A/N:

This one is for Ten-Faced, sorry it took me a while to finish this. Hope you like it. ^^ And I kinda wanted to make Akaito and Haku younger, so I set the ages at around 17-18. c: And finally 1/10th from the mark! XD OTL|||

Now, a quick message to Catching Happiness:

That's, um. . . A hefty request. ^^" I don't mind that you love yaoi, but I'm not sure if I can pull it off with the way you, um, want it to be. ^^" I can still try though, but it may take a while. ^^

Pairing: Akaito Shion and Haku Yowane

Genre: Humor

Rated: K

Warning(s): Nada~

Chapter Ten:

Grounded

Akaito peeked around the corner, seeing that the coast was clear, he let out an inaudible sigh before tip-toeing his way into the hallway. It was pretty late at night, but he had to get to that concert! Haku was going to be there! Like he was really going to miss that. He didn't care if he was grounded or not.

Besides, he shouldn't have even been grounded in the first place. All he did was use some of Dad's old jazz records for plates. There weren't any clean ones, and he didn't even know that those things played music. It was large, round, and looked like a plate. How was he supposed to know? Heck, Dad should have labeled them or something: 'Old Crappy Music From 1968'. Maybe then he wouldn't have had to see his dad actually look angry when he served everyone dinner on them. He'd been frozen in shock for a few moments, before Mom noticed what they were eating off of also and tried to comfort him. That was when the dam burst. Akaito had no idea how someone could get so angry over a couple of giant, dusty disks. He sure hoped he never found out about the frisbee incident when he was eight. He was sure that THAT record was still in the tree. And really? Grounded for three weeks? That was so unreasonable. Wasn't he supposed to be the fair one? Mom was the one who gave the unreasonably cruel punishments.

He tip-toed down the hall, closer and closer to the door, his hand reaching out as he was just about to touch the handle. . .

"Akaito, where are you going?"

He froze, his eyes wide as he didn't dare to turn around.

"Akaito?"

Oh, how he hated when his dad used that tone of voice to him. It was never a good thing. He gulped before smoothly turning around and flashing his dad a calm smile. "Oh, hey there, Dad. I was just going out to get some-"

"Don't even try that. Where were you really going?" His father asked, his arms crossed over his chest authoritatively.

Akaito gave him an amused smile and shook his head with each beat. "Father, Father, Father. . ." He smiled at him, taking a step forward. "Now you know -," He gestured to him. "- and I know - ," He put a hand to his chest. "- that if I did that, that this wouldn't be nearly as fun as it should be."

His father sighed through his nose, still with a firm gaze on his son. "Akaito, be serious and go back to your room."

"Whatever ya want, Dadster." He grinned.

"You're not getting out of this-"

"I wasn't trying to."

"Do you want me to get your mother?"

"Heck no. I don't have a death wish."

"Then I suggest you get up to your room." He pointed up the stairs then, his firm gaze still on him.

Akaito looked between him and the stairs before groaning. "Come on, DAD! It's the concert of the century! And Haku is going to be there too!"

His father narrowed his eyes, the arm pointing up the stairs stiffening. "Yes, well, perhaps you should have thought about that before you went and served meat loaf on my records."

"I couldn't have thought about it. I didn't know about it until yesterday." Akaito smirked.

His father inhaled a deep breath, before his gaze became firm once again and he pointed up the stairs more firmly. "Up to your room. Now."

Akaito's eyes widened, and he gave his dad an anxious look. "But Dad! I—"

"Akaito." He spoke his name hard, tensing each letter in his name. "Get up to your—"

"How was I supposed to know they weren't plates?"

His father's eyes flared up a little, feeling incredulous and angry. "They were in a lock box in your mother and I's bedroom!"

Akaito's eyes shifted from side to side, looking for something more to say. "Yeah, I just kinda figured they were. . . fancy or something." He glanced back at his dad boldly. "Besides, I had to look for some plates. All the other ones were dirty."

His father gaped at the young man. "It was your turn to wash them!"

Akaito smiled a little, chuckling. "Yeah, but I paid Nigaito to wash them for me. It's not my fault he didn't follow through. Go yell at him."

His father gritted his teeth, before taking a deep breath, and pointing back up the stairs one more time. "Bed. You. Now."

"What? But it's only 9:30!" Akaito exclaimed, staring at his dad with wide eyes.

He finally walked up to Akaito and stared at him hard, his arms crossed over his chest, as Akaito suddenly felt small under his dad's gaze. "Akaito. . ." He spoke calmly. "I'm not joking. I will get your mother."

Akaito stood there a moment, his face blank before he gave his dad a big sloppy kiss on the cheek and ran up the stairs. "G'night, Dad!"

As he heard the door to Akaito's room close, his firm stance and gaze instantly melted away and he sighed in exasperation, rubbing his eyes. "You just had to marry her and father all of those children, didn't you? You just HAD to fall in love with her, and propose. . ." He groaned.

The doorbell rang suddenly and he had the urge to pull his hair out of their follicles. "Kami, can't I just get a break?" He mumbled, composing himself and made his way to the door.

Before he could blink, though, Nigaito was suddenly down the stairs and racing for the door. "I'll get it!" He flung the door open, but his wide grin soon became nothing more but a blank, disappointed stare. "Awww, I thought you were a Girl Scout."

The tall teen in the doorway gave the young boy an amused look. "I haven't been a Girl Scout since I was nine." She lightly patted the boy on the head then, smiling pleasantly. "B-but I guess their Samoas really are to die for, come to think of it."

"Yeah whatever. . ." He mumbled, dragging himself back up the stairs.

Mr. Shion came forward then, smiling politely. "Hello, Haku. Was there anything you needed?"

She smiled shyly at him. "Well, um, Mr. Shion, I just came over to see i-if Akaito wanted to come to the, um. . . Save the Whales charity concert with me."

He almost chuckled, remembering his boy's words of the 'concert of the century'. He sighed, offering her a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Haku, but Akaito is grounded."

"Save me, Haku!" Akaito yelled dramatically from the top of the stairs. "They're holding me captive! I'm starving up here!"

His father glanced behind him at Akaito before shaking his head and looking back at Haku. "He really can't go."

"And the dragon won't give me a break!" He yelled down to them, glaring at the back of his father's head.

Haku giggled, shaking her head. "It's okay, Akaito. I understand what it feels like to be grounded. . ." She blinked then, scratching her head. "Um, actually, well, now that I think about it, I guess I don't. . . I've just seen how it happens and affects Dell. . . " She blushed, rubbing the back of her neck before giving the redhead at the top of the stairs a comforting smile. "But I'm sure it's not th-that bad. We can hang out later." She waved to him, twirling her car keys around her finger as she walked back down the sidewalk to her car.

His father closed the door then, walking up the stairs to his and his wife's room. As he passed Akaito, he glanced at him and sighed as he walked past him. "Never let go of that girl, Akaito."

"I wasn't planning on it." Akaito smirked and his mother suddenly appeared and passed him by and ruffled his hair purposely to annoy him. "Listen to Daddy, Aka-chan."

"Mom!" He groaned, as his mother just snickered and walked down the hallway to get to her room.

And as the the door clicked shut behind his parents, he wandered back into his room calmly with a sly smirk. He shut his door, making sure to lock it, as he headed over towards his bed, and over to the window, where some bed sheets were all tied together and hanging out of it. And as he lifted the first leg up and out of the window, he snickered with a smug smirk. "I am too good. . ."

He suddenly heard someone knock on his door, and he froze at the sound of his mom's voice.

"Akaito, you close that window right now."

A/N:

. . . Still so short. . . OTL||