Somewhere on Autumn Woods Drive

By Rikku Minouke

Disclaimer: My husband told me if I get rich I could maybe own YYH someday. I think he's full of it. But all in all I don't own YYH

AN: I kinda disappointed in you guys. I ask for more reviews and so NO ONE reviews. Hmm, I don't think that was sending a good message to me. Do you guys really want me to continue this story or not? If you guys don't like it, please speak up. Or if you want me to continue, say so. Please review. That's why I am even posting this story to being with, to get feed back.

Chapter eighteen

I've never been a fan of holidays. Surprises were not something I had ever enjoyed. That year I was the one giving the biggest gift and I hadn't even known it.

"Thank you for driving," I told Kurama as he parked the car outside my parent's house. "We haven't even gotten there and I'm feeling exhausted."

"I don't mind driving in snow," Kurama pocketed the keys with a content smile on his face. "Shall we go in?"

Shaking my head, letting the ringlets bounce around my head. "I don't think I have much of a choice, do I?"

He pretended to think about his answer. "Not on Christmas. Come on." His laugh followed him out of the car as I unbuckled my seat belt. Before I knew it, Kurama was at my door, opening it, and holding his hand down to help me up. "Who's all going to be here?"

"Umm, my grandparents and my aunt will be here with her two kids," I explained as he continued to hold my hand. We approached the door and walked right in, like last time. Letting go of his hand, I slipped my boots off as Kurama toed his shoes into the corner.

"Botan, Kurama," my mother appeared from the brown room and gave each of us a hug. "Merry Christmas, I'm so glad you guys could make it!"

"Merry Christmas mamma," I smiled at her.

"Thank you for having us," Kurama told her and extended his hand that held several bags. "What would you like me to do with these?"

"Oh, dear," my mother gushed. "I'll just take those." Snatching the bags from his hand, my mother disappeared into the other room. We slowly followed into the room where my father was talking to my eldest cousin on the couch while my mother had found herself next to my aunt, still holding the bags we'd brought.

"Hello Botan," I looked down to see my little cousin looking at me with a small pleased smile on her face. The lavender blue shine to her hair brought out the deep grey in her eyes. I knew that when she got older, Sayaka would be a heartbreaker. "It's good to see you again." Bending down, I gave her a tight hug.

"You as well," I smiled at her when I pulled back. Running my hand over the back of her head tenderly. "You have to be almost in middle school now, right?"

"Yes, this year I'm in sixth grade," she nodded and I could see the intelligence behind her eyes. I've always known that she was way too smart for her young age. Glancing around, my older cousin met eyes while engaging with my dad. He gave me a fleeting smile which I returned. Sayaka's intelligence ran in the family though.

"Oh," I gasped. "I'm so sorry." I turned to place a hand on Kurama's shoulder, looking down at Sayaka. "Kurama this is my cousin Sayaka. Sayaka this is my friend Kurama."

"It's very nice to meet you Sayaka," Kurama told her. His features were calm and he gave off the vibe that he was relaxed and content.

"The sentiment is mutual," Sayaka looked at him and I knew she was evaluating the man next to me. After a moment a bright smile shined on her face and she turned, the skirt of the purple dress twirling at her knees, to head toward the couch. Once there she sat next to her older brother.

Before we could move, however, my aunt walked up to us with a bright smile on her face. "It's great to see you Botan. And this must be Kurama!" She gave each of us a hug. "I'm Botan's Aumi. It's great to finally meet you. Botan's mother, my sister, won't stop talking about you." She laughed lightly. "So Botan, are you two officially dating?"

I felt my mouth sag a little bit. "Uhh…" I didn't know how to answer that question. Were we together like that? We hadn't talked about it yet.

"We are just friends," Kurama rested a hand on the small of my back. My hand got cloudy at his mixed messages. But what was worse was the weight on my heart. I don't understand why it upset me so much to hear those words. It really shouldn't, I had just gotten out of a bad relationship a few months back and really shouldn't think about dating again. However, the time I've spent with him made me feel like this was a real connection. Somewhere along the line I misread the signs and now I had to deal with those consequences.

"Oh," she blinked a few times. "Well, I'm glad you could join us today. It's going to be a lot of fun."

"Thank you, I'm glad Botan's parents let me contribute," he told her before the three of us slowly made our way into the cluster of people.

"Before you sit down, Botan," I looked over at my cousin standing up and scooting around Sayaka's knees. "I need to give you a hug, cousin."

"It's so good to see you Touya," I smiled into his shoulder, but unlike earlier, this one was forced.

"Botan?" he leaned back and gave me a weird look. Raising my eyebrows at his expression, he placed a hand on my stomach. I wasn't super noticeable yet, but there had been a slight development. A firm bump had appeared last week at my abdomen. At work I had passed it off as gaining weight now that I wasn't living on college food or bloating from my period. Somehow I should've foreseen Touya, a student at med school, noticing my protruding bump, even through my loose top. "Why didn't you tell us you were pregnant?"

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit….

My brain started spinning at a thousand miles an hour. The room went completely silent. I had no doubt that my mother from the kitchen doorway could hear my heart thudding uncontrollably. Even my father stared at me when his drink halfway to his lips. There was no doubt my mouth was dropped far enough to almost touch the floor.

"You're what?" My dad was the first to say something and his voice was surprisingly quiet.

"I need a drink," my mother turned and left the room. From the brown room, I could hear the fridge slam shut after she'd grabbed a pop and the liquor cabinet door almost splinter.

"Merry Christmas?" my voice felt hoarse as I pushed the words through the barrier in my throat.

AN: I need at least five reviews to post the next chapter. How bad do you guys want it? It's already written.