Chapter Text
"Suzuki, what's taking you so long on the deliverables? I needed it done an hour ago!"
"I-I'm sorry, Mr Clarke. Things have just been hectic, and James needed my help with something else that he-"
"I didn't ask for excuses! I want that spreadsheet submitted ASAP, you got it?"
The girl gulped, swallowing her fear into the depths of her stomach. "Y-Yes, Mr Clarke."
As the brute of a man left her desk, the girl let out a deep sigh as she slumped into her chair. Today was not going great.. The clicking of keyboards and mouses, the raised voices of her colleagues around her, the voice of her boss scolding yet another clueless graduate; it all made her want to vomit. She just wanted to go somewhere, anywhere that wasn't this prison they called a workspace.
She was pulled out of her anguish when she felt a buzz in her handbag. She fished her phone out of her bag, the anger and fear that'd flooded her heart seemingly vanishing when she read the notification on her phone.
"How's your day going? :)"
- My Eternal Sunshine
Mari let out such a deep sigh reading that message, she'd hoped her colleagues didn't notice the massive smile on her face. She immediately typed a reply.
"Could be better. Just want to hug you right now."
"Is everything okay?"
"Boss just gave me a scolding. :("
She hovered over the send button, wondering if she should dump her troubles on him like this. She hated looking so weak in front of him - she was the big sister after all! But.. they'd promised each other that they'd be a lot more open, a lot more honest with their feelings.. He'd promise to take care of her - much to her teasing protests.
Mari sighed, pressing the send button anyway. She needed to vent somehow, or else she might blow from all the stress she'd been bottling up today. She heard her phone buzz almost immediately.
"I'm sorry."
Her sunshine, always so empathetic to her feelings. No one ever knew how emotionally in-tune he was with her. He rarely ever showed his real emotions to anyone else. That was something he'd reserved for his best friends, and most importantly, for his soulmate.
"Don't be. Not your fault."
She saw him typing almost immediately.
"I'll make it up to you."
She cocked her eyebrows.
'Make it up to me?' she thought. She wanted to reply before she noticed her boss walking towards her desk in the corner of her eye. She immediately tossed her phone into her bag and sat up straight, fingers dancing on the keyboard like a well-oiled corporate machine. Her boss only gave her a fleeting glance before he passed by her desk. She let out a sigh. Today was gonna be a long day.
____________________________
Once she got through the main door of her apartment block, she could feel the stress slowly seeping away from her body. She was home. It was already 8:30 pm. She just wanted to lie down in bed and cuddle with her sunshine. And she was so close. All she had to do was ride the elevator and she'd be back in his arms.
The wait in the elevator couldn't have been any longer. What usually felt like a few seconds felt like minutes now, especially with her eagerness to get to Sunny.
*Grumble*
She felt a rumble in her stomach. She didn't even manage to eat lunch, her boss giving her even more work after she'd finished that spreadsheet for him. It was a miracle she even got out of the office when she did, considering the enormous workload she had. Nobody said being a graduate employee was all peaches and cream, but this was pure agony. And people did this for a living?
Finally, the elevator reached her floor, and with a glide in her step, she made it to her apartment door, keys already in hand. With a twist and a click, she opened the door, so ready to be greeted by her sunshine. She was so close!
And- wait.. why was it dark? And why were there candles on the table? Wha-
"Mari, you're home."
Peeking out from the kitchen, Mari could see her boyfriend in an apron and two plates of.. was that spaghetti? She couldn't really tell with how dimly lit everything was.
"Sunny? What's all this?" Mari asked in curiosity.
"Candlelight dinner," he simply said as he set the plates of spaghetti down onto the table, before going to Mari and taking her workbag off of her tired arms.
"Sunny.." she said, still processing the table and the dinner and the moody lighting her brother had set up. "You didn't have to do this.."
"Said I'd make it up to you," he replied, next taking off her work coat. Then, he took her hand in his, guiding her to the table, before pulling out the seat and gesturing for her to sit down.
She was so surprised, it took her work-exhausted brain some time to process her surroundings. Was this real? Did Sunny do this all.. for her ?
She didn't realise when Sunny had returned back from the kitchen without his apron and sat down in the chair on the other end of their little dining table, in the candlelight, with his handsome yet adorable face being lit up in such romantic lighting. The untrained eye wouldn't notice the nervousness behind his gaze, the anticipation in his eyes - but Mari knew him so much more deeply than anyone else did, even their parents.
"Do.. do you like it?" Sunny asked, an obvious tinge of nervousness in his voice.
Mari couldn't help but giggle, a few little tear droplets forming in the corner of her eyes. "Like it?" she giggled. "I love it. Thank you, Sunny. You sure know how to make a girl happy, huh?"
She went and grabbed the fidgeting hand across the table, interlacing her fingers with his. And just like that, all the stresses of the day disappeared once she had that physical connection with her dear sunshine again. Even in the dim candle light, Mari could notice the crimson blush on Sunny's cheeks.
"I-I try..."
Gosh, he was so adorable. If she wasn't so hungry she'd have peppered him with so many kisses til' he got sick of it - if that was even possible. Speaking of hunger, her stomach decided to grumble again, as though to signal Mari to JUST EAT ALREADY!
Sunny heard the audible grumble, and he couldn't stop himself from giggling. "Sounds like someone's hungry."
"Oh, like you wouldn't believe. I was so swamped with work, I didn't have the time to even eat lunch and-"
She felt him grip her hand, and the happy smile he'd had was now replaced with a frown. There was that look in his eyes, one of worry, one of concern that she'd seen whenever her sunshine worried for her.
"Mari.."
"Sunny, I'm fine. It's just a lil' lunch. Skipping it won't hurt me or anything," she said, her thumb drawing circles on the back of his hand.
"Not good to skip meals.. It's not good to work so hard like that.."
She saw his frown deepen, and before she could get a word in, he spoke.
"One day.. one day I'll work so you don't have to. I'll support you. I'll make you happy. You won't need to work so hard anymore.."
Mari felt her heart fill up with so much love it felt like it could spill out at any moment. She gripped his hand tightly, looking straight into his eyes while she led her other vacant hand to caress his cheek.
"Sunny, you already make me so happy. I work so that I can support you . And I love doing it if it means I can see you happy and free. That's all that matters to me. I'm the older sibling. I should be the one to take care of you."
Sunny wanted to say something, that he wanted to repay her for all the things she'd done for him. For all the love and care she'd shown since he was a little baby. He wanted to support her. He was her boyfriend, and that's what boyfriends did, right? If only he was older. If only he could just graduate already and be the breadwinner. Then Mari wouldn't need to skip lunch anymore, wouldn't need to get scolded by her nasty boss anymore. If only-
*GRUMBLE*
Mari's stomach decided to interrupt the internal battle going on in Sunny's head, and he couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. And Mari also couldn't help but blush too. Twice now her stomach had played the song of its people. And in front of her Sunny of all people! So embarrassing...
He coughed, "I-I think we should probably eat now."
"Heheh yeah, I'm starving." Mari scooped up a bunch of spaghetti with her fork. It smelled amazing and the deep dark red of the bolognese sauce on top was making her salivate. Not even waiting a second, she slurped some strands of spaghetti, letting out a moan as she savoured the taste.
"Mmmmm! Sunny, this tastes so good! Did you cook this yourself?"
Sunny couldn't help but blush seeing his sister enjoy his cooking so much. "Y-Yea.." he said as he started to eat his spaghetti.
"Where'd you learn to make this? It tastes even better than the restaurants!" Mari said before spearing more of the spaghetti.
"Hero gave me his recipe. I asked him for it when you told me you weren't having a good day."
"Awwww! Sunny!" Mari's smile couldn't get any bigger. "You're the best, you know that? I love you so much, sunshine."
He had a goofy smile on his face in response, one that Mari was pretty sure only she'd ever seen. "Love you too, Mari."
They ate their candlelight dinner together, Sunny listening intently to Mari going on about her day. It was therapeutic for the both of them, to finally be with each other after a whole day of separation. And the romantic lighting made it all the better. There were moments Sunny caught himself just staring at his girlfriend, the candlelight accentuating her beautiful features. He knew it was rude to stare, especially while she was telling him about her crummy day at work, but he couldn't help himself - and Mari definitely noticed.
"Enjoying the view, sunshine?" she teased with a smirk.
Sunny snapped out of his stupor, shaking his head and scratching the back of his neck. "U-Umm.. Y-Yea.. I-I mean no! I.. d-don't know what you're talking about.."
Mari giggled like a schoolgirl at his reaction. "Oh Sunny, you're just so adorable!"
Sunny put on a mock pout, like a little kid who'd just been caught doing something naughty. "N-Not adorable! I'm a man now.."
And that he was. He'd grown up to be such a dashing, yet also adorable, young man. He still retained the boyish features from when he was a kid though, puberty only serving to make his face sharper and his height taller. He was still the same sunshine she'd loved since he was a baby, and nothing would ever change that.
"I know you are. And you're the most handsome - and most adorable - man in the world to me. How did I end up scoring such a hot guy like you?" she giggled.
"I don't know either. Must've been lucky" Sunny said with the usual tone of his deadpan humour.
"Sunny!" Mari laughed. And her laughs were always infectious, and soon the straight face Sunny wore broke as a few giggles escaped his lips.
Once their laughter died down, Sunny stood up and went over to her side of the table, reaching a hand out to her. Mari, a little confused but all the more curious, asked "Sunny?"
She saw it again, that tell-tale blush across his cheeks that would reach up to his ears. He'd planned something more!
"Would.. would you like to dance with me?" he nervously asked, unable to look her in the eyes with how shy he was acting.
Mari's heart skipped a beat. Dancing? With him? Tonight just couldn't get any better. It didn't take her more than a second to grab his hand and get up.
"I would, my love ."
Sunny was blushing even harder now. They made their way to the living room, which really was only a few steps away from the dining table. The dim lighting of the house has hidden the fact that Sunny's moved the coffee table in the middle of the living room to the side, giving them ample space to dance. Sunny went over to a CD player placed beside the TV ( wait, where did he even get that? ) and placed in a CD. Not long after, a song played.
Wise men say
"Only fools rush in"
Mari remembers it, from so so long ago. It was the song that played during her uncle's wedding back when she was ten, when her relatives had encouraged her and Sunny to dance together. When.. when she realised she loved Sunny.
"You remembered?" Mari said in a whisper, a few tears in the corner of her eyes.
They started dancing now, slowly, just the two of them in the hue of the candlelight.
"I always did. Could never forget."
But I can't help
Falling in love with you
"Gosh, this is bringing back a lot of memories," Mari said, her head now resting on Sunny's chest as the both of them swayed together to the slow rhythm of the song. Sunny, in all honesty, was trying his best not to step on Mari's toes, and Mari definitely noticed. But to her, this just made her dance with him all the more special.
"I.." Sunny swallowed, "I found out I loved you when we first danced that night."
"That's funny," Mari replied, a single tear running down her cheek, "Because I found out that night too. You were so.. so cute. So handsome. I knew then that I wanted to be your soulmate. Watching Uncle Ken and Aunt Rei saying their vows and dancing together, it made me want to do the same with you."
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin?
If I can't help
Falling in love with you
Mari continued, letting out a sigh. "But I also felt so guilty. You were my little brother, and I knew I shouldn't have felt that way about you. I.. hated myself a lot after that night for thinking stuff like that.."
She heard the smallest gasp from Sunny, feeling his grip on her tighten just a little. "Mari.." She couldn't see his face, but a few tears were starting to pool in his eyes too. "I.. I felt guilty too. You were my big sister, so perfect, so beautiful. I felt like the worst little brother that night for feeling that way about you. I.. I felt like you were out of my league.. that there was no possible way you could love me back the same way."
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Mari took her head off his chest and looked up at him, seeing a tear run down his cheek. She took her finger and wiped it away before gently caressing his cheek.
"How couldn't I have fallen for you? You're so sweet, so adorable, so handsome, so caring. I'm really lucky to have you, Sunny," she said, her smile ever more radiant. "And look at us now. Together like this. It's like a dream come true."
"Sometimes, I wake up and I feel like I'm still dreaming. Is this real, Mari? Am I still dreaming?" he said, part jokingly but part seriously. Sunny held onto her tighter now, afraid that somehow Mari might disappear from his arms if he ever let go, as impossible as that was.
"You're awake, sunshine. This is real. What we have is real." She leans up (an unfortunate consequence of Sunny having to be taller than her) and captures his lips in hers.
Take my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can't help, falling in love with you
They separate after almost a minute, gazing into each other's eyes. Sunny is the first to speak. "I love you so much, my moonlight."
Sunny didn't often use that pet name, but when he did, it made Mari's heart flutter so hard. He'd grown up so much, to be so much more confident around her, to be more honest about his love for her.
"I love you too, my sunshine."
They danced together, heart and soul connected as one. Even after the horrible day at work, somehow, this was one of the best days she'd had in a long time, and it was all thanks to her Sunny.
That night, she slept in his arms, his head buried in the crook of her neck, as they cuddled together like their lives depended on it. Life could be hard, but she knew that, with her Sunny by her side, she could go through anything.
The End.