Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Custody ❯ Onii-chan ( Chapter 13 )

Brigitta locked herself in the office that her son-in-law had at his house. Even though she realized how ludicrous the thought was, she couldn't get it out of her mind. She needed to find something, anything that would prove her wrong… or right. What would she do if she found out that she was right? What would he say? Did he know? She knew that the easiest way to find out was asking him directly, but she was aware of how crazy it would sound, and so she wanted to have some kind of proof before confronting him. Seizing the opportunity presented to her that day, she couldn't wait any longer: Momo and Momiji had gone out to get a Christmas tree. With the holidays just a week away, they were starting the preparations. She remembered their faces as they left that morning, their bright eyes and cheerful voices. They behaved like a pair of toddlers. They were so much alike that it scared her sometimes. If she was wrong… then how was this possible?

 

She only wished that Momiji could get used to the driver's seat on the opposite side of the car.

 

Momo couldn't keep her eyes off Onii-chan. He really was gorgeous. She couldn't wait till she could introduce him to her friends! She clung to his arm tighter while they walked on the street, feeling more than seeing the envious glares of every woman they passed by. It was a wonderful feeling. If she remembered correctly, her older cousins rivaled each other on the good looks department. She wondered how they looked like now, six years later. She had the sudden wish to visit her cousins at Japan to find out. She would have to ask Momiji later.

 

Momiji looked happy all the time, he was always smiling, joking, playing… Momo wondered if it was possible for a person to be so happy all the time. She had a hard time believing it. After the episode at the airport that morning, she even doubted if he ever cried. If he could let the love of his life walk away with a straight face and not a single tear, then maybe he didn't care that much for her after all. And then she remembered his eyes, so full of love, and that lonely tear on his cheek the day they met again. He was so confusing! Was it all just a mask? What for?

 

Momiji interrupted her inner debate with an invitation for lunch. Momo suggested a place and guided the both of them to a nice little café just a few blocks away. Momiji liked the place instantly, and they both sat to wait for their menus. It was good to be indoors again. The streets were unusually cold, though Momiji didn't seem to mind much. He just commented casually on how hard it was to grab things with his gloves on.

 

Said gloves, of course, were the first to go. They giggled at seeing each other extricating themselves out of their coats, scarves, gloves, and in Momo's case, earmuffs. She noticed that Momiji's things were all in a variation of grey shades.

 

-“You don't wear colors anymore.” -Momo pointed out.

 

Momo looked at her, confused for a moment, before he finished folding his scarf and put it on top of his dark grey coat on the chair next to him. Momo waited patiently. She knew he was going to answer.

 

-“I have to dress formally now, Momo. I can't go to work in a pink suit. Not that Rit-chan would mind.” -he joked.

 

-“But why such boring colors? You've been wearing black, navy, and grey for almost a week! Don't you have anything else? I remember that you used to have much livelier clothing!” -Momo insisted.

 

-“I'm older now. Besides, believe it or not, the clothes replaced themselves in my closet little by little, until one day I realized that I didn't have a single pink shirt anymore.” -his smile was sincere, so she knew that he was as amused at his own story as she was. “What about you? What colors do you like?” -he asked in return.

 

-“Well… definitely not black. The only black dress that I own was the one my grandmother gave me to wear at the funeral.” At this, her voice wavered a little, but she kept on talking. “Personally, I find black depressing.”

 

-“So you find my clothes boring and depressing. People say that things are like their owners, so I must be boring and depressing too.” -he pouted. His tone of voice was such that Shigure would've been proud. Momo laughed.

 

She knew that he was teasing her, fishing for compliments. She didn't care. She was finally getting to know him better. Maybe she could figure out the riddle that he was. This was the first time that they had been together by themselves in a long time, and she was enjoying every second of it. It was so good to be able to just sit together for lunch without having to worry about someone walking in on them! It was a dream come true.

 

Momiji allowed her to order for him, and he complained in mock frustration about how much he missed chopsticks. She answered with an anecdote about her own poor attempts to master said utensils, before giving up on them completely. They had some at home, since her father was fond of them and preferred to use them every time he could. Momiji recalled a mental image of his father eating. A smile full of longing appeared on his face. He wondered how he had looked like after six years.

 

-“You remember my Papa.” -Momo said. It wasn't a question. She could tell. He was resting his head on his left hand, his elbow bent on the table. He had a faraway look in his eyes, like he was looking at something distant.

 

-“I remember him.” -Momiji agreed. “He was a good man, and I was fond of him.” -his voice was tinged with so much nostalgia that she noticed.

 

-“How about Mama?”

 

-“I hardly remember her. Just a couple of memories from when I was very young, but I liked her.” -he shrugged casually, but his voice sounded strained. “You look a lot like her. When I first saw you, I was shocked. She was beautiful.” -Momiji explained with the same tone of voice.

 

Momo blushed at the indirect compliment. She was about to ask something else, when Momiji answered her question.

 

-“I came to see you.” -It was short and simple, and yet so meaningful. Momo looked at him with so much trust and affection that he knew that this was the right moment.

 

-“You know that I'm almost eight years older than you. I graduated from university a week ago, but I've been working for more than three years now at one of the Souma companies. In fact, I've been administrating your father's company along with Rit-chan. We're doing well, don't worry.” he explained with little laugh and a playful wink, “We've been even thinking about expanding the company, and starting our own business as partners. I'm your father's legal representative in Japan, which means that I had his trust. I'm also a respected member of our family, and I have my own place at the Main House.” -He listed all of those details as something that he had been practicing for some time.

 

Momo was confused now. Where was he getting at?

 

-“Momo, can I ask you a question?” -he was serious now, but Momo's face didn't change. She trusted him.

 

-“Sure, onii-chan.” -she answered immediately.

 

-“You don't have to answer now, but I want you to consider it. Will you?” -Momo nodded, still clueless. He had that smile on his lips again, the one that disconcerted her so much.

 

`It isn't like him to be so nervous. He usually is straightforward in everything he says. What is he going to ask me?' Still, Momo waited for him to continue.

 

-“When I agreed to be your onii-chan I promised that I would always take care of you, remember?” Momo nodded again. “I want to keep my promise. Not just because of it, but because I really care about you.”

 

He hesitantly took her hands and held them carefully between his own. Looking straight into her eyes, he finally asked:

 

-“Momo, would you like to go back to Japan as my little sister and live with me?”