Chapter Twenty-One:

Fuji sat at his desk, Takumi leaning over him as he showed and highlighted fine print in vampire laws about nobles becoming romantically involved with common vampires... "Here." Takumi pointed out. "The eldest son, as heir to the family can give his permission for his sibling to become romantically involved with a 'common' vampire." he read out.

Tezuka looked over from where he sat with the twins. "If Syusuke deems you worthy of Yumiko, and involvement in the Fuji family, as heir, his permission is near indisputable."

"Correct," Takumi responded. "I am not sure if Lord Syusuke's taking of the Tezuka name would change anything as he will be joining your family." he moved to sit on a couch.

Fuji moved as well, sitting with Tezuka. "I would be surprised if it did, as I will still be a Fuji by birth."

Yumiko walked in, carrying a tray of champagne flutes filled with blood. Takumi got up and helped her, handing two of the champagne flutes to Fuji and Tezuka. "With the two marrying, Tezuka-kun will become a Fuji, he will be expected to perform his duties in the Fuji estates as he does the Tezuka estates. The same goes for Syusuke. Both estates get the same duties. It is rare for two males to marry, not unheard of, but rare. As for the daughters, for whatever reason, we do not get the same responsibilities. That is why marrying into another noble family is not that complicated." she specified.

"Meaning, Syusuke and I will both have to deem you worthy," Tezuka said, understanding. Vampire politics were so old school, it was headache inducing.

"Great." Takumi sighed, burying his face in his hands. He leaned back as Yumiko stretched over the back of the couch to comb her fingers through his hair. "My lords?"

Tezuka took a long sip of blood before even he acknowledged Takumi. "You have been our tutor for almost a century, you have devoted the majority of your life serving the Kikumaru family, you have shown nothing but devotion toward Lady Yumiko..." he began.

"...You helped save Kunimitsu and traveled to Kyoto with us, not only to continue with our lessons but to help Yumiko. You have helped care for the boys, and allow us to interrupt lessons to care for them. You stood by Yumiko's side after she birthed the twins." Fuji added.

"As far as we are concerned, you are worthy to be involved in our family," Tezuka said last, earning a nod from Fuji.

Yumiko shrieked and nearly jumped over the back of the couch to hug the two. "Thank you, brother! Thank you, Tezuka-kun!" she cooed. She even stopped to kiss the twins, who just stared at her.

Fuji smiled. "You don't need to thank us. Just go, be happy. I will talk to Mother and Father." he said and watched as the two shared a chaste kiss. "How sweet." he hummed. "Speaking of sweet, where is my pussycat?"

"Home, with Shuichiro," Tezuka responded. "Shall we?" Fuji nodded.

Tezuka and Fuji walked in the front door just in time to hear Kikumaru scream, the accompanying smell of burning flesh and melting wax only meant one thing. Fuji looked up to his fiancè and smiled. They laid the twins down on a blanket and made their way into the sunroom. They stood in the doorway and watched.

Oishi and Kikumaru were too caught up in what they were doing, they had not noticed they had people watching. They could see Kikumaru was still reeling from the burn, but he put on a brave face, he held his crest over the flame. Those familiar words being whispered.

"Shuichiro, do you accept my claim of your being?" Kikumaru asked, his tone serious and sweet.

"Body, mind, and soul – My being is yours."

The look on Kikumaru's face as he lifted his crest, he didn't want to cause his lover pain, he was too sweet to have been born a vampire. He leaned forward, capturing Oishi's lips in a kiss as he pressed the crest into Oishi's chest, right over his heart. Oishi hissed.

Kikumaru broke the kiss and whispered 'sorry' half a dozen times. Oishi shook his head. "It's alright, Eiji. Perfectly alright," he responded. Kikumaru ripped the crest away, throwing it to the floor. They quickly bit down into each other's wrists, sealing the marks.

Fuji smiled, he wished he'd been there to see the whole thing. This was sweet as it was. He wondered if it looked just as sweet when he and Tezuka did this. He nudged Tezuka gently with his shoulder, and he was given a quick grin.

The newly claimed lovers shared an intimate kiss, before finally noticing they were not alone. "Fujiko!?" Kikumaru shrieked.

"Congratulations Eiji and Shuichiro. It is about time you two did this. I am happy for you both."

Tezuka simply nodded. "Congratulations." he then guided Fuji away so that they could have a moment to themselves.

The two fathers fetched their twins from the blanket and brought them to their room, laying them in their shared crib. After making sure the two were sleeping peacefully, they headed off to their own room. The two quickly changed into something more comfortable before heading back downstairs to sit with their friends.

Fuji no sooner sat down on the couch did Kikumaru plop down, using Fuji's lap as a pillow. "Why are you so comfortable?" Kikumaru asked as Fuji began stroking his hair.

"Because I have a permanent Eiji imprint on my lap," Fuji responded.

Tezuka's eyebrow arched upward and Oishi snorted.

Kikumaru shrugged. "How did it go with Takumi-Sensei?"

"We've given him our permission. He has been such a big part of the nobles. The Kikumaru estate, the academy, and even going out of his way to help us. He's worthy of a noble, in our opinion." Fuji responded, very gently dragging his fingers along Kikumaru's ear.

"We've?" Oishi asked.

"We are marrying soon, and we wear each other's claim. Syusuke already belongs to the Tezuka name, and soon he will carry the name along with the duties that go with it. I will not carry the name, but the same is expected of me. Therefore, I too make the decision in such a case." Tezuka explained.

Oishi nodded. "Then the same will be expected of me and Eiji one day." his eyes shifted to the redhead who grinned at him. "Eiji?"

"Nya?"

"Where's your kitten?"

Kikumaru shot up. "Good question." He took off up the stairs.

"Oh, now, why did you do that?" Fuji asked, missing the heat in his lap.

Oishi placed a finger against his lips, signaling the two to be quiet. Once he got an acknowledgment, he tossed a small black box at Fuji, who opened it and gasped, quickly showing it to Tezuka before returning it to him.

A squeak followed by an "aww" and then Kikumaru came back down the stairs. "She's sleeping with Aki-chan and Kazu-chan. I got a picture!" he said, sitting back down.

Oishi held up his hand. "Eiji."

"Nya?"

"Come here."

Kikumaru moved, sitting down on Oishi's lap. "What's wrong?"

Oishi chuckled. "Nothing." He placed his hand over Kikumaru's chest. "I've laid claim to you, you belong to me now, more so than you have all this time. However..." he handed the box to Kikumaru. Inside was a simple engagement ring. They were, by vampire law and tradition, engaged now... but Oishi wanted to take it one step further. "As vampires, the claiming equals engagement. However, to humans, they will not know this, I would..." he was cut off by Kikumaru's lips over his.

"Hush!" Kikumaru purred and allowed Oishi to slip the ring onto his finger. Humans will see the ring and know he was off limits. How sweet and possessive.

Fuji crawled onto Tezuka's lap, watching their friends, he purred quietly. Those two were so sickly sweet.

A/N: D'awww. How precious!