Strawberry Leaves

Finished: March 22, 2006

Summary: A light-hearted look into a friendship between two brothers. Because, really, they are brothers at heart. Friendship fic. One-shot.

A/N: Quirky, whimsy—definitely not my best piece of work. Probably because I hadn't much of a plot. Still, plotless, fluffy fun is good sometimes. And this is so completely light-hearted. Not at all deep, or thought provoking. How do they say it? "If you or, in this case, it were a pool, and I dove in, I'd hit my head." I was mildly disappointed by my inability to be quite humorous in this—I'd think of this piece as an appetizer, mebbe.

Don't own this, don't own the song.

Reviewers brighten my world.

Perhaps the most delightful friendships

are those in which there is much agreement,

much disputation, and yet more personal liking.

George Eliot

It was perhaps not the most elegant of places, but it was clean, and well-lit, and, in the pearly grayness of dawn, it had a quality of gentle warmth—almost coziness—to it. It was a café, a modest little place, on the outskirts of town, and while business was not much—it was good. There were the usual one-timers, who hurried in and then promptly hurried out—but the majority of the customers were regulars, who were on a first name-basis with all of the employees, and who liked to stay, for a short while at least, to enjoy their coffee or pie or whatnot—

"Hello, Tai," greeted a young blonde man. He was of medium height, slim of build, had rather delicate features, and, on the whole, presented a very cool, collected appearance.

Tai nodded back, sliding into the booth, across the table from the other. He flashed the passing waitress a lopsided grin, and turned to the blonde. "'Lo, Matt. No big concert today? Or paparazzi? Or adoring fan-girls? Or—"

"Shut up, Tai," Matt scowled. "I'm here incognito."

"Incognito," Tai echoed. "Where's your trench coat, then?"

Matt gave him a look. "Ha. Ha, ha. You funny, funny man."

"Nice sarcasm."

Another look, scathing. "I don't do trench coats."

"Fascinating," Tai said, sounding as if he were smothering a yawn at the last moment. He looked at Matt's shirt and jeans, frowned—"How are you incognito, though?"

"I don't have my sunglasses on."

Tai looked blankly at him.

"Ne'er mind—"

"No—I should like to understand…"

"It's not important," Matt blew at his coffee, and held the mug to his lips.

"I should like to understand all the same, though."

He set the coffee down, and sighed patiently. Matt did very many things patiently around Tai. "Well—it's like your hair—everybody knows Tai Kamiya by his hair. If you were to cut it—" he rolled his eyes as Tai's horrified expression—"Most people would probably not go 'Hey, it's Tai' if they randomly pass by you on the street. Your hair makes you distinct, yes? It is…like your trademark. So—same logic applies to my sunglasses—"

"But a lot of people wear sunglasses."

"That they do—but I never take them off in public. Therefore, the public does not recognize me without the sunglasses."

"That's…very twisted." Tai shook his head. "Ah…The ignorant masses."

Matt shrugged. "So now you know. Do you feel any better?"

"Don't mock me." Tai leaned back into the seat. "Though—why don't you have a concert?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Cuz it's Sunday?"

"That's not what I meant—why are you pretty much un-booked till July of next year?"

"Mimi." Matt answered succinctly.

There was a pause. Tai took a piece of toast from Matt's plate and munched on it. They looked at each other.

Blinked.

Tai broke the silence. "While the name 'Mimi' does in fact, explain very many things…do you suppose you could go into more—detail?"

"Well—it comes down to this: Kari and TK will not set a wedding date, and Mimi wants me to play for their wedding, and so everybody's desperately unhappy."

"I am going to translate that as Mimi will not allow you to schedule anything until the lovebirds set a date."

"Yeah, basically." Matt looked morose. "And of course, TK dithers unbelievably—"

"Just to spite you," Tai added, pseudo-sympathetically. He paused, and then said, "Kari's thinking spring—June-ish-April-ish-May." Another pause, a frown. "That made absolutely no sense—"

"No, it did not." Matt agreed mildly, quite used to the ways of his friend. Tai, besides, could be frighteningly perceptive when the mood seized him, despite appearances. "Does she have her heart set on spring?"

"No…why?"

"TK's thinking December—in time for the holidays—or February, for Valentines," Matt shook his head. "He can be terribly unoriginal."

"Oh." Tai looked vacantly up at the lights. "Kari said something about spring and new starts and good karma and how I never pay attention—I don't know, I wasn't really listening…"

A smile flitted across Matt's face. "How like you, Kamiya," he drawled, even as Tai smiled good-naturedly. With a friend like Tai, one could say just about anything, and he'd take it in stride and grin—unless one said it again, in which case, he'd become very serious and ask what one was talking about—

Matt did so dislike being serious with Tai. It felt wrong and unnatural. Not to mention that Tai was shockingly adept at debate.

"And the thing is—I don't really think TK or Kari would mind very much if I said to them, 'Hey, guys, —I'm only free on so-and-so days.' They'd pro'bly just randomly pick an available date and say, 'That's the day we're getting married on'—but Mimi—Mimi would have a conniption…"

"Bummer," Tai replied, a tad unsympathetically.

"Eh…" Matt shrugged indifferently. "'S not so bad…think I'll go write some songs—release a new album—" He smiled that ghostly smile of his again.

Tai grinned back. "I don't think that was what Mimi had in mind exactly—"

Matt snorted inelegantly. "No? In Mimi's world, the rest of the human race live at her beck and call—"

"You certainly seem to," Tai grinned, broadly. Too broadly.

"To what?" snarled Matt.

"—live at her beck and call—at her whims and caprices—" Tai waved an indifferent hand.

"I most certainly do not!"

Tai gave him an arch glance.

Matt scowled.

There was another long silence. A very long, black silence.

Matt conceded defeat. "Shut up."

"I said nothing."

"Shut up."

Tai pilfered a bit of bacon from Matt's plate. "I really don't understand why the two of you refuse to get engaged. It's really just a formality, you know—"

"Go to Hell—"

"I mean—we all know you're going to sooner or later—er, get engaged—not go to Hell—though, that could be a possibility too—but I'm digressing," Tai munched on a forkful of scrambled eggs. "Marriage between the two of you is a foregone conclusion—not really changing the status quo, except maybe you get a little piece of paper, and rings, and new living arrangements—but still, why delay the inevitable?"

"We are not having this conversation," Matt mumbled darkly.

Tai shrugged. "Whatever you say. But really—look at Sora and me. Five years, man, and we're ok…well, if you ignore the frequent threats to disembowel me with spatulas—but, you have to remember, this is after second grade when she would randomly come up to me and kick me in the shins—and after third, when I had chicken-pox and she thought it was cooties—and—"

"Oh—shut up—" Matt glowered thunderously.

Tai shrugged, eyes focused intently on Matt's breakfast. Matt rolled his eyes, and pushed to plate across to him. "Knock yourself out."

Tai grinned, and dug in with gusto.

"How's business?"

Tai shrugged again, noncommittally. "Eh—busy." Matt rolled his eyes. If he didn't know Tai, really….

"And beyond that?" He prodded further.

"Well—" Tai paused to glob his pancakes with a less-than-healthy dose of syrup. "…Truthfully—I don't know. Ken handles all the managerial details; Davis takes care of marketing…"

"And you?"

"Play peacemaker." Tai pursed his lips, glowered at the plate, added some more syrup, and smiled happily.

Matt grimaced at what had once been his breakfast, now swimming in the sweet gooeyness, with distaste. "That's disgusting."

Tai peered at him with laughing eyes. "Playing peacemaker or the breakfast?"

"The breakfast…though peacemaker is an extremely—odd title to attach to you…"

Tai nodded agreeingly. This was truth enough, and…he was man enough to admit it.

Matt saw that he was not going to go anywhere with this topic, and moved on. "How's Joe, by the way?"

His friend suddenly smiled evilly. "Well…apparently he had a nervous breakdown last week…"

Matt raised a curious eyebrow. "What happened?"

Tai solemnly looked at his hands for a moment, squinted up at the ceiling, looked out the window, and finally turned back to Matt. "His girlfriend said yes."

Matt waited expectantly. Nothing more was forthcoming. "…said yes to what?"

Tai grinned that same evil grin. "He proposed."

"Proposed?" Matt frowned. "Like…as in—marriage?"

"As in elopement."

"Elopement," Matt repeated, more to himself than anything. "Old Reliable is…eloping?"

Tai nodded—smiled deprecatingly. "Joe is eloping."

"Eloping," Matt said again. He was having some difficulty grasping this concept. "A-and…Joe proposed this?"

"Joe proposed this."

"Well!" Matt slumped back into his seat, blinking. "I—I…He—…My God—Old Reliable!"

Tai allowed him a moment to absorb this information, then continued—"You do realize what this means?"

"What does this mean?" Matt asked, rather placidly.

Tai gave him an unimpressed look. "C'mon. You have to guess at least…"

"Humor me."

Tai huffed, glared. "Spoilsport."

"Tai…"

"Ok. Ok." Tai took a breath, looked grave, "Do you realize that Joe is going to marry before you? Old Reliable of all people."

"And—?"

"Before you," Tai repeated, with a wicked glimmer in his eyes, "…which, y'know, gives him gloating privileges concerning sex appeal for the rest of your life."

Matt looked seriously at him. "Tai, this is extremely unfunny."

"I kid you not." Tai glowered back.

Matt blinked. "Joe…would never gloat…"

"Want to bet?" Tai looked positively delighted.

"Whose side are you on?"

"Not yours."

"I want my breakfast back then."

"Too late. All gone."

"Pig."

"Blonde."

"Git."

"Prat."

"Stupid-head."

"Twat."

"What?"

"Twit. With an a. Sora called me that this morning. Before she went to work. When I was watering the plants. Can't remember exactly why. Probably another spat. Think she won. Suppose I should maybe start talking in complete sentences again. Lack of subjects seem to give you aneurysms. Sora gives me aneurysms. And ulcers. She's up 64-49 in arguments this week—"

"Of course."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your wife," Matt stated, grandly, "you must admit, has always been your clear superior in winning arguments, Tai."

"Ha. Ha, ha," said Tai. "Don't be ridiculous. Watch me scoff, now—"

He scoffed.

Matt grinned, watching was Tai leaned back, hailing another waitress, as if they were taxis or something, and ordered a second breakfast.

He really liked Tai.

Really liked him despite that horrible hair. Despite that crooked grin. Despite the odd sense of humor. Despite the inability to time his jokes right. Despite his propensity to poke people. Despite his culinary incapacity. Despite being so hotheaded. Despite the fact that they were total opposites. Tai was so passionate, so impulsive, so untamedly wild, with boundless energy and boundless enthusiasm, always on a sugar high; and Matt was always so composed, so unruffled, so collected—

He really liked Tai.

Despite the number of detentions he'd received because of Tai. Despite all the times Tai had gotten him drunk on New Year's. Despite always managing to misconstrue or twist his words into some bawdy innuendo that usually had Davis cracking up, and made Yolei turn purple. Despite the decidedly feline 'I-totally-know-what-you're-thinking-about' that he got from time to time.

He really, really liked Tai.

He found Tai grinning at him, with that 'I-totally-know-what-you're-thinking-about' look.

"What?"

"Hey," grinned Tai, "It's okay, man. I heart you, too."

Matt glowered. "What are you blathering about?"

Tai abruptly reached across the table to grip Matt's jaw, fingers pushing the cheeks up, making the lips protrude like a fish's. He moved his hand, making Matt bob his head up and down.

"I love you. You love me. We're one happy family—" He grinned, almost rakishly.

"Are you quite done?" Matt asked, distortedly.

"—With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you—"

"Try to hug me and suffer a most painful death."

"—Won't you say you love me, too? —"

"Let go of me, Kamiya. Touching you has poisoned me for life."

Tai grinned a while longer, enjoying Matt's contorted face, obviously wishing he had his camera, and then released him.

Matt rubbed his jaw, still glowering.

"Don't you have somewhere to go, anyway? Like—maybe your job?"

Tai squinted thoughtfully. "Yeah. I guess I should probably go. Davis has probably set off some nuclear bomb by now…"

He moved to get up, and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it. Matt found it quite surprising that he'd actually managed to pass his fingers through the tangled mess. "I'll see you later."

"Hopefully, a lot later. Talking to you always damages my sanity."

"Oh? Are you sane?"

"Shut up. You're going to be related to me come June-ish-April-ish-May—"

"The horror!" Tai gasped, batted his eyelashes, and then rolled his eyes. "You're going to make such a cool brother…." He tilted his chin up at Matt, a brief, wordless farewell, stuck his hands in his pockets, and strolled out the door.

Matt sat back, waiting for the second breakfast that his best-est friend had ordered, and smiled as he sipped his now-cold tea,.

He really, really liked Tai.