Home

"Remember to wear your jacket," she chided over the phone. It was getting cold in December.
"Kaori, I'm not a child," he muttered.

She frowned on the other line. It was 2 AM in the morning and she had just gotten off a shift at a hospital. Their schedules were all over the place, with him in Tokyo and her in New York they spoke in the middle of the night most of the time.

"No, you're my husband," she corrected, quietly to herself. She still never liked that word. He was just Kyouya to her. He just happened to make her happy, in the smallest ways. There was nothing special between them, nothing what the romantic comedies had called a spark. They just molded together like puzzle pieces, beautifully fitted.

"That I am," the Ootori smiled. She imagined him facing the window of his office, overlooking the skyline of Tokyo.

"Are you home?" he asked.

"Sort-of," she responded. She had taken a shower and slipped into the covers. Kaori was by herself, an odd feeling for once in her life. She was used to independence and having her own space. She didn't need him, but she certainly wanted him to be with her. Only then did it feel like home.

"Kaori?"
"I… miss you," she mumbled. Kaori lay on the bed, turning her head at the empty pillow beside her.
"Then open the door."

She jolted from the bed and confusedly walked to the door. He wouldn't. He wasn't the type of man to be spontaneous. It was rare for Kyouya to show up out of nowhere, not after their days of tug of war as they patched up their relationship.

Kaori opened up the heavy door to find the man nonchalantly standing with his infamous smirk.

"I told you to wear your jacket. You'll get sick," she quietly joked. A smile crept up on her face. She must have looked terrible with dark eye circles and her ponytailed hair.
He shrugged. "You can take care of me then." Kyouya embraced her in his arms and let her bury her tired face in his chest.

She smelled like strawberries. Her cold hands trailed up to his face before she sweetly kissed him underneath his jaw. Her warm breath gave him shivers causing her to smile again. She met his lips tenderly before she welcomed him inside.

This was home.

For the two of them.

"Kaori, you should go to a doctor."
"I am a doctor," she shot back over the phone. It was 9 AM in the morning and she had just gotten back from another night shift. "I'm just tired. There's nothing sleep cannot fix."
"Says the doctor," Kyouya sarcastically responded.
"Shut up, you have an empire to rule. Good night to you," Kaori rolled her eyes and hung up on the man.

He called back.

She didn't answer. In fact, she purposely pressed the ignore button and placed the phone down before getting a text.

Kaori, I will personally come home to diagnose you if you do not go to a doctor.

I don't see you with an MD qualification on that resume, Mr Ootori.

Dear Vivienne, it is Dr. Kyouya Ootori. In case you had forgotten, your husband has a PhD in Public Health. You aren't the only doctor in this relationship.

Kaori tossed her phone on the nightstand and took a nap. He knew she didn't like being called Vivienne by him. Only Kaori, she was Kaori to him. Vivienne to everyone else.

Kaori hauled herself up from the bed and trudged to her own physician. She couldn't sleep with the thought of him at the back of her mind, chiding her. Technically she would have written herself a prescription or a doctor's note, but of course, that would go against the ethics of medicine.

The irony of being a doctor herself was that she hated visiting her own doctor. The last time she made an appointment was because she knew what she had to prescribe to herself to get over a terrible flu.

"You already know what I'm going to prescribe."
"Great. This is probably the quickest appointment you'll ever have today."

When she walked into the office, she exchanged a small smile with her own physician.

"Odd seeing you here, Vivienne," he greeted. "What's the prescription this time?"
Vivienne sighed. "I think I'm just tired. My husband insists that I come so I'm just here to shut him up. A snide doctor's note is probably the best you can give me right now."

The two doctors laughed. Kaori's doctor gestured for her to take a seat and asked for her symptoms anyway.

"You don't have to do this," she said.
"Might as well do your physical examination now or you'll never get one done."

Kaori shrugged and figured why not. She continued on with the routine and went home after the appointment. She texted him back.

Went to the doctor's.
Stop worrying.
Get some sleep.
See you at home.

Home was not a home without him. It was an empty feeling when she reached her bed.

He was eager to hop on a flight to see her. It was rare for her to ever get sick, and when Kaori was sick, it hit her terribly. She came down with the flu last year and it made him feel helpless to see her suffering in their bed. It was usually him that was sick, and whenever he was ill, it was always after a flight. The lack of sleep always hit his immune system first.

Kyouya was always told to take his pills. To drink the soup. To stay away from work. To sleep. She told him to do things, and he'd obediently follow because he had no other choice but to listen. He wished he could to the same to her, caring for her all the same.

He arrived in New York a couple of days after their call. When he stepped into their loft, Kyouya found Kaori sifting through old boxes of her photos on the ground. She had a cup of tea beside her as she reminisced the past. Kyouya left his luggage by the door and loosened his tie.

Kaori sat by the window, letting a small lamp light up the room. The Ootori quietly joined her, planting a kiss on her forehead to say hello before settling down. She had photos of herself as a child on the floor.

"You miss them," Kyouya quietly said when he saw a family photo.

She only nodded. "Very much."

"How are you feeling?" he murmured while brushing stray strands away from her ear.
"Sick," Kaori admitted. "Better though."
"Because you're happy to see me?" the Ootori smirked.

Kaori offered a small smile to him. "Yes…"

He pulled her closer to him by the waist. "What made you want to reminisce today?"
"A call."
"A call? Anthony called?" Anthony was Kaori father's lawyer. It wasn't often that he called, usually only to say hello and ask how she was doing. It was an odd relationship that they had, Kaori considered him an uncle of some sort. But his presence always reminded her of the past.
"Doctor's call," Kaori clarified.
"Ah, you mean my call?" The Ootori was never good at joking. Only Kaori was able to pick up his humour, despite how egotistic he always sounded. He called earlier today to let her know he was coming home.

She playfully punched him in the shoulder. Kaori twiddled her thumbs for a second before taking his warm hand that was around her waist. It was such a stark contrast to her cold ones, it made her feel safe. It made her happy. He was so comforting to her, even if he never knew how or why. Her fingers traced the small lines on his palm, Kyouya resisted the urge to squirm from her feathery touch. She placed his warm palm on her abdomen.

"It's so strange."
"What is?" he softly wondered.
"Life," she cryptically responded. She turned her head to look at his dark eyes that stared curiously back at her. Kaori softly kissed him. Her behaviour was odd, but Kyouya welcomed her sign of affection.

"Kaori," he gently coaxed. "You should go to sleep."
"Then sleep with me."
"Alright."
"Sleep with us," she corrected herself, softly.

Kyouya didn't pull back from his wife. He only stared at her.

"Kaori."
"Yes?" His wife shyly looked away outside towards the window, trying to hide her smile. Kyouya pulled her even closer, holding her tight.

This was home.

For three.

A/N: Apologies for not being able to write often. I'm still working on A Vow and I felt terrible for being so inconsistent with updates. I figured I may as well put something out there. It was strange revisiting these two after two years. A reader from before had given me the inspiration to write when Kyouya finds out Kaori was pregnant, but it was ages ago. It popped into my head today and I took about an hour to procrastinate. Thank you, of course to all of you who have read Littlest Things. Whether you're an old or a new reader, it's been lovely to share this with all of you.