"Huh?" Ayumu looked at Kanone questioningly, "Surprise? What kind?"

Kanone smirked, "Well, the kind that I don't tell you what it is. You know, the kind that surprises you. That is why they call them surprises, Ayumu." Kanone then shifted his glance to Kiyotaka, still loving that the older man couldn't quite get his cool back, "So, Kiyotaka, where have you been?"

Kiyotaka nearly jumped at the mention of his name, Kanone made him really uneasy. He did, however, keep it under control, and managed a convincing smirk, "I've been around, and what have you been doing? Or...should I say who?"

Ayumu shifted uncomfortably, but Kanone just wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer, "Jealous?"

Ayumu could have sworn that his brother could have thrown up on the spot right then and there at the mention of Kanone's suggestion, "Kanone, let's go home before you two start fighting; that's not a fight I'd want to break up." "It would almost be as bad as Rio and Kousuke." Ayumu thought, then saddened at the thought of his departed lover. Those two could level an entire city if they got into it; though he wouldn't put it past Kanone and Kiyotaka to do the same. Even though his brother didn't seem like the violent type, neither did Eyes, and yet...But, no, he had known Kiyotaka his whole life, his brother solved things with his words, not his fists. He would probably consider fighting with Kanone barbaric and would have no part of it, claiming that he was above such behavior; when, in reality, he was probably just afraid of Kanone. Who wouldn't be, "I know he wouldn't hurt me, but I'm still a little afraid of him." Ayumu thought, though he didn't know why.

Kanone stirred Ayumu from his thoughts by whispering to him, "Well, let's go, your surprise can't wait forever." Ayumu nodded and Kanone turned to lead them home; surprisingly enough they ended up at Kanone and Eyes' apartment.

Ayumu looked at Kanone, "What are we doing here?"

Kanone smirked, "Well, we're getting your surprise. What else would we be doing here?"

Ayumu shrugged, "I just figured we would be going to my place is all."

Kanone shook his head, "Nope, you're really going to like this, though." Kanone felt bad for leaving Kiyotaka behind; this surprise was also, in part, for him.

Kanone opened the door and there stood two people; a man and a woman that Ayumu barely recognized, and then it hit him.

Ayumu stared at the two people, he recognized them now, he just couldn't believe it, "Mom...Dad?" Ayumu walked up to the two and looked them in the eyes. They were indeed his parents, and he had never met them before, but somehow he just knew that's who these people were. For as long as Ayumu could remember it had been just him and Kiyotaka, his brother never mentioned their parents and Ayumu never asked. Truth be told, he was a little afraid to learn the truth of why his parents weren't around. But they were here now, and Ayumu couldn't be happier to see them. With all the strangeness that had come from dealing with the Blade Children, Ayumu had longed for a sense of normalcy. His parents symbolized that, even though he wasn't sure exactly why. Ayumu closed the distance between them in a few steps and looked from his mother to his father, not sure whether to believe they were real or not.

But as his mother hugged him and started crying about how much she had missed him, Ayumu realized that they were real, and they were here with him. Nothing in this world could take them away, Ayumu would make sure of that. Kanone walked up to Ayumu and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Happy birthday." He whispered into Ayumu's ear.

Ayumu stood back from his mother's embrace and turned to face Kanone, "My...birthday?" Ayumu realized that Kanone was right; it was his birthday and he hadn't even realized it. With everything going on, how could he be expected to remember such a day. If Hiyono were here, he would have been reminded that it was his birthday everyday from a month ago. But with her gone, these dates just seemed not so important; or at least they weren't jumping off the calendar and screaming their presence in his face, like she tended to do. Ayumu and his parents spent hours talking, explaining, and just catching up in general. Ayumu explained everything that had happened with Kiyotaka and the Blade Children, or at least as much as his parents needed to know. He didn't tell them about Kanone trying to kill him and threatening Madoka, but he did tell them about the baby (of which they were very supportive, of course) and that he had been with Kousuke until recently. Ayumu was so busy talking that he missed the smirk Kanone had on his face when he mentioned the redhead's name.

When it reached around 3 in the morning Kanone finally had to get the three out of his apartment so he could go to bed, and spend his last few hours with Eyes before the pianist had to leave. Kanone was extremely upset about this, but knew that Eyes would be back in a week. He had wanted to go with his husband, obviously, but decided it was best to stay with Ayumu incase anything baby-related happened. Much to Kanone's surprise, Eyes agreed whole-heartedly and said that he hoped nothing would happen until he got back; he wanted to be there for Kanone, for support. He wanted to be there for Ayumu as well, but didn't voice this concern, he didn't want to seem too okay with this; Kanone was still his husband after all.

As soon as Ayumu and his parents left the apartment, Kanone walked into his and Eyes' bedroom, hoping that his lover was awake and ready for some action. But, to his disappointment, Eyes was asleep so Kanone settled down next to him, putting his head on the younger man's chest, and falling asleep to the sound of his husband's heartbeat, content that everything had gone as planned and couldn't wait for Ayumu to get home and find the rest of his present. When Ayumu left the apartment, shortly followed by his parents, he froze. He saw a shadow moving towards them and couldn't quite make out what was making the shadow. When Kiyotaka emerged from the alley, Ayumu relaxed, but only a bit. He started to explain who the other two were but his brother cut him off, "You don't have to explain, Ayumu. They're our parents." Kiyotaka had resumed his normal smirk and walked over to the two, "Hello, mother, father." He said in greeting, though he seemed a little bitter about it. Ayumu shrugged it off and asked the three if they had anywhere to stay. When his parents said they had an apartment a little ways from here, they all agreed that Kiyotaka should stay with them and Ayumu should go back to his place. As reluctant as he was to go, Ayumu finally agreed with them and headed off to his apartment that he shared with Rio and Ryoko, deciding that checking in with them would be for the best; and to make sure Rio ate some healthy food. According to her, candy made up half of the food pyramid and musk melons made up the other half; other fruits and various vegetables were to be used sparingly.

When Ayumu got home, the place was pitch black and he fumbled around for the light switch, walking right past a pair of glowing eyes. Practically the same second he flipped on the lights, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his waist; much like Kanone's had earlier. But Ayumu could tell this wasn't Kanone. Besides the fact that the Blade Child had all but kicked the three out of his apartment, this set of arms seemed a lot more...possessive. Just to confirm that his mystery guest wasn't Kanone, the person softly kissed Ayumu's neck and then nuzzled right behind his ear. Ayumu only knew of one person to do that, "K-kousuke?" He turned around to face the redhead. It was indeed his dead lover, the one he swore he would never see again. The one that he had cried so many tears for and had lost so much sleep over. It was, without a doubt, Kousuke. And the first thing Ayumu did? Kiss him, no. Hug him, no. Tell him he loved him and missed him so much and was so happy to see him, no. He slapped him. Right across the face, with tears of anger and betrayal in his eyes. This may have seemed harsh, but Kousuke understood perfectly. He had hurt Ayumu in more ways than one the past few days. First he had punched him, then he had left him; putting all of the guilt of his death on Ayumu, which was stress that the latter did not need right now. Kousuke knew he deserved whatever he had coming and was ready to take it, as long as Ayumu forgave him in the end. Ayumu sighed and looked away, as if reading Kousuke's thoughts and deciding that hurting the one he really did love would do him no good. He looked back to Kousuke with a sad smile on his face and hugged him,"I'm sorry, but you deserved that."

Kousuke smiled and hugged Ayumu back, "I missed you, too."