridge for tomorrow.”
“But Mama-“
“Ask Papa to tuck you in.”
“Reika, stop-“
An hour passes, which turns into two, and even after he goes back downstairs after bringing his baby girl up to wash up and tuck her into bed (“Papa can you sing my lullaby?” “Sure, sure.”), she hasn’t returned. Her phone sits on the dining table, displaying the single missed call from his number when he tried calling her an hour ago.
He wanders to the living room and switches on the television, aimlessly flipping through channels (catching sight of himself on one of the variety shows) and occasionally looking up the clock drawing closer to midnight.
She’ll be back. She’s just… taking time to absorb things. Looking at things from his perspective.
He swallows his panic like the comedian on TV swallowing an insanely large mouthful of ramen - it doesn't go down easily and it comes back up almost instantly. But he can’t leave Satomi alone at home.
He leans back and pinches the bridge of his nose. It shouldn’t be this complicated. They can’t afford to have both of them working. There was no need for it, with his savings, he could quit work now and they’d still have enough money to get by for a long, long time. And that talk about separating-is that what they call a seven year itch?
Was he a bad husband, a bad father? He had never mistreated her. Or Satomi. He had never forgotten a single important date. Sure there were days when he couldn’t be home, days when he would leave the house before the sun came up and get back long after Satomi has gone to bed, but-
His phone goes off and he dives for it.
“H-Hello?”
“Hikaru?” Reika’s sister’s says. “This is Riho. I’m at the hospital.”
Author: shiroikazex
Pairing: Hikaru x OC
Genre: Angst, romance
Rating: PG
Summary: Set roughly 10 years or so into the future. He has somehow managed to hold on to the two things he loved the most, but for how much longer?
Note: Still um STILL slowly working my way through!!
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter -4
When he drags himself into the bathroom, he cringes at his reflection. Days of drama filming on end and an exceptionally bad night’s sleep have taken their toll on him. He attempts to look awake--he had a chase scene this morning to film--but fails ultimately and drags himself back out of the bathroom.
Her side of the bed remains undisturbed. He barely slept the night before, slipping into moments of unconsciousness purely because of exhaustion, but waking at the quietest of sounds in anticipation of her coming to bed.
She never did, though.
He stumbles down the stairs after getting dressed and is engulfed by the aroma of fresh scrambled eggs. Something tugs at the back of his stomach, but he chooses to ignore it. He steps into the kitchen just as she unloads the contents of the pan onto a clean porcelain plate.
"Morning."
"You're early," she says quietly. "I was gonna go wake you in 15 minutes but…"
"Filming got rescheduled. Car's coming in a minute."
Almost on cue, a car horn blares outside of the door. She looks around, panicked.
“What about breakfast? Aren’t you gonna eat?”
He takes the plate from her and scoffs down a few scalding bites before heading for the door.
“Wait-I haven’t even started on your lunch-“
He waves her off.
“I’ll grab something at the studios,” he mumbled with his mouth full. “Ittekimasu.”
“Wait there’s something I need to tal-“
The closing of the front door cuts off the rest of her words. He jogs through the front gate and hops into the waiting black car.
She walks back into the kitchen, clears the empty black lunchbox laid out next to Satomi’s pink one and starts on making Satomi’s lunch bento. On the dinner table, untouched and unnoticed, is a compiled list of financial firms that are hiring, and their respective contacts.
Hikaru jogs up the front steps slightly earlier than usual, returning before eight for the first time in months such that he could prove to her that he did care. A futile attempt, but an attempt nonetheless. He hardly notices that the lights aren’t turned on until he actually steps into the entryway and everything is pitch black.
He flips the switch, panic and confusion rising in his stomach. There’s no sign of either of them.
“Satomi?”
The house is deathly quiet. He pulls out his phone just as headlights hit his back and he turns to see their car pulling into the driveway. Moments later she steps out, dressed in a smart suit and her hair in a neat ponytail, with Satomi’s little schoolbag slung over one shoulder and a large plastic bag from the convenience store in her hand. Satomi climbs out after that and immediately runs towards him.
“Papa!” She shouts happily and clings on to his leg. “Papa, you’re home early!”
He ruffles her hair and picks her up. Shutting the door behind him, he heads for the kitchen, where Reika is unloading the contents of the plastic bag.
“Yes, princess. How was your day?”
“Great! Satomi was at obachan’s house today!”
His eyes dart towards Reika, asking for an explanation.
“Why was she at your sister’s place?”
“I was out, so I left her with my sister for a while.”
“You were out?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” she cuts him off quickly. “Satomi, dinner.”
“Job hunting? Didn’t I tell you last night that-“
“Listen-Just listen for a moment,” she takes a deep breathe to suppress her rising anger. “I will make this work. Flexible hours was one of my criteria-“
“This is Japan. Not America.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“…Reika, be rational-“
“No, you-“ she jabs a finger in his direction. “-be rational. I’m getting a job, for god’s sake, not getting a divorce.”
He stiffens at her statement.
“Whoever said anything about a divorce?”
“N-Never mind that.”
He takes a step towards her and lays both hands on her shoulders, holding her down, as if physically representing the weight of his demands. She turns her head to the side as he moved in for a kiss.
“I love you. You know that, right?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“I'm not. Don’t do this. You’re my wife. I need someone to be there for the things I can’t be there for. You're supposed to be... my pillar of support. You're supposed to back me up.”
“Your wife? I feel like your maid,” she shrugs him off. “Clean. Cook. Pick your daughter up from school. That’s all I do nowadays.”
“Well, I still go to bed with you, don’t I?”
Her steely gaze wiped the smirk clean off his face.
“It was a joke-I didn’t mean it-“
“Go on then, replace me. I’ve already been downgraded to your maid and someone you go to bed with-“
“Geez, Reika, what brought this on!?” he says exasperatedly. “Downgraded?”
“I feel-dispensable. And if one day something happens to us, I won’t have a life to go back to. I won’t even have the means to support Satomi-“
“Whoa whoa whoa, ‘something happens’?! What are you talking about?”
“If we ever get divorced!” She snaps. “Given the track record of people in your line of work-“
“What?! You think we’re headed for a divorce? How the fuck did you even pick that up? What did I-What brought this on?! We’re happy-”
“I only said ‘what if’-anyway that’s hardly the point.”
“Reika, I’m not going to leave you, who the heck gave you that idea anyway?!“
“Just-If you do, I want to be able to stand on my own,” she says quietly, defeated. “I don’t want okaa-san to be any more disappointed in me than she already is.”
It hits him suddenly where this could possibly be coming from.
“Wait, did your mother-“
“Leave her out of this.”
“-bring up the divorce thing? She was asking about how much ‘allowance’ I was giving you the other night-“
“So what if she did, Yaotome?”
He runs his fingers through his hair, a lousy attempt at soothing his sudden rage.
“Now I know-she’s always been trying to break us apart, why are you even listening to her now?”
“Because she’s right for once!”
“Is this it? Is this the main reason why you’re so bent on getting a job? Because if it is-“
“It’s not! I told you yesterday why I’m doing this! I’m just telling you what she said because you asked! I’m doing this for myself-“
“Under your crazy mother’s instructions-“
“I told you to leave her out of this!” She steps towards him, eyes ablaze. “This is about us-“
“No, this is about you-this is about you being paranoid and selfish and picking a fight out of the middle of nowhere.”
“There wouldn’t be a fight in the first place if you just let me get a job! I still don’t see how this is a bad thing-“
“Mama…”
“What is it?!”
Satomi jumps at her sudden outburst and looks towards him for help.
“What is it, princess?”
“…We forgot to buy pudding from the combini.”
“I’ll go get some for you right now, alri-“
“I’ll go. You tuck her in. I’m going for a walk. Satomi, no more desserts today. I’ll keep them in the fridge for tomorrow.”
“But Mama-“
“Ask Papa to tuck you in.”
“Reika, stop-“
An hour passes, which turns into two, and even after he goes back downstairs after bringing his baby girl up to wash up and tuck her into bed (“Papa can you sing my lullaby?” “Sure, sure.”), she hasn’t returned. Her phone sits on the dining table, displaying the single missed call from his number when he tried calling her an hour ago.
He wanders to the living room and switches on the television, aimlessly flipping through channels (catching sight of himself on one of the variety shows) and occasionally looking up the clock drawing closer to midnight.
She’ll be back. She’s just… taking time to absorb things. Looking at things from his perspective.
He swallows his panic like the comedian on TV swallowing an insanely large mouthful of ramen - it doesn't go down easily and it comes back up almost instantly. But he can’t leave Satomi alone at home.
He leans back and pinches the bridge of his nose. It shouldn’t be this complicated. They can’t afford to have both of them working. There was no need for it, with his savings, he could quit work now and they’d still have enough money to get by for a long, long time. And that talk about separating-is that what they call a seven year itch?
Was he a bad husband, a bad father? He had never mistreated her. Or Satomi. He had never forgotten a single important date. Sure there were days when he couldn’t be home, days when he would leave the house before the sun came up and get back long after Satomi has gone to bed, but-
His phone goes off and he dives for it.
“H-Hello?”
“Hikaru?” Reika’s sister’s says. “This is Riho. I’m at the hospital.”