Disclaimer: I don't own Momiji or Hatori Sohma.

Warning(s): A dash of Shounen ai, or shota, however you want to see this. X3

Summary: A lonely Momiji requests that Hatori tuck him in before bed. Will chaos result? A short fluffy one-shot.

"Bedtime Tactics"

Written by: UnspokenDreams

The young adult gazed at the man before him through perplexed olive eyes. He wasn't serious…was he? The nod that followed only supported his statement to be true. Sighing deeply Hatori decided to question the matter once more. "Are you sure?"

"I'm very sure Hatori-san. He won't go to sleep any other way and I'm afraid I need to leave shortly. The boy's being stubborn and I really don't have the time to deal with him right now," The middle-aged man before him pleaded, which only caused the dragon before him to sigh yet again.

"Fine. I can't stay for long though. I'm afraid I too have other matters to attend to," Hatori replied as the image of piled medical books came into his mind's eye. Ever since he'd graduated high school it seemed as if he couldn't study enough. Then again no one ever said becoming a doctor was easy. Still, the nineteen-year-old agreed to Momiji's father's request and shortly after found himself walking towards the rabbit's home.

XXxX

He could have only guessed he'd arrive to an empty room. An empty Momiji-less room to be exact. Closing his eyes and massaging the bridge of his nose, as he normally did when he grew frustrated, he called out to the hidden seven-year-old. "Momiji please stop hiding," He stated and, just as he'd expected, received not a single response. Why did Momiji do these kinds of things? Hadn't his father mentioned he was going to bed? Weren't tired children supposed to be calm and lack the energy to play games? The sound of a sudden shift only supported his theory of a hidden rabbit within the closet. As much as Hatori disliked doing so, seeing as he didn't like to lie, the dragon decided to take up his second plan. "I suppose I'll have to eat all of this candy by myself then…"

Almost immediately the closet door slid open revealing a small boy who nearly tripped over his socked feet at Hatori's previous statement. Standing in front of his older cousin the boy smiled, revealing his missing front teeth, and grasped onto Hatori's hand. "Can I have some candy Ha'ri?" He asked as his honey-coated eyes nearly sparkled.

"I'm sorry Momiji but I'm afraid I needed to say something to coax you out of your hiding place," He admitted as the rabbit's expression lowered, his small hand removing itself from Hatori's.

"So there's no candy?" He asked and pouted afterwards. "That's not fair Ha'ri."

"Maybe not but the point is that it's your bedtime. Your father said you wouldn't go to sleep unless I tucked you in, right?" Hatori questioned as the boy before him rubbed at his nose.

"Uh-huh. Papa doesn't know how to tuck me in like Ha'ri does. Ha'ri is the best tucker-inner ever!" The little boy quickly latched himself onto the dragon's leg, holding it tightly as Hatori expected such.

"Yes, well, that still doesn't change the fact that you need to go to bed. Little boys who don't get rest when they need it fall ill," The older boy commented and set his hand onto Momiji's head, his fingers becoming lost within the blonde strands. The rabbit's grasp on Hatori's leg tightened as if almost afraid to let go.

"But after Ha'ri tucks me in he'll leave and I'll be alone again. I don't like being alone and Papa is going to visit Mama tonight which means he'll be back really late," Momiji replied and slowly upturned his head to gaze within Hatori's eyes. "Will Ha'ri stay with me?"

Hatori didn't know if it were simply the fact that he hardly ever said no to his younger relatives or if it was the hidden sorrow within Momiji's eyes yet he found himself nodding before he'd verbally agreed. The child's expression lit up just as the fireworks during New Years. During the next few seconds he removed himself from Hatori's leg, hurried to his bed and quickly pulled the covers over his small body.

Smiling, Hatori walked over towards the child-sized bed and sat at the side, waiting until Momiji asked a question most familiar. "Can you tell me a bedtime story?"

And there it was.

"You know I'm not too good at telling bedtime stories Momiji," Hatori sighed as the boy shook his head vigorously.

"Ha'ri's stories are the best!"

Mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do, Hatori tried to think of a decent way to start the story. "Once upon a time… there was-"

"A rabbit!" Momiji interrupted as Hatori laughed slightly.

"Alright. Once upon a time there was a rabbit that loved to play all day everyday. What the rabbit was unaware of was that too much exposure to the sun could and would eventually cause skin cancer. Now the rabbit's friends were constantly telling him to be more careful and not allow himself to linger in the sun's path for too long. Unfortunately the rabbit didn't listen and was later diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, or skin cancer. Seeing as he'd waited too long and treatment was far too expensive the rabbit decided to shelter himself from the world and shortly die-" Hatori paused as he'd noticed Momiji's eyes grow fairly large, "and the rabbit lived happily ever after. The end."

"That was the best story ever!" Momiji clapped as Hatori rubbed the back of his neck.

"You say that after every bedtime story I tell you."

The boy managed to squirm free from his blanket-enwrapped prison only to wrap his arms around Hatori's neck and cradle himself against the dragon. "Ha'ri's the best that's why. He made me feel better."

Hatori rubbed the boy's back, lost in the innocence of a child before the blonde pulled away. He hadn't known what had happened until he felt two small lips brush against his followed by a childish giggle. The pre-doctor blinked his eyes large in slight shock as he watched Momiji bury himself under the covers once more, turning on his side.

A few minutes later a soft stream of snores indicated that the boy had fallen asleep. Absent-mindedly Hatori had begun to stroke the blonde's head. The thick golden hair refused to stay out of Momiji's face, no matter how many times he pulled it back.

"You know what, Momiji?" he said softly, almost wishing the sleeping boy were awake to hear him. "I feel a little bit better now, too."

-The End-

Author's Note: X3 God I love writing HatorixMomiji fanfics. I mean obviously they're nothing of a yaoi sort but they're cute nonetheless. Reviews are love! –G-chan.