Odoroki
twenty-eight.
“All right,” she said, and she found it silly that she was muttering at a ribbon. But at last, the thing was tied, which meant that the two of them could finally exchange their gifts for each other, after a very nice breakfast and an hour of sitting together and watching T.V. She looked down at the thing, and she made a face of uncertainty- and for a second, she was glad that she wasn’t having a girl, because her bows were terrible- but she shrugged and picked Yuu’s gift up, all the same. “Yuu?”
“Hm?”
“Get in here, love. It’s time for presents.”
She heard him chuckle quietly, and as he entered the room, she rose to meet him, smiling as he greeted her with a kiss. “Waiting until the very last minute, hm?” he asked, and his trademark sly grin had appeared once she’d drawn back from their kiss enough to see it. “Let’s hope procrastination isn’t genetic.”
She rolled her eyes, laughing and taking his hand. “Hush, you,” she told him, tugging him toward the couch, and as they sat, she presented the wrapped box to him, smiling as he took it and placed it in his lap. His gift for her lay waiting on the coffee table, and he picked it up, holding it out for her. She took it, leaning forward to claim a kiss, and then followed suit- her gift was placed in her lap, and her hand reached out to rest on his leg. “You first,” she said. “Just be careful with the ribbon- I’m kind of proud of it.”
He smiled, turning the box in his hands, raising an eyebrow at her. “Proud?”
She laughed softly, giving his leg a gentle squeeze. “Yes, love. Proud. Just open it, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, princess.” He grinned, winking at her as she rolled her eyes, and then returned his attention to the box. As gently as he could, he slid her pride-and-joy ribbon creation from the box, and then he set it aside. And then he waited for a second, just to see if he was allowed to tear the wrapping paper, and when she sighed, he decided that he might as well. He pulled at the tape and tugged at the paper, and then a few moments later, a small box was exposed. His eyebrow was raised further, and she was positive that she saw a smile behind his curtain of dark hair.
“Open it,” she said gently, and he looked up, noting the change in her voice.
His smile widened, and then he glanced back down at his gift- three guitar picks lay waiting for him, each of them with a kanji inscription and each of them a different color. Something in his chest tightened, and he brushed his fingertips over the gold-emblazoned script. “These are gorgeous,” he said softly, and as he gazed at the gift she’d given him, his hand found hers, closing around it and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“The blue one only says ‘baby’ because we haven’t named him yet.”
“Why picks, though, love?”
She smiled. “I remember you saying that you haven’t playing your guitar as much. And…well, I thought that maybe if your picks had our names on them, you’d want to.” His gaze met hers, and his smile made it seem as though her simple gift had changed his life. “And that maybe, one day, you’ll want to play for me.” She squeezed his hand, blushing ever so slightly as he tugged her closer, and she smiled as he pulled her to his side. She closed her eyes as he kissed her temple, and then she turned her head to look up at him, and she was met by the gentlest smile she’d ever seen.
“Thank you, koi-chan,” he said softly, and his voice was just barely above a whisper, just barely loud enough for her to hear. “I promise you I’ll play you something at least once before you leave. Okay?” She nodded, and he smiled again, giving her a soft kiss. “Now please, love. Open your gift?”
She nodded, smiling, and it took her a moment to be able to look away. But when she did, she focused her attention on the gift that Yuu had given to her, and she smiled as she brushed her fingers over the exquisite wrapping paper. She bit her lip, and she almost felt bad for doing what she was sure had been a crappy job wrapping his gift. He kissed her temple again, urging her on, and carefully, she began to peel away the shining layer of paper.
She felt the familiar flutter in her stomach as she opened the flaps of paper, proud of herself for managing not to ruin it, and gently removed the lid of the long, thin box in her hand. She was next met by tissue paper, and she nudged that out of the way as well, and her heart missed a beat as she rested her gaze on the most beautiful, most intricate chain necklace she’d ever seen. And it might have been the hormones of pregnancy, or it might have been how truly touched she was, but either way, she found that she had tears in her eyes, and she looked up at Yuu, her eyes shining.
He gave her a warm smile, and he removed the necklace from the box, and wordlessly, he unclasped it, draped it around her neck, and fastened it with a kiss to her forehead. “Something beautiful for the most beautiful woman in the world.” He smiled and kissed her forehead again, and when her gaze met his once more, she knew she was blushing, and she knew she wanted nothing more than to hug him tight and never let go. His fingers gently lifted the pendant, and he brushed his thumb over it, smiling at her. “Eien ni.”
“Hm?”
“Eien ni,” he repeated, and his voice was just as soft. He smiled, and he let his thumb ghost over the engraving once more. “It means ‘eternally’. I…I saw it and thought of you.” His cheeks flushed ever so slightly, and she was melting all over again as he unleashed his most bashful smile, and a tiny sliver of the softer Yuu she was still discovering seemed to shine. “You like it, yes?”
She nodded, smiling at him, and she shivered as he let the pendant rest on her skin- it was warm from his touch, and every inch of her was just aching to be held. “Yuu, I...I love it. It’s perfect.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She reached up, her hand resting on his cheek, and she pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his in a much-needed kiss. His hands drifted upward to rest on her waist almost immediately, and she turned just slightly, just enough so that she could shift closer to him. She heard something fall as they shifted on the couch, and she decided to ignore it for the moment- she just wanted to relax him and thank him in a way that no words ever could.
He’d given her just about everything that a man could give his girlfriend, and he’d never thought twice about it, and it was incredible to her that she still couldn’t fathom how lucky she was that the two of them had met. He’d become a calm constant in her hectic, journalism world, and she still couldn’t imagine the things in his life that he kept to himself so as to not worry her.
And she could only smile tearily at him as their kiss was broken, and she could only lean into his touch as his hand lifted from her waist to touch her cheek.
And, Christ. If she hadn’t ever known love in any other moment of her life, she knew it now.
He smiled at her, kissing her forehead, and as he turned to grab her a few tissues, she leaned down to pick up the fallen box, and she raised an eyebrow, straightening, confused, as a small key fell from beneath the packaging and dropped into her hand.
“…Yuu? Love?”
“Hm?”
“I think you wrapped this by mistake.”
She looked up at him, and she only became more confused as he flushed a deep red and averted his gaze.
“Yuu, love, talk to me, hm?” She laid her hand over his, squeezing gently, and she watched, confused and concerned, as he gathered up courage and brought his gaze back to hers. “What’s the key for, hm?”
“It’s…it’s a key to my apartment.” His voice was quiet, and he sounded nervous. “Natasha, I…” He sighed, and he bit his lip, and she tried to imagine the internal conflicts whirring around in his head as he spoke. “I wanted to give you a key, and…I wanted to ask if you wanted to live here, in Tokyo, with me.” He gave her another bashful smile, and he squeezed her hand, and she watched his confusion grow as a smile spread across her face.
“I have a few things to sort out in the States,” she said quietly, “but…after that? Of course I’ll come live with you.” She tried a warmer smile, one that was wider and more encouraging, and her heart melted as his teary eyes sparkled and his own smile widened to a grin. And then she leaned forward, gently kissing his lips, and then she drew back, smiling. “Merry Christmas, Yuu.”
“Merry Christmas to you, too.”
“Hm?”
“Get in here, love. It’s time for presents.”
She heard him chuckle quietly, and as he entered the room, she rose to meet him, smiling as he greeted her with a kiss. “Waiting until the very last minute, hm?” he asked, and his trademark sly grin had appeared once she’d drawn back from their kiss enough to see it. “Let’s hope procrastination isn’t genetic.”
She rolled her eyes, laughing and taking his hand. “Hush, you,” she told him, tugging him toward the couch, and as they sat, she presented the wrapped box to him, smiling as he took it and placed it in his lap. His gift for her lay waiting on the coffee table, and he picked it up, holding it out for her. She took it, leaning forward to claim a kiss, and then followed suit- her gift was placed in her lap, and her hand reached out to rest on his leg. “You first,” she said. “Just be careful with the ribbon- I’m kind of proud of it.”
He smiled, turning the box in his hands, raising an eyebrow at her. “Proud?”
She laughed softly, giving his leg a gentle squeeze. “Yes, love. Proud. Just open it, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, princess.” He grinned, winking at her as she rolled her eyes, and then returned his attention to the box. As gently as he could, he slid her pride-and-joy ribbon creation from the box, and then he set it aside. And then he waited for a second, just to see if he was allowed to tear the wrapping paper, and when she sighed, he decided that he might as well. He pulled at the tape and tugged at the paper, and then a few moments later, a small box was exposed. His eyebrow was raised further, and she was positive that she saw a smile behind his curtain of dark hair.
“Open it,” she said gently, and he looked up, noting the change in her voice.
His smile widened, and then he glanced back down at his gift- three guitar picks lay waiting for him, each of them with a kanji inscription and each of them a different color. Something in his chest tightened, and he brushed his fingertips over the gold-emblazoned script. “These are gorgeous,” he said softly, and as he gazed at the gift she’d given him, his hand found hers, closing around it and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“The blue one only says ‘baby’ because we haven’t named him yet.”
“Why picks, though, love?”
She smiled. “I remember you saying that you haven’t playing your guitar as much. And…well, I thought that maybe if your picks had our names on them, you’d want to.” His gaze met hers, and his smile made it seem as though her simple gift had changed his life. “And that maybe, one day, you’ll want to play for me.” She squeezed his hand, blushing ever so slightly as he tugged her closer, and she smiled as he pulled her to his side. She closed her eyes as he kissed her temple, and then she turned her head to look up at him, and she was met by the gentlest smile she’d ever seen.
“Thank you, koi-chan,” he said softly, and his voice was just barely above a whisper, just barely loud enough for her to hear. “I promise you I’ll play you something at least once before you leave. Okay?” She nodded, and he smiled again, giving her a soft kiss. “Now please, love. Open your gift?”
She nodded, smiling, and it took her a moment to be able to look away. But when she did, she focused her attention on the gift that Yuu had given to her, and she smiled as she brushed her fingers over the exquisite wrapping paper. She bit her lip, and she almost felt bad for doing what she was sure had been a crappy job wrapping his gift. He kissed her temple again, urging her on, and carefully, she began to peel away the shining layer of paper.
She felt the familiar flutter in her stomach as she opened the flaps of paper, proud of herself for managing not to ruin it, and gently removed the lid of the long, thin box in her hand. She was next met by tissue paper, and she nudged that out of the way as well, and her heart missed a beat as she rested her gaze on the most beautiful, most intricate chain necklace she’d ever seen. And it might have been the hormones of pregnancy, or it might have been how truly touched she was, but either way, she found that she had tears in her eyes, and she looked up at Yuu, her eyes shining.
He gave her a warm smile, and he removed the necklace from the box, and wordlessly, he unclasped it, draped it around her neck, and fastened it with a kiss to her forehead. “Something beautiful for the most beautiful woman in the world.” He smiled and kissed her forehead again, and when her gaze met his once more, she knew she was blushing, and she knew she wanted nothing more than to hug him tight and never let go. His fingers gently lifted the pendant, and he brushed his thumb over it, smiling at her. “Eien ni.”
“Hm?”
“Eien ni,” he repeated, and his voice was just as soft. He smiled, and he let his thumb ghost over the engraving once more. “It means ‘eternally’. I…I saw it and thought of you.” His cheeks flushed ever so slightly, and she was melting all over again as he unleashed his most bashful smile, and a tiny sliver of the softer Yuu she was still discovering seemed to shine. “You like it, yes?”
She nodded, smiling at him, and she shivered as he let the pendant rest on her skin- it was warm from his touch, and every inch of her was just aching to be held. “Yuu, I...I love it. It’s perfect.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She reached up, her hand resting on his cheek, and she pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his in a much-needed kiss. His hands drifted upward to rest on her waist almost immediately, and she turned just slightly, just enough so that she could shift closer to him. She heard something fall as they shifted on the couch, and she decided to ignore it for the moment- she just wanted to relax him and thank him in a way that no words ever could.
He’d given her just about everything that a man could give his girlfriend, and he’d never thought twice about it, and it was incredible to her that she still couldn’t fathom how lucky she was that the two of them had met. He’d become a calm constant in her hectic, journalism world, and she still couldn’t imagine the things in his life that he kept to himself so as to not worry her.
And she could only smile tearily at him as their kiss was broken, and she could only lean into his touch as his hand lifted from her waist to touch her cheek.
And, Christ. If she hadn’t ever known love in any other moment of her life, she knew it now.
He smiled at her, kissing her forehead, and as he turned to grab her a few tissues, she leaned down to pick up the fallen box, and she raised an eyebrow, straightening, confused, as a small key fell from beneath the packaging and dropped into her hand.
“…Yuu? Love?”
“Hm?”
“I think you wrapped this by mistake.”
She looked up at him, and she only became more confused as he flushed a deep red and averted his gaze.
“Yuu, love, talk to me, hm?” She laid her hand over his, squeezing gently, and she watched, confused and concerned, as he gathered up courage and brought his gaze back to hers. “What’s the key for, hm?”
“It’s…it’s a key to my apartment.” His voice was quiet, and he sounded nervous. “Natasha, I…” He sighed, and he bit his lip, and she tried to imagine the internal conflicts whirring around in his head as he spoke. “I wanted to give you a key, and…I wanted to ask if you wanted to live here, in Tokyo, with me.” He gave her another bashful smile, and he squeezed her hand, and she watched his confusion grow as a smile spread across her face.
“I have a few things to sort out in the States,” she said quietly, “but…after that? Of course I’ll come live with you.” She tried a warmer smile, one that was wider and more encouraging, and her heart melted as his teary eyes sparkled and his own smile widened to a grin. And then she leaned forward, gently kissing his lips, and then she drew back, smiling. “Merry Christmas, Yuu.”
“Merry Christmas to you, too.”