“Happy New Year!”
He had been the first to arrive but he didn’t regret coming; Shogo was hell bent on having a good time (and possibly meet a pretty, single girl to share a New Year’s kiss with).. He took a sip from his drink, his Adam’s apple bobbing a bit as he did, though after a few minutes he noticed Soshi and his wife entering, their fingers intertwined. Though he tried not to notice how nice the two looked together- Aunt Hime in her long, silver dress, and Soshi looking manlier than Shogo wanted to admit. A twinge of jealousy pulled at his heart, but he swallowed it when the two approached him.
“Sho-chan.” Soshi poked the blonde’s right shoulder. “Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year, girly man.” Shogo quipped, giving his friend a grin. After receiving a whack in the shoulder, his friend sat down beside him.
“I’ll get us some punch!” Hime sang, skipping over to the punchbowl.
“Never seen anyone so excited for punch…” The blonde mused, glancing at his best friend.
“It’s the first time she’s been able to unload in a while. I expect her to be drunk off her ass by the end of the night,” Soshi sighed as though it was troublesome, but Shogo noticed an endearing smile pulling at his lips, “but as long as we’re away from people and buildings that could possibly suffer, it should be alright.”
“Mmhm.” Shogo said, absentmindedly taking a long swig from his liquor. A wave of sadness had just washed over him.
“….Shogo, you-” Before Soshi got a chance to finish, his wife returned with his drink, which caused him to say, “Hime, this is hard liquor.”
“I know it is. I want to see you drunk again.”
“Do you have to be so straight about it?!”
Chihiro and Isshin arrived a little later than expected; after greeting the former three, Chihiro immediately grabbed something with alcohol in it, completely unconcerned with who saw. “Ooh! It’s sweet!” She gushed, and Isshin admitted that he found that endearing, though he knew what would follow soon after. “Another one couldn’t hurt…” Ah. There it was. Isshin only shook his head a bit.
“Why not?” He asked himself, and downed a shot himself.
“This seat taken?”
Shogo raised a brow when he realized suddenly that someone- someone female- was talking to him. He turned to the right of where he was sitting, his fingers still resting on his wine glass. His eyes widened slightly; she was no doubt a very beautiful woman, her short, flaming red hair (that seemed natural, not dyed, because of its tame, orange-ish color) framing her face as she casually gave him a smile, showing off her full, red stained lips as she watched him with her emerald green irises. She was wearing a yellow flower in her hair, which matched her medium- length strapless yellow dress, an outfit that brought just enough attention to her assets, which were, he realized, very impressive. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment though after a moment of watching her, his blush subsided; it was almost as if the shock of having a beautiful woman sit beside him had worn off. “Hi.”
She gave him a coy grin, and he was a bit shocked by the effect she had on him. “Hi.” Her voice was not at all high pitched; it was mature and almost “deep”, an alto voice, he supposed, a sound that made his heart race faster than he’d ever thought possible. “So what’s a handsome man like you doing here alone?”
“I…” Don’t choke, don’t choke! “Do you really want an answer to that?” He found himself asking, his tone teasing. “It’s almost as if you’re asking me to point out my flaws.”
“True.” She smirked at him, pulling at the longer end of her hair, her eyes sparkling at him. “I’ll ask a better question. Want to dance with me?”
“Depends,” Shogo said, “on whether we talk more or dance more if we do.”
“Which do you prefer?” She asked, resting her head on her outstretched palm.
“I’m not much of a dancer.” He admitted, offering his head. “So maybe you’ll lead and I’ll talk, and then we switch, but I may trip us both.”
As the two made their way to the dance floor, Soshi’s eyebrows furrowed with worry, his irises becoming a deep blue. He stood suddenly, his eyes settling on the woman his friend was dancing with, before they narrowed. Before he could so much as walk over to the pair, someone’s hand caught his wrist. He whirled to see his wife, whose grip only tightened as he struggled. She would always be just a little stronger than he was, even though he had been endowed with her people’s power as well.
“Don’t interfere.” Her voice was soft and authoritative, though he could still hear it above the loud music, her steady gaze cementing him in place. “Let them dance.”
“Danielle,” he protested, his expression suddenly revealing how vulnerable he felt, “I saw-”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s his problem. You don’t trust him to handle it on his own?” Now she seemed as though she was challenging him, and he swallowed, considering it.
“…I…” His expression hardened. “He told me he was lonely when I left…and that woman…” Sadness began to mar his face. “She’s only going to hurt him.”
“Sometimes pain makes us grow,” she murmured, pulling him back to his seat. “We hurt each other too, before we married, didn’t we? Sometimes we still do. You can only see parts, sweet one, so don’t get ahead of yourself.” Confusion and concern flashed across his features before she put her hands on either of sides of his face, leaning forward so that their faces were nearly touching. “Calm down, love.” She murmured, gently pressing her lips to his, and he relaxed, wrapping his arms around her waist as he tilted his head, melting into the comfort and bliss it brought both of them.
