Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Chapter Six

And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.

Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.

Baby, don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.

Cause you can see it when I look at you.

-Everything By: Michael Buble

What the hell have I gotten myself into?, was the first thing Shizuki thought when Mrs. Umeda opened the door. He was more than a little taken aback to see that Hokuto's mother not only dressed in a Lolita outfit, but looked like she should still be a school girl. The doctor had tried to warn him that his parents were weird. Hokuto had tried to explain a little more about his family only the drive over to his family's home. After a while, he'd given up and told Shizuki he'd understand when they got there. Now, Shizuki did understand why Hokuta had said that. There was no way to prepare him for this. He watched in stunned fascination as Hokuto greeted his mother by bending down to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Shizuki managed to wipe the astounded look off his face when Hokuto began to introduce him.

"Mother, this is, Ashiya Shizuki," Hokuto gestured towards the blond.

Shizuki was a more than a little surprised by the sudden intensity with which he was being viewed. Mrs. Umeda looked him over like she was studying him for flaws. It only a lasted a few heartbeats, but it left Shizuki feeling very unsettled. How was he supposed to react when a woman that old, who looked that adorable, was staring at him as if judging his worthiness? "Umeda's never brought anyone home before. It's wonderful to meet you," Mrs. Umeda smiled sweetly after a moment. Apparently, he'd passed her inspection for approval.

Shizuki flushed hotly and stammered. "I-I'm not-."

"It's not like that, Mother. He's Mizuki Ashiya's brother, the girl who went to Osaka High. Shizuki's interning here and can't go home for the holidays. So I invited him over," Hokuto explained patiently.

"Oh, my mistake. I'm so sorry. Well, we are thrilled to have you regardless of the circumstances. I remember Mizuki-chan. She was very sweet. I must say though you are very handsome," She complimented him as she ushered him further into the house. She glanced back at Hokuto and winked knowingly.

Hokuto scowled. He could never hide anything from his family. She always said his eyes gave him away.

"Nice catch," Io mouthed at him as they walked into the sitting room.

He rolled his eyes in aggravation. He prayed it wouldn't be like this the whole time. What a pain in the ass that would be.

"You have such beautiful blond hair and blue eyes! You're so exotic looking!" Mrs. Umeda continued to gush.

"Er…thanks. I'm really half Japanese though," Shizuki told her.

Mrs. Umeda looked surprised. "I never would have guessed."

"My father's Japanese. My mother was American."

"Was?"

"Well, she died when I was very little. I don't really remember her very well." Shizuki explained.

Mrs. Umeda looked sad. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I love my step-mom and if my Dad hadn't met her then Mizuki would have never come along. And I love Mizuki," Shizuki smiled softly.

"Mizuki?" Minami looked up from the book he'd been reading. His mouth dropped open when he saw the blond. "You! I remember you! Mizuki's brother…er?"

"Ashiya Shizuki," Hokuto supplied, giving him displeased look.

Minami shrugged. "I only met him once."

"I remember you too though. You were the RA for dorm 2, right? The one Mizuki was in?" Shizuki asked, a deadly glint starting to shine in his eyes.

"Y-yeah that was me," Minami replied, looking nervous.

"You better have taken good care of her," the blond said with murderous intent.

Minami held up his hands in surrender. "I did!"

Shizuki looked somewhat appeased. He knew that this kid had watched out for Mizuki. She'd told him all about it. He was just testing. "Good."

"Well, I suppose we should make proper introductions," Hokuto remarked. He'd been amused at Shizuki's little display of intimidation. The blond always acted so fierce. Heart of a lion, he thought with a smirk. Except for when it comes to me. "Everyone, this is Ashiya Shizuki, Mizuki's older brother. Shizuki, this is my Mom, Dad, my sister Io, her son Minami, and her husband, and my younger sister, Rio."

Shizuki bowed politely. "It's nice to meet you all. Thank you for allowing me to join you for the holidays." Man, this family is weird, he thought. No wonder Umeda said they were creepy. His parents look like they should still be in high school. Guess, I know where Umeda gets his good looks from. His sister Io and her son look like models. Umeda caught his eye and shrugged. He could tell exactly what the blond was thinking.

"Any friend of Hokuto's is welcome," Mr. Umeda spoke up for the first time.

Shizuki had to quell the urge to duck behind Hokuto for a moment. His father had the same unnerving eyes as his son. It felt like his soul was being scrutinized and found lacking. "Thank you," he managed to say.

"Sit, you two, and I'll pour you some tea," Mrs. Umeda gestured towards the couch.

They had barely gotten settled and a cup of tea put in their hands, when Io's curiosity finally got the better of her.

"So you're really Mizuki's brother?" She asked, sitting forward eagerly.

"For Kami-sama's sake, Io! Don't start interrogating him. He just got here," Umeda groaned irritably. Shizuki glanced over at the doctor, surprised at his apparent rudeness to his older sister. Umeda rolled his eyes.

"Yes," Shizuki answered simply.

"And you were aware she was disguising herself as a boy to go to Osaka?" Io pressed.

Shizuki sighed. "I was aware. I had to lie to my parents about Osaka a lot in order for her to stay there. I tried to get her to come home. When I found out she'd lied to us about the school I was pretty upset. She managed to talk me into seeing her side of things, so I let her stay." Shizuki deliberately admitted Umeda's involvement in any way. He could see the doctor smothering a smirk in his tea cup beside him. He resisted the urge to elbow him in the ribs.

"She was very convincing," Io smiled fondly. "Wild horses wouldn't have dragged her away from Sano's side."

"I think it was very brace and romantic of her to come overseas to meet him, then help him start jumping again." Rio agreed. "Sano better be grateful to have her."

"Ah, young love is so passionate," Mrs. Umeda sighed dreamily. She gazed amorously at her husband, who smiled back.

"How true," Mr. Umeda took her hand and kissed it.

Mrs. Umeda's eyes settled on Shizuki and Hokuto for one long horrible moment as if to assess that they might be feeling the same. Hokuto coughed as a fumbled for a cigarette out of sheer nervous habit. Shizuki turned red, wishing he could hide under the coffee table. Maybe, this wasn't such a good idea, he thought.

"Mother, you're making them uncomfortable," Rio pointed out, much to their relief.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting you're just friends. It really is a nice change for Hokuto to bring someone with him for once. I keep telling him he needs to settle down," she gazed reproachfully at her son.

Hokuto gave a long suffering sigh. "Leave it alone, Mother, please?"

"Alright." She pouted. "I just want you to be happy."

She's trying a little to hard, Shizuki thought.

"So anyways," Io broke the awkward silence. "Did you decide to intern here, because of Mizuki, Shizuki-kun?"

"Uh, yeah," Shizuki cleared his throat before answering. "I wanted to be here to help her. I didn't know she was leaving until I showed up. It was to late to back out of my internship."

"How'd you end up hanging out with Hokuto?" Rio asked curiously. "I mean you seem pretty normal."

Hokuto scowled at her. She shrugged and smiled innocently.

"He was the only one in Osaka I really knew," Shizuki replied, somewhat mournfully. "He's been a good host to me so far when I needed help."

"A host, huh?" Minami smirked in amusement.

Hokuto gritted his teeth. He really wished he could throw something at his annoying nephew. "Yes." Hokuto growled at him. "I introduced him to Akiha, who's been showing him around town and helping him get to know people."

"So why aren't you hanging out with Akiha for the holidays?" Rio asked pointedly.

"He's out of town," they both answered at once, a little to quickly. They both looked at each in surprise.

"Well, that was sooo sweet of Hokuto to take care of you. He can be so selfish sometimes, you know." Io remarked, glaring somewhat evilly at her brother.

"Enough, Io dear," Mr. Umeda scolded. "He helped you when you needed that hotel cleaned."

Hokuto rolled his eyes. "Much to my dismay."

"Now, Hokuto," his mother admonished him gently.

"Yes, mother," he sighed.

Shizuki had a feeling he was missing something, but wasn't really to upset about it. Judging by the look on Io's face he definitely didn't want to get on her bad side. She and Hokuto seemed to bump heads a lot. She did seem like a pretty fierce woman.

"Oh, Hokuto, just so you know we are having the Umeda Christmas party here tonight." Mr. Umeda remarked casually.

Hokuto's eyes narrowed angrily. "What? Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

Shizuki glanced around as the entire rest of the family suddenly took on an expression of mock innocence.

"If we had told you then you would never have come," Io said bluntly. "And it means a lot to Mom for all of us to be here for it."

"What's this Christmas party about?" Shizuki asked the doctor quietly.

"It's an annual event that gets moved from one relative's house to another every year. It's basically an excuse for the entire Umeda clan to get together and eat, drink, and be merry," Umeda explained, then scrubbed his hands through his hair in agitation. "And I absolutely hate it."

Mrs. Umeda sighed. "Now, Hokuto, just because Aunt Haruna keeps trying to set you up with her daughter does not mean it's a hated event."

"You try shaking off that old bat then. She doesn't seem to understand that I don't date girls," Hokuto scowled, folding his arms over his chest.

"Well, Shizuki-san's here this year, so at least you'll have someone to talk too." Minami said with a grin.

Hokuto gave him a death glare.

"He does have a point." Io smiled slyly.

"Does this mean I have to stay glued to your side to keep your aunt away?" Shizuki grumbled.

Hokuto glanced over at the blond, who was giving him a grumpy look. That actually made him smile. "Unless you want to get set up with my aunt's daughter. She's a really sweet."

"And a great cook," Rio put in trying to smother her laughter.

"And she does all the chores," Minami told Shizuki with mock seriousness.

"And she'll take good care you," Io finished.

Shizuki looked around at all of them. "I assume she's been giving the same speech for years."

"Yeah." They all said.

"What's wrong with her?" Shizuki asked pointedly.

They all grinned evilly. "She's bipolar."

"She's also really homely looking," Hokuto stated rudely.

"Now, children, be nice. She really is sweet," Mrs. Umeda scolded them.

They all rolled their eyes. Shizuki got the feeling this was gonna be a very interesting party. He had to wonder again just what the hell he had gotten himself into.

/

The party was just as big as Hokuto had implied, Shizuki came to find out. The Umeda family seemed to be quite large. He had stayed next to the doctor as the relatives arrived. He greeted them all politely as they filtered into the large living room. The room had been converted into the dance floor with chairs around the outside wall. There was a big Christmas tree in the corner with presents underneath. Holly and wreathes were hung up around the room. It was a very western style themed set up. It made Shizuki feel a little more at home. The refreshments had been put in a room across the hall from the living room to make more room. Even with all the furniture moved out of the way the room was soon growing packed with the number of people who kept arriving. Shizuki was already beginning to miss the smaller, more family oriented celebration he was used to back at home. He was actually grateful Hokuto was looking out for him. He felt like he might get lost in the crowd.

He saw the doctor cringe out of the corner of his eye. He looked around to see what had caused that reaction in Hokuto, as he shifted his glass of whiskey to his other hand. He watched in amazement as a large woman come barreling up to Hokuto.

"Ah, Hokuto-kun! It's been such a long time since I've seen you, boy. You've grown!" Aunt Haruna pulled the poor doctor into a rib crushing hug. "Where have you been the last several years for these Christmas parties?"

Hokuto managed to extract himself from her embrace with some difficulty. He scowled as he straightened out his shirt. "I work, Aunt Haruno. At a high school. Kids these days can't seem to keep themselves healthy." He lied through his teeth. Beside him, Shizuki smiled into his drink. Hokuto glared at the blond irritably.

"Well, that's no excuse! Really, my daughter Reiko, has been anxious to see you. It's such a disappointment when you don't show up, dear." Aunt Haruna scolded him.

The doctor resisted the urge to grit his teeth.

"You should go say hello to her and ask her for a dance. She's lonely, you know. She still can't seem to find a man to settle down with," the older aunt winked at him.

Hokuto scowled. "Aunt, really. I told you I'm gay."

"Oh nonsense. No one in our family has ever been gay," his aunt waved her hand dismissively.

"Actually, Aunt-." Hokuto started.

Shizuki sighed. He couldn't help, but feel sorry for the doctor. Guess it's my turn to do the saving, the blond thought, after all he saved me from that weirdo at the art galleria. He sidled in closer and slipped his arm around Hokuto's waist. The doctor looked over at him in shock. Shizuki smiled charmingly at the old witch. "Actually, Haruna-san, Hokuto is my boyfriend. He invited me to the party so he could introduce me to everyone."

Hokuto blinked a few times in stunned fascination at the blond. The arm around his waist actually felt a little possessive. What really had him amazed though was how forward Shizuki had been. He had never touched the doctor of his own accord before. Hokuto found he liked it very much. To bad it didn't really mean anything. And he wanted it to mean something so badly. God, I'm so screwed, he thought.

"Really, and you are?" Aunt Haruna was glaring at the blond like he was a bug to be squashed.

"Ashiya Shizuki, ma'am," the blond supplied. He just barely managed to keep his charming smile in place.

"How long have you two been 'dating'?" the older woman asked. She spat out the last word like it was something foul.

Hokuto finally found his voice. "Several months, Aunt Haruna. We're very serious about each other."

"Oh, really?" her voice was practically dripping distain.

"Really," Shizuki replied, sliding his hand a little lower to settle on Umeda's hip and tucking it in the doctor's front pants pocket. It was a move he'd seen hundreds of girls do to their boyfriends. He was shocked and a little sick at how easily it was for him to do it. And it felt frighteningly good. Apparently, Hokuto thought the same, because his breath hitched in his throat well the rest of him went completely still. Shizuki glanced over to find the doctor staring at him with a look of surprise and lust. The blond swallowed hard, feeling desire warming in his gut at how utterly beautiful Hokuto looked in that moment just because of how thrown off he was by the situation.

"Well, Ashiya-kun, it was nice meet you. Enjoy the party," Aunt Haruna cut through the sudden mood change like a knife through butter.

Shizuki cleared his throat and plastered a fake smile on his face. "Thank you, I will. It was nice to meet you too."

As soon as she walked away, Shizuki pulled his arm away from Hokuto. He refused to look at the doctor as he downed the rest of his drink.

"Thank you, Shizuki," Hokuto said, after a moment. He licked his lips as he tried to settle his desire down. "You saved me."

"You're welcome. I owed you anyways," Shizuki replied.

Hokuto shrugged and answered casually. "Well, anyways, thank you. That was pretty damn convincing. You almost had me fooled."

The blond finally looked over at him. He could still see the lust hiding in the doctor's expression. "I'm a good actor, Umeda." He said rather cruelly. Don't get any ideas, please, he thought desperately.

"Apparently," Hokuto remarked softly. "C'mon, let's get away door. I'm tired of greeting people."

"Yeah," Shizuki muttered, feeling horrible about what he'd just said. He trailed after the doctor further into the room.

/

Over in the corner, Rio and Minami were watching the doctor duo with calculating looks.

"Didja see that? That wasn't just a friendly embrace," Rio pointed out.

Minami rolled his eyes. "The guy was helping Hokuto out."

"Oh, he was helping alright. He even put his hand in nii-san's front pocket. He was inches away from nii-san's crotch," the younger Umeda sister gestured to the area she was referring too.

"Ashiya's a homophob. There's no way in hell he'd be interested in Uncle Hokuto like that," Minami argued.

"Whatever. Nii-san's interested in him like that. He had that Sylvester wants to eat the Tweety-bird look. I've seen it before," Rio remarked, folding her arms over her chest.

Minami shook his head. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean Ashiya's gonna fall for it."

"I bet you 5,000 yen nii-san will get into that blondie's pants tonight," Rio smirked.

"That's just wrong," Minami said with disgust.

"Scared to bet on it? You know you're gonna lose, right?" She pressed with a Cheshire cat smile.

Io suddenly walked up beside her son. "Of course, he knows that. Those two are a little to close to be just friends."

"You're on. 5,000 yen says Uncle Hokuto can't even land a kiss tonight let alone, get into his pants," Minami proposed confidently and put out his hand.

Rio and Io exchanged a conniving, evil look. Rio took his hand and shook it hard. "You better have your money ready by the end of the party." She began to walk off.

"Where are you going?" Minami called.

"To ask Shizuki-san for a dance," she replied with a wicked grin.

Minami looked over at his mother. "You two are planning something, aren't you?"

Io shrugged and smiled widely. "Who knows?"

"You're gonna make me lose out on 5,000 yen," he grumbled.

"You shouldn't bet, darling, if you're not willing to lose," she replied with a smirk.

/

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