A/N: A drabble request with the following prompt: "Makoto and Haru play tea party with their daughter."
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Semi-related to my RinTori fic, The Art of Compromise.
The room was completely silent. There were various cups and miscellaneous trinkets scattered across the floor in what could only be described as organized chaos. A light clinking noise prickled the sheet of quietude draped over the room's three occupants.
As discreetly as he could, Makoto cleared his throat. Next to him, Haruka slid his eyes subtly to his left.
"So," Makoto whispered under his breath, "was this what you expected when she invited us to a 'tea party'?" he asked, a small smile on his lips.
Haruka unobtrusively shook his head. "Not exactly," he muttered, his eyes gaze slipping back to the front.
Unable to get over the mild absurdity of the situation, Makoto chuckled softly. "It's because of that documentary on TV last night," he said, barely daring to move his lips.
Haruka tried to remember. The night before, he had turned the television to a random channel after dinner and plopped onto the couch. He hadn't really been paying attention to what was going on, but he recalled having dozed off shortly after Makoto joined him. He knew something was playing on the screen when he drowsily woke up to Makoto shaking his shoulder gently, but he couldn't recall it exactly. Suddenly, he remembered.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a light and high voice began to scold him.
"Daddy, Papa! You aren't taking this seriously at all!"
Kneeling in front of the two was a young girl, about six years old. Her dark hair was tied back to keep it from falling into her face, but some strands had slipped down anyway. Her lips were pursed into a pout and her hands were on her hips.
Makoto chuckled again. "Sorry, Akari-chan. Daddy and Papa will behave now," he said, placing his bands obediently in his lap in proper seiza position.
Haruka couldn't help but laugh a bit as well. He was strongly reminded of the times Ren and Ran would make them play House together when they were much younger.
"This reminds me of when Ren and Ran made us play with them years back," Makoto said softly. He sneaked a glance at Haruka but quickly faced forward again, lest their fiery daughter caught him red-handed.
Thankfully for him, Akari was too busy going through the steps of a Japanese tea ceremony—in whatever order she thought appropriate or remembered—so she didn't hear him.
Earlier, she had ran up to Makoto—Daddy—and begged him to let her use their best tea cups. He hadn't let her use their special ones but compromised with her by giving her their next-best set. They weren't as pretty, but Akari was happy enough with them. After pestering Daddy, she went straight to Haruka—Papa—and borrowed some paper from him. Then, she adamantly told them to stay out of the living room.
The two were puzzled as to what was going on but let their daughter do whatever she pleased.
It was a little while later that she discreetly snuck formal invitations to them for a tea party planned to take place in the living room in fifteen minutes' time.
What they expected was a carefully arranged table with stuffed animals and a tea set sitting on top of it. However, when they entered the room and saw the floor cleared off and a modest collection of cups, folded handkerchiefs, and a whisk—probably taken from the kitchen—sitting in a pile, Makoto and Haruka knew this wasn't going to be a standard tea party.
They found Akari sitting on the floor with her legs neatly folded underneath her. She had bowed deeply and politely to her two guests. Out of habit, both of them bowed in return. Makoto and Haruka were then beckoned to take seats on the cushions their daughter had put out. Then, the ceremony had begun.
Right now, she was in the process of wiping off the cups carefully with the corner of one of the handkerchiefs. She looked rather professional about it.
"I didn't think that our daughter would have an interest in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies," Haruka mumbled, smiling softly. It seemed that Akari had been watching the tea demonstration between dozing in and out of sleep the night before. He was sure it was the same program that had made him fall asleep in the first place.
Makoto was about to answer, but Akari solemnly handed him a cup and bowl to examine. As per required of a proper ceremony, Makoto bowed and graciously picked up the cup first, turning it over in his hands and looking at its designs with great, appreciative scrutiny. Then, he passed it off to Haruka, who repeated the examination silently. They took consecutive turns looking at the cup and bowl before returning the utensils to their hostess.
From the way she was beaming (and breaking character), she was rather pleased at how much more seriously her parents were taking the whole thing.
Akari picked up the bowl again and began to mock putting in the powdered green tea and water into the bowl to whisk to a froth. The "tea" was promptly served, along with a tin full of real cookies which she had also squirreled out from the kitchen, most likely when Makoto had his back turned.
Makoto raised his eyebrows at Haruka, but the dark-haired man only shook his head mildly in amusement. After bowing again at Akari, Makoto took the cup, placed it into his left hand, and turned it clockwise thrice before drinking from it. He then cleaned the lip of the cup, turned it counterclockwise, and returned it to the floor. The young girl offered some of the cookies to her daddy. As Haruka pretended to drink, Makoto took out a cookie and ate it.
From under his lowered eyelashes, Haruka caught Akari slipping a cookie out from the tin and eating it.
He put down the cup and smiled slyly. In his normal speaking voice, he said, "Akari, is the hostess also supposed to eat the tea snacks?"
In response, she flushed bright red and chewed even more furiously, as if her papa would steal the cookie away from her otherwise. After swallowing, she stammered, "It's okay if she does it sometimes!"
"Is that so?" Makoto joined in in the teasing. "Or are you just lying to us, you little monster?" he asked, a grin pulling his features deviously. He leaned forward with his fingers wiggling in the air.
Immediately, Akari realized what was going on and let out a shriek of laughter, scrambling to get up. Her daddy was too fast for her though and snagged her by the waist, quickly bringing her down into his lap and rubbing his head against hers messily.
Haruka smiled at the two of them as they flailed and laughed on the floor happily, tea ceremony completely forgotten. Makoto squeezed her tightly and hummed against her fondly, not minding it when one of her pigtails tickled his nose.
The two of them relaxed after that, faces flushed from laughing so much. Akari leaned back on Makoto's broad chest and giggled softly.
As they rested, Makoto looked over at Haruka with fond eyes. Unable to resist his partner's soft expression, Haruka smiled as well. He met Makoto halfway as they both leaned forward for a chaste kiss. Haruka tasted some of the cookie crumbs which had stuck to the corner of Makoto's mouth.
Akari began wiggling between her two dads and eventually slipped from Makoto's loosening grip.
"Oh no, you don't, you rascal!" Makoto laughed, pulling her back before she could take another cookie and ruin her appetite for dinner. More squealing filled the small apartment as Haruka was involved in the mess. Long and short limbs tangled together in an impromptu wrestling match.
The three of them ended up in a stacked pile from largest to smallest, with Makoto on the bottom.
"You two are heavy!" he groaned in mock suffering as Haruka and Akari lay on top of him.
"Hang in there, Daddy!" Akari called out, laughing gleefully.
At his daughter's encouragement, Makoto groaned again but laughed as well. He wrapped his arms the best he could around Haruka and Akari and smiled.
Haruka's face was close to his as they gazed at each other gently. Makoto blinked as Haruka lifted a hand to sweep his bangs out of his face.
Neither of them said anything as Akari began to hum and kick her feet in the air but, after so many years of being together, the two of them were more than capable of reading each other. Haruka placed his head against Makoto's chest and smiled.
This was the best family they could ever ask for from each other, and they were never going to let it go.