Broken Glass
By: Lily
Rating: PG-13, for violence, sexual situations and language.
Summary: AU. The Uesugi family, at a glance, appeared as though they had everything. On the inside, their trials and tribulations was far greater than anyone could have imagined.
A/N: New fic. Let's all be happy, despite the fact that I SHOULD be working on my fic challenges. This came to me and begged to be written, so here we are. I do hope you enjoy it. Review once you're done. It would be much appreciated and you will all receive invisible cookies on your way out the door.
Chapter 1: A Simple Request
It all began with Tohma Seguchi. Mika often wondered what life would have been like without him. After all, he had sparked every event that took place, and it all started with a seemingly harmless trip to New York City.
Mika had often questioned Tohma on whether he was absolutely sure it would be all right to take her and Eiri along with him, as she felt almost intrusive. At that point in time she had been oblivious to even his most obvious attempts to woo her, not that she hadn't been interested, of course, far from it. However, she felt that her main priority was her family—specifically her brothers.
Mika did indeed accept his invitation. Of course, that was after Eiri had overheard and became excited and after her father had urged her to take her brother and go. After all, time had been trying on the whole family. After her mother's death, Mika could sense that her father was growing weary and would be grateful if he only had to take care of Tatsuha for some time. That was precisely how a 23 year old Mika Uesugi found herself sitting between her overexcited brother and a man she had known since her high school years on an airplane bound for New York City.
Tohma glanced over at Mika, who was staring out the window over Eiri's shoulder. He smiled and reached out to grab her hand, startling her slightly. She turned her gaze to him and he offered her a kind smile.
"Nervous?" he asked her softly, so as not to disturb the sleeping teen.
"A little bit," she confessed, holding his hand tightly. "I trust you, though."
"Thank you, Mika-san," he told her, rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand. "That means the world to me." She nodded and smiled a little bit.
"What was your friend's name again?" she asked him, unable to prevent a slight blush from appearing at her cheeks. She did feel slightly embarrassed at forgetting his name; after all, they were going to stay with him for the night they were to arrive. Tohma chuckled, however, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Kitazawa-san," he explained gently. "Yuki."
"Ah, yes, thank you." Tohma nodded and studied her a moment more. He was hoping that she would realize his concern for her family, specifically for her and Eiri. Neither spoke much for the rest of the flight. Mika had given Eiri her full attention once he'd managed to awaken, leaving Tohma to write down a few lyrics that had began swimming through his mind.
He had mentioned it to Mika that this trip was not solely for his own benefit, though mostly. He was to meet with a friend from his high school days who had agreed to help him with his music in hopes of beginning a band together. He had assured her, however, that bringing her and Eiri along would not be in the way, as a friend of his agreed to tutor them in English. Mika had told him that she didn't need it, nor did she care for it, but Eiri was all too excited to be learning a foreign language from one of Tohma's closest friends.
They touched down at JFK airport in New York at about 9 P.M., New York time. Tohma hurried to get their rental car while Mika checked for their baggage. Soon enough, they were parked in front of Yuki Kitazawa's apartment. Eiri was nervous all of a sudden and clung to Tohma's jacket as they knocked on the door. Suddenly, a man appeared at the entrance with a wide smile.
"Tohma!" he exclaimed. "I was wondering when all of you would get here." He and Tohma shook hands before Yuki turned his gaze to Eiri. "And who might this little guy be?"
"This is Eiri," Tohma smiled, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, comfortingly. Eiri offered Yuki a weak smile, whose own smile widened considerably.
"Eiri-san, it's a pleasure to meet you at last! I've heard so much about you," he told him.
"Really?" Eiri asked him, smiling a bit wider. The older man nodded.
"Yes, Tohma-kun talks about you quite a bit. Every time he calls me it's always something about Eiri-kun." Eiri's grin widened even more, to the point of great excitement. Tohma gave Yuki a slight smile as well and took Eiri by the hand to lead him inside. Once they had taken the bags to the guest room, the American turned to Mika. "And you must be Mika-san."
"I am," she admitted, smiling politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kitazawa-san." She held her hand out to him, as Tohma had earlier.
"Please, call me Yuki," he told her, taking her hand in his own and kissing it gently. "The pleasure is all mine, Mika-san." Once he did this, Tohma returned to his side, suddenly frowning as Mika's cheeks flushed a shade of scarlet.
"Mika-san," Tohma said, almost sternly, drawing attention back to himself. "I think Eiri would like it if you tucked him into bed." Mika turned to him and nodded before hurrying to Eiri's side. Yuki smirked and watched her go. As soon as she disappeared into the bedroom, he turned his gaze back to Tohma.
"You didn't tell her very much at all, did you?" he asked the smaller man. Tohma crossed his arms.
"I didn't feel that it was necessary," Tohma explained coldly. "Do you remember what I told you?"
"Like it was yesterday," Yuki said honestly, the smirk never disappearing from his features.
"And you will not breathe a word of our past dealings with one another to either of them. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," Yuki stated, pointedly. Tohma watched him for a moment before turning and entering the apartment. He hurried to Mika's side as Yuki also walked back inside, shutting the door behind him.
As soon as Eiri was in bed, Mika and Tohma returned to the living room, where Yuki offered them tea. They both accepted and sat down on the couch to wait. As soon as he got their beverages for them, he sat across from them in an armchair, sipping his own cup of tea.
"You know," he started, addressing Mika. "I have a younger brother who I believe would get along well with Eiri-kun."
"Do you really?" she glanced up at him over her tea cup. "Tohma didn't mention that." Tohma nodded and bit his lip slightly.
"You'll forgive me for that. It slipped my mind as I haven't seen him before," Tohma stated, frowning over at Yuki. "What is his name again?"
"Yoshi," Yuki answered with a smile. "He's only a couple of years younger than Eiri-kun, I believe."
"That's wonderful," Mika said, though frowning slightly. "Does he only speak English?"
"Actually, no," Yuki told her, his smile widening. "He's quite skilled in Japanese, so he'll have no problem communicating with Eiri-kun."
"Oh, good!" Mika smiled then and looked over to Tohma. "It will be wonderful for him to have someone who will talk to him his own age." Tohma nodded in agreement, focusing his attention on Mika.
"It certainly will. I was hoping that he would meet someone whom he could befriend here," Tohma stated. Mika nodded as well, smiling widely. It was certainly clear to Yuki by then that Eiri was more to her than anything in the world. The three exchanged small talk for a little while longer until Mika excused herself to go and get some sleep. Tohma got up and left shortly after, seemingly unable to take the stares that Yuki was giving him. As soon as his three guests were to bed, Yuki turned the lights off, locked up the apartment and headed to bed as well.
Yuki was the first to awaken, followed shortly by Tohma. The two men didn't speak much besides exchanging quick morning greetings. Yuki brewed some coffee and handed it to Tohma, who took it almost suspiciously. After another moment of uncomfortable silence, Tohma set the cup down and finally spoke.
"I don't know why I called you," he admitted. "But I don't want you to think that you can get involved in any way other than tutoring Eiri-kun."
"Now, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you consider me a threat of some sort," Yuki smirked over his mug as Tohma flushed angrily.
"That isn't my reason," the smaller man snapped, setting his cup down on the table calmly. "I've known you and I don't feel comfortable with you getting involved in their lives more than is necessary."
"And by having me tutor the boy you haven't already given me that invitation?"
"A minor setback," Tohma said, shrugging slightly. "I knew no one else."
"You could have easily met someone else." Yuki stood and walked around Tohma's chair. He placed his hands on the other's shoulders, grinning almost impishly. "Were there, perhaps, hidden desires resurfaced, Seguchi?" He leaned forward and nipped at Tohma's ear. Tohma stood up quickly, knocking his chair down in the process and moved to the opposite side of the room.
"Don't touch me," he snapped. The two men glared at each other for only a moment before they heard movement outside the kitchen. They turned quickly and softened their expressions as Mika entered the kitchen. She frowned deeply at the scene before her and glanced between the two men.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"No," they denied her accusation quickly and didn't look at each other. Mika hesitated a moment before nodding and dismissing it.
"Of course. Is Eiri still asleep?" she asked, sitting down at the table.
"He is," Tohma answered, setting his chair upright and sitting down next to her.
"All right," she smiled slightly. "Just don't let him sleep too long. It would be good for him to get used to this time zone."
"Would you like me to wake him, Mika-san?" Yuki asked, smiling at her. She glanced up at him as Tohma glowered.
"Could you? Perhaps then you could show him around? I'm sure he'd love to see New York." She smiled back at him. He winked at her and left the kitchen to go wake up the sleeping teen.
Tohma did his best to hide his irritation and apparently succeeded, as Mika didn't mention it. Instead, she stood up and glanced around.
"Is there any coffee?" she asked, glancing back at Tohma. He nodded and stood up.
"Of course," he told her, taking down a cup. "Do you take anything in it?"
"Just a bit of cream." Tohma had set the coffee cup down in front of her with a smile just as Yuki reentered the kitchen with an obviously still tired Eiri. The boy was rubbing his eyes and blinking just a bit as the late morning sun poured through the window.
"What time is it?" Eiri asked, glancing over at Mika.
"Almost ten," she explained with a smile. "Would you like it if Kitazawa-san took you around to see New York today?" Eiri brightened up immediately and no longer seemed at all tired.
"Really? Really? I'd love to see New York!"
"All right. Go brush your teeth and get ready," she told him, and shooed him toward the door. Eiri did just that, bounding off to his room to pull out what he needed.
"I really should get ready as well. Excuse me." He turned and left the kitchen as well. Tohma glanced over at Mika and forced a smile. Eiri was just looking around New York. No harm done, right? Perhaps he should be more trusting. Yuki wouldn't do anything with Mika around. Tohma told himself all of that, but somewhere in the back of his mind continued to scream that he was dead wrong.
END CHAPTER 1
A/N: The time that Mika, Eiri, and Tohma spend in New York will be split up into two chapters--this one and the next chapter. I do hope you enjoyed that. Reviews are much appreciated.