Part of the Family
Kisa had to admit that it was nice to come home to someone already there and so enthusiastic about seeing him again. Or to be able to go to Marimo Books and just wait while Yukina finished his shift so they could go home together, talking about mundane things like work or what they were going to have for dinner that night. Of course it was also nice to have someone there ready, willing and able to have sex with him whenever the mood arose. With Yukina right there, it tended to arise a lot.
"I'm going to take a shower," Kisa mumbled. It was probably seven in the morning and the final day of the cycle had caused him to go home at nearly two AM, but he'd been too charged by all the caffeine he'd ingested to go to sleep when he got home. The results were predictable, and Kisa was just glad it was a Sunday. If it had been Friday night, he still would've had to go to work, but he doubted it would've changed the fact that he would've gone in with no sleep and sore hips.
Kisa had been in the shower for about ten minutes, and Yukina had since gotten out of bed and set about making breakfast. If Kisa had been in there to watch him, he'd probably say the man looked entirely too happy to be doing something so domestic, but Yukina didn't mind. Kisa worked so hard and Yukina firmly believed he deserved things like breakfast being made for him, rather than him just drinking a breakfast shake or eating a protein bar like he tended to do when left alone.
The water was just starting to boil when there came a knock at the apartment door. Kisa would probably be in the shower a while yet, so Yukina turned off the burner and went to answer it himself. Of course, what he didn't expect when he opened the door was for a female replica of Kisa to be standing there, looking only slightly more worn with age. If he had any less self-restraint, he might've reached forward and hugged the woman just on principle.
"…who are you?" she asked, squinting at Yukina like his sparkly aura had suddenly flared up.
"Oh! My name is Yukina Kou." He bowed deeply. "Kisa-san is in the shower right now. You can come in if you'd like to wait for him. I was making breakfast so if you want some…" He realized he was rambling so he clamped his mouth shut, instead just getting out of the way so she could step into the genkan and remove her shoes.
After she did so, she glanced around the apartment while Yukina went back into the kitchen. "You're certainly nicer than some of his men I've met. I apologize that you feel like you have to do all this for my no-good son."
"What do you mean?" Yukina looked up from the tea kettle. He'd been pouring a cup of hot water so the woman could have tea while she waited.
"Well don't get me wrong, apparently he hardly ever invites men to his own place, so you must be special." The woman leaned back as she sat there on Kisa's sofa, staring up at the ceiling. "So where did you two meet?"
"Ah, the bookstore," Yukina said with a smile. "I work in the shojo manga section at Marimo Books. The works Kisa-san edits have always been my favorite."
"Hah, I never thought 'I edit shojo manga' would be a good pickup line for him." She blinked when she looked down and realized Yukina had set a cup of tea on the coffee table before her.
With a radiant smile, Yukina said, "All Kisa-san has right now is black tea, so I apologize. I told him he needs to go shopping but he always says he doesn't have the time." With that, he went back to tend the vegetables he'd been cooking to go with the rice.
Five minutes later, Kisa came wandering out of the shower, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans with nothing but his house slippers on his feet. He didn't notice his mother sitting there in his living room, instead going right for the kitchen where Yukina still stood at the stove. "Smells good," he mumbled as he rubbed at one eye. The hot water from the shower had relaxed him and he was now much more willing to get a good night's (or morning's, as the case may be) sleep than he was when he got home.
Yukina placed an affectionate kiss on Kisa's forehead before saying, "Kisa-san, you have a visitor."
Kisa's eyes immediately opened in surprise, and he turned towards his living room. "Oh, good morning, Mama," he said, visibly relaxing. He'd been expecting it to be one of his coworkers, specifically Takano, possibly come to say something about how he still had work to do for the month's cycle and he needed to get his ass back to the office. "What brings you here?"
"I've been trying to call you since about one AM, Shouta," his mother said, standing from the couch and disregarding the cup of tea Yukina had given her.
Kisa glanced around, trying to come up with a valid excuse that didn't involve admitting to his mother he was having sex all night, even though she probably suspected as much. "Sorry, I turned my phone off when I came home. End of the cycle, I'm tired, you know the drill." He still wouldn't look his mother in eye, because no matter how much she knew about his "habits," it was still awkward to talk about it with her. "Why exactly have you been trying to call me since early morning?"
"Hmph." His mother folded her arms and stared at him. "Your sister went into labor last night. She's already given birth. I left the in-laws with her so I could come and see if you weren't too busy to go see your new niece." When she said 'too busy,' though, she glanced over at Yukina, who was looking intrigued at the prospect of meeting Kisa's family. "Of course if you have other things to do, you can always see Shiori and her baby when they get out of the hospital."
"Oh! I can always pack breakfast and we can eat it at the hospital!" Yukina mixed the rice and vegetables lightning-fast before searching around in the cupboard he knew he had put the Tupperware containers in.
"Shouta." Kisa's mother glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Yes?"
"How does one of your one-night stands know where you keep the Tupperware?"
Kisa ducked his head and said, "We've been going out for a few months now."
Kisa's mother's eyes went wide, and she looked between her son and the man who was putting hot water in two thermoses. However, she didn't seem capable of replying to that.
xxx
By the time Kisa, his mother and Yukina had gotten to the hospital, Kisa's new niece had already been taken away to be cleaned up and tested in one of the nurseries. Shiori was laid up in her hospital bed, complaining to her husband that all she wanted to do was eat her weight in junk food now that she didn't have a child's life to think about.
"Niichan!" Shiori said when she saw Kisa entering the room. She tried to get up out of her bed but her husband, a tired and haggard-looking man who was still in his pajamas, held her down with little effort. She glared at him before saying, "I haven't seen you in months and you don't even bother coming over until my baby's born? What kind of older brother are you?"
"A busy one," Kisa mumbled, sitting down in one of the extra chairs that had been brought in. "I was working until nearly two AM last night, and that wasn't even the worst night this month." He smiled in thanks when Yukina gave him the vegetables and rice he'd packed for the both of them. He'd been pointedly ignoring his growling stomach on the train as they headed over, but it was getting harder now.
"Yeah, yeah, your boss is a slave driver," Shiori said, waving a hand in the air as if to dismiss Kisa's complaining. "Oh, I know you!" She turned to Yukina, just then realizing he was in the room. "You were the cashier at the bookstore the other day! What are you doing here?"
Kisa's mouth was too full to give a proper answer, and before Yukina could do so, Kisa's mother leaned in to Shiori and whispered something in her ear. Shiori's eyes went wide, but she was also smiling. "It's good to meet you, Yukina-san! Of course when it comes to family, the more the merrier."
Kisa started coughing violently, and he actually spat out grains of rice he'd just put in his mouth right back into the Tupperware container. "You act like we're married!"
"You've never had a relationship before this, let alone one that's lasted for several months!" Shiori looked proud even though she was the younger one, though she didn't quite look it. She obviously hadn't inherited the Fountain of Youth blood from their mother. "Arata's parents and Papa are at the cafeteria getting me some food. You can go see Shizuko in the nursery if you want; Mama knows where it is."
Kisa glanced mournfully at his breakfast. He was still hungry, but he knew from the way Yukina's eyes lit up that he wanted to go see the baby. So his only protest as he stood up was, "You named your daughter Shizuko?"
"Well yes, it fits, don't you think?" Shiori said. "If only Arata's name started with the 'sh' sound, but I suppose you can't help who you fall in love with." She smiled as she squeezed Arata's hand. He'd been sitting there at the bed silently during that whole exchange, but at least he smiled before Kisa's mother led them away.
"That's her right there," Kisa's mother said, pointing to a cradle with the Kanji for "Kichida Shizuko" just barely visible on a chart attached to the end. Kisa had never been much of a "children" person, but it was clear from the way Yukina was smiling at the baby that seeing Shizuko was making him happy. "You could at least act a little happier to see her, Shouta."
"This is my happy face," Kisa said, even though his mouth was set into a line and his eyes were drooping. He would've fallen asleep on the subway if his mother hadn't kept poking his side whenever she saw his head lolling over.
Yukina suddenly turned to Kisa's mother and said, "Do you think I could hold Shizuko-chan when she's brought back to her parents?"
"I don't see why not," Kisa's mother said, smiling not quite as brightly as Yukina. Then again, Yukina's sparkly aura was in full effect as he stared at all the babies laying in there, some napping, some being tested, and some screaming their lungs out. Then she turned to Kisa and said, "Clearly Yukina-san will be a better uncle than you."
Kisa didn't know which to protest- implying Yukina was part of the family or that he'd be a better uncle- so he just settled for smashing his forehead against the glass. This kind of behavior was a very good excuse for why he hadn't talked to his family in months.