[Hanako] A Breath of Fresh Air (Part One)

A Breath of Fresh Air

Part One


I breathe out heavily as I flop down into the sofa behind me, closing my eyes for a brief moment. Taking a minute off is something that I haven't been able to do all day, so I think it's fair enough that I sit back and take a look at what I've done today.

My eyes crack open, a smile spanning across my face.

Hisao should be quite happy about what he sees when he gets home from work here in the next couple of minutes.

Rather, he has all the reasons to be happy, anyways.

A nice, already prepared dinner waiting for him in the kitchen, a reorganized bedroom, our small living room having some freshly painted yellow walls – that's the product of doing multiple things at the same time on a ten hour time restraint.

I arrived just a little over a week ago on a train, my minimal belongings in tow, and moved in with him. Today is the first day since I've gotten here that I haven't looked for a job somewhere – the possibility of an interior designer not being a 'hot commodity' at the moment seems quite possible.

Hisao was so surprised when I called him right before starting my third year and telling him what I had declared as my major.

Lilly was pretty shocked as well.

I guess I really just don't fit the bill on looks or whatever else a somewhat artistic person needs.

I grin.

Then again, I'm really not like all of the other interior designers back at school. The girls and guys that shared my classes were mostly upscale people who would have no time with connections in the industry. For me, well...

Let's just say I didn't really fit in with them.

I reach my hand up and rub it along the length of my scarred arm, frowning at some really awful memories of my university days.

There was more than enough times that I wouldn't go to class because of people staring at me.

It definitely wasn't as bad as my high school days, especially my level of panic, but it certainly happened. I learned to tolerate the off hand comments as much as a could, and I did sometimes.

Others times, though...

They really just ended up with me hiding in my room for a day.

I can't say I would go and cry or anything. While I still have those terrible moments, I get more disappointed, I guess would be the right word, in myself than anything else.

I get disappointed that I'm a burn victim.

I still act as if everything that happened back then was my fault...

My downward spiral into negativity is cut off by the sound of locks turning in the front door. Around the corner in the hallway, I can hear a bag being tossed on the floor and a coat being hung up, so I get up to go meet the love of my life.

Standing up, I brush off my work apron as best as I can – the appearance being caked in ingredients from cooking and paint – and walk over to the hallway.

There stands Hisao, of course, his eyes appearing tired and stressed from a full day of work. It's certainly understandable that he would be tired, anyways; he's only been working in the field now for three weeks.

I smile lightly and walk up to him, wrapping my arms around him in the process.

I look up at him as he returns the favor, stroking the back of my head and tucking some strands of hair behind my ears, leaving my face fully exposed.

I can feel my cheeks burning up, my eyes casting downward out of embarrassment.

He lets out a little giggle, poking me in the stomach and making me squirm a bit.

“I've told you plenty of times how I feel about you hiding from me. How's my angel doing, anyways?” I smile sheepishly at his compliment, my eyes finally connecting with his again. He actually backs off for a moment and looks me up and down, noticing my soiled apron and clothing.

“Actually, let me rephrase that question: what has my angel been doing today?”

“O-Oh you know, just... painting and cooking a-and... stuff.” I giggle a bit at the end, moving towards him and pushing up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. He happily meets my request and presses his lips to mine, a brief yet powerful action.

He smiles brightly at me, his white teeth practically shining in the light of the apartment.

“Well, are you going to give me a little tour of what you've done, then?”

I nod my head with a proud expression across my face, grabbing his hand and pulling him forward into the living room. He looks around in amazement at the reorganized and freshly painted room, the spacious area having added a couple of more decorations that I went and purchased down the road earlier in the day.

I turn my body to face him, his mouth practically hanging down to the ground.

“You didn't have to do this, Hanako.  We could have made this into a little thing we did this weekend...” He frowns in a teasing manner, as if a bit disappointed that I left him out of the minor project.

I look at my feet, a bit saddened by his remarks.

“I-I'm sorry, I just thought that m-maybe we could just... you know, t-take the weekend off. S-Stress free and everything.” He takes my chin in between his thumb and index finger, pushing it upwards so that I can look into his eyes once more.

“Always thinking ahead. I'd have to say that's one of your finest attributes.” He gives me another quick peck on the lips, a smile being shared between the two of us. I close my eyes for a moment to savor his taste, before he once again pokes me and takes me out of my dream world.

“Thank you. The room looks fantastic.” I smile widely, my heart beating at a wild pace at the sensation of his approval.

“I-I mean, it's not entirely finished, I h-have to touch some spots up... b-but I'm glad you l-like it, Hisao.” He walks over and flops down into the comfort of our sofa, propping his legs up on the reclining part.

He pats the empty space beside him as I untie my apron and toss it off into the kitchen, more than happy to oblige with his request.

I sit beside him and rest my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes as my world is filled with happiness. He strokes the back of my head with his hand, treating me like something of the highest value in the world.

He clears his throat and I open my eyes, picking my head up and looking at him with curiosity.

“I think we should take a vacation this weekend.” He makes the little announcement short and sweet, grinning at me and snuggling himself into my side.

“What did you have i-in mind?” My stutter still can still be annoying beyond belief. It's something that I thought maybe would fade away with gained confidence but...

I guess it's just something that will stick around forever, unfortunately.

He presses a finger to his cheek, looking up in a goofy way while pondering the possibilities for our small vacation. Suddenly, a light seems to flick on in his head as his eyes widen, a big grin forming on his face.

“How about we pay a visit to my parents? We could take a train and stay there, then spend some time in the city.”

I giggle profusely as the idea. My personal ideas as to what he had in mind were far different than that.

He frowns.

“What's so funny?”

I smile at him.

“I w-was expecting you to say the beach.” He raises and eyebrow at me, squinting because of his minor confusion.

“And why would that be?”

I have to hold back laughter, knowing how where his mind is during our beach trips.

“Because you l-love seeing me in a swimsuit, even if I h-hate wearing them.. Not to mention, we a-always end up having... y-you know what, while we're there.”

His face burns crimson in color, his hand reaching back and rubbing the back of his neck as he looks away from me.

“So what, are you trying to say I'm just some guy looking for sex?”

I shake my head from side to side, my arms wrapping around him as I cuddle up into his side.

“N-No, silly. I'm just saying you love doing d-dirty things with me at the beach. I-I'm glad you decided on a d-different location for our trip this time.”

A teasing grin spans across is face.

“And what makes you think I won't be up for doing 'dirty things' while we're in the city?” I stand up and push my lower lip out at him, pouting at his response.

“Y-You're a jerk...”

He stands up and wraps his arms around me tightly, my little act of frustration obviously not working anymore.

I squint my eyes at him to show my fake anger as he rustles my hair, showing off his playful attitude like he always does.

“But I'm your jerk, am I not?”

“Oh, s-shut up!”

I push him away with a giggle, and he responds with a laugh of his own. I think for a moment as he pulls out his phone and begins to scroll through his contacts to find his father's phone number, a sudden realization popping into my head.

“I forgot to m-mention that I made you dinner...” I twist my mouth a bit in frustration as he leans in and kisses me on the cheek, heading into the kitchen ahead of me.

“I love you. By the way, we're leaving tomorrow morning, because I'm just going to take the day off of work. So pack your bag tonight.” He calls out with a mouth full of a cookie that I had made for dessert.

A huge smile forms across my face as I walk into the kitchen, preparing my mind for a weekend of enjoyment that will be here soon enough.