Chapter 37 Life Continues

"Knives, for the last time, get-out-of bed!" Blue called from her place in their bathroom, where she was drying her dark locks with a towel.

Her husband sighed loudly, turning over and shutting his eyes again, grumbling, "Just five more minutes woman!"

"Oh no, I don't think so Millions Knives! You said that 30 minutes ago! We are going to be late, and how would it look if 2 of the new co-CEO's of the company were not there on time??" she strode with purpose to the bedside, reaching out and literally ripping the white sheet from her spouse and threw it on the ground.

"Woman! Give it back!" Knives growled and she shook her head, hands on hips as she glared at him with defiance.

"Nope! Now get up and shower before I get a bucket of cold water and dump it on you!"

"You wouldn't dare!" he muttered darkly as he slowly sat up.

"Watch me Mister!"

The blond plant watched his wife turn on heel and go back to her mirror. He smirked as he crawled to the foot of the bed. He leaned down and retrieved his stolen covers, which he promptly threw back over him, head and all, wrapping it tightly about him like a cocoon. He snickered to himself quietly. "Let's see how you like this, woman."

"Ugh! Knives!" he heard her shrill voice and couldn't contain his laughter.

"What??"

Blue immediately leapt upon him, plastering herself on top of him as she searched for an opening in the sheet.

Knives was laughing so hard by this point that he felt tears pricking his eyes as he fought off the small woman on top of him. "What's wrong Blue? Why don't you come join me under her? It's nice and warm." He laughed loudly as she pulled and grabbed at the sides of his covers.

All at once, the movement stopped and she got off of him, seemingly giving up.

"What? Give up already? You're not that easily deterred woman." Knives said slowly as he unwrapped his face from the sheet. His eyes widened. "What the hell??"

Blue sloshed a pail full of stingingly cold water over his head, roaring with laughter at the look of utter surprise on her husband's face.

"I told you I would do it!"

Knives's face went through a series of emotions-first shock, then confusion, followed by totally irritation.

Blue shook with merriment as she watched them play out, water dripping from his drenched hair, a puddle surrounding him on their bed. "Well, maybe now you'll get up…" she said in between laughs.

"Oh, I'll get up now, wench…you had better run…" he said, his voice betraying the slightest amount of amusement and her eyes widened, laughter bubbling from her as she took off out their bedroom door.

He was up and hard on her heels, water falling from him as a grin overcame his face. "Come here Blue! How about another shower?"

"Knives! Stop! We're going to be late!" she shrieked through her laughter, finding her body slowing down against her will due to such hard laughter. Her knees became weaker and weaker as she laughed on, running circles around the couch.

Knives was laughing too, but was able to keep up with her, gaining on her by the second. Finally, after a few laps, he leapt and tackled her and they tumbled unceremoniously to the ground, towel flung from Blue, water still dripping from his hair.

Blue was still laughing hard, her breath coming in short gasps as she wriggled underneath the onslaught of tickles that Knives delivered her.

"Knives!!! Stop!!!"

"Hahahaha, this is what you get woman! Reap what you've sown!" he kept going for a moment, tickling her ribs without mercy.

"Seriously! We have to get ready now!" she pleaded, tears trailing her face now.

"All right, all right…" Knives's grin never left his face as he stood and helped her up, both still shaking lightly with laughter as they descended the stairs once again.

"Gods Knives! What do I have to do to get you up??" she shook her head as she reached in their closet for her little black strapless dress.

Knives smiled broadly, stripping from his wet clothes and heading to the shower. "Oh come on woman…you know you had fun…" he winked and she snorted as she indicated to the puddle in the middle of their king-size bed.

"Oh yeah? Well, you get to clean this when we get back, I hope you know!"

He shook his head, turning on the water and stepping in. "I don't think so, woman, you did it!"

"We'll see…I bet I'll win this one." she muttered, reaching to her side and zipping the dress quickly before going to the mirror to do her hair. As they went about their morning routines in silence, Blue glanced to her husband as he put gel in his golden hair, fixing it in place.

"Hey. Are you nervous?" she asked and he looked her way, rinsing the sticky product from his hands.

"Why should I be? Are you?"

She sighed, applying her deep shade of red lipstick, rubbing her lips together to even out the cosmetic. "Kind of. I mean, this is a huge responsibility that we are about to take on, you know?"

He nodded, reaching for his deodorant. "I understand. But we aren't the only ones running this thing, remember? There's nothing to worry about." He tried to comfort her and she smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, you're right. With 6 of us, it should be pretty easy if we work together, right?"

He snorted. "Now, that's what I'm worried about."

Blue grinned from ear to ear as she continued to brush her hair. "What? It will be fun. Just think-all of us together forever…running what will become our family business."

Knives couldn't help the smile that overcame him, despite his negative thoughts. "Yeah, I can just see it now- me, Vash and Red arguing over how to run a point, while you women go behind our backs and make all the decisions for us."

Blue giggled. "Well, if you dumb men are going to continually fight about how to do things, who else would you expect to run things? Us women will be the brains behind the operations."

He shook his head, smiling still as he went to their closet to pull on his black pinstriped suit pants, zipping them and doing the belt. "Whatever woman, you know that the man is always the head of such things."

She waltzed over to him, looking for her nice little black heels, all smiles. "Ah, that may be my love, but if the man is the head, then the woman is the neck that turns him."

He stopped for a moment, letting her comment sink in. "It's kind of scary how that makes sense."

"Doesn't it though?" she purred, slipping her shoes on.

He just shook his head again, smiling more as he put his matching black suit jacket, complete with faint pin stripes down the sides.

Blue came to stand in front of him, reaching to fix the little bow tie at his neck whilst he did up the shiny silver buttons at his wrists. "There. You look so handsome."

He suddenly pulled her in close, a seductive smile on his face. "I thought I was sexy?"

She reached up and put her arms about his neck. "That's right. You are."

Knives placed a kiss to her lips and she smiled into his mouth, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Quickly, she pushed back gently, shaking her head. "No Knives, there's no time."

"Aw come on woman, there's always time."

She snorted. "Yeah…that's true. But, our hair will get messed up. Nope, sorry, better luck next time."

He chuckled as he snapped his fingers. "Damn."

"Come on…I told the others that we would meet them for breakfast."

"Don't forget your necklace woman." Knives reminded her and her eyes lit up.

"That's right! And my earrings."

"Your ring?" he questioned and she smiled as she held up her left hand, diamond in place.

"That's one thing I could never forget."

"Just making sure. Now come on! Let's get a move on! We'll be late!" he grinned and she placed her hands to her hips, shaking her head.

"Whatever Knives, I believe it was you who was making us late!"

"Yeah yeah, let's go!"

She chuckled, grabbing her teardrop shaped diamond earrings and matching necklace. "Here, help me…" she handed the necklace to her husband, who obliged and stood behind her to put it on.

"You look beautiful." He said simply and she felt her cheeks warm the slightest. She knew how Knives felt about her, but it wasn't very often that he used words or phrases like that.

"Thank you sunshine. Let's go. Our family is waiting."

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"Mooom? Where's my ribbon?"

Meryl ran to and fro, trying to get she, Vash and Hikari ready for the big day. She heard her daughter's voice and sighed as she reached for her pearl earrings. "I don't know honey! Check under your bed!" she called out. Indeed, many things went missing under the abyss that was her little girl's bed.

"Mer, slow down. Don't hurt yourself. Everything will be ok. We still have plenty of time." Vash said from his place beside her in the bathroom as he fixed his hair.

"I know…I'm just like this, you know that."

He smiled, stopping what he was doing to stand behind her, rubbing her shoulders.

She closed her eyes, a look of pain coming to her visage and she hissed when he found a particularly large knot. "Owww…it hurts…"

"I'll rub you more later when this is all over. Just take it easy, would you?" he coaxed, bringing one hand to rest on the small bulge of her belly. "You have to take care of yourself for more than one reason, dear."

She smiled, placing her hand on his, leaning back to rest her head against his chest. They gazed at one another in the mirror, soft smiles in place.

"You look great Vash." She said, rubbing her fingers over his. He was wearing a black suit with a solid dark red bow tie, golden buttons shining on his wrists, a matching dark red cummerbund around his waist. "You look like the owner of a hotel chain." She smiled as he released her, rubbing her shoulders once again.

"Thanks Mer. You look wonderful too."

Indeed, the petite plant was wearing a red dress, similar in color to his tie. It was spaghetti strapped and just low enough to show a good amount of skin. It hugged her curves just right, flaring lightly at her waist and flowing in faint ruffles at an angle to the floor. A large slit ran up one side, a beautiful pearl and diamond broach adorning the dress right above where the slit ended.

Her matching red high heels completed the outfit, giving her a bit more height than normal. Her long black hair was pulled into a sweeping up do as the majority sat on her head, tendrils of curls randomly hanging about her face and behind her head. Small diamonds and pearls glittered throughout her hair, matching her earrings and necklace.

She smiled, applying her red lipstick and blotting. "Thank you honey."

He kissed her cheek before resuming his routine.

"Mom! I can't find it!" Hikari came to stand at her door, a look of dramatic frustration on her pale face.

Meryl smiled. "I'm sure we'll find it. Here. I have something you can wear instead." She rummaged through her bathroom drawer, coming up with a golden silk ribbon. She handed the glittering material to her daughter, who had a look of awe on her face.

"Mom, are you sure I can wear this? It must have been expensive…"

Meryl giggled as she pressed the item into her daughter's hands. "Of course dear. I know you'll take car of it."

"Thanks mom!" the girl ran off and Meryl watched her go, her smile faltering ever so slightly as she turned back to the mirror.

"What's wrong Mer?" Vash questioned and she replaced her smile once again. "Nothing. She's just growing so fast…"

He nodded his head in understanding. It had been nearly a year since their daughter had been born and she already looked and behaved like a 12-year-old girl.

"It's just hard…having them grow so fast…" Meryl mumbled, leaning forward to fix a bit of her hair.

"I know…but that's just a plant for you. I grew up that fast, so did Knives and Blue."

She nodded, grabbing her toothbrush. "I know, and I'm one too. But it was different for me. I guess I just remember what it felt like to grow up like a human, that's all. My mom…she had 18 years to raise me. We will have about 2…right?"

"Well, that depends. I mean, yes, she will have reached full maturity physically after 2 years, but that doesn't mean she will be ready to leave home. If things had played out differently for Knives and I, I'm sure we wouldn't have grown up mentally so fast."

"Jesse and Shiori did." Meryl confirmed, shoving her toothbrush in her mouth.

"True, but think about the circumstances. If Jesse had stayed in September and not had to go through the things that we all did, then I could bet he would still have the mentality of a 16-year-old human boy.

Meryl snorted, smiling as she spit her toothpaste out and rinsed. "Sometimes he still does."

Vash chuckled. "You're right."

"Mom, dad, how do I look? Could you help me with my hair?" Hikari stood in their doorway once again and Meryl smiled brightly.

"You look beautiful sweetheart!" Her daughter had on a solid black shirt with soft ruffles on the short sleeve, a shining gold skirt sweeping to the floor like a prom dress. "That ribbon will match your skirt perfectly!" she beamed and Hikari smiled, coming to stand in front of her mother.

"You look great, angel." Vash winked and she blushed.

"Thanks daddy."

"It won't be long and I'll have to fend off those boys." He grinned and Hikari made a face.

"Boys? Boys are gross, daddy!"

Her parents chuckled, Meryl playing with her gold and black tresses, twisting them up in a beautiful design. "Your dad is a boy…"

"Yeah, that's different…" Hikari muttered, making a pained face as her mom pulled a little too hard on some of her hair.

"You'll like them soon enough." Vash winked.

"Yeah whatever daddy." She rolled her eyes drastically and Meryl laughed out loud.

"Already acting like a teenager!"

Vash just smiled, reaching for his razor and leaning forward to shave. "Yeah…it will be too soon when she starts dating…"

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Milly ran about her room, searching for her earrings. "Tasuki! Help me please!"

The red head stepped from the bathroom, smiling. "Looking for these?"

He held up her sapphire and diamond earrings, dangling them from his fingers and she smiled in relief.

"Oh yes, thank you!" she came and took them from her husband, putting them on carefully.

"Are you feeling ok babe?" Tasuki reached out and placed his hand to her shoulder, stopping her briefly.

She looked at him, smiling broadly. "Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

He glanced down to her huge tummy, smoothing a hand over it. "You just need to take it easy, that's all."

"Thanks for being so concerned for me all the time sweetie. I mean it. Don't worry; I'm taking care of myself. Besides, I have you to take care of me, right?" she beamed sweetly and he couldn't help the smile that spread over his handsome features.

"That's right, and don't you forget it. Just tell me if you need to rest at all today, ok? It's going to be a bit hectic at times, so…"

Milly just smiled as she pushed her way into the bathroom, fixing some last minute things on her hair. "I know. I'll tell you."

"You look very beautiful today. Not that you don't everyday or anything…you know…" he trailed off and she grinned. Her husband always stuttered over his words, didn't he?

"Thank you love."

The tall woman had on a stunning navy blue dress made out of a silky shiny material. It had thick straps that crisscrossed in the back, all the way down to the small of her back. The material bunched just right under her bust, flaring out, leaving enough room for her very pregnant belly. It swept down to the floor in dark glittering waves, her navy blue heels peeking out at the bottom. She wore her hair half up, half down, away from her face, the chestnut tresses falling down her back in loose curls. Her earrings matched her necklace perfectly, and the jewels glimmered in the light along side the dress material.

"You look just as good, sweetheart." She complimented her husband.

He had on a black suit; the three men in their family deciding that black looked the most professional. He wore a crème button up shirt underneath with gleaming black buttons up the front. His bow tie was a shimmering navy blue, it and his cummerbund made especially to match Milly's dress.

He smirked lightly, grasping Milly from behind and leaning his chin on her shoulder. "I know. I'm just hot like that."

Milly giggled, patting his cheek affectionately. "Keep telling yourself that honey." She chirped and he gave her a mock hurt look.

"What's that supposed to mean?? My own wife, saying that I'm not hot!" he said dramatically and she giggled louder.

"Oh honey, you know that's not what I meant!"

He continued his dramatic display, looking up at the ceiling "Why? Even Knives wouldn't…"

"Oh yes he would! He would do worse- he'd just say you looked bad or something!" she winked and his mouth curved into a wicked grin.

"That stupid plant! I'm gonna find a way to embarrass the hell out of him today! You just watch and see!"

Milly just chuckled, shaking her head. "Yeah, I'll make sure I'm not present this time when it happens. He may kill you this time."

Tasuki threw back his head laughing raucously. "I can still see his face…it was classic!"

He reminisced of the time a month ago.

Knives was up on a scaffold, painting next to Earl, not paying any attention to anything else but his work. So focused was he that he didn't feel his best friends presence below him.

"Watch this Milly…" Tasuki grinned to his wife.

Promptly, he picked up a wad of mud and hurled it towards the back of the plant's head. It hit square on, a yell escaping his lips as he lost his balance and came tumbling off of the scaffold.

"What the hell??!" Knives fell fast and landed with an oof on the ground, knocking paint buckets everywhere, and generally making a huge mess.

Tasuki's eyes were wide as he guffawed loudly, hand covering his mouth, as he laughed hard. "Oh my Gods! I didn't think it would knock you off!"

"You…are…dead, human…" Knives bit out slowly, carefully rising from where he landed.

Tasuki took a step away, eyes still wide. "Milly help! He's going to kill me!"

"Your woman is smart, she already left." Knives smiled evilly and Tasuki whipped his head from left to right, searching for his wife.

"Oy! Where are you going?" he called to her fast retreating form.

"Somewhere safe!" she yelled back and Knives began to chuckle darkly, cracking his knuckles as he stalked forward slowly, like a lion on the prowl.

"Hey man…it was an accident…" Tasuki held up his hands in mock defense, stepping back slowly.

Knives shook his head, his evil gleam never leaving his blue eyes. "What are you still doing here human? Go on…I'll give you a head start, although it will do you no good. Just wait until I catch you."

Tasuki needed no second bidding as he turned on heel, yelling for dear life. "Help!"

"Yes, and it's a good thing that Vash stepped in and saved you dear! Although, I think you would have deserved Knives's wrath for knocking the poor man off like that!" Milly smiled and Tasuki snorted, running a hand through his hair.

"Uh huh, whatever you say…"

"Are you ready? We're meeting the others for breakfast. I think that Grace and Jack will be here too, with Jesse, Shiori and Kitaro."

Tasuki nodded, following his wife to the door, flipping off the light as they left. "Well, get a move on girlie! Let's not keep them waiting!"