Nobu strolled alongside Marsh happily hand in hand. On a whim he invited the other man out for a date and, miraculously, he happened to be available. So they decided to meet up for dinner and a bit of holiday decoration browsing. He liked looking at all the different displays and, bonus, it was free to do! That meant his money was able to be spent on food stuffs. Food stuffs that had been quite filling. Nothing beat a good bit of Mexican food.
"This is nice," he said to Marsh, smiling up at him. "Looking at all this stuff. Christmas decorations are a lot of fun. You guys go all out here. So many lights!"
There had been times when his mom would ask him to string up Christmas lights or go pick up a tree when his dad was too drunk. Ever since he died the whole family just sort of forgot to decorate with the exception of one plastic tree they’d bring out of storage every year, already decorated to avoid any more effort. “Yeah I suppose some people do.”
Marsh gave Nobu’s hand a tentative squeeze as they stopped to admire the large Christmas tree in the center of the shopping area. “Celebration is something that gives people everywhere a lot of joy, especially when it’s so universally celebrated.” He wasn’t sure if they celebrated in Japan but he knew the idea wasn’t completely foreign over there. Marsh wrapped his arm around Nobu that was holding his hand and his other arm, enveloping his body from behind.
As soon as Marsh’s arms wrapped around him, Nobu was nuzzling back into the taller man. “Yeah it is definitely a holly jolly fun time of year.” He looked up with a grin, entirely too amused by his corny little statement. “I love the decorations and the markets and such. It is just all so colorful and bright. There are times I would visit places just to see the displays. You know, kind of like right now,” he added with a bit of a chuckle. “The company makes it all the better.” With some effort, Nobu stood on his toes and gave Marsh a quick peck on the cheek. The affection was coming more naturally; he didn’t even blush at the smallest kiss now!
“Do you want to get some dessert?” He asked suddenly. "I saw a bakery somewhere back there. We should get something. What do you think?"
Even though they’d only been seeing each other for a few weeks, Marsh could feel the changes happening in his body from all the food he’d eaten with Nobu. He supposed it was time to go on longer jogs if he was going to burn off all this fat. “Sure.” He replied since he had a hard time saying no to any of Nobu’s suggestions.
He let go of the other man with whom he was patiently waiting for, to be more comfortable, and returned to holding his hand as they made their way back to the bakery. “You know, before long I might have a belly if we keep eating like this.” He teased, pulling the coat he wore closed to the sudden wind chill.
"Nothing wrong with a bit of a belly," he returned pleasantly. "Just means you are living a full life." Nobu reached over and gave the other man an affectionate pat on the stomach. Even with the extra padding of the jacket he could tell Marsh was quite a ways from having a noticeable belly. "You shouldn't worry. You would look good with a little extra. Just as good as you do now."
Their journey didn't take long and before they knew it they were face to face with a collection of different pastries, breads, and desserts. Nobu stared starry eyed at the selection; there were just so many choices! "Ohh a strawberry shortcake!" He pointed at the white sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberry topping. It was a popular dessert for Christmas and birthdays. There was a pause.
"Oh hey. It is my birthday. Huh." He hadn't realized it until he'd seen the cake. His free hand went to rub the back of his neck sheepishly, chuckling. "I completely forgot."
“It is?” He replied, “well then it’s on me.” He said and ordered himself a chocolate eclair. Once the fee was paid, Marsh grabbed their pastries and found a table for them to sit down at. The comment about how he looked didn’t go unnoticed and Marsh felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter at it.
He began to cut up the eclair with the side of the fork that had been provided and realized this was the perfect opportunity to ask him something he didn’t know. “So how old does that make you now?” He wouldn’t be surprised if it were 25 or even 40.
“Oh you don’t have to,” he was quick to reassure but made no further protest when Marsh insisted. If he wanted to treat him on his birthday then Nobu would let him. Of course, he ordered a piece of the strawberry shortcake that had triggered the comment in the first place and brought it to the table with a spring in his step.
“How old? Good question.” Nobu pondered, counting numbers silently on his fingers. “Let’s see… seventeen, eighteen… is it eighteen? Yeah, eighteen.” He gave an affirmative nod as the final number was determined. “I am a hundred and eighteen.”
Normally, Marsh could let his guard down and listen to his thoughts to find out the truth but he couldn’t understand the language Nobu thought in and so he’d have to dig it out of Nobu himself. “Very funny. I’m 39 if that makes it easier for you, turning 40 in February.” He knew that people could look much younger than their actual age but not by that much.
“Come on now, I promise I won’t judge you tell me the truth.” He offered, lifting his eyebrows before offering Nobu a smile. He didn’t mind the joke, it helped lighten the mood he always felt like he was in. Come to think of it, it seemed to completely disappear whenever he was around.
Nobu pierced the spongy cake with his fork, severing a small piece from the rest of the dessert. "I'm not lying. I'm 118," he insisted. He was mildly confused by Marsh's assumption that it was a joke until he remembered that he had the appearance of a human, a young one at that. Humans didn't generally live that long. Tanuki, however, could have many centuries under their belt. He smiled. "It seems old but I am actually rather young for a tanuki."
The first feeling Marsh had was confusion. “What’s a tan-ucki?” He didn’t think he could pronounce it like Nobu if he tried. He’d seen some strange things in his time, noticeably some of the people in town were something other than completely human, but this was something he didn’t understand.
His second feeling was vulnerable, like he’d made himself vulnerable to Nobu and he didn’t seem to care at all. He couldn’t think rationally about that because it hurt him.
Nobu tilted his head. "A tanuki? A yokai." He thought a moment, then clarified. "Hmm well, spirit or monster you might call us here though calling someone a monster is usually negative which is a bit rude if you ask me." It didn't change the fact he was, in fact, a supernatural creature and thus perceived as a monster to some. "Also called a raccoon dog though tanuki is the proper term. We have little to nothing to do with raccoons. At least the ones here."
He took a bite of his cake. "Remember the pin from forever ago? The one you thought was a raccoon?" He beamed, proud. "That is me. Well not exactly me because I wasn't actually the pin but you understand."
Marsh tried his best to process the information that was coming his way, focusing on Nobu’s expression to see what behaviors he was exhibiting. This wasn’t as easy as it was with everyone else cause he couldn’t understand the things going through his mind. Sure he knew otherworldly things existed but this seemed like a stretch. “I don’t understand.” He repeated, looking down at the eclair he’d barely taken a bite out of.
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I.. I told you something I hadn’t told no one else in a long time. Something deeply personal.” He could feel himself slipping, almost as if he was watching from above. “And you can’t even tell me the truth about who you are?” Because it couldn’t be the truth, it made no sense, not by any logic he could come by.
"What?" Something was wrong. Nobu could sense the mood was taking a turn and wasn't exactly sure why. Marsh seemed to think he wasn't being truthful, and that was upsetting the man, but he was telling the truth. So how, then, was he supposed to settle this before the mood got worse?
"I am not lying," he insisted, reaching a hand over the table to rest on Marsh's. "There is no reason for me to lie, and even if I was - which I'm not - I wouldn't keep doing it knowing it upsets you. Honest."
Marsh pulled his hand away, too far gone to even recognize that Nobu was being honest. The only other explanation, one Marsh didn’t even want to consider was that Nobu needed psychiatric help. “I know you probably think it’s true, but it’s a delusion and I can’t help you with that.”
Not anymore, not ever.
He stood from where he sat, leaving his dessert unfinished. He shook his head. “I need to go, Rudy’s been at home alone.” It was an excuse, Rudy would be fine but he couldn’t be here anymore, couldn’t be a part of whatever this was.
“I’m sorry.” He said finally, making his move to leave.
A twinge of pain hit his chest when Marsh refused his hand. Nobu didn't understand his negative reaction. He had revealed himself to humans back home before; while they didn't believe him at first they almost all came to accept it as truth. Stories of tanuki and their antics were well-known in Japan which made residents there more receptive to such creatures being real. But Marsh was American and didn't have those cultural attachments. He didn't even know what a tanuki was.
But he wasn't thinking about those things. What he was focused on was that the man he was developing strange new feelings for was calling him a liar and a delusion. It both hurt and angered him.
"You are wrong!" He snapped back as he rose from his seat, ignoring Marsh's attempt to excuse himself. "I am not a delusion! I am me and I am real!" He stared at the other man, his pain and anger evident in his features. "I am real," he repeated before turning away and hurriedly left the store, leaving Marsh,and the food, behind without another word.
Marsh sighed as the impact had caused a bit off scene. He muttered a quick apology before clearing their table. At least it hadn’t gone too far, cause Marsh was getting really comfortable in it and much longer of that he’d be too far gone. It was for the best. Marsh didn’t seem to be cut out for relationships.