Lum groaned, feeling completely miserable. Waking up in ice water was certainly not the best way to start the morning, and finding out that you had given your husband a series of first and second degree burns on his hands and arms certainly hadn't helped.
She shakily emerged from the bathroom that morning to find not only her father, but also the Moroboshis, Ran, and even Oyuki sprawled out in various positions across the living room. Even propped up against the television stand, Oyuki had somehow managed to achieve an elegant looking pose. The ice water bath suddenly made sense, but Lum wasn't sure why Ran had come as well.
Her mother helped Lum change into some dry clothes upstairs, then got busy rummaging up some breakfast. In the meantime the crowd downstairs had started waking up and it sounded like things were quickly going back to normal. Ran-chan's voice rang out harshly a few times, then was silenced suddenly.
Ataru glanced towards the floor nervously. "Oyuki?" he asked.
"Probably," Lum agreed. She shivered slightly as a cold chill permeated the room. "Definitely."
"Think we should go down there?" he asked tentatively.
"Nah, Mom will keep them from getting too rowdy," Lum replied while scooting closer to Ataru. She looked down guiltily at his bandaged hands. "Do they hurt?" she asked hesitantly.
"Whatever your mother put on them made them kind of numb," he replied. "They're fine."
"I wish you hadn't tried carrying me like that," she said with regret.
"I didn't have a choice," he told her," you were burning up."
"Oyuki could have cooled me down no matter where I was," she insisted.
Ataru glared at her. "You don't get it, do you?" He looked away. "By the time Oyuki got here, it could have been too late."
He swallowed as he remembered the scene before the tub had overflowed enough that they had to go upstairs. "You were hot enough that the bath water was steaming," he said weakly. "And you wouldn't wake up."
Lum wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Darling," she said. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"Idiot," he muttered. "That doesn't matter."
Ataru was startled to feel a gentle nip at his ear.
"It matters to me," she lightly scolded him. She nestled her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Darling, you are my world," she murmured quietly.
"Don't say such things," he gruffly replied, getting embarrassed.
"It's true," she said softly. "I can't even imagine being without you."
"Then stop being selfish," he replied, brushing her hair away from her face. "I'm not about to risk losing you either."
"It's going to be lonely tonight," Lum pointed out after a few minutes.
Ataru raised his head. "I suppose so," he agreed. "We've got enough room to put out both futons though, so it's not like you'll be in the closet."
"That's true," she said. "Still not close enough though."
The sound of someone running up the stairs alerted the two that their peaceful cuddling session was about to be interrupted. Lum growled in annoyance, but resolved not to be budged from her Darling's side.
The door flew open, revealing a lightly frosted and furious Ran. She glared at the couple for a moment, then slammed the door behind her. Settling daintily down on the floor nearby, she continued to glare at them.
"Ran-chan!" Ataru happily greeted her after a moment of awkward silence.
Ran gave Ataru a curious look; she was used to him eagerly rushing at her in greeting. He seemed satisfied to stay by Lum's side, oddly enough.
"Ran-chan, are you alright?" Lum asked delicately.
"How could I be all right with that ice queen lurking downstairs?" Ran hissed. "She already tried to freeze poor Ran-chan once," she explained, switching to her cute voice.
"What did you do to make her mad?" Lum asked, not buying the innocent act.
"What do you mean, what did I do?" Ran demanded, showing her fangs once again. "Why do you assume I did something?"
"Because Oyuki-chan doesn't get mad unless you push her," Lum stated with confidence.
"Darling, everyone's ganging up on Ran-chan, and after I went to all that trouble just to help Lum-chan," she helplessly protested to Ataru.
He simply looked away. "I'm not getting involved in that," he said casually. "But thanks again, Ran-chan. I really appreciate your help last night."
Lum nodded. "Thank you Ran-chan, you're a really good friend to me."
Ran looked somewhat pacified. "Of course Ran-chan will help out her dearest friend and Darling whenever she can."
"That's good to hear," Ataru told her. "By the way, how's Rei doing?"
Ran blushed and smiled. "Rei-san's doing really good, he has a really healthy appetite for Ran-chan's cooking." She snuck a glare at Lum, then continued on in her sweet voice. "Rei-san is so cute!"
Ataru smiled, relieved she was still keeping the big oaf occupied. "I'm happy for you, Ran-chan," he said with a grin. "You two make a good couple."0
"Don't we," Ran agreed, blushing a deep red. "Someday maybe Ran-chan and Rei-san will get married." She giggled. "Rei-san's so brave and handsome."
She suddenly stood up. "Ran-chan has a date tonight, so she needs to go home and start cooking!" She giggled again. "See you later, Darling, Lum-chan."
After Ran had skipped merrily out of the room, Lum looked at Ataru in amazement. "How did you do that?" she asked. "I can barely have a conversation with her that doesn't end in her storming off."
He shrugged. "She doesn't see me as competition for Rei, I guess." He looked away with an innocent look. "Plus I never wet her bed and blamed it on her either."
"Darling!" Lum said with a deep blush. "I was only a little girl when that happened."
"I dunno," he said looking up as if in deep thought. "The futon was awful damp one morning."
"Darling?" she asked, panicking.
Ataru snickered. "You're easy to mess with."
She narrowed her eyes and bit his shoulder. "That wasn't funny!" she growled.
"Owww," he protested, trying to inspect under his collar for teeth marks. "That was a bit harsh."
"You deserved it," she said, turning away in a huff. "Honestly, Darling, you are so mean to me sometimes."
He continued looking at his shoulder ruefully. "So says the one who just bit an injured guy over a dumb joke," he complained.
She didn't turn around. "Sorry," she grumpily apologized after a few minutes.
Ataru turned away as well. "I don't think I could accept an insincere apology like that," he retorted, putting on an insulted air.
Lum sighed. "I'm really sorry," she said more gently, turning back around and putting her hands on his shoulders. "How can I make it up to you, Darling?"
"I don't know," he said, looking away still. "That was a pretty rotten thing to do."
She leaned in close. "Darling," she whispered directly into his ear.
He shivered as her voice sent tingles up his spine. Suddenly he felt her carefully pull his collar aside and her lips touch gently to his shoulder where she had bit him. She moved up his neck, giving him a series of kisses, then nipped playfully at his ear lobe.
"Better now?" she teased him.
He dumbly nodded.
"Good," she said, pressing herself against him. She ran her fingers lazily across his chest. "You're easy to mess with too."
He looked at her with a grin. "I just know how to play my cards right," he replied with a chuckle.
"Darling, you are terrible," responded softly, not pausing in her gentle caresses. "But I love you." Lum clasped her hands around his shoulders and pulled him gently back until his head was resting firmly against her breasts.
Ataru turned his head to the side, feeling her comforting warmth pressed against his cheek. "It's going to be embarrassing if someone sees us like this," he commented, not budging.
"Oh let them be see," she responded, holding him tight. "If we have to sleep apart, I'm going to have to just snuggle my Darling while we're still awake."
"I've got no problems with that at all," he replied, content in her arms.
A sharp rap on the door interrupted them for a second time. Sighing, Ataru straightened up and told them to come in.
This time their visitor was Oyuki. "Your mother sent me to tell you that breakfast is ready," she said.
"Thanks, Oyuki-chan," Ataru said. "Are you hungry?" he inquired, turning to Lum.
"Starving," she said, hopping to her feet. "Come on, Darling, let's go eat."
The followed Oyuki back downstairs and found everyone was already gathered around the table. With seven people it was a bit crowded, but they all managed to find a comfortable spot. With Invader involved the meal was a bit more hectic than usual, but his wife managed to keep him relatively under control.
Lum managed to occupy herself by feeding Ataru, as his hands were still wrapped up. He grumbled about it a bit, but didn't have much choice, as holding his chopstick was an impossible task.
As soon as he finished eating, a decidedly sleepy looking Mr. Moroboshi rushed off, hoping he wouldn't be late. A few minutes later Invader regretfully informed them that he needed to get back to Oniboshi as well. After giving both Lum and Ataru a final checking over and a hug goodbye, Lum's mother went on ahead.
"Call us if anything happens," her father said one last time as he headed out the door. "We'll be here as fast as we can."
"I know, Dad," Lum said, starting to get annoyed with his fretting. "Don't worry so much."
Invader chuckled, then waved goodbye as he ascended into the sky, presumably towards their waiting shuttle.
Lum sighed in relief as they disappeared from view. "I hate when they treat me like a child," she confided in Ataru.
"They're just worried about you," he said, putting his arm carefully around her. "Last night was pretty rough."
"I know, Darling," she replied. "But I'm fine now."
Oyuki startled the two by suddenly speaking up from directly behind them. "You are both lucky to have parents who care for you," she said quietly. "It has been quite some time since I have had anyone to worry over me like that."
Lum looked at her childhood friend, surprised to hear her speak of anything personal. "What do you mean?" she asked, but Oyuki had already turned away, dismissing the conversation.
"I regret that I must also be getting back," Oyuki said. "Lum, if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call." She paused. "Please give Ran my apologies if you see her soon. I possibly overreacted to her observation that I snore."
She elegantly waved as she left them, heading back upstairs. The sound of the closet door sliding open then firmly shut signaled her departure.
"I guess that's everybody," Ataru said, sounding slightly relieved.
"I suppose so," Lum replied, lost in thought. "You know, Oyuki has never mentioned her parents before. Even in elementary school I never heard anything about them."
"Who raised her then?" Ataru asked, getting curious.
"I suppose her ladies in waiting," Lum answered. "But Oyuki never talks about such matters."
"I see," Ataru replied. "Well, she is the Queen of Neptune, doesn't that mean that her parents would have to have died at some point?"
"I suppose so," she answered. "I'd never really thought about it before because she's been the queen for as long as I've known her."
"Is that right?" Ataru said quietly. "That must have been lonely."
"Yeah," Lum agreed. "But she never lets on about it. She's always been very reserved."
"I can imagine," Ataru responded. "I guess she has to be."
A few hours later Ataru found himself alone in the house. His mother had left to do some shopping a little while before, and Lum was up tinkering with something in the UFO. She'd asked him if he wanted to come with her, but he had declined, wanting to just relax for a little while.
Now he was starting to regret that decision. The itching of his hands was starting to drive him mad, and he couldn't even scratch them. Mrs. Invader had left strict instructions not to take off the bandages until the next morning, and he wasn't going to risk it. He tried watching television for a while, but quickly got bored and returned to his room.
After giving up trying to read a magazine after a few minutes, he finally settled for just listening to some music. After clumsily getting a record on the player, he sat down and closed his eyes, trying to relax.
It wasn't working. He opened his eyes a bit and stared irritably at the wall. Even Jariten would have been a welcome distraction at this point, but he was still off visiting his parents on Uru. Upon finding himself thinking it wouldn't even be so bad if Cherry stopped by, Ataru realized he needed to find something to do.
Giving up hanging around home as a bust, he slipped on his shoes and went for a walk. He found himself soon headed for the park, though not for any particular reason. Reaching the central fountain, he settled down on the edge and looked at the clock overhead. It read only a quarter after three.
Ataru sighed and stared at the ground. Lum had said she would probably be back around five, meaning he still had almost two hours to waste. He wondered exactly when he had started depending on her so much for company.
A flurry of light footsteps clipping down a nearby pathway grabbed his attention. A little ways off he saw a redhead carrying a covered basket scurry by. He watched quietly as she disappeared into a tree, undoubtedly on her way to meet Rei for their date.
That reminded him, it had been a while since he had met Lum here for their regular dates. Lately they had just been setting out from home together. He grinned as he glanced at the clock again, remembering how many times they had gotten into arguments from his showing up late.
As time wore on, Ataru stayed in that spot, mutely observing the goings on around him. At one point he recognized Inaba's unmistakable form in the distance, no doubt looking for Shinobu. He didn't tend to hang around town if she wasn't nearby.
Seeing Inaba reminded Ataru of Mendou's party, now almost a month in the past. He hadn't seen much of Mendou since then, though rumors said that he was busy getting better acquainted with Asuka. Ataru chuckled as he realized that meant his presence would not be welcome for a while, the girl being utterly terrified of him.
This thought alerted him to the fact that even though he had a prime opportunity to chase girls, he was completely ignoring it. He briefly considered giving it a go for old times sake, but decided against it. He really wasn't in the mood for such pursuits these days, and it wouldn't be worth it if Lum found out.
Resigning himself to boredom, Ataru idly tried singing a song he'd heard a few days ago. Unsurprisingly he was unable to remember most of the words and quickly resorted to just humming it instead.
Another long chunk of time passed without anything remotely interesting occurring. He glanced impatiently up at the clock again, and then did a double take. A pair of slender legs crossed at the ankles was blocking the face of the clock. He followed them up and saw Lum sitting on top, silently watching him. Seeing that she had been spotted, she gave a little wave.
"Hey, Lum!" he called out. "What are you doing up there?"
"Oh, nothing," she replied as she hopped down. Alighting gracefully before him, she took a seat by his side. "I came looking for you, Darling."
"How long have you been up there?" he hesitantly asked.
"Just a little while," she responded. "I got done a little faster than I thought." She nestled up closer to his side. "I went home and you weren't there. I was worried."
"I can take care of myself," he said, pretending to be irritated. "Anyway, I just came out for some air."
Lum smiled and carefully took his arm. "Get bored?" she casually asked him.
"A bit," Ataru admitted. "There wasn't much on TV."
"Pretty quiet out here too," Lum observed. "Seems odd after how hectic this morning was."
"That's true," he agreed. "I did see Ran-chan and Inaba pass by earlier."
"Ah," Lum said in response. "I guess everyone's just busy with their own lives," she noted.
"I suppose so," he replied. "Ran-chan looked really happy."
"She must have been going to see Rei," Lum guessed. "I'm glad she's happy."
Ataru nodded in agreement. The last thing they wanted was Ran focusing on their relationship instead of her own.
"Mother is back home," Lum informed him. "She said dinner would be a bit scarce tonight due to the big breakfast this morning."
"Maybe we should go grab a bite," Ataru replied. "I could go for some ramen."
Lum nodded. "That sounds good," she said.
Ataru stood up and offered her his arm, which she quickly accepted. They walked together out of the park, and were halfway to their favorite ramen joint when Lum suddenly stopped.
"Darling, do you think you'll be able to hold your chopsticks?" she asked him.
He grimaced, having forgotten about the bandages on his hands. "Not a chance," he admitted. "How about Takoyaki?" he suggested. "You could help me easier with that."
"Sure!" Lum said, delighted that he was so readily accepting her help. "You want to go to Neko Restaurant?"
"Yeah, they're the best," he agreed, already drooling over the thought of the fried octopus balls.
They altered their course a bit and soon arrived at the restaurant. Ataru ordered enough for both of them while Lum secured their booth.
Returning with their order, Ataru settled down next to her.
"This is a real pain," he whined, looking at the bandages. "I can't wait until I can take these off."
"It's just until tomorrow," Lum replied, picking up a piece by its tooth stick. She held it out to Ataru expectantly.
He blushed glanced around nervously, obviously embarrassed. In the end hunger won out, and he quickly snatched the Takoyaki from her.
She ate a bite herself. "Darling, you worry about what people think too much," she scolded him as she held up another one.
"It's embarrassing," he protested, but ate another piece.
"If our roles were reversed, wouldn't you help me?" she asked him between bites.
"Of course," he replied. "But you're a girl."
"Well I'm also your wife," Lum responded tenderly. "What's so embarrassing about a wife helping her injured husband eat?"
Ataru thought about it for a moment. "I suppose nothing," he said, taking another bite from her. "But I never said it was entirely rational."
Lum sighed and ate another piece herself. "Darling, you are silly."
He only grumbled in reply, but didn't stop eating.
When they got home, Ataru found an odd looking little console set up beside his record player.
"What's this?" he asked Lum.
She grinned. "This is what I was working on earlier. It can relay calls from our UFO." She started playing with the controls. "This way if we have another emergency we can get help faster." She looked guilty as she continued. "Also this way I won't miss so many calls."
A small screen popped up from the top of the console. She hit a few buttons and the words 'No new messages' scrolled across the screen.
"So you can call your parents with this?" Ataru asked, amazed at the small size of the device.
"Yep," Lum said proudly. "We can call anyone on the galactic network with this."
She made another selection, this time bringing up a list of names. "See, I've already got everyone's number programmed in."
"I see," he said appreciatively. "You've been busy."
"I really should have built one a long time ago," Lum said, fiddling with it a bit more. She paused for a moment, but hesitantly continued. "I was kind of worried you would be bugging my friends all the time."
"I don't bug people," Ataru responded irritably.
"I trust that you won't now," Lum responded, trying to reassure him. "But can you imagine a few months ago if you'd had a direct line to Oyuki-chan or Benton-chan?"
Ataru thought about it a moment, then decided to change the subject. "Anyways, how do you make a call?"
She quickly stepped him through all of the basic functions, slightly surprised at how fast he seemed to pick it up.
"Why don't you try going through the steps to call someone?" she suggested after a few minutes. "I haven't fully tested it yet."
He puzzled his way through the commands, Lum making the actual selections due to his bandaged hands. "Who do you want me to try?" he asked her after a moment.
"Ran-chan's probably still out," she said, trying to think. "Plus she's awfully close. Let's try my mother."
Ataru raised an eyebrow, knowing he wouldn't understand a word the Oni woman said. He relayed the remaining steps back to Lum, and the screen went blank.
"Did I do it wrong?" he asked nervously, peering over her shoulder.
"No," Lum said confidently. "It just takes a minute to make the connection.
The screen suddenly cleared up as a gentle tone sounded from it. After a minute Lum's mother appeared. She looked surprised to see them in Ataru's room.
"Hi, Mom," Lum greeted her. "I got a relay set up, and we were just testing it out."
"Hello," Lum's mother responded cheerfully. "I'm glad you finally set one up, I didn't like not being able to easily reach you." She glanced at Ataru. "How are his hands doing?" she asked.
"Mom wants to know how your hands are feeling," Lum translated.
"Itchy," he replied. "They don't actually hurt though."
Mrs. Invader smiled. "Tell him to try not to scratch. It's a good sign that they itch, that means they are healing."
Lum translated her instructions back to her husband.
Ataru grinned. "Don't worry, I'm not scratching."
"Now, how are you feeling, dear?" Lum's mother asked her next.
"I've felt normal all day," Lum replied.
"That's great," her mother responded. "Now don't forget what I told you this morning."
"I won't," Lum said patiently.
"Alright then," her mother said. "I need to get back to making dinner, call me if anything comes up."
"Ok, Mom, I'll talk to you later," Lum said.
The screen went back to the original menu. "That wasn't so hard," Ataru commented.
"You seem to have a knack for it," Lum pointed out.
He blushed slightly. "It wasn't that hard." Looking at the device again, he glanced up at her. "Did you build this yourself?" he asked.
"Yeah," Lum admitted, "but I had to look up some parts."
"That's pretty amazing," he commented.
"It's not all that complicated," Lum said shyly. "It just seems that way here." She paused for a moment, getting an idea. "Have you thought about studying computers?"
"Not really," Ataru replied warily. "The most complicated things I've even played with are the games at the arcade." He thought for a moment. "We can't afford to buy one or anything, all I've ever been able to get is my game watch."
He suddenly furrowed his brow. "That thing hasn't worked right since you borrowed it," he reminded her.
"This relay unit is probably more advanced than most of earth's current ones," Lum continued, glossing over his complaint. "Give me a few days and I'll try to set something up that you can play with."
Ataru looked dubious. "That stuff sounds kind of boring," he replied.
"Just try it out, you might enjoy it," she told him patiently. "I'll put some games on it too," she promised. "Better ones than your game watch had."
His eyes lit up. "That'd be neat," he admitted. "Would they be like those games on that Famicom system they keep advertising?"
She vaguely remembered seeing some commercials for it. "Probably just as good," she replied. "I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Lum," he said sincerely.
"You'll have to learn how to make it work before you can play anything," she warned him. "I'll go ahead and order the components tonight."
"How do you get the cash for this stuff?" he asked her curiously. It hadn't really occurred to him before that she was constantly fiddling with new alien gadgets, but still relied on the meager allowance his parents gave each of them for eating and buying clothes.
"Dad set up an account for me with the Space Telephone Shopping Network," she replied. "Every month he puts some into it so that I can buy stuff for myself."
"Ah," Ataru replied, remembering the time she had gotten a robot delivered from them.
"I've already replaced a lot of the tools I lost in my old UFO," she proudly informed him.
Lum quickly researched and ordered the necessary components after dinner. With a sigh she finished up and went to lay out both their futons on the floor, making sure she was leaving enough space between them that she wouldn't shock her husband in her sleep.
Ataru looked at the two futons sadly. Even if it was temporary, it was going to be hard getting used to sleeping apart after this long. He sighed and climbed in, trying to be careful of his hands.
Waiting until Ataru was settled in, Lum turned off the lights and crawled into her long unused futon. She scooted over to the side closest to him and closed her eyes, hoping she could get to sleep fast.
A few minutes later she opened her eyes and glanced over at Ataru. In the moonlight she could tell he wasn't sleeping either. He appeared to be staring moodily at the ceiling, in fact.
"Darling, are you ok?" she asked hesitantly.
He glanced over at her, his expression softening. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "Just kind of weird feeling to be sleeping alone."
"I know what you mean," she agreed. "At least we can still sleep in the same room."
"That's true," he replied with a yawn. "But it's not the same."
"Just try to get to sleep, Darling," Lum told him. "I'll make it up to you in the morning."
He smiled and closed his eyes. "I can't wait," he sleepily replied. "Good night, Lum."
"Good night, Darling," she softly replied, closing her own eyes. Even if she missed his warmth, his nearby presence and the sound of his steady breathing was enough to eventually lull her to sleep.
A few minutes after he heard Lum fall asleep, Ataru's eyes popped back open. Glad his pretense had worked, he smiled as he watched her sleeping face for a few minutes. The next thing he knew he was starting to drift off as well. His last sleepy thoughts before he dozed off were that he hoped morning would come soon.