Chapter 37
"I can't believe he's done this," Yui said softly as she entered her bedroom. Not only was it spotless with the bed already made and the blood stains on the carpet completely vanished, but a large crib as well as a baby bouncer and changing station were already put together and waiting. "He is quite the spender..." Azusa gushed. He placed his hand daintily on the mid of the girl's back and guided her slowly across the bedroom and to the crib. Laying on the infant mattress was a baby onesie even small enough to fit the premee Noah himself. As she dressed him slowly and without a struggle, Yui's mind was still dumbstruck and drifting off somewhere else. "I just don't understand," she said quietly, "he is so well tempered. Despite all the emotions since he has entered our world... he remains quiet and soft. Happy even. But then, he can just- well, you saw what happened." She delicately shifted her son's limbs into the small article of clothing and sighed, watching as the baby softly cooed himself into a light sleep. She could feel as Azusa's hand fell from her back and he held it in his opposite hand tightly. "He is quiet... and soft. He is... happy. But he is a vampire, Yui." The mother quickly turned to look into the eyes of her lover; her eyes bloodshot and tearful. "If you can love... a monster like me. Our baby, so soft... and pure. He should be no trouble to love."
The lovers held each other close and watched with love filled gazes as their son fell into a much needed slumber.
"Come now," Azusa finally said as he squeezed Yui's shoulders reassuringly. "Let him sleep... he doesn't need us right now." They had been standing in that same spot for what felt like hours and Yui had found herself dozing in and out of sleep mode, only to have Azusa hold her up straight on her feet. "Perhaps... you should sleep," he said softly. Yui quickly spun around and squeaked, "I don't want to sleep," before Azusa placed his finger to her lips and immediately hushed her; his eyebrows flicking upward and motioning towards the sleeping child. The blonde quickly shut her mouth and felt a burning sensation within her simply at the touch of him.
The couple curled up into each other on the couch and filled each others ears with peaceful nothings, yet was completely everything that Yui needed at that moment. Little did she know that Azusa had needed it much more, for he yearned to feel her touch and feared that he wouldn't be able to after the scene he had witnessed only hours previous. Usually he was in the position of power but today, Azusa was sprawled across Yui's lap and rested his head sweetly in the crook of her arm in a toddler like fashion. "You smell... like me," he breathed. His eyes were shut and he was simply inhaling her scent, feeling it run through his core and tickle his insides. Yui giggled and said in a gentle tone, "You've told me before, Azusa. The moment we met." She stroked his hair and allowed her fingertips to work swiftly through each of the small tangles. "Ah..." Azusa sighed, "and still now... it's enough to make me swoon."
The love talk was suddenly interrupted by an overly ecstatic Kou, who skipped through the front entrance with four large shopping bags that he was parading over his head. "M Neko-Chaaan!" He sang as he tossed all four of the large bags onto the ground in front of her and Azusa, who was snoozing away on the girl's lap. Yui pressed her finger to her own lips and desperately whispered, "shh! He's finally fallen asleep-" but her efforts ultimately failed, for Azusa shook out of his sleepy state and rose to a full sitting position beside her. "Welcome, Kou." His voice was tired and even now, it still made Yui melt. "I don't think you'll care for any of this but I suppose you can join us, brother," Kou said. He was clearly disappointed but nonetheless, he still plopped down cross legged onto the carpet in front of the two and began unpacking the bags.
"Look how adorable it is, M Neko-Chan!" Kou chirped gleefully as he held up yet another onesie for the couple to see. It was the fourth of many more to come, only this was the first one to be pink. It was pastel pink and white striped, with the print of a cheerful strawberry over the breast pocket. Both Yui and Azusa raised their brow at the odd choice. "Now don't give me that look," the blond snapped, "I know it's going to take time for him to grow into but if he's going to be my nephew then he needs to be well dressed. Who says boys can't wear pink anyway?" The three exchanged looks all among each other but couldn't help but to be thrown into a fit of laughter, even Azusa who hadn't truly laughed in days.
Kou continued to show off all that he had bought for the day even as it extended past baby clothes and into clothing fit for an idol. "I didn't know about the color at first but then I figured, hey! I look great in any color!" The blond vampire tossed the teal tank top over his shoulder and proceeded to drop the final empty bag to the floor in front of the dozing Azusa and Yui. Yui pretended to be interested and simply smiled, nodding along as Kou spoke and even nudging Azusa a few times to do the same. Azusa would abruptly return from his dozing and participate in the polite smile and nods. "Ah, I almost forgot." Kou slipped his hand into his back pocket and revealed a small white box that Yui immediately recognized to be a box designated for a jewelry item. He awkwardly stepped forward and thrusted it into her hands, which had been folded in her lap but now possessed the tiny box. She sat speechless for a moment before Kou said, "Well, open it!" followed by a small nod from Azusa. She looked away the boys and then down to her lap, slowly flipping the lid off of the box and folding back the wrapping paper. As Yui's dainty fingers pushed the wax paper to the side, she audibly gasped as she exposed the innards of the box to be a silver bracelet. The focus point of the bracelet was a modest cross with silver vines wrapping around the posts and a single rose in the middle. "B-but," Yui stuttered, "why, Kou-kun?" As she spoke, Azusa slowly took the bracelet from her grasp. She watched intently but finally sighed as she saw his stiff fingers working with the backing to unhook the bracelet and to slide it onto her wrist himself, re-hooking it and then giving her hand a small squeeze. Once the bracelet was on, Yui looked up to Kou with doe eyes and was met with his, which were softened. His cheeks turned a light shade of a pink as he looked away and said, "You've been through alot lately, and not just in the past few hours. Figured you could use some cheering up."
The girl continued even twenty minutes later to gawk at the beautiful piece of jewelry that had been wrapped around her wrist and touched it with the most delicate of touches, feeling the silver on her fingertips and not helping but to shed a few more tears. The blond vampire had left the room right after gifting the bracelet and left the girl to stew over it with her lover on her side. Yui didn't want to draw too much attention to the gift, especially in front of Azusa, but couldn't help but to keep smiling over it. "It's quite beautiful..." Azusa sighed. He was no longer laying on her lap but instead was stiffly sitting at her right side. The broken silence caused Yui to look to her side and into the sweet eyes of the youngest vampire himself. He was clearly trying to ignore her gaze but that only made Yui smile even more. "Now stop that," she said. The words shocked Azusa and he quickly turned to face her, his mouth open and ready to speak but now, he found her single finger to be at his lips to shush him. "He could give me all the gifts in the world and yes, I would appreciate it. But no gift could compare to what you've given me. And I love you for it." Azusa slowly began to smile and even blush under the feel of her finger but she finally allowed it to fall to her side as she reached in and pressed her lips softly onto his in a loving kiss.