The third thing of Christmas that's such a pain to me...hangovers!
Looking back, Hatori did not know what had possessed him to visit Shigure. But, he had needed to check on Yuki once more as the Rat had been avoiding the Main House as much as possible. To be honest, Hatori was relieved to be out of the Main House as well, even if it meant being subjected to Shigure's ridiculous antics.
During what was supposed to be a short visit, Hatori had ignored his cousin's attempts at getting him to read one of those romance novels Shigure had written. He meant what he had said back at the summer house; those books made him sick. The things that occupied Shigure's mind were indeed concerning to him, and Hatori had no wish to understand the Dog of the Zodiac.
He would tolerate Shigure, not attempt to understand him.
Perhaps part of the reason for him staying at Shigure's was that it had been a late night, and Tohru Honda had been kind enough to invite him to stay for dinner. It had been his first instinct to politely decline, but she had looked so happy, and whatever she was making did smell good.
So he had accepted her offer, and stayed for dinner.
He was not surprised that Yuki was still in good health, despite his asthma. Though he had kept an eye on his younger cousin. Dinner had gone off without anything exciting happening, aside from the usual and almost violent banter between Yuki and Kyo. But the two boys seemed to tone it down a bit for Tohru's sake.
After dinner had been cleaned up, the teens had retired to their rooms for quick studying, or that is what Hatori assumed they were going to do. He didn't ask, nor did they offer to say anything. Tohru had beamed at him and bid him a goodnight, and he had intended to leave after that.
He should have left, he still didn't know why he stayed.
He wound up staying after all, sitting around the kitchen table with Shigure and playing cards. It was during the game that Hatori had found his thoughts drifting as he stared outside into the dark night as a heavy snowfall began. It was in his silent thoughts that he often thought of Kana.
"What does snow become when it melts? It becomes spring!"
He closed his eyes before focusing once more on the cards in his hands. So focused was he on riding his mind from the sad thoughts that he had barely noticed that Shigure had brought out a simple bottle of wine.
Shigure poured himself a glass before pouring one for Hatori without even asking. "Do cheer up, Tori," Shigure said with a grin, lifting the glass.
Hatori accepted his glass, raising it as well and taking a sip. He set it down before narrowing his eyes at the cards.
This used to be Kana's favorite game.
He took another sip of his wine, everything becoming a blur.
He frowned as he glanced at the glass in his hands. "This has a very interesting taste," he commented, tilting his head.
Shigure smirked. "I knew you would like it." With that statement, he poured Hatori another glass.
"I never said I liked it," Hatori commented, though he did not object to the second glass of wine.
It was after the third card game that Hatori knew something was off. He took in a deep breath, feeling more than a bit tipsy.
How many glasses of wine did he have?
He lost count, and he found that he could not form the words to inquire Shigure what was in the wine.
He wound up staying the night, his thoughts slurred. In such conditions, he would not be able to recall the events of the night.
However, a very sober Shigure could recall the events quite clearly. He watched his cousin with mild concern as he shuffled the cards and set them out for another game. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Hatori swirled the last bits of his wine around in the glass cup.
"Another successful win for you," Shigure commented as he set the last card down. He frowned in concentration. "It is a good thing that I did not bet any money."
A giggle caught his attention, and he stiffened up to see Hatori slouched in his seat with a lazy expression. Shigure frowned in confusion, wondering if he had heard correctly.
Did Hatori just giggle?
"I'm very good at this game," Hatori chirped happily.
Shigure raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh really?" he asked, leaning back.
Hatori nodded vigorously, a goofy grin on his face. "Yep! Though, I do have a secret." He leaned in with a conspirative grin, brown hair falling over his eyes. "I have been cheating."
Shigure mocked gasped, hand over his heart. "No! You? Tori, cheating? Never!"
Hatori giggled and spilled his wine glass, causing him to let out a mournful sigh as he stared at the spilled liquid.
"Oops," Hatori said simply. "Don't worry! I'll get another bottle!"
Shigure sat back and watched as Hatori tried to make sense of left and right while staggering around. He smirked, noting that this would be a very interesting experience in watching the normally stoic doctor loosen up.
Maybe spiking the drink was a good idea.
"I like snow!" Hatori declared as he smacked his head against the window, eyes gazing outside. "It's soft and squishy and gets everywhere!"
Shigure hummed as he played around with the cards, an amused smirk on his face. Oh how Ayame would have loved to have seen this! "Really?" he asked.
"I love this kitchen," Hatori continued, humming a song off tune as he pranced around. "Do we have anymore of that fizzy, tasty drink?"
Shigure frowned. "You mean the wine?"
"Yep! That one! I love that drink," Hatori exclaimed.
Shigure did not answer as he looked at the wine bottle he had previously gotten out. His frown deepened when he noticed the tiny bit that remained in the bottle. While Shigure himself had only had two glasses, he had not been paying attention to the amount Hatori had given himself.
He shrugged. Oh well. It wasn't like this hadn't happened before.
He looked up briefly at the sound of someone marching down the steps, and he noticed Kyo nod to him as he approached the kitchen.
Shigure rose to his feet quickly and snatched his phone while hitting the 'record' button, the sounds of Hatori proclaiming his love for all that had to do with the cabinets in the kitchen still pretty clear to him. His smirk widened when he heard Kyo's startled exclamation, and he entered the room just in time to witness Kyo's horrified expression at a singing, tipsy Hatori.
"Hello Red!" Hatori exclaimed, staggering over to Kyo who tried to duck from the doctor's hands. "I love redheads! You looks so nice!" He pinched Kyo's cheeks, causing the Cat to yelp and stagger back.
"What happened to him?" Kyo demanded, eyes flashing with annoyance and suspicion.
Shigure smirked while trying to look innocent. "Hatori decided to loosen up," he stated simply.
"Shigure!" Hatori declared, sagging against the wall. "Have I ever told you that you are my favorite cousin?"
Shigure sighed. "Oh Tori, you're one of my favorite cousins too!"
Hatori frowned, his whole demeanor changing. "One of your favorites? How dare you! I've been with you through thick and thin! I've known you since you were in diapers! I even changed your diapers!"
"TMI," Kyo muttered.
"Strictly speaking Hatori, that's not true as we are the same age and that would be a whole new level of creepy, even for our family," Shigure commented with a shrug. "But you'll be changing plenty of diapers when we're all eighty and wrinkly."
"I know what you did in high school with the bubble gum and Ayame's hair!" Hatori proclaimed. "I remember how you tried to convince me to steal Aunt May's thong-"
"That's enough!" Kyo exclaimed, trying to leave the kitchen. "I don't need to hear your stupid history!"
"-But was I stupid enough to go forward with the prank?" Hatori declared, twirling around. "Nope! Because I was smart! I am smart! I'm a doctor! So all of you should listen to me!" With a burp, Hatori collapsed on the ground in a heap, loud snores echoing in the kitchen.
Shigure frowned and watched his cousin, waiting for the Dragon to move. When he did not, Shigure sighed and bent over to drag Hatori out of the kitchen and too the living room. He hoisted Hatori's upper body on the couch before lifting Hatori's legs in a comfortable position.
"That's...not just wine," he heard Hatori mutter. "I'm...gonna...kill you," he slurred to Shigure before he closed his eyes.
"Ah," Shigure stated, patting Hatori's head. "I love you too." He smirked when Hatori tried to swat his hand away.
Wait until Ayame saw the video. He would show it to the Snake first before letting Hatori see it.
The first thing that made sense to Hatori was the pain in his head caused by the many sounds around him. He heard the sounds of many voices, and he felt a small flash of irritation. How many people did Shigure invite to the house? They weren't even trying to be quiet!
"-We'll go to the store together!" he heard a happy voice proclaim. In the back of his mind, he identified it as Momiji.
What was Momiji doing here?
"Sounds like fun!" a child's voice exclaimed.
Hm, that sounded like Kisa.
"Perfect!" he heard Tohru say. "That will also give Yuki some time to get dinner ready. I should be back by then to help."
"Take your time," he heard Yuki say. "I can handle this, Miss Honda."
If Yuki was cooking, then Hatori wasn't staying.
"Are you sure you got this?" Tohu asked with concern. "I mean, I know you can do it! But do you need any help?"
"Do not worry," he heard Yuki say in a gentle tone. "I will be fine."
"How is it that we have no extension cords!" a new voice bellowed, the sound of a slamming door opening. Hatori groaned at the sudden pain in his head at the unbearable noise. He briefly wondered if the door had been flung off of its hinges.
"My poor house!" Shigure exclaimed.
Well, there was his answer.
"I'm trying to rig up the lights!" the voice, Kyo, growled. "I don't want to hear about your house!"
"Come on Tohru!" Momiji shouted gleefully. "Let's go shopping! I've got Kisa!"
"Get your hands off of Kisa, you darn Rabbit," Hiro growled, and the sound of shoving could be heard, along with Momiji's startled yelp. Something snapping could be heard, and Hatori cracked an eye open to watch as Momiji crashed into the lights Kyo had brought in, getting them stuck in a tangled mess and flickering off.
"The lights!" wailed Kyo. "Get off!"
"Get OUT!" Hatori bellowed suddenly, his headache finally exploding as he rose from the couch, his expression fierce as he glared at everyone. Tohru and Momiji both squeaked at the angry doctor while Kisa hid behind Haru who just raised an eyebrow. Kyo was still fuming over his ruined lights while Yuki looked unfazed.
"You don't look so good, Hatori," Momiji pointed out unwisely.
Hatori felt his eye twitch, and he took in a deep breath, staggering forward. A puff of smoke filled his vision and he fell to the floor in his seahorse form.
"I've got you Tori!" Shigure exclaimed, cupping his hands and catching the falling seahorse. He tsked as he glanced down at the poor seahorse that was his cousin. "Now, now, I know something that will cheer you up. A nice cup of bureben!"
Hatori swore on his life that he would never drink anything in Shigure's house ever again.
It had only taken a few minutes for him to transform back, and Tohru had hastily given him his clothes with an mortified look. He took his time getting dressed in the bathroom, feeling his headache increase. He groaned, rubbing his head as he sat down at the kitchen table. By the time he had emerged from the bathroom, Tohru had taken both Haru, Kisa, Hiro and Momiji out shopping while Kyo was still in a war against the lights as Yuki tried to finish the meager decorations inside.
"I feel awful," he muttered, rubbing his pounding head.
"Yeah," he heard Shigure say, wincing at the volume of his cousin's voice. "I was surprised at how much you drank."
Hatori narrowed his eyes, wincing once more at the glaring light that the sun was offering through the windows. "I…" He struggled for words. "I only had three cups of wine!"
"Filled to the brim," Shigure pointed out unhelpfully.
The Dragon growled. "You," he said, staggering to his feet, yet a wave of nausea overcame him and forced him back into his seat. "You spiked my drink!"
"I spiked the whole bottle," Shigure stated. "To pull you out of your funk. I didn't think you would drink that much! And could you really not notice the difference in the taste?"
To be honest, he had noticed the slight difference. But his thoughts had been preoccupied with the snow, and Kana. Such memories were the ones that he wanted to avoid, and the wine had been helping him.
He swore, collapsing back on the couch and curling up into a ball, his head pounding. Of all the stupid, idiotic things had had managed to do, getting drunk and getting a hangover was by far the worst.
Why was it that he always managed to do stupid things when Shigure was around?
Well, thank God Ayame wasn't here.
"Don't worry!" Shigure said unhelpfully. "You didn't do anything destructive. Aside from staying still and not moving, you are pretty subdued when drunk!" Somehow, Hatori doubted that.
"Shut up," Hatori muttered, wincing at the volume at Shigure's voice level.
"Oh, and you did call Tohru 'Kana' when she was checking you for a fever," Shigure said with a grin.
Hatori growled, slowly getting up and taking in a deep breath as he stumbled away from the couch.
"Where are you going?" Shigure asked with a frown, following his cousin.
"Aspirin," Hatori muttered, entering the bathroom and fumbling with the medicine cabinet. His headache felt like someone was repeatedly driving a nail through his skull, and he still felt weary and tired, mentally and physically. Winter was always toughest on Akito, and he had been staying up late at night to tend to her needs. As the doctor, one would think he would be aware of his own health, but he barely had time to take care of himself. Sometimes, he felt like this family was working him to death.
He swallowed the aspirin before stumbling out of the bathroom and back towards the couch, collapsing on it and curling up.
"Is there anything I can do for you to help ease you in your moment of vulnerability?" Shigure asked, and it did not go unnoticed by Hatori how Shigure had used the word 'vulnerability.'
"Don't do anything stupid," the Dragon muttered. "And do stay quiet. You are giving me a headache."
He could hear the smirk in Shigure's voice. "More so than usual?"
He was still glaring at his cousin who was smiling behind his cup of tea. Hatori sighed and took his aspirin, glad for the silence in the house.
"What are you doing?" he asked with a weary sigh as he watched Shigure scribble some notes.
"Christmas cards!" Shigure stated simply. He looked up with a smirk. "Though, I could use some help."
"No," Hatori grumbled, pressing the cold glass to his throbbing head.
"Oh, I wasn't thinking of you," Shigure said, his grin growing wider.
At that moment, the door burst open as a gust of wind blew in, along with the booming voice of someone very familiar.
"Gure!" Ayame bellowed dramatically. "I have come to assist you!"