#02: "Wash the dishes!"
Summary:
Juuri likes to do as many domestic things as she can, but she doesn't like washing the dishes: here comes Kaname to save the day!
Characters: Kaname, Juuri and Haruka (no porn)
Warnings: Possibly OOC..? Possible toothaches to be had.
Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or the characters; I'm a poor person who just writes stories for fun. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino.
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It felt wrong to hire a maid that would feel more like legalised slavery to Juuri who preferred to keep her family and home in perfect order. She liked to do most of the 'mundane' things like cooking and cleaning. However, she could not abide the washing up. It wasn't that she hated water or washing up liquid, it was just the way it made her hands shrivel and how tedious it was to stand in front of that bowl.
Most of the time she did it with a good grace, telling herself that all life has rough and smooth elements to it and that if she wanted to continue to care for her family in her own way then she would have to do the mundane stuff too.
She had asked Haruka a few times to help dry up or that he could wash and she would dry. Yet, despite his warm and tender nature, he could be devious and would find excuses not to help with the dishes.
Today was one of those days…
"Haru~" she called in her sweetest voice from the kitchen.
Haruka winced, she only called him 'Haru' when she wanted him to do something he would not enjoy. He played along "Yes honey?" he asked, carefully.
"Why don't you come and help me wash the dishes, hmm?" despite her warm, motherly voice there was an edge to it.
Haruka picked up the edge in her voice and swallowed thickly "Um… I would if I could, dearest…" he started, searching for an excuse. He glanced around the room and saw Kaname playing marbles by himself "But Kaname wants me to play a game with him and I can't refuse my cute son…."
Kaname looked up confused, he knew that his mother was upset with his father from the tone in her voice; why was he being involved? He gave his father a wary glance "Father..?" he asked.
Haruka pressed a finger to his lips and winked "Shhh, Kaname." He whispered.
"Oh." Juuri said "Haru…"
"Y-Yes..?" Haruka asked as he sat by his son on the floor amongst the spread of marbles.
"Can you come in here?"
That was the code phrase for 'I'm mad at you, but Kaname should not see such things'. Haruka glanced at Kaname, who looked back knowingly. "Coming dear…" was the feeble response from the defeated husband. He left his son's side and went to face the wrath of Juuri.
Kaname decided to follow, he stood by the door and listened with his sensitive little ears as his parents had another important 'talk' about why there were no maids and how it was important to live as a family and share responsibilities.
"R-Really dear.." Haruka said "It's just washing the dishes…."
"You know I don't like doing it myself, can't you share it once in a while..?" Juuri asked with a small sigh. She walked close to her husband "Is it too much to ask, Haru?"
Haruka could feel her guilt tactics creeping over him and he knew she would end up the victor because he loved her so much that denying her things caused him far more pain than it should. She was his beloved sister, after all, not just his beautiful and doting wife. His voice was a defeated sigh "Alright, honey.. I'll do some of the washing up.." it was a small price to pay for family unity, right?
Kaname was thoroughly confused over the whole situation. Why did his parents seem to hate washing the dishes so much? He understood that things needed to be clean (though he still was not sure why his mother insisted on it, he just knew it was important). So why did they bicker about the same small issue? He decided that it was time for him to take action.
His parents had done a half-hearted job of the washing up, there were lots of dirty plates and cups from the last little party his mother hosted. He tsk'ed a little and picked up a bowlful of dishes, cups and cutlery. He marched off with his bowl of chores and straight in to the bathroom.
He had seen his mother run a bath for him plenty of times, she always said that he should wash himself regularly because it was important to smell clean and fresh. She added bubbly stuff to his bath that was supposed to make him 'squeaky-clean' (though he only ever squeaked when Haruka picked him up and blew raspberries on his tummy). He reached for the large bath tabs and filled the tub with water, he had turned both the hot and cold taps so the water was warm rather than boiling.
Kaname then added a small capful of bubble bath to the water and watched with fascination as it foamed and grew in to a carpet of white foam. Finally the bath was full and started to deposit the dishes in to their bath. He had never watched his parents washing dishes, but he had been taught how to wash himself so the same practice must surely apply.
He took a flannel and grabbed for the bar of softly scented soap; his father enjoyed the bittersweet scent of blood oranges and a lot of the bath products contained that smell. He rubbed the block of orange-scented soap (but not flavoured, he'd bitten a bar once and been surprised at the outcome) the flannel was soon covered in a soapy foam.
He scrubbed the plates with the flannel, making sure that their dirty surfaces were immaculate. As he knelt before the tub, he couldn't help but smile as he thought of how happy his mother would be and how impressed his father would be.
Kaname could almost hear his mother saying "Oh Kaname, I'm so happy!" and his father saying "You did a better job than me, Kaname!" He beamed at his reflection in a spoon at the thought.
Suddenly his daydreaming was disturbed by a snickering sound at the door, he turned sharply to see what was so funny. Juuri was standing in the doorway smiling at him – no laughing at him! He wondered why his mother was so amused by him, did he have some bubbles on his head?
"Oh Kaname!" She said with a giggle "What are you doing?"
"Washing the dishes!" he said proudly.
She couldn't seem to contain herself, she slid down the doorway laughing "H-Ha…Haha Haruka!" she managed to utter between fits of giggles.
Kaname blinked, did he say something funny "Mother..?" he wondered if maybe she was broken.
Haruka came to see what was going on, he could hear his wife laughing uncontrollably and her laugh was infectious; he was already grinning before he even saw what was going on. He poked his head in and blinked at the scene.
Kaname was crouched beside the family bathtub, full of dishes, glasses and cutlery and in his small hand was a flannel and a plate in the other. He looked with concern towards Haruka "Father…." He said softly "I think mother is broken…"
Haruka was trying to hold his own laughter back so that he could explain to his son "N-No Kaname. She's not broken… she's just overwhelmed at how cute you are!"
He smiled again, so they were proud of him and they thought he was cute! "Did I do a good job, father? I washed the dishes really well, right?"
"U-Um well yes… certainly running a bath for the dishes is impressive but.. Kaname.. we don't clean dishes that way.." Haruka said, between chuckles.
"We don't?" Kaname asked, confused "But.. when I have a wash I take a bath…"
"Dishes get washed in the sink, sweetie!" Juuri finally managed to say.
"Ah." Kaname said softly, he looked back to his bathtub of dishes "So… I didn't do a good thing?"
Juuri reached out and pulled him to her, cuddling him "Silly. Of course you did, you made mother and father laugh! That's a great thing."
Kaname snuggled against her; at least he had made his mother and father happy, that was all that mattered.
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The End~
Notes:
Another drabble that was inspired by me doing something mundane. I was washing the dishes today and thought about how amusing it would be for Kaname to attempt to wash the dishes by giving them a bath…
Maybe it's just me, but I thought it was kind of cute. Was Kaname a bit too OOC? I know he's a child, but even as a child Kaname seemed terribly aware of everything. Maybe he's too smart to get confused about some things? Either that or we can just say that this is before Rido destroyed Kaname's personality in to the Sadistic Masochist we all know and love(?) today!
Either way this is just some more family fluff, so don't dissect it too seriously, okay?
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Moon Dorm – 03/09/2008