Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the weekend! This one jumps back in time again to when the terrible three were only five. Please let me know if you have any requests for future drabbles!
Erina wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, but at some time during the evening's snowy-day antics, she had lost her wedding band. She had only realized it when she was making dinner for the kids—no matter how refined their palettes, five year olds always wanted mac and cheese—and had subsequently searched the whole house for it.
Determined to help her look, Raiden, Akane, and Erik had unearthed a romance novel, a roll of Euro banknotes, a bag of blueberry flavored potato chips—what?—and a ribbed condom—fuck!—from between the couch cushions.
And of course, imbued with all of Alice's mischief and inquisitiveness, Erik held the neatly wrapped condom between his thumb and forefinger and asked, "Auntie, what's this?"
Now, she knew that Alice and Kurokiba—being Alice and Kurokiba—would have no qualms about him knowing, but Erina would not be responsible for the corruption of the other two. So she decided to leave the matter at, "Ask your parents in a decade or so."
Throughout the remainder of their thorough search, the children had accumulated an impressive collection of lost things—everything from bottles of Tabasco sauce to long misplaced remote controls—before fully exhausting themselves.
After getting them to bed, Erina went out into the yard, suddenly convinced that she must have lost it during the second snowball war.
So there she was on her hands and knees, digging through inches of accumulated snow, her fingers red and aching, when her husband approached her.
"Erina, what are you doing?"
She turned around slowly. "I um…I don't have to justify being on my own property, thank you."
He shot her an incredulous look. "Did you lose something?"
"No! Just go inside. I'll meet you in a few minutes."
Suddenly, a pair of gloves hit the back of her head. "At least put those on before you get frostbite."
Erina shook her head, but quickly slipped them on. "When did you turn into such a nag?"
"When I married a rich girl with no common sense," he told her, smirking, as he wrapped his scarf around her neck.
Erina blushed a bit at the tender gesture, but still tossed a snowball at his face in retaliation.
"So, what are we looking for?"
"I already said I didn't lose anything."
"Erina."
"Okay, fine." She sighed. "I think my ring must've fallen off when I was playing with the kids earlier. But it has to be around here somewhere."
Souma shook his head at her, laughing a bit. "Seriously?"
"What part of this is funny?" she snapped.
"Your ring is on top of the cable box in our room. It's been there since this morning."
As soon as she heard the words, Erina knew that he was right. She usually took it off before she made breakfast and then slipped it back on before she left for work. "Oh."
"You're really too smart for yourself sometimes," he said.
"And you're still an incorrigible idiot."
"Yeah, whatever," he replied, his hand resting on the small of her back. "Let's get you inside."