Disclaimer: You know that I don’t own Gravitation. The characters are all property of Maki Murakami and I’m just going to keep borrowing them! I don’t make a profit for fanfics— no one does— It’s illegal to do that!
I am also not going to warn ahead of time when there will be a chapter with sex (and I assure you, there will be such chapters). Please be aware that this is not meant for immature readers. Consider yourself warned.
So begins a new fic to add to the ABC series… It’s really the second half of “Don’t Eat the Daisies.” If you try to read this one without reading that one, you may be lost at first, though I’ll try to make it stand on its own. For my returning readers… thanks for ‘tuning in’ again! I’m BACK!
~Episodes of Emotional Escapades~
You can all call this one “3E” for short. ;)
One: Jump In
Shu’s breathing fell into a slow, steady repetition and Eiri knew he’d finally fallen asleep. He’d been resting against Eiri for the last hour or so. Eiri ran his fingers through his husband’s silky-soft pink hair. He thought the kid looked cute— both of them, for that matter. Naora was highlighted by the flickering glare of the tv, in the darkened living room. She was slouched over her giant carnival octopus on the floor. How children could sleep like pretzels was a mystery to him. If he slept all slumped over like that, he be stiff and sore for days after.
This was the last night that Naora would be able to stay up so late. Since she started school on Thursday, this was kind of a last-fling celebration, so they had all watched movies together. Eiri thought he’d finish watching this one, before going to bed, even though it was a terribly insipid comedy. The table was littered with snacks and little pieces of oragami. Naora had become fascinated with origami since Tatsuha had showed her how, over Obon. Eiri figured Shu could clean it all up in the morning.
Eiri sighed, thinking about his reassurances to Shu, that everything would be alright. Would it? They still had plenty of obstacles before them, but that was life, right? Well, it was life with other people. When Eiri had shut people out of his life, he hadn’t had to think about these things unless it related to a book plot. Now, he was making decisions not based upon what he thought, but taking into consideration what Shu’s opinion might be and how the outcome might affect their daughter.
He smiled, looking over his sleeping family. It wasn’t the family he had pictured when he was younger, but that hardly mattered. Seeing them like this— sleeping, while he watched over them— gave him a strong feeling of responsibility. He was surprised at himself that it wasn’t an onerous feeling at all. He had run from responsibilities again and again throughout his life. He had various legitimate reasons for doing it, but maybe what it came down to was that he had chosen *this* for himself. He and Shuichi had chosen each other, and together, they had chosen Naora. The fact that their bonds were voluntary probably made the difference between accepting the responsibility instead of resenting it. He wanted to do the right things for both of them— all of them.
It had been reletively easy to get used to Naora’s presence around the house. He smirked, thinking, I get along with her better than I do with Shuichi. He understood Naora. He would probably never understand Shu.
Screw it, he thought, I don’t want to watch this crappy movie anymore. I want to go to bed. He lifted and pushed Shu off of him and slid out from underneath his weight. Shu woke and stopped himself from falling before he hit his head on the couch’s armrest.
“Eh? Eiri?” he asked, sleepily.
“Time for bed,” he answered. He walked to Naora to scoop her up off the floor and tuck her into bed. He picked the girl up, but her limp weight was difficult to arrange in his arms. He whispered, “Shuichi? Grab the octopus, would you?”
“Um. Okay! Have you got her?” Shu came over and scooped up the big stuffed animal with much less trouble than Eiri’d had lifting their daughter.
“Fine. You get the door.” Shu ran over to the hallway door and held it open for him. He did the same with Naora’s bedroom door. Eiri carried her in and cautiously settled her on the bed. Shu stepped in, behind him, dropping the octopus on the floor. Eiri pulled a sheet over Naora and Shu ran one hand over his back.
“She looks so sweet,” Shu said fondly.
“She is sweet,” Eiri remarked. He looked around for her doll, knowing she liked to hold it when she slept. “Where’s the doll?” he asked Shu, as if he didn’t know its name.
He could see Shu’s smile in the dim light from the hallway. He moved away from Eiri’s side and checked the top of her toybox. “Right here,” he said, holding the doll up to show him. Shu moved back beside him and tucked the doll into Naora’s unresponsive arms. He straightened up and turned into Eiri’s body, putting one hand against the writer’s chest, as if to push him out of the room. “Let’s go to bed, too.”
“Right,” Eiri agreed. He’d been told of how parents felt compelled to watch their sleeping children, but he’d never thought he’d fall prey to that kind of sentimentality. Yet, here he was. He shook his head at himself and let Shuichi urge him into their bedroom. Shu giggled, softly, understanding his reactions far too well.
***
When Naora woke up, she could hear Daddy-Shuichi’s muffled singing. Morning light seeped through the window blinds. Since my door is open, Naora thought, he must be either in the living room or the bathroom. She flung off the covers to find herself still in yesterday’s clothes! Then she remembered last night’s late movies. That meant that today was school-shopping day! Daddy-Shuichi had promised!
She set aside her doll, leaving Hitomi on her pillow. Then she went to choose fresh clothes. Carrying them, she stepped into the hall to figure out whether or not she could take a shower, because if Daddy-Shuichi was in there, she’d have to wait. He took a long time in the shower. The singing came from the living room. It sounded like a new song. Naora could tell, because he kept stopping and singing the same part over, but differently than before. She went to shower.
She had her very own shampoo that didn’t hurt her eyes when it rinsed away. Daddy-Shuichi used the good-smelling pink stuff in the clear bottle and Daddy-Eiri used another kind in a tall, plain black and white bottle. Naora was learning Daddy-Shuichi’s songs by shear repetition, so she sang one in the shower while she washed, just like he did. When she was finished, dried, and dressed, she stood on her new step-stool to brush her teeth.
After that, she went into the living room to find Daddy-Shuichi. He wasn’t there, but she heard both her daddies’ voices in the kitchen. Daddy-Eiri was complaining about the noise. She could hear morning kitchen sounds, like cupboard doors and a spoon on a coffee mug. He was saying, “How the hell am I supposed to sleep with the two of you making such a racket?” Naora immediately felt really bad. She thought it was okay to sing. She thought Daddy-Eiri liked the singing. Tears leaked from her eyes and she tucked herself into a little ball against the wall, between the tv and the door. She didn’t want Daddy-Eiri to see her, or be mad at her. He looked scary when he got mad. She listened.
Daddy-Shuichi laughed. “I always sing. You usually sleep through it. And I think it’s sweet that Naora’s singing, too. We can sing duet for you!” He laughed again and Naora sniffled, wiping her eyes. He didn’t sound upset. He didn’t even seem worried that Daddy-Eiri was mad at him.
“Get off me, bratt.”
“No. Stop being such a grouch.” Naora could hear kissing sounds. Then Daddy-Shuichi said, “Stop that. Noara should be coming in here soon, she’ll be hungry.”
“I’m hungry, too,” Daddy-Eiri said. More kissing sounds.
Naora blinked and wiped her eyes again. The noise must not have been too upsetting to him. He wasn’t really mad at Daddy-Shuichi. . . would he still be mad at her? She hoped not. Just to make sure, she peeked into the kitchen. Neither of them noticed her right away. Daddy-Eiri’s back was to the door, but Daddy-Shuichi’s arms were wrapped around him and they were kissing. “Good morning,” she said, timidly.
Her daddies let go of each other. Daddy-Shuichi said, “Good morning, Naora-chan! Did you sleep well?” Daddy-Eiri turned to fix his coffee or tea—she couldn’t tell which. She nodded to answer and crept into the kitchen, toward the table. Daddy-Shuichi came closer. His voice sounded serious and he asked, “Naora? Were you crying?” She looked at the floor. He was so happy all the time, she didn’t want him to see her sad, but she couldn’t lie, either. Lying was wrong. “Naora? What’s the matter?” She shook her head, still looking at the floor. She didn’t want to tell him.
“Naora, remember that Shuichi doesn’t like the silence games,” Daddy-Eiri warned. They had talked about that, but she’d forgotten. “You have to tell him something,” he reminded her.
She gasped, and covered her mouth with both hands. “Daddy-Shuichi, I’m so sorry! I forgot!”
He smiled at her and pushed her hands down, off her face. “It’s okay, Naora-chan. I just want to know when something upsets you.” He kneeled on the floor so she didn’t have to look up at him. “If I don’t know what’s wrong, how can I help you fix it?” She nodded again. “Well?”
“Let her be,” Daddy-Eiri said. “She doesn’t want to talk about it.” To Naora he said, “If you change your mind and decide you do want to tell us, you can. If you don’t want to talk about it, tell Shuichi something like, ‘I don’t want to say’.”
Daddy-Shuichi turned to look at Daddy-Eiri. “Eiri, don’t encourage her to bottle everything up. It’s not healthy! Isn’t it better to let it out?”
“She still needs to say it in her own time! Just leave her alone. She’ll work it out, or she can ask one of us for help.” Naora covered her ears. She didn’t mean to make her daddies fight! This was awful! She felt the tears again and looked at the floor. “Keh!” Despite her hands over her ears, she could still hear everything.
“Naora?” Daddy-Shuichi asked her name, but she shook her head, crying. He turned back to Daddy-Eiri, sounding angry, “You think it’s better just to let her cry about whatever’s making her sad and hope it will go away? Are you just going to ignore her pain, then?”
“Damnit!” Daddy-Eiri cursed. Whenever he did that, it always made her quiver, expecting Retribution. The Sisters at Caritas had been very strict about bad language. Noara couldn’t keep the heavy feeling in anymore; she sobbed and the crying noises came free. Daddy-Shuichi gathered her in his arms and she clutched at him. “Shuichi! You can’t just comfort her every time. She needs to learn how to take care of her own problems.”
“Eiri, she’s just a little girl! Can’t you see that her problems are too big for her? She needs our help, but she won’t always know enough to ask for it.” Naora hiccup-sobbed. He’s right, she thought. Daddy-Eiri called him an idiot a lot, which wasn’t nice. Naora thought he was really smart.
“Alright, you deal with it this time,” Daddy-Eiri said, roughly. “I’ll be in my study. And keep it quiet!” He stomped out.
Even though she didn’t want Daddy-Shuichi to see her all sad, he was comforting. It felt good to be held when she was sad. She knew he could understand her through crying, too; so she asked him, “Why is Daddy-Eiri so angry? I’m sorry I made him mad! I didn’t mean to! I really didn’t! I just wanted to sing like you do! Was my singing bad?”
“Oh, Noara. You heard him complain about our singing!” He hugged her tightly. “I think your singing is wonderful and there’s nothing wrong with singing whenever you— well, pretty much anytime.” He sighed with his whole body. “You didn’t make him mad, Naora. It’s not your fault. I don’t know why he’s grumpy today, but . . . well, he’s often grumpy. But you know he can be sweet, too! You just can’t blame yourself every time he gets upset over something.”
“Why don’t we have breakfast,” Daddy-Shuichi said. He let go of her and patted her back. She realized she wasn’t crying anymore and wiped her face on her arm, since she was wearing short sleeves. Daddy-Shuichi winked at her, “While you eat, I’ll make faces like Eiri does, and then I’ll tell you what they mean, okay? That way, maybe you’ll be able to tell when he’s teasing, or not really serious about being mad!” He laughed and Naora smiled at him. “Frosted Flakes?”
She nodded and climbed into her chair, between her daddies’ chairs. “I like Frosted Flakes,” she told him, just to make sure he knew she wasn’t trying to play any silence games. She would have to pay attention and remember what faces were teasing and which ones were really angry. She thought Daddy-Shuichi would make the lesson funny, too. Then, they could go shopping, after!
*** |