6th Contact
"Mmm, that smells so good, Nene-chan!" Natsuki exclaimed as they all moved toward the kitchen.
"Yeah, it does. I didn't know you could cook!" Takeya remarked.
Neneko shook her head. "A lot better than you can, that's for sure." She pulled out a tray with the dozen grilled takoyaki dumplings. The spiced octopus scent filled the room. Nia cheered and rushed over, nearly bowling Khi over as she went to grab some of the dumplings.
Natsuki grabbed the Biter's hair tail, roughly yanking her away from Neneko and the tray. "Wait your turn," she scolded the girl when Nia turned a hurt expression her way.
"That was mean-nii..."
"Then apologize to Khi-kun," Natsuki retorted. The boy alien started shaking his hands to try to avoid any trouble. Nia pouted, looking at him, then Natsuki, finally sticking her tongue out at Natsuki and laughing. The girl ran to the table, where Neneko was setting down the cooked takoyaki.
She tried to keep a stern expression but failed. Giving an apologetic shrug to Khi, she followed everyone else to the table, only then realizing that Neneko had also arranged most of the other party food. There were a bunch of different sushi rolls, some sweet bean rolls, shrimp, rice balls, and some desert cakes. It had all looked a little unimpressive when packaged up, but Natsuki felt her mouth watering, seeing it arranged like a real feast.
"So, there are twelve dumplings and nine of us. How are we going to do this?" Neneko asked.
The teen blinked. Nine..? Oh, the little ones. "Huh... that leaves three extra, but who gets them?"
Takeya shook his head. "I don't want the girls eating the takoyaki. All this sugar and sweets and fried food --"
"It's grilled, Takeya."
"-- is going to make them sick," he finished.
Ren leaned over and gave her lover a serious look. "Takeya's babies should not be left out of new experiences!"
Khi was crouching down near the table. Miuya, Chiya, and Natsuko were all near him, apparently having warmed up to him after they realized they could 'overpower' the thin DearS. "That's okay, Ren-san! If they eat some takoyaki, then that means they won't take all the sushi before I can get it!" He reached out slowly for one of the seaweed-wrapped rolls, letting out a theatric gasp of surprise as three little hands grabbed sushi rolls out from under him. "Hey..!" he whined, turning his head to wink at the adults.
Natsuki giggled a little. Takeya, catching on, shook his head. "I guess we have to eat the takoyaki, now." He looked down at his toddlers. "Come on... don't you want tentacles in a bun? That's better than sushi, right?"
The girls made faces, shaking their heads furiously while Chiya cried out, "Nooo!"
Grinning, Natsuki kneeled down. "Don't worry, we won't make you eat them!" Patting her namesake on the head -- the girl shyly scooted closer to Khi -- she said, "I'll even eat two of them, just for you!"
"I will too-nii~!" Nia proclaimed valiantly.
Neneko straightened her glasses with a superior smirk. "It's settled then. We'll all eat two takoyaki, and I better not hear any complaints. First ones to finish may have some sushi, too, if you're quick enough."
Giggling, Miuya reached out and grabbed another sushi roll, nibbling on it. Khi made another dramatic gasp, looking at her with wide eyes. "Oh, just you wait, you!" he threatened playfully, causing all three girls to laugh. "After I eat those tentacles buns I'll eat all the sushi!"
Natsuki smiled at the girls, a little surprised that the boy DearS was so good with them. She felt a tap on her shoulder, looking over toward Nia. "Wha--mmf!" She blushed, looking into Nia's special grin as the alien girl hand-fed her a dumpling. The teen slowly chewed, savoring the flavor of the treat, staring back at Nia's emerald eyes. The Biter pushed the last bit of takoyaki into her mouth, giggling when Natsuki licked her fingertips.
Abruptly, the teen realized she was still surrounded by people. She gulped down the last of the dumpling, looking around worriedly. Ren and Takeya were smiling affectionately at their kids. Khi wasn't looking their way, but his cheeks were red.
Her eyes moved to the opposite side of Nia, where Neneko met her worried look, smirking. The older girl shrugged and said nothing, taking a bite of her own dumpling.
Suddenly another takoyaki ball appeared under her nose. Natsuki smirked mischievously, snatching it away and popping it into Nia's mouth. A look of challenge crossed the alien's face as she chewed and swallowed, kissing the tips of Natsuki's fingers. Both girls reached out, grabbing their second takoyaki balls as they faced off.
"Hehe-nii~"
Natsuki's eyebrows drew together as she grinned, holding the warm dumpling in her fingertips. They slowly slid until they were facing each other on their knees. Behind them, Khi started up some kind of conversation, perhaps as a distraction.
"So, will you be finishing school, Ikuhara-san?"
As Takeya coughed out his mouthful of food, Nia made her move. Natsuki slapped her free arm up, blocking the alien. Her own hand shot forward, aiming for Nia's mouth, but Nia grabbed her wrist just a few inches away. "I won't let you win-nii~!"
Their hands were a blur as they slapped and thrust at each other, each trying to shove their takoyaki into the other girl's mouth. Natsuki suddenly reared back, knocking Nia off-balance, and then grabbed the orange-haired alien's shoulder, pushing her arm straight toward her mouth. Nia was holding on to her wrist, but Natsuki pulled on her shoulder, gradually inching closer and closer to her grinning lips. "You won't let me what?" Natsuki taunted as the spiced octopus dumpling touched Nia's lips.
The teen began to taunt more, and suddenly felt a warm dumpling shoved between her lips. "Mmf!" she cried out, surprised, but quickly pushed the other takoyaki into Nia's mouth once the girl started to laugh.
Nia gave a winning grin, tapping Natsuki's nose as she swallowed her snack. "It's a tie-nii~!"
"How is she still a teacher?" Takeya was asking behind them.
A devious -- and deviant -- thought crossed Natsuki's mind. Smiling, she pounced straight at Nia, knocking the unsuspecting alien to her back. They rolled around for a second, moving further away from the table. Nia laughed the whole way as they struggled, but Natsuki stayed completely silent.
At last, Natsuki roughly pinned Nia to the ground, the DearS giggling cheerfully as she looked up. The teen was on all fours above her, knees on either side of her hips, hands on her shoulders. Her back was to the table. The girl leaned down, pressing her lips softly against Nia's.
Then she used her tongue to push the takoyaki ball partway into Nia's mouth. Emerald eyes widened, but before she could figure out what was going on, Natsuki bit the dumpling in half without breaking the kiss.
Natsuki pulled away, standing up on her knees and grinning down at Nia. She swallowed and then wiped her arm across her lips. "I win," she announced. Two and a half!
"Sneaky-nii~!" Nia said, not at all upset. She licked her lips and then pulled Natsuki back down, kissing her hard, sliding her tongue into the girl's mouth. The teen let out a quiet moan, her eyes sparkling vibrantly.
"Natsuki!" Takeya called. The girl pulled away and looked over her shoulder. "Ready for some more fun?" he asked.
"Oh yes, let us do more dancing!" Ren exclaimed happily.
"Wait!" her brother quickly protested.
Natsuki had already bounced to her feet. "Yeah, let's go!"
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Takeya plopped to the ground, face heated and sweat rolling down his chest. "Haha, I forgot how hard it was to keep this up!" Ren, smiling cheerfully and unflustered by all the activity, plopped down straight in his lap, eliciting a groan.
Natsuki smirked, bending over but not sitting down. "You're getting old, onii-chan!" she teased.
Khi laughed from where he lay sprawled on the floor. "Even I can't keep up with you, Natsuki-sa.. -chan!"
"Yeah, see..? It has nothing to do with my age!"
Neneko chuckled. "I should hope not. I think the little ones have reached their limit." She pointed. The three of them were curled up together, eyes closed and breathing steady.
"Aww... that's adorable." Natsuki grinned and pointed a thumb over her shoulder at Nia, similarly curled up. "I wonder if they got that from their teacher?"
Smiling, Neneko walked over and kneeled in front of them. The older girl had hardly danced at all, so she was least winded of the bunch. "We should probably put them to bed," she suggested, slipping her glasses back into place. She looked up thoughtfully.
"I should get going, then," Khi said tiredly from his spot on the floor.
"Oh, no you don't," Natsuki scolded. "You're not walking all the way across town at this time of night! Just sleep here."
"Well I... uh... if you insist." Despite his protests, he seemed relieved.
"Where will everyone sleep, though..?" Takeya asked. Natsuki frowned, straightening up. She hadn't thought of that.
"I've got lots of spare futons in my place. It's also much bigger... you and Ren and the girls should probably sleep over at my apartment for tonight. Hmm... Nia and Khi will need somewhere to sleep, though."
"There's a spare futon under here," Natsuki remarked, walking over to a cupboard. "I guess Nia's fine where she is, and..."
"No, no. Nia-san may have the futon. I'll be perfectly fine on the floor."
An idea struck her. "Oh! Ren's bedding is still in the closet. I left that just like it was." The girl looked to Ren, who smiled and nodded. The pregnant DearS crawled over to Khi, kneeling down right next to him.
"Khi may sleep in Ren's bed," she said, expression dead serious, "but Khi is not permitted to touch any of Ren's precious keepsakes!" A finger pointed sternly down at the boy alien. Stunned, he nodded, and then Ren smiled cheerfully.
"I don't like it," Takeya remarked, shaking his head. "I mean, I don't think it's right to leave my sister here with... those two..."
Natsuki blinked. "Why not..?"
"Because... DearS... can be very... forceful about..."
The girl snickered and lifted up a hand to cut him off. "Onii-chan... You went away on a spaceship, alone with dozens of girl aliens, for five years... and came back with three and a half babies... and you're saying you don't trust me?"
He just goggled at her, trying to find a response.
"She does have a point, Takeya," Neneko pointed out helpfully. Ren and Khi both nodded.
Natsuki walked over, leaning down to kiss her brother's cheek. "I appreciate the concern, onii-chan... but I won't be popping out any babies any time soon!"
His face turned scarlet. "That's not..! Don't say..!" Neneko laughed sarcastically and he finally shook his head. "Oh, forget it!"
Natsuki dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms tightly around Takeya. "Welcome home, onii-chan."
Seeming to calm down, he nodded, returning the hug. "It's good to be back." He let go and then nodded to Neneko. "Okay, let's get the sleeping beauties to a comfortable bed." Takeya stood up, then walked over and took Ren's hand, lifting her smoothly to her feet and kissing her affectionately.
The teen smiled, moving over to her dresser to get her pajamas ready.