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ohtomatotome · 7 years ago

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These are a few of my favorite things

I am preparing to grieve the loss of two elderly people who are very close to me.

I wondered what it would be like to have a few of my favorite otome suitors trying to comfort me as I wept.

I was slightly surprised at who my heart was telling me to stay. Poor Makoto. I didn’t 100% expect Robert or Al, but now I know they belonged there. Kind Mitsunari’s presence just made sense. Of course I knew Sasuke would be there, without a doubt.

I stood alone on a featureless plane. Sadness weighed heavy on my heart. I was soon going to lose two important people in my life. My throat clenched, dry and tight, as a soundless sob choked its way out of my chest. My eyes, already red and puffy from hours of crying, stung once more with fresh tears as memories of these two wonderful people swam to my consciousness.

I had had enough enough of sobbing alone. I wanted a hug. I wanted to be held and soothed. I wanted comfort.

Every suitor from Midnight Cinderella and Ikemen Sengoku slowly took form in front of my swollen eyes. There was even some characters from other games I play, such as Rei from Several Shades of Sadism, Takasugi from Destined to Love, and Makoto from Decoding Desire.

A nervous giggle escaped me as I mentally shook my head at my overactive imagination. No, no. This was NOT going to turn into a smut fic. LOL

There were so many of them. Only half of them looked as if they actually wanted to be there.

A doorway materialized on the plane. I nodded politely to the most obvious ones who needed to leave. Out walked Alyn, Yukimura, Nico, Hideyoshi, Louis, Masamune, Byron, Ieyasu, Leo, Kenshin, Kennyo, Mitsuhide, Rayvis, Takasugi, and Rei. “No offense, boys.” I thought to them kindly. The door closed behind them

The remaining men looked at me expectantly.

Sid was the first to speak up. “Eh, what she usually wants from me ain’t comfort, I’ll tell ya that.” He looked at me with tenderness and understanding. “I’m not worried, princess. I know yer in good hands. I want ya to feel better. These fellas are pretty good at that. Well -- “ He shot a warning glance at Nobunaga and Giles, and raised an incredulous eyebrow at Makoto. “-- Most of ‘em are, anyway.”

He opened the door and walked out, leaving it open for more to follow as if a hint to the others.

Giving a disgruntled “Hrmph” and coming close to me, Nobunaga said in a low rumble so only I could hear, “In order for me to comfort you, I would need further explanation to understand what you need. This … soothing you require is too new to me. Only recently have I learned how to please you, tease you, get you to laugh, and make you cry out in delight. I have never once had to stop your cries of distress or tears of sadness. You seem in need of ... immediate relief. This I cannot give.” His proud eyes were washed over with a look of regret and pain for a moment before placing his hands on either side of my head and bending down to kiss the top of my hair gently. It was the most gentle kiss I had ever received from that man. It made my tears flow harder. For the briefest instant, he looked uncomfortable and out of his element. He turned and swept out of the room before he exhibited any further unfamiliar and weak emotions.

Giles cleared his throat. “Farewell, your highness.” He bowed gracefully and walked towards the door. He turned back and gave me an achingly sweet smile. “I am aware that I am not the best man for the task at hand. It grieves me to leave, but it would pain me further to stay and watch another man comfort you.” With that, he left the room.

Makoto had his arms folded and I could see his knuckles had turned white from gripping his lab coat sleeves so tightly. He stared hard at the floor while he stammered, “I d-d-don’t want to leave, ______. B-b-but I have no way to c-c-comfort you that isn’t selfish f-f-feeling. That’s not what you need right now. I d-d-don’t want to see you hurt …. but I c-c-can’t make you f-f-feel b-b-better, either. You d-d-don’t like it when I’m ... jealous ... and I d-d-don’t want to give you any other reason to be s-s-sad or angry. So I’ll leave. Unless … you want me to s-s-stay, ______.” He dropped his arms to his sides, turned towards the door and slowly walked away.

I sighed and called out to him, “Makoto. You don’t have to leave. Your hugs do make me feel better. I promise you that I like them as much as you do. But if you feel like you’d be uncomfortable or awkward, then don’t force yourself to stay. I’ll still love you no matter what.”

Makoto turned back to look at me, his eyes shining bright through that unruly mop of hair. “Really? You’d s-s-still love me after b-b-being with these … “ His gaze swept the room, taking in the four gorgeous men. I could tell he was comparing himself to them and felt he didn’t measure up. “... these g-g-guys?” He gave me a sad smile. “I’ll c-c-come ch-ch-check on you later. When you’re alone. I love you, ______.” He shuffled out the door slowly, in a defeated way.

The door softly swung closed and dematerialized from sight.

I looked around at the men still present. I wiped my eyes and sniffed. The tears seemed to have stopped for the moment.

Robert was looking at the floor, his eyebrows pulled together -- whether in concern or thought, I wasn’t certain. His hands were one moment folded in front of him, and then rubbing the back of his neck the next moment. He raked a hand through his hair and let out an nearly imperceptible sigh. He never looked up from the floor.

Sasuke was as still as a tree, every muscle ready to come to my side and embrace me in a crushing hug. But he stayed rooted to his spot, his body tense, his face taut but expressionless. His eyes never left my face. He waited for something.

The corners of Mitsunari’s mouth were curved up slightly in the tiniest saddest smile I had ever seen. His eyes were begging at me to let him near. It almost broke my heart to look at him. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, a bit restless and wishing to be useful.

Albert stood at attention with his hands clasped behind his back. His fingernails bit into his palm as he clenched and unclenched his fists. His face was the very picture of discomfort. He stared straight ahead, only once ever looking my way. He immediately blinked, cleared his throat and returned his steadfast gaze in front of him.

I hadn’t been looking in Robert’s direction, so I didn’t notice that he had moved to stand behind me. He wrapped his long arms around the front of my chest and pulled my back gently into his chest. “We’re here, ______.” He propped his chin on my shoulder and leaned his head against mine. “We are all here for you, my dearest.”

I sunk into the warmth of his chest and let my head rest against his. “Oh, Robert,” I sighed his name.

Mitsunari couldn’t wait any longer. He bounded forward and extended his arms as if he wanted to hug me, but he looked perplexed. Stopping a hand-span from me, he looked behind me, “Ah, Mr. Branche? Can you adjust a bit so I can also hold her, please?” He pointed to Robert’s arm around my left shoulder.

Robert looked slightly bemused at Mitsunari’s suggestion, then acquiesced and removed his arm. I felt the absence of its warmth. He snaked it in front of my torso and hugged me around my waist. The sensation made me close my eyes in contentment.

Mitsunari moved in close and looped his arm around my left shoulder where Robert’s hand had just been, bringing back the warmth. Then he slid his other arm around my back, in between Robert and me. He gave me a somewhat triumphant look and his smile grew wider. “Is that okay, ______-sama?”

I opened my eyes to see Mitsunari’s vivid violet eyes peering earnestly into mine. I nodded. “Mm-hmm. It’s fine, Mitsu-kun.”

There was a twinkle in his eyes as he said, “You know, _____-sama, a hug received is only as good as the hug given in return.” He tapped my left arm which was hanging loose at my side.

I took the hint and placed it around his back. He stepped in closer and laid his head on my left shoulder. Giving a feather-light sound somewhere between a sigh and a whimper, he said “Ahhhh, that’s so much better, hm?”

With Robert’s head on my right shoulder and Mitsunari’s on my left, being hugged from front and back, I felt cocooned in warmth and love.

I felt Robert move his right hand from my shoulder and trail it down my arm. He intertwined his fingers in mine and gently closed his hand around mine. He brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed each knuckle one at a time. I relaxed even more and exhaled the breath I didn’t even realize I had been holding.

Sasuke was suddenly in my line of sight, standing a couple of feet behind Mitsunari. When had he moved? I had never heard him. That’s a ninja for you, I guess.

His face, usually devoid of expression, was now tight with emotion. His lips were pulled in a thin line and his eyes looked pained. “______.” His voice. My name. All it took was one word spoken by my beloved, and my tears leaked out my eyes and trickled down my cheeks. My left arm had been hugging Mitsunari. I let go of his jacket and extended my hand out to Sasuke in a silent plea to have him hold it. I desperately needed his touch, too.

Sasuke moved swiftly forward and grasped my hand in both of his. He caressed it and then brought the back of my hand to his lips, all the while never breaking eye contact with me. My crying continued, but it seemed more bearable now that he was touching me. I gripped his fingers and mouthed the words “I love you.” He held up my hand so that my palm was against his cheek. He nodded. That was enough for me. I closed my eyes against the flow of tears and tried to enjoy the moment of bliss that was surrounding me.

“Hmm, _____-sama? Your arm is no longer around me. That means this is only half a hug.” I heard Mitsunari say in a plaintive tone.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that Sasuke’s gaze had hardened a bit in annoyance at Mitsunari’s whining.

Suddenly, an authoritative -- but strained-sounding -- voice spoke up. “Stop being childish and selfish. We are all here because Princess _____ wishes our company. If you are going to act out of jealousy, you can leave just as that sad unkempt man did. You will either provide the comfort necessary or you will move aside so another may attempt to soothe her.”

After Al’s admonishment, Mitsunari nuzzled my shoulder with his cheek and tightened his embrace around my lower back. “Please forgive me, _____-sama, for being selfish. I only want to make you feel better. But I get carried away when my body is this close to yours. I’m sorry.”

I couldn’t turn my head to look at Al, so I had no idea what sort of expression he had on his face. But I wanted to know how he was feeling. He had been standing so far away this entire time.

“Al? I am relieved you stayed. But why did you, if all you were going to do is stay over there?”

I heard boots softly make there way towards our little cuddle huddle. He stayed obstinately out of my view, but I heard his voice come from just a couple of feet away. “Princess ______, you are already being …. embraced by two gentleman, and a third is holding your only free hand. Where would you suggest I fit in?” He scoffed.

The emotion and longing I heard behind his words made new tears sting my eyes. It was then that I felt my knees buckle. I hadn’t realized how long we have been standing until then. I sagged a little bit as Robert held me more tightly against him to help support me. I regained my balance just as I heard him suggest from behind me. “Perhaps we should let her rest.”

A large bed materialized beside us.

“Oh no. It’s not turning into THAT sort of story.” I silently scolded myself.

Robert kissed my temple while gently squeezing my hand. “My dearest loveliest ______. You had better sit down or lie down. We’ll watch over you so you can get some rest.” He slid his arm away from my waist and let go of my hand.

Mitsunari took the absence of Robert as an opportunity to give me a proper two-arm bear hug. He squeezed me and hummed softly as he rocked me a moment before releasing me. As he pulled back, he kissed my cheek. His expressive eyes were saying so many things all at once, I couldn’t keep up with the silent conversation he was trying to have with me. All he said out loud was “I’m here for you whenever you need me, ____-sama.” He took a step back, but bumped into Sasuke. “Oh, I beg your pardon, Sasuke-dono.” He bowed his head and moved out of the way.

Sasuke was still firmly holding onto my hand. Looking at our joined hands, I broke out into the first big smile I’ve worn in days. He silently closed the distance, dropping his grip on my hand. He wrapped one arm around my waist, and gently held his other hand around the back of my neck. He pulled me to him and cradled my head to his chest. He gave a wordless murmur so soft I could feel the vibrations of his vocal chords more than hear any actual sound. He looked to Al and gave a slight nod.

Both of them simultaneously adjusted their glasses.

Sasuke softly said “_____.” Again, I melted at the sound of his voice saying my name. “We’ll hold you until you fall asleep. Come.”

I lifted my head and reached my arms around his neck and kissed his perfect mouth. I pulled away a sliver of an inch and mumbled against his lips “I can’t think of anything else I’d like better at this moment. Thank you, Sasuke. I’d love to rest.”

I looked over at Al, who had removed his bulky uniform coat and boots. He was standing near the bed, ready to lie down after me.

Sasuke had let go my waist and went to the other side of the bed.

I looked around for Mitsunari and Robert, but they had left the room.

Sasuke was lying on his left side and holding the sheet up for me to get in next to him. I looked down at myself and saw I was now wearing the most comfortable pajamas ever. Not sexy lingerie by any stretch of the imagination. But romance was the furthest thing from my mind right now. I simply wanted to be held and comforted by these 2D men who had built a place for themselves in my heart.

I climbed into bed, snuggling up to Sasuke and nuzzling my cheek against his chest. His warmth and scent were exactly what I craved right now.

Behind me I could feel Al inching towards me on the mattress.

My heartbeat started to increase as this situation was opening up new ideas in my imagination.

I repeated to myself in my head “No. This is NOT going to be one of THOSE stories.”

Al slid his hand around the front of my stomach and come to a stop where it was comfortable for the both of us. I could feel his warm breath washing over my neck and ear in a measured rhythm.

Sasuke slung his arm around my hip and moved his body closer. He put his lips to my forehead and didn’t move them for many seconds. I felt a drop of wetness spill onto my forehead. Was he crying on my behalf? My arm shot out from where it had been resting between us, and I quickly wrapped it firmly around his back and hugged him tight.

“I love you. Thank you. I love you so much.”

I thought I would start crying all over again. However, the tears didn’t fall. Perhaps I was all cried-out for the time being. All I knew is that I was feeling thoroughly comforted, and right now the only thing I wanted was to fall asleep surrounded by this delicious feeling of love and support.

...It could turn into one of the THOSE stories when we woke up, I lazily thought as I drifted off to sleep.