“Koki,” I say slowly. “And Brook.”
Momo’s brother has been a little more friendly towards me. Taking out Tadashi had to count for something. But every time he sees me touch Momo, or God forbid kiss her, his hands fist and he starts to growl low from the back of his throat.
“Well, at least Brook’ll be here to calm the rhino,” I mutter, as I watch Momo open the front door to greet them.
“Imouto-san,” Koki says. Little sister.
“O-nii-san,” she says back. Big brother.
I’m picking up the words now, getting better at understanding them when they speak in Japanese. I watch as Momo clings to Koki for a long moment, his smile soft and full of love; a look I only see when he is holding his sister.
His eyes come up and they meet mine over her shoulder. Slowly he nods his head in greeting. It’s a start. It could be worse. But I get the impression his life is also changing. Now that their father does not fear repercussion from the Yakuza, he has given his children a longer leash.
Hell, if the copious amounts of food sitting on my coffee table is anything to go by, I’ll be getting his blessing any time soon to marry Momo. But what this new found freedom means to Koki, I’m not sure. But it does mean something. I can see it in his eyes, more and more as the days go by. As if he’s slowly beginning to realise he’s free to do whatever it is he wants.
No obligations to remain the dutiful son, waiting for his time to sacrifice something for their survival. Just like Momo, he always knew his life was not his own and never could be. Not until their father and mother, all of them, were free of the Yakuza.
They’re free now and I wonder, idly, what Koki will do with his freedom.
I watch as Brook follows Koki in and Momo hugs him as warmly as she’d hugged her brother. There’s a familiarity there I hadn’t expected to see. But Brook is often with Koki, so I shouldn’t be surprised Momo treats him like another brother. He accepts her kiss and greeting, a soft, bemused smile on his lips.
“You made sushi?” Koki says, coming over and helping himself to a smoked salmon wrapped roll.
“Mama did,” Momo says, slipping back onto the couch next to me.
Brook holds up a six pack of beer, his eyes to me. “Where shall I put this?”
I push up from my seat, squeezing Momo’s hand, and lead the way into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I show Brook the copious amounts of beer Momo’s mother insisted she put in there on her last visit. I’m not sure when the thanks fest is going to end, but it makes Momo happy. So I’m happy.
“You made it, my man,” Brook says, opening a bottle of Macs Gold.
“If you mean, I’m still alive, then yeah, I guess,” I say, amused.
“Nah. I mean Momoko.” He gives me a flinty stare. “You hurt her,” he says. “And I’ll gut you myself, yeah?”
I smile; it’s a little feral and confrontational. “Yeah,” I say. We both nod our heads in understanding.
And I thought Koki was the one I had to watch out for?
Brook takes a moment to use the bathroom and I head back toward the lounge. Before I turn the corner, announcing my presence, I hear Momo talking in a low voice to her brother.
“Why are you waiting?” she asks. “There is nothing holding you back now. You are free, Koki.”
“It’s not that easy, Momo, and you know it.”
“It’s as easy as breathing.”
“For you and Finn, maybe. But for us.” I can hear him shifting, possibly shaking his head.
“Why?” she pleads.
Koki lets out a sigh. “Father would be shocked.”
“He’d survive.”
“Mama…”
“Mama would be ecstatic. Do you honestly think she doesn’t already know? That they both don’t? Why do you think Papa chose me?”
“Tadashi…”
“It had nothing to do with Tadashi,” Momo snaps. And she’s sounding pretty riled. I peek around the corner of the kitchen door and see her sitting sideways on the couch, facing her brother. For his part, Koki looks a little lost.
“Momo,” he says.
“He was protecting you,” Momo whispers and there’s a long stretch of silence.
“You’ve always been stronger than me,” Koki finally murmurs.
“Strength can be found in the most unexpected places, brother,” she says. “You just don’t realise you’ve found it already.”
I hear Brook coming out of the bathroom and picking up his beer in the kitchen behind me. I make a noise with my feet on the tiles, to announce my presence, and walk into the lounge as if I haven’t just been eavesdropping. Koki glowers at me, so I’m not sure if I succeeded in hiding my wayward behaviour.
I offer a smile, and then my eyes land on Momo, and I forget whatever problems Koki has, and almost rush to her side, I’m so eager to be with her. A small amused smirk graces her lips, but she doesn’t say no when I kiss her.
The doorbell ringing interrupts Koki’s loud protests, but I wave a hand toward Brook, who offers a laugh and gets back up off his end of the couch to answer it, and I just keep on kissing my woman.
As long as she never says no, then I’m never going to stop kissing her.
“I hear this is where the party’s at,” Dom’s distinctive voice says, Genevieve giggling behind him.
“What?” That was enough to get my attention off Momo.
Behind Dom and Gen is a horde of people. Ben and Abi, Jason and Katie, Eva and Nick, Pierce and Marie, Kelly and Drew, Eric and Amber, Adam and Charlie and all their fucking kids. They pile into the house, throwing cushions on the floor, shoving chips and dip on the already overstuffed coffee table, and stacking beers and wine and Gods know what else out in the kitchen.
“Nice TV,” Drew says, slipping into a seat and welcoming Kelly onto his lap.
“What?” I manage.
“Oh, Tempura!” Kelly exclaims, helping herself.
“I think it might even be bigger than Ben’s,” Jason drawls.
“Nothin’ is bigger than mine,” Ben growls back.
“Amen to that,” Abi says, high-fiving her man.
“What?” I say, because clearly that’s all I’m good for.
“Didn’t Momo tell you?” Nick says. “Gas leak in High Street. We needed a new location for Family Friday.”
“The TV sold it,” Pierce adds.
“Oh, and the dango dumplings,” Charlie exclaims.
“Babe, you already ate at home,” Adam points out. Several pairs of highly pissed-off female eyes turn towards him. “My bad,” he offers, lifting his hands in surrender.
“Don’t know about you lot,” Abi says. “But I could eat a taniwha.”
“Red,” Ben says, shaking his head.
“They make you hungry,” Eva explains.
“What does?” Marie asks.
“Babies.”
“Charlie’s not pregnant,” Adam points out, offering a snort to really get himself stuck in it.
Charlie lifts a single eyebrow at him.
“Heh! You the man!” Eric says, offering up a high-five and not getting an answer.
Adam hasn’t moved a muscle.
“Knew you’d get it eventually, Stalker,” Charlie drawls, helping herself to another dumpling.
Several pairs of feminine hands all dive into the melee in the centre of the table and I look around at the men and smirk. There’s bemusement and, in the case of Adam, shock, and a whole hell of a lot of love.
I’ve always been the one to look in from the outside. I’ve always been welcomed but somehow felt apart. I love my mates. I love their crazy lives and baby making missions. I love their loyalty. Their fierce dedication. Their morals. I love that I can give this to Momoko.
I wrap my arm around her and stare down, watching her laugh at something Katie says while she’s holding Paul for Charlie. She looks good holding him. He wriggles a lot and wants to go off and play with the others, but for a moment he stops and stares up at Momo’s hair an
d reaches for one of her chopsticks.
I’m not sure Momo wears them just for decoration or for any purpose other than they make a fine weapon when one needs them. But she smiles down at Paul, Harry coming over and reaching for one as well, and tells them a story about Issun-bōshi, and how he used chopsticks as oars, in a soup bowl for a boat.
It’s magical watching her. It’s magical being here with the people I care about most and Momoko Tanaka is beside me.
I’m not watching from the outside anymore. I’m in the thick of it. I’m a red M&M, no longer a gummy bear.
I’m in heaven.
The kids go off and play, and the match starts, we all sing the national anthem at the top of our voices together. Ben offers an impromptu haka. And then everyone settles in for a good game, with awesome food and great beer, and the best mates a guy could ever have.
It’s Kelly who sees them first. She sucks in a breath of air and looks momentarily stunned, and then she’s beaming, clapping her hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
“About fuckin’ time,” Ben grumbles, but it’s full of love.
I turn to see Momo crying, tears streaming down her face. I look over to what’s got her so emotional, prepared to thump the living daylights out of them, or, you know, maybe get my taser.
But It’s Koki. Koki and Brook. They pull apart, a sheepish look on Koki’s face, a proud grin on Brook’s. Their hands stay linked together.
And I get it. I get what life means. It means this. This moment. This feeling of being a giant. This wonderful, crazy thing we call love. In all its different guises.
It means this. Friendship. Loyalty. Love.
And being able to claim it.
Thoreau said it the best. There is no remedy for love but to love more.
And I intend to love these people, to love Momo, with every beat of my heart… and more.
Another Message From The Author
No, really. This is definitely the end.
♥ Nicola
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