Our Little Getaway [New Series 9/16]
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 8:15 pm
So, I thought about just writing a long piece that was going to run between 5-10k words with this same exact scenario, then I realized that the first three scenes alone equated to about 6k words. So, with that, I'll be starting a new series entitled 'Our Little Getaway', another short (but kind of long) series about a beach trip with some people.
Table of Contents:
Part One: A Fresh Start (this post)
----------------------------------------
A Fresh Start
"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up!"
I groan as my eyes crack open and my body bumps up and down a bit. I should have expected Miyuki to be excited today, but it's...
With a bit of struggle, I tug my arm out from underneath Hanako. How she's still asleep, I'll never know, as it's certainly some form of wizardry. I roll and take a peek at the clock, and find myself not even close to surprised when it reads 6:24 in the morning.
First day off on my long - and might I add - much needed vacation from work, and I still manage to have to get up early.
I groan.
"Miyuki, please don't bounce on the bed." She slows her excitement to a halt, a massive grin still posed on her face.
I wish I could get mad at her.
I really do.
But I can't, and sometimes that's not a good thing.
I pat an empty space beside me, just small enough to fit her in. She scoots over and lays down beside me, wrapping her arms around me to the best of her ability. She giggles a bit when I rustle her hair, fairly long, dark brown locks being strewn out in various directions.
She's a lot like her mother. In fact, it's almost scary how much she's similar to Hanako. The shyness, the ability to get excited over little things, that huge grin...
Yeah, I'd say they're a lot alike in certain situations.
I give her a kiss on the forehead.
"Let me guess. You're excited to go to the beach?" I grin at her. I, in all honesty, am ecstatic to get out to the beach. I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite for making her calm down, but I figure it's best to let Hanako sleep a bit longer. She gets up later than me almost every day, so I guess it's a good thing that I'm used to waking up early.
"Yeah!" Her voice is the most excited I've heard it since her birthday. That's definitely one of those small things that, when she grows older, I have a feeling I'll always miss.
I shake my head from that thought right as it starts to take off.
My baby isn't grown up just yet.
I lean down and give her a kiss on the forehead, drawing yet another bout of laughter from her. She wipes the remnants of my lips off with the back of her hand, her face scrunching up.
"Ew! Daddy that's so yucky!" I have to stifle my laughter with a pillow, but alas, it appears it was to no avail. Hanako groans and rolls over, giving me a delicate flick on the shoulder. Miyuki bounces over top of me and into the arms of her mother, recieving a kiss on the cheek and not doing a single thing about it.
Curse this woman and her womanly magic.
"Sleeping beauty is finally awake, I see."
"But Daddy, Mommy isn't a princess!"
"She's a different kind of princess, Miyuki." Hanako, eyes still closed, gives her signature shy smile as her cheeks begin to burn red, running her hand through down the length of Miyuki's hair. She clears her throat, shaking away the morning cobwebs and drawing attention to herself.
"Darling, why don't you go get a few toys together for the plane ride? Daddy and I will be out to make you breakfast in a few minutes."
"Okay!"
She bounces up and off of the bed and runs out of the room, her little feet tapping against the hardwood floor as she sprints down the hallway. I turn my attention back to the woman resting beside me, her eyes seemingly fixated on me. I raise my eyebrow at her.
"Something on my face?"
"N-No, you were just... really s-sweet with what you said, is all..." She trails off as her eyes break away from me, looking away out of embarrassment. I lift my hand to her cheek, to which she nuzzles her face into.
She is quite adorable when she's tired.
I take her chin inbetween my thumb and index finger, tilting her face up to meet mine as I give her a peck on the lips. Once we part, her smile has turned into a toothy grin, eeriely similar to the one Miyuki gave me earlier.
"I think w-we have some packing to get done ourselves. Why d-don't you go make Miyuki some breakfast while I finish getting ready?"
"Sounds like a plan." I lean in and press my iips to her forehead before jumping out of bed, heading out of the room with a little hop in my step.
I shuffle down the hall and make a pit stop at Miyuki's room, pushing the door open to find her in a state of deep thought. She's slowly taking long, hard looks between two of her toys: a fluffy pink frog and a fairly large purple dinosaur. I crouch down beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
She looks at me with a pair of sad eyes.
That's definitely one of the most horrible feelings as father. When your daughter is sad, regardless of what about, it makes you feel absolutely terrible.
"What's wrong, kiddo?"
"I don't have enough room in my bag to bring both of them..." She trails off, her voice very low in volume, sounding quite sad and downcast. I put both of my hands on her shoulders, massaging them a bit.
"I think we can fit one of them in my bag." Her eyes immediately light up, a massive smile spanning across her face.
"Really?" She's jumping up and down in excitement before she propels herself onto me, knocking me back a little bit.
"Of course, just pick which one you don't want in your bag and lay it in with Mommy."
"Okay!" I rustle her hair a bit as she turns her attention back to the animals, now posed with the task of picking which one goes with Hanako and I. "Oh, and Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Can I sit with Aunt Misha and Aunt Shizune on the airplane?"
I pause for a moment and ponder the question. Hanako and I have built quite a relationship over the years, which is quite amazing considering the standing all of the girls were at during our time together back in high school. Shizune began offering to watch Miyuki some weekends so that Hanako and I could spend some time together, and she actually went on to tell me it was a matter of her trying to gain Hanako's trust.
That was a while ago.
She certainly gained her trust, and then something else.
A close friend.
It actually has managed to get to the point where Shizune and Misha are a little dysfunctional extension to our family. We do a lot of things together at this point, to the point that we probably see the two of them a good three or four times every single week.
I can't and won't ever complain about that, though.
Even though we've had our differences on opinions, Shizune has practically become a sister to me. I can say the same exact thing for Misha, too, although she doesn't seem to carry that much of an opinion when discussions get heated between Shizune and I.
I think I can speak for Hanako as well when I say that.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts for a moment, getting back to the matter at hand.
"I don't see why not."
Her eyes light up again, causing a smile to form on my face. I wish she would sit with Hanako and myself for the trip over, but I can't complain about her sitting with Shizune and Misha. After all, we'll be sitting right across from each other.
"Thank you, Daddy!"
"No need to thank me, love. Hurry up and finish packing so you can eat some breakfast before we head to the airport, okay?"
"Yes sir!"
She gives me a little salute as I head out of her room and into the kitchen, fairly large in size. I begin to prepare a platter of food: eggs, toast and tea among other things. My focus isn't on food though, as I find myself wandering off into the beautiful ocean landscapes that my head seems to be dreaming of.
I grin to myself.
I'm ready to spend some quality time with my family. It's not something I get to do extremely often, barring weekends, but that's not even close to enough time. This trip is going to be just that; an entire week of spending time with my family and basically my two closest friends.
As I pile all of the various foods onto a big dish, I set them out onto the table. Perfectly timed, Hanako and Miyuki step out of the hall and over to the table, taking their places.
"This looks wonderful, Hisao."
"Yeah Daddy, why don't you cook more often?"
I see Hanako cringe a bit out of the corner of my eye, making me feel a bit embarrassed. I do enjoy cooking, and may be pretty good at it, but Hanako sort of assumed the chef role in the family. I think Miyuki may have offended her a bit, but I'm hoping that it wasn't intentional.
"Well, your mother makes better food than I do, so let's just leave it at that."
Once again, I can see Hanako blushing, her smile radiant as ever. She stammers a bit, attempting to come up with a reasonable response to downplay the compliment, but it seems to be a lost cause. She eventually gives up and settles for taking a sip from her cup of tea.
The rest of our breakfast really goes by uneventully, everyone seemingly in their own separate state of thought. Before I know it, the clock is hitting 7:30, and it's about time to hit the road for the fairly long drive to the airport.
As the three of us exit our home with plenty of luggage in tow, I can't help but feel an immediate sense of excitement as soon as I turn the keys in the ignition.
I'm ready to get this show on the road.
----------
I begin to tap my foot impatiently.
Sometimes, I like the fact that Misha is a heavy sleeper. It let's me get up early for work when I need to without waking her up.
Other times, such as today, it's a pain in the ass.
She rolls over, pulling covers over top of her torso. She whips her hands out, not even bothering to open her eyes, and signs towards me.
[Come on, Shizune. Just five more minutes, please!]
I grin villainously. With one swift motion, I rip the covers off of her body, leaving her shivering in her tanktop and underwear. Her eyes finally peel open, blinking furiously as they adjust to the morning light.
She sits herself upright, yawning and looking disappointed, her arms wrapping around her chest to savor some warmth.
I cross my arms over my chest, tapping my foot and giving her an evil glare.
This is how all of our weekend mornings go, only this time we're actually in a bit of a rush to get somewhere.
That somewhere happens to be the beach.
And to be quite honest, I would much rather be at the beach at this very moment than be holed up for the weekend at home, even if I have to go hop on a plane to get to my destination.
She yawns again.
[Why can't you ever let me sleep in?]
She gives me a downcast look, a frown spanning across her face. Why does she always have to make me feel so bad when I just want her to kick it in gear?
I walk over and hop in bed with her, resting my head on her chest as I wrap my arms around her waist. Peeking up, her cheeks have flushed to a bright shade of red, her eyes wide as she looks down at me. I unwrap my arms from her for a moment to sign.
[I can't give you an excuse for other weekends, but it's time for vacation. After all, don't you want to spend some time with your lovely girlfriend?]
Her cheeks darken even more. Girlfriend has always been an awkward term between the two of us, and it's quite an easy way to con her into doing whatever I want her to do.
A simple reminder that she's got something she wanted for a very long time is always enough to make her listen to me.
[Well, I guess you make a good point...]
She drops her hands a bit as she finishes signing, one of them finding its way to my face. She picks my head up to meet hers as she, disappointingly, places a kiss on the tip of my nose.
Why must she always try and get revenge on me?
Her body begins to shake as she laughs at my dissatisfied look, to which I glare at her face.
Once she notices how I'm upset with her, she magically solves the issue with one simple peck on the lips. As we part, she grins at me and bounces out of our bed, heading towards the bedroom door. She stops in her tracks as she's about to pass through the doorway, turning and facing me.
She looks slightly angry, and I have a feeling it's going to be directed at me.
She must have seen the clock in the hallway.
[Shizune, it's freaking 6:30 in the morning! We don't have to even leave for the airport for another three and a half hours!]
She visually lets out a groan of frustration, her arms crossing as she puts on a pouty face. I attempt to hide my laughter, but that goes quite horribly. My entire body is shaking as I practically roll around on the bed.
I've told her more than once - probably running up around a thousand times now - that we don't sleep late in the Hakamichi household. It's a bad habit, and while ample rest is a good thing, it's such a waste of precious daylight to sleep until late in the morning.
[You know well that we don't sleep in.]
As I begin to regain control of myself, I notice that she's looking a good bit sad.
[What's wrong?]
[Maybe I just like sleeping next to you, but you always have to cut that feeling short...]
Ouch.
That's a pretty painful shot to my heart. I can feel my mood immediately drop as her hands do, and I can say it's definitely not a pleasant feeling.
[After all this time, is that really the reason why you like to sleep in on our days off?]
[Yes.]
[So you would rather be asleep than awake and actually doing something with me?]
She starts to sign, but drops her hands for a moment, her face looking like it has entered a deep state of thought. One of the main reasons I find myself always getting up early because I want to actually get something done, with the option to wind down and do something small - like watching a movie or having a glass or two of wine - open at the end of the day.
Those small, cheesy things are the types of things I enjoy doing with her around. If we don't get up early, than how would we ever have time for them?
[Remember, Misha. When you get up early, we get things done earlier. That's how we always have time to relax and do little things. You know, like your favorite little cuddling sessions we have almost every night?]
Her cheeks once again light up, drawing an evil grin to my face.
Chalk one victory up for me on the day.
[I guess you're right. But you're always right, so why do I bother?]
Maybe I was counting my chickens a bit to early there.
I search her face for a hint of sarcasm, but I can't find it. It just looks horrible rejected, and that basically sends me into a state of panic.
I didn't mean it like that! I try my best to give her an equal amount of power in our relationship...
Am I really that controlling?
She turns to walk out the door, but I'm not going to let that happen. I bounce up at the speed of light, practically tackling her from behind as I wrap my arms around her waist. She turns to face me, her eyes looking distant.
[Misha, you know that's not true. I'm never right, so don't take everything I say so literally. Just take whatever I say for now on and tuck it into the back of your head, okay?]
She grins, a hint of laughter emanating from her body as it begins to shake a bit.
Oh, you bitch.
After she notices my confused look, she begins to laugh even harder, attempting to sign as she is practically bent in half, attempting to regain her breath.
[You really thought I was being serious? Shicchan, I think you're the one who needs to lighten up a bit here!]
She winks at me as she heads out into the hallway, leaving me in a stunned state. Before she takes off towards the bathroom, the stops in her tracks and faces me for a brief moment.
[You know I never let you win that easy.]
I glare at her.
[Fine. Go get ready so we can be looking sharp for our plane ride. Also, because of your rude nature this morning, I'm beginning to rethink the idea of having our weekly cuddling session on the beach.]
She pouts and protests like a child.
[So not fair! You know you want to, and I will make sure it happens before we leave, you be god damn sure of that!]
She finally turns and stomps off down the hallway, as I watch her hips swing back and forth with each step.
A competitive grin forms on my face.
Challenge accepted, little Miss Misha.
I toss on some nice fitting clothing, presentable yet comfortable enough for the plane ride to the United States. Hisao and I sort of planned this trip behind the scenes for quite a few months; he said he was getting overly tired of working and not spending time with Hanako and Miyuki, so we decided on a week long vacation to a private beach.
While it is quite a trip just go to a private beach, money isn't an issue. After all, Misha and I are both in a partnership with our technology distribution company. The money we make from that is...
Well, let's say it's more than enough.
Anyways, I'm excited about the trip, probably on par with Hisao. He talked to me almost all of the week up to today, trying to make little plans ahead of time as to what we could do while we're there, but I've told him it'd be easier to just play it as it comes. I think spending some time with Hanako and him will be very nice, as they're easily two of the most important people in my life, as well as Misha's.
Oh, and that's not to forget Miyuki.
That child is an absolute angel, and I love spending any time I can manage with her. It's a bit difficult communicating, as she doesn't quite grasp the idea that I can't hear anything, but Misha being around makes everything quite a bit easier.
Not to mention, she loves the kid to death as well.
I can still remember when she started referring to the two of us as Aunt Misha and Aunt Shizune.
Considering the... issues, I guess you would say, I have with my family due to being in love with Misha, that's probably the closest I'll ever be to being referred to as an aunt.
I frown as my heart sinks a bit, but is picked up a bit as Misha returns to the room, drying her hair with a towel as she's only dressed in her bra and a pair of underwear.
Most people would get off at such a sight, but I'll be completely honest: I don't feel much of a sexual attraction to her. I still think it's a nice sight, of course, but it's not one of those things that I'm going to go absolutely nuts over.
I like to think of my attraction to her more of a romantic one than anything else.
Shaking my head for a moment, I reach into her drawer and pull out some reasonable clothing, tossing them in her direction. She pouts when the buttondown shirt smacks her in the face, catching her off guard.
[What's the rush? We've still got a good two and a half hours before we need to get out of here.]
[There is no rush, you just need to stop trying to show off your body to me and get ready to head to the airport.]
I grin. Yet another solid shot at her, as she begins to blush and awkwardly stumble to pick up the clothing that lay at her feet.
[I'm not trying to show off my body. Why would I need to when I already know that you like what you see?]
She's gotten quite good at rattling off witty comebacks, but I'm prepared this time.
[Oh please, I'd much rather stare at myself after waking up than at you in your underwear.]
She gives me an angry look as she stomps her foot on the ground. My grin stays solid as she begins to look upset, crossing her arms.
This has become a daily ritual for the two of us. We take shots at each other back and forth multiple times a day, but we both know it's in good fun.
After a moment, her anger seems to give way to dejection, which isn't the most pleasant thing to have to fight through. She looks down at her body, surveying her chest and waist before stepping over to our tall mirror, taking a good look at her rear. After a moment of evaluation, she finally turns back to me, looking down at the floor.
[You're right. I am pretty disgusting to look at, aren't I?]
Bad.
This is bad and not what I wanted to lead into right now, seeing as she's already fairly self-conscious about her weight and body image. She's not even fat, and in fact, has probably lost enough weight to be considered slim at this point in time.
I step forward and act as if I'm going through a checklist while staring her body up and down, making the motion of drawing a check-mark.
[Nope. Actually, according to this checklist I have right here, you're actually extremely beautiful.]
I move beside her and show her the invisible list before she takes me into an embrace, which is slightly awkward. She leans in and gives me a kiss right on the lips, adding to the very strange feeling of her being almost completely naked. I squrim around a bit and pull away from the kiss.
I can feel my cheeks burning as she gives me a toothy smile, making me feel all the more embarrassed.
[Get dressed. We need to stop on the way to the airport so we can get Miyuki a toy for the trip.]
----------
The three of us finish clearing security and the like, making our way to Terminal A, Gate 12 of Haneda. As we reach our gate, I take a quick look at my watch, realizing we've still got about fourty minutes to spare before we begin boarding.
As I flop down into a seat with my laptop, taking advantage of some free internet, Hanako runs after Miyuki, who seems to be running for a magazine stand.
I sigh.
We really do spoil her a lot. That might be something that the two of us need to work on limiting in the near future. I can see that there's some toys hanging from the stand, but a little glare from a pair of glasses on a girl standing by the stall draws my attention more than those.
Oh. So she wasn't chasing after toys then.
A short distance away, I can hear a booming 'Wahaha~' from their location. She must have spotted Shizune and Misha before Hanako or myself did. I close the lid to my laptop and stand up from my seat, strolling over to where they all are.
Shizune is already holding Miyuki by the time I get over to them, Misha standing beside her with a big grin on her face.
"I see my daughter has already abandoned her poor mother and father for you two." I playfully act as if I'm hurt, even though deep down inside I am a little bit. Misha and Shizune are practically Miyuki's best friends, as she loves spending time at their house when Hanako and I have a date night.
Shizune puts Miyuki down and reaches into her backpack, pulling out a fluffy yellow bee.
Well, it would appear that Hanako and I aren't the only people spoiling our daughter.
Shizune kneels down and puts it in her hands, offering her a bright smile as Miyuki stands and stares at it, looking as if she had just been given a gift from an angel. She jumps forward and wraps her arms around Shizune, which is fairly satisfying scene.
I put my arm around Hanako's shoulders as we both watch the two hug, two equally large smiles perched on our faces.
Shizune finally breaks the hug and stands up as Miyuki walks back to Hanako's side, surveying the stuffed toy from every angle. She finally seems to come to the decision that it is a worthwhile toy and clutches it against her chest, her face glowing as she hugs it. Shizune adjusts her glasses and signs to Misha.
"So Hicchan, are you ready for our little vacation?"
"More than you could ever imagine." I pull Hanako closer to my, her head resting against my shoulder. "I think spending some time with my favorite four ladies was in order sooner rather than later."
"Well, soon enough, we'll all be enjoying the great sun and cool waters of the beach!~" Misha isn't quite able to contain her excitement as she bounces up and down a little, reminding me a bit of her old self.
She has changed a lot in terms of maturity. But, that girly, childish edge to her personality has generally managed to stay around.
"I'm just ready to lay down on the beach and read a good book..." Hanako tosses out a random statement, apparently off in her own little dream world. Misha bellows out another laugh, teasing Hanako a bit.
"Hanako, you always have to be the boring one of the bunch don't you?" Hanako stammers a bit as she tries to find words to respond with, her face flushing red and her eyes looking down at the floor.
Misha and Shizune giggle a bit at the scene, and I find myself massaging her shoulders a bit to reassure her that they're just teasing her.
"I-I'm not that boring..." She trails off, her voice sounding a bit hurt. Misha walks over and wraps her up in a hug, something she has a tendency to use in almost every situation she needs it to calm someone down.
"I'm just kidding with you, Hanako. Here, why don't we go get some drinks for the ride? I'm sure Shizune and Hisao have something of importance to talk about, as always!~" Her voice lessens in volume as the distance between the two of them and us increases. Miyuki sprints off after the two of them, calling after Hanako that she was thirsty and wants some juice.
Misha didn't translate the last part of the conversation, so Shizune is pretty much standing beside me looking confused. She pulls out a notebook and pen from her backpack as we head over to the seats by our gate.
She passes me the notebook, giving me a curious glance.
[They just went to grab some drinks for the plane ride. You as ready to get to the beach as I am?]
She grins, a competitive shine to her smile.
[I'm ready, but don't think you're a hot shot just because you get to show your chest off to three adult women.]
I can feel my cheeks burning. God damn, sometimes her competitiveness can be quite frustrating, and this is certainly one of those times.
[I'm only going to be showing it off to one, thank you very much. You're going to be too glued to Misha's rear end to notice, after all.]
Her head rears back and she shoots me an angry glance, scribbling furiously in response.
[You know we're not really like that.]
I give her an evil smirk as I write.
[What do you mean not 'really' like that?]
She looks as if she could snap that pen in half while ripping my head off in one swift motion. I think this may be the first time in a while I've won a little teasing war with her. She writes and scribbles out a bunch of words, before finally settling on a one word response.
[Asshole.]
She crosses her arms and looks away from me and I continue to smirk at her. Seems like I've finally won a battle against her, which is probably the first and last time I will for a very long time.
[Hey, you know I'm just kidding. I'm sure you're excited to spend some time with her though, aren't you?]
Her face flushes a red color, her handwriting becoming a bit shaky.
[Obviously. Not to mention, I actually do enjoy spending time with the you two and your daughter, as much as you may not believe that.]
I glare at her. Is she trying to say that I don't believe her when she says she likes to spend some time with us?
She knows better than that.
[You know damn well that I believe you. We're practically family, Shizune, don't act like we hate you or something. Hanako has literally said you're like a sister that she never had, even after all of that stuff you two went through in high school. You're more important to the two of us, not to mention Miyuki than you think.]
Her downcast eyes light up as her blush continues to linger. In the light from the windows beside us, a ray of light catches my eye coming from her finger. I wave my hand in front of her to keep her from writing more and get her attention, before raising my eyebrow and her and pointing at the gem on her finger.
Her faces looks like as if it could melt.
I take the pen and notebook away from her for a moment, although not without a little bit of a struggle.
[Did Misha buy you a ring?]
It must literally be brand new. I saw her just last weekend and she didn't have it, I know that for a fact. She sits relatively motionless for a few moments, apparently in a state of thought. She writes for a good minute or so before shoving the pen and notebook back towards me, turning her head away from me.
[She said she had saved up a good amount of money privately to buy it for me. She said that she knows we can never get married, but that she wanted the ring to represent her want to stay with me for the rest of her life. Obviously, big scene happened along with some, well, other things, but that's beside the point. She basically asked me to marry her without us ever going to officially be together in that way, and I accepted. It's a bit of a strange scenario, I'll explain it some night that we have some time to talk on the trip, okay?]
Before I can write anything in reponse, she grabs the pen and paper away from me. I'm confused for a split second, but then I realize that Hanako, Misha and Miyuki are returning with our drinks. Hanako sets a warm cup down in my hands, which I instinctively take in the aroma coming from it.
French vanilla coffee, a personal favorite.
I smile at her.
"Thank you, darling." She smiles and takes her seat beside me, just as Misha flops into an empty seat beside Shizune. Miyuki crawls up into my lap, looking quite drained.
Serves her right for getting up so early.
Over the next half hour or so, only some idle talk is done. Some random conversations about beaches and vacations, as well as rambling about work and all of the frustrations that come along with that subject. Before I know it, I can hear our flight being called for boarding. The five of us stand up with our carry on baggage in tow.
I'm more than ready for this.
We head off into the connector and find our seats once we actually enter the plane, Miyuki jumping into the seat between Misha and Shizune. Shizune turns and gives me and apologetic look, but I wave it off.
"Hisao, are you sure you're okay with Miyuki sitting with us?" Misha asks, although she sounds quite happy about the whole scenario. I give her a smile, recalling Miyuki asking if it was okay earlier in the morning. Hanako seems a bit confused, so I figure I'll answer Misha's question for the both of them.
"She asked me this morning if she could, and I said that'd be fine. Don't worry about it."
"Okay!~"
Feeling a wave of exhaustion hit me, I grab Hanako's hand for a bit of comfort. Looking at her face, she looks a bit tense, and I can't help but be worried.
"Are you okay?"
She gives me a shy smile, as if she's embarrassed that I caught her looking scared.
"You know I'm not a big fan of h-heights. Just promise you'll hold my hand during takeoff?"
I smile and lean in, planting a kiss on her lips. I can feel a smile form on her lips about half way through, a sense of calmness overcoming me. We break apart as the flight attendant comes on the speaker and explains all of the emergency guidelines, which basically goes in one ear and out the other. Before we know it, the pilot is talking to us and welcoming us aboard the airliner.
Within a few moments, the plane is rolling down the runway, and as we hit the end, Hanako's hand squeezes mine for dear life.
"It's okay. Just close your eyes and don't think about it." I can see her visibly gulp, but her muscles seem to be relaxing a bit, as does her death grip on my hand.
Soon enough, we're leveled off, and heading off into the distance for a week of relaxation and excitement.
Table of Contents:
Part One: A Fresh Start (this post)
----------------------------------------
A Fresh Start
"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up!"
I groan as my eyes crack open and my body bumps up and down a bit. I should have expected Miyuki to be excited today, but it's...
With a bit of struggle, I tug my arm out from underneath Hanako. How she's still asleep, I'll never know, as it's certainly some form of wizardry. I roll and take a peek at the clock, and find myself not even close to surprised when it reads 6:24 in the morning.
First day off on my long - and might I add - much needed vacation from work, and I still manage to have to get up early.
I groan.
"Miyuki, please don't bounce on the bed." She slows her excitement to a halt, a massive grin still posed on her face.
I wish I could get mad at her.
I really do.
But I can't, and sometimes that's not a good thing.
I pat an empty space beside me, just small enough to fit her in. She scoots over and lays down beside me, wrapping her arms around me to the best of her ability. She giggles a bit when I rustle her hair, fairly long, dark brown locks being strewn out in various directions.
She's a lot like her mother. In fact, it's almost scary how much she's similar to Hanako. The shyness, the ability to get excited over little things, that huge grin...
Yeah, I'd say they're a lot alike in certain situations.
I give her a kiss on the forehead.
"Let me guess. You're excited to go to the beach?" I grin at her. I, in all honesty, am ecstatic to get out to the beach. I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite for making her calm down, but I figure it's best to let Hanako sleep a bit longer. She gets up later than me almost every day, so I guess it's a good thing that I'm used to waking up early.
"Yeah!" Her voice is the most excited I've heard it since her birthday. That's definitely one of those small things that, when she grows older, I have a feeling I'll always miss.
I shake my head from that thought right as it starts to take off.
My baby isn't grown up just yet.
I lean down and give her a kiss on the forehead, drawing yet another bout of laughter from her. She wipes the remnants of my lips off with the back of her hand, her face scrunching up.
"Ew! Daddy that's so yucky!" I have to stifle my laughter with a pillow, but alas, it appears it was to no avail. Hanako groans and rolls over, giving me a delicate flick on the shoulder. Miyuki bounces over top of me and into the arms of her mother, recieving a kiss on the cheek and not doing a single thing about it.
Curse this woman and her womanly magic.
"Sleeping beauty is finally awake, I see."
"But Daddy, Mommy isn't a princess!"
"She's a different kind of princess, Miyuki." Hanako, eyes still closed, gives her signature shy smile as her cheeks begin to burn red, running her hand through down the length of Miyuki's hair. She clears her throat, shaking away the morning cobwebs and drawing attention to herself.
"Darling, why don't you go get a few toys together for the plane ride? Daddy and I will be out to make you breakfast in a few minutes."
"Okay!"
She bounces up and off of the bed and runs out of the room, her little feet tapping against the hardwood floor as she sprints down the hallway. I turn my attention back to the woman resting beside me, her eyes seemingly fixated on me. I raise my eyebrow at her.
"Something on my face?"
"N-No, you were just... really s-sweet with what you said, is all..." She trails off as her eyes break away from me, looking away out of embarrassment. I lift my hand to her cheek, to which she nuzzles her face into.
She is quite adorable when she's tired.
I take her chin inbetween my thumb and index finger, tilting her face up to meet mine as I give her a peck on the lips. Once we part, her smile has turned into a toothy grin, eeriely similar to the one Miyuki gave me earlier.
"I think w-we have some packing to get done ourselves. Why d-don't you go make Miyuki some breakfast while I finish getting ready?"
"Sounds like a plan." I lean in and press my iips to her forehead before jumping out of bed, heading out of the room with a little hop in my step.
I shuffle down the hall and make a pit stop at Miyuki's room, pushing the door open to find her in a state of deep thought. She's slowly taking long, hard looks between two of her toys: a fluffy pink frog and a fairly large purple dinosaur. I crouch down beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
She looks at me with a pair of sad eyes.
That's definitely one of the most horrible feelings as father. When your daughter is sad, regardless of what about, it makes you feel absolutely terrible.
"What's wrong, kiddo?"
"I don't have enough room in my bag to bring both of them..." She trails off, her voice very low in volume, sounding quite sad and downcast. I put both of my hands on her shoulders, massaging them a bit.
"I think we can fit one of them in my bag." Her eyes immediately light up, a massive smile spanning across her face.
"Really?" She's jumping up and down in excitement before she propels herself onto me, knocking me back a little bit.
"Of course, just pick which one you don't want in your bag and lay it in with Mommy."
"Okay!" I rustle her hair a bit as she turns her attention back to the animals, now posed with the task of picking which one goes with Hanako and I. "Oh, and Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Can I sit with Aunt Misha and Aunt Shizune on the airplane?"
I pause for a moment and ponder the question. Hanako and I have built quite a relationship over the years, which is quite amazing considering the standing all of the girls were at during our time together back in high school. Shizune began offering to watch Miyuki some weekends so that Hanako and I could spend some time together, and she actually went on to tell me it was a matter of her trying to gain Hanako's trust.
That was a while ago.
She certainly gained her trust, and then something else.
A close friend.
It actually has managed to get to the point where Shizune and Misha are a little dysfunctional extension to our family. We do a lot of things together at this point, to the point that we probably see the two of them a good three or four times every single week.
I can't and won't ever complain about that, though.
Even though we've had our differences on opinions, Shizune has practically become a sister to me. I can say the same exact thing for Misha, too, although she doesn't seem to carry that much of an opinion when discussions get heated between Shizune and I.
I think I can speak for Hanako as well when I say that.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts for a moment, getting back to the matter at hand.
"I don't see why not."
Her eyes light up again, causing a smile to form on my face. I wish she would sit with Hanako and myself for the trip over, but I can't complain about her sitting with Shizune and Misha. After all, we'll be sitting right across from each other.
"Thank you, Daddy!"
"No need to thank me, love. Hurry up and finish packing so you can eat some breakfast before we head to the airport, okay?"
"Yes sir!"
She gives me a little salute as I head out of her room and into the kitchen, fairly large in size. I begin to prepare a platter of food: eggs, toast and tea among other things. My focus isn't on food though, as I find myself wandering off into the beautiful ocean landscapes that my head seems to be dreaming of.
I grin to myself.
I'm ready to spend some quality time with my family. It's not something I get to do extremely often, barring weekends, but that's not even close to enough time. This trip is going to be just that; an entire week of spending time with my family and basically my two closest friends.
As I pile all of the various foods onto a big dish, I set them out onto the table. Perfectly timed, Hanako and Miyuki step out of the hall and over to the table, taking their places.
"This looks wonderful, Hisao."
"Yeah Daddy, why don't you cook more often?"
I see Hanako cringe a bit out of the corner of my eye, making me feel a bit embarrassed. I do enjoy cooking, and may be pretty good at it, but Hanako sort of assumed the chef role in the family. I think Miyuki may have offended her a bit, but I'm hoping that it wasn't intentional.
"Well, your mother makes better food than I do, so let's just leave it at that."
Once again, I can see Hanako blushing, her smile radiant as ever. She stammers a bit, attempting to come up with a reasonable response to downplay the compliment, but it seems to be a lost cause. She eventually gives up and settles for taking a sip from her cup of tea.
The rest of our breakfast really goes by uneventully, everyone seemingly in their own separate state of thought. Before I know it, the clock is hitting 7:30, and it's about time to hit the road for the fairly long drive to the airport.
As the three of us exit our home with plenty of luggage in tow, I can't help but feel an immediate sense of excitement as soon as I turn the keys in the ignition.
I'm ready to get this show on the road.
----------
I begin to tap my foot impatiently.
Sometimes, I like the fact that Misha is a heavy sleeper. It let's me get up early for work when I need to without waking her up.
Other times, such as today, it's a pain in the ass.
She rolls over, pulling covers over top of her torso. She whips her hands out, not even bothering to open her eyes, and signs towards me.
[Come on, Shizune. Just five more minutes, please!]
I grin villainously. With one swift motion, I rip the covers off of her body, leaving her shivering in her tanktop and underwear. Her eyes finally peel open, blinking furiously as they adjust to the morning light.
She sits herself upright, yawning and looking disappointed, her arms wrapping around her chest to savor some warmth.
I cross my arms over my chest, tapping my foot and giving her an evil glare.
This is how all of our weekend mornings go, only this time we're actually in a bit of a rush to get somewhere.
That somewhere happens to be the beach.
And to be quite honest, I would much rather be at the beach at this very moment than be holed up for the weekend at home, even if I have to go hop on a plane to get to my destination.
She yawns again.
[Why can't you ever let me sleep in?]
She gives me a downcast look, a frown spanning across her face. Why does she always have to make me feel so bad when I just want her to kick it in gear?
I walk over and hop in bed with her, resting my head on her chest as I wrap my arms around her waist. Peeking up, her cheeks have flushed to a bright shade of red, her eyes wide as she looks down at me. I unwrap my arms from her for a moment to sign.
[I can't give you an excuse for other weekends, but it's time for vacation. After all, don't you want to spend some time with your lovely girlfriend?]
Her cheeks darken even more. Girlfriend has always been an awkward term between the two of us, and it's quite an easy way to con her into doing whatever I want her to do.
A simple reminder that she's got something she wanted for a very long time is always enough to make her listen to me.
[Well, I guess you make a good point...]
She drops her hands a bit as she finishes signing, one of them finding its way to my face. She picks my head up to meet hers as she, disappointingly, places a kiss on the tip of my nose.
Why must she always try and get revenge on me?
Her body begins to shake as she laughs at my dissatisfied look, to which I glare at her face.
Once she notices how I'm upset with her, she magically solves the issue with one simple peck on the lips. As we part, she grins at me and bounces out of our bed, heading towards the bedroom door. She stops in her tracks as she's about to pass through the doorway, turning and facing me.
She looks slightly angry, and I have a feeling it's going to be directed at me.
She must have seen the clock in the hallway.
[Shizune, it's freaking 6:30 in the morning! We don't have to even leave for the airport for another three and a half hours!]
She visually lets out a groan of frustration, her arms crossing as she puts on a pouty face. I attempt to hide my laughter, but that goes quite horribly. My entire body is shaking as I practically roll around on the bed.
I've told her more than once - probably running up around a thousand times now - that we don't sleep late in the Hakamichi household. It's a bad habit, and while ample rest is a good thing, it's such a waste of precious daylight to sleep until late in the morning.
[You know well that we don't sleep in.]
As I begin to regain control of myself, I notice that she's looking a good bit sad.
[What's wrong?]
[Maybe I just like sleeping next to you, but you always have to cut that feeling short...]
Ouch.
That's a pretty painful shot to my heart. I can feel my mood immediately drop as her hands do, and I can say it's definitely not a pleasant feeling.
[After all this time, is that really the reason why you like to sleep in on our days off?]
[Yes.]
[So you would rather be asleep than awake and actually doing something with me?]
She starts to sign, but drops her hands for a moment, her face looking like it has entered a deep state of thought. One of the main reasons I find myself always getting up early because I want to actually get something done, with the option to wind down and do something small - like watching a movie or having a glass or two of wine - open at the end of the day.
Those small, cheesy things are the types of things I enjoy doing with her around. If we don't get up early, than how would we ever have time for them?
[Remember, Misha. When you get up early, we get things done earlier. That's how we always have time to relax and do little things. You know, like your favorite little cuddling sessions we have almost every night?]
Her cheeks once again light up, drawing an evil grin to my face.
Chalk one victory up for me on the day.
[I guess you're right. But you're always right, so why do I bother?]
Maybe I was counting my chickens a bit to early there.
I search her face for a hint of sarcasm, but I can't find it. It just looks horrible rejected, and that basically sends me into a state of panic.
I didn't mean it like that! I try my best to give her an equal amount of power in our relationship...
Am I really that controlling?
She turns to walk out the door, but I'm not going to let that happen. I bounce up at the speed of light, practically tackling her from behind as I wrap my arms around her waist. She turns to face me, her eyes looking distant.
[Misha, you know that's not true. I'm never right, so don't take everything I say so literally. Just take whatever I say for now on and tuck it into the back of your head, okay?]
She grins, a hint of laughter emanating from her body as it begins to shake a bit.
Oh, you bitch.
After she notices my confused look, she begins to laugh even harder, attempting to sign as she is practically bent in half, attempting to regain her breath.
[You really thought I was being serious? Shicchan, I think you're the one who needs to lighten up a bit here!]
She winks at me as she heads out into the hallway, leaving me in a stunned state. Before she takes off towards the bathroom, the stops in her tracks and faces me for a brief moment.
[You know I never let you win that easy.]
I glare at her.
[Fine. Go get ready so we can be looking sharp for our plane ride. Also, because of your rude nature this morning, I'm beginning to rethink the idea of having our weekly cuddling session on the beach.]
She pouts and protests like a child.
[So not fair! You know you want to, and I will make sure it happens before we leave, you be god damn sure of that!]
She finally turns and stomps off down the hallway, as I watch her hips swing back and forth with each step.
A competitive grin forms on my face.
Challenge accepted, little Miss Misha.
I toss on some nice fitting clothing, presentable yet comfortable enough for the plane ride to the United States. Hisao and I sort of planned this trip behind the scenes for quite a few months; he said he was getting overly tired of working and not spending time with Hanako and Miyuki, so we decided on a week long vacation to a private beach.
While it is quite a trip just go to a private beach, money isn't an issue. After all, Misha and I are both in a partnership with our technology distribution company. The money we make from that is...
Well, let's say it's more than enough.
Anyways, I'm excited about the trip, probably on par with Hisao. He talked to me almost all of the week up to today, trying to make little plans ahead of time as to what we could do while we're there, but I've told him it'd be easier to just play it as it comes. I think spending some time with Hanako and him will be very nice, as they're easily two of the most important people in my life, as well as Misha's.
Oh, and that's not to forget Miyuki.
That child is an absolute angel, and I love spending any time I can manage with her. It's a bit difficult communicating, as she doesn't quite grasp the idea that I can't hear anything, but Misha being around makes everything quite a bit easier.
Not to mention, she loves the kid to death as well.
I can still remember when she started referring to the two of us as Aunt Misha and Aunt Shizune.
Considering the... issues, I guess you would say, I have with my family due to being in love with Misha, that's probably the closest I'll ever be to being referred to as an aunt.
I frown as my heart sinks a bit, but is picked up a bit as Misha returns to the room, drying her hair with a towel as she's only dressed in her bra and a pair of underwear.
Most people would get off at such a sight, but I'll be completely honest: I don't feel much of a sexual attraction to her. I still think it's a nice sight, of course, but it's not one of those things that I'm going to go absolutely nuts over.
I like to think of my attraction to her more of a romantic one than anything else.
Shaking my head for a moment, I reach into her drawer and pull out some reasonable clothing, tossing them in her direction. She pouts when the buttondown shirt smacks her in the face, catching her off guard.
[What's the rush? We've still got a good two and a half hours before we need to get out of here.]
[There is no rush, you just need to stop trying to show off your body to me and get ready to head to the airport.]
I grin. Yet another solid shot at her, as she begins to blush and awkwardly stumble to pick up the clothing that lay at her feet.
[I'm not trying to show off my body. Why would I need to when I already know that you like what you see?]
She's gotten quite good at rattling off witty comebacks, but I'm prepared this time.
[Oh please, I'd much rather stare at myself after waking up than at you in your underwear.]
She gives me an angry look as she stomps her foot on the ground. My grin stays solid as she begins to look upset, crossing her arms.
This has become a daily ritual for the two of us. We take shots at each other back and forth multiple times a day, but we both know it's in good fun.
After a moment, her anger seems to give way to dejection, which isn't the most pleasant thing to have to fight through. She looks down at her body, surveying her chest and waist before stepping over to our tall mirror, taking a good look at her rear. After a moment of evaluation, she finally turns back to me, looking down at the floor.
[You're right. I am pretty disgusting to look at, aren't I?]
Bad.
This is bad and not what I wanted to lead into right now, seeing as she's already fairly self-conscious about her weight and body image. She's not even fat, and in fact, has probably lost enough weight to be considered slim at this point in time.
I step forward and act as if I'm going through a checklist while staring her body up and down, making the motion of drawing a check-mark.
[Nope. Actually, according to this checklist I have right here, you're actually extremely beautiful.]
I move beside her and show her the invisible list before she takes me into an embrace, which is slightly awkward. She leans in and gives me a kiss right on the lips, adding to the very strange feeling of her being almost completely naked. I squrim around a bit and pull away from the kiss.
I can feel my cheeks burning as she gives me a toothy smile, making me feel all the more embarrassed.
[Get dressed. We need to stop on the way to the airport so we can get Miyuki a toy for the trip.]
----------
The three of us finish clearing security and the like, making our way to Terminal A, Gate 12 of Haneda. As we reach our gate, I take a quick look at my watch, realizing we've still got about fourty minutes to spare before we begin boarding.
As I flop down into a seat with my laptop, taking advantage of some free internet, Hanako runs after Miyuki, who seems to be running for a magazine stand.
I sigh.
We really do spoil her a lot. That might be something that the two of us need to work on limiting in the near future. I can see that there's some toys hanging from the stand, but a little glare from a pair of glasses on a girl standing by the stall draws my attention more than those.
Oh. So she wasn't chasing after toys then.
A short distance away, I can hear a booming 'Wahaha~' from their location. She must have spotted Shizune and Misha before Hanako or myself did. I close the lid to my laptop and stand up from my seat, strolling over to where they all are.
Shizune is already holding Miyuki by the time I get over to them, Misha standing beside her with a big grin on her face.
"I see my daughter has already abandoned her poor mother and father for you two." I playfully act as if I'm hurt, even though deep down inside I am a little bit. Misha and Shizune are practically Miyuki's best friends, as she loves spending time at their house when Hanako and I have a date night.
Shizune puts Miyuki down and reaches into her backpack, pulling out a fluffy yellow bee.
Well, it would appear that Hanako and I aren't the only people spoiling our daughter.
Shizune kneels down and puts it in her hands, offering her a bright smile as Miyuki stands and stares at it, looking as if she had just been given a gift from an angel. She jumps forward and wraps her arms around Shizune, which is fairly satisfying scene.
I put my arm around Hanako's shoulders as we both watch the two hug, two equally large smiles perched on our faces.
Shizune finally breaks the hug and stands up as Miyuki walks back to Hanako's side, surveying the stuffed toy from every angle. She finally seems to come to the decision that it is a worthwhile toy and clutches it against her chest, her face glowing as she hugs it. Shizune adjusts her glasses and signs to Misha.
"So Hicchan, are you ready for our little vacation?"
"More than you could ever imagine." I pull Hanako closer to my, her head resting against my shoulder. "I think spending some time with my favorite four ladies was in order sooner rather than later."
"Well, soon enough, we'll all be enjoying the great sun and cool waters of the beach!~" Misha isn't quite able to contain her excitement as she bounces up and down a little, reminding me a bit of her old self.
She has changed a lot in terms of maturity. But, that girly, childish edge to her personality has generally managed to stay around.
"I'm just ready to lay down on the beach and read a good book..." Hanako tosses out a random statement, apparently off in her own little dream world. Misha bellows out another laugh, teasing Hanako a bit.
"Hanako, you always have to be the boring one of the bunch don't you?" Hanako stammers a bit as she tries to find words to respond with, her face flushing red and her eyes looking down at the floor.
Misha and Shizune giggle a bit at the scene, and I find myself massaging her shoulders a bit to reassure her that they're just teasing her.
"I-I'm not that boring..." She trails off, her voice sounding a bit hurt. Misha walks over and wraps her up in a hug, something she has a tendency to use in almost every situation she needs it to calm someone down.
"I'm just kidding with you, Hanako. Here, why don't we go get some drinks for the ride? I'm sure Shizune and Hisao have something of importance to talk about, as always!~" Her voice lessens in volume as the distance between the two of them and us increases. Miyuki sprints off after the two of them, calling after Hanako that she was thirsty and wants some juice.
Misha didn't translate the last part of the conversation, so Shizune is pretty much standing beside me looking confused. She pulls out a notebook and pen from her backpack as we head over to the seats by our gate.
She passes me the notebook, giving me a curious glance.
[They just went to grab some drinks for the plane ride. You as ready to get to the beach as I am?]
She grins, a competitive shine to her smile.
[I'm ready, but don't think you're a hot shot just because you get to show your chest off to three adult women.]
I can feel my cheeks burning. God damn, sometimes her competitiveness can be quite frustrating, and this is certainly one of those times.
[I'm only going to be showing it off to one, thank you very much. You're going to be too glued to Misha's rear end to notice, after all.]
Her head rears back and she shoots me an angry glance, scribbling furiously in response.
[You know we're not really like that.]
I give her an evil smirk as I write.
[What do you mean not 'really' like that?]
She looks as if she could snap that pen in half while ripping my head off in one swift motion. I think this may be the first time in a while I've won a little teasing war with her. She writes and scribbles out a bunch of words, before finally settling on a one word response.
[Asshole.]
She crosses her arms and looks away from me and I continue to smirk at her. Seems like I've finally won a battle against her, which is probably the first and last time I will for a very long time.
[Hey, you know I'm just kidding. I'm sure you're excited to spend some time with her though, aren't you?]
Her face flushes a red color, her handwriting becoming a bit shaky.
[Obviously. Not to mention, I actually do enjoy spending time with the you two and your daughter, as much as you may not believe that.]
I glare at her. Is she trying to say that I don't believe her when she says she likes to spend some time with us?
She knows better than that.
[You know damn well that I believe you. We're practically family, Shizune, don't act like we hate you or something. Hanako has literally said you're like a sister that she never had, even after all of that stuff you two went through in high school. You're more important to the two of us, not to mention Miyuki than you think.]
Her downcast eyes light up as her blush continues to linger. In the light from the windows beside us, a ray of light catches my eye coming from her finger. I wave my hand in front of her to keep her from writing more and get her attention, before raising my eyebrow and her and pointing at the gem on her finger.
Her faces looks like as if it could melt.
I take the pen and notebook away from her for a moment, although not without a little bit of a struggle.
[Did Misha buy you a ring?]
It must literally be brand new. I saw her just last weekend and she didn't have it, I know that for a fact. She sits relatively motionless for a few moments, apparently in a state of thought. She writes for a good minute or so before shoving the pen and notebook back towards me, turning her head away from me.
[She said she had saved up a good amount of money privately to buy it for me. She said that she knows we can never get married, but that she wanted the ring to represent her want to stay with me for the rest of her life. Obviously, big scene happened along with some, well, other things, but that's beside the point. She basically asked me to marry her without us ever going to officially be together in that way, and I accepted. It's a bit of a strange scenario, I'll explain it some night that we have some time to talk on the trip, okay?]
Before I can write anything in reponse, she grabs the pen and paper away from me. I'm confused for a split second, but then I realize that Hanako, Misha and Miyuki are returning with our drinks. Hanako sets a warm cup down in my hands, which I instinctively take in the aroma coming from it.
French vanilla coffee, a personal favorite.
I smile at her.
"Thank you, darling." She smiles and takes her seat beside me, just as Misha flops into an empty seat beside Shizune. Miyuki crawls up into my lap, looking quite drained.
Serves her right for getting up so early.
Over the next half hour or so, only some idle talk is done. Some random conversations about beaches and vacations, as well as rambling about work and all of the frustrations that come along with that subject. Before I know it, I can hear our flight being called for boarding. The five of us stand up with our carry on baggage in tow.
I'm more than ready for this.
We head off into the connector and find our seats once we actually enter the plane, Miyuki jumping into the seat between Misha and Shizune. Shizune turns and gives me and apologetic look, but I wave it off.
"Hisao, are you sure you're okay with Miyuki sitting with us?" Misha asks, although she sounds quite happy about the whole scenario. I give her a smile, recalling Miyuki asking if it was okay earlier in the morning. Hanako seems a bit confused, so I figure I'll answer Misha's question for the both of them.
"She asked me this morning if she could, and I said that'd be fine. Don't worry about it."
"Okay!~"
Feeling a wave of exhaustion hit me, I grab Hanako's hand for a bit of comfort. Looking at her face, she looks a bit tense, and I can't help but be worried.
"Are you okay?"
She gives me a shy smile, as if she's embarrassed that I caught her looking scared.
"You know I'm not a big fan of h-heights. Just promise you'll hold my hand during takeoff?"
I smile and lean in, planting a kiss on her lips. I can feel a smile form on her lips about half way through, a sense of calmness overcoming me. We break apart as the flight attendant comes on the speaker and explains all of the emergency guidelines, which basically goes in one ear and out the other. Before we know it, the pilot is talking to us and welcoming us aboard the airliner.
Within a few moments, the plane is rolling down the runway, and as we hit the end, Hanako's hand squeezes mine for dear life.
"It's okay. Just close your eyes and don't think about it." I can see her visibly gulp, but her muscles seem to be relaxing a bit, as does her death grip on my hand.
Soon enough, we're leveled off, and heading off into the distance for a week of relaxation and excitement.