Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been an adventure for all concerned. Rei had never had this panicked of a day. It was -almost- amusing. It would be later, when he lay in bed laughing over it with his two gehaka. However, at the moment, it was embarassing.

"I've been in this business since I was a child." he admitted, running a hand over the worn shelving. "This shop belonged to my mother before me, and her mother before her." his smile was gentle, and his eyes stroked gently over the books. "Everything in this shop is in our blood, we Yakume's. And that includes Toshi. If he'd been born a haka, he'd be taking over this shop after me." his voice was dreamy, and he'd almost seemed to forget the other haka was there.

Toshi entered the shop, hand bandaged, and carefully picked up two cups of tea, placing them on a tray and wandering into the shop to find his mother and Aya-san. He tromped loudly down the aisle and coughed lightly when he discovered them, alerting them to his presence so as not to startle them.

Rei smiled at his son behind the other haka's back. Toshi's eyes looked particularly bright. It seemed this young haka had made quite the impression on his son. He had wanted to try for another child... however, when the choice had come down to him or the baby he carried, his gehaka had made the choice for him, slipping him an abortificant in his tea.

That was most probably a crime, but he knew why they had done it, and loved his family too much to make a scene, or even punish them. They had made the decision he couldn't bring himself to.

The child that would have killed him had been a haka.

With a light sigh, he coughed. "I'll take my leave." he bowed politely to the younger haka, and vanished into the maze of bookshelves.

Toshi bowed until his mother had vanished, then smiled up at Aya. "My hand is fine, Fujimiya-sama." he said with a smile. "I thank you for your concern, and assistance." he bowed formally, somehow keeping a firm grasp on the tea.

Toshi smiled softly at Aya. "No sir, I'm not busy." he said, and glanced around. "Would you like to sit? We have a small area over here that would be comfortable for you." the yellow-haired gehaka pointed the way to a small window shelf covered in pillows. There would be enough room on the shelf for Aya to sit comfortably, he surmised. As for himself, he preferred floors to proper seats, or standing.

His eyes flicked over the haka. He checked for any sign that one of the books he'd left out had been tripped over, and caused any damage. An internal sigh of relief that this gentle haka seemed unaffected by any of the horrors of Toshi's organizational skills.

Toshi bowed politely, pulling a small table over for Aya to be able to rest his tea on without worrying about it spilling and messing up his kimono. Setting the tea down on the table, he silently poured two cups of tea and lifted one, holding it out for the haka. "Are you a fan of books?" he asked, watching the haka with bright eyes. Hopefully he was, so they could compare authors. Toshi was always looking for more reccommendations.

He felt his stomach twist as he looked at those limpid violet orbs, admiring. Aya's mates were truly blessed with such a gentle haka as their husband. He was almost jealous of them, actually. Very few haka he'd met had been so gentle with him. he seemed to have some sort of haka irritant attatched to his skin. His mother had said it was because he was a bit too eager to please. He hadn't understood.

When the red-haired haka accepted the cup, Toshi lowered himself into a comfortable kneel at the haka's feet. "What do you do?" he asked, curious. "I mean, what is your work." he flushed, hating his mis-speak.

He loved books and numbers, and so his mother had taught him. He smiled faintly, remembering the quiet classes around a candle after his fathers had fallen asleep. His family was small, as his father was a minor haka, but it was close. His mother loved his husbands very much, and it showed in minor ways- the way everyone in the home was dressed well, and educated. Even in public his mother treated his entire family with respect.

He jerked back to attention at Aya's question. "Any good books? Well, what kind of books do you like to read?" he asked. The answer would tell him a lot about the haka, and would also help narrow down the book choices that the gehaka would recommend.

Toshi watched with a sort of... awed fascination? as the haka moved... delicately. Everything Aya did, to him seemed like a sort of dance. He moved closer to the haka, almost wondering if he could absorb some of that grace and beauty through just sheer... nearness.

"The Tsuki no Hana?" he asked, and his nose crinkled a bit as he tried to place the shop. "OH!" he said, mind landing further down the phrase on 'Jewelry' and his eyes brightened. The shop with the pretties his mother had bought himself for his birthday last year. Toshi hadn't gone in, he'd gotten to stay outside because his father thought he'd knock something over. (( sweatdrop )) So by staying outside, he hadn't.

Instead, he had amused himself by tilting his head and watching the sparkles, like a little bird fascinated by a shiny something.

And that was the way his head was tilted now, watching Aya. It was fitting, he decided, that something so beautiful should be surrounded by things of beauty. Not that he'd ever admit to the haka that he found him beautiful. The knot in his stomach tightened and he smiled. "It's a beautiful shop." he said warmly, and nodded.

But on to more important things.

"Dragons and Faeries? Hmmm..." the gehaka jumped to his feet and fled down a corridor, disappearing into the old book room. "Dragons, Faeries, where did I put you?" he singsonged as he hunted them.

Why would Toshi be afraid of him? Aya had never hurt him, or said anything remotely cruel. So Toshi wanted to please him. The gehaka really was a simple creature. Like a puppy, love him and he will love you back.

Finally, Toshi found his target. A fairytale book, elaborate in deep brown leather, with golden dragons stamped into it. The edging of the book's pages was a deep gold color, and There were small leaves on the corner of every page. He grabbed the book and hurried back to where he had left the haka, holding it out to him with a bright smile.

"I read this book as a child." he explained to Aya. "My mother would come into my room every night, and tell me about how, because I was a gehaka, I got to be the handsome hero. He'd tell me how wonderful it was that I got this place, and that he'd make sure my haka would be a prince too. He said, fairy tales never stay happy unless the princess has a prince's courage inside her too."