The next chapter. It's pretty long, but I have done it justice. Lotsa family, lotsa fluff... it's Christmas and I'm in the mood :) Ryohei may be a little out of character, but if you can tweak you imagination just a bit, I think it could work. Besides, love makes people do strange things, right? Enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own KHR nor do I claim any rights to it. No references in this fan fiction story refer to actual persons living or dead. I own the plot and the OC's and nothing else.
Christmas eve three years ago...
You had gone shopping with your eight-year-old niece that evening. She was super excited about the whole Santa Claus thing and giving a little something for the needy. You had planned a musical for Boxing Day and all that was left was getting the props ready. Shopping for about twenty members was no easy fete and you were the only one available on such short notice to do something like this. Of course Kimmi, your niece, had bought right into the idea and begged you to take her, hence the bags and boxes you were carrying to the check out.
"YOSH! IT'S CHRISTMAS AND WE MUST CELEBRATE TO THE EXTREME!"
"PIPE DOWN! THE WHOLE WORLD CAN HEAR YOU!"
The two loud voices came from somewhere in the store. You weren't sure who was shouting or why and frankly, you thought it just plain rude. Honestly, didn't some people have the decency to...
Your thoughts were cut off and the boxes in your arms went flying around you as you bumped into a... wall? Two arms shot out to help you catch your balance and you looked up into gentle grey eyes. The wall smiled at you and handed you your boxes from the ground.
"You should be more careful," said the silver-haired stranger in a gentle husky voice. That was a very nice voice. You of course had this thing about voices, being a music teacher and all. Your friends thought you rather weird since on your list of top ten things for your perfect guy, you included a good voice. You knew what you were saying. Last week's blind date wasn't the best in the world partly because the guy had a particularly annoying voice. Your friends had to agree with you on that one.
Back to the present. Someone was tugging at you. You looked down to see your little niece handing you another box and smiled. You took the box from her then turned back to the rather handsome stranger and apologised. He smiled and took your bags and boxes in his arms.
"I'll help you with these," he said and walked you to the check-out despite your protests. You paid for your things and turned to thank the man again then you turned and walked out of the store.
"Thank you," Kimmi said giving the man one of her candies. She had insisted you get them for her and you suspected that had been two thirds of the reason she had come with you. She knew you were out to spoil her rotten and your sister would grill you about it but there was very little that you could deny the child when she put on her 'lost-puppy' look.
"Taking the little girl's hand, you asked for a shopping cart (why hadn't you done that before?) and walked to your car.
"LET'S GO OR WE'LL BE LATE TO THE EXTREME! OI, OCTOPUS HEAD, YOU'RE SLOWING US DOWN!" you heard from behind you.
"SHUT UP TURF TOP OR I'LL BLOW YOU UP! BESIDES, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DISAPPEARED AND WE WERE LOOKING FOR YOU. IF WE'RE LATE THE TENTH WIILL BE DISAPPOINTED AND I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!"
Were those rude people still in the store? It was a wonder they hadn't been thrown out yet. Shaking your head. You walked out of the store and into your car. You had a lot of things to plan. It was nice to have had the experience of finding a gentleman in this day and age. Maybe you would meet again? It was a long shot, but who knew?
"Auntie (Name), what are you smiling at?" asked Kimmi looking at you curiously.
"I'm just thinking..." you said and started the car.
"Is it because of that man we saw? He was really nice." You felt a blush coming on. Of course you would deny it with everything you had. You absolutely would not include her in this little thought pattern of yours. She was too young!
"Well, yes, he was really nice, but what makes you think I was thinking about him?" you asked belting her in.
"Mummy tells me that she thinks about daddy when she smiles like that," she said. You cleared your throat and took a deep breath. Okay, note to self: Warn your sister that she had an extremely clever little girl... and maybe bribe her to keep this quiet.
Your sister had been on a mission since your horrible break up almost half a year ago. She had paraded man after man after very 'eligible' man in front of you and promised she wouldn't stop until you found one you liked. If you knew your sister very well, she would no doubt find this guy thanks to her billions of connections and have you going out with him before New Years. You looked down at the innocent little girl beside you. Yes, this would be an interesting Christmas after all.
Christmas day three years ago...
You were at your sister's house babysitting while your sister and brother-in-law made dinner. You were hopeless in the kitchen and in order not to have you burn down half the kitchen, you were put in charge of the kids. They loved you by the way. Kimmi sat beside you telling you about this girl in her grade who did something or other to her (or was it to her classmates?) and the other two; Haiko and Muni (the twins) wrapped you in endless amounts of tinsel asking you to dance with them.
You were glad they hadn't come with you and Kimmi, mostly because they were too young and their mum wanted them around last night, but also because they would tell your sister about last night anyway. They hadn't quite learned the art of keeping a secret, unlike Kimmi. They were four years old so you expected it.
There was a knock on the door just before you could properly protest to your niece and nephew concerning the ridiculous amounts of glitter they had piled on you. You got up and pointed at the two youngest asking them to behave. Kimmi promised to keep them out of trouble as you got up to go see who it was. Maybe it was another date that your sister had planned "so you wouldn't be alone on Christmas." You hoped not. All you wanted was a nice quiet dinner with the family. You crossed your fingers (old habits die hard) and opened the door.
You paused in near shock.
"Ah, so you do live here," said the man in the doorway. Of course your sister, with her radar hearing, appeared beside you before you could quite get one syllable out. It was the same man from before. Did your sister's connections come through that well? Kimmi had told, hadn't she? But wouldn't she need a little more information?
"Uh, what are you doing here?" you asked eyeing him suspiciously. Maybe he was one of your stalkers? You had had a brush with one or two, which was the reason you had practiced Martial Arts with a lot of gusto. The guy who had tried to rob you the other month hadn't known what hit him. Said guy had been one of your blind dates and your sister had apologised profusely, but it hadn't stopped her at all and that was the reason you were so wary of the men she brought out.
"Oh come on (Name)," said your older sister nudging you, "don't be so rude! Are you going to come in?" Uh-oh. That was her sweet voice. She never used her sweet voice in front of random strangers. You could rest assured this guy was going to have to take you out on a date some time soon. You rolled your eyes and sighed. This was definitely going to be a very long Christmas.
"Well, I just came to give this back," he said holding out your purse, "you dropped it when you bumped into me yesterday". So that was how he found you. You had wondered where you had put it but sometimes you were really forgetful so it wasn't unthinkable.
"Why thank you Mr... um, what was your name again?" asked your sister taking over the conversation. Where was your brother-in-law? He would take your side in a time like this. She had probably known that and threatened him.
"Sasagawa Ryohei," he said with a slight bow.
"Please, won't you come in? We were just about to sit down for dinner." The sweet voice again. You stifled a groan and gave him an apologetic look.
"You don't have to come in. I'm sure you're quite busy..." you started. He smiled then and met your eyes. For the second time in two days, you were frozen in place.
"Actually, I am, but thank you for the invite." He dragged his gaze from yours and turned to your sister.
"Well, maybe you could come to the musical we're holding tomorrow at the theatre in Namimori Kindergarten. (Name), I'm sure you have free tickets, don't you?" your sister gave you a firm smile. That meant you had better do as she says or you would be paying for it for a month or two. You sighed and asked him to wait. You came back with two tickets and handed them over.
"In case you want to bring your girlfriend or something," you said. Your sister of course didn't miss your meaning and jabbed you in the ribs.
"Oh, I don't have one, but I'll see who else I can bring. Well, thank you and I hope everything is still intact," he said gesturing towards the bag in your hands.
"I'm sure it is, thank you," you said and shut the door before your sister got any ideas. Honestly, she could be so persistent!
Boxing Day three years ago...
He came! He actually came! And he brought a little girl with him too. He had introduced her as his own niece, Misaki, or Misa-chan as she preferred to be called, and Kimmi had taken to her right away. The two girls chatted like old friend leaving you with the very handsome Sasagawa Ryohei. This was going well, until the congratulation started coming in by the dozens.
The musical was over and the kids were running around, parents were talking and people came to congratulate you every five minutes... let's just say that it didn't scream 'perfect date.'
"Ah, (Name)-chan, that was very nice! I hope I'm not interrupting anything..." said the school teacher you had asked for help when she came to congratulate you. She had caught sight of Ryohei and smirked then jabbed you in the side and whispered "good job!"
You rubbed your sore ribs. If one more person played pin-cushion with your ribs, you were pretty sure you were going to scream. She left a moment later to go and talk to one of your friends and then, regarding Ryohei one more time, you took a cautious look around and grabbed his hand dragging him away from the party. You gave Kimmi and Misa-chan, one last look to assure yourself that they were safe. You weren't an irresponsible guardian after all. You had an image to uphold. Besides, Kimmi was practically your partner in crime.
If you were ever going to get three words in, you would have to be alone. The school doors were closed, but luckily, you had been given the key to the staff lounge. It was where you had kept the props and decorations so it was alright. You were just going to borrow the room to hide out in. Ryohei chuckled and looked at you.
"What is it?" you asked reaching for your face. Oh no, you had blotched your make-up hadn't you? You told your sister this was a bad idea and she wouldn't listen. He pointed up. Your eyes met a rather large bough of mistletoe directly above you. Your gaze dropped to meet his and you swallowed. Who would even put that up there? He wasn't actually going to kiss you... was he?
"It's extremely good luck," he said with a smile.
"Oh, we don't... I mean... it would be... really, you don't have to... do..." your babbling stopped as he took a step towards you then another. Before you could blink, he had kissed your lips. It was a small kiss, hardly anything to comment about, but it felt different. He smiled and rubbed your cheek with his thumb.
"I've been waiting for an extremely long time to do that," he said and took your hand. You smiled, a blush filling your cheeks. That evening was the most wonderful of your life. You had gotten the perfect Christmas gift.
When you finally returned after a very interesting conversation, you found Misa-chan and Kimmi standing with another silver-haired man.
"Oi, You stupid Lawn-head. Why did you leave the Tenth's daughter and go off on your own? What kind of guardian are you?"
You had heard that voice before, you were sure.
"OH, COME ON NOW OCTOPUS-HEAD, SHE WAS JUST FINE. DIDN'T YOU HAVE FUN TO THE EXTREME MISA-CHAN." You looked at Ryohei, your eyes widening. Since when had he spoken in such a loud voice? Then you remembered. He was the rude man from the store! Who knew? You giggled and apologised to the man whom Ryohei had introduced as Gokudera Hayato. He didn't seem very interested in introductions and looked to be in a big hurry.
Ryohei apologised and leaned in to kiss you cheek. As he left, he yelled his thanks, thus alerting everyone of your existence and the fact that he was grateful. Your blush deepened and Kimmi pulled on your sleeve again.
"I have to keep this one too, don't I?" she asked. You nodded and chucked her under the chin. The kid deserved a chocolate for being such a good accomplice.
Christmas Day this Year...
"You look extremely cute today (Name)-chan," came the murmur right before the strong arms that wrapped around your middle and a set of lips settled on your neck. You smiled and turned to meet warm grey eyes.
"And you look extremely handsome," you said wrapping your arms around your husband's neck. Ryohei smiled down at you and bent to kiss your lips.
"Misa-chan and Kimmi are coming over aren't they?" you asked. Those two had been inseparable since they had been introduced and had been the reason you and Ryohei got along swimmingly. A few bribes to the girls and a lot of excuses (to your sister and his) later, you had become a couple and had started dating almost two years ago. The rest was, as they say, history.
"Yosh! And we'll have some extreme game-time. You should join us this year (Name)-chan."
"I just hope they don't disturb *Hiroaki-kun too much," you sighed. Your little son, Sasagawa Hiroaki, had been born almost half a year ago and this was his first ever Christmas. His cousins had taken to him like fish to water. Your sister would come and bring the twins and your new sister-in-law, Kyoko and brother-in-law, Tsuna would be coming to along with a few friends. It would be a full house. For once you couldn't wait!
"Well, we'll manage I'm sure. Then later we can have our own little celebration, if you win" you said running your hands up his chest. He smiled and nuzzled your nose placing one last kiss on your lips.
"I like that idea TO THE EXTREME!" he said.
*Hiroaki – widespread brightness. (cheesy I know and a kinda bad pun on the fact that Ryohei is the Sun Guardian, but it's a nice name, yes? Did anyone know Haru is a unisex name and can mean 'clear up' or 'sunlight' as well as 'spring'? Fun fact!)
