Work Text:
Saturday, May 26, 2018
The doorbell rang, interrupting Ueno-san's hundredth repetition of 'What do you think about this cat?' in English. Professor Keita and I sighed with relief, but before I could get up and answer the door, Suzubishi-san rushed out of the kitchen, fixing both of us with a stare that clearly said lesson time was not over just because Yuki had arrived early. I frowned, resting my chin on my hand.
"Kasahara-san," Ueno-san tapped my textbook, unfazed by my scowl, "please repeat this sentence again."
I unconsciously straightened up at the steely command in her tone. If I hurried, Yuki wouldn't hear how bad I was. "Yes! Um... What do you think about this cat?" Even I could tell that I'd mangled the th sounds. Well, why the hell did English use the same letters for two completely different sounds?
"Hm, you're still pronouncing them the same way, and more like a za sound. And cat sounded more like cot that time. Please refocus and try again."
My face reddened as Yuki bounced through the door. "Hi, Suzubishi-san! I hope it's okay that I'm a little early. I stopped by my dad's bakery but it was really busy, so I couldn't hang around for long." He held up a large paper bag. "But I got some bread and pastries for everyone! Tomo, my mom saved some chocolate horns just for you!"
"Asahina-kun, they're still in the middle of their English lesson," Suzubishi-san gently reminded him. "Why don't you join me in the kitchen? I'm making some cookies."
Yuki forgot about the bag of pastries instantly, lured by the promise of a new snack. He obediently followed to the kitchen, chattering all the way. "Oh, so that's why you're wearing that cute apron! The blue bear on it reminds me of Panda-san! And what kind of cookies are you making? That dough looks good..."
Suzubishi-san must have shushed Yuki again, because his voice faded to a low murmur. Ueno-san's smile was a little strained as she motioned for me to repeat the sentence again. I'd noticed that she wasn't great at dealing with distractions during her lessons, which made me wonder just why she'd agreed to work with us. Apparently she knew Suzubishi-san well, so she had to know that he was kind of a busybody when it came to anything involving Professor Keita. She was probably getting paid a ridiculous amount of money to put up with it.
I repeated the sentence, trying to move my tongue the way Ueno-san had demonstrated, but it was useless. How could I copy a sound that I couldn't even hear correctly? For the first time since starting extra lessons, I was starting to feel like I might not be able to do what was expected.
Ueno-san must have sensed my frustration, her smile sympathetic as she wrote some notes in her planner. "Don't be discouraged, Kasahara-san, the th sounds are very difficult for speakers of Japanese. There are some listening exercises on the CD that came with your textbook, and I'm making a note to send you some additional recordings. I recommend listening to them over and over with good focus, which will help your mind absorb the proper pronunciation."
"Should I repeat it while listening?"
"No, for this week, just listen carefully without repeating. It's better to hear the proper sounds than to get in the habit of saying it incorrectly. Please wait to practice with me."
From the kitchen, I heard Yuki's hushed but excited voice, something about being good at English. Well, Yuki had mentioned wanting to learn too, though he didn't really have a reason other than a vague feeling that it would be good to know. Which was true, but if he didn't need to learn, there wasn't really a point in going through all the trouble...
"The Smiths wear thin clothing throughout the winter months," Suzubishi-san said, quite loudly and without even the faintest trace of an accent. It was the annoying sentence he'd been repeating to us as an example ever since we'd started working on the th sound.
"Wow, amazing!" I could just imagine the starstruck look on Yuki's face.
Professor Keita rolled his eyes and muttered, "What a show-off. Anyone who moved to America as a kid and lived there for ten years would be good at English."
"Ito-san, please remember to speak in English only during our lessons."
For a moment, I thought he was going to object, but then his expression grew set. "Okay. You suck, Kazuki," he said, in what sounded like perfect English to me.
Ueno-san hid her smile behind her hand. "Well, I suppose that is English. Now, how about trying the exercise? Please repeat after me..."
I tried not to let my mind wander, but I was distracted by Yuki's voice. He sounded awfully chipper for someone who had spent the past few days whining about how his boyfriend was going to be away until late Saturday night and what was he going to do on the weekend? Then again, he'd perked up immediately when I'd suggested coming over to hang out with us. The world was finally back to normal now that the wall between us was gone. Sure, it was kind of weird to know all of Yuki's personal business - and by extension, Professor Sakaki's - but that was a small price to pay to have Yuki's full trust and confidence again.
"Hey, Suzubishi-san, you should try adding a little extra flour to the dough next time. My dad says that's the secret for the best chocolate chip cookies."
"Hmm, are you sure you should be giving me your father's trade secrets, Asahina-kun? You do remember that Suzubishi has a foods division and one of our main lines is cookies."
"Um..." Yuki sounded kind of concerned. I tried not to laugh.
Suzubishi-san didn't bother to hold back his laughter. "Don't worry, Asahina-kun, I'm not going to steal your father's secrets, except maybe for my own personal use. I'll leave the recipe development to the food scientists and testing panels. Then they can sell it in America as the perfect chocolate chip cookie, backed by cutting-edge scientific research and double-blind trials!"
"Haha, I'm not sure what you just said, but it sounded really impressive! Say something else!"
Man, it was almost annoying how easily Yuki got along with everyone. After the initial awkwardness of their first meeting, he'd been blabbing away to Suzubishi-san without hesitation every time he visited, like they were old friends. Of course he was respectful, but he wasn't nervous. It probably helped that Suzubishi-san enjoyed playing at domestic normalcy and that he was used to hanging around with high school students. Then again, Yuki had never seen his business side, a serious adult personality backed by confidence and experience.
"Kasahara-san, stop daydreaming!"
"Huh?" I blinked, realizing that Ueno-san was waving her hand in front of my face. "Ah, sorry!"
She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't think we're going to make any more progress while your friend is here. I'll end today's lesson here. Everyone's getting a little frustrated anyway. I'll send some supplemental materials this evening, so please review them as instructed and be prepared for next Saturday's lesson."
"Sorry, Ueno-san, it's my fault for being so noisy," Suzubishi-san called out from the kitchen.
"Not at all." She stood, picking up her bag with one hand and tucking her hair behind one ear with the other. "This is a difficult lesson and it requires some extra time and focus, that's all. I fully expected it to take several intensive sessions." She nodded to me and the professor. "Good work today. I'll see you next week, then."
"Bye, Ueno-san." I waved to her, hoping my smile didn't look too relieved.
As soon as she was out the door, Professor Keita let out a heavy sigh. "Ugh, Kazuki, why did you have to show off like that? Ueno-san was already frustrated at how badly I was doing with this lesson, and then you had to go and make both of us look dumb. And in front of Asahina-kun, too."
Yuki popped out of the kitchen, looking a bit worried as he slipped into the seat that Ueno-san had just vacated. "Please don't feel bad, Professor Ito! My English is terrible, I'm sure you're really good compared to me! Tomo said you've been working hard for a few months already and you've both improved a lot."
"Ah, thanks, Asahina-kun, but the issue isn't with you, it's with Kazuki." Professor Keita was all smiles as he reassured Yuki, but the moment Suzubishi-san appeared, he was fixed with a cold stare. "Seriously, Kazuki, it's hard to concentrate while you're over there in the background spouting off your perfect no-accent English. This isn't the first time Ueno-san's gotten annoyed with you."
He deflated a little, which was kind of funny considering that he was still wearing the frilly gingham apron and holding a spatula. "I know. I'll call her and apologize later. I don't want her to give up on teaching you guys because of me."
"I don't think that will happen," I said, glancing down at the page of handwritten notes she'd given me at the beginning of the lesson. "It seems like she's really invested in helping us learn. If she gives up on tutoring us, it's going to be because I'm terrible at this."
My eyes dropped shut, blocking out the sight of Ueno-san's neat handwriting. Maybe she was too nice to say she was disappointed in my inability to hear the difference between the sounds we'd been practicing, but I still felt it. Studying harder couldn't beat it. Memorizing things wouldn't help. I simply couldn't wrap my brain around this one thing, and I hated it. I was good at learning, I had the best memory, I was determined, and I could do anything if I made a sincere effort.
Except I couldn't, and I didn't know what to do about it.
"Hey, none of that negative talk." When I opened my eyes, Suzubishi-san was looking right at me, a slight frown on his lips. "Tomo-kun, you're naturally smart so it's hard for you. I remember the first time I ran into something I couldn't just pick up easily. It's scary. But you can't give up."
"Yeah, that's right, Tomo!" Yuki squeezed my hand. "You hardly ever have to study for class, and when you do, you learn everything really fast. I keep telling you, that's not normal. Other people have to try harder to learn things that are easy for you. You just found the one thing that doesn't come naturally for you."
I knew Yuki was right, but it was hard to believe him while I was still coming to terms with the frustration of not understanding something. I guess that sort of feeling doesn't bother you at all. You already know how to study and overcome your weaknesses. It was just like Professor Sakaki had said, being smart was a curse in some ways.
"It doesn't come naturally for anyone," Professor Keita grumbled, closing his book with a snap. "I don't feel like studying more right now. I deserve a cookie after all that effort."
Now that he mentioned it, the sweet scent of cookies was making my stomach rumble. "Me too. I'm pretty sure I just heard a tray come out of the oven..."
"Yeah!" Yuki jumped out of his seat. "They should be cool enough by now! Let's have some!"
"Not so fast, Asahina-kun. We're having dinner in a little while, so you can't spoil it by eating cookies now. We can all have some after we eat."
Yuki pouted. "Wha? But... why make cookies right before dinner if we can't have any? They're the best right after they come out of the oven..."
"Well, that's true, but they'll be just as delicious after you've had a nice healthy dinner. You guys are working hard and your brains need some quality fuel. Plus, how are you going to grow if you don't eat your vegetables?"
Professor Keita rolled his eyes. "I'm already grown, Kazuki. Just give me a cookie."
"Imagine how much more you could have grown if you ate your vegetables." I thought Suzubishi-san was joking, but his expression made it clear that he was completely serious. "Good nutrition is important, I told you that all through school. But you ignored me, and look, you haven't grown at all since your first year at BL School."
"Ugh, why do you have to bring that up? Anyway, you haven't grown since then!"
"I was already grown, Keita." Suzubishi-san looked smug for a moment, then his grin twisted into a grimace as he glanced at Yuki. "Er..."
"Um... I kind of already told Yuki about that, so..." I confessed, biting my lip.
"I promise I won't tell anyone! Please don't be mad at Tomo for telling me."
"Don't worry, Asahina-kun, I'm not. Well, it's not like my age is much of a secret anymore." He scratched at his cheek with a sheepish smile. "There's been plenty of magazine articles and interviews where they make a big deal about being so successful at my age, even though I'm just standing on my dad's shoulders. Anyway, that's getting off topic!" He wagged the spatula at us, frowning. "You three can't sweet talk your way into getting any cookies before dinner. In fact, if you don't get a start on your homework and eat all your veggies, there won't be cookies for anyone."
I probably shouldn't have said anything. But with the frilly blue apron and free hand on his hip giving such a strong impression of a nagging mother, I couldn't stop myself.
"Yes, Mom."
It was probably the best English I'd spoken all day.
There was a stunned silence that quickly dissolved into giggles as Yuki and Professor Keita busted out laughing at the same time. Suzubishi-san made a weird face, like he couldn't decide between joining them or pouting. My shoulders hunched. What the hell had I been thinking, just blurting out whatever?
Ugh, sometimes I wish I could rewind ten seconds and undo the stupid things I've said...
Professor Keita stopped giggling long enough to poke me and ask, "Hey, if Kazuki is mom, does that make me dad? I've always wanted to be a dad."
That was news to me. "Well... maybe you can both be dad." My face was getting hot.
"You do go to work every day, Professor Ito. You're totally like a dad." Yuki grinned.
"Hey, I go to work every day too." Suzubishi-san didn't sound angry. In fact, he sounded really happy, and when I gathered my courage and peeked at his face, he was smiling like a little kid who'd just gotten a new toy.
"Not every day," the professor countered. "The weeks you're here are your time off rotation. And you're always cooking and cleaning and sewing. You take care of us hopeless guys who are terrible at everything. You're definitely the mom."
Was Suzubishi-san blushing? He definitely was. "Well, it's not bad to be mom..."
That meant I could push it a little, right? "So... Mom, when is dinner going to be ready?"
"Mm, I haven't started yet, to be honest. All that's ready right now is some rice from the afternoon."
"Then we can have cookies and bread!" Yuki grinned. "There's all sorts of buns in with the stuff my parents gave me! Pizza buns and yakisoba buns and curry buns... please, Suzubishi-san, can we have bakery goodies for dinner? It's better than having dinner and then eating a bunch of extra things like bread and cookies later, right?"
"Man, Yuki," I sighed, "you're really good at this food begging stuff."
"I'm sure Asahina-kun's had lots of practice." Professor Ito was smiling too. "Come on, Kazuki, give yourself a break and let's eat junk for once. Even the best moms need a break sometimes."
He held up both hands - including the spatula - in a gesture of surrender. "Alright, I can see I'm outnumbered here. Mom will allow a break from routine because you guys had a rough lesson and Asahina-kun is here visiting. But we're going right back to homecooked meals tomorrow. I'm serious about making sure you two have healthy habits. I can't control what you do when you're at the school or when I'm away, but whenever I'm here, we're going to have good habits as a family."
"Geez, Kazuki, you worry too much. No one here is secretly eating cake for lunch while you're off in America." Professor Keita hopped out of his chair. "Anyway, you're one to talk, I'm pretty sure you survived solely on hamburgs and potato salad when we went to Bell Liberty."
"Hey, hamburgs have a lot of protein, and potato salad has a bunch of veggies!"
"Yeah, okay, keep telling yourself that." The professor turned to me and Yuki. "Any special requests for dinner, or do you want the complete junk food assortment?"
"I want everything!" Yuki's eyes were shining. "Especially cookies!"
"Me too!" I added with only slightly less enthusiasm, mainly because it was impossible to beat Yuki when he was fired up over bread. "Um, could I get two chocolate horns? Those are my favorite..."
"Of course you can, don't be shy. I'll be right back with lots of cookies!" Professor Keita plucked the spatula from Suzubishi-san's hand and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Geez, Keita..." Suzubishi-san shook his head, but he was smiling as he took his usual seat at the table. "You guys win for today. It's pretty pointless to deny a top-class athlete a single meal of junk food, and I've heard about your amazing metabolism, Asahina-kun."
"Hehe, well, Tomo says it's because I never stop moving. Oh, that reminds me! Suzubishi-san, you can call me Yuki when I'm visiting." He turned to look into the kitchen. "You too, Professor Ito!"
"I'm not sure I want to get into that habit because of school," he called back, "but I think it would be nice for Kazuki to use your first name."
"That sounds good to me. Then... thanks for visiting with us today, Yuki-kun. You're always welcome here not just as Tomo-kun's friend, but also as thanks for protecting my school."
Yuki squirmed a little in his seat, though I wasn't sure if he was uncomfortable or extra happy at being praised. "BL School made it possible for me to meet Tomo again. And everyone's lives would have been changed if the school stopped existing, so I felt like I had to protect it no matter what. I won't let anything happen to Tomo or the school from now on."
"I'm relying on you guys to keep the school going until I retire from corporate life, you know. I fully intend to go back to Bell Liberty one day."
"Then you can be 'Mom' to all the students!" Yuki grinned.
"Hm? What does that mean?"
"Oh, um! I heard from Professor Ito that you worried about him a lot when you were classmates." Yuki ducked his head a little, blushing. "Oops... maybe I shouldn't have said that..."
"Well, it's completely true!" Professor Ito reappeared, holding two overloaded plates. "Kazuki was and still is a giant worrywart. If you think the way he fusses over you is terrible, Tomo-kun, just imagine what it's like for me when you're not around. I'm surprised Kazuki doesn't take the car keys with him when he's away for work!"
"Hey, that's a good idea."
"Don't you dare, Kazuki! I'll hide your passport!" Professor Ito huffed, handing the plates to me and Yuki. "Here you go. Tomo-kun, do you guys want to go eat in your room? I can just tell that Kazuki wants to drag you and me into some 'casual English practice' while we eat, and I know I'm not in the mood for any more of that today. Save yourselves while you can, boys." He cast a sour look at Suzubishi-san, then headed back to the kitchen to grab more food.
"I already said I was sorry for showing off." With the way Suzubishi-san was pouting, I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
"Yeah, that's a good idea." I stood, carefully balancing my overloaded plate. "Yuki, I found this awesome Youtube channel that has a ton of funny game reviews, we should check it out."
"Okay!" Yuki grabbed his food and bounced off down the hallway.
"One moment, Tomo-kun." Suzubishi-san got up, suddenly serious.
My heart flopped in my chest. "Yes?"
"About the 'Mom' thing... wait." He held up one hand, silencing the apology that rose to my lips automatically. "Are you trying to say you're sorry for that? Don't, I'm happy. I don't mind being your mom figure, in fact, I'd be honored if you kept calling me that in private." He wasn't just saying it to make me feel better. Not with the way his eyes were shining, a gentle smile on his lips like he'd just received the best compliment in the world.
I bit my lip and resisted the urge to look down at the floor. Instead, I met his eyes with a smile. "If you're okay with it, then sure. It's kind of fun. Thanks, Suzubishi-san."
"It's Kazuki by now, isn't it?"
My face got all hot in an instant. Crap, I was so easy to read. Everything in me wanted to resist being so familiar with someone who was so far above me. But it was time, wasn't it? More than a year since we'd met, and over half a year since we'd finally started being completely honest with each other. If we were going to be a real family, we both had to push ourselves a little.
"Yeah, you're right. Then... thanks, Kazuki-san." His name felt weird on my tongue, as foreign as the English sounds I'd been trying so hard to repeat.
"You're welcome." He was practically glowing with happiness. "Now go enjoy the rest of your evening with Asahina-kun. No more lessons until next weekend, I promise."
"Well, I do have some homework from Ueno-san..."
"You really do work too hard, you know that?" He patted my shoulder. "You remind me of myself. Take breaks when you need them, and talk to me if you get overwhelmed. Okay?"
It was my turn to smile. "Yes, Mom."
~ end ~