IN THE FUTURE

"Okasaan!" A gurgling ball of blonde hair tumbled onto the giant plush futon laid on the floor.

"Otosan! Okasaan! Wake up! It's time to go! Wake up!" Shaking the two sleeping figures violently, Hana could hardly contain his excitement. He had been waiting for the last two weeks, unable to sleep at night because of the trip his father had promised him today.

"Mmmmm Hana-chan…five more minutes…" Mumbling under the sheets, Yoh tried unsuccessfully to get rid of the jumping bundle of energy that was currently all over his head. He felt small hands tug on his hair, pull up his closed eyelids and tasted something like a…foot?

Trying to hide himself under the covers didn't work either. A moment later he felt the same small hands pull on his ears and lips, turning his face into an awkward lopsided grin.

"Ew otosan, you look so ugly like that." Hana proclaimed, a hand in his father's mouth whilst the other tugged on his opposite ear.

"Hana, don't disturb your father." Hearing his mother's voice, Hana immediately let go of his father's face, before moving over to his mother's warmth for a hug. She opened her arms and gave him a kiss on the temple, stroking her son's unkempt bed hair.

"Okasaan, can we go now please please please please please?"

"Ok, just give your father and I a few moments to get ready. Will you help us to make some toast?"

"Hai!" Upon hearing his mother's words, the eager seven year old bounced out the room, leaving as quickly as he came. Anna turned to the sleeping form beside her, stifling a yawn in the process. His hair was as messy as ever. Both of them even slept the same, with mouths gaping open. One of these days he was going to choke on a fly in his sleep.

Like father, like son.

"Yoh. Time to get up. Hana is making breakfast."

Slowly but surely, Yoh opened his eyes, squinting as he sat up on the side of the bed. He slept messily, with the covers on his side crumpled and all over the place. His shirt had ridden up in his sleep, exposing a little of his lean stomach. Anna got up and made her side of the bed, before going to the washroom to get herself ready. When she got back, she found him lying face down on the covers, snoring softly.

"Asakura Yoh!"

In a sudden abrupt motion, the brunette sprang to his feet and disappeared into the bathroom, all in a matter of seconds. Anna smiled at his exaggerated men in this house were always so obedient.

Striding towards the kitchen, she saw a small bob of blonde hair stick out under the table. He must have been sneaking candy again. Pretending not to notice, Anna walked over to the cupboard that housed the cookie jar. Sure enough, it was nowhere to be seen. Looking over to the counter, she found five pieces of burnt toast left messily on a plate with a slab of butter on the side.

Sighing, she cleaned up the mess, brewing some hot coffee in the process. Putting 4 pieces into the gigantic toaster, she turned the dial to the appropriate setting before checking up on the coffee. Turning towards the table, Anna stood and trainer her eyes on the bob of blonde hair that hadn't moved an inch.

"Hana."

The bob of hair disappeared suddenly, before two mischievous eyes peeked out from the opposite side of the table, catching her stern look in the process.

"Where is the jar of cookies?"

Groaning, the blonde boy crawled out from under the table, carrying a small glass jar. He didn't say a word, but looked innocently remorseful.

"What did I tell you about eating those cookies in the morning?"

"But I was hungry and the shitty toast-"

"Excuse me, language."

"Sorry." Placing the jar on the table, Hana clambered into his seat and sat quietly. Anna crossed her arms and sat opposite him, still looking at him sternly.

"You didn't leave any for your father?" Pointing to the now empty jar, she was disappointed Yoh didn't have a chance to sample her cookies. It had been the first time she had made them too. Oh well, they were as flat as wafers anyway.

"They were too nice!" Her son broke out into a mischievous grin, forgetting that he was in trouble in the first place.

"Nice try. Don't think you're not in trouble anymore. I'll think about it." Upon hearing her words, the grin faded, replaced by a cute boyish pout. Anna steeled herself and was proud that she didn't sway. Her son was so cute. But of course she wouldn't say that.

"Think about what?" Yoh bumbled into the kitchen, seemingly still sleepy even after his morning shower. Walking over to his son to tousle his hair, Yoh took two mugs and poured piping coffee into the both of them, one for him and Anna. Handing over her mug, he took the opportunity to give her a kiss on the temple, before settling into the seat between the two of them.

"Ew, why do you guys have to kiss all the time it's disgus-"

"Hana, stop complaining and bring the toast here." The boy did as his mother instructed, obediently taking the toast out of the toaster and retrieved the butter from the fridge.

"Can we eat out for lunch Mom?"

As if appalled by his suggestion, Anna snatched the butter out of his hands.

"What's wrong with the food I pack? It's nutritious and tasty. And sav-"

"Saves us money." Finishing her sentence, Yoh winked at his son, hearing him groan in protest.

"But all we ever eat is rice! Curry rice, teriyaki rice, sushi ri-"

"No buts Hana. You will eat what I bring or you won't eat at all." Sipping on her coffee, Anna raised her cup in mock celebration, seeing her son's face twist in annoyance.

Five minutes and two pieces of toasts later, the adults ate quietly, both listening to Hana recount his dreams and the adventures he had in them. He was an animated child, speaking boisterously and wildly, full of energy. Anna never paid attention to his nonsensical stories, but instead noticed how her son and husband got along so well. She was the quieter parent, listening and observing their fantastical conversations. Yoh would always make up stories of his own dreams to compare with their son, which often got Hana even more excited till he made a mess of his food. When Hana was younger and still a baby, Anna's favourite sight was to watch her husband feed their gurgling, lively son. He would make all sorts of cooing noises and airplanes noises and ship sounds which Hana absolutely loved. The boy would always laugh and squeal in excitement, sometimes until his food spewed out and made a mess everywhere, usually onto both of their faces. It warmed her heart like nothing else.

Today, Hana was telling them how he met a dog that could talk that lent him his NES Game Station (Hana had been wanting one for a long time), along with Doraemon and Pikachu and how all of them got stuck in his room, trying to finish his school homework. Yoh then told him how it couldn't be possible that Pikachu was there because he appeared in his dreams too. The pair then continued debating that only one of the Pikachus in their dreams was the real one. Anna smiled to herself, not knowing why she found this conversation so lovely and retarded at the same time. She knew that if they were allowed to continue, this nonsensical conversation could go on for ages. Inwardly though, it was extremely endearing. How Hana got hysterical and animated whenever he recounted his crazy dreams to his father, or the way Yoh bonded with his son by telling him funny stories of his own.

"Hana, eat your food." Pointing to his buttered toast, Anna watched her son wolf down his breakfast, talking and chewing all at the same time. She caught a glance at her husband, who had been busy wiping Hana's mouth and getting rid of the mess. It was times like these Anna found herself surprised that her life turned out to be so beautiful. When she was a child all she ever wanted was to live quietly alone, where no one could disturb her and be hurt by her powers. Making friends was far from her mind and yet, here she was, with a small family of her own. She never expected to fall in love, never expected to stay in love, never expected to have her own son out of her love with another person. Sometimes it felt so surreal, when she tousled Hana's hair and kissed him goodnight, or when her son would come running to the door squealing in delight on the weekends because he didn't have to go to school.

The day Hana was born, Anna had been alone. Yoh was on a tour of the country on some official business from Hao. She remembered preparing for bed when the contractions suddenly came. She sat and counted, looked down at her feet. Water was everywhere. Clutching her stomach in pain, she made her way to the phone and dialled for the hospital.

An excruciating six hours later and Hana Asakura was born. Anna never thought her heart could love something more than she ever did, but the first time her eyes laid upon her son Anna felt like her chest was going to explode.

The best part was recognising how Hana was the perfect blend of her and Yoh, with her sandy blonde hair and her husband's brown eyes. There was no mistaking it, this was her son. Their son.

When Yoh came bursting through the hospital ward, with his shirt sticking to his sweaty back and his hair in a mess, he looked over at her, then to the small cot beside her bed, then back at her again. Anna didn't know what to say, what could have been said. So she just smiled and cried, yet he understood everything.

She would never forget the way his eyes shone when he held Hana for the first time. Gingerly, he picked him up from the crib, hands awkward but gentle. For the next ten minutes the room was silent, except for Anna's soft sniffling. She took a sleeping Hana from his arms, then gazed upon Yoh's face. His expression was one of shock, yet, full with joy. When he came closer and pulled the both of them into his embrace, Anna knew that this was where she wanted to be for the rest of her life. With her husband, and with their son.

Like what Ryu had said, Anna had finally found her 'Best Place'.

A loud shrill accompanied by gurgling laughter broke her out of her stupor. Yoh was chasing their son with a soup ladle to the bathroom just to get him to brush his teeth. Unorthodox, but effective.

Biting on a piece of buttered toast, Anna let her eyes wander over to her husband. They had been together for more than fifteen years now, since their childhood. He had grown to become very handsome, with his tan brown skin and long hair, which he tied in a messy topknot whenever he got too lazy to tie it. He was a good looking man and Anna knew it. She never failed to notice how women would walk past supermarket aisles twice to get a better look at her husband. Some were braver and had attempted to chat Yoh up, with their not-so-subtle flirting mannerisms. Anna always left smiling of course, because Yoh was entirely oblivious. All this years and he was still an idiot. Once, a lady gave him her number because she wanted to go out to dinner with him. Yoh then brought the number to Anna and asked if she would be free next weekend to have the dinner together with the lady. It took every ounce of self-control not to burst out laughing when she saw the shocked and humiliated expression on the lady's face. Yoh of course, didn't notice anything.

She let her eyes wander over the muscled contours of his body, trailing his tanned limbs, blushing at the thought of how good he felt against her last night when they laid in bed, limbs intertwined. Even after all these years, the desire for him hadn't wavered, it had only intensified. She watched him walk back to the kitchen, eyes still drooping and aimless from waking up. Yawning loudly, the brunette sat back in the chair, taking a sip of the coffee. Catching his gaze, the couple sat silently, looking at one another. Yoh didn't make an attempt to speak and simply smiled at her. Anna was the first to look away, still unknowingly shy for some absurd reason. Even after marriage, there were moments like these that made her feel like the ten year old girl who had first fallen in love.

"Any of your cookies left?" Yoh asked, in between bites and sips of his coffee. Anna shook her head, shrugging in response.

"You know how it is, early birds get the cookies."

Laughing, Yoh looked over at the empty jar, only finding crumbs of the delicious treats. It had been almost emptied completely.

"You made them too flat didn't you?"

"I know! You would think that something like a cookie would be easy to make but it's so difficult. Maybe I read those English recipes wrong."

"Did you add enough cookie dough?"

"Well…I figured if I used less dough per cookie I could have more cookies in total." Sheepishly responding, Anna glared at her laughing husband. He was clearly enjoying this. Anna vowed to make the fattest cookie ever and give it to her idiot husband.

"Yes yes, laugh all you want. I'll have you know that I'm making some sushi for lunch later. And maybe I'll forget which ones have wasabi." Retaliating with a snark comment of her own, Anna smirked at her husband who immediately had stopped laughing.

"You wouldn't dare."

Leaning in towards him, her breath hot on his cheek, Anna whispered into his ear, "Oh I would. Be very careful, Asakura Yoh."

Getting out of her seat and slapping him on the back, Anna emptied her mug in the sink and proceeded to check on her son, before suddenly being tugged backwards to end up face to face with her husband, their lips only inches apart.

"I love you." Feeling his lips leave a brief kiss on hers and hearing his sudden confession sent Anna into a mildly confused daze. Those three words rarely surfaced during their conversations as a couple, which only made Anna's heart fluster even more. His eyes were so brown…really really brown…

"Anna?" Yoh exclaimed, his stupid perfect face still inches away from hers. She really had to stop with the daydreaming lapses.

Closing her eyes, the blonde pulled him towards her, deepening her kiss. It was sweet and bitter. The coffee needed more sugar.

"You're an idiot." I love you.

Smiling, he replied, "I know." I love you too.

-TBC

Guys, here's a late chapter. Felt some inspiration flow, hope you like this lighthearted ones. Thanks for the reviews, I'm happy some people still read this!

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