The Long Trip

I won't lie. It was a long trip back to Japan from New York.

The plane was delayed for three hours because of unexpected fog and the kids on board were becoming antsy.

I sighed and took out my iPod and turned it on…I don't even need it…he got it for me just in case I got bored. His voice flittered through the ear buds and I smiled wider at him. He just recorded it for the trip.

'Hi, I hope you're on your way back! We miss you a lot…though I miss you way more than she does. Also, when you come back…I have a surprise gift for you! But remember, you have to be here on time! Here's a hint to what it might be!'

I wondered what the gift could be, but Jack and Jill started to play. A nursery rhyme, what kind of hint is that? I was racking my brain to make connections…gosh, Ryoma could be so odd when he wants to play mind games.

--

I nearly tripped over a pair of shoes when I arrived at our home about two in the morning.

Wait a minute. Those shoes are too big to be Ryoma's! I walked into the living room and saw Ryoma sleeping on the soft black couch. The kitchen light was on and I could see a man shuffling around in there. He came out and smiled in relief; it was just Ryoga.

"Yo, Syuusuke, welcome back," He called as he came out to greet me.

"Ryoga, it's nice to see you too. Why's Ryoma not in bed?"

"He insisted on staying up until he saw you…that plan failed epically."

I laughed and felt something brush against me. "Hey girly, how are you?" I said to Karupin, yes, Ryoma wasn't lying when he said that she missed me.

--

It was the next day and I had moved Ryoma from the living room to our room.

He woke up and his bleary gold eyes looked at me. "Syuusuke, when did you come?"

"Late last night," I kissed him and he snuggled up to me like a kitten.

"Did you listen to your iPod on the plane?"

"Yes I did. What's up with the nursery rhyme for a hint?"

Ryoma smiled and whispered something in my ear. My eyes widened and I stood in shock for a about three minutes.

It couldn't be, right!? Well, we had gone to Ryoma's doctors and they said that it could have been possible…but I never thought that it could actually happen.

I came out of my shock and grinned like a dork.

--

"IT DOESN'T GO THERE!!!" I winced at how loud Ryoma was. The men that came to deliver the things nearly dropped the dresser as they began to shake in fear. I stood there with a smile on my face…but I thought my ears were bleeding.

After about another hour of furnishing the room, I was outside with the men. Ryoma stayed inside because he didn't want to leave the comforts of bed yet.

"No offense, Fuji-san, but your wife is out there," One of them said to me as they got in the truck.

"None taken; I know how you feel, Ryoma can be quite aggressive."

We bid farewell and then they were gone. I went back into the house and went up to the new room. For the most part…it was light blue on one side and light pink on the other. There was a large dresser against the far wall with six drawers, three blue and three pink. The cribs were next to each other on the opposite side.

I closed the door and went into our bedroom. Ryoma was lying on a pile of pillows and looked half asleep. His hands were on his large, children heavy stomach.

"Syuusuke, my back hurts," He whined and tried to find a better position. I laughed and helped him to readjust the pillows…he used mine…I'll have to get him back later.

--

I was in a panic. I just remember going to sleep and the next thing I know, I was thrown from bed and onto the floor. When I jumped up, Ryoma was glaring at me.

"What the hell took you so long!? They're coming!" He was panting harshly and everything went by in a flash. Next time I came back into reality, I was in the labor ward with Ryoma squeezing the life out of my hand.

"AHH!" He screamed as another contraction ripped through him.

"Fuji-san," The doctor began to say. She was probably talking to Ryoma. "We're going to take you into the OR for a C-section, alright?" Ryoma cringed as another ripped through him and tried (and failed) to hold in a scream of pain.

Together, everyone went into the OR and within five minutes, the room was echoing with the screams of two babies. Ryoma looked relieved to have the pressure off of him, and looked anxious to see our new children.

The nurse handed the boy to me before handing the girl over as well. I was absolutely beaming. I was a father! Ryoma smiled after he checked them over to see that they were absolutely perfect.

--

Was it really that long ago?

I was looking through the photo albums of Ryoma's pregnancy and the twins' lives.

"Dad, tell Shun to leave me alone!" Shuya screamed as she came into my study. Shun was behind her and was laughing as he pinched her. Shuya screamed again in frustration and slapped her brother's hands away.

They were both eighteen now and were soon heading off to college. I was only forty, Ryoma was still thirty eight.

A small weight hit my leg and saw that it was our new kitten, Scraps. What an odd cat he was…he reminded of Karupin with those mischievous green eyes…

A little boy toddled into the room, following Scraps.

"Scraps, come," Little Haru shouted as he bent down to grab it. He was only two, and he was our second youngest child. Our youngest child was in the hospital still. As was Ryoma.

I sighed and closed the book. "Shun, Shuya, Haru, Scraps, let's go downstairs." They followed me like good little pets and went into the living room.

Twelve year old Kaoru was kitchen…drinking Ryoma's Ponta…when he has his own cherry Ponta.

"You owe your mother a Ponta," I smirked when he spat out the soda in surprise.

"D-Dad, when'd you get here!?"

"I've been here, now clean that up." He rolled his eyes at the pile of purple liquid.

He reminded me of Ryoma when he was twelve.

--

All six of us walked into Ryoma's room.

Shuya, Bunta, Shun, Haru, and Kaoru crowded around Ryoma and gave him their love and all the 'kids love mommy' stuff. Watch me and wonderful kissing powers at work.

A passionate kiss with Ryoma made the kids squirm, how I love that reaction.

Next to his bed was our new child, a girl. Like most of our kids, except for Shun and Kaoru, she had my sandy brown hair. Oh, she just opened her eyes! They were a bright blue in color and I smiled.

Even after five other kids over eighteen years, having a new child always entranced me. How could we create someone? It was amazing.

Ryoma smiled tiredly as he watched everyone crowd around the little girl. His arm was still in its sling and his right leg was bound in a cast.

A few days ago, he was in a car accident and had to have the baby delivered via C-section…again.

--

I laughed when Kumiko fell on top of Ryoma. Ryoma hugged the little one year old and picked her up.

"It's time for nyum-nyum," He cooed and sat her in the high seat. Haru, Kaoru, and Bunta, our fourteen year old, were also seated in the kitchen. I just finished putting the food on their plates and handed them out.

"Itadakimasu," We said before digging in.

"Mama has gray hair!" Haru exclaimed about two minutes later. Ryoma looked at him in surprise.

"What?"

"Mom, you do have gray hair. It's cool, 'cause it's like your bangs are white and then the rest of your hair has like white streaks in it. You look like one of those superheroes with the cool hair," Bunta said as he twirled his own brown hair.

"He looks like Rogue from X-Men!" Kaoru said and high fived Bunta. Ryoma just sat there with his food inches from his mouth.

"What!?" He ran into the bathroom and gasped loudly at his appearance.

"Sa, that's what happens when you don't look in a mirror for nineteen years."

He looked at me, "Has it really been that long?"

I walked up to him and hugged him from behind. He hadn't cut his hair for quite a few years so it reached the small of his back- anyone could mistake him for a girl. The gray hair suited him with his emerald/black hair perfectly. It just seemed to enhance his beauty.

"Ah, it has."

There wasn't a doubt in my mind that the early graying came from his fast paced life as the main caretaker of all six of our kids. As a photographer, and head of the largest camera and film/production company in the world, I was away most of the time. He must have been so stressed…I felt guilty.

"It's been so fast. It's like it was just yesterday when we won Nationals," We chuckled at the fond memory. I rested my head on his shoulder and kissed his cheek.

"We still have the years ahead."