Tohru smiled and lay back against the pillows, listening to the quiet strains of baby babble from the other side of the door.

"Ba! Mamamama. Goo. Gagoo? Daaaaaaada. Muh. Muhmuhmuhmuhmuh. Da. Daga?"

It was a Sunday morning in late November, and Tohru was enjoying what had come to be one of her absolute favorite wakeups, the sound of Hajime chattering to himself in his crib. They'd moved Hajime into his own room months ago, but since that room opened right off of Tohru and Kyo's bedroom, it was still more than easy enough for her to hear him on the rare occasions he woke up during the night, or when it was time to wake up in the morning.

She'd been worried, back when Hajime was younger, that his excellent sleeping habits wouldn't last. She'd read enough parenting resources to dread the phrase 'sleep regression' and as the appointed ages had crept closer she and Kyo had steeled themselves, waiting for their perfect sleeper to become an insomniac.

But fortunately for them, they'd never had to worry. If anything, Hajime had become an even better sleeper as he got older, sleeping solid eight or nine hour nightly stretches before he was five months old and napping pretty much anywhere she set him down. His naps had shifted and consolidated over that time, but he was still very consistent: if he was tired, then he slept.

Kyo liked to tease that it was Tohru's influence, and she had to admit she could see it. Her own sleep had gotten lighter since Hajime had been born, but she still enjoyed a good nap, and once she was asleep it could be hard for anyone other than Hajime to wake her!

Not only was Hajime an excellent sleeper, but he was also a cheerful riser. Mostly gone were the days of angry, demanding screeching first thing in the morning; instead, Hajime usually woke up and just wanted some quiet puttering time in his crib. He would roll and crawl around, pulling himself up on the bars and looking around, or just lie back and chat with himself. Tohru in turn pinned this habit on Kyo; like Hajime, Kyo had always liked to have time to himself first thing in the morning.

None of Hajime's 'words' were actual words, not yet, but she loved to hear the conversational tone he took whenever he was babbling. In a lot of ways, listening to Hajime was like listening to a foreign language speaker; he inflected, and he varied his tone. Sometimes it sounded like he was telling an exciting story, sometimes he was asking questions. She couldn't wait until he started using actual words she could understand!

Like, oh, say, 'Mama.'

The bedroom door slid open, and Kyo stuck his head into the room. Seeing that Tohru was awake, he smiled, then came in and flopped down next to her on the bed. "Morning, sleepyhead," he said, leaning over to give her a kiss.

Tohru smiled, pulling him close and returning the kiss tenderly. "Good morning! Though I really don't think being in bed at eight on a Sunday morning is all that surprising, or even really counts as sleeping in."

He chuckled, snuggling against Tohru on top of the covers and resting his head comfortably on her chest. "It is when you've been up since 5:30! I've already gotten a lot of stuff done so far today, while you and Hajime have both just been lazing around."

"And that's by your choice. Just because you personally hate sleep doesn't mean the rest of us do," Tohru said with a smile, "And I'll thank you to keep your sleep-hating ways to yourself. If you get Hajime started on early-morning wakeups, then you'll just have to figure out how to bring him with you on your runs."

Kyo made a face at the very idea; much as he liked doing things with Hajime in general, the period right away after he woke up was his sacred alone time and he had no desire to share it if he didn't have to. "I guess it's ok for Hajime to sleep in; he likes sleep almost as much as you do, and who am I to judge what makes you both so happy?" He sounded so altruistic that Tohru had to giggle, and Kyo's chuckle soon joined in.

Sundays were both Tohru and Kyo's favorite day of the week. Barring extenuating circumstances, Sunday was the one day where Kyo didn't work, and the one day he made a point not to go to the dojo. He still got up early, because he seemed physically incapable of sleeping in, and he still went running. He still worked out. And he would usually spend at least a little time during the day running through some karate drills. But Sunday had always been a day for them, a day when they took it easy, avoided guests or any kind of social commitments, and just spent time together.

Kyo threaded the fingers of one hand through Tohru's, glancing over at the sliding door to Hajime's room. "Has he been up that long?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so? I've been listening for maybe fifteen minutes, and I don't think he was awake for all that long before that."

"Wow, fifteen minutes and you're still in bed? What would Hajime say if he knew you'd left him alone for so long?" Kyo was teasing her again; he'd never been one for lounging in bed, just like he'd never been one for sleeping in. He made exceptions if Tohru was in bed with him, but if it was just Kyo then he liked to be up and about as soon as he woke up. But he knew that Tohru liked to take things slower when she could, a fact she completely owned.

"I think he'd say 'thank you' for me letting him enjoy some time to himself," she said virtuously to Kyo, and he chuckled again.

"You might be right, at that. The kid always sounds so pleased with himself in the morning, doesn't he?"

"He really does," Tohru said with a fond glance over at the door.

He wasn't the only one.

Eventually, Hajime's babbling got a little less cheerful, and Kyo went to get him up while Tohru finally abandoned her cozy warm spot under the covers. November in Hibe could be quite chilly, and her desire to stay warm had kept her in bed almost as much as her desire to relax. But once Hajime was up, it was time for her to be up, too.

Kyo took care of Hajime's morning ablutions and settled down to play with him in the living room while Tohru made breakfast, then the three of them sat down to eat. Though Hajime still primarily drank formula, he'd been joining them at the table for a few months now, and Tohru always made him a little meal of his own. He usually just mushed it around, but occasionally some of it made it into his mouth.

This morning, he was actually making an effort, picking up handfuls of his natto and rice and munching on it happily. It was messy; the table, Hajime's seat, the floor around him, and Hajime himself were all liberally decorated with fallen food. But he looked so proud of himself that both Tohru and Kyo had to smile.

Kyo was shaking his head. "Of course, it figures that he's gonna go straight for the natto. Don't you get tired of having to clean goop out of his hair, Tohru?"

She chuckled, taking a bite of her own natto and rice. "Natto is very healthy for babies, and it's an easy food for him to manage by himself since it sticks together so well."

"Yeah, but it makes a huge mess."

"He's nine months old, Kyo, everything makes a huge mess," Tohru said with a laugh. "Especially anything food related!"

"Ain't it the truth," Kyo said with a sigh, picking up his salad. "Considering how little babies are, they can sure cause a lot of chaos."

That was an understatement. Tohru and Kyo had never been all that much into 'things,' and their house had always been somewhat minimalistic. But life with Hajime had made things even moreso, at least when it came to Tohru and Kyo's own things. The house was obviously home to a baby; Tohru and Kyo's parents' shrines in the living room was cordoned off with a gate, and so was the bottom of the staircase. There were latches on some of the kitchen cabinets, on the refrigerator, and the washing machine. Nothing was kept on the kitchen counter any more, other than the rice cooker. And of course, there were some scattered toys.

Though currently, the biggest indicator of babyhood was within a 4-foot radius of Hajime's seat at the table.

After breakfast, it was a two-parent job to get everything cleaned up. Tohru took Hajime into the bathroom to clean him up; natto slime could be persistent, so Hajime tended to get bathed most mornings. Meanwhile, Kyo cleared the dishes and set to work cleaning up the table and the floor. Even with a drop cloth under Hajime, cleaning up all the rice was a process; this was one of the incredibly rare moments when Kyo almost wished they had a dog.

Tohru was done bathing Hajime before Kyo was done cleaning up the mess, and she gave him a rueful look as she set Hajime down. "He really got some range this morning, didn't he?"

"No more than usual; this kid can get some distance when he wants."

Leaving Hajime to make a beeline for his stacking rings, Tohru set to work helping Kyo, and before long the living room was as clean as it ever was.

The two of them sat down by the table, Kyo pulling Tohru back against him as they both watched Hajime. The baby had immediately tipped over the ring stacker and dumped all the rings on the floor; now he was holding one in each hand, waving them about, hitting them against each other, and hitting them against the floor while chatting away. For the most part, his parents were completely ignored.

Kyo chuckled. "Do you think he's talking to rings, talking to us, or talking to himself?"

"My guess is...all of the above. He's a very opinionated little man, and he seems to like sharing his opinions," Tohru said with a fond smile at Hajime.

"Hmm, I wonder where he picked up that habit from?" Kyo was teasing her again, and Tohru laughed,

"I am not that opinionated, Kyo."

He looked at her innocently. "When did I say you were?"

"You implied it."

"Maybe you just feel guilty."

She laughed, leaning up to give him a kiss. "I forgive you."

"For what? I'm not the guilty one here," Kyo said with a grin.

"No? I feel like you're pretty opinionated yourself."

"Me?" Kyo scoffed, feigning innocence, and Tohru gave him an amused look. Then he chuckled, hugging her close. "Ok, he probably gets it from both of us."

They both liked it, Hajime getting things from both of them.

It was Tohru's idea to go for a walk after Hajime's morning nap, but Kyo was fully onboard with the idea. Sundays were meant to be leisurely, but only in the sense that they avoided making concrete plans and avoided either having guests or going visiting. They still went shopping, and would still spontaneously go out, but they never did anything that had to be scheduled.

Given that it was late November, it was a chilly day. So far, the true bite of winter had yet to connect; they were still waiting for the first snow of the season, and it was still above freezing. But the three of them still bundled up warmly before heading out, Hajime secure in Kyo's arms.

Kyo had laughed when Tohru first showed him the hat, mitten, and scarf set she'd picked out for Hajime's first winter. They were brown and green striped, and his scarf had little bobbles at the end, just like the scarf she'd had in high school.

"You know he's just gonna try to eat the bobbles, right?"

Of course she knew that; he was a baby, he tried to eat everything! But she thought it was cute, and it wasn't like he was going to be wearing it unsupervised.

The two of them had exchanged a smile as Tohru had put the scarf on Hajime, both of them thinking back to high school and Tohru's white scarf. The scarf that he'd rescued from traffic when she'd lost it, bringing it home and washing it because he thought it might be hers. The scarf she'd later shared with him, when he was too cold one frosty winter day.

Kyo personally still hated scarves, or anything around his neck, but the memory was sweet, and seeing Hajime's scarf brought all of it back.

They didn't have any real destination, not this morning. This was an ambling walk, not a purposeful walk; Tohru hadn't even brought her purse. Hajime kept up a cheerful stream of noises as they walked along, and Tohru and Kyo chatted about nothing in particular themselves, occasionally interspersed with one or both of them pointing out something to Hajime. It was nice, just to be out and about together.

Hand in hand.

"What do you think, salmon or mackerel, Kyo?"

It was late afternoon, and the Sohmas were at Okada Grocery, picking up ingredients for supper. Once again, Kyo was wrangling Hajime; the littlest Sohma always had a hard time keeping his hands to himself in the grocery store, and it was a trick to keep him from grabbing things while also keeping him from melting down about it. But at Tohru's question, he looked away from Hajime to consider both of the fishes.

"Which one looks better?"

Tohru was studying the fish counter carefully. "I think they both look good, so which sounds more appealing?"

"Mackerel, then. We're doing cucumber and wakame salad tonight, right?"

"That's right!"

Tohru collected their fish and slipped it into the basket, along with the vegetables and fresh tofu they'd already grabbed. "I think that's about everything we need, what do you think?"

Kyo had already scooped Hajime back up, stopping the youngster before he could successfully pull down a display of furikake shakers. "We still need milk, but otherwise yeah, I think we're good."

Of course, milk.

The three of them made their way back to the dairy case and Tohru grabbed a carton of milk. "I wonder how long it's going to be before you're drinking more milk than Hajime," she commented with a smile.

"Hey, you never know! Maybe the kid will decide he likes milk and wants to keep drinking it."

Tohru laughed. "Well, if he does, then you'll need to stop drinking from the carton and start drinking from a glass like a civilized person."

Kyo thought about it for a moment, then turned to look very seriously at Hajime. "Remember, Hajime, milk is yucky and gross and you don't want to drink it any longer than you have to."

Baby giggles blended with deep chuckles and girlish giggles, Hajime not understanding what was going on but loving the sound of his parents' laughter.

"That's it, Hajime!"

Tohru and Kyo were sitting at either end of one of the long sides of the living room table, the supper dishes long since cleaned up and cleared away. Between them, Hajime was happily cruising up and down the length of the table, his hands firmly gripping the edge as he walked along. He'd been walking while holding onto things for weeks now, and the living room table had long since been a favorite. Recently he'd added a few additional flourishes to his cruising, like letting go of the table and standing for a long wobbly second before plopping down hard on his butt.

He was always so proud of himself, it was hard for Tohru and Kyo not to be proud of him, too.

Hajime had made his way back down to Tohru's end of the table and reached out to her with one arm, then lost his balance and fell with a surprised squawk. Then he lifted his head, looking at her with big, wide eyes.

The dark baby blue eyes Hajime had once had were long gone, replaced with eyes that matched Tohru's own light brown. Tohru had had mixed feelings about that, having not-so-secretly hoping that Hajime would also inherit Kyo's amber-red eyes, but Kyo had been absolutely delighted. If Hajime ever truly struggled with his nontraditional hair color, dying it was an option, but was a lot harder to conceal a non-standard eye color.

Besides, Hajime already looked so very much like Kyo; Tohru had done so much to bring Hajime into the world, it was only fitting that she got to leave her mark on him, as well.

Hajime was looking to Tohru for a reaction, testing to see whether or not he should cry. But Tohru kept her face set; much as she hated it when Hajime fell, she'd long since learned that he often took his cues from them. If she got upset, then Hajime would get upset; if he wasn't already crying, he'd be fine.

So she kept her voice bright as she helped Hajime sit back up. "Look at you, taking a tumble! You fell right on your face, didn't you? But you're fine, Hajime, aren't you?"

She seemed so confident that Hajime believed her, and he smiled cheerfully as he pulled himself back up with the table. "Bwa!"

"That's right, bwa." She laughed, and Hajime set off back down the table to Kyo.

Kyo had watched the exchange with a smile. "He's sure a tough kid, isn't he? With a pretty tough mom, it turns out," he commented, chuckling at Tohru.

She let out a sigh. "I know, it's so hard sometimes!" She hated it when Hajime fell; it felt wrong to just let him sit there and figure out how he felt for himself when it seemed so instinctual for Tohru to fret over him. "But he's so active, I feel like he's always falling over these days in one way or another. I have to keep reminding myself that it's all part of the process."

Kyo smiled, reaching out to shake the little hand that Hajime stretched out to him at his end of the table. "Yeah, you're right on that. It seems like he always wants to be moving around. Can't say I blame him, though, sitting around all the time is boring!"

Hajime made an agreeing "Ga!" and then set off back to Tohru.

Tohru grinned, looking down the table at Kyo. "I'm pretty sure this is another part of your influence, you know. It's perfectly normal for kids to stick with crawling until nearly eighteen months! Hajime is barely halfway there, and he's already cruising so well. And climbing," she added with a sigh. That was the latest complication; baby gates only worked when the baby respected them!

Kyo scoffed. "As if our son would happily sit on his butt for another nine months. Hajime has things he needs to do, he's not gonna waste any time he doesn't need to. He's only got a little more than four years before he can start at the dojo, he's gotta make sure he's ready."

"Dadadadadada." Hajime had reached Tohru again and begun his steady trek back down to Kyo.

"Yes, he's definitely thinking about karate, Kyo," Tohru said with a laugh. "And it's easy for you to want him to move around more; you're not home with him all the time!"

"True," Kyo said as he looked from Tohru to Hajime. "Hajime, make sure that while you're running around you're listening to your mom, ok?"

Hajime had been a little over a foot away from Kyo when Kyo turned to talk to him, and at the attention, Hajime has stopped his cruising. His little face broke into a big, beaming smile, just like it often did when either of his parents spoke to him directly, and he chirped happily back. "Ga! Buh."

Kyo grinned. "Is that an agreement, Hajime? Remember, if you agree then you're bound by your word. A man's word is his bond."

"Bbbbbbbb." Hajime blew a spit bubble at Kyo, and both Tohru and Kyo laughed. Then Kyo reached out and ruffled Hajime's orange hair.

"An agreement it is, then."

As Kyo drew back his hand, Hajime reached up for it, letting go of the table and swaying. "Look, Tohru, he's standing all by himself again!"

They both watched, smiling, as Hajime stood, wobbling slightly as he figured out his balance. Then he looked over at Kyo, still grinning proudly, and took one careful, wobbly step.

Tohru's eyes rounded, and she looked at her husband, who'd caught his breath. Then Kyo's hands came down, holding out to Hajime who reached out for them as he took a second, even more wobbly step, then a third before suddenly pitching forward into Kyo's waiting hands.

Kyo hugged Hajime close, then looked up at Tohru with shining eyes. "Tohru, did you see that?"

Tohru had seen, and her own eyes were teary. That happened a lot, these days. "I did, Kyo, I did!"

Kyo looked back down at Hajime, who was already pushing himself back to grab onto the table. "Was that..."

"His first independent steps, yes." Tohru and Kyo looked at each other, beaming, then both of them looked back at Hajime, happily cruising down the table once again.

"I wonder if he sleeps so well because he's always worn out, or if he has so much energy because he sleeps so much," Kyo mused quietly as Tohru laid a sleeping Hajime out in his crib.

"I'm not sure," Tohru said thoughtfully as she laid Hajime out in the crib, smoothing his hair before stepping back. "Either way, he's definitely earned a good sleep tonight!"

"Yeah, he has." Kyo put an arm around Tohru, and the two of them stood for a moment, quietly looking at their son. Then they slipped out of the little room into their own bedroom, sliding the door closed behind them.

"Nine and half months old, and he's already walking!" Kyo was torn between amazement and incredulity, but pride was ultimately winning out. "That's pretty impressive, isn't it?"

Tohru smiled, coming up to wrap her arms around her husband. "And he took his first steps to you, Kyo." She knew that fact in particular had to have been extra significant; ever since their very first conversations about children, Kyo had been adamant that he wanted to be a good father. The kind of father who took care of his kids, taught them, loved them. The kind of father Kazuma had been, and was; the kind whose kids would never want to stop reaching out.

How sweet must it have been, to see Hajime turn to him and reach out now?

It was pretty darn sweet, that was for sure. When Hajime had let go of the table, Kyo had been proud; he was always proud, to see Hajime pushing himself and doing something new. Then Hajime had taken that first step, and Kyo hadn't been able to breathe; he'd just sat there, staring in awestruck amazement as Hajime had had reached out, wobbling happily towards him. Short as it had been, quickly as it was over, it was a moment Kyo doubted he'd ever forget.

Though he did feel a little bad for Tohru. "Yeah, he did," Kyo acknowledged, softly.

Tohru could tell what he wasn't saying from the tone of his voice, and she hugged him. "It's ok, Kyo. I've gotten a lot of firsts, too, and I know we'll both get a lot more before we're all done!"

He looked down at her, studying her face. He knew there was nothing he could actually do if she was upset, but he always liked to be certain about these things now.

Tohru's beaming face reassured him, though, and he let out a relieved sigh as he returned her hug. Then he smiled, even brighter than before. "He walked to me, Tohru! Hajime walked for the first time, and he did it to me!"

He was so happy he was like a little boy himself, and Tohru laughed as she nodded. "He did! I was there!" Her expression softened, and so did her voice. "He really loves you, Kyo."

Kyo's arms tightened around Tohru, and he suddenly felt himself tearing up. It was so simple, what she'd said, and he knew, logically, that it was true. Hajime was a baby, after all, and he wore his emotions on his sleeve. But hearing her say it, hearing someone else confirm something he so desperately wanted...it was one of the best feelings in the world.

Normally, this was the part where he'd reassure Tohru somehow, but right now he couldn't. And she didn't need him to, either. Hajime might have taken his first steps to Kyo, but she knew their son loved her just as much.

Soon, he'd be turning to her too, taking more of those tiny, hesitant steps.

A/N: To answer a question I had about the car: Tohru doesn't know how to drive yet! She plans to take lessons, but keeps putting it off because she's nervous so when it's just her and Hajime she always takes the bus. Hibe is a very small town, so everything is very walkable. It only takes about twenty minutes to get to their house from the dojo, so Kyo normally walks because he likes to (except maybe in the winter). Kyo will drive when they go anywhere quasi-local, like Nigeyashi or the surrounding communities, but they still take the train when they go long distances.