A/N: Some concepts were inspired by FruitySmell's fic written for our exclusive Valentine's Day 2022 event. Thank you for giving me consent to use them.
WARNING: Mention of divorce, mild coarse language, and lime.
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GIFT
It was almost pitch dark.
His sight lowered towards his left arm and his wristwatch announced that it was almost 10 PM.
Just in time for the curfew set by a certain gorgeous blonde for him and their son to return home "safely." He remembered her stress the word very carefully upon their departure three days ago.
A smile curved the corner of his mouth upon the mere memory of her being an overprotective mother and after all these years, he concluded that yes, he still thought she was cute when she was like that; and yes, he was still enamoured with her big time.
His gaze unconsciously travelled to the rearview mirror of his car where a little boy, about the age of 7, was all snuggled up comfortably between his carseat and a bundled-up fluffy blanket. Asakura Yoh's smile grew wider upon seeing his son, all peaceful and carefree. It is true what they say, "innocence is bliss." His messy blonde hair was the exact shade as his mother's like his feisty attitude was, too. Come to think of it, those amber eyes reflected so much similarity with Anna's–
"Dad?" asked the young one with a raspy voice and half-lidded eyes. "Are we there yet?"
Yoh couldn't help but to chuckle. "Yes, we're here now." He was amazed at his son's duality from being excited with the whole trip outdoors to being eager to be reunited with his mom.
The boy's eyes glowed but could not keep himself from yawning upon stretching his short limbs. He proceeded to unbuckle his safety belt on his own and waited for his father to come out of the car to fetch him. He wrapped his tiny arms around the adult's neck the moment he reached for him and as if in an instant, went back to the state of being almost-asleep, burying his face on Yoh's shoulder.
It was months ago when Hana's parents were notified about their son's class set for a field trip to the famous Izumo Taisha and its surrounding tourist attractions. They watched how their precious boy talked endlessly with his classmates with a combined air of excitement and pride, stating that they were going on a trip to his father's hometown.
Now why couldn't they accompany the boy for the field trip as a whole family, you say? This thought made his heart ache.
Despite their current circumstances, both he and Anna agreed that they would try to be with their son as much as possible. However, their work schedules and several personal matters have stricken their plans like an unforeseen thunderstorm forecast and all they could do was to modify their set-up, ending with an escorting dad and a devastated mom.
They didn't have much choice. While Yoh had enough flexibility with his work schedule, due to his family owning the company he works for, Anna, on the other hand, has just started with a new job at a prestigious editorial company. Filing for a three-day leave did not sit well with her boss– Yoh's face grimaced with annoyance upon the mention– denoting that she was a mere employee with less than 2 months of tenure. Plus, March was one of the busiest periods in their field of work due to the start of spring season.
This added to the growing list of reasons why Yoh was having bad impressions towards Anna's boss. But why won't he? First, the guy seemed like a complete control-freak. Second, the said person has openly expressed his interest in Anna on more than one occasion; especially since a rumour spread like wildfire within their workplace that the blonde was in the process of a divorce.
It was so "out of character" for him to be disliking someone without even meeting the guy first, his wife used to point out regarding the matter; but he was adamant with his disapproval, saying that her boss seemed like a wolf guarding its food like a scavenger, for future consumption. This made him recall this one time where he even made a surprise visit at Anna's workplace where he encountered the said cretin.
"Yoh, what are you doing here?" Anna spoke in a hushed tone upon seeing her husband in her office out of the blue.
"I wanted to eat lunch with you," he stated nonchalantly.
"Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"Is it wrong for me to want to spend time with my wife?"
Anna glared at him suspiciously. He had the feeling she knew the real reason behind his unannounced visit. He was about to open his mouth to strengthen his defence when a resounding knock stole their attention. And within a split second, the door revealed a tall, lean yet muscular, broad-shouldered brunette guy with intense grey eyes. His skin was fair and he was dressed in a smart casual look.
He was undeniably good-looking. And Yoh did not miss how the man's eyes glowed when he looked at Anna. He watched him approach the blonde with an air of confidence.
"Anna, let's grab lunch." It wasn't even a question. The only female in the room paled at her boss's sudden appearance. Her gaze travelled from the other man, to her husband's questioning eyes, then back to the first.
"I still have some tasks to finish, Joe."
Oh, so they were on a first-name basis now?
"Come on. Don't worry 'bout it too much. You'll work quicker after you have your break," the man egged on and motioned to reach for her hand.
"Ahem," Yoh intentionally cleared his throat, irritation already creeping within him.
Anna's boss, now named Joe, paused at the sound. "Oh, apologies. Your secretary said you didn't have an appointment with a client at this time." He turned to face Yoh held his hand out for a handshake, "Hi, I'm Joe Grey."
"And I'm Anna's husband," Yoh muttered absentmindedly but with a serious countenance before accepting the gesture. He saw Anna's face turn red when she abruptly stood up from her seat, and he had an unmistakable feeling of satisfaction upon seeing the other man's shocked expression, but he kept it cool.
Yoh withdrew his hand, grabbed his wife's coat from the corner, then approached her to place the garment over her shoulders and draped his arm around her waist. He turned to look at this Mr. Grey while he slid his other hand in his pocket. "I'm sure you don't mind if I take her out for lunch, yes?" he declared with a smug smirk.
Anna's boss stared at him amusedly. "No, not at all."
While the divorce rumour wasn't entirely true, Anna currently not living under the same roof as him did not help in pacifying the gossip. Although that decision was made mainly by Anna to minimise work travel time, to accommodate for their hectic work schedules and Hana's schooling, Yoh's family members kept pointing out that their relationship as husband and wife seemed to be turning sour. Not that they seemed to mind though. Truth be told, Yoh's family was the main reason why Anna left their home, anyway.
If the young mother was being completely honest, it was the meddling of her mother-in-law and grandfather-in-law that has made her crack from the pressure. All those years from the start of her relationship with Yoh, she was under constant scrutiny and criticisms from the elders, and it only got worse when they had their son. They branded her as the gold-digger and kept instilling in Yoh's mind that she only stayed with to acquire part of their family's fortune. "It's suffocating," she used to say to her husband whenever she pleaded her case. Unfortunately, it was quite late when he finally opened his eyes to the truth. She has eventually built walls around her and closed her heart to any further sentiments regarding the matter.
The brunette trudged towards the entrance of his wife's new residence, a mid-sized townhouse located somewhere bordering the bustling city of Tokyo. Although he hated to admit it but place was kind of perfect for anyone living as a single mother.
Yoh brushed off his frustrations as he ascended on the few doorsteps to reach for the buzzer with his free hand. It took a couple of minutes before the door was answered, which to him, seemed quite odd.
Anna didn't usually take long to–
"H-hey," Yoh managed to blurt out with a subtle blush on his cheeks while inevitably being rooted to the ground. For there, stood his wife– his Anna by the doorway, looking radiant as ever in her plain black satin spaghetti-strapped dress with a hem that ended just above her knee. Nobody would blame him for staring as the dress hugged her curves in all the right places while still maintaining an elegant look. There was something captivating about her long blonde tresses that were set with wavy curls at the ends. He didn't fail to appreciate her angelic voice when she said "Hey," back, and he didn't miss her sweet countenance when she had that serene smile after seeing her son again after a few days.
Yoh tightened his grip on the child who was cooped up against his chest, then motioned to enter the house when his wife took a side-step to block his way with her hands held-up as if prompting him to pass their kid to her. The stupid smirk that was once on his face suddenly turned into a bewildered look.
"IT's alright. I'll take him from here," Anna beckoned with a passive look.
The young father stared incredulously. "What? Are you still mad at me?"
The blonde woman exhaled and muttered something under her breath before grabbing her son gently, careful not to wake him up. "It's late, Yoh. We'll talk next time."
But they never do.
If only she knew how badly he wanted for them to have that talk. That heart-to-heart that ought to happen to finally straighten things up– the issues that were piling endlessly between them. But then she always ended up recoiling. Always putting up those barriers of ice whenever he tried to reach out to her.
"I'll call you tomorrow?" he asked, still with undying hope.
"I'll call you," she replied reservedly, her hand pressing her son's head protectively towards the crook of her neck.
He opened his mouth to speak– maybe to protest, or to at least say "good night," but she kicked the door shut against his face. All he could do was to don a childish pout.
Yoh blinked twice then heaved a sigh. After convincing himself that tonight was not the night for their reconciliation from the gazillion things that they recently fought about, he turned around and walked towards his car that was parked in the driveway. He was about to reach for the door handle but stopped abruptly upon catching one strange detail.
There was another car parked next to his.
A black one, a luxury make, and most importantly, one he has not seen before.
He squinted his eyes in suspicion while he carefully approached the vehicle like a cat stalking its prey. He moved his eyes up and down while he walked around the thing, meticulously inspecting all the details. When that did not satisfy his self-initiated investigation, he moved to the driver's side, but not before memorising the registration plate. The car was heavily tinted and so he had to lean in to press his face closer to the windows with his palms blocking the sides of his eyes, to get a "quick" look of the interiors. He scanned for any signs, objects, anything; and he swore that if any of Anna's neighbours saw him at that very moment, they could mistake him for a thief of some sorts; looking slick in his denim jacket, plain shirt and well-fitted joggers.
A handsome thief, at that.
The brunette's eyes turned into slits upon sighting an item that aggravated his qualms– a simple folder marked with the company logo from Anna's workplace was propped on top of the passenger's seat.
His hands balled into fists as he felt adrenaline shoot through his veins.
He was never the one to react irrationally. Not the type to become easily suspicious, and definitely not one to be overly jealous. No, sir. But something in his gut made him feel queasy about Anna's "visitor" that it made him want to just barge into the house to demand some answers.
He marched back towards the doorstep in just a few strides and pressed the doorbell, twice at that, all while his foot tapped impatiently on the concrete ground.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Anna laid her son softly onto his bed to tuck him to sleep. She watched the boy forcefully open one eye to take a peek at her as she kissed him on the forehead.
Hana giggled when his mom tickled him on his sides, urging him to go back to sleep. "But I have something to give you, mom," he reasoned, but decided to stop upon seeing his mother's feigned stern look.
"Tomorrow, Hana. You can do it tomorrow. You look exhausted. Please, go back to sleep."
The boy smirked but sank himself further into his sheets to follow his mother's words. He knew very well that she was the queen of the household, and his dad taught him well to never question the queen's orders.
"Good night, mom. Love you."
"Love you more."
The little blondie felt his mother's warm palm caress the top of his head which was enough to condition him back to snooze land when they both heard the sound of the doorbell.
Hana's eyes snapped open and gazed at his mother. "Is that dad?"
Anna drew an exasperated sigh and massaged the bridge of her nose. "No. Dad's gone back to the 'other house'. Go back to sleep, Hana. Good night."
She lied. She knew it was him, and she couldn't wait but to slap his face for being an annoying jerk late in the evening.
She exited Hana's room to see the bambling "guest" at the door. She reached the living room and met the gaze of another persona, as if asking her silently if things were alright. She only nodded with a small smile to affirm that she was okay, and that she could deal with the late night drama by herself. Before even reaching the main entrance to her house, Anna heard the doorbell ringing once again, then another for the nth time. There were now some incessant knocking that followed, and also a muffled male voice yelling her name. It wasn't long when she felt her phone vibrating non-stop from her pocket, too, and she knew she didn't need to check who was calling.
"Yoh, what do you want?" One annoyed Anna flew her door open and went straight to the point as usual. She wasn't in the mood to dilly dally with her silly husband in an ungodly hour. However, she did not fail to notice how troubled he looked; his brows furrowed and his lips set in a straight line.
"Are you with him?" he asked.
"What?"
"Your infamous suitor. Is… he… here?"
She flinched at how he articulated every single word in his question dangerously, and his deadpan countenance did not help to ease the tension either.
"What the hell are you sa– Hey! Get back here!" She raised her voice upon seeing him push his way inside to join her at the foyer, intending to march inside to find what, or rather who, he was searching for. He would have reached the living room if it wasn't for her hands that grabbed his clothing from behind.
"Did you forget that this is my place?" Anna reminded with the strong character she was always known for.
"And did you forget that I'm your husband?" He turned to face her and had almost cornered her towards the wall at the hallway by this time, cold chestnut eyes not leaving hers which were widened in pure shock upon witnessing Yoh's imposing aura.
Anna exerted the most perplexed look she could ever muster. Never in her years has she seen her husband act like a jealous highs-schooler. Well, except for that one time, that is. But this was all new to her and she didn't have the slightest clue as to how to react.
At this point, neither of the two has noticed how Yoh's grip on Anna's right wrist was enough to redden her pale skin, or on how their faces were dangerously close to one another's.
Even Anna's left hand started to twitch in preparation for a hard slap but both were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.
The arguing couple turned their heads only to see a dumbfounded Horokeu Usui standing a couple of metres away from them. It was now Asakura Yoh's turn to have his orbs almost pop out of their sockets and Asakura Anna's cue to roll her eyes.
An undeniable wave of awkwardness washed over three of them.
"HoroHoro!?" Yoh almost yelled, though his possessive hold on his wife still remained.
"Err, hey, man. How is it going?" was Horo's attempt in breaking the ice.
No audible response came. Only several exchanges of looks took place where Yoh looked back and forth between his Ainu friend and his wife who looked like she wanted to hit someone; Horohoro with a sheepish look towards his friend and his friend's wife, and Anna, who again, looked like she wanted to hit someone. The thought of slapping both idiots in front played repeatedly in her brain and she agreed that it might be the best course of action as per their current situation.
"I– I'm gonna go," their blue-haired friend announced, not wanting to prolong their suffering.
"No!" the blonde snapped.
"Okay!" the brunette agreed.
Awkward silence once again.
"It's okay, Anna. We can continue tomorrow. Sorry to interrupt you two," HoroHoro reassured with a small smile, Yoh raised an eyebrow, and Anna only groaned in frustration. "Nice seeing you again, man. Let's share a drink sometime soon. The whole gang misses you," HoroHoro continued, tapping Yoh on the shoulder while making his way to the door.
"See you later, 'An'." Usui reached for Anna's arm to give her a cordial touch, to which Yoh watched questioningly. The woman just gave a partial nod in acknowledgement before he was completely out of the house.
Silence prevailed between the husband and wife and it seemed as if Yoh waited for the sound of HoroHoro's car engine to fade away before speaking once again.
"I thought you said you had work?"
"I WAS working."
"You dress like this for work? And I didn't know HoroHoro worked with you in the same division now." He was being petty but he was severely blinded by mistrust.
"He's my assistant now."
"How come he never mentioned that to me?"
Anna breathed out incredulously. "Oh my God, Yoh! Are you for real?"
"It's almost midnight, Anna."
She silently fumed. HoroHoro was one of his best friends, for fuck's sake! How dare he insinuate that she was cheating on him? And how dare he imply that act involved their friend?
Anna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Yoh was acting totally bonkers and she didn't have enough energy nor patience to deal with him right now.
She snatched her arm away from her husband's grip and massaged her right wrist as a sign of discomfort, then harrumphed before stomping further inside the house.
Yoh's eyes finally mellowed at the sudden realisation of his rash actions and followed suit. Knowing his wife, Yoh figured that she was headed to the kitchen. He knew she would grab a glass of water to sip on; because he knew that his Anna always did that whenever she wanted to curb discomfort.
He watched her take the said drink after filling the glass with ice cubes, too. He maintained his distance from her back while she gulped the liquid with closed eyes and pressed the cold object against her chest that made her inhale deeply. He waited for her to cool down, and he gave her space to regain a moment of peace.
"I'm sorry, Anna. I didn't mean to– I–" he couldn't find the right words. That's when he let his instincts guide him, and that's when he motioned to close the gap between her back and his chest; his arms caging her petite body against the kitchen counter.
He felt ajolt of tension from her and saw her turn her head to her side to assess the chances of her breaking away from their position. The only reply he got was her heaving a sigh, and the mild clanking sound that the glass made when she placed it on the bench.
This made Yoh relax a bit and he decided to rest his chin at the top of his wife's head. He closed his eyes as he took a waft of her perfume that was well recognised by his senses. "Please, Anna. Let's talk for real this time," he paused, "I'm sorry that I bawled like an immature kid."
Anna caught him off-guard when she abruptly turned around to face him with her eyes screaming in emotional defiance. It broke him to see her on the brink of tears.
"I don't– I can't seem to understand you lately. I can't understand us lately," she began. "I know our situation hasn't been the most ideal and I can feel that your family seems to enjoy this and–" she paused to avoid his gaze. "Yoh, I know I haven't been the best wife lately and I–"
It was his cue.
It was the monumental sign he was waiting for to let himself go and comfort her, and just opted for a silencing kiss.
He couldn't help it. He felt like a thousand emotions were waiting to explode from his heart and all he wanted was to feel his wife's soft lips against his and forget about all the negativities surrounding them.
She was always his cure to every obstacle he had to face in life, and he was her security blanket that comforted her during times of distress.
Although Anna placed her palm on her husband's chest as a weak sign of resistance, it didn't take long for her to be swept off from her feet and to start returning the kiss in equal fervour.
Both lost their senses of inhibition as all they wanted was to feel each other's warmth and presence in a moment when words matter less and actions spoke the loudest.
Time stopped as the two mended their recent and past issues with their display of affection, and neither gave any indication that they would stop anytime soon.
Yoh's hands deviously slid from the blonde's smooth thighs, lifting her dress up in the process as he grabbed her hips and sat her on the counter. She moaned into his mouth and he groaned in return when her arms encircled his neck to play with his hair, and when he pressed his growing hardness against the space between her legs. He bit her lower lip, bunched her hair in his hand to tilt her head to one side, and began to trail kisses on her exposed jaw, down to the valley of her neck. She yelped when his teeth grazed the sensitive spot in the area, fuelling his desire even more.
Feeling the need for more contact, they broke this kiss and started to undress each other— with her smoothing his sturdy chest to tug his jacket off, and him pulling her dress straps downward and feeling for the zipper on her back.
They engaged again in another passionate lip-lock while their hands were busy roaming their well-charted territories. Yoh's hand cupped the side of Anna's breast and ran his thumb over her perked-up nipple. His other hand found what he was looking for and motioned to unzip his wife's dress halfway when suddenly, Anna squealed and withdrew from their actions. He noticed the blonde had buried herself within his embrace as if she was hiding from something, so he turned to his back to see for himself.
"Hana!" Yoh called out. "Oh gods, how long has he been standing there?" He whispered to Anna in a mortified way.
"I don't know!" She whispered back whilst frantically fixing her dress from behind her husband's protective hold.
For there stood their half-asleep son, blonde hair messy as day and his mouth in an adorable pout as his one hand rubbed his eye. "Mom, dad, are you still fighting?"
"Huh? Ah! Uhh, no, buddy! We weren't— Daddy and mommy were just… eh…" Yoh tried to reason with the remaining logical side of his brain but failed.
"Daddy and mommy were just talking," she simply said, pushing Yoh aside so she could approach their son when she was done.
Hana stared at his parents as if he wasn't convinced, his pouty lips remained. "But I heard noises, and sounds, and I thought you were hurting each other."
Yoh snorted. He thought it was funny because what Hana said wasn't entirely wrong. They were indeed engaged in a "fight," but he had to bite his lip when Anna gave him a death glare.
"Bu-but why was mommy—"
"B-b-b-b-but? Enough. How about I ask you why you're still up when I told you to sleep already?" It was Hana's turn to look mortified at his mother's interrogation.
"Huh? Ah! Uhh, no, mom! I wasn't— I was just… eh…" It was funny how he sounded just like his dad.
"Hanaaa?" mumbled Anna with a warning tone while trying her best not to melt at her son's cuteness.
"S-sorry, mom! I just really wanted to give you my gift before midnight," the boy pleaded with puppy dog eyes.
Both young parents shot quizzical looks at each other while Hana approached them, clearly hiding something from behind his back. He waited for a few seconds before carefully lifting his tiny hands towards his mother, revealing a small white swan origami.
Yoh and Anna had equally widened eyeballs then blinked several times at the object that lay before them. They were clearly speechless.
"Teacher taught us how to make it in art class," Hana declared proudly. "Open it!" He convinced his mother, who in turn, slowly unfolded the piece of the crafted paper.
It didn't take long for Anna to read her son's message. In fact, it only took a few seconds before her eyes were clearly brimming with tears. She bowed slightly in order to hide her sudden jolt of mixed emotions that threatened to burst out anytime soon. Hana noticed the sudden change in his mother's expressions and he immediately became worried. He asked her if he did something wrong because his gift was supposed to make mommy happy and not to make her cry.
Yoh noticed this and gently slipped the letter out of Anna's hand to read it. It was quite difficult to decipher the message due to the child's handwriting and some misspelt words, but since he was quite a hands-on dad for the past 7 years, he was already used to reading his son's scribbles.
Dear Mom,
Today Miss Megumi tot us how to make this reelly cool art so we can fold paper to animals! She said we can write a massage for a frend end I have a frend who has the same hair color like u end me but the others will make fun of me if I give her a love letr so I choose u. Dad is also my frend but am only writing to u bcaus he is lazy and he will not reed this hehe!
Love u mom.
I wish you and dad wil not fight anymore so we can all go bak in our owriginal haus again. I love being wit u all the time but i knda miss dad two. Dnt tel him that. Its our secrt hehehe.
Love,
Hana
PS - Hapee Annversary to u end dad!
Yoh felt his heart shatter.
It didn't matter if Hana was frantically protesting that he wasn't supposed to read the message because it was only for Anna, but he stood there speechless with his throat dry. His vision blurred and he quickly wiped away the more tears that were threatening to fall. His world seemed to sensor everything that was going on around him and he only noticed how Anna was now quietly sobbing in front of him while kneeling and hugging their son, who was more perplexed than ever.
All it took was meeting the equally worried gaze of his wife and he knew his heart was capable of shattering even more. The last thing he ever wanted in this lifetime was to see his wife so broken. Witnessing her flushed pretty face– which he still found the time to admire– those glassy honeyed eyes that stared at him in torment, silently screaming 'what do we do?'; those were enough to evoke a thousand different feelings and scenarios in his mind which all pointed to the realisation that he could never live without her. No, he wouldn't last a day.
And by God, how can they even forget that it was March 20th? What other things have they been occupying themselves with in order to overlook celebrating their wedding anniversary? How did they come to this point?
"Mom? Why are you crying? Didn't you like it?" Hana's query pulled out the adults from their little moment.
Anna withdrew the curious child from her embrace and cupped his cheeks to prompt him to stare at her. She gave him a serene smile of reassurance. "No, honey. I was just really touched with your love letter. I like it so much."
"You mean happy tears?"
Her smile grew. "Yes, happy tears."
It was at that moment when she perceived the widest beam his son flashed her. The most innocent aura she had ever seen him make the past weeks. So pure. So carefree. So much like…
"Hey dad. Dad!" Hana whispered with urgency whilst discreetly kicking his father's leg making the latter jump from his reverie. "Where's your gift?" The little boy was vigorously eyeing his father, gesturing his eyeballs towards his mom.
Yoh's eyes widened for the umpteenth time that night then gave off a nervous laugh while scratching his cheek. He was already sweating buckets and silently praying to the gods that Anna doesn't notice him forgetting to bring her an anniversary present, and he glared at Hana in feigned annoyance for being such a snitch. His son knew that they were supposed to stop by at a local flower shop in Izumo on the way home but it totally slipped from his mind. However, the said gods answered his calls when Anna seemed to have forgotten to celebrate, too, and that meant he was off the hook, right?
Anna noted the awkward energy between her two most important men in her life and decided to intervene. She, too, could not afford to be accused of forgetting the significant date.
She pulled her son into another solid embrace. "Don't worry. 7 years ago, your dad and I already had the best gift we could ever receive and will treasure forever," she simply reassured Hana while gazing deeply into his eyes that ultimately mirrored her own.
The little one pouted in curiosity, not realising that his mother was pertaining to him. This made the young father join his two precious blondes and engulf them in a tighter hug.
If only they could stop time and relive this moment every time they fell apart, then it will be much easier to go through it all. But either way, they have made their resolve.
This time, they vowed like they did 7 years ago. For Hana, they will make it work.
"And daddy will give mommy another gift later when you're asleep," Yoh added winked with a sheepish grin, ruining the wholesome air.
His son frowned in more confusion and his wife elbowed him painfully on the gut.
. . . . . . . . . . .
A/N: Fluff is always sweeter with a bit of an angst.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to our forever OTP!