LAST
Then the red haired idiot
decided to dive bomb her
and carry her off to the
living room.

LAST
THIRTY-SEVEN

A light snore sounded closely behind her and Kennedy automatically turned her head to look at the cause of the noise. Bottle green eyes blinked and decidedly, the girl stole the television remote from Shuichi to change the channel.

He did not so much as twitch at this, so Kennedy flipped the channel over to an old 90's show on this late at night.

Shuichi had apparently fallen asleep in the middle of the movie they had been watching. It had even been his choice of movie too. One horror movie Kennedy had not really been too much a fan of watching. Not that it was too scary, it was just that those movies tended to be horribly predictable and she failed to see how people called them horror. The background music and storylines gave it away. But perhaps she grew up reading too many books, obsessed with horror for several years and that phase of genre was over in her life.

Kennedy curled onto her side more, resting her head onto the arm not wrapped around her waist. His arms were warm. His chest too. Kennedy smiled to herself and pulled Shuichi's arm tighter around her waist so that her back was pressed to his chest.

Comfy. She yawned.

While Shuichi and her still teased at each other, things had seemed to calm down the last month or so. It was very comfortable between them now. Kennedy rather enjoyed the moments of silence; times when they sat next to each other, he held her close, kissed her forehead, she had enough confidence and bravery to hold his hand…and how he tightened his grip a little and smiled at her. She loved that smile.

However, she could sometimes go without his male pride issues. Kennedy snorted. Earlier that night, Lynne and Ryan had come downstairs to join them for a while. Lynne immediately suggested playing Twister and Shuichi immediately turned red, coughing. Even Ryan knew better and grinned at Shuichi's reaction. Lynne was more prone to show off how much better Ryan and she were compared to the 'dysfunctional weird people'.

The second Shuichi understood it was the girls cheering on the boys and the boys cheering on the girls for which couple was better, he was determined to out due Ryan.

Much to Lynne's disappointment, Ryan lost. Much to Kennedy's disappointment, Shuichi won and construed it meant some sort of prize given to him to boost his male pride further.

Kennedy won against Lynne and construed it meant something else entirely. Champions of each round go up against each other. But not in a game of Twister. This was the point when Lynne and Ryan left, shaking their heads at the older pair of the Malone household.

Kennedy had gleefully spent the next half hour or so watching Shuichi run around the backyard, chased down by water, until he caved and called out 'uncle'.

Then the red haired idiot decided to dive bomb her and carry her off to the living room. He did not let go no matter how much Kennedy pounded her fists into his back. Okay, she was shrieking and laughing the whole way, not even hitting him hard. She liked teasing back when he got playful like that. It was a side she normally got to see only when they were alone, as though he could allow her to see that part of him when others could not see that side of him. It was nice for her to be like that at home too. Kennedy was used to keeping a serious face on at home around her younger siblings. It was nice to let loose like she did around her friends.

It was just very comfortable with Shuichi. Kennedy wrapped her arm over his arm resting on her waist. There were no pretenses and he understood. Although she could not act completely on her feelings, not yet, he knew and was fine. Shuichi understood and was patient, not forcing the issue, which made it easier for Kennedy to reach over and grab his hand.

Kennedy always wondered exactly what Shuichi appreciated about her. He did not seem to be holding back like she did. Was it in part that she allowed him to open up and be playful like he frequently did around her?

A red fox darted across the living room floor in front of the couch and Kennedy blinked as it began to bat around one of her shoes. How did a fox get inside the house? The small creature suddenly realized it was being watched and swiveled its head around to stare wide eyed at her. Eyes that were…green? The red fox yipped and carried her shoe over to the couch, keeping the shoe low as if to keep it from her as it stared at her. Kennedy frowned as her arm felt too heavy to reach over and play tug of war with the shoe.

"Awww!"

Kennedy jerked up and realized she had fallen asleep herself. She scowled as Kari stood at the living room door, cooing over what she saw on the couch.

"You and Kurama-sama look so cute sleeping on the couch together! I am ever so glad—"

"Kari."

Both Kennedy and Kari jolted at the voice. Perhaps from just waking up, Kennedy was confused on how Kari could throw her voice and make it sound like Shuichi. The confusion didn't last long as the idea was just silly. Shuichi did not move an inch or open his eyes, but his mouth moved once again.

"Shut up, get out, or I swear I WILL play the bad matchmaker on his next visit."

Kari's face turned red. "Don't dare mess with my romantic life Kurama-sama. It's just plain rude and low. Love is the most precious thing—"

"Out."

Violet eyes narrowed, but Kari soon disappeared. It had been discovered a while back that Kari had a very large thing for Kennedy's best friend and ultimate crush, R.J. Stover. It had been working to Shuichi and Kennedy's advantage when they wished to be alone. R.J. and Kari were fairly close to each other, but neither had made a move toward an actual relationship. Ironic as Kari had been after Shuichi and Kennedy when they were not dating. R.J. was more of a loner but it was far more than coincidence that he now called Kennedy far too frequently and visited once or twice a month from his college.

Kennedy shifted, her body feeling heavy.

"Um… How long have you been awake?"

A light snore was the only response Kennedy received.

"Really? That's a little hard for me to believe Shuichi. Let me pinch you to check."

"Shhh," Shuichi responded as he shifted close for warmness. Knew it, Kennedy thought. That was far too fast for anyone to fall asleep. "Kari woke me up. I'm tired. It's warm. Nice. Comfortable. Don't be embarrassed Keichan…" His words trailed off and Shuichi muttered in faint Japanese, before falling silent and still again.

He must have been tired to have his voice sound that groggy. Kennedy let her weight rest down onto the couch again, her eyes flickering from sleep needs. Maybe, she was really tired too. She heard a chain clink and frowned slightly as she fell asleep again. Befuddled and tired, Kennedy wasn't sure on why that sound made her frown.

To be continued…