The Taisho fire

The teashop

A little Toga goodness for the week end !

This tea shop is based on a place I used to go as a student where they sold tea, coffee, chocolate and you could take a seat and sample it. Their products were to die for !

As her Captain sipped some Chinese tea with a hum of appreciation, she caught his amused glance at the amount of whipped cream that topped her hot chocolate.

"I thought this was a tea shop," he rumbled with a gentle smile.

Gwen's heart leapt in her chest; his voice fell when he was relaxed, and the low tones did strange things to her body. And even though she procured all her stock from this tea shop, she loved even more their chocolate section... and the table laid out to treat your palate. This boutique screamed 'Created for Gwen's pleasure', and she was grateful for it. Even more grateful to share it with this incredibly complicated man that was Tōga Taishō.

"Tea shop, chocolate. What's the difference ? I adore all of it. But anyway, about your Hime."

His eyes flashed golden, and she struggled not gawk. Was there any justice in the world that such a gorgeous man would, on top of that, be gifted with an eye colour of molten gold and markings that enhanced his natural cheekbones ? She almost never spotted the blue arrows of the Inu no Taishō; they were playing hide and seek with her sight.

"I guess she was the daughter of a Daimyo if they called her a Hime," Gwen mused.

Tōga nodded; she truly had an incredible understanding of the feudal era in Japan, which was pretty impressive for a twenty-six-year-old British woman. It made more sense since he'd discovered the nature of her former curriculum; ancient civilisations. Hence the reason why she picked up languages so easily, and understood the constraints of remote times.

"How much do you know about her ?"

Breath short, Tōga felt his knuckles clamp around his mug of tea.

"Izayoi," he breathed.

Gwen sent him a worried look.

"Did you marry her ?"

He gulped.

"Twice."

This time, the young woman froze over her chocolate, the steam creating a veil that rose in a dancing plume before her eyes.

"Uh ?"

Tōga ignored the vice grip of sorrow clamped around his lungs and took a deep breath.

"I do not remember if we had a ceremony back then. We made up for it when I met her in this life."

Gwen's eyes widened, then he hopelessly watched a careful mask slip in, erasing the micro expressions of her lovely face. Her eyes, though, filled with hurt and resignation before they flickered to his left hand. Or rather, to the absence of wedding band on his ring finger.

"You are married to your princess of the feudal era," she deadpanned.

And her words tore through him like a scythe through tall grass. For a moment, Tōga considered packing his things and disappearing, to leave all this hurt behind him. To have no one that could remind him of this marriage that had brought equals hopes and despair in his life. Why did it hurt so much, more than ten years later ?

Gwen was waiting, eyes averted, giving him time and space. Leaving the ball in his court, so he could decide whether he wanted to take a step forward, or a step back. She trusted him... could he trust her ? How could silence be so heavy ?

"No longer, she... left me."

"Why ?" she breathed, her eyes almost liquid. As if she was suffering alongside him. As if the idea of leaving him was so preposterous that it touched the realm of impossibility.