DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GA.

CHAPTER 14: Everything is one swipe away

"You alright?" Ruka asked his best friend as he offered him and Tsubasa some tea. Ruka and Tsubasa are over at Mikan's palace to discuss over the details with regards to them opening a school.

Now that the AAOs are out of the picture, they have decided to put up a school for Alice royals.

"Never in my life that I have thought that I would see you looking like a zombie." Tsubasa butted in with a grin. "Welcome to the 'No Sleep Club', dude."

"Tch. Whatever. Are the paper works ready?"

"Yes. Just sign the last page and then all that's left is to have it notarized by a lawyer." Ruka replied when some cries can be heard from the speaker placed on the side of their table. Natsume gave off an automatic sigh. "Should you get going?"

Natsume shook his head. "That's just one of them. Polka can handle that. Let's proceed." He stated while another distinct cry was heard.

"Now that makes two." Tsubasa stated while turning the document he has to the other page. "We'll review the documents while you're gone. Go. Daddy duties awaits."

Natsume hurriedly went to their room and saw Mikan lulling Mitsuko back to sleep. "Where's Miya?" He immediately asked upon seeing that the crib was empty.

"We're right here, Natsume." Mikan replied as she entered the room. "Miya-chan threw up so I had to get her a change of clothes from their room. Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting with the others?"

Natsume was at a loss for words. He turned his head to the left and he saw Mikan lulling Mitsuko, the brown haired baby, to sleep. And when he turned his head to the right, he saw Mikan by the door while carrying Miyako, the raven haired baby.

The flame caster slapped his cheek twice. "This must be due to lack of sleep." He whispered to himself. "Now I'm seeing things."

Mikan chuckled. "Relax, silly." She said then gave Natsume a quick peck on the lips. The Mikan lulling Mitsuko placed the sleeping baby on the crib and then disappeared. "Doppelganger Alice." Mikan continued.

"Tch."

"Now you should go back to the guys. They might need you with something."

"Hn."

"So how were they?" Ruka asked the moment that Natsume came back. "You seem surprised. What happened?"

"I saw two Mikans. I always thought that Doppelganger Alice was just for fun. I never thought it could actually be useful." Said the flame caster.

"Brilliant!" Tsubasa exclaimed. "I definitely have to tell Misaki that technique when we have more kids in the future!" He excitedly added.

"Mikan-chan has always had a practical side when it comes to handling things. Hotaru and I had it rough when Kaito was a newborn. He cries a lot."

"When was it that your wives had time for themselves since they had their babies? Polka doesn't have the time for me and even herself. She's too preoccupied with the twins. I just want her to relax even if it's just a bit."

"Now that you mention it, I don't think Hotaru has relaxed that much since Kaito was born. She'd always go straight to her lab to catch up on her pile of orders whenever Kaito is asleep. She'd be lucky enough to have four hours of sleep in a day."

"Well, as for me, I forced Misaki to have a break." Tsubasa said while Natsume gave him a what-do-you-mean look. "I took a leave from royal duties for three days and then volunteered that I'd be in charge of Yasu. I gave her all sorts of things, VIP tickets to the spa, coupons for all you can eat buffets, reservations in the most popular salon in Central Town. You know, practically everything that a girl would want when unwinding."

Ruka and Natsume made eye contact. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Hn."

"Great!" Ruka clapped. "Hotaru and Mikan-chan can go unwind together."

"Hn, You and Kaito can stay here while they relax."

"Shall I make reservations on everywhere that Misaki went to?" Tsubasa asked.

"I'll just hand her my credit card. Then she can decide to do whatever she wants."

"I'll give Hotaru mine too. That will be a lot easier than booking activities. Everything is one swipe away."

Tsubasa shrugged. "Alright. How long will it be? A week? A few days? You should at least make a reservation booking at the hotel they'll be staying at if they'd spend more than a day."

Ruka gulped. "I'll have to discuss with Hotaru as to the duration of their getaway first. She might literally kill me with gun shots if I'd get her an impromptu mandatory week off."

"Hn. Let me know. Once your side is clear, then I'll let Polka know."

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"Ano… Hotaru?" a nervous Ruka approached his wife who was double checking a blue print.

"You want something. Just tell me immediately, Ruka. You know I don't like wasting time." Hotaru calmly said.

"I was just thinking, how about going on a week vacation?"

"No. This following week I've got to finish the orders of the Elemental Kingdom."

"This is going to be harder than I thought it would be." Ruka scratched his head. "Why not let the apprentices in your lab finish it? After all, it's just the finishing touches. They are surely more than capable of doing that."

"I can't risk any mistake being made."

"You were the one who trained them, Hotaru. How could they make a mistake? They learned from the best teacher that there is."

"But still, I –"

"Please, Hotaru? You've been working yourself off for 24/7. You need a day for yourself. Just relax. Even robots and machines need to be recharged."

"No one will look after Kaito if we go on that vacation you're talking about."

"I'll take care of him. You go on a break with Mikan-chan. Even Natsume is getting worried about her. Just like you, she doesn't get any rest. So what do you say, Hotaru? A week's worth of break isn't that bad."

"One day."

"How about three days instead?" The animal lover tried to bargain. But much to his dismay, the inventor was firmly standing her ground.

"One day, Ruka. Take it or leave it."

"One day it is then. Thanks, Hotaru!" Ruka hugged his wife from behind. "Hey. No hugging while I'm working."

"Sorry about that."

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"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Polka, you've asked me that for twelve damn times already! We'll be fine."

"Don't worry too much, Mikan-chan. I'm here too. I'll help Natsume in any way I can." Ruka reassured the brunette while Hotaru just stared at him blankly. "I may not be as good as Hotaru, but I've got a year's worth of child rearing experience. It's bound to be useful, right?"

Mikan sighed in defeat. "Fine. Just remember, Natsume. Every morning, take the twins out for some sunlight. They get hungry every two hours. Don't forget to burp them after feeding them. Make sure the water is not too hot when giving them a bath. When Miya-chan gets fussy, carry her while making light bounces. When Mitsu-chan gets fussy, pat her lightly and continuously on her thighs while singing a lullaby. Did you get all that?"

"Yeah, yeah, just go already."

Mikan kissed each of her twins' foreheads. "I'm going to miss you, my little angels. Mommy will be back tomorrow."

"Oi, you're forgetting something."

"I didn't forget about you." Mikan replied with a giggle then kissed Natsume. "If anything goes wrong, call me. Okay?"

"Hn."

Running impatient, Hotaru dragged Mikan out of the palace walls. Both of them are off for an overnight stay in the most prestigious hotel by the beach.

"Finally!" an exasperated Ruka said as he plopped himself onto the couch. "I'll just stay like this for five minutes before making Kaito's baby food. Lucky for you, you're still stuck with breast milk or baby formula."

"Hn. Ruka, I have a question."

"What?"

"Can you remember what Polka just said?"

"A little. Why?"

"Could you repeat after the words 'every morning'? My ears shut down after that."

Ruka just laughed it off. He was savoring the very few minutes of not having to do any royal duties and not to mention the fact that his son was still asleep. "Let's just figure it out when the situation demands it."

And then, a cry was heard. "Looks like your son is demanding a situation now."

Ruka groaned and grumpily stood up. Both of them lazily went to the room where all the children are. And to their sheer shock, Kaito was no longer in the room.

"Kaito? Where are you, little buddy?"

"He was just here a few minutes ago." Natsume said while searching through the walk-in closet.

"Maybe he wandered off somewhere. You search to the left while I search to the right. He couldn't have gotten too far." Ruka instructed.

"Hn."