It's The Thought That Counts

By Coco Gash Jirachi

Disclaimer: I don't own Sukisho!

Claimer: I DO own Nanami's older sisters Kasumi, Kana, and Kaya. I also own Aya.

Summary: AU. It's Mother's Day, and the Sukisho gang wants to give thanks to Nanami for always being their mother-figure. Encouraged by Nanami's visiting sisters, they decide to bake him a cake. As the Nanamis say, "It's always the thought that counts." Mprg, yaoi and the works that are usually expected from me.

Aki: So, for once, you're not writing a story based off of I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant?

Gash: Jah. Why?

Aki: Just asking, because I think the world is about to end.

Gash: Come on, this is a cute idea I have! I can't NOT write it! :3 Besides, it's for Mother's Day!

Skylar: That, and she's wanted to unveil Nanami-chan's sisters!

Aki: -.-''' I should have guessed.

Gash: D: Whaaaaat? Don't keep me from being me, Akk-Akks!

Zeon: You'd do it anyways, you know. You are her creator.

Gash: :D That's the beauty of it, Zezes!

Skylar: Now then...

Gash: In the wise words of my Sissy-cha...

Skylar: It is time...

Gash: To go...

Gash and Skylar: ON WITH THE FIC!

Mimi: Pyupyu Pyu Pyupyupyu pyu pyu pyu Pyupyupyu! ^o^ (Translation: "Coco Gash Jirachi does not own Sukisho!")


"Just a little bit higher, boys!"

"I don't think I can reach much higher..." Sora said.

"Teamwork, Sora! Teamwork!" Yoru responded.

"I need a taller step-ladder..."

"Here, here!"

Sora gave a yelp of surprise, his eyes widening as he was grabbed by the hips and boosted up. Upon looking over his shoulder and down, there was none other than one of three sisters Nanami had, Kasumi, hoisting him up higher while standing on the step behind where he had been.

"Can you reach now?" the woman identical to Nanami - only plus boobs - asked, as if Sora weighed nothing. The other two women, Kana and Kaya, were her identical triplet sisters.

Sora turned his head back up and saw the hook on the ceiling was within his reach, unlike before.

"Yeah..." he responded.

Yoru and Sora hooked the banner up onto the hooks. Kasumi then let Sora down, and Yoru jumped down from his ladder. They all stepped back and admired their work.

"It looks perfect now!" Sora said. He turned his head to Kasumi. "Do you think Okaa-sama is gonna like it?"

"Of course he will!" Kasumi responded, placing her hand on Sora's head. Messing his hair, she smiled. "It's always the thought that counts."

"I still can't believe Okaa-sama actually decided on having a baby of his own instead of adopting another one." Yoru said.

"Family isn't always a family by blood, you know." Kasumi said. "Blood doesn't matter; love does."

"If Nanami-chan's loved us for so long, what would make you think that he'd just stop it?" Ran asked from where he laid on his side on the floor. Beside him was his Labrador retriever puppy Nana, whom cuddled up against his slightly rounding stomach. Sunao laid on the couch behind him, napping while breathing lightly. The two identicals both had the same roundness on their stomachs.

"Well, you do have your moments." Sora said.

"Oh,"

"- Ack!" Sora yelped as Yoru pulled him into a headlock.

"And you don't?" Yoru asked cheekily.

"Oy! Nao and I stay out of trouble as much as possible!" Sora responded.

In his sleep, Sunao moaned, his forehead wrinkling slightly. A few moments later, he settled down, a mewl coming up his throat.

"Sssh," Kana hushed, a finger at her lips. "Nao-kun's asleep."

"That's right," Ran said as he sat upright, sending Sora a slight glare. "Don't you dare wake him up when he's so tired!"

Not a moment later, Ran was whacked on the back of the head.

"How about next time you keep your annoying voice lowered so I can sleep?..." Sunao growled, sending Ran a no-joking glare.

"Owiiiie..." Ran whined, rubbing the back of his head with both of his hands. "Why must I look like the bad guy here when I was just trying to help?..."

Nanami: "It's The Thought That Counts."

"So Sora-sempai! What did Nanami-chan name the baby? Was it a boy or a girl? Is it cute? What did he name it what did he name it what did he-"

Nagase, as kindly as he could, smacked a hand over Gaku's mouth.

"He had caffeine this morning." he said simply, and left it at that.

"It should be illegal for him to have caffeine." Ran said, petting Nana as she played in his lap like the puppy she was.

"Nii-chan and Okaa-sama decided on Aya for her." Sora responded.

"So it's a girl?" Gaku asked.

"Doy." Yoru responded.

"And yes, she's cute." Sora responded.

"I'm happy for you guys!" Gaku said, his smile bright, his demeanor perky. "You got a little sister, and then you're gonna be parents in a few months, too!"

"Three months seems like it'll be a decade..." Ran said.

"You know, it seems like it was only yesterday when Nanami-chan was telling us he was pregnant." Matsuri said with a smile, looking up from the photo album in his lap. "And now, here we are seven months later and there's two more babies on the way!" He then looked back down at the photo album. "He seems like a natural, really! Just look at him with you two, Sora-kun, Nao-kun! I forgot how adorable you guys were when we were little!"

Soon, all of the friends were looking at the album together. From photo to photo they looked, seeing the years go by in its timeline. From when Sunao was a young baby in Nanami's arms; Sora a two year-old with Toshizou held tightly in his little arms; Shinichirou, Nanami, Sora and Sunao together around a Christmas tree as snow fell outside... moments that were so picture-perfect.

"Remember when we were little and Okaa-sama would sing us Good Night, My Angel when we were scared?" Sunao asked.

"Yeah," Sora said, chuckling a little with a smile. "Every time it was thundering, I'd scamper and whimper and cry... and then he'd just pick me up and start singing."

"That's our Kai-Otouto." Kana said with a smile. "Always such a motherly little thing!"

"And you kids are his pride and joy." Kasumi said, smiling warmly.

"Man, I sure missed you guys when my family had to move away..." Matsuri said. "I mean, I seriously missed you! Aching-inside missing..."

"You're such a drama queen!" Sora said cheekily, smiling.

"Makes me wonder how Soushi-sama puts up with you." Yoru added.

"Hey, you remember that one summer when we decided to bake Nanami-chan a cake?" Matsuri asked as he turned the page in the album. "Oh, look! Here it is!"

"That's a cake?" Gaku asked.

"Made by five year-olds." Sora said.

The cake was a nearly shapeless mess with blue frosting, but none the less, Nanami looked genuinely happy within the picture. To keep the kids from getting into trouble, Shinichirou had scrubbed the kitchen to a shining, spotless state. He knew the kids had meant well, but he also knew he should have supervised them, especially when he heard screaming.

Long story short, both Matsuri's and Sunao's long hair ended up having to be cut because of the sticky mess.

"And we did it all because he was crying." Sunao said.

"Why was he crying?" Gaku asked.

"Not sure," Sora responded. "He just was."

"And we thought that making him a cake would cheer him up." Matsuri added.

"Oh, I remember that night; Kai called me up and was laughing as he told me all about that. He said it looked like Shinichirou-chan was furious, but pushed it aside since you did mean well." Kasumi said, chuckling a bit.

"I think the only part we did right was the frosting." Sora said.

"After Nii-chan started to help us, at least we made the cake taste like cake." Sunao said.

"Remember when I ate the entire package of baker's chocolate?" Matsuri asked. "It was bitter, but it was chocolate, so I thought it would be good."

"Yeah, but then you started to puke! So there was another mess for Nii-chan to clean up!" Sunao said.

"I'll admit that wasn't one of my brighter ideas..."

"Huh..." Sora leaned his head on his hands. "Ah!" He picked his head up. "Tomorrow's Sunday, right?"

"All day; why?" Kasumi asked.

"And tomorrow's Mother's Day... and that's when Okaa-sama comes home." Sora said.

"Thanks for stating the obvious." Nagase said.

"Buchou, be nice..." Gaku pleaded.

"Are you having one of those headaches with pictures?" Matsuri asked, his eyes bright and glistening.

"Hah?" Sora questioned.

"An idea!" Matsuri responded.

"Yeah, I'm having one of those!"

"And the smoke detectors are going off." Yoru said, his eyes half-closed. "Don't make your brain smoke any more than it is already."

"Shut up, baka!" Sora snapped.

"Sora, that idea before you forget it!" Matsuri said.

"Right, right!" Sora said, nodding at each word. "I think maybe we should try baking a cake again! We've gone through cooking classes; we've gotten better now!"

"Yeah, you certainly worked very hard to earn your D for don't-quit-your-day-job, dumbass." Yoru commented.

WHACK!

"I'm ignoring you." Sora stated, rubbing his fist as Yoru stared swirly-eyed at the ceiling on the floor.

"Pink Toshizous on parade..." Yoru mumbled.

"It's worth a shot, right?" Sora asked.

"I have missed the thrill of eating baker's chocolate..." Matsuri said.

"We don't have any baker's chocolate, Matsuri." Ran said.

"Let's still go for it, though!" Matsuri exclaimed. "Together, we Do-It-Alls can do anything if we try!"

"Just like Okaa-sama always says; we can do anything if we try our hardest." Sunao said, smiling.

"And if Sora's cooking skills are anything like his green thumb, then you'll have a big heap of mud with a dead ficus in the middle of it all." Yoru said.

"You're going to help us, you pain-in-my-ass!" Sora exclaimed.

"Damn it..."


The moment the triplet sisters stepped into the kitchen, it looked like a tornado had gone through it, an earthquake had banged it up, a tidal wave had flooded it, and a wild fire had scorched it.

"... Gaku, I am only going to say this once..." Sora began, his head hanging. "How on EARTH does somebody mistake tsp for teaspoons for TEN FRACKING SQUARE POUNDS?"

"Look at what you did to my baby!" Ran shrieked, holding up Nana, whom was covered in chocolate cake batter and flour. "You got her all dirty, Gaku-baka!"

"It's going to take me forever to wash this off of me and look not-so-ugly anymore!" Sunao sobbed into his hands. "I look like the big, fat gingerbread man!"

"Aw, Nao! Don't cry!" Sora said, embracing his hormonal, crying boyfriend. "You look like the cutest, tastiest little chocolate in the world, and you look beautiful!"

"Can you tell me I'm pretty again?..." Sunao asked.

"You're gorgeous." Sora said.

"Oh dear." the three sisters all said.

"Nii-chan's going to murder us." Yoru stated more than exclaimed. "He'll string us up on the ceiling fan by our testicles and leave us there until we fall ourselves and they've shriveled more than sun-dried raisins."

"I like raisins." Gaku said with a smile.

"Shut up, baka." Ran snapped.

"This is terrible," Sora whined. "Now we'll never get to bake Okaa-sama a cake in time!"

"Leave the cleaning to us, boys!" Kasumi said. "We'll have it spotless before you know it!"


"Was it painful, Otouto-chan?"

"So excruciating that I can barely even remember it." Nanami responded. "But..." Lifting the brown-haired, blue-eyed baby in his arms up to his face, he nuzzled his nose into her hair. "It was worth it for her."

"She's such a pretty little thing, she is." Kasumi said, giving her new niece a kiss on the forehead. "Oh, she smells like baby..."

"What else would she smell like?" Shinichirou asked as he unlocked the front door and opened it. "Wet dog?"

"Sorry, Nana just had another bath this morning..." Ran's voice rang out.

"Hm?" Nanami picked his head up.

Standing in a group with smiles on their faces, there they were beneath the Welcome Home sign. In his hands, Sora held out a cupcake with pink frosting on it.

"Welcome home, Okaa-sama, Nii-chan and Aya-chan!" they said.

"We already cleaned the kitchen for you, Shinichirou-chan." Kasumi whispered into the bluenette man's ear.

"Thank heavens..." he said with a sigh of relief.

"We made this for you, Okaa-sama." Sora said, holding it out for the brunette man to take.

"Baka-Gaku ruined the cake we were making." Ran said with a scoff in the bluenette boy's direction.

"And in the end, we only had enough ingredients for this..." Matsuri said, sweat-dropping.

"But, we wanted to thank you for being our mother for so long." Sora said. "Putting up with everything from us..."

The boys didn't hesitate to circle Nanami and group-hug him, sure that the cupcake was safe on the coffee table first.

"We love you, Okaa-sama." they said.

"Oh, boys..." Nanami smiled, his eyes closed, little tears poking out of them. As best as he could with only one arm free, Aya laying in the other, he hugged them back. "You're so sweet... I love you all."

Once they pulled apart, Nanami was handed the cupcake.

"Sorry that's all we can give you..." Sora said.

"Well," Nanami began with a smile. "It's the thought that counts."

"I'm glad you came to look after them while Nanami and I were in the hospital." Shinichirou whispered into Kasumi's ear.

"You know you can't be angry at them for doing something with their hearts in it." Kasumi responded, smiling. "They are your boys, after all."

"That they are." Shinichirou and Nanami said in unison.

Aya giggled from Nanami's arms.

"Get used to them, Aya-chan." Shinichirou said as he lifted her up into his arms. "They are your brothers, after all."

"If she's anything like me, then she'll be fine." Nanami chuckled.

"And if she's anything like Nii-chan, let's practice running away from her when she has temper-tantrums." Yoru commented.

"... What did you say?" Shinichirou growled.

"I said can I braid her hair when it grows out longer?"

"Happy Mother's Day." the three women said in unison.


OWARI

Gash: I know this is short, but... c'mon, I wanted to write something for Mother's Day! I was reminiscing about it not too long ago... remembering how when I was in first grade, for Mother's Day, we were told to write our mothers a letter. At the time, I didn't know how to spell "mother", and since I never really spoke much and didn't want to ask questions and get embarrassed, at the end of my letter I wrote "Happy Mommy's Day" for my momma and then signed it. My teacher must have thought it was cute because she didn't correct it for me. ^/^ And now that I remember it, there wa a boy named Dewey in my class who had a crush on me when we were in first grade... but then he moved away.

Zeon: Ah, love. How sweet.

Gash: Anywho, though... I had to get this idea out of my head, and I did! I hope you guys liked it... it's cute and funny together. :3 And yes, for some reason, I've always imagined that Nanami-chan has three older sisters... don't ask. I just have.

Aki: Yeah. She's weird.

Skylar: No, she's creative! XP

Aki: Same basic point.

Gash: Anywho... review please! :3

Zeon: Review or die.

Aki: Ze-zo, you've used that threat before.

Zeon: Don't care.