A/n: Updates at 1AM are becoming a thing, but an update within a week should not I hope.
I just had a really fun Diwali, and was in the mood for something family-related so this popped up in my brain and I decided to run with it.
It features my fankids for TyHil, 2 of them make an appearance while the other 2 are mentioned by name. Yes...I have 4 fankids for TyHil, don't ask how they got there, they just did xD For those who'd like to read about them, they can send me a message and I'll forward the tumblr post link which has all the details.
Some basics are: Eldest son – Toshiro, Twin boys – Natsu and Haru, Youngest daughter – Mirai.
Tale 16
- x -
Hiromi had always been a light sleeper to begin with, but if having four kids had taught her anything, it was that she should be ready to jump into action at the slightest sound. So when the noise of glass shattering faintly reached her ears, she sat up straight immediately, her eyes wide open as she waited for more sounds to follow. When her anticipation was met with silence, she turned to her side and nudged the sleeping figure next to her.
"Takao, wake up! Did you hear that?"
"No, all I hear is you." Came the muffled and grumbling reply from under the blankets as her husband refused to budge.
"I think I heard something break." She continued, unaffected by his disinterest in the matter, "But now it's a little too quiet."
"We can deal with it in the morning, go back to sleep Hiromi."
"No!" She turned on her side to frown at Takao, who was still safely tucked inside their blankets and hadn't even made an attempt to move, and though his refusal to move from the bed did not come as a surprise to her, it did make her more anxious and finicky than before "What if it was one of the kids? What if they're hurt?"
"If they were hurt Hiromi, they would've barged into our room screaming and crying by now." Takao poked his head out of the blanket to glare sternly at her, "Go back to sleep, it's probably the wind or something."
"What if it's an intruder? A thief?" She challenged him, folding her arms across her chest firmly to let him know that it would take a lot more to convince her than 'it's the wind'.
"A thief? Sure, because a Kendo instructor and a college professor with four school going kids make for the perfect household to steal from." Takao scoffed at her before diving back under the covers and turning on his side so that his back was now facing her, signalling that for him the conversation was over and it was time to go back to sleep.
"Takao, I'm worried." She whined, reaching across to grab his arm over the blanket and pull him towards her again,"It could be anything, and we ought to check it out."
"If you're worried, then you should go ahead and check it out." He replied, refusing to budge from his position even with Hiromi putting all her strength into the tug.
"Like I said, it could be an intruder." Hiromi pulled back her hands as she passed a look of disbelief in Takao's direction, "Are you really going to send your wife alone to drive one away?"
"What better way to scare someone than letting them see you in your natural, bedhead state."
It never failed to amaze her, how despite almost a lifetime of being friends, dating and then marriage, Takao still hadn't learned when to pick his battles. With the rage that bubbled up insider her, Hiromi grabbed the blanket on Takao's side and pulled it away from over him completely, kicking his shins sharply afterwards as payback for his taunt.
"Ow, now I'll do such a great job protecting us from the intruder with an injured leg." Takao groaned as he finally sat up straight and mourned the loss of the blanket by pouting angrily at her, going on to inspect the reddish mark her toes had left on his legs.
"Oh, suck it up." Hiromi muttered under her breath, but couldn't stop herself from straining her neck to see over his shoulder whether she really had hurt him seriously or not.
"Fine, fine. I'll go see where the noise came from." Takao sighed in defeat, now that the comfort of the blanket had already been stolen, it seemed that he didn't see the point in arguing any further.
Takao left the bed in almost slow motion, still trying to prove to her that he'd rather be tucked away and fast asleep right now, and Hiromi could only roll her eyes at his antics. Once he disappeared into the hallway, she sat debating whether she should follow him or not. Chances of Takao being right that it was indeed nothing, and she was freaking out for no reason were mostly high, but even then she couldn't stand the thought of sending him out to investigate something that could be potentially dangerous all by himself. She quickly stepped out of the bed and threw on her dressing gown, pausing for a minute to flatten her hair with her hands since Takao's joke from earlier was still on her mind, and made her way out of their room. The lights in the hallway had been switched on, for which she was relieved, and she caught eye of Takao turning towards the kitchen and hastily caught up with him.
She regretted her decision a minute later as they stepped into the kitchen and turned on the lights to find a jar of cookies lying broken on the floor, with it's contents spread out around it and a fallen stool next to it. She covered her face with her hands as Takao passed her a smug and triumphant 'I told you so' look. While Hiromi was relieved that the culprit was one of her own, she wasn't fond of how Takao continued to obnoxiously clear his throat every few minutes as they cleaned up the mess on the floor together, hoping to get her to admit her mistake out loud.
"What are these?" Takao asked, picking up one of the remaining cookies on the floor and inspecting it closely.
"Organic cookies, made from buckwheat and completely sugar free. I got them from the farmer's market last weekend." She replied, a bit disappointed that it would all go to waste so soon since she hadn't gotten around to tasting these yet.
Takao nodded at her and intrigued by her description he casually popped the cookie into his mouth, the fact that it had fallen on the floor and had possibly been mixed with glass shards didn't seem to bother him, making Hiromi scrunch up her nose at his actions. He took a bite and a scowl settled on his face as he immediately spit the cookie out into his hands.
"You call this a cookie? This shit's disgusting." He muttered as they got up to throw the remains of the jar and the ruined cookies into the trash. Takao poured himself a glass of water right after, stating that he needed to wash away the terrible taste in his mouth, "And I think it's safe to rule out Toshi since he's tall enough to reach the shelf that jar must've been on."
"I suppose."
"So that leaves the twins and Mirai."
"Mirai would never." Hiromi stared indignantly at Takao, she couldn't believe that the thought of their daughter pulling a stunt like this would even cross his mind.
"Tch, tch, Hiromi. You're not supposed to play favourites in situations like these. Parenting 101." Takao shook his head at her reaction, "Hasn't reading those detective novels taught you anything? The culprit is always the one you suspect the least."
"Sure, because Mirai's perpetual good behaviour has just been a front for her to sneak around for cookies at night," Hiromi rolled her eyes at his ridiculousness, "While the twins, who are always making mischief, shouldn't be on the suspect list. Which one of us is playing favourites, Takao?"
"Ugh, fine. Let's just head back to bed now?"
"Not yet. I want to make sure that they didn't hurt themselves with the glass." Hiromi passed a stern look towards Takao, who opened his mouth to argue and convince her to leave everything for tomorrow morning, but changed his mind midway and let out a deep sigh instead, turning to lead the way towards the twins' room without any further objection.
She thought it sweet when they reached the room and Takao knocked at the door lightly before they entered, even though they were here to possibly scold the kids, he was still considerate of the fact that this was their space. Inside the room once the lights were turned on, Hiromi wasn't shocked to find both of her sons in their respective beds sleeping soundly, what did raise her suspicions were how proper they looked, like someone had positioned them there. The blankets weren't half thrown on the ground, neither were sleeping on their stomachs, there was no sound or movement of any kind from either of the beds. She wondered if Takao picked up on it too, and after exchanging understanding looks with him, Hiromi went to inspect Haru while Takao checked up on Natsu.
Hiromi's hand only just lifted the blanket from over Haru's head, when his eyes flew open and he jumped up anxiously, "Mom, it wasn't me. It was all Natsu! I didn't even go with him, I was in here the entire time. I even tried to stop him!"
Silence took over the room after Haru's outburst, Takao watched both the boys with an amused expression on his face and Hiromi, who hadn't expected the problem to solve itself so quickly, was first and foremost relieved that neither of the boys were sporting any injuries from the little incident, at least she'd be able to fall back asleep in peace now. She turned to look at Natsu, who was now glaring daggers at his brother, and folded her arms in preparation for a whacky explanation of his actions.
"Wow, Haru. We have got to talk about loyalty one of these days," Takao broke the silence with a chuckle, his cocoa eyes softening at the sight of Haru squirming under his brother's glare, he then faced Natsu with a sterner expression and stated, "And you should know better than to attempt to steal cookies past midnight."
"Dad, it's not completely my fault," Natsu began, averting his gaze from Haru and facing his father with a more composed expression, "Why would Mom put those cookies at the top shelf, away from our reach, knowing that it's only going to make us want it more?"
"You, not us." Haru corrected him quietly.
"Honestly, Natsu." Hiromi shook her head exasperatedly but found Takao nodding and agreeing with his son's defence, "Takao!"
He immediately stopped nodding and smugly raised his eyebrows at Natsu, "And did the cookies taste as good as you thought they would?"
"No, they tasted like shit."
"Language!" Both Hiromi and Takao shouted in unison, and Natsu winced at their reaction, after a minute of consideration, he repeated himself.
"Tasted like crap."
Hiromi rolled her eyes, lately she had been apprehensive about Natsu becoming more and more notorious and now she really felt that he'd be lost to the cause of good behaviour sooner than she had expected. Tired and a little bit sleep deprived, she decided it was about time to put an end to this investigation.
"No pocket money for you for a week Natsu, unless you replace my cookies."
Before Natsu could argue with her, Takao turned to Haru and added, "And none for you either, until your brother finishes his punishment. It would do you some good to help him for a change."
There was a flurry of protests form both ends, but Takao and Hiromi paid them no heed and bid their kids good night as sweetly as they could, shutting the door behind them as the twins continued to groan and cry over how unfair their parents were being.
Hiromi wasn't too worried about the two being able to buy her the same cookies again, she knew Takao would take them to the market behind her back and help them with it, but there was still something that kept bothering her at the back of her mind, so even after the two had settled back in their bed, she couldn't help but speak her mind out loud.
"Do you think Haru got it from me?"
Takao didn't respond but he turned his face towards her, she could sense the disappointment over still not being allowed to fall asleep, but he still gestured for her to elaborate.
"The snitching. I used to snitch on you all the time when we were kids."
Takao laughed at her statement and moved closer to her, leaning his forehead against hers, he smiled and said, "And look where that got that us."
She felt warmth spread across her face from her forehead, her worries about how she had unintentionally turned her child into an unkind and disloyal person disappearing from her mind when Takao looked at her with nothing but love in his eyes.
"There's a little bit of both of us in them, and I think that's what makes them so perfect." Takao murmured in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, her head falling to rest on his chest by itself. Hiromi had always been a light sleeper, except for when she felt soothed by Takao's rhythmic heartbeat. As her eyes comfortably fluttered close and her whole body relaxed in his embrace, she knew she would have to be dragged out of bed the next morning and no alarm or broken cookie jars would be capable of waking her from her slumber.
- x -
A/n: Funny thing, I actually looked up how much salary Kendo athletes or instructors would make on an average in Japan and it's not a lot, so I suppose it's safe to say that Hiromi is supporting this household heheh. I also have so many different professions for Hiromi in mind, it never stays the same, so she might be a professor here but she might be something else in some other oneshot lol.
Thank you for reading, until next time!