Author's Note: Kind of long note at the bottom, sorry.
Chapter Eighteen: Bonding and Ice Cream
Yuki stretched slowly, still unwilling to open his eyes. He could sleep in, couldn't he? He didn't need to go to school, and his bed was just so comfy and warm. Yuki curled back on his side, snuggling into his pillow. Yuki frowned slightly as he heard a chuckle. Who was chuckling, and why was he or she chuckling? Didn't he know another word besides chuckle to describe that sound? What about giggling, or laughing? Deciding to ignore it and stop those thoughts, the child burrowed deeper in his covers and pillow. He was going to stay here as long as he wanted; no one could make him move.
Someone was shaking him. Why was he being shaken? "Go 'way." He heard another chuckle. The person wouldn't leave.
"Yuki, get up. I know you're awake; you've been awake for a while." Yuki scowled into his pillow at his brother. Why was Nii-san waking him up?
"No." Now Nii-san was laughing.
"You can't stay in bed all day. You need to get up, eat, and move around. We have to leave in about an hour so you have to get up and get ready." Yuki furrowed his brow. They were leaving? Where were they going? He knew Nii-san had told him, but couldn't remember where. Sighing, defeated, he rolled over and opened his eyes to meet the amused gaze of his older brother.
"Where are we going again?" Ayame smiled, containing his excitement. It had been a week since Yuki had first started talking, but Ayame still wanted to jump around and sing every time Yuki said a word.
"We're all going to the store so Tohru doesn't have to, remember? After that, depending on how much time we have left, we are going to go get ice cream." Yuki smiled at the possibility of ice cream. He was still terrified of going outside, but Nii-san had promised that he wouldn't leave his side. Yuki wasn't going to allow to even be an option. He knew Nii-san wouldn't let anyone hurt him, but he couldn't help being afraid of going outside.
Yuki sat up in bed and lifted his arms in a silent demand to be picked up, surprising them both. Ayame swung the child over his head before settling Yuki on his hip. Yuki was laughing now with his arms around the snake's neck in a hug. Ayame almost literally skipped down the stairs. Yuki shook his head wondering how Ayame could be so energetic.
"Good morning, Yuki. Are you feeling okay about going outside today?" Yuki looked at Shishou and Kyo, who was seated in the man's lap, and shook his head.
"I'm scared. Do you think there'll be a lot of people?" Kyo nodded at that and twisted around to look at his father. Kazuma shook his head.
"There will be come people, but I don't think there will be a lot of people. There's usually not that many people at the store at nine in the morning. Nothing is going to happen to either of you. You know Ayame and I won't let anything happen to either of you. Don't wander away," he said, suddenly stern. "If we can't see you, we can't protect you. Both of you need to stay close, understand?" Both boys nodded as Ayame came back in with a bowl of cereal for Yuki.
Half an hour later, both boys were dressed and nervous. Neither of them were completely comfortable with going outside, but they were desperately running low on food and neither man was willing to leave the children alone with Shigure. He was still asleep and would probably sleep for most of the day.
The store was only a few blocks away. The day was beautiful, sun out, and a slight breeze. Yuki was clinging to Nii-san's hand practically glued to the man's side. He wasn't going to leave his side until they were back home and inside. Kyo was even more scared than he. The orange haired child had almost been in tears when they left and only the promise of ice cream and his father's comforting had convinced him to come. He was now high in Kazuma's arms with his head burrowed in the crook of his neck.
It didn't take very long to reach the store. Yuki looked around, almost cutting off the circulation in his brother's hand, before he decided that he didn't see anyone immediately who he thought might hurt him. It mostly seemed to be women, some old, and some with young children. He did see a few men, but they didn't look scary or anything. Ayame sighed in relief as Yuki finally loosened the death grip on his hand. He glanced over at Kazuma and Kyo. Kazuma had somehow managed to set Kyo on the floor. Kyo, for his part, still looked terrified and seemed to be trying to hide in Kazuma's clothes. If only he had brought a camera. He could do so much teasing and blackmailing later!
"Come on. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we all get ice cream, and the quicker we get home. Okay?" Both boys looked at Kazuma, who was obviously in charge, and nodded. Kazuma purposefully started down the aisles, grabbing things he thought they needed. After the first two aisles and wondering aimlessly for a few minutes, the foursome stopped in the middle of the store completely at a loss as to where anything was, or even remembering anything they needed. Kazuma sighed and looked over at Ayame. "Did anyone make a list of the things we needed?" Ayame shook his head. Yuki and Kyo both pulled a face that clearly said,
"What? You think we made a list? You're nuts."
"So, what do you do?" Kazuma shrugged in response to the younger man's question.
"I guess we could just go up and down the aisles and look for things that we might need. That'll take a while, but I can't remember anything we need. We should've made a list." Ayame nodded his agreement, though he didn't think it was a very big deal. It wasn't going to hurt to spend a little more time that they had planned looking for food. As long Yuki and Kyo both stayed calm, everything would be okay.
"We need cereal," Yuki piped up slightly swinging Nii-san's hand. He knew no one in the store was going to hurt him. Everyone looked like kind mothers or grandmother. Even though his own mother hadn't been the nicest to him, all of these women were engrossed in their own duties or children to pay him any attention. Now that he knew he was safe, boredom was setting in. Grocery shopping was boring. Why couldn't he have stayed at home and done something fun?
"We need milk and eggs. Oh, and rice." Kazuma nodded trying to remember all that.
"Do we have any paper and pen? We're going to forget this in five minutes." Ayame shook his head, but smiled widely an instant later.
"Ta-da! Oh wonderful technology! I'll write everything on my cell phone!" Yuki sighed slightly and shook his head. Ayame, being his usual self, had said this very loud and caused the people near them to turn and look. Ayame wasn't paying attention as he typed everything into his cell phone. Yuki was slightly put out as his brother's hand had been taken away to type, but he simply gripped a handful of Ayame's coat. After five minutes they had a list complied and ready to go. Ayame put his hand back down, and Yuki immediately grabbed it. He didn't think anyone in the store would hurt him, but he still wanted to hold Nii-san's hand.
For the next ten minutes Yuki amuses himself by looking at all the things on the shelves, but that was boring. He could only look at food for so long. Kyo was a little ways in front of him. Yuki knew Kyo was getting bored too; he was swinging Kazuma's hand just the same as he was swinging Ayame's simply for something little to do. Both children remained quiet and well behaved for the next minutes, but after that they were both thoroughly bored with grocery shopping.
"Are we almost done?" A little part of Yuki was telling him to be patient and to stop whining, but it was only a very small part. Besides, it was only the second time he had asked.
"Yes, almost. We'll be done in a few minutes. I know this is probably boring to you, but we need food." Yuki sighed loudly.
"This is the most boring thing I've ever done in my life. I know we need food, but why couldn't I stay at home? I could've done something fun." The six-year-old would've crossed his arms, but that would've meant letting go of Nii-san's hand, and he just wasn't ready for that yet.
"You never know when Shigure is going to be up, we didn't want to wake him up, and there was no one to watch you. I'm not going to leave you at home by yourself." Yuki sighed realizing he was going to be bored until they left. It was another twenty minutes before they were finally out of the store with two very bored children.
"Can we get ice cream now?" Kyo looked expectantly up at his dad, pleading with his eyes.
"Yeah, can we, can we, can we, can we?" Ayame and Kazuma laughed at the excited child. Yuki blushed lightly and ducked his head.
"Yes, we're getting ice cream even though you don't need any sugar. You're hyper enough as it is." Yuki shrugged at this.
"That's because I got bored." Ayame gripped the child's hand again, repositioning the bags.
Kyo wanted Dad to hold him, but he knew that was impossible with the bags in his arms. The rat currently had a handful of the man's clothes and was pressed tightly against his side. The ice cream shop was only a couple of blocks away, but it felt much longer as more people came out into the street. What if someone tried to take him? He didn't want to get kidnapped again.
Kyo let out a huge sigh as they entered the shop. Kazuma and Ayame sat their bags down at a table and took the children to the counter to choose which flavor of ice cream they wanted. It took almost fifteen minutes, but Yuki finally decided on chocolate ice cream with fudge and chocolate cookies crumbled on top, and Kyo peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter pieces in it, chocolate cookies crumbled on top, and caramel topping. Kazuma and Ayame were both wondering why they had agreed to give them this much sugar.
Kyo was happily eating his ice cream, wondering how it could taste so good and looking out the window when he paused with the spoon midway to his mouth.
Outside on the street the man didn't stop. He didn't pay attention to the orange haired child in the ice cream shop, froze with terror. He walked leisurely, not paying anyone attention. It took him only six seconds to pass the window, but it would take Kyo much longer to get over seeing him. The child jumped when Kazuma laid a hand on his head. "Kyo? Are you okay?"
Kyo launched himself into his father's arms. Kazuma was his dad in all the ways that matter. His biological father didn't matter. Why had seeing him outside made him so scared and upset? Forget about him, he told himself, focus on Dad, the dad that matters, focus on him holding you. "Kyo? Did you see someone outside?" The child nodded against his shoulder.
"My biological father. He walked by the window. He didn't see me." Kazuma hugged his son tighter and rubbed his back. Kyo slowly relaxed as Yuki and Ayame looked on. Yuki still remembered how he had felt when his parents had shown up for a surprise visit. He hadn't thought about he problems the other child had with his biological father. Fifteen minutes later Kyo had turned around on Shishou's lap and was finishing his ice cream. It was almost soup, but he didn't care. It was still cold and still full of sugar. Sugars that were rapidly coursing through his blood stream, and sugar that Kazuma was quickly going to regret giving him.
As they left the shop and headed home Yuki and Kyo were swinging off their guardian's hands, jumping, skipping, and generally being two small children who had just consumed a large amount of sugar.
"Nii-san, Nii-san, Nii-san! Don't you loooooooooooooooooooove ice cream? I love ice cream. How could anyone not love ice cream? I mean, ice cream is just the best thing in the world. I don't see how anyone could not love it."
"Yes, yes, yes, yes! Everyone most love ice cream," Kyo piped in. "If you don't like ice cream then you're not…. you're not… well, I don't know what you are, but you're not sane. You're stupid if you don't love ice cream. Ice cream is the best thing in the world. Daddy, do you think ice cream is the best thing in the world?" Kazuma glanced down at his son, smiling.
"Of course I do! How could I not, especially after the convincing argument you've made?" Kyo smiled widely, jumping as they walked the last half block home. Yuki was in about the same state, chattering on about anything that came to mind as fast as he could. Once the house was in site both children released the men's hands and run inside to torment Shigure.
"Shigure! We're hoooooooooome!" Yuki ran screamed while running through the house searching for his cousin. Shigure popped up in the kitchen, a surprised and amused look on his face.
"Yuki-kun? I do believe Aaya is rubbing off on you." Yuki stopped his running and grinned at him.
"Did you know that ice cream is the best thing in the world? Oh my gosh, what would happen if there was no more ice cream? Kyo-kun, what would happen if there was no more ice cream in the world?" Yuki could barely comprehend his own question. No more ice cream? That was ridiculous. There would always be ice cream in the world. It was to yummy, and cold, and delicious, and sugary for it to no loner exist.
Kyo seemed to be contemplating the answer to the question very seriously. Then, inspiration hit. You could see the light bulb click on above his head. "Everyone would be sad, and then…" Yuki looked anxiously into the other child's eyes, knowing that this answer could his world, his life. "I think the world would end." Yuki nodded, thinking, as Kyo smiled. Then, suddenly, Yuki was hugging the other and they were dancing around the room much the amusement and surprise of the adults.
A few minutes later both children stopped mid-twirl, puzzled expressions on their faces. When had they suddenly agreed to get along? What had possessed them to hug and twirl through the house professing their love for ice cream? They both considered this for about two seconds before deciding that it didn't matter and continued their twirling.
The first ten minutes of this was cute and amusing, but after that all the adults were starting to get annoyed with the children's loud talking, and now, singing. "Aaya-kun, you know I deeply love you, but what in the world possessed you to allow Yuki-kun to have that much sugar? Not that it isn't adorable, it is, but they're both so loud." Shigue was almost shouting simply to be heard over the children that were now upstairs. Ayame sighed.
"It was the only way we could get them to agree to go to the store. Your sleeping patterns are too odd for us to feel comfortable leaving them here." Shigure nodded.
"True, but why so much ice cream? Why all the extra stuff?" Ayame shook his head knowing that his friend didn't expect a real answer.
Meantime, Yuki and Kyo were both having the time of their live making up a song with words that rhymed. "Once was a man, and he was fat…"
"Then he fell into a vat-"
"In the vat, he found a hat-"
"In the hat there was a bat-"
"The bat was fat and he loves cats-"
"The cats hate bats and love to hate-"
"That doesn't rhyme! The point is to rhyme!" Kyo rolled his eyes. It wasn't the first time something hadn't rhymed in their song. Yuki ignored it since they were both getting bored with the song and getting tired. The duo ran back downstairs holding hands. Yuki settled down on the floor as they both began coloring, the sugar slowing wearing off.
Yuki stopped coloring briefly and looked over at the cat wondering why he had ever disliked him in the first place. It wasn't because of who he was; it was because of the stupid Zodiac story they had all grown up with.
Ayame came to check on the children, but had to leave immediately so his laughter wouldn't wake the slumbering children. Both had fallen over on the table sound asleep. "Are they both asleep on the table?" Ayame nodded, still laughing. "We should at least move them so they're laying down. They won't be able to move their necks if they stay in that position." Neither children stirred as the men settled them in a horizontal position.
"Let's just hope they're still friends when they wake up," Ayame muttered as he left the room.
Author's Note: I'M SORRY FOR THE DELAY!!!!!!!!!! You all know by now how erratic I am with updating, and the update every three weeks didn't happen. I had to focus on school and actually pay attention in class, most of the time, but one of my original stories captured my attention and I've been working on that. This chapter is extra long though! Longer than what I've been doing anyway. It's almost 3,000 words! Yes, cheesy, sappy, Yuki/Kyo bonding. The song idea is actually something my younger sister and one our cousins did when we were younger and still do on occasion.
THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!!!!!!! Gives all reviewers ice cream, cookies, and the most delicious brownies you've ever tasted I hope that helps make up for the delay.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!! REVIEWS GIVE ME FUEL TO WRITE! AND ANY AND ALL SUGGESTION ANYONE HAS!! I'M RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS! I'm on Christmas break so I have time to write, but I NEED IDEAS AND REVIEWS!! SO REVIEW AND GIVE ME IDEAS, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!