guys. it is time.
im finally manning up. i have to make them kiss. im practically torturing myself by not making them kiss.
ya’ll know the drill. SEATBELTS EVERYONE-
“please let this be a normal field trip 🥺👉👈”
“WITH LIAN? NO WAY!”
“aw :(“
anyways. back to shadowlian.
The red and pink cotton candy skies bloomed across the San Francisco skyline in the early morning hours. Too early in Suhara’s opinion, but he had heard someone open one of the hotel doors and sneak out, so of course he had to follow.
He had expected to find Lian on the rooftop, gazing at the sunrise bouncing off of the Pacific, with her long slick back hair framing her face perfectly. But instead he found Meimei alongside her, staring at the sunrise, with Meimei yawning and muttering something to her which cause Lian to chuckle.
Suhara was about to head back inside, a fond smile on his lips when he got cornered by Jiang, still in her pajamas, which were matching with Meimei.
“What are you doing awake?”
“I could ask you the same question.”
Jiang crossed her arms and sighed.
“Meimei and nǎi nai are waiting for Kaiko’s signal.”
“What signal?”
“The signal that shows that they’ve arrived..?”
“Which is..??”
“They literally resurface the Arronax into nǎi nai’s view and then text her the coordinates of where they plan to dock.”
“Ah, I see..”
Jiang raised one of her eyebrows but shook her head and began to walk towards her grandmother and her younger sister.
“You can join us if you’d like.”
Jiang said, her voice grumpy and groggy from sleep, probably because Meimei woke her up way too early for her liking.
Suhara hesitated for a moment, almost turning around to head back before he accidentally made eye contact with Lian, who just smiled and signaled with her eyes for him to join her. How could he say no? He knew he was already done for the second she looked him in his eyes, so what was the point of turning back?
Jiang leaned against the metal railing of the hotel roof, with her head resting on Meimei’s head. Her eyes were closed, almost as if she was drifting back to sleep, while Meimei seemed right awake, her eyes sparkling in the California sunrise.
Lian was sitting on one of the rocking chairs posted on the roof for guests, pulling up a chair beside her for Suhara to sit, her eyes grazing his figure for a moment too long before he sat down.
“How long have you been waiting here?”
Suhara asked quietly, leaning forward, propping himself on his elbows as he waited for Lian’s reply.
“Only a few minutes, Kaiko just texted me that she’ll be resurfacing soon. I just hope that I won’t have to go downstairs to look for her in nearby ports.”
“Why would you do that?”
“In case she docks at the wrong port.”
“Ahh.”
Suhara leaned back in his chair, letting a sigh of relief and sleepiness out of him, which caused Lian to chuckle and cover his hand with hers. Like on instinct, Suhara intertwined their fingers together, earning a slight side eye from Meimei, and blushing shy expression from Lian.
“Why did you all wake me up so early? They aren’t even here!!”
Jiang groaned, burying her face into Meimei’s hair. Meimei rolled her eyes at her sister’s complaints, but didn’t push her off of herself.
“At least the sunrise is pretty.”
Meimei said to Jiang, patting her shoulder reassuringly while Jiang just groaned louder, earning a laugh from Lian.
“It will be at any moment now, Jiang.”
Lian said to her sleepy granddaughter, her voice deep and sweet, unlike anything Suhara had heard before. Must be the morning voice, he told himself, and forced all of his embarrassing thoughts down into the abyss of his mind.
Just as Lian said it, the surface of the Gulf of the Farallones broke; revealing the very top of the Arronax at the surface of the water, just enough for Kaiko to wave (or at least they thought she did) and then dive back down beneath the water.
Jiang was all of a sudden very awake and alert (seeing a submersible as ginormous as the Arronax does that to a person) with a very awestruck expression on her face. Meanwhile, Meimei just grinned and turned to Lian.
“Did you see it?! It looks even bigger than the last time!”
“You say that every time, Meimei.”
Lian said, shaking her head and chuckling as she got up from her chair to lean on the railing beside her granddaughters, gazing out onto the gulf.
Suhara’s expression mimicked Jiang’s, except much less dramatic and more subtle, kind of like a “oh-my-god-we’re-getting-on-THAT-?!” expression.
Lian caught it and smiled.
“Surprised?”
“Very. I didn’t think it was going to be that… huge!”
Meimei and Jiang both raised their eyebrows at the exact same time, causing Lian to snort.
Suhara shook his head in mock-disappointment.
“Really you two?”
“It’s a teenager and a young adult, what did you expect, Suhara?”
Gods, if Suhara could replay one thing his entire life, it would be the way Lian says his name in the early morning hours (actually anytime she says his name makes his heart flutter, but this felt different). It took him a moment too long to recover, causing for a small, knowing smirk to grace Lian’s features.
“You look adorable when surprised.”
“Ew nǎi nai.. say that when you two are alone.”
Meimei said, her face twisting into an expression of teenage disgust, causing Lian to snort and playfully jab her in the ribs, making her yelp.
“Hush, you little rascal. You and Jiang can go back to sleep now. Kaiko is at the port and will be waiting for us until everyone else wakes up.”
“SLEEP?!? YES MEIMEI COME.”
“NOOOOOOOO!”
Jiang dragged her sister back towards the hallway and towards their hotel room, much to Meimei’s frustration and kicking and groaning.
Lian just cackled at the sight, and even Suhara cracked a small smile at the two sisters’ shenanigans.
When the door finally closed, Lian turned to face Suhara, leaning against the railing and she gently patted the spot of it beside her.
Suhara did not even hesitate this time. He got up from the chair he was sitting on and snaked his arm around Lian’s waist pulling around to face the sunrise once more.
The sun had now risen a bit higher, but the cotton candy clouds still dusted the sky as Lian leaned on Suhara’s shoulder, with him just pulling her closer to him.
“Have you ever seen such a pretty sunrise?”
“Hm, once.”
“Really? Where?”
“Once when I was very little-“
“Oh here we go again.”
“Hush you.”
Suhara said and playfully pinched her sides, causing her to yelp and laugh at the same time.
“As I was saying, when I was little, Hideo took us to on a day trip to Lake Suwa-Ko, and we stayed there until sunrise. It was.. one of the only happy memories I have of my brother and I before…”
Suhara trailed off, his eyes getting glassy.
Lian gave him a sympathetic expression, her hand reaching out for his.
“Well… at least you two are on good terms now.”
“I wouldn’t say they are good terms. Just mutual ones. He still hasn’t forgiven me for the sword.”
“Still?”
“It was… a stupid decision and a dishonorable one too.”
“Yes, it was. But Hideo made quite a few as well.”
Suhara looked at her, eyes wide with confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Well.. for starters, Hideo did not give you support, nor did he surround you with the people who could have given you support. A community. That’s what you needed when you were little. Somewhere where you would be judged, but you also would be supported. Hideo did not have that for himself, and so neither did you.”
Suhara was left in stunned silence. No one, when hearing his story, had ever tried to defend him or see his side of things. He had never even thought of that kind of perspective. He had always believed that Hideo was doing all that he could in his power to raise him right, and he was the one who had broken their brotherly relationship.
“I am not saying that you were in the right by all means. It was still extremely wrong to steal that sword. But if your brother held the idea of a bushido warrior so highly, maybe he could have at least once tried to communicate with his brother or give him some support or guidance that would help. And maybe not repeat the same lessons over and over again… Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Suhara stared down onto the streets of San Francisco, which were surprisingly quiet in the early morning. His mind was reeling from what Lian had said. Because she was not lying. If he had grown up in the same family that Meimei had, perhaps he wouldn’t have turned to a life of crime. Maybe he wouldn’t have gotten into the Yakuza and be stained with ink all over his chest. Maybe he wouldn’t have gotten associated with VILE, and didn’t have to train hundreds of students to steal and kill. Maybe he wouldn’t have to steal and kill for survival. Maybe-
“Suhara.”
Oh gods, that voice is going to be the end of him.
All she could say was his name and the entire conversation they were having before would disappear from his mind. If he wasn’t leaning against the railing right then, he would be down on his knees. Quite an embarrassing realization, Suhara thought to himself as he tried to regain some control of his beating heart and raging mind.
“Suhara, look at me.”
Lian said once more, her voice stern but gentle as she forced his head up to look at her.
Was he blushing?
Oh. This was new.
Suhara immediately looked away his ears turning an unmistakable shade of crimson, as Lian bit down a laugh.
“You cannot do such bold things Lian, and except me not to react.”
“And remind me, why I had to do such a bold thing, Suhara?”
“… Do not say my name like that..”
“Like what?”
Lian asked, a sweet and definitely not innocent smile on her face.
“You are aggravating.”
“You love me.”
“Right now you’re on thin ice.”
“Says the one whose ears are crimson.”
Suhara just bit the inside from his cheek to not let out a very undistinguished noise. This woman was going to be the death of him he’s sure. First, she was able to disarm him by talking about his brother, and now she has conducting emotional warfare on him.
Lian just huffed out a laugh, as her shoulders shook.
“As I was trying to say before your ears decided to turn into the shade of Carmen’s dress, you and Hideo need to have a long conversation about each other’s mistakes and how to grow from there.”
“.. How do you know all of this?”
Lian was quiet for a moment, her eyes falling on his hand, now resting on her waist and she smiled.
“I have had many tough familial situations that.. required me to communicate with the other person, even if I didn’t want to. Because even though we were upset at each other, we were still family, and still needed to communicate through the issue for it to be resolved.”
Suhara hummed in understanding, his red ears finally turning into a light shade of pink instead.
“You must have been quite good at it to raise such wonderful granddaughters.”
“Is that flattery, Suhara?”
“Yes, yes it is Lian.”
Lian blinked at him for a moment feeling her cheeks get physically hot and praying to whatever ancestor still liked her out there that she wasn’t turning pink.
“Suddenly you don’t have much to say, Lian. Why’s that?”
Suhara teased, and Lian pinched his sides in retaliation, causing him to laugh.
“And you are getting bolder, Suhara. Where on earth did this teasing come from?”
“You, if I’m being completely honest.”
“Oh gods, that’s not good.”
Lian said chuckling softly. Suhara smiled to the point where his mouth hurt from doing so. His hand became much more noticeable on her waist as he pulled her closer to him.
“Oh? What is this, Suhara?”
“It’s just for comfort.”
“Really? Well I’m quite flattered-“
Suhara rolled his eyes playfully and pulled her very close, making Lian just stand there, cheeks rosy pink as she stared at him with wide eyes.
Suhara immediately realized their closeness and tried stepping away from her, only to realize the firm grip Lian had around his waist.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
Lian asked, her voice lowering softly.
“You started this, so finish it.”
Suhara’s heart had probably already bruised his rib cage from how hard it was beating at that moment.
“I do not want for our first time to be because of a banter.”
“A nice banter.”
“Still a banter.”
Lian sighed, resting her forehead on his chest.
“So then when do you want our first time to be?”
“Well for starters not on a hotel rooftop.”
Lian snorted and Suhara smiled down at her as he felt her head shake in exasperation.
“Okay, fair, so then when and where?”
“Well you know a lot about my family but I hardly know anything about your own family, excluding deaths.”
“So you want to get to know me better?”
Lian asked, looking up at him, her lip bit in an attempt not to laugh.
“It is perfectly acceptable for me to want to know more about you!”
“I didn’t say anything, please continue.”
Suhara huffed and rolled his eyes but continued.
“I suppose somewhere private that we would both enjoy. Away from all of the children.”
“Zack and Ivy?”
“I said children.”
“You meant Zack and Ivy.”
Suhara playfully glared at her.
“Hush, shittakaburi (smartass).”
Lian gasped, as if she were wounded (she was actually trying hard not to laugh).
“SHITTAKABURI?? I am wounded Suhara!”
“No you are not.”
“WOUNDED I SAY!”
“Stop it.”
“I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS-“
Before Lian could react, Suhara’s lips were on her cheek, and away in an instant.
All of the teasing in Lian’s expression was gone as she stared at him, mouth agape and cheeks hot and ruby red.
Suhara was not left out of the blushing either. His ears were even more red than last time, yet he did not break the eye contact. He meant the kiss, even if it served to shut her up for a second.
And if things couldn’t get more embarrassing for Suhara, the door to the rooftop opened just as his lips left her cheek, pulling in tow Carmen, Ivy, and Zack.
Carmen stood there mouth agape, looking as if she just found the best new blackmail in the world (let’s be honest she totally did).
“Carmen, what’s the hold up?! We already woke up late for the sunrise and I want to catch whatever is left of it before-… oh my god.”
Ivy finally awakened properly to see Shadowsan standing FAR too closely to Lian, with his ears crimson and her cheeks ruby red.
“Did they..?”
“YES IVY.”
“Oh my god.”
Zack finally pushed through both Carmen and Ivy and his eyes widened in shock.
“OH MY GOD-“
“It’s not what it looks like-“
“LIKE HELL IT DOES-“
Suhara just groaned at his desperate and ineffective attempt at defending himself.
Lian, despite she too blushing from the whole ordeal, laughed at Suhara who had buried his head in her shoulder.
“W-when?! How?! Where?!? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?”
Ivy stuttered as Carmen’s expression twisted into a wicked grin.
“Oh my god this is amazing.”
“Shut it.” (Suhara)
Lian laughed harder at that, and patted his back reassuringly.
Apparently, one of Lian’s ancestors did actually still like her, because just at that moment, her phone began to ring.
Kaiko’s contact showed on her phone screen, and she gently pulled Suhara off of her, much to his frustration.
“Kaiko’s calling. Something must be wrong.”
Suhara’s expression immediately stiffened, along with Carmen’s.
“Maybe she parked at the wrong port?”
Ivy suggested, leaning on Zack who gave her the stink eye.
“No, we saw here resurface right here in front of us, and we have the all clear from ACME and the World Oceans Authority for her to dock. Something has to be wrong.”
“So then… pick up the phone?” (Zack)
“… Kaiko doesn’t have her own phone. She used either the Arronax’s number of Will’s.”
“So then, who is calling you?” (Ivy)
“Better question, who do you have saved as Kaiko?” (Carmen)
Lian went silent for a moment, letting the phone ring until the voicemail.
“I guess that’s something I will have to find out.”
She turned to Suhara and kissed him gently on the left cheek, before walking back towards the hotel door.
“I’ll find out who this is, and we’ll go from there. I’ll wake up Meimei and Jiang so that we can head out to the port to investigate right after.”
Just as she disappeared down the stairs back to the hotel hallway, chaos erupted from Team Red, with Ivy and Zack demanding answers while Carmen was cackling about how he looked so whipped.
Suhara knew for certain that she was going to be the death of him.
yeah so uhm. this actual kiss will be much better guys trust. that will be right after one of them almost dies so we get angst and kiss. dw the kaiko thing is not too much of a big deal, i just needed something to move it on to the next part of the lore.
so erm guys. idk did we like it? im lowkey scared bc im sleep deprived and i just to be finished with it lmao
im gonna go lie down.
mutuals: @lousiecom11 @theheaddaphnestan @xstrawberryyx
