A/N: This will be weird now since I lost all of my previous files when my
computer crashed during Christmas. This means that not only has it been
awhile since I wrote the last chapter but... my notes for this chapter
where destroyed as well. Hopefully this won't seem to forced/odd.
Iori sighed happily, as he watched Takeru walk out of their apartment for his first night back to work after their newest arrival. Iori hadn't been too keen on Takeru returning to work so quickly, however when a sudden mid- September rush on computers sent Takeru's shop into overdrive, Takeru had been offered a substantial sum to return to work and manage the less competent workers. The raise had more than made up for Iori's few protests, and Takeru waved a slightly depressed goodbye to his "wife" and child.
Iori watched Takeru's back until the young teen had finally turned around the corner. Once Takeru was out of sight, Iori turned to the small child lying sleepily within its roped off playpen. Iori gently reached in and took the young infant from its warm pen and cuddled the child gently. "Does Kenji-chan wanna help Kaa-chan clean up the apartment?" Iori asked the oddly indifferent child before placing it into a small backpack-esque carrier that was conveniently placed on the table. This Iori then slung around his back and fastened securely before beginning his daily chores.
Iori moved across the floor gracefully as he semi-danced over to his broom closet and fished his mop and bucket out from behind the more technical cleaning apparatus. He moved over to his tiled kitchen floor and gave the only slightly dingy floor a once over before moving to the sink and filling the bucket with a mix of water and cleaning solvent. Iori hummed happily as he waited for the bucket to fill, and busied himself further by playing a short game of "grab the child's hand" with his new baby. Little Kenji put up with Iori's fussing for a few moments before once again becoming uninterested and falling asleep on his Kaa-san's warm back. Iori chuckled softly as he listened to his child's content breathing. He stood transfixed as he listened to the soft repetitive noise, only breaking from his trance when the rather large puddle that had formed from the sink reached his sock- clad feet. Thank god I am washing this floor anyways, Iori thought as he tip toed over to the faucet and finally stopped the water.
---------(A few hours later)----------
Iori moved softly as he pushed the vacuum cleaner across the span of his living rooms carpeted floor. He had finally decided to leave poor Kenji alone and had placed the quite content child into its playpen. Iori watched the small boy from the corner of his eye constantly, waiting for the slightest movement in case his young one needed him. After the first hour or two of non-movement, Iori's vigilance began to fade more and more into his subconscious mind as he focused more on his cleaning and the music that was coming from his headphones. As always, Iori had decided to think of his child first, and had thus chosen to use his headphones instead of playing his music on the living room stereo.
Iori failed to notice his apartment's door open softly as he continued to dance across the floor, missing nearly half the floor as he went. He was having a great time allowing the music playing inside of his head to seep into his consciousness as he blocked out the real world from his senses. He however froze in his steps as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him from behind, and lifted his small frame into the air. He blushed ferociously as he heard the light laughter of Takeru echoed through his apartment. "I didn't know you could dance so well Io-chan... I really do need to take you out more often," Takeru chuckled as he set his frazzled Koi back onto the ground, allowing the smaller boy the ability to catch his breath.
Iori spun around, facing Takeru with his still beat red face. "What possessed you to do that Keru-chan?" Iori asked as he took a slightly menacing step towards the older blonde. Takeru placed both hands on Iori's shoulders, effectively keeping the shorter teen from advancing any further. "Gomen Io-chan... you just looked far too cute dancing like that. I couldn't help but surprise you!" "That's not a very convincing excuse Keru-chan... I don't think you should just come home and scare me like that... besides what are you doing home this early anyways?" "Can't a father miss his son and wife? I merely came home for lunch so I could see how my lil' ones are doing," Takeru said quietly as he walked over to the playpen and stared down at his now-sleeping Kenji-chan.
Iori walked over to where Takeru was playing with Kenji's sleeping form and watched the two bonding for a moment. It struck Iori that he was extremely lucky to have someone like Takeru who could understand why he wanted to take care of Kenji at such a young age. He smiled softly as Takeru softly picked the slumbering baby up out of the pen and cradled him into his arms. "So, Io-chan... what are you making us for lunch?" "Well, Keru-chan... Kenji-chan will be having a nice bottle of formula... and you'll be walking down the block to the ramen stand and picking up both of our lunches for scaring me," Iori said as he slowly took Kenji from Takeru's grasp and lead the infant away. Takeru merely lowered his head in defeat, and went to retrieve his coat.
---------(several hours later)----------
Takeru slowly dragged his feet up the last few stairs to his apartment Why in god's name did I buy an apartment with an outside entrance? Takeru asked himself as he jammed his key into the lock. He pushed the door open and was immediately welcomed with a pleasant smell, mixed with a slight blast of heat from inside. He smiled softly as he entered the apartment and took his coat off. The first thing he noticed was the quiet babbling of his infant, softly lying on the floor within his playpen. Takeru walked over to the side of the small object and starred down at the child. "You know, this playpen cost me over 60,000 yen? You're still worth it though Kenji... as long as you keep Ka-chan happy," Takeru spoke softly as he gently stroked Kenji's cheek.
As Takeru continued to talk to his child, Iori slowly crept out of the kitchen and walked on tip toes over to where Takeru was standing. He stopped about two feet from Takeru's body as he watched the older teen bend over and pick up Kenji from off the floor. Iori moved quickly over to the side as the two males turned around and began walking towards the kitchen. Once Takeru passed by the waiting Iori, leapt from where he was hiding and wrapped his arms around Takeru, causing the older teen to freeze up. "Iori- chan, " Asked a breathless Takeru as his heart finally began to beat once again. Takeru turned to regard the now laughing Iori as the younger boy slide down onto the floor, holding himself in a vain attempt to regain some form of control.
Takeru stared down at his younger koi as Iori finally managed to get himself under some marginal amount of control. God, he's cute when he's flushed like that, Takeru thought silently as he gave Iori a gentle hand up. Iori took Takeru's hand, and was shocked when Takeru made a quick pull and forced the younger boy to smash up against his side. "If I didn't love you so much Io-chan... I probably would have tossed you out a window long ago," with this, Takeru gave Iori a soft kiss before pushing the smaller teen towards their kitchen.
Iori sighed happily, as he watched Takeru walk out of their apartment for his first night back to work after their newest arrival. Iori hadn't been too keen on Takeru returning to work so quickly, however when a sudden mid- September rush on computers sent Takeru's shop into overdrive, Takeru had been offered a substantial sum to return to work and manage the less competent workers. The raise had more than made up for Iori's few protests, and Takeru waved a slightly depressed goodbye to his "wife" and child.
Iori watched Takeru's back until the young teen had finally turned around the corner. Once Takeru was out of sight, Iori turned to the small child lying sleepily within its roped off playpen. Iori gently reached in and took the young infant from its warm pen and cuddled the child gently. "Does Kenji-chan wanna help Kaa-chan clean up the apartment?" Iori asked the oddly indifferent child before placing it into a small backpack-esque carrier that was conveniently placed on the table. This Iori then slung around his back and fastened securely before beginning his daily chores.
Iori moved across the floor gracefully as he semi-danced over to his broom closet and fished his mop and bucket out from behind the more technical cleaning apparatus. He moved over to his tiled kitchen floor and gave the only slightly dingy floor a once over before moving to the sink and filling the bucket with a mix of water and cleaning solvent. Iori hummed happily as he waited for the bucket to fill, and busied himself further by playing a short game of "grab the child's hand" with his new baby. Little Kenji put up with Iori's fussing for a few moments before once again becoming uninterested and falling asleep on his Kaa-san's warm back. Iori chuckled softly as he listened to his child's content breathing. He stood transfixed as he listened to the soft repetitive noise, only breaking from his trance when the rather large puddle that had formed from the sink reached his sock- clad feet. Thank god I am washing this floor anyways, Iori thought as he tip toed over to the faucet and finally stopped the water.
---------(A few hours later)----------
Iori moved softly as he pushed the vacuum cleaner across the span of his living rooms carpeted floor. He had finally decided to leave poor Kenji alone and had placed the quite content child into its playpen. Iori watched the small boy from the corner of his eye constantly, waiting for the slightest movement in case his young one needed him. After the first hour or two of non-movement, Iori's vigilance began to fade more and more into his subconscious mind as he focused more on his cleaning and the music that was coming from his headphones. As always, Iori had decided to think of his child first, and had thus chosen to use his headphones instead of playing his music on the living room stereo.
Iori failed to notice his apartment's door open softly as he continued to dance across the floor, missing nearly half the floor as he went. He was having a great time allowing the music playing inside of his head to seep into his consciousness as he blocked out the real world from his senses. He however froze in his steps as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him from behind, and lifted his small frame into the air. He blushed ferociously as he heard the light laughter of Takeru echoed through his apartment. "I didn't know you could dance so well Io-chan... I really do need to take you out more often," Takeru chuckled as he set his frazzled Koi back onto the ground, allowing the smaller boy the ability to catch his breath.
Iori spun around, facing Takeru with his still beat red face. "What possessed you to do that Keru-chan?" Iori asked as he took a slightly menacing step towards the older blonde. Takeru placed both hands on Iori's shoulders, effectively keeping the shorter teen from advancing any further. "Gomen Io-chan... you just looked far too cute dancing like that. I couldn't help but surprise you!" "That's not a very convincing excuse Keru-chan... I don't think you should just come home and scare me like that... besides what are you doing home this early anyways?" "Can't a father miss his son and wife? I merely came home for lunch so I could see how my lil' ones are doing," Takeru said quietly as he walked over to the playpen and stared down at his now-sleeping Kenji-chan.
Iori walked over to where Takeru was playing with Kenji's sleeping form and watched the two bonding for a moment. It struck Iori that he was extremely lucky to have someone like Takeru who could understand why he wanted to take care of Kenji at such a young age. He smiled softly as Takeru softly picked the slumbering baby up out of the pen and cradled him into his arms. "So, Io-chan... what are you making us for lunch?" "Well, Keru-chan... Kenji-chan will be having a nice bottle of formula... and you'll be walking down the block to the ramen stand and picking up both of our lunches for scaring me," Iori said as he slowly took Kenji from Takeru's grasp and lead the infant away. Takeru merely lowered his head in defeat, and went to retrieve his coat.
---------(several hours later)----------
Takeru slowly dragged his feet up the last few stairs to his apartment Why in god's name did I buy an apartment with an outside entrance? Takeru asked himself as he jammed his key into the lock. He pushed the door open and was immediately welcomed with a pleasant smell, mixed with a slight blast of heat from inside. He smiled softly as he entered the apartment and took his coat off. The first thing he noticed was the quiet babbling of his infant, softly lying on the floor within his playpen. Takeru walked over to the side of the small object and starred down at the child. "You know, this playpen cost me over 60,000 yen? You're still worth it though Kenji... as long as you keep Ka-chan happy," Takeru spoke softly as he gently stroked Kenji's cheek.
As Takeru continued to talk to his child, Iori slowly crept out of the kitchen and walked on tip toes over to where Takeru was standing. He stopped about two feet from Takeru's body as he watched the older teen bend over and pick up Kenji from off the floor. Iori moved quickly over to the side as the two males turned around and began walking towards the kitchen. Once Takeru passed by the waiting Iori, leapt from where he was hiding and wrapped his arms around Takeru, causing the older teen to freeze up. "Iori- chan, " Asked a breathless Takeru as his heart finally began to beat once again. Takeru turned to regard the now laughing Iori as the younger boy slide down onto the floor, holding himself in a vain attempt to regain some form of control.
Takeru stared down at his younger koi as Iori finally managed to get himself under some marginal amount of control. God, he's cute when he's flushed like that, Takeru thought silently as he gave Iori a gentle hand up. Iori took Takeru's hand, and was shocked when Takeru made a quick pull and forced the younger boy to smash up against his side. "If I didn't love you so much Io-chan... I probably would have tossed you out a window long ago," with this, Takeru gave Iori a soft kiss before pushing the smaller teen towards their kitchen.