Categories > Anime/Manga > Gravitation
Author: Vialia
Disclaimer: I do not own "Gravitation" and I don't make any monetary profit from using its characters.
Written for GMM fanfic/fanart exchange: genesisgrey's request: I want a fanfic centering around Mika.
Author's Note: Working on anything other than Yuki/Shu is new to me, but I've wanted to write something different for a while now. I hope you like what I came up with. I couldn't help but drag Tohma into this too...
Beta: Renarowe. Thank you for taking time to proofread this story.
Concrit: Full.
Tohma's Office
"Thanks Eiri," Mika said sarcastically once her brother answered the phone. "...for nothing." She added, her tone soaked with severity.
The next second Mika threw her cell phone on the white fur couch, not bothering to hear his response or to turn off the phone. She stomped out of the living room, barely escaping a collision with the always silent butler in the doorway who brought her the drink she had asked for a moment ago.
"I don't want to be disturbed unless it's my husband." Mika said, taking the drink. "Tohma's plane will land in about two hours," she informed, keeping her anger at bay as best as she could. "Please make sure to have curry rice prepared, in case he's hungry. That's all, thank you." The mistress of the house walked away with those words.
All the way back from Kyoto she tried to calm herself down and face the truth: Eiri was just an egoistic person who didn't give a damn about his family or its honor. She shouldn't have put so much hope in his promise to stay longer at the annual family gathering and then maybe she wouldn't have been so disappointed. Mika smirked darkly, remembering the words Eiri's spoke before shutting his car door and driving off:
"You should be satisfied. I stayed about twenty minutes longer than last year."
The words echoed in her mind the whole way back to Tokyo. And the two speeding tickets she got along the way only fueled her anger more. At that moment, all she could think of was strangling Eiri for everything he put her through.
Mika stopped in front of the marble stairs leading up to the second floor and while slowly sipping her drink she pondered going to lie down. She felt tired from taking care of all the guests for two days and from the long drive back from Kyoto, but she was more exhausted mentally. After all, Eiri let her down once again. Granted, he came to the family temple this morning and it was better than not showing up at all, but damn, he was supposed to come to Kyoto yesterday and stay until this evening, not leave after only three hours like he did...
Deciding against the comfy bedroom, Mika walked down the hallway towards the room she always went to when she felt troubled and distressed. She quietly opened the thick wooden door, greeted by nothing but darkness and silence. Knowing perfectly where to reach, she stretched her free hand to turn on the light.
It was one of her favorite rooms in their big house even though it had the least of her touches. The creamy walls were hidden by wooden shelves and the numerous books on them, giving way only for a couple of expensive landscape paintings. Mika stepped in, taking her time to approach the broad mahogany desk. Over the years the room hadn't changed much. There were more books on the shelves and there were two couches now instead of one, but that's it. She brushed her fingers along the smooth surface of the desk when she came up to it. Only a couple of documents were laid there, neatly put on the two corners of the desk, along with a silver pen and a lamp. She smiled warmly, Tohma was always orderly, no matter what. That was one of the things Mika loved about him.
She turned around and leaned against the desk. She supported the arm that held the glass with her free one and quietly sipped her drink while looking around. Every corner of the big room could be seen from this position: a leather couch, coffee table and a couple of arm-chairs on the right - that's where Tohma carried out negotiations with his business clients on rare occasions when he worked at home, and a black grand piano on the left where her husband played when something was troubling him or on rare occasions when she requested it.
Mika smiled at the silly thought that the second couch situated near the piano was bought only for her comfort. At the beginning of their marriage, when she "was learning to appreciate the piano", as Tohma had described it, she would stand leaning on the piano or sit beside him sharing the same piano chair and admire him while he played. But now, for the last couple of years, she could enjoy the music while lying on the couch.
Sometimes she would even fall asleep, swept away by his soft, relaxing music and would wake up with a blanket covering her a few hours later. Usually when she woke up, she would find her husband silently working behind his desk. Tohma never left her sleeping alone in the office, he always patiently waited for her to wake up. Every now and then Mika lightly reproached him for not taking care of his own health properly, but her husband was too stubborn to listen.
She pushed herself from the desk and approached the grand piano. Over the years, she had quickly learned to discern what Tohma felt just from listening to him play. He was so good at transferring his emotions into music and she was good at reading them. Sometimes Mika asked him to play something soothing so she could forget everything that was bothering her at the time. Tohma never declined her requests, probably because she never asked him to play without a good reason.
Taking another sip of her drink, she placed the half empty glass on the piano and opened the black, polished lid. Oh, how she wished Tohma was here to play something relaxing for her now. She was still upset about Eiri, even though she tried to force herself not to think about him or their home in Kyoto. Who knows? Maybe if Tohma would have accompanied her to the family gathering, he would've succeeded in persuading Eiri to come a day earlier and stay longer. Sometimes her husband was the only one who managed to affect her brother's irresponsible behavior. If only her husband could've delayed his business trip.
She pressed a couple of keys softly, the harmonic sounds instantly echoing through the room. Mi and Sol, then Sol and Do... In the beginning, Tohma had taught her little tiny bits of music, but she quickly gave up, lacking the much needed patience to learn. She would sooner end up smashing the piano than learning to perform some simple composition. It just seemed too complicated for her to grasp all the small, yet significant details. Besides, she would never be half as good as her husband or "become one with the music" as Tohma liked to say.
Mika lay down on the couch, stretched out her legs, and straightened her short dark blue dress. She turned her head to the door as if expecting Tohma to enter the room and play for her. Naturally, no one came and she closed her eyes. Tohma wouldn't be back for another couple of hours and even then, he'd be tired. She would ask him to play something for her tomorrow. For the time being, Mika imagined her husband playing, something light and romantic, so she could forget the nightmare of the last two days.
Almost all the Uesugi relatives had congregated yesterday for the two-day gathering held every year. It had become a tradition. The only person who broke the tradition for four years in a row now and for no solid reason was Eiri. It was such an embarrassment to Mika and the rest of his immediate family, who always had to make up excuses for his absence or apologize for his sudden departure. That was one of the reasons their father didn't get along with Eiri.
At least he did show up for a couple of hours to attend the prayer ceremony for their mother and the dinner that followed. But after that, no matter how much she pleaded with Eiri to stay, he was adamant. Tatsuha didn't even bother trying to talk him into staying longer, already knowing it was a hopeless case. Mika vividly remembered every detail: when he showed up late, how she tried to reason with her brother to stay, how displeased their father was after his son left, how embarrassed she felt seeing the comforting smiles of her relatives... Stubborn Eiri...
She stirred as if trying to shake off the unpleasant thoughts and sighed when she felt the familiar soft blanket covering her. Opening her eyes, Mika grasped the warm material, trying to figure out how it got there when it wasn't there a moment ago.
A faint, barely audible shuffle of papers caught her attention. Hesitating, she sat up slightly and turned her head to glance back over the couch.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Tohma inquired, his gentle smile greeting her warmly. She blinked for a second, watching him put some documents into the desk drawers. He was back so soon?.. No, unlikely, Mika reasoned. She must've fallen asleep after she closed her eyes.
"No, you didn't wake me." Mika responded. "When did you get back?" she asked, sitting up straight. She was starting to fold the blanket when her husband answered.
"A little more than two hours ago." He said calmly, closing the drawer and turning off the desk lamp. That meant she had slept for more than four hours in all. And he had waited for her to wake up on her own once again, even though he was probably more tired than she was.
"Tohma..." Mika looked at him accusingly. "You know you shouldn't have waited for me to wake up. You should have gone to sleep..." She furrowed her eyebrows from worry over his health.
"I know," her husband spoke evenly as he stood up. "Maybe another time." Mika shook her head in disbelief at the particular answer. It was always the same. She watched Tohma approach her until he was just a step away. "Let's go to bed then." He said, reaching out a hand towards her. Mika took it without wavering and stood up.
"How was your trip?" she asked after he gently kissed her.
"Successful, as expected." Tohma replied with a satisfied smile, tugging his wife towards the door by her waist. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be in Kyoto with you."
"I understand," she nodded. "You had a good reason, unlike Eiri. I swear, if he uses his "deadline" as an excuse again..." Mika didn't finish the sentence deliberately, deciding instead to stay silent. Her idiot brother aka Mister Always Busy Novelist had always annoyed her to death with his unreasonable behavior and she was sure he would definitely continue to irritate her in the future. "Tohma, please try to make it next year. It seems that now you're the only one whose opinion he respects and reconsiders. I'm sure he'll listen to you and will attend the gathering if you'll ask him to."
"I'll do what I can." Tohma replied before turning off the light and heading out of the room. He wasn't in the habit of making empty promises or getting people's hopes up. He didn't guarantee anything unless he was sure he could deliver it.
Eiri was trying to distance himself from everyone who cared about him while Mika was trying to do the opposite and bring them closer. She often said she wanted to see her dear brother's carefree smile again. In Tohma's opinion, the only problem was that Mika was quite impatient. She was always striving for the maximum result rather than being happy with small victories. She was expecting too much too soon.
"Did you bring something interesting for me from the Philippines?" Mika asked as they went upstairs.
Her husband chuckled. He was beginning to wonder when she would ask this question. It was a habit of his to bring her rare or interesting souvenirs from his trips.
"I did." Tohma answered curtly, knowing full well it would only tease his wife more. Besides, at least it would surely distract her thoughts from Eiri and Kyoto for a few moments.
"Well, what is it?" she prodded, curious.
"It's in my luggage. You'll have to wait a little longer to find out." He smiled.
"Tohma..." Mika dragged out his name, disappointment obvious in her voice.
END
Disclaimer: I do not own "Gravitation" and I don't make any monetary profit from using its characters.
Written for GMM fanfic/fanart exchange: genesisgrey's request: I want a fanfic centering around Mika.
Author's Note: Working on anything other than Yuki/Shu is new to me, but I've wanted to write something different for a while now. I hope you like what I came up with. I couldn't help but drag Tohma into this too...
Beta: Renarowe. Thank you for taking time to proofread this story.
Concrit: Full.
Tohma's Office
"Thanks Eiri," Mika said sarcastically once her brother answered the phone. "...for nothing." She added, her tone soaked with severity.
The next second Mika threw her cell phone on the white fur couch, not bothering to hear his response or to turn off the phone. She stomped out of the living room, barely escaping a collision with the always silent butler in the doorway who brought her the drink she had asked for a moment ago.
"I don't want to be disturbed unless it's my husband." Mika said, taking the drink. "Tohma's plane will land in about two hours," she informed, keeping her anger at bay as best as she could. "Please make sure to have curry rice prepared, in case he's hungry. That's all, thank you." The mistress of the house walked away with those words.
All the way back from Kyoto she tried to calm herself down and face the truth: Eiri was just an egoistic person who didn't give a damn about his family or its honor. She shouldn't have put so much hope in his promise to stay longer at the annual family gathering and then maybe she wouldn't have been so disappointed. Mika smirked darkly, remembering the words Eiri's spoke before shutting his car door and driving off:
"You should be satisfied. I stayed about twenty minutes longer than last year."
The words echoed in her mind the whole way back to Tokyo. And the two speeding tickets she got along the way only fueled her anger more. At that moment, all she could think of was strangling Eiri for everything he put her through.
Mika stopped in front of the marble stairs leading up to the second floor and while slowly sipping her drink she pondered going to lie down. She felt tired from taking care of all the guests for two days and from the long drive back from Kyoto, but she was more exhausted mentally. After all, Eiri let her down once again. Granted, he came to the family temple this morning and it was better than not showing up at all, but damn, he was supposed to come to Kyoto yesterday and stay until this evening, not leave after only three hours like he did...
Deciding against the comfy bedroom, Mika walked down the hallway towards the room she always went to when she felt troubled and distressed. She quietly opened the thick wooden door, greeted by nothing but darkness and silence. Knowing perfectly where to reach, she stretched her free hand to turn on the light.
It was one of her favorite rooms in their big house even though it had the least of her touches. The creamy walls were hidden by wooden shelves and the numerous books on them, giving way only for a couple of expensive landscape paintings. Mika stepped in, taking her time to approach the broad mahogany desk. Over the years the room hadn't changed much. There were more books on the shelves and there were two couches now instead of one, but that's it. She brushed her fingers along the smooth surface of the desk when she came up to it. Only a couple of documents were laid there, neatly put on the two corners of the desk, along with a silver pen and a lamp. She smiled warmly, Tohma was always orderly, no matter what. That was one of the things Mika loved about him.
She turned around and leaned against the desk. She supported the arm that held the glass with her free one and quietly sipped her drink while looking around. Every corner of the big room could be seen from this position: a leather couch, coffee table and a couple of arm-chairs on the right - that's where Tohma carried out negotiations with his business clients on rare occasions when he worked at home, and a black grand piano on the left where her husband played when something was troubling him or on rare occasions when she requested it.
Mika smiled at the silly thought that the second couch situated near the piano was bought only for her comfort. At the beginning of their marriage, when she "was learning to appreciate the piano", as Tohma had described it, she would stand leaning on the piano or sit beside him sharing the same piano chair and admire him while he played. But now, for the last couple of years, she could enjoy the music while lying on the couch.
Sometimes she would even fall asleep, swept away by his soft, relaxing music and would wake up with a blanket covering her a few hours later. Usually when she woke up, she would find her husband silently working behind his desk. Tohma never left her sleeping alone in the office, he always patiently waited for her to wake up. Every now and then Mika lightly reproached him for not taking care of his own health properly, but her husband was too stubborn to listen.
She pushed herself from the desk and approached the grand piano. Over the years, she had quickly learned to discern what Tohma felt just from listening to him play. He was so good at transferring his emotions into music and she was good at reading them. Sometimes Mika asked him to play something soothing so she could forget everything that was bothering her at the time. Tohma never declined her requests, probably because she never asked him to play without a good reason.
Taking another sip of her drink, she placed the half empty glass on the piano and opened the black, polished lid. Oh, how she wished Tohma was here to play something relaxing for her now. She was still upset about Eiri, even though she tried to force herself not to think about him or their home in Kyoto. Who knows? Maybe if Tohma would have accompanied her to the family gathering, he would've succeeded in persuading Eiri to come a day earlier and stay longer. Sometimes her husband was the only one who managed to affect her brother's irresponsible behavior. If only her husband could've delayed his business trip.
She pressed a couple of keys softly, the harmonic sounds instantly echoing through the room. Mi and Sol, then Sol and Do... In the beginning, Tohma had taught her little tiny bits of music, but she quickly gave up, lacking the much needed patience to learn. She would sooner end up smashing the piano than learning to perform some simple composition. It just seemed too complicated for her to grasp all the small, yet significant details. Besides, she would never be half as good as her husband or "become one with the music" as Tohma liked to say.
Mika lay down on the couch, stretched out her legs, and straightened her short dark blue dress. She turned her head to the door as if expecting Tohma to enter the room and play for her. Naturally, no one came and she closed her eyes. Tohma wouldn't be back for another couple of hours and even then, he'd be tired. She would ask him to play something for her tomorrow. For the time being, Mika imagined her husband playing, something light and romantic, so she could forget the nightmare of the last two days.
Almost all the Uesugi relatives had congregated yesterday for the two-day gathering held every year. It had become a tradition. The only person who broke the tradition for four years in a row now and for no solid reason was Eiri. It was such an embarrassment to Mika and the rest of his immediate family, who always had to make up excuses for his absence or apologize for his sudden departure. That was one of the reasons their father didn't get along with Eiri.
At least he did show up for a couple of hours to attend the prayer ceremony for their mother and the dinner that followed. But after that, no matter how much she pleaded with Eiri to stay, he was adamant. Tatsuha didn't even bother trying to talk him into staying longer, already knowing it was a hopeless case. Mika vividly remembered every detail: when he showed up late, how she tried to reason with her brother to stay, how displeased their father was after his son left, how embarrassed she felt seeing the comforting smiles of her relatives... Stubborn Eiri...
She stirred as if trying to shake off the unpleasant thoughts and sighed when she felt the familiar soft blanket covering her. Opening her eyes, Mika grasped the warm material, trying to figure out how it got there when it wasn't there a moment ago.
A faint, barely audible shuffle of papers caught her attention. Hesitating, she sat up slightly and turned her head to glance back over the couch.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Tohma inquired, his gentle smile greeting her warmly. She blinked for a second, watching him put some documents into the desk drawers. He was back so soon?.. No, unlikely, Mika reasoned. She must've fallen asleep after she closed her eyes.
"No, you didn't wake me." Mika responded. "When did you get back?" she asked, sitting up straight. She was starting to fold the blanket when her husband answered.
"A little more than two hours ago." He said calmly, closing the drawer and turning off the desk lamp. That meant she had slept for more than four hours in all. And he had waited for her to wake up on her own once again, even though he was probably more tired than she was.
"Tohma..." Mika looked at him accusingly. "You know you shouldn't have waited for me to wake up. You should have gone to sleep..." She furrowed her eyebrows from worry over his health.
"I know," her husband spoke evenly as he stood up. "Maybe another time." Mika shook her head in disbelief at the particular answer. It was always the same. She watched Tohma approach her until he was just a step away. "Let's go to bed then." He said, reaching out a hand towards her. Mika took it without wavering and stood up.
"How was your trip?" she asked after he gently kissed her.
"Successful, as expected." Tohma replied with a satisfied smile, tugging his wife towards the door by her waist. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be in Kyoto with you."
"I understand," she nodded. "You had a good reason, unlike Eiri. I swear, if he uses his "deadline" as an excuse again..." Mika didn't finish the sentence deliberately, deciding instead to stay silent. Her idiot brother aka Mister Always Busy Novelist had always annoyed her to death with his unreasonable behavior and she was sure he would definitely continue to irritate her in the future. "Tohma, please try to make it next year. It seems that now you're the only one whose opinion he respects and reconsiders. I'm sure he'll listen to you and will attend the gathering if you'll ask him to."
"I'll do what I can." Tohma replied before turning off the light and heading out of the room. He wasn't in the habit of making empty promises or getting people's hopes up. He didn't guarantee anything unless he was sure he could deliver it.
Eiri was trying to distance himself from everyone who cared about him while Mika was trying to do the opposite and bring them closer. She often said she wanted to see her dear brother's carefree smile again. In Tohma's opinion, the only problem was that Mika was quite impatient. She was always striving for the maximum result rather than being happy with small victories. She was expecting too much too soon.
"Did you bring something interesting for me from the Philippines?" Mika asked as they went upstairs.
Her husband chuckled. He was beginning to wonder when she would ask this question. It was a habit of his to bring her rare or interesting souvenirs from his trips.
"I did." Tohma answered curtly, knowing full well it would only tease his wife more. Besides, at least it would surely distract her thoughts from Eiri and Kyoto for a few moments.
"Well, what is it?" she prodded, curious.
"It's in my luggage. You'll have to wait a little longer to find out." He smiled.
"Tohma..." Mika dragged out his name, disappointment obvious in her voice.
END
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