Iwai mostly texted Tae updates on how Kaoru was doing, recommended doses for the prescriptions, etc. But along the way, the two mildly conversed. Then, Tae texted first with:
My office doesn’t open until 9, unless there’s an emergency. Wanna have that first date? ;)
Iwai was slightly bewildered. He didn’t forget that the good doctor asked him out a week or so ago, but she wanted their first date to be in the morning? Huh.
This was also a rather spontaneous request, as it was now 6:50 that very same morning.
“Dad?” Kaoru asked.
“Hm?” Iwai turned to his son, realizing he stared at his screen for over two minutes. “Oh, uh, you feeling good enough for school?”
“Yep, I’ve been resting a lot and I’ve been taking the medicine.”
“Okay, but make sure you don’t over exert yourself.”
Kaoru nodded confidently as he made himself breakfast on the go.
“Stay out of trouble!” Iwai smiled as he sent his son off.
Now back to the matter at hand. Iwai didn’t really have customers until the afternoon, and it wasn’t any time near an important event, so opening up shop too late wasn’t that big of a worry.
Leblanc, right?
Iwai decided to freshen up a bit while he waited for Tae to respond. As he was brushing his teeth, she texted a picture of her in front of the small café. The caption below: Don’t keep me waiting too long.
Bold one. Not bad.
One quick Google search revealed that Leblanc was just down the street from Tae’s clinic. Ah, she must be a frequent customer there in that case. That explains it.
…Hm, since it’s the first date, Iwai should put in some effort to look good. And probably bring Tae flowers or something.
Be there in 20.
He decided not to be too frugal (mostly to show he wasn’t some desperate idiot that demanded affection) and get a single flower instead of a bouquet. The flower shop owner noted that a rose would be a bit much on the first date, especially for one so early in the morning.
“How about this other red one?” He asked.
“Oh, that’s a sorrel. It means affection. But usually women are the ones that give hibiscus flowers like these. How about a sunflower? They mean adoration.”
Seemed a bit too cheery for Tae, in Iwai’s book.
“Then these blue ones?”
“Oh, bluebells! Those mean humility or gratitude. And I’ve made sure these ones aren’t poisonous, so you don’t need to worry about that, either.”
Perfect.
With a polite nod after payment, Iwai set off with a bluebell in hand.
Thankfully, Iwai didn’t have to sprain a lung to get to his destination. Or break a sweat. That would be unpleasant to deal with.
Stopping for a moment, he noticed Tae on her phone and in her work clothes. Now that he got a good look at her, she was prettier than he remembered. …Maybe that was because he was too concerned about Kaoru’s health when they first met.
Tae noticed him, and walked toward him. He met halfway.
“Got this for you,” he said a bit too quickly as he held out the bluebell.
She seemed a bit taken aback at first, but then smiled.
“How thoughtful,” she replied. “I’ll forgive you for being a few minutes.”
Nailed it. …Wait, he was late? Iwai checked his phone to realize it was now 7:14.
“I’m only teasing,” Tae snickered. “Come on, the coffee should be brewed fresh now.”
“Oh, uh, right.”
Tae silently remarked about how cute Iwai was being as Iwai opened the door for her. Good thing he had manners even at such an early hour.
“Mornin’, Boss,” Tae announced nonchalantly. She confidently strutted toward a small bar seat.
“Mornin’, Doc,” the middle-aged man behind the counter replied without lifting his head up. He did, however, when he heard the other set of footsteps. “Oh? Haven’t seen you here before.”
“Make sure you don’t schmooze him too much.”
“I’m not that desperate for customers, you know.” He turned to Iwai. “How do you take your coffee?”
“Black, please,” Iwai replied.
“Usual latte for you, Doc?”
“If you’d be so kind.” She patted the seat next to her. Iwai then decided to stop being awkward and joined her. “Boss here makes some of the best coffee I’ve had.”
“Well, considering this is a café, I would hope he does,” Iwai chuckled.
Boss let out a small snort. He then placed a small vase in front of him, allowing Tae to place the bluebell in it.
“But do you work here part time or something?”
“Had I the time and culinary skills, probably. But, in case you’re wondering, everyone here calls him Boss.”
“Ah.”
“Real name’s Sakura Sojiro, just make sure not to use that when filing taxes.”
“Damn, and here I thought I could get away with it,” Iwai grinned before he introduced himself.
Sojiro placed the cups in front of the two, and the two thanked him.
“Ah, this is the good stuff,” Iwai sighed after taking a sip.
“Your fears of mediocrity have been officially diminished,” Tae smiled. “We should celebrate with curry.”
Sojiro amusedly rolled his eyes as he started making preparations.
“Before you ask, Iwai is the owner of the airsoft store in town,” Tae spoke before she drank her latte.
“Not bad,” Sojiro responded. “Must’ve been difficult to get the work space.”
“Yeah, I had to go in an alley so little kids wouldn’t stop by frequently,” Iwai said. “It’s always about location.”
Sojiro gave a sympathetic hum.
Footsteps could be heard from above, slowly descending until a familiar face appeared from the side. Iwai did a double check only to realize that this was in fact the kid he sold the model gun to. Akira seemed just as surprised.
“Yo,” Tae greeted.
“Uh, hey,” Akira waved. He nodded at Iwai, and Iwai nodded back.
“On your way to school?”
Akira nodded and passed the two.
“Hang on, I have some leftover curry you can take with you,” Sojiro spoke as Akira opened the front door. He finished packing it in a small bento box and placed it on the counter. “Make sure you’re not late.”
“Thank you,” Akira bowed.
Does he live here or something…? Iwai thought to himself.
“You’ve been making sure he eats enough, right, Boss?” Tae asked. “Last thing I want as a doctor is to hear that he’s malnourished.”
“He’s been getting better, thankfully,” Sojiro sighed. “Kid’s not used to eating a lot, though, so it’s been a gradual process.”
“And Futaba?”
“She’s been taking her vitamins, last time I checked. Still need to find a way to get her to exercise, though. I want her to be comfortable, but I don’t want her holed up in her room where she’s on the computer all day.”
…She doesn’t live upstairs, too, does she? Iwai once again thought to himself. Place doesn’t really seem suited to raise two kids, unless there’s an apartment upstairs.
“Thankfully you seem to have the patience,” Iwai said. “I have a son named Kaoru, and back in the day I’d have to count in my head so I wouldn’t end up throwing a tantrum along with him.”
“That right?”
“Yep, it’s actually how I met him,” Tae replied.
“How cute.” Sojiro then served fresh mild-flavored curry. The two thanked him for the meal before they cooled their first bites.
“Okay, I need the recipe for this,” Iwai said.
“And here you thought I would be schmoozing him too much,” Sojiro chuckled.
Tae rolled her eyes with a grin.
“You wanna go Dutch?” Iwai asked. “I don’t mind paying, but I don’t want you to think you can never pay for anything ever.”
“Yes, please. Boss deserves some of my hard-earned medical treatment money.”
“Only some, how unfortunate,” Sojiro sighed with an overdramatic tone. “You kids keep your noses clean, flu season’s approaching sooner than I’d like.”
“You too, Boss, don’t want there to be an epidemic just because you were too stubborn to rest,” Tae waved as Iwai held the door open for her again.
Sojiro turned his attention to Iwai and grinned, “Feel free to bring Kaoru over when you have the time. Maybe one of these days he can talk with Futaba and Akira.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Iwai smiled.
Tae and Iwai decided to keep up the friendly chats as they strolled toward Tae’s clinic.
“Boss seems to have taken a liking to you,” Tae said. “And he tends to give out pretty good assessments of others.”
“Thank God,” Iwai breathed. “Can’t believe you took me to see your folks on the first date. Could’ve given me a warning beforehand.”
“What, and risk you stuttering to try and impress him?”
“…Shit, you got me there.”
That earned a laugh out of the two of them.
“Be thankful I didn’t take you to my actual parents, though. My mom would still be on my ass about not being a housewife or whatever, and with Dad gone, it’s harder to get her to change subjects.”
“You don’t have to worry about my folks, either. Dad left when I was a kid and my mom flat out doesn’t care about me.”
Thank God I’m not in the yakuza anymore, Iwai thought. Last thing I want is for her to get involved, or for my former brothers to try and do something.
At last, they arrived to the front steps of Tae’s clinic.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Tae spoke. “That bluebell you got me was beautiful, hope you don’t mind me giving it to Boss.”
“Not at all, I’m just glad you liked it,” Iwai responded with a grin. “It was…kind of a last minute decision, if I’ll be honest.”
“Well, considering bluebells can be bad luck, I could tell.”
“Yea-wait, what?”
“Old superstition that hearing them ring would mean someone close to you died.”
“I…the flower shop owner said it meant gratitude or whatever, though.”
Tae chuckled to herself for a bit.
“Ah, don’t worry. It has good meanings, too. Like other flowers, it can be used for medical treatments.”
She then placed her hand on his cheek and pressed a small kiss on it.
Tae will be honest, she's not one for celebrating Valentine's Day. Not for the edgy "I don't need anybody" reason that many would believe if they asked her, which would lead them to believe her heart was broken before. Heck, the only instance of "romance" she can recall to warrant that was when she had a small crush on her senpai back in high school when she was a first-year. That's it. And it's not out of the fear of rejection, either. Tae's a doctor who went through hell and back to get her teaching, and went through a different kind of heartbreak when she failed an experiment years ago.
It's easy to pair cynicism with Tae, but honestly, she just wasn't boy crazy as other women her age. While she'd make snarky and flirty remarks, it didn't really mean much to her unless the person she spoke with responded on an equal playing field. Of course, she was careful to consider others' feelings and as such, would never make a guy feel bad if he wanted to ask her out. She'd be polite in those cases.
But God, did she not want to admit that she had interest in Iwai. Not that he's terrible, of course, but because everyone that knew her would never let her hear the end of it. Always about "Oh, I knew you'd find the right man eventually!" or "Takemi-chan, I have someone much wealthier and more handsome in mind than him!"
Judgmental assholes, all of them.
Fortunately, Iwai was understanding of the situation after he helped boost Kaoru's confidence about getting chocolate, and told the boy to be polite in case he didn't like the girl or he didn't get any chocolate.
"I know it's the usual 'I can give them stuff whenever I want' talk," Tae sighed as she nuzzled onto Iwai's shoulder. "All of this, really. It's just a pain in the ass."
"Oooooooh, you swore!" Kaoru exclaimed.
Tae got up to put 100 yen in Kaoru's patented swear jar.
"Please forgive me," Tae bowed.
Kaoru observed her for a bit, but then nodded in forgiveness. He allowed Tae to return to her rightful place on the couch.
"I heard that Valentine's Day is even worse in the States," Iwai said. "They don't have a White Day there, so both guys and girls probably have to do something that day."
"Granted, the holiday's only around 40 years old, but still. The poor b-fools." Tae managed to censor herself before it was too late.
"Yeah, single folks there actually try calling it 'Singles Awareness Day' while people that ask out their sweethearts are probably in the relationship for a month at most. Ends with either really bad heartbreak or a baby born in November. Maybe both."
"Eugh, that sounds terrible," Kaoru responded.
"Don't they drink a lot of booze like a month after Valentine's?" Tae asked Iwai.
"Unrelated holiday, but yes."
"Lucky them, then."
Iwai snickered a bit while Kaoru just looked confused. So, he made his grand exit for the night.
"Lucky for you is that aside from the lollipops, I'm not a sweets guy. If anything, I would just give them to Kaoru if he got really good grades." Iwai pressed a kiss on the top of Tae's hair. "So that's one thing to worry less about. And hell, gift or no gift, that doesn't matter to me. Most I'd ask of you that day is to go somewhere cool for a date."
"Oh nooo, the worst kind of torture."
"Yep, a whole day of spending time together. Just the absolute worse."
The two gave each other teasing and knowing smiles before they shared a brief kiss and Iwai rose from the couch.
"The way you talk actually makes me want to do something for the holiday, you know. I hope you're happy."
"Hey, as long as you're happy about it."
Of course, Tae wouldn't be a stuttering high schooler confessing her crush to her Senpai. …But she also wouldn't be an escort. In a way, subtlety was its own form of elegance.
Tae decided for this Valentine's date to be a family outing on the weekend, and thus decided to take Kaoru and Iwai to the arcade. That way, they wouldn't have trouble finding a babysitter last minute, they could have fun, and Tae wouldn't be judged by snooty acquaintances. A triple win! She also decided to have the boys pick her up from work so they could drop off Kaoru's backpack and see what she left them.
Iwai opened his door and Kaoru rushed inside ahead of him.
"Let's not keep Miss Takemi waiting too much, okay?" Iwai implored.
Kaoru nodded before he immediately refocused his attention to the kitchen counter. He gasped.
"WHOA, LOOK!"
Iwai did as such, and noticed that on that counter was a pack of chocolate bandaids, a card for Kaoru, a wrapped taiyaki treat with a sausage filling inside and "Iwai" on its body, and a wrapped lollipop hanging out of said taiyaki's "mouth". Said wrapping actually looked like a rose. And the card was a cute bear with a plague doctor's mask with heart eyes. In it read "For my favorite patient Kaoru".
"I'm already providing you with prescriptions," Tae replied bluntly as she read through medical records. "And I'd like to keep my guinea pig around longer, so no more experiments until the other ones are out of your system."
"It's for a friend. Please?"
Tae observed Akira, noting that he expressed genuine worry despite his normally cool composure.
"What's the job?" Tae sighed.
"My friend's son has been sick for a couple of days now, the general hospital's too crowded from the train incidents to see him."
…While that sounded plausible, Tae thought this "friend" would at least call for a house doctor or even travel further out the city to see to this.
"How old's his son?"
"He's about to take his entrance exams."
Still pretty young, then… Tae thought.
"Can your friend afford it? You know how expensive my treatments get."
Akira nodded.
"Fine, I'll see him."
"Oh, thank you," Akira sighed with relief. He then pulled out his phone to text his "friend".
Tae still had a feeling this was fishy. She's dealt with shady patients who couldn't afford health insurance or didn't want their medical records shared with the government-funded hospitals. But she made an oath to take care of anyone who needed her, and pay was pay.
"Buddy, you have no idea how much I owe you one," the man spoke out loud as he read the text. "Don't worry, Kaoru. We just found you a doctor that can help."
He brushed the matted hair of his son away from his face as the boy continued to breathe uneasily.
Within half an hour, Akira's "friend" appeared carrying a sick boy in his arms. Oh, the airsoft store owner, if Tae recalled correctly. She heard about him through some of her patients. ...Taller than she originally thought.
"Hello, you must be Akira's friend," Tae greeted as she walked out of her office. "I'm Doctor Takemi."
"Iwai Munehisa," the man replied. He then directed his attention to the boy. "And this is your patient, Kaoru."
Tae placed her hand on Kaoru's forehead, definitely to check his temperature but to also buy her some time so she could look at Iwai closely.
Definitely on the rugged scale for handsome. Stubble, pierced ears, and...a gecko tattoo on his neck. Hm, he's definitely someone with a shady past. But his voice is very easy on the ears, and he seems to have a perfect balance of being threatening and caring. Well, threatening to those that annoy him and caring to those that he genuinely likes.
Upon inspection, Kaoru seemed to have a mark similar to Iwai's tattoo. Same place and everything. The kid's clearly too young for tattoos, though.
"Yep, that's definitely a high fever," Tae spoke. "Let's get him to the exam room."
Tae let Iwai inside, and then handed him a clipboard with some paperwork.
"While I'm looking over your son, I'll need you to fill out some key information."
Iwai looked hesitant at first.
"Don't worry, this is only so I can cross-reference for potential organ donors. We're not monitored here."
"Well, all right," Iwai sighed.
Kaoru groaned when Tae put her stethoscope over his heart. He kept trying to curl up.
"You'll be okay, Kaoru. Can you relax a bit?" Tae asked gently.
"It hurts..." Kaoru groaned.
"I know. It's no fun being sick. But I'm here to help you feel better."
Iwai handed Tae the finished record.
"Thank you. Now, what have you dealt with so far?"
"He can't keep food down," Iwai explained for his son. "He throws it back up. Even water's starting to cause problems."
"And how long has he been throwing up?"
"Two days."
"Did you eat or drink something that tasted funny, Kaoru?"
Kaoru shook his head.
"Then this looks like a case of stomach flu. I'm no pediatrician, but I can prescribe some antibiotics or supplements to help Kaoru keep food down. Otherwise, check to see if it passes within a couple of days. This tends to last a week if it's not too severe."
Tae and Iwai's eyes met briefly. She winked at him, which made his cheeks slightly pink.
"Actually, mind if I talk with your dad alone, Kaoru?" Tae asked. "I'll have my good friend to watch over you."
Iwai furrowed his eyebrows, but ultimately agreed. He held the door open for Tae as she returned to her small booth.
"You seem to be an interesting man, Mr. Iwai," Tae spoke nonchalantly as she started writing out the expenses. "The only things you and your son share are the marks and the very names you own."
Iwai remained wary.
"But I'm glad he has a caring father like you, blood related or not."
Now Iwai smiled slightly. Guess he didn't have to fully explain things, after all.
"I'll admit my life wasn't always great, but Kaoru makes every bad moment more than tolerable for me."
Ah yes, an ultimate weakness: intimidating men that actually have hearts of gold. Tae should at least try something to keep him around.
"Tell you what, if the hospital's crowded again, or something from your past comes back to haunt you, I'll keep my doors open 24/7."
She then ran her finger up his shirt, neck, jaw, cheek, and then on the bill of his hat.
"Who knows, I might be able to help you with your physical?"
If Iwai weren't blushing before, he certainly was now.
"Damn, right to the point," he breathed. "In that case, I'll return the favor by offering some security. While this ain't a really bad part of town, I can still make sure this place stays clean. I do tend to make some pretty nice deals with customers that know what they're talking about."
Tae originally wanted to make a remark about airsoft guns, but she had a better retort in mind.
"Hm, seems pretty pricey. I think I can only make up for such a generous offer with coffee at LeBlanc's."
"Seems fair. And while I can afford Kaoru's treatment now, I feel a trip to the observatory will have to make due for upcoming visits."
"Make it the amusement park and we have ourselves a deal."
On the bill was not only the (relatively expensive) treatment costs and prescription recommendations, but also a phone number.
Honestly, tattoo artists never get enough credit. Their works are like tapestries you’d find in museums, but on a living human being. Heck, they’re like surgeons combined with sculptors considering that one wrong move could lead to a dissatisfied customer or something more drastic.
Tae found these thoughts roaming around her head when summer came ‘round and Iwai was forced to stop wearing his signature turtleneck. Heat strokes weren’t fun to deal with, after all, so he’d end up in a gray tank top. He already had the Iwai family crest on his neck (which Tae always brought attention to caringly and frequently with kisses), but his arms and shoulders. And here she thought his muscles were a pleasant distraction.
All covered in gray scales, with smoke looping around like a serpent. Add that with some oni masks and even a hint of a tribal tattoo between his shoulder blades. God, it must’ve taken forever to work on, but it was definitely worth it.
…Come to think of it, did they ever scare Kaoru when he was younger? Did he actually have those tattoos before he adopted Kaoru? Also, were tattoos a yakuza custom? It’d probably help to tell which clan someone belonged to. …Though that might be a hassle to deal with on recon assignments.
Either way, Tae was miffed that Iwai wasn’t allowed in the public bath house because of his tattoos. Iwai would insist he was used to this, and that it was more fun to bathe in private, but the bath themselves weren’t the issue here. Old peoples’ opinions be damned, these tattoos were glorious. Of course Tae wouldn’t have them displayed to the world, especially if Iwai wasn’t comfortable with it.
But she had a resolution for this.
“Hey, are you still in contact with your tattoo artist?” She asked.
Iwai stopped putting groceries away and furrowed his eyebrows.
“You’re not planning for the both of us to have obnoxious couple’s tats, are you?” He responded with another question. “Last thing I need is for that old toad to haggle me into getting something ridiculous like a big-eyed dog.”
Tae snorted at that imagery.
“No, I was thinking of getting some myself.”
“Look, if this is about the bath house again, it’s not a big deal.”
“I know. I just wanted to compliment them for the level of detail they put into yours and see if they’ve got something I might like.”
Iwai was about to bring up that she was a doctor, which was a profession that would most likely loathe the idea of having any tattoos, but then he remembered that she was back-alley.
“Got any idea of what you want, then?”
Tae smiled in success.
“I’m thinking twin spiders on the backs of my hands with webs and all, maybe have them go all the way up my arms. Makes it look like I’m wearing fishnet gloves, y’know? Then a little bat riiiiight here.”
Tae pointed at her heart, which Iwai then immediately coughed so that he wouldn’t get in trouble looking at her cleavage. She didn’t mind, but she was grateful that he was still being a gentleman.
“Maybe some flames on my legs, and ‘Iwai’ in the teeth of a skull only you can see on my thigh.”
Iwai blushed, and it wasn’t the summer heat getting to him.
“That’s…a lot of ideas. You should make sure you actually want this stuff because paying to get this shit off hurts like no tomorrow. Plus it gets expensive just applying them.”
Iwai remembered hearing some of his old yakuza brothers howling with pain when they wanted to get new tattoos but had to remove others to make room. Still sent shivers down his spine.
Tae thought for a moment, realizing she could by flame stockings and actual fishnet gloves. But she liked the idea of having something near her heart. Maybe the spider and web could go there.
Unconsciously, she touched the side of her neck that Iwai and Kaoru had their geckos on. Iwai caught on to this. He cared greatly for Tae, but he wasn’t sure if Kaoru would be upset with her getting her own gecko. This scar/tattoo held a special meaning for the two of them, after all.
“Tell you what, I’ll help you brainstorm and then I can call up the old toad to see if he’s up for it,” Iwai smiled.
