Destiny

Chapter Two

It has been two weeks since we got married. My father still messages me about grandchildren and I swear if I see another one… I won’t be responsible for my actions.

I was still confused about him. There were moments when he was tender in some ways and I was actually starting to really like him.

I let out a sigh and walked into the kitchen, trying to decide what to cook for dinner.

I wanted to be around him. It was like I couldn't stop hugging him or holding onto him. I hope he didn’t think I was a clingy wife, but I just found it comfortable to sit next to him and hug his arm or lean against him as he read or worked on something.

He never complained. That was one thing I learned about him. He never pushed me away or complained about me being next to him. It has been two weeks, but I feel that I am learning more about him each and every day.

I could tell when he was having a good or bad day. Although I felt bad because he never told me how he was feeling, I admired him at the same time because I learned he simply didn’t want to burden anyone with his thoughts.

I immediately felt his presence when I finished cooking dinner. "Hello," I said cheerfully.

"Hi," he said, pulling out the kitchen chair and sitting down on it.

"You're going to work here?" I asked, stirring the miso soup gently. It was my husband's favorite dish.

"Yes, the lighting in the study can bother your eyes after awhile."

I nodded and decided to make some juice as well. I liked having him around as I worked in the kitchen. It was peaceful.

"Gen, can we go out later?" I asked, taking out some oranges from the fridge. "I feel like watching something."

"That's fine."

How obedient, I thought and I realized he never really said no to me. It’s not that he was one to argue, but he always agreed when I wanted to go somewhere. "How come you never suggest that we go somewhere?"

"I'm not really fond of outings."

At least he's honest, I thought. "Then why do you agree to go with me?"

He didn’t look at me. "You're my wife. It's different."

The statement staggered me. I mean, I knew I was his wife, but the way he said it made me tingle. I smiled and patted his head gently. "Then how about you take me somewhere as a surprise? I'm the one always making decisions for an outing."

He leaned his head back and watched me. "It's alright."

"Na-uh. You're not getting off the hook so easily."

He let out a sigh. "Fine."

~~~

I wasn't surprised, but stunned. I had no idea that Shinichiro's wife was so rich. Genichirou had told me that he didn’t like crowded places, so he said that we'd go and use his brother's country house and relax.

I fell in love with the surroundings. The air was fresh, the sky was so blue, and there was a calm relaxing wind. However, there was one thing that made me slightly nervous and that was the sparkling pool of “inviting” water.

There was one thing that I kept to myself.

It was one thing that only my father knew.

And that one thing was that I was terrified of swimming pools.

I looked at my husband and gave him a weak smile. At the same time, I was surprised again when I saw Shinichiro there with a really beautiful woman approaching us. "Oh, could this be…"

"Yes," Shinichiro said. "My wife. This is Aya."

I exchanged hellos with her and we chatted for a bit while our husbands went into the pool. Shinichiro's wife was a lovely woman and I enjoyed her company. When she left me and went into the swimming pool as well, I stayed there watching.

I watched them quietly with a fake smile plastered on my face. I was actually terrified. I sat there on one of the pool chairs and hugged my knees so I wouldn’t run away.

I had actually managed to calm myself down a bit when I sensed a shadow over me. "We're a player short."

I looked up at Shinichiro and gave him a weak smile. "I'll pass. I'm not feeling very well."

He gave me a mischievous smile and took a hold of my upper arm. "I'm not taking no for an answer, sister-in-law," he said, pulling me up.

"No, wait…." I protested, snatching my hand back. "I don't want to."

He grabbed me playfully and pulled me towards the swimming pool.

I froze and I knew all the color had gone out of my face. "No… NO! DON'T!" I shouted, covering my face, but it was too late. He had already pushed me in.

It felt like I was the only living person in that space.

Cold water splashing against me.

An unknown force dragging me down.

Someone calling my name in a distance.

Before I could comply, I felt another force pulling me up.

I didn’t even have time to react.

"You could've said you didn’t know how to swim!" Sanada said as he held me.

I blinked and felt tears roll down my cheeks. I was still in the water and he was holding my upper arms, but I wasn't hyperventilating as I usually did. I was just really terrified of being in the pool. I hugged him forcefully and started crying.

Even as I cried I felt someone else next to us. ", I'm sorry," Shinichiro apologized. “I didn’t know you couldn't swim."

"Nooo," I whispered in tears. 'I'm terrified of pools." I rubbed my eyes as tears kept pouring out. "Gen, please get me out of here."

He nodded and moved while I was still stuck to him. When he reached the pool stairs, he stopped. "?"

"What?" I asked in a muffled voice because I had cocooned myself in his arms.

"How can I get you out?"

I looked up at him and realized that he couldn't really carry me out of the water, but I didn’t want to let go of him. I didn’t care that Shinichiro and his wife were there. I just didn’t want to let go yet. "I'm sorry, but I can't move."

"Very well," he said. Before I knew it, he had lifted me up and placed me on the dry ground beside the pool. In a second, he had heaved himself upwards and picked me up again. He walked towards the pool chair and placed me gently on it. He turned to leave my side, but I grabbed his arm.

He looked at me and I felt that he understood that I didn’t want to be left alone. "I'm just going to get you a towel."

I looked down and finally nodded. "Hurry back," I said quietly.

He was back in two minutes.

~~~

"I'm sorry for causing a scene today."

He turned around on the bed and looked at me.

It was late at night and we were both in bed trying to sleep, but somehow we couldn't. "I'm sorry that the place I chose caused you distress."

I smiled. "Silly man," I said quietly, patting his cheek lightly. "How were you supposed to know that your incredible wife is afraid of swimming pools?"

He didn’t say anything for a second. He looked at me and finally asked me something. "Why are you afraid?" he asked, making me stop moving my hand against his cheek. "A fear such as yours doesn’t come just like that."

I looked away and clutched the bed sheets to my chin. "I don't know," I said quietly. "It just scares me."

After that, we stayed quiet. I don’t know when it happened, but I eventually fell asleep. However, it didn’t last long, for the doorbell woke me up in the middle of the night. I blinked and sat up on the bed, thinking I might’ve dreamt it, but I heard it again. I looked at the wall clock and noticed that it was 3 AM. I frowned and turned to my husband who was asleep. "Gen," I said quietly, shaking him.

He immediately opened his eyes and turned around.

“The doorbell."

He yawned and sat up. "What time is it?"

"It's three."

He looked a bit surprised, but he didn’t say anything. He got out of bed and quickly put a shirt over his head. I didn’t want him to go alone, so I climbed out as well. "Stay here," he ordered.

I put a jacket over my shoulders and ignored his request. "Let's just see who it is.”

He didn’t bother arguing with me. I assumed it was too late at night for him to even be thinking clearly. He went ahead to the door and I followed him. He finally opened the door, and we both stood there simply amazed.

I blinked.

He blinked.

My calm and mature husband swore and slammed the door shut, but I opened it again. On the floor making huge puppy eyes at us was Keigo. I didn’t care though what time it was or what he was doing there. I wanted to know how he rang the doorbell.

"Don't even think about it, ," I heard my husband's stern voice.

“It's cold outside."

"He’ll be warm in the apartment hallway."

I looked at him sharply. "I didn’t know you could be so cold-hearted."

"That kitten is a psychopath." He pointed at the kitten, who was pouting at us. "It's 3 o'clock in the morning, . I do not want to put up with this now."

I looked at him, simply astounded. He was always so calm. I never realized a little kitten could rile him up so much. I let out a sigh and picked Keigo up. "I will only bring you in if you promise not to hurt my husband."

The kitten blinked at me and nodded.

"He can't understand you."

I looked at him and walked in. "We'll see," I said, placing the kitten on the living room sofa. "You stay here." I ordered Keigo, placing the light rug on him. "And you!" I grabbed my husband's hand. "We're going to bed," I said, pulling him into the bedroom and closing the door.

~~~

The next morning, things went surprisingly smoothly. I was in the kitchen preparing a light snack while my husband worked on something nearby. Little Keigo was on the counter, just watching quietly. I had tried testing him a few times by standing close to my husband or kissing his cheek. So far, the kitten had behaved himself.

I put everything down and walked over to my husband. "Want to do something today?"

"Then you choose," he muttered.

I patted his head gently and smiled. "Don't be a baby," I said playfully. I decided to be daring. I took the newspaper from his hand and fell onto his lap sideways and then put my arms around his neck. "You choose."

"You're getting rather comfortable."

I nodded. "You're my husband, aren't you?"

He looked at me and let out a sigh. "Yes, I am," he finally answered. "So where do you want to go?"

"Don't turn this around."

He remained silent. I took it as a sign that he was thinking of where he wants to go. He finally looked at me. "How about…" he began, but the phone interrupted him.

We both looked at the phone. I was too comfortable and didn’t want to reach it. While he looked like he wasn’t in the mood to stand up. I finally let out a sigh and wanted to get up, but I was surprised to see Keigo bringing the hand phone to us.

"Thank you, sweetie," I said, taking the phone from him. I handed it to my husband and he picked it up.

"Sanada."

I laid my head on his chest and listened as he spoke. I guessed that it was one of his friends. I looked down and saw Keigo watching us. "Come here," I said softly, extending my arms for him.

The kitten jumped into my arms and purred. I stroked it gently and smiled. I have to admit that in spite of his past behavior, he was an adorable little thing. My husband finally hung up and he looked at me. “We’re invited to go to a barbecue.”

I looked at him curiously. “Where?”

“The park.”

“Oh,” I said, looking at him. “That should be interesting.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “There will be a mini tennis tournament as well.”

I blinked. “Tennis? Damnit, I suck at tennis,” I groaned, placing my head on his shoulder.

“It’s alright. I think it’s mostly the men that will be playing.”

~~~

I was grateful that I saw a friendly face at the park. I was in a pair of jeans and a sweater while my husband decided to wear black shorts and a white t-shirt. I was sitting with Aya as the men played their so-called game. It was then that I found out that they took the game seriously.

“Do you know that each of these men were somehow famous at school for their tennis?”

I turned to look at Aya and answered. “No.” I looked in their direction again. “I really had no idea.”

Aya put an arm around my shoulder. “Your husband was called the ‘emperor’ in his days by the way.”

“Oh?” I said surprised.

Aya held my chin and turned me to face the court. “Just watch that hubby of yours in action,” she said just as Sanada stood at the serving side.

I watched carefully as he posed to serve. In a graceful movement, he threw the ball up to serve and….

I blinked. “Huh?”

“15 – Love.”

I looked left and right. “What just happened?” I asked, looking at Aya. “I didn’t see anything.’

Aya grinned. “That was your husband’s famous invincible serve.”

“Oh.” I looked back at him. All the time he kept using the same serve over and over again. I was… what was the word? Impressed? No. I was proud to be the wife of a man who played like that. Yes, that was what I felt.

I stood up after they were done and smiled as he approached us. He had won the game without even breaking a sweat. "I didn’t realize I was married to a pro tennis player."

"It's just a hobby," he said, taking the towel in my hand and wiping his face with it.

"Modest, aren't we?" I muttered.

He didn’t say anything. He just sat down next to me and pulled out a bottle of water from the cooler. Instead of drinking it, he just poured a bit of it over his head.

“So, will you teach me?”

“No.” He drank his water leisurely.

I pouted, but it didn’t work. He simply stood up and stretched his arms. "Gen…" I whined, standing up behind him. "I… EEP…" I exclaimed as my foot slipped on water.

I felt his arm immediately around me, but it didn’t help because losing my footing made me hurt my ankle. “Ow!"

Before realizing anything else, I was scooped up and placed on the chair.

", are you alright?" Aya asked with her hand on my knee.

I winced a bit as my husband took off my shoes and held my foot gently. He moved it a bit and I swore out loud. "It's twisted," he said, looking at me. He stood up and picked up our stuff. "We're going to the doctor," he said, lifting me up.

"It’s alright, I can walk."

Totally ignoring me, he thanked everyone who had stood there to see if I was alright and walked to the car.

I had my arms around his neck and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I keep causing you problems."

He looked at me. "It’s not your fault." He reached the car and made me stand lightly. "You're just clumsy."

"EH!?"

He didn’t even answer me, I was just plopped onto the passenger seat not even realizing that he had carried me again. The minute he got into the driver's seat "CLUMSY!?"

He let out a sigh. "Not clumsy, but…" he began, choosing his words carefully. "You’re just difficult."

I crossed my arms, not amused at that sentence. I knew he was choosing his words carefully, so it scared me to think what he had actually wanted to say.

"Don't be like this."

I pouted and looked away, knowing that I was being a brat. However, I didn’t care; I wasn’t ready to hear this kind of talk from him.

Sanada let out another sigh and just continued driving. As he reached the hospital, he simply got out and went to the passenger seat. "Can you walk?"

I pouted.

"!"

I swore out loud and tried standing up, but winced at the pain. Before losing my balance, he just picked me up. Walking straight to the nurse's desk, he placed me on a chair and then filled a form as I waited.

A few minutes later, we were escorted to the doctor.

"Sanada-san," he said, referring to me. "You're fine. You just need a light wrap around it and apply this cream to it for five days."

"Oh," I said quietly.

The doctor took a hold of my foot once more and studied it "I have prescribed some pain killers for you as well because the swelling will hurt during the nights, so please take one every eight hours."

I looked up and frowned. "Are these antibiotics?"

"No, Sanada-san," he answered. "They're just the recommended hours to take the dosage, if you feel you're in more pain then I would suggest every six hours."

I nodded and looked at my husband.

Sanada took my hand and helped me stand up. Before he could lift me, I stopped him and said that I will try and walk. So he just nodded and held my upper arm instead.

~~~

Once at home, I realized that the next few days are going to be more difficult than I had thought. No matter how light my sprained ankle was, it still hurt to move around. I so did not envy someone who had to have a cast on their leg for six months. I wondered how they managed it. It was admirable.

At one time, Keigo almost jumped at me, excited to see me, but Sanada intervened just in time. I realized he still did not look very happy about having the kitten here with us.

Also, I realized that most of our outings were disastrous. "Gen?"

"Yes?" he asked, from the living room.

I hobbled there and looked at him. "I'm sorry if I'm difficult."

He looked taken aback. Frowning, he rubbed his jaw and stood up to face me. "What brought this on?"

I looked at him as I held my cane. "You said I was difficult, so I'm sorry." I didn’t even know why I was apologizing, but I was feeling really bad because I knew he was trying. "You're trying so hard, but I always manage to mess it up, so I'm really sorry."

He put a hand on my shoulder and smiled gently. “, marriage is two people from two sides trying to make it work," he said. "Please don't put all the blame on yourself; I know you're trying as well."

I didn’t know what to say, so I believed that action was the best way to express my thoughts. I leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth. I hope I wasn’t being forward, but I felt like doing it. When I pulled back, I realized he looked a bit flustered. "Are you..." I began, but he winced.

Immediately, we both looked down. Keigo was looking at us and he had “don't touch her” all over his face. "I guess kissing you was a bit too much for him." I giggled as I tried not to show him that I was amused.

He looked at me, down at the kitten, then back at me again. Without giving me any warning, he pulled me none too gently towards him and kissed my lips furiously. I wasn’t even given the chance to react as he pulled away and pushed Keigo off his leg. "Stupid kitten," he mumbled, walking away.

I placed my hand on my lips not expecting that at all. I couldn’t help a mischievous smile. Maybe… Just maybe having Keigo around was not a bad idea at all.  

~~~

DeveliCious

Edited by Elenniel