Hey, all! Sorry for the little lack of update there, I got busy! Without further ado, here's the final chapter!
…
…
"Peek - a - boo! Peek - a - booooo!"
Loud giggles erupted from the attic of the Tsukumo household as Kotori entertained little Hope, who was officially one month old today. Haru and Akari had gone grocery shopping and Kotori had come over to visit Yuma.
"Aw, Hope, you're so sweet!" Kotori cooed in a childish voice, tickling the baby's feet as Hope lay on a blanket on the living room floor, which was littered with the little girl's assortment of colorful toys.
Yuma was upstairs taking a bath and enjoying a brief moment of peace. He cherished his daughter's company but couldn't refuse Kotori's offer to tend to the baby for a bit while he relaxed.
"Who's a pretty baby? You are! Yes you arrrreee..!" Kotori continued playfully, leaning over to blow raspberries on the child's tummy, which sent her into another fit of laughter. Hope reached over and pulled the ribbon from Kotori's hair, twirling it around with her tiny fingers.
"Okay, okay, you can keep it!" Kotori laughed, shaking her now messy hair out and laying down flat on her stomach next to Hope.
Floating in the back of the room was Astral, who watched the scene before him with admiration. He was grateful for Kotori's hospitality and knew that someday Hope would consider her somewhat of a surrogate mother. This comforted Astral greatly; he knew that if anything ever happened to him that Yuma would have someone to help him take care of Hope.
The soft sound of footsteps started upstairs and Kotori's eyes brightened.
"Hope!" She cried joyfully. "I think daddy's coming!"
Hope squealed with delight at the mention of her father, which made the smile on Astral's face even bigger. He focused his attention on the stairs as sure enough Yuma was beginning to make his way down, appearing relaxed and refreshed, dressed in his pajamas.
"Hey, what's going on in here?" Yuma joked, joining Kotori on the floor next to his daughter.
"Nothing much," Kotori responded. "Just playing. I think she missed you!"
Hope reached her arms out to her father and wiggled her fingers, encouraging him to pick her up. Yuma laughed and did just that, nestling the little girl gently against his chest.
"Hey, pretty girl." He whispered to her softly. "I told you I'd be right back!"
Astral smiled and floated a bit closer, standing firm behind the couch but not wanting to disturb the scene before him. He continued to smile as Yuma pressed soft kisses to their daughter's face, whispering words of love and comfort to her. Astral had been very impressed by Yuma's parenting; the normally rambunctious boy was always so calm and endearing. He hardly ever lost his temper anymore. He was always smiling. Astral loved the fact that Hope had brought such joy into Yuma's life. She took away his pain and his sadness.
Yuma sighed happily and rested his back against the couch, Hope still clutched firmly in his arms.
"Man, I feel so lucky!" He said, a bit out of nowhere. "Hope is the best baby in the world. She doesn't need to eat, she doesn't need to be changed. This is a breeze!"
Kotori laughed. "You are lucky! I'm sure lots of parents would love to have Astral beings as babies!"
Yuma laughed and nodded. Astral laughed too. Yuma heard him and turned around, smiling.
"Hey, Astral! How long have you been there?"
Astral shrugged. "Only a little while. I was watching Kotori play with Hope while you were upstairs."
Kotori watched in amusement as Yuma conversed with his ethereal partner. She noticed how Hope was also seemingly staring up at thin air, but with a jovial expression on her face. Kotori concluded she was staring at Astral and this made her smile. Once their conversation finished, Kotori asked:"I know that you can't touch Astral, Yuma, but what about Hope?"
Yuma winked up at the blue spirit and nodded to Kotori.
"Yup! He sure can."
Kotori felt her heart sink with relief; she was worried that Astral wouldn't be able to interact with his own child.
"I'm glad." She said with a smile, looking up to where she thought Astral was and smiling at him as well. Astral looked down at her and their eyes met although Kotori didn't know it. He smiled back.
The room grew silent as the group admired Hope, who had fallen asleep in Yuma's arms with her face gently pressed into his chest. He stroked her cheek softly with his finger, running it over her cheekbone and then tapping her lightly on the nose. She smiled in her sleep and Yuma chuckled to himself.
"I thought Astral beings didn't sleep?" Kotori questioned.
"That's what I said to Astral, but he said that as they age they build up more energy. Hope is just a baby, so she's not strong enough to keep herself awake."
Kotori nodded in understanding. "They are quite fascinating creatures!" She cried.
Astral tipped his head and nodded in approval. Yuma saw him and laughed.
"Astral agrees!" He joked. Kotori laughed along with him.
"So, when do you think you'll be ready to go back to school?" Kotori asked.
Yuma furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at Hope sadly.
"Soon, I guess. But I really don't want to…"
"Everybody misses you…" Kotori reassured.
Yuma rested a hand on top of his daughter's head. It would pain him so much to have to leave her.
"They still don't know…?" Yuma wondered.
Kotori shook her head. She had promised Yuma she wouldn't share the news about the baby without his permission.
"Do you want them to?" Kotori asked. "I mean, I'm sure we can trust Tetsuo."
"Yeah, Tetsuo, maybe, but not everyone else." Yuma stated firmly. It wasn't that he ashamed of his current situation, he was just fearful of potentially endangering his daughter.
Kotori tilted her head in confusion, which Yuma took as a sign to explain.
Yuma sighed before answering. "If too many people find out, then it could get back to Kaito, and then…who knows what could happen. I don't want him to hurt her."
Kotori nodded in understanding. She had never even thought about that.
"She's going to be kinda hard to hide, though, don't you think?" Kotori said.
Yuma's eyes trailed off as he thought. He didn't want anyone to know about this, and that was the bottom line. He clenched his eyes shut as he thought of all that he had gone through just to deliver Hope safely. He had nearly died, which as of now no one but Astral knew about. He turned back to Kotori.
"I'll figure something out," he answered her quietly. "Don't worry."
Yuma suddenly stood off of the floor, Hope still in his arms. He wandered off into the kitchen to be alone with her as his emotions quickly began to overcome him. He looked down at Hope and admired her with love, his lips curling upward into a gentle smile as a tear made its way down his cheek. He reached up a finger to wipe it away before it dripped onto his daughter's perfect face. Yuma leaned down to press his forehead against hers, which woke her. She blinked up at him with tired golden eyes and he smiled down at her.
"Don't you worry, baby girl." He whispered. "Daddy won't let anything happen to you. Ever. I promise…"
Yuma leaned down to kiss Hope's forehead and she rubbed her nose against his lovingly. Yuma laughed to himself and began to swing his body back and forth softly, rocking her gently back to sleep.
"I love you, Hope." He said, gazing into his daughter's eyes as hers slowly began to close. Yuma continued to rock her, cherishing the precious moment he and his beloved little girl were sharing together.
…
…
Haru stood in front of the stove slowly stirring a pot of soup and enjoying a peaceful evening at home with her little granddaughter, who was seated in her highchair at the kitchen table.
"It's a shame you don't have to eat, sweetheart. I would love for you to try some of grandma's special soup!" Haru joked to the little girl, who giggled in response and held out her hands as if to ask her grandmother for a sample.
"Oh, no, dear," Haru laughed. "I don't know if it's a good idea for me to try to feed you anything! I don't want to make you sick."
Haru placed a lid on top of the pot and moved to sit down at the table next to Hope. She sipped briefly on a cup of tea before resuming her position in front of the stove, Hope intently watching her every move.
"You like watching grandma cook, don't you?" Haru questioned with a laugh.
Hope clapped her hands in response, a sound of delight escaping her.
Haru admired her with a smile.
"So did your daddy when he was your age." She said. "He doesn't like to watch as much anymore, he just likes to eat!"
Hope giggled and Haru laughed along with her. She tickled the little girl's nose with her fingers playfully.
"Oh, aren't you just precious!" Haru cooed to her.
Hope squinted her eyes and laughed, stuffing her thumb into her mouth and gurgling away. Haru chuckled as she listened to the baby mumble to herself.
"You're quite the talker, aren't you? Just like your daddy." Hope responded with a muffled laugh, her thumb still planted firmly in her mouth. It always brought her great joy whenever someone mentioned Yuma.
"I'm home!" Akari declared as she entered the front door, a stack of papers in her hand.
"Good evening, dear." Haru chirped. "How was work?"
"Ugh." Akari moaned. "Boring! Nothing interesting at all happened today."
Akari then noticed her niece seated beside the table and she clasped her hands together joyfully.
"Hi there, princess!" She cried sweetly, approaching the little girl and lightly poking her on the nose, which sent Hope into another fit of giggles. Akari then frowned and scanned the room quickly.
"Grandma, where's Yuma?"
Haru smiled to herself as she continued to tend to her soup.
"He's with Astral. He asked if they could have a little 'date' night tonight."
Akari's eyes widened.
"…Where are they?" She wondered. Haru didn't answer and instead continued to laugh to herself.
…
…
"Aw, man! Sparkling grape? I thought I bought Sparkling Cider! Darn it!"
"Does it matter…?"
"The cider is way better."
"It does not matter to me. I cannot drink it either way."
Yuma gruffly pulled at the cork on top of the bottle of grape juice, finally giving up on his hands and gripping it with his teeth.
Astral chuckled. "Would you like me to assist you?"
Yuma frowned and wordlessly passed the bottle to his partner, who opened it effortlessly and passed it back to him with a smirk.
"Jerk." Yuma joked, pouring himself a glass.
"This is what people do on a so-called 'romantic evening'?" Astral wondered.
Yuma shrugged. "Well, I'm too young to drink wine, so, yeah!"
Astral nodded slowly. "How did you get all of that in here with you?" He asked, pointing to the bottle and the other assortment of goodies Yuma had transported into the Emperor's Key.
"A lot of concentration…" Yuma replied, tapping his temple for emphasis and smiling proudly.
Astral laughed through his nose and leaned back onto his arms. The thick, blue air inside of the key was gently blowing about them whilst the machine in the background ticked quietly. It wasn't a very romantic setting, but to Astral and Yuma it was a blessing to be able to have a place where they could interact with each other.
Astral bent forward and reached for a strawberry off of the tray that Yuma had brought into the key with him. He dipped it into the bowel of chocolate beside it and raised it to Yuma's mouth.
"May I?" He inquired. Yuma nodded.
"Please!"
Yuma opened his mouth and Astral brought the fruit to his lips. He bit down on it and pulled a piece off with his teeth, laughing as some of the chocolate dripped onto his collarbone. Yuma eyed Astral a bit seductively and raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. Astral quickly took the hint.
"Let me get that for you…" The alien whispered in a voice that made Yuma shiver. Astral leaned forward and ran his tongue across the boy's skin, removing the small chocolate drop. He sat back and smacked his lips.
"Mmm…" He murmured softly. Yuma laughed.
"What tastes better?" Yuma wondered. "Me, or the chocolate?"Astral grinned evilly.
"You. Definitely you."Yuma blushed and bowed his head in embarrassment. Astral brought a hand to his chin and raised it back up. They gazed into each other's eyes lovingly until Astral lessoned the distance between them, connecting his lips with Yuma's and kissing him tenderly. Yuma slid his hands around Astral's neck as Astral pressed his into Yuma's lower back. The need for air caused them to break away.
"I love you, Astral." Yuma panted, his voice breathy.
Astral offered his love a smile, pressing another kiss to his forehead sweetly.
"I love you, too, Yuma."
The couple connected their foreheads together, eyes closed, absorbing the tender moment. Astral heard Yuma laugh to himself.
"What is it?" The blue spirit questioned with a smile.
Yuma smirked. "Oh, nothing…" He joked in a sing-song voice.
Astral cocked his head and grinned. "What?"
"I was just thinking that…we should try to have another one someday…"Astral frowned. "Another one…?"Yuma nodded. "Yeah."
Astral's eyes wandered in thought.
"You mean…another baby?"
Yuma's nodding increased and he smiled softly.
Astral smiled back and thumbed the boy's cheek gently.
"Well, let's get started now, shall we?"Astral pushed him down onto his back, attacking his face and neck with kisses as Yuma laughed wildly, the sensations tickling him. He dug his hands into Astral's hair as the spirit brought his lips to his own, kissing him tenderly. Astral settled himself between Yuma's legs as they continued to kiss and laugh. There was no one else of earth that Astral would rather share this life with other then Yuma. His love for the boy and their daughter brought such joy into his life; a joy he knew he never would have found otherwise. Astral cherished all of his memories: the old ones he was fighting to remember, but more importantly the new ones he shared with Yuma.
…
…Annnnd it ends! Just before some Yuma and Astral sexy-time. Well, I certainly hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it! I've been contemplating a sequel to this fic, but I'm not sure exactly what I want to do, so if anyone has any ideas, feel free to put them out there! I've been pretty busy lately, but I'm looking forward to writing more fics for you guys soon! Until then, much love and thanks for reading!