FicWad

Chapter 2

Takamiya Katsura sat alone at the keyboard of the grand piano in the huge living room of Aoe Reiji's mansion softly playing Auld Lang Syne while outside fireworks exploded in fountains of green, red, and yellow fire.

The fireworks, the private nature of the party and the presence of generous amounts of alcohol had erased the inhibitions of some of the more cosmopolitan guests. Men and women, even men and men were celebrating, some with sparklers and cries of happy new year, others in shadowed corners with discreet kisses and embraces.

The tune could barely be heard over the shouts of joy in the room, but many guests were unfamiliar with the song in any case. In truth, Takamiya was playing it more for himself than for anyone else.

"Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?"

His first thoughts were bitter ones of Julian, but as his fingers moved over the keyboard, he recalled the last time he played the song at an impromptu party at the bed and breakfast he had stayed at with Shiki, when he was a student in England.

Aoe Reiji had moved in with them by that time and joined them in that simple New Year's Eve party for three.

It was such a cold winter. Snowed in, they had made their own fun that night. Shiki put on a magic show dazzling Aoe with his sleight of hand. They had played a fractured version of Charades in Japanese and English that had them all laughing hard because Shiki was such a tease, and Reiji, usually so fiercely competitive, cracked up even when he lost that night.

How many years ago was it now? Five? That night, Takamiya had been seated at the old upright piano with Shiki beside him waving his hands like an orchestra conductor prompting him to play "Auld Lang Syne". Resistance was futile. Irrepressible Shiki threw an arm around him as he played.. Reiji, happy and demonstrative that night embraced Shiki.

"Group hug!" Shiki cried out. "Friends forever! Let's be friends forever!"

They toasted to their friendship with sake in wine glasses. After swallowing the contents, Shiki spontaneously smashed his glass in the fireplace declaring, "Just like the movies! I've always wanted to do that!"

Takamiya and Aoe followed suit, as if by doing so, they were bearing witness to an unbreakable oath as they repeated in unison, "Friends forever!"

.Not eight months later, Aoe was back in Japan, Shiki was dead and Takamiya, stricken by the loss, was still working towards his degree.

"Should old acquaintance be forgot and the days of auld lang syne?"

Shiki's death had been painful for both of them Aoe buried himself in work. Takamiya, too put his social life on hiatus and threw himself into research on his thesis as an antidote to sorrow.,

Against the odds of separation by time and distance, the friendship had not only survived Shiki's death, but grown stronger.

Whenever Takamiya thought of the ideal couple he thought of the bond that Shiki and Reiji had shared. It made him feel the lack in his own life which is why he wanted something more than the succession of one-night stands he'd favored as a care-free student.

When Shiki died, Takamiya lost his closest family member, and for the first time since his parents died, felt truly orphaned and alone.

After almost a year of mourning, he fell in love with a fellow student, who was also working towards a degree in English. Lulled into happiness by Julian's continued assurances of love and affection, when his lover's family pressured him into breaking off the relationship, it hit Takamiya with the force of a blind-sided blow.

It was true that in life there was always the possibility of death of loved ones and betrayal, but also the possibility of true love.

Memories of Shiki were sweet, despite the pain of loss.

"For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne..."

He had no wish to forget those days. There had been too many good times. There would be good times again. He was sure of it. He felt the stirring of the spirit of the New Year within him.

"This year. This year, I will come out of my shell," he vowed quietly. "I will put aside grief and look for love. Love is waiting for me, I know it."

"We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne."

In that moment he looked up and caught Reiji's eye as his friend, the host of the party, was disengaging himself from the too tight kiss of a trophy blonde of the type he seemed to favor in the years after Shiki's death.

As he played the last chords of the song, Reiji slid in to sit beside him on the piano bench. Takamiya caught a glimpse of frosty disapproval from Reiji's possessive blonde.

"Happy New Year, Katsura."

"Same to you, Reiji."

"I had hoped you would have fun at my party, not spend the entire time moping in corners by yourself."

"Oh, come on. You think I was moping? How could I? It's a great party. The food was wonderful and the fireworks were stupendous. I was just thinking about my plans for the new year."

"I heard the song you were playing. You were thinking about Shiki."

"True," said Takamiya.

"I haven't forgotten him either, you know," said Reiji as he reached in his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. Takamiya supplied him with a light, and his friend exhaled his first drag with a sigh. "I never will."

"Friends forever," murmured Takamiya.

"Friends' forever," echoed Aoe.

After a pause, he said, "Kiichi told me that Julian is history, Katsura. I was sorry to hear that. Every time you have a setback like that you wear yourself out working too hard. That's why you got sick."

"That's funny, coming from you, the king of overwork. In any case, I'm over Julian. It's been months now."

"Kiichi told me he had to confiscate your dictionary, so you'd rest."

"I need that back, by the way," Takamiya chuckled.

"It's good to see you laughing again. Maybe you are over Julian, but I hated to see you looking so dull."

"I guess I wasn't the life of the party, was I?"

"I had hoped to introduce you to a guest that Kiichi swears would be perfect for you, but as it was, the person he invited got sick with flu and couldn't be here."

"And, so instead, I was forced to listen to the dullest intellectual chatter about the new wave minimalist art and its reflection of deconstructionism and a correlation with fractal theory. You thought I looked dull? You're lucky I'm not dead of boredom.

"But you're an intellectual, Takamiya. It couldn't have been that bad, was it?"

"I can play the game with the best, but truth to tell, I enjoy magic tricks and silly charades much more than hanging out with a bunch of people with nothing better to do than trying to impress each other."

"That was one of Mirella's friends. Kiichi saw how things were going and stepped in and rescued you."

"Was my distress that obvious?"

"No, Kiichi has a sixth sense and I told him to keep an eye out for you."

"So that's why he swept in.. I guess I owe your older brother another one. First the Nyquil, and then rescued from wild bores.

"Not to mention his attempt to play Cupid.

"It's nice of him to go to the trouble, but maybe I'm better off throwing myself into my work."

"Shiki wanted me to look after you. He wouldn't want you turning into a hermit."

"That's the nature of translation. There's not a lot of scope for socializing, but I have a very good working relationship with my editor. We've been faxing several times a week for months," he said in a humorous tone. "It's a long-term relationship."

"Must be true love then, eh, Katsura?"

"You're mocking me, Reiji."

"Just a little."

The glacial blonde came over to tug at Aoe's sleeve.

"I think I'd like to go home," she said.

"I thought you were staying over."

"I might need some persuading now," she said. It was clear from her tone that she was annoyed about something.

"It's all right, Reiji, go ahead," said Takamiya.

"I can send you home in the limo, Mirella," Aoe said coolly, "or you can wait until I finish my conversation and I can take you home myself."

"I'll wait, then," she said with a cold look at Takamiya.

"Must be true love, eh?" said Katsura as the blonde drifted off. "Shiki also wanted me to look after you."

He paused a moment and looked at his friend closely. "Are you really happy with her, Reiji?"

Reiji looked away as he brought the cigarette to his lips for another drag.

"Well, it's... something...at any rate, and don't change the subject. I've gotten on with my life. I've got a steady girl friend. Life is so short, Katsura. Another year is starting. Don't let life pass you by."

Takamiya smiled, "Don't worry about me. I'll find someone this year. That's my resolution."

"You promise? No one sticks to New Year's resolutions. You know that."

"Well, if I haven't found someone by spring, you can take matters into your own hands. How about that, Reiji?"

"All right, but I'm holding you to it."