Hey, so due to the fact I couldn't think of anything for last week's theme, I decided to do a rare pairing for this week's theme 'clock'. This also features an OC of mine, Hayate Oozora. Thanks to NeoMiniTails for betareading this one-shot and the first ever Yuujin/Ai pairing fanfiction ever! Yay!
Despite knowing how late it was, Ai kept steadily working tirelessly through the night on her second children's book: Fragile Scent. She'd been so busy lately that she hadn't been able to help the art committee with making banners for the Appliyama Festival that was coming up very soon. The date was sneaking up on them like a thief in the night. Eri wanted and needed her support anyway so Ai couldn't say no even though Yuujin had told her it was okay to. He was thinking of her, knowing that she'd probably be a little stressed, but stress for a friend wasn't an inconvenience. It was simply living life to its fullest.
Shaking her head with a small smile, she realized the line she had just typed didn't sound quite right so she pressed backspace, quickly erasing it, thinking of a way to reword it. Children loved words that gave them images so that was what she would do. As she began to type the sentence again, the clock struck midnight.
Oh, wow, I didn't even realize it was this late? She hadn't even realized the time.
She quickly typed the sentence she had thought of, her mind in a haze, knowing surely that tomorrow that sentence may be completely different. She stretched her tense back then started to stand up when familiar hands covered her eyes.
"Yuujin?" Ai said softly, surprised he was still awake. He'd said he was going to sleep ages ago.
"Shh, don't push my hands away yet," Yuujin's soft voice requested as gently as always and Ai listened, allowing him to lead her to wherever and whatever he wanted to show her at this late hour.
She blinked as the hands were removed, her eyes widening slightly as she saw a small cake with two candles on each side as well as their five-year-old son Hayate smiling at the two of them.
Yuujin kissed Ai gently on the cheek. "Happy Anniversary, love. We've been married for 9 years now."
Ai's eyes watered, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck, burying her face in his shoulder.
Has it really been so long? It only felt like yesterday when we had started dating.
She stood on her tip-toes to brush her lips against Yuujin's, feeling that intimate emotion of the first time they had confessed they liked each other. It was that sensation of feeling like you're having an outer body experience as your entire soul warms up, and your heart beats erratically, intense and afraid that it may all be a dream.
It was so familiar yet so different.
The Yuujin back then had been shy and uncertain on why she loved him of all people and now… seeing the confident smile on his face, the beautiful spark in his eyes that lit up the whole world and made everything seem so much more meaningful.
"I love you," Ai whispered and giggled a little as Yuujin's cheeks flushed pink, and he buried his own face in her shoulder. No matter how long they had been together, Yuujin would always get so shy when she said that so openly, but she always wanted him to know what he meant to her.
Yuujin threaded his fingers in her blonde hair, running it through the soft waves slowly. The two stayed like that for only a few seconds but it felt like longer as Ai pulled back, reaching out a hand towards Hayate who ran up, throwing both his arms around Yuujin and Ai's waists.
"Mom and Dad are so cute!" Hayate exclaimed, cheekily, beaming at both of them. "Even Tutu says so."
Ai giggled a bit at her son's affectionate nickname for his Buddy, Tutomon because Hayate said Tutomon was too much of a mouthful, and Tutu sounded a lot cuter despite the Appmon's protests to the nickname.
"It's Tutomon, not Tutu!" The Appmon as expected, protested despite being in CHIP form.
"Tutu is way cuter, right, Mom?" Hayate said grinning at his mother.
Ai laughed. "It's just Hayate's way of showing he loves you, Tutomon." She put a finger on her lip as she thought of an explanation then suddenly a sneakysmile crossed her lips. "I mean, take a look at us for example. It's been nine years and even now, it's fun to make Yuujin blush on the littlest thing, ne, Yuujin?" She blinked with her most innocent face at her husband and sure enough, he flushed, essentially proving her point.
"Ai…" Yuujin hid his face in his son's shoulder for a second to compose himself before looking up and nodding. "But Ai's right anyway, Tutomon." He gave Offmon a fond smile who was buzzing around them in CHIP form too, quietly gushing over how adorable all of them were.
Tutomon huffed but didn't argue albeit pouted at Hayate who just giggled in response before they all gathered around the table. Ai got a knife from the kitchen and once Yuujin's hand covered hers, she cut through the cake, cutting a small slice and leaning it towards Yuujin's mouth, who bit into it before taking the remaining and giving it to her, accidentally mushing it into her lips. Yuujin chuckled a little before leaning over to kiss the cake frosting off, and Ai wrapped her arms around his neck, returning the kiss.
Hayate made a face. "Mom, Dad, we still need to eat! Don't make me sick."
Ai giggled and blushed, curling into Yuujin's arms a little longer before pulling away to cut cake for everyone. "Yuujin, Hayate, you should Appliarise Offmon and Tutomon so they can enjoy the cake with us too."
"Right!" They both said doing so and as Ai finished handing out the cake, she leaned against Yuujin, watching the others eat happily. Through all the stumbling blocks and the hardships, nine years later, she could comfortably say to Yuujin 'we made it.'