Chapter 32
The warm spring air returned, warming everything in it's wake. Including Kyomi's head. She had over worked herself much to Shigure and Hatori's chagrin and gotten herself a nasty little cold. She was quickly on the mend, however two weeks after recovering, she still had no voice to sing with and sounded like she had been smoking since she was an infant when she talked. So Shigure and Luc decided to walk her to Hatori's clinic to see what was going on. Kyomi had just locked the door behind them when they heard a young voice giggling its way up their steps. She turned in time to see Kisa and Hiro come over the top of the hill. She waved to them.
"Hey small fries! What brings you here?" She said to them giving Kisa a hug.
"Yes, no one told me that we were having company today." Shigure commented.
"Momiji messaged and said to come over for dinner and ice cream. Can you let us in so we can wait?" Hiro informed him somewhat haughtily.
"I don't mind. Remember, you break it you buy it! And please behave while you are in my home. I don't need your parents coming after me because young Hiro couldn't contain himself properly." Shigure teased making the young couple go bright red.
"Gure, leave them alone. The only one with that much of a dirty mind here is you, you weirdo…" Kyomi said rolling her eyes at him. She unlocked the door and Hiro and Kisa escaped inside as quickly as they could. "You enjoy making people uncomfortable too much." She said to him.
"And you aren't fazed by me at all anymore so I have to find my amusement elsewhere. You really are too mean Mi-chan, not playing along with me." Shigure said, fake tears running down his face. He sobered quickly however and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Although, I do happen to know that you have just as much of a dirty mind as I do."
Kyomi blushed slightly and whispered back, "Yes, but I reserve it solely for you my dear. No one else gets to know the depths of the depravity in my mind." She reached up to give him a slow kiss on his cheek and flicked his skin with her tongue making him jump and his eyes nearly pop out of his head. She just smirked and chuckled at him as she grabbed his hand back and continued walking. Luc was on the other side of Shigure and suddenly reached up to be carried.
"Shigu, Mama, Luc tiss too!" He said and gave Shigure a kiss on the cheek, then leaned over to give his mother one as well. They shared a laugh before continuing on to the main estate, staying far from the main house, and heading straight for Hatori's office.
….
Thankfully, Kyomi's voice was only slightly strained and just needed time, rest, plenty of hot tea and honey and maybe a little whiskey. Hatori only shook his head when she told him that hot toddies made it feel better and he said it wasn't going to hurt it so go ahead. A few weeks later and her voice was almost back to normal. Kyomi was at home by herself wondering what to do with her evening. Kyo, Tohru and Luc were at Kazuma's for the evening for Luc's class and dinner. Shigure was on a work dinner with his editor that he had already canceled once. That had gotten him in trouble with Kyomi since he had canceled it to spend the evening with her. Yuki was going to be home late after student council business and said he was going to make his own dinner. That left Kyomi alone in the house which she was so looking forward to! As much as she adored her family and was over the moon to have them, every once in awhile a mom needs some time to herself. It's actually very necessary for a mom to do a few things for herself. Shigure had taken one look at the excitement in her wide eyes when she asked if she was going have the house to herself and he had made sure it would happen. It had actually taken no effort on his part since everyone had plans, but he still took credit for it. Then got himself glared at by the resident teen cat and mouse spirit.
This left Kyomi going through her wine bottle collection humming happily to herself. She discovered she had one bottle left of her favorite German Riesling and then decided she would make a beef Spatzle soup. It wasn't hard to make, but the family hadn't liked the recipe before so she decided she would make some for herself. Tohru had put some beef scraps in the freezer that would be perfect for stew meat so she pulled it out to thaw and then made her Spatzle. The last time she had made it, she had borrowed her neighbors stand mixer so it was easier. She forgot that Shigure in all his non-cooking bachelor-ness, did not have one. She was breaking a sweat in no time before she heard a knock on the front door. She wiped her forehead and her hands and went to answer the door. She almost didn't recognize the blond teenager standing there.
"Mi-chan! I come bearing gifts fur meine Tante!" Momiji said bouncing past her carrying a box nearly the same size as he was and his violin.
"Momiji! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in ages! Holy moly you have grown!" She said a little bewildered at his appearance and confused as to what he was carrying.
"I don't want to spoil the surprise!" He said, holding a finger to his lips to shush her from asking any questions. "Shii-chan said to put this in your room and to not let you see it until I'm done!" Momiji said.
"Well if Gure said it's alright then go ahead. I noticed him rearranging things in there before he left, but I thought he had just lost something and was looking for it." Kyomi laughed. "Oh by the way, I'm making beef Spatzle soup if you are hungry!" She said over her shoulder as she walked back into the kitchen. In her bedroom she heard a thump as the box hit the floor and then quick footsteps as the young half-German boy came in to peek over her shoulder.
"Do you need any help meine wundervolle Tante?" Momiji said in his sweetest way hoping to get a bowl for himself.
"Actually, it would be very helpful if you beat this dough for a few more minutes. My arms could use a break and I need to sear this beef." Kyomi said.
"Of course I will help!" He said and he grabbed the bowl and started kneading the dough with the spoon. "Do you have a Spatzle press?" He asked. Kyomi just stared at him, blinking for a second.
"Um, yes, I do actually. It was a going away present when Sean and I left Germany. One of my friends showed me how to make it and wanted me to be able to continue to do so. Have you made Spatzle before?" She asked him.
Momiji smiled sadly, "I used to watch my Muter make it when I was younger. I used to hide around the corner outside the kitchen and watch her cook food from her home. It was fascinating to watch, but even better was the smile as she cooked. It was the only thing that seemed to bring her a little bit of happiness."
Kyomi didn't even think, she just threw her arms around the teen to give him a hug and squeezed him tight. Her eyes flew open and she pushed him away to arms length.
"It broke for you?" She asked him quietly, tears coming to her eyes. He put the bowl down and hugged her back for the first time, both of them crying. They finally pulled away laughing and drying their eyes.
"Oh no, the beef!" Kyomi exclaimed before she realized she had forgotten to turn the burner on. The raw beef pieces were sitting in the oil in the skillet just as red as they had been before. This caused another round of laughter causing more tears to fall.
"At least nothing has been ruined." Kyomi finally choked out wiping her eyes yet again.
„Das ist wunderbar!" Momiji exclaimed. "While you finish this, I'll go put together your present and then you can ask all the questions I know you want to ask while we eat, klingt gud?" Momiji told her.
„Ja, mein Liebling, das ist eine gute Idee." Kyomi answered smiling hugely at him.
Momiji's eyes widened. „Ach du meine Gute! Sehr gut! You've been practicing!" He responded.
Kyomi's smile didn't dim as she returned to her cooking, humming away. She finished searing the beef in the stew pot, then added the beef broth, a chopped onion, and cubbed, carrots, celery and potatoes. She boiled another pot of water to make the Spatzle. She heard a few loud sounds coming from the bedroom, but Momiji assured her all was well when she questioned him. She was finishing the last of the Spatzle when Momiji came out of the bedroom, grinning and said, „Es ist vollbracht!" He wouldn't let her in the bedroom until after dinner.
They dished bowls of their soup and added the Spatzle. They settled in at the table, Kyomi with her wine, and Momiji with a cup of tea. They hummed with their first bite.
"It is so Gut Mi-chan!" Momiji sighed. Kyomi nodded, "I got a great recipe from my friend. However, it will be better tomorrow after it sits in the fridge. The flavors meld together more and get happy." She said laughing at herself.
"I can't imagine this getting much better, but I believe you anyway!" Momiji laughed with her.
"So when did this happen?" Kyomi asked him. Momiji told the story including his conversations with Akito. He ended telling her about what he was hoping to do with his life. Kyomi had a few interjections and exclamations, but mostly just let him talk. She could tell he needed to talk to someone, so she let him. Kyomi just sat back, put her chin in her palm and smiled encouragingly at him to continue.
"I did have a conversation with your brother. I think I scared him, but hopefully it will help him in the end." Momiji said. Kyomi looked confused.
"What could you have said to my brother to scare him?" She asked.
"I told him we all know that he's in love with Tohru of course!" Momiji said like it was the most obvious thing ever. Kyomi busted out laughing knowing the perceptive teen was right.
"I think everyone knows those two are in love with each other, EXCEPT those two!" Kyomi said rubbing her face in exhaustion at the two blind teens.
"I love her too." Momiji said quietly. "I told him, if he messed anything up, I would be there to steal her away." Kyomi smiled sadly.
"I wondered." Was all Kyomi could offer. She didn't want to push, but knew if he wanted to say more he would. Apparently he didn't however since he launched up out of his seat.
"Enough about me! It's time for your present! Although Shii-chan said to wait for him, but I don't think I can anymore!"
"I'll show him my gratitude later, I want to see!" Kyomi said excitedly rising to her feet as well and rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
Momiji flung open the door and yelled, "Surprise!" Kyomi's jaw dropped.
There where Shigure's desk had sat before, stood the oddest little baby grand piano she had ever seen.
"It's digital. Suzuki just came out with a new model and one of my father's business associates gifted it to him forgetting that his daughter plays violin and not the piano. So, I asked if I could give it to a friend! He already has a full grand in his music room, so he didn't need this one too. Everybody is happy!" Momiji said enthusiastically. Kyomi was already standing in front of it, running her fingers along the keys.
"Sit, play something." Momiji said kindly, pulling out his violin.
She grinned at him and asked, "Know any Ed Sheeran?" And she started a slow arrangement of Perfect. Momiji knew the song well enough and could find the melody easily enough to start playing it with her and then in the chorus, he hopped up to play a harmonic line to support her melody. It wasn't perfect, but they both were good enough to watch each other and at one point had to stop and laugh at how bad the wrong notes they had played sounded, then started right back in. It was their second play through when the front door opened and a tired Shigure walked in. He had heard the music from outside and had gotten home just after they had started playing. He had leaned against the door and listened, stifling laughter behind his hand when they had to stop because of their own laughter.
"Oh! Mi-chan! Do you know this one?" And he started playing the chorus of A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.
"Oh yes I do! Wait, can you do it in B flat?" Kyomi asked him. Momiji played around a little before nodding and they started playing that together as well.
Shigure didn't interrupt them, but just made himself a cup of tea before sitting at the table and listening. Yuki came in not long after just as quietly and joined him. A little while later, Kyo came in carrying a sleeping Luc. Tohru shut the door just a little too loudly and Kyomi and Momiji turned around and jumped to see their audience. Shigure and Yuki just laughed at them, Kyomi held her hand to her heart to recover and then glared at her cackling fiancée, Tohru apologized profusely for startling them all.
"Oh nein! It's so late! I need to go home!" Momiji packed up his violin quickly. Kyomi turned off the keyboard and got up to see him out. Kyo had taken Luc up to put him to bed and Tohru had followed to help, both bidding Momiji goodnight and that they would see him in the morning at school.
"Momiji, thank you for a wonderful evening and for this wonderful present! Pass on my thanks to your father as well." Kyomi said walking him to the door.
"Of course, I will Mi-chan! Tchuss!" And he was out the door, Kyomi shaking her head at his energy.
"You play beautifully Kyomi, I'll see you in the morning." Yuki said in his soft way before heading up the stairs as well. This left Kyomi and Shigure downstairs.
"So did you like my surprise?" Shigure asked turning to look at Kyomi as they walked back into their bedroom. He had barely turned around before Kyomi was up against him, kissing him with her hands on his chest so he wouldn't transform. He grabbed her face in his hands and pushed her up against the door Kyomi had closed behind her. The rest of their evening entailed Kyomi showing her gratitude to Shigure without words, leaving them both in need of a cold shower before bed. They went to bed at the same time for the first time in awhile and laid talking for a little bit before Kyomi fell asleep.
(Hence why this mom is writing fanfics LOL! :)
And I know the s in Spatzle has an umlaut, I just cant figure out how to get my laptop to do it. I had a German keyboard on my phone when I lived in Germany, but I didn't have this laptop in Germany LOL. Ironically my ipad I had in Germany, just recently started being American again. No idea why it took so long, but there's so many subtle little things that it would do to accommodate German internet and time and all that and it FINALLY stopped a few months ago. We've been back in the states since 2018…
Lastly, the Piano Guys cover of Perfect is my favorite one! The pianist in that group is awesome anyway though! Also their cover of That's What Makes You Beautiful is super cool too! Highly recommend:) great to study to if you need that sort of thing. Or write to in my current case.