Shinobu Suzuki (ssuzuki) wrote in renascentyears, @ 2008-09-07 14:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | patrick-ashford, shinobu-suzuki |
Being here made me love you more
Characters; Shin and Patrick
Date/Time; New Year's Day, morning
Where; Ueno ward, Tokyo, Japan
Warnings; PG
Status; Complete
New Year's Day in Japan was considered one of the most important holidays of the year and celebrated with fervour. Shops were closed and it was a time for family, for renewing acquaintances, and clearing debts. Homes were cleaned the day before and beautiful cards were sent with beautifully penned well wishes. Special food was eaten and decorations placed outside the door, and Shin's relatives, the Hayashibaras were no different.
Since Kimi had arranged the port keys for Shin and Pat, the younger set had seen very little of their elders over the course of the past few days. Naomi Hayashibara had a flat in Ueno, Tokyo, which her doting parents had purchased for her a couple of years back when she got accepted into Tokyo University with high honours. Unusual for Tokyo apartments, the place was roomy enough to accommodate Shin, Pat and Kimi, but as Shin explained to Pat, Naomi was very spoiled - although she was so sweet and friendly it was hard to realise.
Shin had introduced Patrick to his parents early on, they were polite and smiled, but it was obvious they still had reservations, although his mother was more approachable than his father. However, most of the time so far had been spent running about Tokyo with Kimi and Naomi, and a set of Naomi's friends from Uni. All of them thought Shin and Patrick were a brilliant example of 'boys love' and the female members of the group fan-girled them terribly, taking photos of them with their arms around each other and giggling if there was a kiss, even if just on the cheek. The group took the boys to karaoke, Odaiba town, Harajuku (where Shin and Patrick were approached by half a dozen modelling agents and talent scouts) and all the other popular Tokyo places. Shin had managed to extract them to get to a love hotel in Shinjuku for a night, which proved to be - in his opinion - the highlight of the trip.
Now New Year's Day had swung around and it was time for Hatsumode, the first visit of the year to a shrine. The one that Shin's family went to was in the Ueno area so the idea was to meet up with the parents, get blessings and do the prayers at the shrine, have lunch and then go their separate ways again. Currently everyone was preparing, dressing up in full kimono as was traditional on this day and while Shin dressed in the men's version in the room he was sharing with Pat, Naomi came shuffling out of her room, all dolled up in a purple kimono and flowers in her hair, to approach Patrick in the kitchen.
"Patrick-san, you will wear kimono, yes?" she asked with a sweet smile. "You and Shin-chan will look so pretty!"
Patrick blushed at the suggestion that he was pretty though he was getting more used to the attention his looks got him here. He assumed because, to them, his light brown hair and blue eyes were exotic.
"I don't have a kimono to wear, otherwise I would Naomi-san."
"Is not a problem," Naomi assured him and produced the kimono she'd been hiding behind her back. "This is Tomo-chan's spare, he say you can borrow for today," Tomo-chan being on of her friends that had accompanied them on the various trips. "Shin-chan will help you put it on, so no excuse now!"
Patrick blinked several times momentarily overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of Shin's friends and family. They'd been so incredibly gracious to him during this whole trip that it almost made up for the frost that seemed to gather at the edges of the room any time he approached Shin's father. His mother was slowly warming to him but no such luck with his father.
He bowed formally to Naomi though his eyes were sparkling, "Thank you much Naomi-san and tell Tomo-san that I greatly appreciate his thoughtfulness," he glanced up and grinned at Naomi, "Now I'll go get Shin to help me into it."
Patrick headed to where he knew Shin was getting ready and paused in the doorway to take in the sight of Shin half dressed. Shin in any state of dress made him pleased though these days.
He held up the kimono, "Can you help me with this?"
Having spent the last few minutes getting his hair back to its natural black and removing his earrings, out of deference to tradition, Shin still hadn't closed the front of his kimono when Patrick came in. He turned at Patrick's question, unconcerned that the garment he wore gaped open since Patrick had seen him in all states now, and laughed. "Naomi-chan is definitely persistent," he waved Pat forward. "Of course, but first you need to strip to your boxers because otherwise this will look very odd."
"Don't get distracted Shin, we only have fifteen minutes!" Kimi called out as she passed the door, waving her wand to close it on the two boys.
"I know!" Shin yelled back, but then grinned at Patrick, leaning in to whisper. "Although I could think of several things to do in ten minutes and still get you dressed."
With his sister and cousin, and their Japanese friends, Shin was even less of the perfect prefect . He let them dress him up in the most stylish fashion and was as rowdy as any young Japanese male of his age - which was much more boisterous than the quiet, demure image most foreigners thought of when thinking of the Japanese people. Being around people who actually thought his relationship with Patrick was absolutely brilliant also help Shin's confidence.
"Me too but then I would be thinking dirty thoughts about you around your parents and they already dislike me enough. And I swear that your father can read my mind and knows just how much I want to be somewhere secluded where I could spend all day tasting you."
Patrick fell even more in love with Shin after seeing him in a place where he felt he belonged. It amazed Patrick the change that came over his boyfriend when he was among real friends. He paused when he was half finished dressing to look at Shin, "You know, I have some money saved up. We should rent a suite here in Tokyo during Easter Hols and invite only our close friends. I think that Libby would like to see who you are when you're here. I know that it's made me love you more and she's your best mate so it might do her good to see this side of you too."
Shin smiled dryly at the mention of his father. "Yes, he does have that knack, and I think they're pretending that all we do is hold hands and nothing more. The idea of us doing more than that is probably a bit too much," he could only imagine his father's expression if he knew about the love hotel visit. "Still, you're definitely winning Mum over and that's half the battle."
After getting Patrick started with the finer points of dressing in a kimono, Shin finished off his, tying the belt and adjusting the collar before pulling on the jacket that went over the top. He paused as well when the holiday idea was ventured and regarded his boyfriend without speaking for a moment. He was conscious of feeling very happy that Patrick was talking about an event some months in the future, which meant he was seeing their relationship as a more lasting thing, and therefore it took a moment before Shin could speak. "That's a great idea, I've got some stashed away as well so we can get quite a large place between us," he stepped closer to Patrick and put his arms around him so he could kiss him soundly. "I'm glad you came... and I'm glad you like what you see in me here," it was taking a lot not to whoop loudly in delight at Patrick saying 'love'. "See? I didn't get bored of having you around all the time."
"Well, how was I supposed to know?" Patrick asked with a laugh as he navigated the complicated process of getting dressed.
"It's called faith," Shin teased, helping him with the belt and any other aspect Patrick hesitated over. Once they were both dressed properly, Shin opened the door and they walked into a sudden barrage of flashing lights as Kimi, Naomi and all of Naomi's friends - who'd arrived during the last ten minutes - took multiple photographs. Most of them were aiming for Patrick, delighted by the novelty of a gaijin dressed in traditional robes.
Blinking to get the spots out of his eyes, Shin sought out his sister. "Are Mum and Dad already there?" he asked.
She raised her mobile phone - more comfortable in Japan with the popular muggle device than any magical means - and nodded. "Yeah, so are the rest of the wrinklies. Good thing Pat agreed to the kimono," she flashed a grin at Patrick. "It'll go down a treat and make them much more inclined to be pleased with you, Pat," she winked.
Shin turned to Patrick. "Ready?"
"Ready," Patrick said with a smile.
As he followed Kimi and Shin to where the adults were gathered he considered the look of surprise that had been on Shin's face when he'd used the word love. Soon he would have to explain the reasons that saying things like that were so blasted difficult for him, though he suspected that his perceptive boyfriend already knew.
The adults were assembled outside the entrance to the shrine and comprised of Shin's maternal grandparents, their friends, Shin's maternal uncle and aunt, his parents, Tatsuya and Mina, and their friends as well. Shin had explained to Patrick earlier that there would be no one from his father's side since the pureblood Suzukis had not yet forgiven Shin's father for marrying a Muggleborn. Which made his father's reaction to Patrick (and Lydia before) even more ironic.
Mina Suzuki stepped forward when she saw her children, beaming with pride. "Happy New Year, my darlings. You both look wonderful," she said in English, stroking first Kimi and then Shin's cheeks - although she almost had to tiptoe to touch her tall son. Her eyes fell on Patrick and her smile broadened. "Patrick-kun," the use of the more familiar honourific said volumes about how Mina had decided to view Patrick. Clearly Shin's more pragmatic mother was deciding to accept her son's new relationship and treat Patrick with kindness. "You look very handsome. Happy New Year."
However, Tatsuya didn't even look at Patrick and while he smiled at Kimi, his nod to Shin was brief and stiff. Shin frowned slightly, hesitating and then stepped forward to speak to his father in rapid Japanese, his voice quiet. Tatsuya stiffened but then nodded again and turned away to greet his niece.
"Sorry about that," Shin murmured to Patrick as he rejoined him. "Come and meet my grandparents though, they're not so stiff-necked."
Patrick wished he could squeeze Shin's hand but he didn't dare, "It's okay Shin, I understand. And your mum was being nice. The rest will either happen or not. There's no way to force things. Besides, you have to remember that I have members of my family who can't accept me because I'm a bastard, the fact that my boyfriend's father has difficulty accepting his son likes both boys and girls won't hurt me."
Shin did sneak his hand around to rub Patrick's lower back, the wide sleeves of their kimono jackets making it easier to hide the action as they approached his grandparents. "It just annoys me because Dad made his own choices about who to date and can't seem to recognise that by disapproving of my choices he's doing exactly what his family did to him."
He moved his hand away when they reached his grandparents, bowing to them and accepting the envelopes of money they pressed into his hands with graceful humility before introducing Patrick in Japanese - since his grandparents didn't speak English very well. The elderly couple smiled at Patrick and bowed to him, Grandmother Hayashibara giving Shin a laughing little nudge which made Shin blush.
"She says you're very handsome and we look good together," Shin explained.
Patrick blushed and ducked his head slightly, "Tell her thank you, it's always nice to get compliments from women who you know were knockouts in their day."
"Hey, that's my grandma you're flirting with, mate!" Shin teased but relayed Patrick's words. His grandmother chuckled and poked Patrick in the shoulder before making a comment to her husband. "She's flattered and is now asking my grandfather why he never compliments her like that," Shin laughed. "Come on, I better get you away before she decides to try to steal you off me!"
Bowing to his grinning grandparents, Shin half dragged Patrick to the entrance to the shrine. Mases of people, all dressed in their best, already milled around the area and there were no other foreigners, meaning Patrick received a fair number of stares.
"Now you don't have to pray if you don't want to," Shin said as he led his boyfriend up to the main part of the shrine. "But if you do, then it's just tossing a five yen coin in the boxes, ring the bell, press your hands together and bow," he paused by a fountain where several scoops were resting. "However, etiquette demands you wash your hands before going any further," he explained, putting actions to words.
Patrick followed Shin's example and washed his hands then continued following Shin into the Shrine. He knew that Shin's family practiced Shinto but he didn't think that the spirits or gods would be offended by a boy who simply believed that all faith was one. Besides, he knew it was important for Shin's family to see him making an effort to fit in.
Because of the amount of people, they had to wait for a few minutes before they could actually reach the slotted boxes in which to throw the coins and ring the bell. In the inner sanctum of the shrine could be seen blue and white robed priests and the red and white robed shrine maidens, the miko, performing a ritual.
Throwing in his 5 yen coin, Shin rang the bell, which was meant to alert the spirits to listen to him, and then bowed his head over his clasped hands. His prayer was simple: For a good year, for the health and happiness of his loved ones, for his father to accept who he was and for things to keep going well with Patrick.
Following Shin's lead Patrick placed the coin in the box and rang the bell. When he bowed in prayer his prayers differed slightly from Shin's. He too prayed for health and happiness for his family and for things to work out between him and Shin. He also prayed that James would come to understand that just because he was with Shin now didn't make their time together any less special to him. And he prayed that he would be able to be the things he needed to be to make things work with Shin.
Lifting his head, Shin smiled at Patrick. "New Year fortunes now," he beckoned for him to follow. "Don't worry, I'll translate yours for you, but they're well worth getting even if you don't usually believe in them. Mine all tend to be spot on though," he added.
Finding a miko who wasn't being swamped, Shin paid for a couple of fortunes and showed Patrick how they were drawn. He was given a long box and shook it vigourously until a stick with a number on it popped out. The miko then gave Shin a long, narrow piece of paper from a numbered box which corresponded with the number on the stick. Shin unfolded it and grinned. "Great good luck," he reported and chuckled. "Especially in love and study," he winked at Patrick. "Told you these were worth it."
Pat took his almost afraid of what it would say, "Your greatest fears will bring your greatest joys," Pat's smile grew wider as Shin read it.
"So true," Shin murmured before he grinned and then took Pat's hand, drawing him around the fortune telling booth so for a moment they were completely alone. "And it's impossible for me not to kiss you now," he said huskily, drawing Patrick close and resting his forehead against the other boy's. "Arigato, Thank you... for coming here," he whispered and then kissed Patrick gently, convinced that this had to be the best start to a New Year he could remember.
Patrick leaned into the kiss knowing that it would be the last time that he would be able to touch Shin while they were around the adults. As the kiss ended Patrick smiled at Shin, "Is that acceptable behavior at a Shrine? If so I would love to come back."
"Japanese gods are a rather earthy bunch, I doubt they'll be offended," Shin reassured him with a smile. "But we probably should get back to the others before we're missed."
"Because I'm sure your father is keeping an eagle eye on us at all times," Patrick squeezed Shin's hand before following him back to the adults.
"Perhaps one day he remember I've grown up," Shin rolled his eyes, but didn't let his annoyance with his father spoil the day. Instead his smile was back in place when they rejoined the others, just in time to be rounded up for photos by Kimi and Naomi.
Shin and Patrick were certainly the stars of the day, with not only Shin's younger relatives but his grandparents also getting the photo bug. Out of the corner of his eye, Shin saw his mother sneaking several shots, a mischievous smile on her face and he grinned, nudging Patrick to draw his attention to it. He certainly felt better knowing his mother had come around.
The slight mischievous smile that Shin's mother was wearing reminded Patrick of the look his boyfriend got on his face when he knew he was doing something that bent the rules if even a little. For that reason and the look of relief on Shin's face that followed his mother's slight smile Patrick would gladly stand all day and have his photograph taken.
At one point during the photography session, Shin was taken aside by his grandmother. When he returned to Pat's side, he had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Hey... My grandparents have invited you and me to their place for lunch. Do you want to go? Or would you rather do as we planned and spend the time with Kimi and the others? My grandparents will understand if you'd rather be with the younger crowd," he smiled. "It's up to you because I don't mind either way. Except that grandma is likely to be showing you photos of me as a kid..."
"That cinches it. I was going to say your grandparents anyway but the showing of the required naked toddler photo is just what I needed to make my mind up for me."
Shin blushed. "Just as long as you never mention it to anyone else, or I may have to take severe revenge," he threatened. However, he couldn't help being pleased. He was very fond of his bohemian grandparents, who weren't stuffy (and how could they be when they produced his mother?) and accepted him as he was without piling on any pressure. Glancing over at his grandmother, he nodded his head and she beamed. "All right, five minutes and we'll head off with them. They live close by so we'll just be walking."
"Walking is good," Patrick assured Shin, "I've lived on Diagon Alley all my life, I walk almost everywhere," he was constantly astounded by how laid back this version of his boyfriend was. He was sure that he would be unrecognizable to their classmates.
They were lagging slightly behind the adults so Patrick turned to Shin as they were talking, "Who do you think we should invite for Easter Hols?" he asked.
"Hmm..." Shin considered as they trailed behind his grandparents after saying goodbye to the others and started weaving their way through the crowds. "You mentioned Libby, Parry could do with a break as well, if she's allowed to come, and I suppose..." he smiled wryly. "James as well."
"Yes, James without a doubt," Patrick agreed, "Probably Haleigh as well."
Shin raised one eyebrow. "I don't have any objection to her, but... won't James get upset about sharing a suite with a Slytherin?" it wouldn't be a great holiday if two members of the party were sniping at each other.
Patrick knew that Shin was right but he had recently decided that his best friend had a lot of growing up to do before graduation in June, "James has about six months to learn to get along with people before he's dumped into the real world where he has to deal."
"Very true, but you'll be the one to tell him who's coming, right?" Shin doubted James would receive the news very well if it came from him.
"Yes because he already knows that Haleigh and I are friends. It won't be a big surprise to him if we invited her even if he did bluster a bit over it," Patrick grinned at Shin, "I'm just waiting for Jamie to fall for a Slytherin it would be poetic."
"It would," Shin agreed with a chuckle. He doubted it would happen though. James' prejudices seemed to run very deep.
His grandparents led them down a narrow road and then paused outside a gate, waiting for the boys to catch up. There was only a tiny front yard, but the house itself was fairly large for inner Tokyo and showed that the Hayashibaras were fairly well off. As with all Japanese homes, there was an area just inside the door where shoes were taken off and house slippers put on, then down the end of a corridor was the main room, which was very traditional with tatami mats and a low table - the kotatsu - in the middle.
"Welcome to our home, Patrick-kun" Shin's grandfather said in his heavily accented English.
"I thank you for your hospitality," Patrick bowed to both of Shin's grandparents, "Your family has gone to great lengths to make me feel at home during my stay."
Mr and Mrs Hayashibara beamed and bowed back, indicating they were very pleased by Patrick's response and then Sho invited Patrick to sit down while Momoko bustled out to the kitchen.
"How do you like Japan?" Sho asked Patrick, his English still slow but he was obviously determined to use it and Shin didn't offer to translate.
"The country is beautiful, the people are amazingly polite and helpful and it brings out the best in Shin, I love it."
Sho looked confused when Patrick mentioned how Japan affected Shin, clearly not realising there was a difference between his grandson's behaviour. This time Shin did step in, quickly explaining in rapid Japanese and the old man laughed at the end, nodding his head.
"Ah yes, yes..." he looked at Shin, reaching over to pat his shoulder. "My son-in-law is good man but strict, eh? Expect many thing from Shin-chan."
At this moment Momoko reappeared with tea and a tray containing osechi ryori, the traditional food eaten at New Year, chopsticks and bowls. Also, as Shin predicted, she had some photo albums with her which she gave to Patrick. "Shin-chan very kawaii when little boy," she grinned as Shin groaned faintly. He knew not only would there be the obligatory nude toddler snap, but several others such as his early violin performances, dressing up for festivals and the usual parade of blush-inducing pictures.
"Remember, you keep this to yourself," he told Pat as he helped himself to some kamaboko and shrimp.
"Of course," Patrick turned to Shin's grandmother, "May I have a copy of this one?" he asked pointing at one of the performance pictures, "I would like to making a drawing of it but I don't think I could do it by memory."
"You want to draw that?" Shin murmured, looking over Pat's shoulder at the photo. He remembered that performance. He felt like an idiot in the tuxedo and so nervous too, only eight years old and standing up on stage in front of a sea of adults to play his first major solo performance. At least he'd managed to perform well, no mistakes and didn't fall over, but he'd burst into tears from the stress later.
"You can have," Momoko said with a charming smile, taking the photo out of the album and presenting it to Patrick. "You give me drawing, hai?"
"Of course," Patrick's eyes were serious, "I could probably do a portrait if you could talk him into sitting for it."
Shin laughed softly. "All you need to do is ask," he said as his grandmother looked delighted at the prospect and reported to his grandfather who was obviously just as enthusiastic.
For a moment Shin's tone made Patrick forget that he was sitting with Shin and his grandparents and he turned to Shin and cupped his face in his hands, "I would do anything for you," he smiled before brushing a light kiss across Shin's mouth.
Not expecting Patrick's action, even as his heart did a little flutter when his boyfriend smiled at him in that way and from what Patrick said, Shin didn't evade the kiss. His eyes widened slightly, but he couldn't help responding in kind even thought he blushed at the same time. Nervously, his eyes slid to his grandparents. They were a relaxed couple, but kissing was still a very personal act amongst their generation and even more so when the kissers were of the same gender.
Sho and Momoko had very politely looked away at the moment, and were now arguing playfully with each other over one of the lunch delicacies. However, Momoko's eyes briefly met Shin's and she smiled slightly, winking at him. Shin relaxed at this sign of approval, smiling at Patrick and tenderly brushing his fingers against his cheek. "Eat," he said, his tone warm. "We'll discuss sittings later."
"Okay," Patrick smiled at Shin, "We have plenty of time."
And, for once, Patrick meant it.