The two of them sat there at the front of the Chinese restaurant that Ayame had dragged Tohru too.
"I have to tell you, it's been one surprise after the other meeting you here today. Yuki's never mentioned you before let alone that you're a part of the zodiac." Tohru says sincerely as she watches the vendor make their food.
Ayame looks down at the table, hands still on his newly woven braid and replies, "I'm shouldn't be surprised, as you can tell me and my brother don't get along very well. Or, rather I should rather say we've never gotten along, you see we're ten years apart and he got sick very easily, so he was kept very isolated. I, on the other hand, grew up doing whatever I liked. I was barely even aware that I even had a brother, and when the realization finally hit me, the bridge between us was just too wide to cross." Ayame sighs and looks forlorn down at the table. "And," he continues "I was worried about him after your encounter with Akito at school. I also want to bridge the gap between us especially when my children think so highly of their uncle."
Tohru looks at him curiously and asks, "Do you still want that?"
Ayame nods and continues once more, "It's strange, only now do I realize as a parent how self-centred I was and I realize all the ways I could have been a better brother. I sometimes regret and wish I could change how I was as a child, but I suppose every adult wishes that to some degree."
Tohru gasps as a brilliant idea pops into her mind, " Maybe you and Yuki can try to meet each other halfway." Ayame chuckles and nods at the statement as their food is placed in front of them.
"Tohru, you truly are wise beyond your years. I promise to continue to try, as long as you can promise to be there for Yuki when he needs it." Ayame says sincerely, looking directly at Tohru. They soon eat their meal and head back to Shigure's house. Once thru the door, Tohru is bombarded by concerned questions from Yuki, but Tohru denied them with ease.
There is a short silence when Tohru finally asks, "Yuki, do you really not like your brother?"
Yuki pauses for a short time then replies, "I don't really dislike him, he's just a little too much for me sometimes," There is a pause and then a triumphant voice; belonging to Ayame; erupts from Tohru's dress. Yuki stares at his brother in disgust as he slithers up and out of Tohru's dress, this is the final straw for Yuki. Ayame slides off of Tohru and slithers away. "You pervert!" Yuki shouts as he chases Ayame down the hallway.
In return, Ayame yells, "You know I am faithful to my Hari!"
"I'm sorry, but Yuki locked the door to his room so I couldn't sleep in there," Ayame says at the breakfast table a few mornings after the first day he came to Shigure's house.
"Then why the hell didn't you go to Shigure's room like the night before?" Kyo screeched, a vein bulging at the top of his forehead.
"Language, Lucky Kyo. And simply because his writing kept me up most of the night, I haven't had so little sleep since the twins were young." Ayame chastises.
"How much longer are you staying here anyway?" Kyo shouts, slightly less pissed, but still pissed.
"If it bothers you so much tonight I'll sleep in Tohru's room," Ayame says smiling.
"No, you will not!" Both Yuki and Kyo shout in unison.
Ayame looks appalled and reprimands the two, "Honestly, you two should know where my leanings with women are. I am appalled by that insinuation."
When the younger household members arrive back after school they are greeted to the sight of Ayame and Shigure reminiscing over an old scrapbook. Tohru looks at the album and points to a specific picture, that depicted a small grey-haired boy alongside an older silver-haired boy. And the picture right beside it depicted two children looking around the same age, One had long brown hair and the other had shorter white hair.
"Oh, Ayame. Is this one you and Yuki?" Tohru asks pointing at the first photograph.
"Oh, yes. We were so young in that picture. And, oh," Ayame pauses when his eyes land on the second picture, he smiles and takes the photograph out of the album. "This one wasn't supposed to be in here, I suppose I was comparing the photographs and just slipped it in there. Oh goodness, they look so cute in this one. Awe, it was when we took them to the beach for the first time." Ayame says fondly as he looks down at the photograph of his children. "I remember that Hotaru had worked so hard on this sand castle with Hari, and then while Kohaku was running around he trampled it. Hotaru was mad at him because of it for about a week, but they still made up in the end." Ayame continuous reminiscing about past experiences with his children.
Yuki looks up at his brother from the seat he had taken at the table in surprise, he hadn't realised how deeply his brother cared about his children.
"You really do care about them don't you Ayame," Yuki murmurs quietly.
"Of course I do, they, along with Hari, are the loves of my life. And I've worked very hard to help them bond, given how sickly Hotaru is. I really don't want them to end up like us, so distant that we can barely see eye to eye. I want Kohaku to look after his sister better than I looked out for you." Ayame says in a heartfelt voice, holding the photograph of the twins closer to his chest. Yuki looked at Ayame, a shocked expression crossing his face as well as Kyo's, they had never seen this side of the snake before as they rarely interacted outside of banquets. There was a quiet contented silence until someone cleared their throat. The group looked around to find the source of the noise and found Hatori with holding two whining, squirming toddlers.
"The door was unlocked so I let myself in," he says nonchalantly, placing the twins on the ground, who begin sprinting before their feet even touch the ground.
"Daddy!" they cry in unison as they tackle Ayame into a tight bear hug.
"So Hari, had enough handling them on your own?" Ayame asks fondly as he stands up, holding one twin in each arm and walks over to his partner.
"No, Ayame. I know you rarely let yourself take breaks, but they have been crying for you ever since you didn't come home for dinner the first night. Even though we told them before you left, I'm sorry to interrupt your time with Yuki." Hatori says, trying to get Kohaku out of Ayame's left arm.
Ayame shakes his head, "No Hari, it's fine. I was thinking I should probably come home today. The children can only stand so much separation before they begin acting out." he says leaning forward into Hatori's chest.
"Okay, lovebirds. There are children present," Shigure teases, causing Kyo to shout indignantly.
"Okay, let's go. Goodbye, everyone." Ayame calls cheerfully as he walks close behind Hatori, listening to his children babble about all that he missed.
As the four are heading through the wooded area towards the car, Ayame looks down at the twins, finding them fast asleep.
"Oh Hari, I'm sorry I didn't come home sooner. I know how hard it is for the children to cope when one of us is gone. I just really wanted to try to fix things with Yuki. But I guess that's not happening." Ayame says sadly looking down at his children's sleeping faces.
"Aya, you'll fix things with Yuki. Just give him time, he is still quite young." Hatori treasures, placing his hand on Ayame's shoulder.
"You know Hari, that Tohru reminded me a bit of you. The way you care for others so much." Ayame says fondly as they finally reach the car. He silently hands Hatori Kohaku and opens the backseat door to slide and buckle Hotaru into her car seat and Hatori does the same with Kohaku. When their children are finally secure in the back seat, they climb into the front and begin their drive home.