A/N: I've been battling my internet all day; it didn't want to load this. T^T Why doesn't my internet love me? The milk thing (Not the bottle blowing up), but the later thing was based on something my mother claims I did when I was a toddler. Lol. -_-;(This chapter explains why they had the crib—it wasn't just there. I am aware of feudal history.)


Finale: Growing Up

"Fai?"

Fai stirred, blinking as he raised himself up onto his elbows. "Mmhnng? What is it? I can finally sleep on my stomach again."

"Sorry, but, I have to go—"

"Shit," Fai muttered, "You have that meeting with Tomoyo-chan, don't you?" He squinted into the half-light of their room at Kurogane's large silhouette. He could hear a faint whimpering coming from Kurogane's shadow, followed by a gentle 'shh' noise. "Was he crying?"

"I though he'd wake the entire castle," Kurogane snorted. "And all he wanted was attention too. He's turning out to be like somebody I know."

"You're lucky he didn't blow up the bottle again, all right?" Fai muttered, remembering the first time Akari had used magic. The little boy had been hungry, but (like a certain father), he wasn't too fond of milk. So in the midst of his squalling, the bottle had exploded in a haze of bright blue light in Fai's hands. While he was proud his son could use magic at such a young age (two months!) he was not happy at all that he was covered in milk. "I can't believe I slept through that—I'm sorry, Kuro-tou…" He sat up, holding out his arms. Kurogane gently transferred their son into Fai's arms, running his fingers through Fai's hair as he pulled away.

"Don't worry about it—you're tired. You've not been sleeping much. I'd take him with me, but I think Shiro would eat him."

"God, I wouldn't put that past a Kamui," Fai mumbled, cuddling the infant. Akari cooed irritably, turning his cheek away from Fai. "Ooh, somebody doesn't want my attention. Has Kuro-tou turned you against your papa!?"

Kurogane scoffed, rising to his feet, "Oi, you moron, he's colicky. He did it to me too—in a few minutes he'll start wailing for you again. I'll be back."

"Love you," Fai yawned. He began to rock Akari, humming softly to the boy, trying to coerce him back into sleep.

A few hours later, Kurogane returned to their room, mood foul (this world's version of Kamui always seemed to do that). "Oi," he started, pulling their door open. He stopped, a faint smile stretching across his face as he was greeted with the sight of Fai and Akari asleep. Fai was sprawled out across the futon on his back, one arm flung off the side of the bed while the other was on Akari's back. Their son was cuddled up on Fai's chest, head tucked underneath the magician's chin, small hands tangled into his father's long hair. Kurogane slid the door shut behind him, kneeling down next to the two, staring contentedly at the two.

X

"Goddammit!"

Fai peered around the corner, raising a skeptical eyebrow at his lover, "Yes…?"

"That witch sent more crap!" Kurogane bellowed, pointing at a mountain of plush toys and clothes.

"Oooh, yay!" The blonde giggled, "Don't touch it; we'll be there in a second!" Fai's head disappeared around the corner as he went back to changing Akari.

Kurogane felt his eye twitch, "Forget it! I'm sending it back!" He snatched the mini-Mokona up, "Open up!" The Mokona stared at him, shaking its head. "Open your mouth! We don't want this stuff!"

Fai came out from their extra room, balancing Akari on his hip. The six-month-old clung to his father's robes, looking around curiously; "Hey, speak for yourself now!" The magician scolded, setting Akari down in the middle of the spread of toys. "He likes Yuuko's presents, and so does his papa."

"Obababan," Akari confirmed cutely. Fai squealed, leaning down to reward his son with a kiss. Akari had begun to make sounds that (to Fai) conspicuously sounded like actual words. Kurogane had yet to hear anything that sounded like coherent Japanese, but Fai blamed that on the fact that his ego was bruised because Akari's "first word" was 'papa'. (Okay, so maybe it was a little true…)

"I can understand the big things, like the bottles and shit—" "What did I say about language around Akari-chan now that he's talking, Kuro-tou?" "…Fine. Bottles and crap, but this is getting ridiculous. But beds and toys and clothes and whatever the hell that thing over there is—"

"It's a pram, Kuro-tou, a pram. You push him around in it. We had them in Valeria… I think—I distinctly remember seeing one before…"

"We don't need that stuff!"

Fai settled down onto the floor next to his son, passing the toys into the infant's pudgy hands. Akari cooed in delight, drooling upon a bright green frog plushie. "Well… I do agree that we don't need it, and it certainly will be a pain to move it all when we go to Suwa…"

"Got that right. You should hear some of the people out in the main town! They think you're some sort of demon—saying you come from 'out west' can only explain so much!"

Fai waved it away, "Eh, who cares what they think. Now, as I was saying… It's not like we actually need it, but… I think its fine for Yuuko-san to send this stuff."

"It is not! She'll probably come and take away our kidneys or something one day! I don't trust it!"

"Your Kuro-tou is so blind, Akachan," Fai sighed, gently pulling away the now thoroughly soaked frog away from his son's mouth. He handed him a fuzzy purple elephant, absently smoothing out the tiny yukata Tomoyo had made for him. "He can't see that your Yuuko-obasan keeps sending this stuff so Kuro-tou won't 'accidentally' forget to let her see you." He ruffled the boy's spiked hair, grinning as Akari flashed a vague smile his away. "He also doesn't realize that your papa wants you to have way more than he ever did growing up," Fai continued with a sad smile, lifting the little boy up into his lap. "Yup, your tou-chan doesn't see the things in front of his nose sometimes.

Kurogane crossed his arms, absently kicking a small rocking horse. "Well… I'm at least going to call her on this manju clone and tell her we've already got more crap that we can handle. And she can take back all the plastic stuff—it can't be good for him if he keeps putting it in his mouth! I can make something if you really want him to have it."

"That's fine dear; just keep Moko-chan away from Akari—I don't want fur to get into his mouth again. They cried for ages afterwards," the blonde murmured placidly, cuddling the infant, who was staring at Mokona fixedly.

Sure, he liked all the nice stuff that Yuuko-obasan was sending him, but Mokona was still his favorite toy. It moved and was shiny.

X

Fai sighed, sitting back on his heels, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "That's the last of it, I think," he informed Kurogane, who was currently rolling up their futon. "We need to be better housekeepers."

"Eh, we have people for that in Suwa," Kurogane grunted, sitting on the roll to tie it with raffia.

"You just don't like cleaning, do you?" Fai chuckled. "I'm going to check on Akari, then make sure we've gathered all his toys from around the castle."

"Souma has one, I think. The orange snake—you know, the one with wings? He left it there when she was babysitting him for us," Kurogane growled, punching the futon so it wouldn't unroll anymore than it already had. A little bit of the material it was stuffed with came out. Fai rolled his eyes.

"Okay, just don't break anything else while I'm gone." The blonde strolled into their extra room (Tomoyo had gotten their room renovated while they were away to have Akari—they'd come back to two rooms), finding Akari holding himself up using the table.

The infant did that a lot lately. He'd become thoroughly tired of crawling, and didn't like being totted everywhere. He could almost walk with Fai or Kurogane's help, but even then it didn't really constitute as walking—it was more like he was moving his legs while his parent's held him in the air. But it was enough that the little boy was frustrated, so he kept on trying on his own. He was covered in bangs and bruises from falling, and more often than not, his parents' conversations were interrupted by him crying after gravity took its toll on his wobbly legs. It worried Fai, because Akari was about to turn a year old—most of the children in Shirasaki his age were already toddling around. The most Akari could do was a few steps with something bracing him.

Fai stood in the doorway, trying not to disturb his son's concentration, watching as Akari braced himself against the low-lying table. The boy scowled, a fierce look he'd inherited from his father (though the sternness was negated by plump cheeks and large, heavy-lashed violet eyes), and lifted his hands slowly away.

Fai braced himself to go running to his son, for this was the part where Akari generally collapsed to the floor in tears. Instead, Akari just stood there, blinking in wonder. A grin spread across his lips, eyes lighting up.

"Akachan," Fai called, kneeling to the floor, "C'mere, Akachan."

Akari turned slowly, wobbling slightly. Fai blinked; the boy didn't fall down yet.

"Kuro-sama! Come here!"

"What is it?"

"I said come here," Fai hollered, "Now, Kurogane!" Akari blinked at his father's loudness, lurching forward. Fai grit his teeth, holding his hands out, "C'mon, Akachan, you can do it."

Kurogane raced into the doorway, almost tripping over Fai, "What is it, mage?" he demanded sharply.

Fai looked up over his shoulder, finger to his lips, "Look," he whispered, turning back to watch his son throw his foot out to catch his weight as he stumbled towards Fai. He heard Kurogane gasp behind him, and a brilliant grin settled on his lips.

Akari paused, looking around as if he was wondering why he hadn't landed on his butt yet. Encouraged, he moved forward again, and then again in the same hesitant way. About half-way to his fathers, he gained confidence and sped up, reaching Fai quickly before face-planting into the blonde's lap.

"Papa, papa," the child cooed, smiling sheepishly at Fai.

Fai gave a cry, gathering Akari into his arms, hugging his son tightly. Akari looked over Fai's hair in bewilderment up at Kurogane who was smiling gently down at him. He grinned up at his less-emotional father, "Yay…?" (Kurogane blamed Fai for 'yay' being Akari's third or fourth most favorite word, right after 'no', 'mochi'—which Akari affectionately called "mo-he"— and 'papa'.)

"Yeah, yay, silly," Kurogane responded gruffly, reaching down to ruffle Akari's hair affectionately.

"C'mon, Akari-chan, let's show Tomoyo-obachan and get you some mochi, okay?" Fai murmured, wiping his eyes. Akari squealed in delight, clutching his father's robes happily in a tight little hug. He then skittered away, stumbling into the other room. Fai rose to his feet, smiling brightly.

Kurogane pulled Fai into a tight hug, kissing his lover's cheek sweetly; "See, mage? There was nothing wrong. He just needed time." Fai nodded against Kurogane's neck, trying to keep from crying happily. Kurogane squeezed the blonde, "Next time let him take a little more time—let him be a baby as long as he can be…"

"Ah, Kuro-sama doesn't want our akachan to grow up does he?" Fai teased tearfully.

"Not really," the swordsman admitted blushingly.

There came a thump from the other room, followed by a loud screech. Fai laughed, hastily wiping his tears away. "It sounds like he'll be our baby for a little while longer!" He chuckled as he rushed to Akari's aid. Kurogane leaned against the doorway, watching Fai right their son tenderly.

"Keep it that way," he mumbled softly.

X

"No, no—I'm fine, really! I want to—ah, please!" Fai held the sleeping Akari away from the maid, shaking his head, "I want to do it, really, I do—you don't have to!"

Kurogane walked onto the scene, speaking with the new general of the Suwan army, looking rather serious about something. Then…

"No, it's not that I—oh, don't look like that!" Fai wailed, holding Akari in one hand, patting the distraught young woman on the back, "You can help—but I'm used to cleaning his room myself—it's really odd to share all of a sudden!"

"Then you must get used to it!" The maid declared, standing straight, pointing at Fai, "And I won't take no for an answer, Fai-sama!"

"Ewww, don't call me that! Fai will do, Suzuran-chan!"

"How far west did you say you found him?" Souseki asked, raising an eyebrow as he peered at Fai in amusement.

"Farther than you will ever know," Kurogane grumbled. Fai was going to have a hard time adapting… And why was his house so full of weirdoes?!

X

"Kuro-sama, will you please keep an eye on Akari when he eats in the morning," Fai sighed, dumping an armful of dishes into a bucket full of water.

"I do!"

Fai looked over at his lover, raising a skeptical eyebrow; "Really?"

"You don't believe me?" The swordsman bristled, folding his arms over his chest.

"No, I do, but…" The blonde ran a damp, soapy hand through his hair, leaving a small patch of suds on his forehead as he leaned back against the wall. "It's just that there's more milk."

"I thought you—"

"I did tell him! I told him very firmly—" Kurogane snorted at the idea of Fai being firm with Akari; "I did! I told him that he was not allowed, at all, to take cups into his room!"

"And he still did it?" Kurogane asked, raising an eyebrow, "I didn't see him sneaking off a cup this morning—I'll ask the maids if—"

"No, no, I've told them all that they can go home, it's too hot to do much anyway," Fai said, raising a dismissive hand. Kurogane smiled softly, even after almost four years in Nihon, Fai was yet to be accustomed to the summer heat. "So I went in to tuck him in for his nap, and there was more milk!"

"Where was it this time?"

"Certainly not where it was supposed to be," Fai muttered, rolling his eyes; "I don't know where he's hidden the cup, but the milk was in the candle holders."

Kurogane snorted, "Wow."

"It's not funny! It's already soured by now! It smelled awful! What the heck was he going to do with it? I don't want him drinking it!"

Kurogane stepped forward, pulling Fai into his arms; "Calm down. Just tell him again—if he does it again, you'll have to punish him."

"I know," the blonde mumbled sullenly, "But I don't wanna," he whined.

"Want me to try?"

Fai nodded absently, laying his head against Kurogane's shoulder, "Good lord, though, I don't know why—he's not even remotely fond of milk."

"Who knows? That stuff's nasty—maybe its revenge for making him drink it…?"

Kurogane was rewarded with a soapy slap upside the head.

An hour later, Akari came into his parent's room, sleepy-eyed, dragging his little stuffed toy with him. "Papa?"

Fai laid down his book (recently loaned to him from Yuuko's personal store, much to Kurogane's distaste), and rose, scooping Akari up into his arms; "Good afternoon, Akari-chan," he cooed, nuzzling the toddler.

Kurogane cleared his throat, shooting a meaningful glance at Fai as if to say 'Weren't you angry at him earlier?'. Fai grinned apologetically over his son's hair, leaning over to set the little boy down next to Kurogane.

"Akari, your papa tells me he found milk in your room again," the ex-ninja said sternly, looking down at Akari. Akari brightened, nodding as he smiled innocently. Fai knelt in front of the two; "Akari-chan, didn't I tell you that you weren't allowed to take cups into your room?" he inquired, running his fingers through his son's sleep tousled locks.

"I di'n't."

"Akari, how did the milk get there, then?" Kurogane asked, scowling slightly.

Akari looked down at his hands, fidgeting under his father's gaze, "I took'd thems," he admitted slowly, "But I—"

"I told you that you couldn't take cups into your room, Akari-chan," Fai scolded lightly, "If you do it again, you'll have to be punished."

"Papa, I—"

"You heard him," Kurogane said softly.

Akari's lower lip trembled as he hung his head, "'Kay, papa, I won't."

Fai squirmed for a second, eyes darting from Akari to Kurogane, lips set into an adorable pout that Akari seemed to have inherited; Kurogane could only (correctly) guess that Fai's resolve was crumbling. "Fai," Kurogane warned.

"Aw," Fai squealed, completely giving in. A split second later, the toddler was covered in kisses and snuggles, entirely enclosed in his smaller father's arms.

"Tou-chan didn't mean to be so scary," Fai cooed, leaning his forehead against his son's. "Right?" Fai cast puppy eyes up at his lover, his look completely and perfectly emulated in the damp lavender eyes of his son.

"Why do you always make me be the strict one, huh?" Kurogane grumbled, leaning over to ruffle Akari's hair; "I'm sorry, you little brat," he said fondly, "But you have to promise us, no more, okay?"

Akari flashed a hundred-watt smile—yet another thing he'd inherited from the blonde—as Kurogane was reduced to putty. He held out his arms, and Akari clambered from Fai to his father, clinging against Kurogane's broad chest.

Fai laughed, settling in Kurogane's lap. Both he and Akari commenced smothering the ex-ninja in snuggles.

X

The next morning, Fai was busy straightening up Akari's room. It was a task that he rather enjoyed doing, even though the maids of the household were shocked at how much he did around the household. He was in the middle of straightening his son's growing collection of odds and ends when he found it.

"Dear lord," he groaned, "What does that boy think he's doing?" He picked up the small wooden bowl, normally used for incense (Akari had found it and therefore hoarded it), and took it out to the outdoor hallway, dumping the new batch of milk onto the grass.

He was dreading telling Kurogane already—it would be the first time that they would really have to punish Akari, and he just didn't want to. He sighed, crossing his arms, the damp incense bowl dangling by his fingers. "What else can we do?" He sighed in exasperation.

"Kuro-sama!" He called, marching towards the kitchen, "I've got to talk to you! We really need to keep an eye on—"

Something small bumped into his shins, and he looked down to find his son staring up at him, blinking dazedly.

"Akari, there was milk in your room, again, and," he began sternly, then stopped, staring at the boy's face.

Akari smiled up at him, milk trickling down his chin.

"Akachan," Fai said sweetly, "What's in your mouth…?"

A small muffled noise came from his son.

"Kuro-sama! Come here!" Fai called, already trying to stifle laughter. He knelt down, ruffling Akari's hair. "Akari-chan, what's in your mouth?"

After a second, Akari swallowed; "Milk!" he said confidently.

"And what were you going to do with that milk?" Fai prompted, shoulders shaking.

"I was gonna hide it for you t'find, papa!"

Kurogane came out from the indoor bath, hair dripping, robe rapped around him, "What happened?"

"I found milk in Akachan's bedroom," Fai laughed softly, grinning adoringly at his son.

"Dammit. Akari, what did we discuss yesterday?!" Kurogane demanded, kneeling down beside his son.

"No cups," Akari answered precisely, nodding sharply.

"Wanna know how it got there, Kuro-tou?"

"Yeah."

"Tell Tou-chan, Akari-chan," Fai urged, face pink with restrained laughter.

"Not in a cup!"

"Now tell him what you had in your mouth—tell Tou-chan exactly what you told papa."

"Milk! I was gonna hide it for papa to find!" Akari proclaimed, evidently very proud of himself.

At this point, it was too much for Fai to handle. He fell against Kurogane, howling in laughter.

"Tou-chan, what's wrong with papa?"

Kurogane's mouth twitched, "Nothing. Go to your room, we'll be there in a minute."

"…am I in trouble?" Akari asked quietly, looking up at Kurogane from under long lashes.

"No, no—now go."

Akari nodded, toddling off towards his room.

Fai continued to shake in laugher, crawling into Kurogane's lap. "Oh—oh, he wasn't using a cup! He did exactly what I told him to!" he snickered, shaking his head. He dissolved into helpless giggles, calming slowly as Kurogane rubbed his back, the swordsman chuckling softly himself.

"Damn we're in for hell," Kurogane muttered.

"If he's like this at two-and-a-half, how's he gonna be when he's a teenager?" Fai asked, finally quieting, eyes slightly damp with tears from his laughter.

"Hell," Kurogane repeated.

"You would know, huh? He got that from you, I bet," Fai accused, smile on his lips.

"I always followed the rules! Okay, fine, I ignored a good deal of them," the darker man conceded. "Are we going to punish him?"

"How could we? He did exactly what I told him to—no cups," Fai giggled, leaning in to steal a kiss from his lover. "We'll… just set down the law a little more explicitly."

"That might work."

X

Fai lay back on the futon, his eyes fluttering shut. He couldn't manage to fall asleep completely, though, as half of him was listening intently for Kurogane to return. He sighed softly, turning on his side, finally admitting to himself that his lover wasn't going to return that night. Whatever Tomoyo had wanted, it must've taken longer than the ex-ninja had anticipated.

He dozed off rather quickly after resigning himself, so he didn't hear the door open slowly. The patter of soft feet neared the bed and Fai was awoken by a small hand on his face, "Papa…"

Fai sat up, reaching out sleepily to pull his son to him. "Hmm? What is it Akachan?"

Akari clung to his father as Fai lifted the small child into his arms; "Where's tou-chan?" he murmured, tears heavy in his voice, "Papa, where's tou-chan? I heard the monsters again…"

Fai couldn't help but laugh gently, "You need Kuro-tou to scare them away?" Akari nodded softly, burying himself in Fai's chest. "Shh, it's okay, Kuro-tou will be back soon. Papa misses him too."

"He still loves us right?" Akari asked mournfully, tears trickling down his cheeks as he clutched at his father's clothes.

Fai melted; Akari always, even as a newborn, managed to wrap his slighter father around his finger. "Oh, shush, Akachan; Kuro-tou will always love his Akari and his Papa," he admonished gently, nuzzling the boy's silky black hair.

"Papa, when will tou-chan be back?"

"Oh, I don't know," Fai sighed wistfully. He set Akari down on the futon, rising slowly. He leaned down and picked the boy up in his arms, carrying him outside.

The two settled on the front porch of their home in Suwa, Fai's bare toes curling in the warm grass. He looked up at the sky, the moon full and hanging low. "We'll wait for Kuro-tou together, okay?" he murmured, tweaking Akari's small nose.

The boy flashed a brilliant smile, the tears drying in his eyes. Fai chuckled, straightening his son's yukata, moonlight shining against his skin. The boy was small for five—Kurogane had been right about Akari inheriting Fai's bone structure; he was delicate, with large lavender eyes, and soft, curling black hair. When he was younger, it spiked just like his father's, but as Akari and his hair grew, it settled into the flyaway waves of Fai's hair. His skin was a light tan color, a mix between his father's darker complexion and Fai's snowy one; it had lightened as he grew, but during the summer, he tanned as dark as Kurogane.

"Papa…"

"Yes, Akachan?" Fai murmured, cuddling his son.

"Tell me the story, you know, the one about papa and tou-chan."

Fai smiled softly, "Kuro-tou's already told you the story… wouldn't you rather hear the one about the dragon and phoenix that Tomoyo-obachan taught you?"

"Please, papa? Please?" Akari begged, pulling a puppy-face he could have only learned from Fai, leaning up to kiss his father's cheeks. "I want to hear about papa and tou-chan! Tou-chan doesn't tell it good! You tell stories so much better! Please, papa, will you tell me the story?"

"Okay, okay, Akachan, I'll tell you the story, since you asked so nicely…" Fai reached out, taking his son's small hands in his own, smiling; "Once, a little while ago, there was a ninja. He was the strongest one that the country had ever seen—"

"That was tou-chan, right!" Akari cheered happily.

"Yes it was, and your Tomoyo-obachan sent Kuro-tou away because he was so strong, but he didn't understand why he needed to be."

"What about you, papa?" Akari asked reverently, settling in Fai's lap. Fai cast his eyes up at the moon, giving a gentle smile, "There was a kingdom with a wizard and a king. But the king was dying, and the wizard was afraid of losing the king, so he sealed him away so he could sleep and live forever; but the wizard couldn't stay, because he knew the king would be mad at him for keeping him alive."

"He wanted to die?" Akari asked, his eyes worried, "But, then he'd be gone, like the kitty…"

"Yes… he would, and the wizard didn't want him to die because he loved him so."

"But," Akari whispered, "The wizard was you, right? 'Cause tou-chan says I can do magic because of you… don't you love tou-chan, papa?" His lips trembled, "You love me and tou-chan, right? You still love us, right?"

"I love you, my darling Akachan, and I love your tou-chan very, very much. You see, I loved the king like you love tou-chan or me," Fai said softly, "The king raised me after he found me—I was an orphan you see."

"You didn't have a papa or a tou-chan? Or even an obachan?"

"They died when I was very, very young," Fai whispered, "And I didn't have any family to take care of me. For a very long time, I was afraid of other people because I lived alone."

"Then tou-chan came, right! He saved you, because he was so strong!" Akari said knowingly, nodding.

"O-ho! You're jumping ahead of the story, Akari!" Fai scolded playfully, tickling the boy, who was squealing in delight, "It's no fun if you already know the ending!"

Akari blinked, and then put his finger to his lips, nodding at Fai to continue. Fai huggled his son for being so adorable, kissing him on the cheek before continuing:

"Well, the wizard and the ninja met a witch, along with a boy and a girl—"

"Onee-chan and nii-san! And Yuuko-obasan!"

Fai laughed at Akari's enthusiasm, continuing the story, careful to edit out the gorier and scarier parts of their journeys. Akari, even though his eyes became heavy with sleep, declined all of Fai's offers of sleep, insisting that his father continue the story. The moon sunk into the sky, the black-violet of midnight slowly easing to deep morning.

Akari stared up at Fai, his attention rapt. Fai cast his eyes out, meeting the eyes of his lover, much to his surprise. He smiled, shooting him a meaningful look as he continued the story.

"And then your tou-chan did something I would have never guessed he would do," Fai murmured.

Kurogane reached out, seizing his son, "I saved your papa from his stupid self," he growled, lifting Akari high in the air.

Akari shrieked happily, "Tou-chan, tou-chan!"

Kurogane lowered Akari to his chest, the little boy scrabbling onto his shoulders, hugging him tightly. Fai rose from his perch, smiling, "I see what you mean, Akachan, he doesn't tell stories very well."

Akari giggled, pushing his face against his father's neck; Kurogane shifted his son in his arms so that Akari was nestled in the crook of his right arm. He held out his metal arm, Fai drifting lightly towards the two. He folded Fai close to him, "And what are you two doing up so late?" he scolded, squeezing the blonde, "It's nearly morning."

"We wanted to wait for you, didn't we, Akachan?"

Akari nodded, yawning widely, his eyes drooping. He laid his head against the curve of Kurogane's shoulder, drifting to sleep; "We wanted to wait for tou-chan."

Kurogane smiled gently at his son, "Well, I'm here," he murmured, rubbing the boy's back with his thumb. Fai cuddled deeper against his lover, petting Akari's hair. Akari was asleep within moments under the soothing attentions of his fathers.

Fai stood on his toes, kissing Kurogane deeply, careful not to bump his child. Kurogane's mechanical fingers tightened against the mage's side, returning Fai's passion with a once-uncharacteristic gentleness.

"Welcome home, Kuro-sama," Fai beamed. "We missed you… Though," he chuckled, casting a tender look down at his little puppy, "I think Akari missed you enough to last an entire world. He adores you, you know."

Kurogane pressed his forehead to Fai's, staring into the heavy-lashed cobalt eyes. "He worships you," he retorted. Fai grinned, nuzzling Kurogane; "He's such a good boy," he whispered, voice trembling. "God, I love you both," Fai murmured thickly, eyes glistening.

Kurogane nodded, his arms tightening around both Akari and Fai. "Yeah…"

In the distance a rooster called and the sounds of the maids beginning to scurry about the house filled the air as the small family stood, framed against the sunrise.

End