Flinging her arms around his neck caused both of them to momentarily lose their equilibrium. Thankfully, his reflexes were as quick and sharp as ever or they would both be sitting on the floor. ,
She clung to him, listening intently, deep sadness spreading inside her as the love of her life recounted what happened to Yaso.
“I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to completely move past what happened. The death of a loved one causes trauma and leaves a scar, no matter how benign the manner of passing may have been..."
He was correct, as always. The death of a loved one was something that could never truly be put in the past, never to be thought of again. She knew that. She grieved for him for the rest of her life after he'd passed during Meiji 1.
"Hajime, I would never expect you to ever get over what happened to Yaso-san." It was a somber reality in his life in this era just as their time in Tonami had been in their past life.
"She was the one who loved you dearly in this era, as I had in the past. She was the birth mother of your children and she protected them at the cost of her life. I would never expect you or the boys to forget her. She has an honored place in this household," for keeping my family of the past safe so I could find them in the future. The Major did not need to know the thoughts that continued to flow through Tokio's mind. She would always be grateful to Yaso for how she cared for and protected Hajime, Tsutomu, and Tsuyoshi.
"Tokio, it broke me.”
Tokio gripped him even tighter, hoping he would find comfort in her gesture. Her emotions wrenched at his admission. He revealed the depths of his heart to her, letting her know that she held a place most likely never held by another.
Before she knew it the attorney was scooped into the Major's arms and in spite of a skirmish with an uncooperative chair, which included some colorful language, Tokio was successfully the settled onto his lap. Both clung to each other, finding comfort in each other's presence.
“For years, it was all I could do to stay alive, to try and claw some semblance of existence for myself and the boys. You’ve seen the results of that effort. And, until we met in that damn café, I truly thought that the struggle of living day to day would be the end sum of my existence. You proved me wrong.”
He punctuated his admission with a kiss before speaking again, and giving her a look.
“As for this ridiculous business of not knowing whether or not I wanted you to stay with me…I asked you, didn’t I?”
Ah...there was something familiar in that look of his. She had seen it before, many years ago. She pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows. As she opened her mouth to respond, he kissed her, preventing her from answering. Darn him, she thought. That man always did know how to shut her up. And he always did it in the most satisfying way she could imagine.
It wasn't long before he continued to spill out what he held in his heart.
“You’re the first woman I’ve touched in over three years, Tokio. As long as I live, there will be no other.”
Tokio stared at him, his words giving her pause, as their meaning sunk in. There had been no other for him since Yaso, not even anyone on a rebound fueled by an alcoholic binge? It was almost like he had saved himself for her, but she knew that was a ridiculous way to think. To her his words were a vow of a life-long commitment to her. He already knew that her experience in this era, other than what he'd done himself, consisted of only a few chaste good night kisses at the end of a rare date, and those certainly did not fit the definition of intimate by a long shot.
She had too much to do to engage in matters of the heart. Plus she couldn't imagine putting a husband and children in danger because of her line of work. Hajime and his family had a target on them long before she showed up. She only hoped that the target on her wouldn't expand the target on them, which seemed to be growing larger by the day.
Tokio reminded him softly, "You know about my background in those matters, Hajime, and as long as I have lived, both then and now, there has been, and there will be no other than you as well."
After their mutual confessions the man proceeded to kiss her senseless and she loved every minute of it. Even though the kitchen chair they were perched on wasn't the most comfortable place to sit, she could keep this up for a good part of the day. It was like old times. She could feel the affect that this activity was having on both of them, just like it had all those years ago
Joy...inside, outside, and upside down, pure and simple... unbridled joy... accompanied by a bit of relief washed across the woman's countenance. Her husband, her children, her memories, all of them, the sorrowful, the joyful, the forgettable, the most memorable, they were all there from her Meiji 1 life. Somehow the attorney knew that memories from that era would help her through this era, no matter what lay ahead for her reunited family.
There were things she still wanted to tell him, But there was no way she was going to interrupt this. Tokio relished his attention, thoroughly enjoying each moment. She realized she'd missed being this close to him so much. He was kissing her more soundly than he had the morning before, if that were even possible, leaving her no doubt about his feelings. In matters of relationships and... love, he had always been better at showing her how he felt than telling her. She didn't mind one bit. Truth be told she preferred it that way.
Although not having any experience in this era, she did have her memories of their married life in the past. Sitting as she was on his lap, there was no doubt in her mind as to how her former, soon to be current, husband was reacting to this. Pulling away from him for a moment, she gave him a mischievous little smile before diving back to his lips.
In addition to telling him about her talk with Tsutomu there was another matter that needed to be cleared between them, but that could wait until they both needed to come up for breath.
He even managed to rasp out a mild scolding between kisses, which amused her to no end.
“Dammit, woman ....I even gave you my favorite gun.”
Laughing, with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes, Tokio pulled away from him just long enough to respond, "Yes you did, Hajime. Yes you did." Then giving him a thoughtful look she continued, "and that was the best sign ever. That is when I thought you might like me, if just a little." She couldn't help but add, "Even then I knew you wouldn't give your favorite gun to just anyone," Well maybe she was stretching a bit since she didn't really know him the day he did that, but she figured him to be the type. Joy, contentment and satisfaction radiated from the attorney's face before she got back to the business at hand... taking evidence of his commitment to her.
no subject
She clung to him, listening intently, deep sadness spreading inside her as the love of her life recounted what happened to Yaso.
“I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to completely move past what happened. The death of a loved one causes trauma and leaves a scar, no matter how benign the manner of passing may have been..."
He was correct, as always. The death of a loved one was something that could never truly be put in the past, never to be thought of again. She knew that. She grieved for him for the rest of her life after he'd passed during Meiji 1.
"Hajime, I would never expect you to ever get over what happened to Yaso-san." It was a somber reality in his life in this era just as their time in Tonami had been in their past life.
"She was the one who loved you dearly in this era, as I had in the past. She was the birth mother of your children and she protected them at the cost of her life. I would never expect you or the boys to forget her. She has an honored place in this household," for keeping my family of the past safe so I could find them in the future. The Major did not need to know the thoughts that continued to flow through Tokio's mind. She would always be grateful to Yaso for how she cared for and protected Hajime, Tsutomu, and Tsuyoshi.
"Tokio, it broke me.”
Tokio gripped him even tighter, hoping he would find comfort in her gesture. Her emotions wrenched at his admission. He revealed the depths of his heart to her, letting her know that she held a place most likely never held by another.
Before she knew it the attorney was scooped into the Major's arms and in spite of a skirmish with an uncooperative chair, which included some colorful language, Tokio was successfully the settled onto his lap. Both clung to each other, finding comfort in each other's presence.
“For years, it was all I could do to stay alive, to try and claw some semblance of existence for myself and the boys. You’ve seen the results of that effort. And, until we met in that damn café, I truly thought that the struggle of living day to day would be the end sum of my existence. You proved me wrong.”
He punctuated his admission with a kiss before speaking again, and giving her a look.
“As for this ridiculous business of not knowing whether or not I wanted you to stay with me…I asked you, didn’t I?”
Ah...there was something familiar in that look of his. She had seen it before, many years ago. She pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows. As she opened her mouth to respond, he kissed her, preventing her from answering. Darn him, she thought. That man always did know how to shut her up. And he always did it in the most satisfying way she could imagine.
It wasn't long before he continued to spill out what he held in his heart.
“You’re the first woman I’ve touched in over three years, Tokio. As long as I live, there will be no other.”
Tokio stared at him, his words giving her pause, as their meaning sunk in. There had been no other for him since Yaso, not even anyone on a rebound fueled by an alcoholic binge? It was almost like he had saved himself for her, but she knew that was a ridiculous way to think. To her his words were a vow of a life-long commitment to her. He already knew that her experience in this era, other than what he'd done himself, consisted of only a few chaste good night kisses at the end of a rare date, and those certainly did not fit the definition of intimate by a long shot.
She had too much to do to engage in matters of the heart. Plus she couldn't imagine putting a husband and children in danger because of her line of work. Hajime and his family had a target on them long before she showed up. She only hoped that the target on her wouldn't expand the target on them, which seemed to be growing larger by the day.
Tokio reminded him softly, "You know about my background in those matters, Hajime, and as long as I have lived, both then and now, there has been, and there will be no other than you as well."
After their mutual confessions the man proceeded to kiss her senseless and she loved every minute of it. Even though the kitchen chair they were perched on wasn't the most comfortable place to sit, she could keep this up for a good part of the day. It was like old times. She could feel the affect that this activity was having on both of them, just like it had all those years ago
Joy...inside, outside, and upside down, pure and simple... unbridled joy... accompanied by a bit of relief washed across the woman's countenance. Her husband, her children, her memories, all of them, the sorrowful, the joyful, the forgettable, the most memorable, they were all there from her Meiji 1 life. Somehow the attorney knew that memories from that era would help her through this era, no matter what lay ahead for her reunited family.
There were things she still wanted to tell him, But there was no way she was going to interrupt this. Tokio relished his attention, thoroughly enjoying each moment. She realized she'd missed being this close to him so much. He was kissing her more soundly than he had the morning before, if that were even possible, leaving her no doubt about his feelings. In matters of relationships and... love, he had always been better at showing her how he felt than telling her. She didn't mind one bit. Truth be told she preferred it that way.
Although not having any experience in this era, she did have her memories of their married life in the past. Sitting as she was on his lap, there was no doubt in her mind as to how her former, soon to be current, husband was reacting to this. Pulling away from him for a moment, she gave him a mischievous little smile before diving back to his lips.
In addition to telling him about her talk with Tsutomu there was another matter that needed to be cleared between them, but that could wait until they both needed to come up for breath.
He even managed to rasp out a mild scolding between kisses, which amused her to no end.
“Dammit, woman ....I even gave you my favorite gun.”
Laughing, with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes, Tokio pulled away from him just long enough to respond, "Yes you did, Hajime. Yes you did." Then giving him a thoughtful look she continued, "and that was the best sign ever. That is when I thought you might like me, if just a little." She couldn't help but add, "Even then I knew you wouldn't give your favorite gun to just anyone," Well maybe she was stretching a bit since she didn't really know him the day he did that, but she figured him to be the type. Joy, contentment and satisfaction radiated from the attorney's face before she got back to the business at hand... taking evidence of his commitment to her.