[Arashi Fanfic] Love, Courage and Cherry Pie: Chapter 6
People are gonna start hating me now.
It was Christmas Day. Ohno was either fast asleep or passed out in one of the beds, which left Nino and Aiba the only ones awake. Hikari had left after that incident in Aiba's room, Sho and Jun stayed until moments ago.
"Oh shit. I almost forgot." Nino reached into his pocket, and extracted a small box and an envelope. "This is from Yuuki, she told me to give it to you on your birthday."
"Oh, thanks." A pang of guilt hit Aiba. He hadn't called her for almost a month now, right after that night he saw Hikari.
"She told me to go easy on you. I didn't know what she meant at the time, but now I think I've got an idea of what Yuuki-chan was talking about. It doesn't take a genius to work out what's going on between you and Hikari. I just hope you know what you're doing and getting yourself into, Aiba-chan."
"I think I'll head back to my room, and get some sleep. See ya later ne, Nino." Aiba said, as he shoved the letter and box into his pocket, and left the suite.
"See ya." Nino replied, sadness and disappointment evident in his voice.
Once he was back in the haven of his hotel room, Aiba took both items out of his pocket, and read the letter.
Aiba-chan,
Happy Birthday! I'm sorry I couldn't celebrate the day with you, even though Nino offered to ship me over to Canada at his expense as your surprise birthday gift. No, I'm joking. ^^
If you're reading this letter, it means that you haven't called me since that night. Please don't feel guilty about it, because I'm here, on the other side of the Pacific, being happy for you. It means that Hikari chose you, and you her. Please love her well, because she'll need all your support from now on. The path you've chosen won't be easy, but remember I'll always be here for you, if ever you should need support.
In the box is my Christmas and birthday present to you. I hope you like it.
Merry Christmas.
Yuuki
Gingerly, Aiba untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a small crystal panda, holding a large crystal cherry in his lap. He carefully lifted the figurine out of the white silk lining, and admired its shimmer in the sunlight. A tear formed at the corner of his large brown eye, glimmering as it rolled down his cheek, and splashed as it landed on the red crystal cherry.
Thank you, Yuuki-chan. Arigatou.
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"Aah, I hate Christmas." Hisako commented, "It's like New Years and Valentines; if you go out, everywhere you look you see couples, and if you stay at home you feel like a failure. I hate being single."
"Hear hear."
"You have no right to complain! You have a boyfriend. Who took you out last night."
"He's not here now."
"You told him to go spend time with his family!"
"So that you'd have me around on Christmas day, instead of being alone."
"Oh I give up." Hisako threw her arms up in surrender, then smiled. "But thanks."
"Well? Are we gonna head to Ebisu? Or do we wanna go to Roppongi?"
Hisako ignored her question. "You don't really love him, do you?"
Yuuki's smile faltered, and turned to her friend. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what I mean." Hisako replied. "You know exactly what I mean."
Yuuki fell silent. She closed her eyes and bit her lips.
"Sorry, Yuuki, I-"
"No, you're completely right. I probably don't love him. Well, I didn't when he asked me. I shouldn't have said yes. I mean, who am I kidding? There he was, the guy half the female population of Japan under 25 is absolutely smitten with, holding me in his arms, and asking me to be his girlfriend. Yet it was only hours ago that I realised I loved someone else, someone I hadn't seen for two months, who called me every day but said nothing, who was on the other side of the world, but most importantly, someone who was in love with another girl… and seconds after coming to that realisation I decided to let him go. I…just let it all go. He didn't even know, Hisako. And he might never know. And if things work out between him and the other girl… he won't ever know.
I'm despicable, I know. I'm a terrible person. But when Tomo-kun held me in his arms… he cared, and that was all I needed at that moment. I just wanted someone to care. Someone to be there for me no matter what. It's incredibly selfish and stupid, but that's all I wanted. It was all that I ever wanted-for someone to care, no matter what. He gave me that, Hisako. He cared. And I said yes before I even realised it." Words spilled out of Yuuki, as tears flowed down her face.
"Yuuki, I had no idea-"
"It's not your fault, I chose to not tell anyone. I'm sorry about that, I really am. Maybe I wouldn't be in this if I told you earlier." Yuuki took a deep breath before she continued. "He was there when I most needed somebody. That's got to be something right? Not to mention he's such a great friend. Maybe he is more than a friend to me. Maybe I do love him. Just not as much as he loves me. But I'm willing to give it a try. I'm going to try, Hisako. I'm going to try and love him back, in the same way he loves me."
Hisako said nothing, and hugged Yuuki tightly, as the other girl wept.
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It was New Years day, and a few hours after the Countdown Concert had ended. Yuuki was at Shinjuku Station, which was quite busy, considering the time of day. She glanced at her watch every now and then: it was obvious that she was waiting for someone. Her mobile buzzed: Yuuki flipped it open, and read the message.
Behind you.
She didn't need to be told twice. Yuuki turned, smiled as wide as she could, and grabbed his arm. Not a word was exchanged as she dragged him through the ticket barrier, and onto the platform. They waited for the train in silence, boarded it in silence, and sat in silence, content in having each others' company. Yuuki's arm was wrapped around Tomohisa's, her body leaning on his, half for support, half for comfort. Her eyes were fixed on the window opposiste, while his were fixed on her. Her head began to fall, finally resting on his shoulder as the rocking of the train lulled Yuuki to sleep. He untangled his arm from her grasp, and wrapped it around her shoulder, before planting a kiss on her hair as he watched her sleep.
They were headed towards the beach, at Yuuki's suggestion. She mailed him some time after the concert, suggesting to head to a beach-any beach- and watch the first sunrise of the new year. Though it was usual for the guys to head back to the Jimusho for a New Years party, the thought of watching the sun rise with Yuuki next to him was definitely better than drinking the night away with men of various ages. Besides, he wasn't sure if he could take any more of Nakai's antics, especially after last year's party. So he stayed for the obligatory hour, a little more for good measure, then snuck out and met Yuuki at Shinjuku. No one would notice that he was gone, and even if they did, they'd probably forget the fact before the party was over.
The train reached their destination in a little over an hour, a sleepy seaside town in Kisarazu, just outside Tokyo. Tomohisa tapped Yuuki's shoulder gently, and watched as her eyes fluttered open. It was one of the most beautiful sights he had seen.
So this is what it's like to see someone you love wake up in the mornings…
"Hm? Are we there already?" Yuuki said sleepily.
"Yup, we're here."
Noticing their position, Yuuki blushed. "Did I fall asleep? Sorry."
Tomohisa smiled. "We should get off. The sunrise won't wait for us, you know."
It was a crisp winter morning, with cold winds which swept across the beach. Waves crashed then receded, the sound roared and echoed. Yuuki sat down on the sand, brought her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms and coat around her legs. It was the darkest hour of the night-the moon had set, but the sun was not yet up. Yuuki closed her eyes, and felt the salty wind on her face, blowing through her hair. As the fury of the sea rang through her ears, Yuuki emptied her mind of all thought, worries, and sorrows. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Tomohisa running towards her, shoes in one hand, sleeve pulled down and wrapped around two cans in the other.
"Here," Tomohisa said, handing her one of the cans. He sat down beside her, and dumped his shoes in the sand.
"Thanks." It was warm corn soup, a specialty of vending machines in Japan. She carefully opened the can, and took a small sip. Yuuki gave a little shiver as a gust of wind came from behind. Noticing this, Tomohisa put an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her towards him. She leaned her head on his shoulders as the first rays of sunshine appeared on the horizon.
As the light began to dye the sky various shades of red, purple, and orange, Yuuki emptied all worries, sorrows and fears from her mind, filling it instead with hope and content. She snuggled her face into Tomohisa's shoulder, one arm snaking around his back, pulling herself closer to him. He smiled at her movements, and turned his head ever so slightly so that he better could smell the sweet scent of her hair. He gently rested his hand on her hair, stroking it gently as the breeze danced through. The sun was up but for the last fraction; with his other hand, Tomohisa lifted Yuuki's chin ever so tenderly, and looked deep into her eyes. All Yuuki saw was the man before her, with sunlight dazzling on his face and clouding the features, was leaning in towards her; she could feel his each and every breath. Their nose touched, his lips claimed hers in a soft and tender kiss.
"Happy New Year, Yuuki." He whispered against her lips.
Yuuki jerked slightly, a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes, quickly replaced by a mask of quiet bliss. "Happy New Year, Tomo-kun."
It was around 8am when they got to Shibuya Station, considered to be early morning still by many. By that time, Yuuki was back to her normal genki and joking self, any hints of her previous pensiveness gone completely as she stepped off the train. The station was empty, even the iconic crossing was free from pedestrians and traffic. It was an amazing sight: like watching a beautiful person slowly wake up. Yuuki ran around, from the famous dog statue to the tram in the plaza, enjoying the emptiness of the usually busy area. She turned and looked up, and it was though time stopped momentarily: there was a giant poster of Aiba for au on the exterior wall of the Tokyu Shibuya Mall. She couldn't help but stare at his face, particularly his eyes-the innocence, energy, reservation, and sadness. There was an emptiness in him, the void that was created when he fell in love…with Hikari.
"Something up?" Tomohisa moved close to Yuuki, his voice a whisper against her ear.
She shuffled a little, just enough so that she was just out of his reach. Somehow, with that giant poster of Aiba up there, Yuuki couldn't bring herself to be that close to Tomo-kun. It felt as though she was betraying Aiba, even though she knew full well that he only considered her as a friend, and nothing more.
"Nothing." She smiled. "Now where can we get some breakfast? I'm starving."
*runs and hides*