The Light of my Life

Good Morning

Tamotsu awoke early in the morning, before the sun was done making its way over the horizon. He rolled to his side in the warm bed. It had taken him a moment to gather his thoughts and recall just which bed he was in. His eyes had fluttered open. For less than half a second his pupils seemed to contract, nearly to slits resembling a cat's. When his vision focused he fluttered his eyelids, clearing the blurry haze from his sleep encrusted eyes. Sitting himself up, Tamotsu rubbed at his eyes tiredly. After a moment of looking around the young manager was able to gather he was at Lily's apartment. 

"... maybe I should go home later..." He was starting to realize he had a minor sense of guilt for leaving his home in Liu's care for as long as he had, but work seemed never ending. 

Finally feeling his muscles relax and bones pop he pushed to sit up, tossing aside the blankets. Bare feet lowered to the ground settling against the thick rug that covered the hardwood floors which, even in summer, threatened toes with an icy kiss that was difficult to avoid just waking. Tamotsu parted his mouth in a deep yawn. With the sun yet up the only light to illuminate the room was the face of his phone's clock setting. 

The faint, green glow not only seemed to play off the hidden ink within the tattoos that ran down his arms but also the branded marks that traced his shoulders, down his pectoral muscles and circled his stomach. In the light they seemed to have a secondary set of markings hidden just behind them. These secondary tattoos were a precaution to ensure his condition was kept in check. If not for the Xie family's support he was sure to have lost his life to this long ago. 

"How long has it been...?" He murmured into the silent void of the dark room as his fingers traced along his stomach.

Letting out an irritated scoff the manager would push to stand, collecting his phone from the side table. He made his way over to the closet, his posture tall and every stride taken with immeasurable pride. While he walked to the closet his eyes were focused down on the screen of his phone, thumb scrolling through the morning news, double checking weather, and adjusting Lily's scheduling based on delays and temperature.  It was the middle of summer and on average it was 29° Celsius. Being half Vampir Lily was susceptible to heatstroke and had pale, sun sensitive skin. 

He began by laying out a small ironing board onto the mattress and his chosen top which was a dark blue collared shirt. Laying his phone beside the board he read through the week's events as he pulled up his trousers: a pair of grey pleated pants that he kept in place with a black belt. Tucking his undershirt into his pants he sighed. 

"The Star Festival is on Saturday, but the streets are going to be filled with locals and tourists. Good, we won't be passing anywhere near there." Lily would want to check it out. 

She was the sort of person who found any excuse to join a festival or public event. Tamo attributed it to her growing up as sheltered as she was. As her manager her mental health was just as important as her physical well being to him. He found himself rarely able to deny her requests to join a local festival or visit a nearby celebration. Her smile was always worth it. 

But today the faint smile that crept onto his features was quickly chased away when his phone rang ten minutes to six and Silvia Sahar's name popped up on his caller ID.

Silvia Sahar was the name of Lily's oldest sister. She also worked in the family business, though not as active on stage as she took up the preferential role of an acting executive of a nearby branch. It helped her keep an eye on her sisters and Tamotsu, who was literally her sister's keeper. She didn't trust Tamo and would look for any reason to criticize him. He was surprised it took her this long to catch wind of the tabloid piece, but with her father handling damage control it wasn't a surprise. He likely held her back as long as he could. Once again the temptation to simply decline the call bubbled up from the depths of his juvenile youth. 

After putting on his shirt he would answer the phone, putting it to his ear. "Silvia, you're calling early." He exercised a false yawn, as if he just woke up. 

Silvia, who was in her office, turned about in her seat so she was no longer facing the window. She had a contemporary office with large, angled windows that allowed natural light to flood the room. Marble floors and confidante furniture: it made it a great place to nap when making home through traffic, after overtime wasn't an option. Her stained, natural wood desk was neat and sparsely cluttered. 

She was Helel's first daughter, born of a mistress while he was still just engaged to Mika and Mina's mother Camilla. Silvia's mother was a Chinese Fuzanglong, an Eastern Dragon with a penchant for hoarding wealth. 

"Oh please, Mori. Like you sleep." She leaned back in her seat, checking the time. "You're a creature of habit. I'm sure you're already on your way to make breakfast."

As Tamotsu stepped into the kitchen he glared at his phone. Putting it back to his ear he worked to gather the required breakfast ingredients. His expression darkened as he laid a pan onto the stove top.

"Fine. What do you want?" That soft tone rolled into a curt demand. 

"Ahh~♪" Silvia softly moaned. "That's the Tamotan I know~" She sighed at his rough manner and how it hit all the right spots. 

"Ugh, please. Have you been talking to aniki?" He didn't want that kind of attention from Silvia. 

"Actually yes. What is this I hear that you're being trouble within a mile of the department? Do I need to fumigate for vermin?"

-c r a c k-

Tamo broke some eggs into a bowl, eyes narrowing into a glare. "I'd thank you not to interfere. Not yet anyway. I don't want the mole to catch wind of my snooping." Beating the eggs he prepared it by adding milk. "Now I know you called for something else."

He's known Silvia's underhand personality long enough to know she called him not only to mock him, but attempt to outsmart his well laid out plans. He could almost feel the skin crawling curl of her lips against his skin. 

"Oh I thought you'd never ask." The sinister crawl of her voice would cause lesser men to shudder. "Upon father's request I have decided on a method to curtail the progress of this vile rumor. While it sickens me to think that my innocent baby sister could ever consider being rumor involved with a man--"

Tamotsu's face turned up in a grimace. Why did she always let that part of her show publicly? This siscon has more than a few screws loose. Not that it mattered to Tamo. Unlike her he wasn't in some self-made competition to impress Lily. His priority was Lily's reputation. 

It was why, right now, he focused on making her a full course breakfast with a mix of Western and Japanese fare. He wasn't sure how long he could keep her from noticing the news cycle and only thanked Kami that she preferred her fashion blogs to any real world stressors. In making all her favorite breakfast foods he hoped to at least soften the blow of the paparazzi's selfish inclinations. 

After finishing the first batch of pancakes Tamo moved over to prepare the blender to make her a vitamin rich smoothie that should keep her sate for most of the day. 

Beets, pomegranate, carrots, apples, and spinach. He made sure it would maintain its red color by using more beets than anything else. Blending it to the kitchen would be filled with the loud, abrasive sound of the machine. With that noise and the smell of fresh pancakes or the sweet aroma of freshly baking cinnamon rolls, well it would be hard for Lily to stay asleep for much longer. 

"It's a brilliant plan if I do say so myself."

Tamo rolled his eyes. "Did you not hear the blender?" He wouldn't be surprised if she didn't. Silvia sure liked to hear herself talk, especially if it was about Lily. "Say again."

Honestly he could have just pretended to hear it and then go along with his plans. Silvia's plots were too grand and convoluted. He preferred simple actions that feed his desire for instant gratification. 

Silvia sighed. "Clean the turds out your ears."

"A very unladylike mouth, Silvy..." He ground out. 

"Oh, sweet talker. But teasing aside, I think we should go forward with the paparazzi's propaganda. Until further notice you're Lily's boyfriend."

-crack-

That was the glass shattering in his grip.