"Bloody heck, I haven't seen Austin that proud since he was chosen for Head Boy," Kiseki exclaimed, walking out of the hospital lobby. He and Cyrus's visit had been a short one, since Radha and the baby both needed rest, but it was certainly worthwhile. Tiny Sai Ueda was adorable, wrapped gingerly in his mother's arms and staring at all his visitors with an innocent blank expression. His skin was the same dark tan color as his mother's, as Austin said, while the only other physical trait he'd inherited from Radha was the shape of his petite head. Otherwise, his fuzzy hair was just a shade darker than Austin's light brown, and he had his dad's lips, nose, and teal eyes.

"Aw, Kiseki, he likes you!" Radha had squealed, cuddling her baby affectionately. Standing up straighter, Kiseki blushed lightly.

"Hm? How can you tell?" he asked.

"He's been staring at you for a while- sorry if that's making you uncomfortable, I suppose he doesn't know any better- and for just about everyone else, after a few seconds he either started crying or averted his gaze," she explained, her sparkling brown eyes glued to Sai.

"Oh, I see…" Kiseki chuckled, tickling the baby's chin with his index finger. "Well I'm honored." Radha opened her mouth to respond, only to interrupt herself with a yawn.

"You sweethearts have had a long day, you should probably get some sleep," Austin requested, kissing Radha's cheek and caressing his fingers across Sai's. Smiling as widely as he'd been all day, he took a few steps forward and hugged his younger brother with one arm. "It was great seeing you, buddy. You too, Cyrus!"

Looking mildly surprised, Cyrus grinned. "Oy, thanks! Congratulations," he responded. Kiseki nodded, giving Austin a quick hug and stepping backward.

"What he said. And, good luck!"

"Those two are so nice. Sai is such a lucky little guy," Cyrus insisted, stretching as he and Kiseki stepped outside of the hospital. A gentle smile formed on his lips. "Kids really seem to like you." Kiseki blushed, shrugging; before he could form a verbal reply, he abruptly felt a strong arm wrap around his neck from behind. He cried out with widened eyes, trying to break away.

"Whoa, calm down, little buddy! I'm not gonna mug you or nothing," came the voice of Raito Ueda. Immediately loosening up, Kiseki squirmed free and let out an aggravated sigh.

"Are you mental? Don't scare me like that!" He huffed. Raito put up his hands in mock surrender.

"Sorry, sorry. Come on, you love me."

"Yeah, okay," Kiseki muttered, rubbing his neck and drifting back to Cyrus's side. Raito grinned at the blue eyed boy.

"Still my baby bro's BFF? Haha, say that one ten times fast…" For a second, he actually mouthed the words "baby bro's BFF" a few times in a row.

"Of course, I wuv him," Cyrus assured him, laughing. As if to prove his point, he took a springy step to the side, pressed his chest against one of Kiseki's shoulders and linked his fingers together against the other, and rubbed his head against him like an overly affectionate kitten. Kiseki turned beet red, freezing with his hand still on his neck, though a minuscule smile twitched on his face.

"So, Raito, where's Presilla?" Kiseki inquired quickly, sliding his hand off of his neck and resting it on Cyrus's arm. Suspicion crossed Raito's expression for a very brief second, but his usual joyful stance returned before it could be noticed. He nodded over his shoulder at a bench lined up against the outside wall of the hospital. Seated on it was his black haired wife, snuggling a crying Jasper into her chest.

"That son of ours, being in his terrible twos, refused to go to bed early enough last night, so now he's all tired and fussy. Silla's calming him down." Raito's tone came out in an odd combination of frustration and doting.

"Raito? Kiseki? Blimey, it's been a while!" called a feminine voice that Kiseki found very familiar. Face lighting up, he ducked out of Cyrus's arms and spun in the direction of the speaker: Kathy Ueda. Her hair was light brown, a bit less than shoulder length, and wavy, plus behind a blackish-purple pair of glasses she had the same emerald green eyes as her little brother. In her hand was a can of juice, symbolizing that she was coming over from the vending machine. Kiseki embraced her in a hug the moment she was within hugging range.

"Kathy! You came here all the way from France?" Kiseki breathed. Wrapping her arms around her little brother, Kathy nodded.

"Of course! Like I'd miss out on meeting my new nephew…" Keeping her hands on Kiseki's shoulders, she took a step back and looked him up and down with shimmering eyes. "The past year has been good on you, huh? You're not as pale as I remember, you're not such a stick, you got a little taller…"

Kiseki laughed cheerfully. "You look great too. Hey, where's James?" His demeanor shifted. "You uh… You two still going good?" All of the Uedas had doubts about Kathy getting back together with James, even though he was the oldest son of Harry Potter. Not too many years prior, he had cheated on Kathy 3 times and treated her more like a maid than a girlfriend.

"Oh, we're actually going better than ever! If anyone can clean up their act, it's him. He is so determined to make me never regret buying a home with him… Yeah, he's still in France- he's 'guarding the house while I'm gone.'"

"I see! I'm glad everything's going well," Kiseki indicated with two nods. "By the way, you know that friend I wrote to you about? Cyrus Paranade? This is him." He motioned to Cyrus, who smiled warmly at the mention of his name. Kathy's own grin softened, and she put out her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Katherine Ueda. You have no idea how happy I am that Kiseki found someone he can really count on as a friend," she said. Smiling wider, Cyrus accepted her handshake.

"Nice meeting you too. And hey, he's more my lifesaver than I am his." The expression that fell upon Kiseki's face made it clear that he found these words flattering.

For the next few moments, Kathy caught up with her brothers while Cyrus listened in, remaining politely silent. Kathy was halfway through disproving French stereotypes when Raito pointed over everyone's heads and exclaimed, "Look, here comes more of the Ueda clan!" Sure enough, walking out of the hospital was Shiro, clad in his white doctor's coat, followed by Raye in her Healer uniform and Shiro's wife, Konata. "You playin' hooky, twin sis? Shouldn't you be at St. Mungo's?"

Raye rolled her eyes, smiling. "No, but business was slow there and Dad needed another Healer's opinion on a spell misfire case in this hospital. While I was here, I just thought I might as well swing by Austin and Radha with their baby," she explained casually. "And before you leap on Dad about why he isn't at work, it's his break time."

"Yeah, yeah, you and your excuses," Raito muttered, a grin immediately reappearing on his face.

"Merlin's beard, I feel like I haven't seen all of you in forever… Especially you, Kathy. Come now, everyone give their mum a big ol' hug," Konata demanded joyfully, opening her arms. Although Raito took up most of the hug, Kiseki, Raye, and Kathy managed to slip in. It wasn't long before, just like with Raito and Kiseki, Kathy started chatting about her life in France with her parents and Raye. A few seconds into the conversation, Raito declared that he had to return to Presilla and Jasper, so he gave hurried good-bye hugs before trotting off. This left Cyrus and Kiseki to stand feeling awkwardly excluded.

"You know… Nobody seems to have noticed the young man with Kiseki," Konata commented as Kathy concluded discussing how divine French cuisine was. All at once, everyone turned to face Cyrus, making him suddenly feel like he was in the limelight.

"So we meet again, Cyrus," smiled Shiro, tilting his head very slightly. Konata's face lit up even brighter than it had been before; one might think her expression could illuminate a dark room.

"Cyrus? Ah, so this is that friend you've told us so much about?"

To Cyrus's surprise, Kiseki was slow to respond. Shouldn't his immediate answer be "yes"? However, from the gradual redness of his face, Cyrus came to a quick conclusion that made him blush himself. "No…" Kiseki murmured. Taking a deep breath, he groped the air for Cyrus's hand and wrapped his fingers around it. "This is my boyfriend I've told you so much about.

Everyone's eyes widened; Cyrus gripped Kiseki's hand tighter and Konata's fingers flew to her mouth. They were not hiding disgust, though: on the contrary, they were covering a smile so large it hurt the woman's mouth. "Oh, Kiseki… Sweetheart, I'm so happy for you!" The look of sheepishness that Kiseki took on made him appear a few years younger.

"You… are?"

"Why wouldn't she be? This is bloody wonderful, buddy!" Shiro insisted, ruffling his youngest son's hair and looking at Cyrus with a newfound affection. Raye and Kathy, both grinning from ear to ear, nodded their silent agreement.

"This is certainly the best way you all could react," Cyrus said softly, caressing the edge of Kiseki's hand with his pinky. He turned to Konata and Shiro. "And Mr. and Mrs. Ueda, I love your son more than anything I ever have in my whole life, and I promise I'll be as good to him as possible. Yeah, he's got some issues, but who doesn't? Besides, I personally think they're pretty minor problems." Konata looked about ready to burst into happy tears, while Kiseki was fighting the urge to throw himself into Cyrus's arms and/or give him a heartfelt kiss right then and there.

"That is one of the sweetest things I have ever heard in my life," Konata insisted, her green eyes sparkling. "I would love to stay, but I've got things to do at home… It was wonderful seeing everyone, and to meet you, Cyrus. I'll have to invite the two of you over for cookies sometime… Oh, and Kiseki, when I write to Alex about Sai, would you mind if I added that you and Cyrus are a couple in there?"

How odd it felt to hear someone else refer to them as a couple… "Sure, go ahead," Kiseki murmured with a blush. Konata nodded; she kissed all of her kids on the cheeks, Shiro on the lips, and headed off to find a spot to Disapparate from. "She's a nut…" Kiseki sighed. "But we love her anyway." Cyrus laughed.

"Aw, don't call her a nut. I think she's super nice."

"Giving a little speech about your loyalty to Kiseki, defending his mother… You're quite a kiss-up, hm?" Shiro remarked. Before Cyrus could look fully devastated and embarrassed, Shiro added, "I like you, Cyrus." He kissed his daughters on the foreheads, then ruffled Cyrus's and Kiseki's hair. "I've got to get back to work now, but I'll see you kids around. Especially if Konata was sincere about that cookies thing…" Shaking his head while grinning, Shiro swept back into the hospital.

"Mm, I should be returning to St. Mungo's." Raye looked back and forth between Kathy and Kiseki, gripping their shoulders lightly. "Keep in touch, you two…" She turned to Cyrus, smiling kindly. "I'd tell you to be good to Kiseki, but I feel confident that you will." At that, she went off in the same direction her mother had.

"Cyrus, would you mind if I talked to Kiseki alone for just a minute?" Kathy questioned pleasantly. Cyrus shook his head.

"Of course not, go ahead." Nodding appreciatively, Kathy took her brother's hand and walked off out of anyone's earshot.

"Kiseki, buddy… Please don't take this the wrong way, because you know that I'll always be among the first to trust you an that I'm always on your side… But, yes, Cyrus seems so sweet and I do think he really loves you, yet then again, the same was said about Drew." The sound of his ex-boyfriend's name made Kiseki flinch visibly. "Are you sure you're doing the right thing…?"

"Absolutely," Kiseki declared without hesitation. "I started dating Drew when I was young, and still super mental. I'm older now, and my mind is so much better… Plus, Drew… He had so many other supportive people in his life. He chose to need me. Cyrus? He does need me. And frankly, I'm totally fine with that, and I know that I need him." Kiseki shocked himself with how easily the words came, but was still confident that he was being completely truthful.

Biting her lip lightly, Kathy stared at Kiseki skeptically for a few moments. Finally, she sighed and smiled. "Alright, I believe you. Go for it." She hugged her little brother, giving him a lengthy kiss on the head. Smiling gently, Kiseki wrapped his arms around her back. "Write me often, alright?"

"Of course. Love you, Kathy…"

"I love you too, Kiseki," Kathy whispered. She stepped back, ran her fingers across his cheek, waved to Cyrus, and walked off. Kiseki stared after her for a few seconds, memories of an 11 year old Kathy whispering him good-bye before climbing onto the Hogwarts Express flashing before his mind. He shook his head to clear the thoughts away, and strode back over to Cyrus.

"I have a feeling there's never a dull moment with your family," he commented amiably, linking his arm with Kiseki's and starting to walk off. Kiseki laughed shortly.

"Oh, certainly not."

Cyrus's expression softened. "But, you know, I've already taken a liking to them. I'm really glad they accept me… Accept us…" Kiseki came to a halt, causing Cyrus to almost trip. However, there was no way this could be upsetting when he saw the utterly sincere and adoring look glimmering in Kiseki's face.

"I am too. But, even if they didn't, that wouldn't mean anything… Nothing will make me stop being in love with you."