Disclaimer: Do I still have to say I own nothing? I think you guys get it now.
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Ayame stared at her self in the mirror for the longest time. She wore a pair of black sandals, black capris and a red, sleeveless, button down top that stopped just at the waistband of her capris that she bought the night she and Tasuki made their date. She also wore a red beaded chocker. Her long black hair was pulled up into a tight bun.
"Are you still staring at yourself? You look fine!" Ruri poked her head in Ayame's room. "Amiboshi and Tasuki will be here soon!"
"I'll be there soon!" Ayame waved off her friend and frowned at her reflection. 'I am way to self conscious…I look fine, don't I?' She wrinkled her nose and pulled out the bobby pins hair ties that were nearly pulling her hair out by the roots. Her hair fell silently to her waist. 'That looks better.' She tosses the hair ties onto a table, shook out her hair a bit and left the room to join Kohana and Ruri.
Ruri looked very pretty in her blue sandals, jeans and blue peasant top. She wore a leather cord around her neck with a blue pendant outlined in silver. Nothing all that fancy considering she and Amiboshi weren't actually going out, they were just watching Kohana.
Kohana smiled when her sister came out. "Ne-chan, you look so pretty!"
"Thanks, Kohana."
"I'm sure Tasuki will say the same thing." Ruri smirked.
"Shut up Ruri! I just wanted to look nice!"
"You so wanted to dress to impress!"
"Oh? And what about you? You're dressed for a little more than babysitting." Ayame retorted.
Ruri made a face. "Oh you…"
"Ayame, think I should go to bed early so Ruri and Ami-kun can have some private time?" Kohana giggled.
Ayame laughed when Ruri blushed. "You know, maybe you should stay up with them. You'll have to be their chaperone." Ayame knelt down and smoothed out her sister's hair.
"Guys!" Ruri blushed furiously.
The other two girls laughed even harder.
~*~*~*~
"So where do you plan on taking Ayame tonight?" Amiboshi glanced over at Tasuki in the driver's seat.
"Movie, dinner, I think there's a concert in the park tonight. We might stop there if she doesn't want to go home." Tasuki stepped on the brake at a red light. "You and Ruri?"
"Well, we'll just be hanging around the house so I dunno if things will be all that interesting."
"There's probably something on TV." He stepped on the gas again.
"Probably…"
"Did you bring your flute? Kohana would probably like to hear you play."
"Oh yeah. I did." Amiboshi stared out the window.
"You nervous?"
"Yeah…I've never really done anything like this before…" He sighed.
"Well, too late for regrets now. We're here." Tasuki parked in front of the small house Ayame and Kohana lived in.
"Oh jeez…" Amiboshi took a deep breath and got out of the car.
"Come on. You can't be that nervous…"
"Lay off, will you?" Amiboshi muttered.
"Okay, okay. No need to get touchy." Tasuki rolled his eyes and hopped up the front step. He was wearing the outfit Ayame told him to wear earlier that week.
"Sorry…" Amiboshi shifted from foot to foot. He was wearing sneakers, khaki cargo pants and a long sleeve black shirt with a light blue t-shirt over it. His coat was draped over his arm.
Tasuki knocked on the door. Kohana opened it up. "Hi!"
"Hey, Kohana." Tasuki and Amiboshi smiled at the little girl.
"Ayame's almost ready. Ruri decided she didn't like her hair a minute ago so she's makin' Ayame fix it." She let them in.
Tasuki rolled his eyes. "How long will it take?"
"I dunno. Ruri's never happy with her hair. I'll go look." Kohana skipped off.
"Ow! Ayame! You're pulling to hard!"
"This coming from the girl who almost yanked my hair out putting it up?"
The guys looked at each other when they heard Ruri yelling at Ayame. Amiboshi hung up his coat on a spare hook.
"I said I was sorry." A moment of silence. "I don't like that either."
"Why did you decide you didn't like the first one? I thought that was fine!"
"It didn't look right."
"Oh! Just leave it down then! I gotta go!"
A rather frustrated Ayame came around the corner. "Oh! Hi guys. I didn't hear you come in."
"We just got here." Amiboshi smiled.
Tasuki smiled when he saw Ayame. "You look great, Ayame."
"Thanks." She smiled back. "Ready?" She grabbed a small black purse from a side table.
"Yeah. Let's go."
Ruri came into the front hall, her hair down.
"H…hi…" Amiboshi stuttered.
"Hi…" Ruri looked him up and down. 'Oh wow…he's cute…' "So…what do you want to do?"
He shrugged. "I dunno…did you have anything in mind?"
"Not really. Wanna see what's on TV?" She nervously pushed her hair behind her ears.
Kohana looked up at her two babysitters. 'Hopeless…' She shook her head. "Can we play a game?"
"Sure." Ruri was glad Kohana spoke up.
"What do you want to play?" Amiboshi asked.
"Umm…Hide and Seek!" She said happily.
Ruri and Amiboshi looked at each other and smiled. "Okay."
~*~*~*~
"So where are we going?" Ayame watched Tasuki drive.
"Movies."
"What are we seeing?"
"What do you want to see?"
"Well, there's a movie I wanted to see, but you wouldn't like it."
"What is it?"
"It's a romance movie. Definitely not for a guy."
"I think I could suffer through one."
"I highly doubt that."
"What? You don't think I could?"
"No." She giggled.
He feigned a hurt face. "Excuse me?"
"Oh come off it! Guys have never liked romance movies!"
"We suffer through them occasionally!"
"Occasionally?"
"Okay, okay! Almost never. But one or two never hurt."
"Tasuki, you're a prince."
He almost burst out laughing. "Hardly…"
"Any guy who willingly goes to a chick flick is a prince." She smiled.
"If you say so…" Tasuki pulled into a parking space in the theatre lot. "Well, here we are."
~*~*~*~
"Amiboshi! This is my spot!" Ruri hissed at him while they both crouched in the closet.
"How was I supposed to know? Besides, it's too late to move now. She's looking for us now." Amiboshi hissed back.
Kohana crept near the closet. She contained her giggles when she heard the two arguing inside the closet. 'It couldn't hurt to let them stay there…' She continued on as if she never heard them.
Ruri couldn't have been more thankful for the darkness of the closet. She could feel her face heating up and knew she was probably bright red. She couldn't believe she was this close to him in such a small space.
'Man…how'd I get myself into this?' Amiboshi questioned himself as he tried to keep his balance while crouching. He didn't want to make a lot of noise or bump into Ruri. 'All this for a little kid's game of Hide and Seek…'
Minutes passed as if they were hours, then Ruri spoke up. "Umm…Amiboshi?" She spoke in a slightly panicked whisper.
"What?"
"I think I'm falling!"
"What?" Amiboshi squeaked.
Without much warning, Ruri fell into Amiboshi's arms. He had no choice but to catch her. Her body was pressed against his. "Whoops…" She was wondering if Amiboshi could tell her face was so red.
"Oh jeez…" Amiboshi knew his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, but he couldn't do anything about it.
"Amiboshi…I think I'm stuck…" Ruri tried to push herself out of his arms, but something was keeping her down.
"So what do we do?" He could see her bright green eyes shine even in the dark of the closet. She was nervous and embarrassed, not to say he wasn't either.
"I think we have to wait for Kohana…" Ruri was becoming aware of just how close she was to Amiboshi. She could feel his warm breath on her face. 'Shoot! Kohana's supposed to be good at Hide and Seek! She should have found us by now!'
"How long do you think she'll take?" He swallowed hard.
"I…I don't know…" She looked at his face. His eye color was indistinguishable in the dark, but it was still pretty. "Amiboshi?"
"Yeah?"
"What color are you eyes?"
"Purple. Why?"
"They're pretty…" She whispered.
"Oh…" He felt himself breathe harder. 'Oh man…oh man…'
Suddenly he bent his head down and kissed Ruri. His eyes closed, hers widened.
'What's he doing?'
'Am I making a mistake?'
'He's a good kisser…'
'She's not pulling away…'
The couple stayed kissing in the closet. While they kissed, Kohana decided to open the door, not knowing they were kissing.
"Found you guys!" She flung the door open and saw the two teens kissing.
They flew apart from each other when they heard her voice and tumbled out of the closet. They were both very red.
Kohana could barely stifle her giggles. She could tell they were happy even if they were embarrassed at the thought of being found kissing by a 6 year old.
"Kohana! What took you so long?" Ruri scrambled to her feet.
"Guess you guys were too well hidden." Kohana shrugged.
Amiboshi said nothing as he got up. He was still thinking about the feel of her lips against his. 'I shouldn't have enjoyed that as much as I did…'
"Wanna play again?" Kohana asked.
"No!" They both yelled.
Amiboshi tried to make that sound nicer. "That is to say…one game is enough for the night, right Ruri?"
"Uh yeah…one game…"
"So now what?" Kohana asked.
"You hungry? We could find a snack or something." Ruri suggested.
"Ayame bought ice cream yesterday!"
Amiboshi picked Kohana up. "Is sugar a good thing for you?" He asked teasingly.
"Ayame says I shouldn't have too much…"
"But Ayame's not here is she?" Ruri smirked. "Let's eat!" She led Amiboshi to the kitchen and got out the carton of chocolate ice cream.
Kohana ran to a drawer and got out some spoons.
~*~*~*~
Ayame stared up at the movie screen with only mild interest.
Tasuki leaned over. "Don't like the movie?"
"It's okay…it doesn't live up to the reviews…"
He grinned. "I know how to make it more interesting."
"How?"
"See that couple down there?" He pointed.
She looked a few rows down and saw a couple making out. It crossed her mind that he may try the same thing. If he did, she'd smack him and leave. "Yeah, so?" She asked a little icily.
"Watch." Tasuki grabbed a few pieces of popcorn from their bucket.
She realized what he was going to do. "Tasuki! Don't!" She hissed at him.
It was too late. He tossed the popcorn down, hitting the couple right in the nose. He snickered. Ayame giggled. "Tasuki! You're awful!"
"You're laughing again!"
The couple stopped kissing long enough to look back at whoever threw the popcorn. Ayame and Tasuki looked back up at the screen as if they knew nothing. She elbowed him.
"Why'd you do that?"
"Movie's boring." He grabbed more popcorn.
"Quit it!"
"You wanna try?"
She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah…"
"Then do it." He grinned and gave her the bucket.
"Are you sure?"
"What are they gonna do? Glare at us?"
She paused for a moment then grabbed some of the popcorn. "Are you sure?"
"Come on." He nudged her.
"Fine…" She bit her lip and threw the popcorn.
~*~*~*~
Ruri tossed her spoon into the box. "Is it all gone?"
Ami looked at the box. "Yeah…" He slouched back.
"Yummy!" Kohana put her spoon down.
"Did we eat the whole thing?" Amiboshi stared at his spoon in amazement.
"Uh huh…" Both girls moaned.
Amiboshi picked up the carton and the spoons. "I don't think I ever wanna see ice cream again…" He tossed out the box, rinsed off the spoons and washed his hands.
"I like ice cream." Kohana smiled.
"Maybe too much." Ruri began to wash her hands after drying Kohana's. "I think you ate half the thing." She grinned.
"Did not!" Kohana retorted.
Amiboshi laughed and picked her up. "I think you did…"
"Ami-kun!"
"Let's go see what's on TV." Ruri laughed.
Kohana sat on Amiboshi's shoulders as they went into the living room. "You sure you haven't had too much sugar?" Amiboshi looked up at her.
"I'm fine!" She held onto his hair.
Ruri looked through a stack of junk on a table and found the remote. "Here we go!" She sat on the couch.
Amiboshi was about to sit next to her when Kohana hopped up between them. "I should sit here so you and Ami-kun don't kiss again while the TV's on!" She giggled.
Amiboshi and Ruri blushed and tried not to look at each other. Ruri fumbled with the remote and began flipping though the channels. "Just say stop if you see something you wanna watch."
After a few minutes, Ruri found an animated movie Kohana wanted to watch.
~*~*~*~
Ayame and Tasuki left the movie theater laughing incredibly hard.
"I can't believe you got that girl right in the eye!" Tasuki had to stop walking so he could breathe.
"I didn't mean too!" She said in between giggles.
"It was a good shot!"
"They were so mad!"
"Well, a movie theatre isn't a place to make out. It's a place to throw popcorn at people who think it's a place to make out!" He wrapped his arm around her waist as they laughed and walked.
"That's one way to look at it." She smiled. They headed out to Tasuki's car. "So where we going next?"
"Dinner." He opened the car door for her. "So what'd you think of the movie?"
She smiled sheepishly. "I don't know. I wasn't watching it."
"Too busy throwing popcorn?" He laughed.
"Yes. And it's your fault!" She stuck her tongue out at him.
"And I'm damn proud of it." He grinned and started up the car.
"You are the strangest guy I've ever met…"
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
She smiled. "Definitely good."
"Nice to know." He smiled gently.
They sat silently in the car for a moment. Neither one thinking about the rest of the night, just that moment.
"Tasuki?"
"Yeah?" He snapped out of the moment.
He heard her swallow hard. "We should go now."
"Oh…yeah…right…" He started the car and pulled out of the lot.
~*~*~*~
Ruri began nodding off during the movie. Kohana noticed and poked Amiboshi. He looked over and nudged her. "Ruri?"
"Huh?" She straightened up. " I wasn't sleeping!"
"Yeah, ya were!" Kohana retorted.
"No I wasn't!"
"Ya huh!"
"Nu uh!"
"Ya huh!"
Amiboshi smiled as the girls argued back and forth. "Come on. That's enough." He picked up Kohana and let her sit on his lap.
"Amiboshi's on my side!" She giggled.
"I never said that!" Amiboshi looked a little shocked. "I just don't want you to fight anymore!"
Kohana squirmed out of Amiboshi's lap. "I'm bored again."
"Oh no…" Ruri stood up.
"What?" Amiboshi stood up with her.
"You're about to see what sugar does to a 6 year old girl…"
"What?!" Amiboshi asked a little more panicked.
Kohana grinned and took off running.
"Kohana!" Ruri jumped over the table in front of the TV and ran after the small girl.
'Sugar and youth are never a good combo…' Ami took off after the two girls. "How'd I get myself into this?"
"Kohana! Get your little butt back here!"
"You're gonna have to catch me, Ruri!"
"Come on Kohana! We go through this all the time!"
"How often does she do this?"
"Often enough." Ruri sighed and ran through the kitchen back into the living room.
"I see."
Kohana appeared in a doorway. "You guys are silly! I'm over here!"
Amiboshi left the living room and managed to get behind Kohana.
"Gotcha!" Amiboshi swept her up into his arms.
She squealed and giggled. "It's not that easy!" She reached down and began to tickle him. He tried to hold onto her but he found he had to let her go after she found an especially ticklish spot on him.
"Kohana! You're not playing fair!" Ruri lunged for her as she ran.
"So?" She laughed and ran.
"Man…she's got way too much energy…"
They chased her for about 15 minutes. She suddenly stopped in the kitchen. "Oh man…"
"What's wrong?" Ruri wondered if she was okay.
"I'm really hungry now. Ice cream only goes so far." She looked up at them and grinned.
Amiboshi opened his mouth to say something but then clutched his stomach. "She's right I'm hungry too."
"Jeez, you two are just…" She felt her stomach rumble. "Never mind…how's pizza sound?"
"Yummy!"
"Sounds good to me."
Ruri picked up the phone and called for a delivery. "It'll be here soon."
"Can I have a snack?" Kohana tugged at Ruri's top.
"I don't think so. You had half a carton of chocolate ice cream earlier."
"Come on!" She protested.
"If you have a snack now, you won't be able to eat half the pizza." Amiboshi said jokingly and crouched down to tickle Kohana.
Ruri smiled as the two tickled each other and laughed. 'Amiboshi is really good with kids…he's so sweet…makes me not want to let Kohana go to bed. I mean…once she goes to sleep, what are we gonna do? Kiss again?'
~*~*~*~
Tasuki finished ordering after Ayame and their waiter left. "Ayame?"
"Yeah?"
"Maybe this isn't any of my business and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but what happened to your parents?"
Ayame pushed her hair behind her ears. "It's a long story…"
"Where am I going?"
"True…"
"You don't have to answer…"
"No…it's alright. I should tell you…" She took a deep breath. "It's hard to talk about…"
"I understand…take your time…"
"Well, for 12 years…it was me and my parents. I liked it that way…I was the center of attention all the time…nothing came before me…
"Then when I was 12, Kohana was born…I didn't like it. She was getting all the attention. I had a hard time getting my parents to notice anything I did…a few months later, my mother got very sick…I never really understood what happened, all I knew was that a month later she was gone.
"My dad was so upset when she died, but he still did his best to take care of us both without my mother…I used to tell Kohana I hated her and it was her fault Mom died, not that she ever understood…" Ayame put her hand on the table. Tasuki reached across and took her hand in his.
"We did alright for the next few years. Somewhere along the line I stopped blaming Kohana and loved her like a sister should be loved. Deep down I knew she didn't have anything to do with Mom's death, I just wanted someone to blame.
"I think living without Mom was too much for my father. Four years to the day after my mom died, he had a heart attack and died. I couldn't believe it. There was pretty much no hope by the time he got to the hospital…"
"You were only 16 right?"
"Yeah…and my father's sister wanted to take Kohana. They didn't think I could take care of her on my own. I wouldn't let her though. My aunt wasn't a bad person…I just wanted my sister. I fought with her for months and it was hard, but I got to keep Kohana with me."
"Do you ever see her anymore?"
"Rarely. She lectures me about how to take care of kids and stuff like that, but I think I'm doing alright without her tips and tricks, you know?"
"I agree. Kohana is one of the few little kids I like. She's smart and she reads people very well. "
"She wants to grow up to be like me. I keep telling her to set her sights higher."
"Why would you do that?"
"Tasuki, look at me. I'm 18. I have to juggle school and work all the time. I have to worry about utility bills and house payments. I worry about things most 18 year olds couldn't care less about. Kohana's right. I never have fun anymore."
"What about the movie theatre?" He squeezed her hand tighter.
She blushed. "I don't know…I guess for once I wasn't thinking about anyone but myself…"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing…nothing…I just can't get used to doing it. The last thing I want to do is prove my aunt right."
"Then why are you out here with me now?"
"I…you offered…and I guess I wanted time off from taking care of Kohana…I know she's safe…I don't have to worry about anything happening to her…"
Tasuki smiled. "Doing this more often won't kill you will it?"
She looked down at their hands then up at him. 'Ruri's right…Tasuki is healthy for me…I haven't acted like a normal teenager in so long…' "No…no it won't."
He let her hand go. "Food's here. We'll talk more later."
She nodded and got ready to eat. 'Man…where has he been all my life?'
~*~*~*~
Ruri finished her last slice of pizza. "Jeez, I love this pizza place. It's so good."
"This is the first time I've had it." Amiboshi put down his soda.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. So what?"
"How long have you been living here?" She put the rest of the pizza onto a plate and put it in the fridge.
Amiboshi paused and counted. "Maybe 3 weeks. Why?"
"And you've never gotten pizza for here?"
"I don't eat pizza all that often. Tasuki doesn't eat anything with milk in it so it's not like we order it a lot. I only get a chance to eat it when we decide to go out to eat."
"Is he allergic?"
"I'm not sure actually. He's either allergic or he just really hates it."
"Shame. He doesn't know what he's missing." Kohana took her dishes and Amiboshi's to the sink.
"You didn't have to do that Kohana." Amiboshi smiled.
"Ayame says guests shouldn't do work if they come to eat." She answered.
"Do you always do what Ayame says?" Amiboshi grinned and asked.
"Yeah!" Kohana saw the look Ruri gave her. "Okay…okay! Maybe not all the time…but I do follow guest rules." She said with a yawn.
Ruri looked at a clock. It was almost 8. "Wow. We ate late. Kohana, are you ready for bed?"
"No…I can stay up…" Her eyes were starting to close involuntarily. "I dun wanna go to bed…"
"Amiboshi, can you wait a couple minutes while I get her changed for bed?" Ruri picked her up.
"Sure." He watched Ruri take Kohana to her room. He sighed. He was falling head over heels in love with Ruri and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.
When Ruri opened the door again, Kohana was standing next to her in purple pants and a white shirt with a teddy bear on it. She was clutching a stuffed kitten and yawning.
"I don't wanna go to bed…" She mumbled.
Amiboshi got up and joined them in Kohana's room.
"Do you want a bedtime story?" Ruri began going through Kohana's bookshelf. "How 'bout that one that Ayame's been reading?"
"No. Ayame said she wants to read that to me. She wants to know what happens too." Amiboshi tucked her into bed.
"Then what?" Ruri sat on the end of Kohana's small bed.
"Amiboshi?"
"Yeah?"
"Ruri said you were the person she heard a few days ago, right?" He nodded. "Could you play something on your flute?"
"How'd you know I had my flute with me?" He sat on a chair next to her bed.
"I saw it in your coat when I was looking for you." She snuggled deep into her blankets.
"Okay. Sure. Lemme go get it." He got up and returned in a minute or so with his flute.
Ruri smiled. She never got tired of hearing him play. She heard him almost every day when she walked by his window, only now he looked for her and would wave if he saw her.
Kohana listened as Amiboshi began playing a soft lullaby. 'Ruri was right. He is really good. I wonder what she and Amiboshi will do once I got to sleep…'
Amiboshi closed his eyes as he played. It made him think about home and whether or not he wanted to go home. He had a lot of painful memories back home, but there were good ones too. He wasn't sure if he could leave the old couple that saved him, but he also wasn't sure if he could go back to the place where his brother was buried. He'd have to ask Tasuki what he thought later.
He ended his piece and looked down at Kohana. She was fast asleep. "Well Ruri, should we…" He stopped. Ruri was lying at the foot of the bed, asleep as well. He smiled. She looked so pretty, lying there. Her hair fell across her face and moved ever so slightly as she breathed. He almost reached over to wake her when he remember he had to go look at the book Ayame was reading to Kohana.
He slid his flute into its case and went to Kohana's bookshelf. An old beat up book caught his eye and he took it off the shelf. He grimaced. It was the Universe of the Four Gods. 'Man…what is going on here? Ruri doesn't have anything to do with it as far as I know…it's Kohana and Ayame that are reading it…Guess I'll have to tell Tasuki later…'
He set the book down. He turned off the light and went back to Ruri. He picked her up and carried her out of the room, closing the door with his foot.
Amiboshi brought her back to the couch and laid her down so she was lying across her lap. He brushed the stray strands away from her face. She let out a content sigh and smiled in her sleep. He smiled and gently kissed her forehead, then he began to nod off. Catching Kohana was hard work. They earned a little rest.
~*~*~*~
Ayame and Tasuki walked through the park hand in hand, the sounds of a band playing off in the distance. The sun had long since set and the stars covered the sky. Hardly any cars were on the roads and the only sounds came from other people's shoes clacking against the paths through the trees.
A cool breeze blew by. Ayame wrapped her arms around herself. "I wish I brought a coat…" She shivered.
Tasuki took off his own coat and put it on her shoulders.
She looked up at him. "You sure? Won't you get cold?"
"Nah. I grew up in the mountains. I don't worry about the cold." He smiled.
"Okay." She pulled the leather jacket closer. It was very warm. It smelled like sake and burnt cedar. A strange combination, yet it smelled good to her.
They walked up some steps and say on a bench where they had a good view of the band.
"Tasuki?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for making me come out here. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun." She pulled her legs up onto the bench and leaned against him.
He pulled her closer. "Happy to help."
"Tasuki?"
"Huh?"
"Have you moved here for good or are you gonna go home someday?"
"I don't know…I mean…I don't have much to go back to…there are a few people I'd like to see again…"
"Could you just visit and come back?"
"I wish I knew…if I go back I might not be able to come back…"
"Why?"
"It's…complicated…I'm not sure what else to say besides that…" He shook his head. "If I tried to explain it, you'd probably say I'm insane."
"We're all a little insane, but you seem really uncomfortable about it, so I won't pry."
"Thanks…"
"Is it this complicated for Amiboshi too?"
"Yeah…it is…"
"I see."
The band stopped playing for a second and started playing a different style of music. It was much slower and meant for couples to slow dance to.
"Oh! I love this song!" She got up, dragging him with her.
"You do?" He stumbled to his feet.
"Yeah! Come on, dance with me!"
"I don't know how!" He stammered.
"Come on! It's not that hard!" She took his hands and put them on her waist. "You live with a musician. You can't be completely rhythmless!"
"I've never tried…" He said sheepishly.
"Just follow my lead." She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. They started to dance as the music wafted up towards their little place.
"How am I doing?" He asked after a few minutes.
"Good. It's not so hard is it?"
"No, I guess not…"
They continued happily dancing as long as the music came.
~*~*~*~
Ruri blinked a few times as she began to wake up. The first thing she noticed was Amiboshi's sleeping face above hers. She gasped and sat up quickly. The shift in weight made Amiboshi stir.
"What happened?" It was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
"What do you mean?"
"Why was I sleeping on you lap?" She rubbed her eyes.
"You fell asleep while I was playing for Kohana…"
"I did?" She blushed. "Oh man…how embarrassing…"
"It's okay. It was a lullaby." He smiled.
"I guess…" She picked up another remote and turned on Ayame's stereo. She felt the need for background noise. "Amiboshi?"
"Yeah?"
"About what happened in the closet…" She started.
"Yeah?" He asked a little more nervously.
"Was that an accident?" She nervously rubbed the blue stone in her necklace.
"Ah…what did you want it to be?"
"I'm not telling you. Tell me the truth." She tried to sound as forceful as possible considering how nervous she was.
"It uh…" He stared at the floor. "It wasn't an accident…"
"Really?"
"Really." He looked up at her. "So what were you hoping for?"
"I was hoping it wasn't an accident…and that maybe we could try again since Kohana isn't awake now…"
"If you really want to…"
She shifted closer to him. "Yeah…that was pretty awkward there in the closet…"
Amiboshi nodded and leaned closer to her. Her eyes closed instead of widening this time as he pressed his lips to hers. She felt his hand slip around her waist and pull her closer.
She lifted her arms and let them drape over his shoulders. They remained embraced for a while, then Ruri put a little space between them.
"You're a better kisser when you're prepared." She smiled.
"Are you saying that one was bad?"
"No. Just that this one was better." She smiled and kissed him lightly on the nose.
He smiled and let her snuggle up to him. Music poured out of the stereo as they lay on the couch together. Every so often Amiboshi would stroke her hair. After a while, they both fell asleep again.
~*~*~*~
Tasuki and Ayame were finally headed home. She was still wrapped up in his jacket.
He slowly pulled up to the house, almost unwilling to let the night end, but it was almost 11.
They got out of the car. Ayame looked at Kohana's window. "Lights are off in Kohana's room."
"Is that a good sign?"
"I hope so…I hope she's asleep." Ayame turned the key in the lock and they went in.
Tasuki heard the music coming from the living room and went in as Ayame hung up Tasuki's jacket.
He tried hard to contain his laughter. "Ayame, come here!" He pulled her over.
"What is it?" She saw Amiboshi and Ruri sleeping on the couch, her hand resting on his chest, his resting on the back of her head. "Aw…how cute."
Tasuki smirked. "Amiboshi's growing up."
"Let's leave them alone for now." Ayame took his hand and they quietly left the living room.
"You want to check on Kohana?"
"Yeah." She cracked open the door and saw the small girl asleep, clutching her stuffed kitty.
"You care for her so much…"
"I'm all she has now…" Ayame closed the door again.
Tasuki kissed her forehead. "And you're doing a great job of raising her."
"I wish she had a father figure though…I feel like she's missing out…I mean…when she gets old enough to date, who's going to hate every guy she brings home? She has to have someone to go to if Ruri or I can't be there…" She felt her eyes tear up.
Tasuki embraced her. "Amiboshi and I will be here for all of you as long as you girls want us to."
"You will?" She looked up at him. "You think Amiboshi would say the same thing?"
"Yes. He cares about Ruri a lot. And I care about you and Kohana." He lowered his lips to hers.
They shared a soft yet passionate kiss in the dimly lit hallway outside Kohana's room as music from the stereo poured into their ears. Everything stopped for a moment as long as they were embraced.
A voice in Tasuki's head told him it was time to head back to reality. "So…I guess I should wake up Amiboshi and we should go home…"
"You know…it's late…you guys can stay here if you want. There is an extra room in the house…"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Ruri can stay with me, you and Amiboshi can take the other room."
"Sounds okay to me."
They went back into the living room and leaned over the back of the couch. Ayame began poking Ruri. "Hey Sleeping Beauty. Time for you and your prince to get up."
Tasuki shook Amiboshi's shoulder. "Having sweet dreams?"
They blushed as they woke up and found themselves on the couch together being watched by Tasuki and Ayame.
"Hi, guys…how was your night?" Ruri sat up quickly.
"Apparently not as good as yours." Ayame smirked.
"Excuse me!"
"Ah, come on. We gotta get ready for bed."
"What? Am I staying over?" She sleepily stood up with Amiboshi.
"Yeah. Tasuki and Amiboshi can sleep in the spare room if they want." She looked at them. "I hope you guys are comfortable in those clothes. I don't think we have anything you can change into."
"It's okay. I think we can sleep in these." Tasuki smiled.
They said their goodnights and the guys followed Ayame to the extra room while Ruri changed into some of Ayame's nightclothes.
Ayame went back into her room. Ruri was fixing up the bed. "So what happened between you and Amiboshi tonight?" She asked with a smirk.
"Shut up! We fell asleep on the couch. That's all." She huffed as Ayame got some clothes for herself. "How'd you night go?"
"Boy…I haven't had that much fun in a while. The movie was kinda bad, but we made it more interesting."
"What? Have a make out scene of your own?"
"No!" Ayame chucked a sock ball at Ruri. "We threw popcorn at people who were making out."
Ruri laughed. "The old Ayame wouldn't do that!"
"The old Ayame wasn't sitting in a dark theatre with Tasuki." She said smugly.
"I see." Ruri laughed.
"We'll talk more tomorrow. G'night."
"Night."
Ayame and Ruri nestled into bed and fell happily fell asleep.
~*~*~*~
"Tasuki?"
"Yeah?" He kicked off his boots.
"I found the book Ayame's been reading to Kohana…"
"And?" Tasuki had completely forgotten about the book. "What was it?"
"It was the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho…" He sat on the other end of the bed. "Now what?"
He paused for a moment. "I suppose the question we have to answer is whether or not that has anything to do with us being here…"
"We'll think about it in the morning…I'm tired…"
"Have too much fun with Ruri?" Tasuki smirked.
"No! It's nothing like that!"
"You two looked pretty cozy on the couch…"
"Shut up! We were tired after chasing Kohana around. She's really fast when she's got too much sugar in her system."
"Too much sugar?"
"Yes. Just wait until you spend a night with her." Amiboshi put his shoes on the floor.
"That sounds like a threat." Tasuki muttered.
"It's not. It's a word of warning…" Amiboshi nodded off.
Tasuki smirked and fell asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~