Rose of Jericho

by peterpauper

Would we laugh at gilded butterflies? Sequel to Chrysanthemum.

40. Chapter 38

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Chapter 38

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A fussing noise filled the bedroom where Kyoya and Yuuki slept. The girl woke up hesitantly and dragged herself from sleep. Her husband tightened his grip around her waist and growled. The bane of being a parent, for him, was waking up in the middle of the night. Yuuki blinked a few times and ran her fingers up his arm so he would let go. He didn't. A small noise carried over the speakers on the bedside table. It had taken a long, long time, but the girl could now tell a cry for attention from a cry for food. The former, she let go on a bit longer so he would learn that he couldn't just get their time when he felt like it unless he needed them. This cry was a scared cry. Kain had had a nightmare.

"Kyoya, I have to get it." Yuuki kissed his forehead, hoping that would wake him up enough to let go.

There was a mumbled reply.

"Do you want to get it?"
He loosed his grip. "He's your son." His tone was dead. Flat. Asleep. Kyoya wasn't a father in the middle of the night.

His wife sighed and slipped out of bed. It was difficult; she found herself wanting to stay in the arms of the man she loved as well as coveting the love of using her own to cradle the son that they had created. Yuuki padded to the door and turned. She smiled at Kyoya. He was a quarter awake, his arm spread over the place she had, until recently, occupied. The girl turned back and silently made her way down the stairs and to the nursery. Kain was lying in his crib, wriggling, fussing. Their son rarely cried, he was like his father in that respect.

"Hey little boy." Yuuki dipped her arms down to him and lifted him gently out. "Bad dream, baby?" She was tired, but happy.

The baby willingly buried his head into his mother's collarbone and made small noises. The sort only infants can make. Some people said babies don't dream. But they do. They got scared. And they dreamed. Just like their parents. It had taken a month and a half in hospital before Kain could come home. It had been two months since then and he had grown. He had lovely dark hair. Somewhere between black and dark chocolate. Rich and soft. A mix of his mother and father.

"Hey baby. Go back to sleep. It's just a dream baby. Go back to sleep." Yuuki hummed lowly at him. There was no tune, but he liked her voice. "Shh, Kain. Don't fuss. Nightmares are just dreams of the night. Your daddy loves you, your mommy loves you, your parents adore you and you are much cherished. Go back to sleep little one." The girl sat in the rocking chair and started the slumbering motion. "Do you want to hear a story?"

Silence. He was still awake, listening to her. His body still fussed.

"Okay. I'll tell you a story." Her tone was soft. Soothing. "I'll tell you about the day your dad danced with me at the ball. I had a broken leg, so I didn't want to dance. But he picked me up and put me on his feet and danced with me. He'll do that for you too. He'll pick you up when you don't want to be picked up and he'll teach you to dance when the world say's you shouldn't. He's good like that. He danced with me and made me blush. It was snowing outside. I hope you like the snow. Your parents like the snow. It means a lot to them. It holds so many memories." Yuuki yawned. "Nice memories. Like slipping down a hill in New Zealand and falling into a patch of powder. Kissing in the snow is like kissing in the rain, only quieter. It's like the flakes hold little secrets for you whereas the rain drums out your story. You'll like your parents story. I like our story. Because its ours. And because you're part of it. You're part of it when the world said you shouldn't be." The girl smiled and ran her fingers over the top of his head. His hair felt like a feather. "Are you asleep again baby? Are you dreaming of the snow? And of waltzing? Men in tuxedos and women in chiffon? Dream sweetly baby. Mommy's going to do dream sweetly too. I can't wait to see you again baby. I can't wait till you wake up and I can say hello. I'll see you then baby, I'll see you then." Yuuki balanced Kain's head as she put him back into his crib. He was fast asleep. Deep sleep. Just like his fathers. Secret sleep. Just like his mothers. She leant over the side of the rail and kissed his head tenderly before pausing just above, letting his skin absorb her breath.

The girl paused at the door. The stars on the roof glowed softly. Her baby was happy. And she loved him. So much.

Kyoya was still ever so slightly awake when she got back into bed. "I liked dancing with you too." He mumbled.

Yuuki realised she'd left the speakers on and smiled softly. "I like you."
There was a low, sleepy reply and the returning of an arm. He cradled her against his chest and soaked in her breath. Just like his son. It was like a blessing. It was her life. And it was his. And it was part of Kain's. It was Yuuki. And it felt right.

-

The next day, Yuuki came into the study holding her son against her chest. She walked right over to Kyoya and handed the baby over before stepping back quickly.

"You know how, when you're sleeping, he's my son?"
The man looked at her for a second and supported Kain's neck. "...yes?" Somehow, he knew he'd already shot himself in the foot.

"Well...then...when he does a number two, he's your son." Yuuki smiled innocently, kissed the side of his head and stepped lightly and swiftly out of the room. She was in the lounge when her husband re-emerged from the nursery and she asked him if he felt okay.

"Yes." He sat down beside her. "But that was low."
"Aw..." She mocked. "Is he asleep?"
"He's listening to Debussy."
"Good choice." Clair de Lune helped Kain relax. It also helped stimulate his brain. Most nights, his parents sat on the nursery couch and listened to it with him as he fell asleep.

Kyoya laughed. "I'm not changing diapers because you tucked him in."
Yuuki smiled. "When you're at work, I change diapers. I know what it's like. Actually, I don't really know, but Haruhi told me in theory how it works and we've been trying with that...sort of..." Awkward pause. "But you need to too. It's part of being a parent. No nannies. We might be loaded up to our eyeballs, but that doesn't mean we're missing out on something we shouldn't."

Her husband smiled and noticed she was holding a box. "What are you looking at?"
"Your baby photos. Fuyumi brought them over." She grinned wickedly. "You were adorable." The girl held up a photo of a dark haired toddler, waving a piece of paper. He was wearing a train driver's cap.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up. "I was embarrassing."

"Don't be embarrassed. It's cute. Like this one." It was a picture of him on his first day of school. His shirt was neatly pressed and he looked very serious. Very proper. He even had a little blazer on. "It's like this one." Yuuki held up another photo. It was of her husband at around seven years of age, building a big, square sandcastle with a seaweed hospital cross on the front. His little empire. Already in the drafting stage. "At least you weren't one of those nudist babies."

"Nudist babies?"
"You know, the sort of baby that has parents that; A) cannot be bothered to dress their child, B) can't afford to dress their child, or, C) have the sort of baby that just loves to be...free." Pause. "They exist."
Kyoya smiled. "Not in this house."
"No. Not in this house. Hikaru and Kaoru sent over so many clothes for Kain, he'll be wearing jumpsuits for the rest of his life. Tamaki sent a dress. Which...is disturbing. But I like the gumboots." They stood on a shelf above Kain's towels. Like a decorative piece. A small, bright green pair, a medium, bright red pair and a large, bright blue pair. Family boots.

"It's nice."
"What?"
"Having him. It worked out well."

Yuuki touched the top of his hand. "It did. It's perfect."

"Your worries all quelled by the reality of our situation as opposed to the one everyone said we'd have?"
"Yes." His wife wrapped her fingers into his and draped her legs over the top of his knees. "It's perfect." Pause. "And...I managed to lose my baby weight. Sort of. It was more...stretched tummy coming unstretched. Lucky for me." Because of her diet and a gentle toning routine, she'd got her old stomach back. Sort of. It was nearly there. It wasn't something that would happen immediately. But her old clothes fit. Which was fantastic for a young woman. Of course, they fit better in some places, but she was healthy and fit and she was fine with that. "Suki won half of the bet. I won the half I wanted to." Yuuki laughed.

Kyoya shook his head in a lightly amused manner. "You were never anything but beautiful."

Yuuki smiled softly. "It's hard to believe it yourself some days."
"Then believe what I say."
"I do. I just have to convince myself its right." Her smile turned smug.

Her husband laughed. "I love you."

The girl traced the line of his jaw, from his temple to his chin. She kissed him sweetly and he kissed her back warmly, deeply, mysterious. Kyoya slid his hand behind her neck, into the place it had first sat the night on the balcony in the snow. It said that they were more than that moment. They were every moment before it and ever one after. They were now laced with something more than them. Another citizen had entered their world. And they were there to stay.

-

Tamaki likes babies. Fact.

Kyoya does not like Tamaki. Debatable fact.

Yuuki understands why. Fiction.

The host club finally had a 'Shadow Mascot'. Kenji was the baby prince type, apparently, and Kain became the shadow king. Even though he had no idea what any of that meant. Stereotypes don't exist for children.

Haruhi and Suki came over at least once a week, usually when Tamaki and Kyoya played basketball, and they talked babies. Or, Suki and Haruhi talked babies. Yuuki just listened and tried to understand. It was hard for her. Fortunately, her son had a soft-spot for his mother and was exceptionally well behaved.

"AH! The baby!" Tamaki threw his arms out as he burst through the door, followed by a pack of hosts. "How is my nephew?"
Yuuki held Kain away from Tamaki. "Nephew?"
"Why, of course! Kyoya and I are practically brothers."
"Yes." The Ootori, male, pushed his glasses up. "Except for the fact that, you have blonde hair and I'm fully Japanese."

The Suoh paused a moment. "In spirit. Duh, Kyoya."

The twins planted themselves on either side of the new mother. "And we can babysit."
"Uh...thanks, but we have a babysitter." Yuuki said hesitantly.

"Really?" Twin one.

"Who?" Twin two.

"Haruhi." The girl said quickly.

Haruhi looked up. "Someone say my name?"

"Yes. You baby sit Kain. Tell the twins." Yuuki widened her eyes in a pleading gesture. Her friend would babysit anyway. She had for Aimi.

"Um. Yeah. Yeah. I babysit." Haruhi nodded solemnly. "All the time."

The twins looked a little confused. "But you've only had the kid for a few months..."
"Anyway." Yuuki clapped. "Did you see that weather report? Gee, it was something."
"What about it?" Deedle Dee and Deedle Dum called.

"They're expecting...sun. All week." The girl nodded vacantly. "Strange."

Hunny very suddenly appeared right in front of her and leant forward to look at the baby. He had to fight the awed eyes of Jasmine and Aimi who were currently going through the 'baby' faze and had been trying to tell Yuuki how to use a diaper on her son. "Wow, Yuu-chan. He's so little."
The Ootori smiled and looked down at her son. He was staring at everything that was going on. Just watching.

The short blonde beamed brightly. "Was it painful?"
"What?"
"Labor."
"Um. I have no idea."
Suki chocked on her tea. "What?"
Yuuki laughed. "No. I have absolutely no idea. A whole hour of my life is just...gone. I was totally blotto the entire time. Drugged up way beyond my eyeballs on stuff that stopped it hurting and stuff that kept me alive and then stuff that kept Kain alive."
"So...you don't remember a thing?"
"Nope."

"Did you experience labor?"
"Probably."

"And you...have no idea?"
"Yes."
"Does that bother you?"
"Nope."
"Why?"
"Because. The whole idea of getting this," she indicated Kain. "...out of me doesn't seem like an event I want to remember."
"It was caesarian! How painful could that be?"
"Have you ever been cut open? I hurt for weeks."
"Have you ever been in labor? I wanted to die." Suki petted her husband's knee. "Sorry. But I did."
Haruhi laughed sweetly. "I wouldn't have missed it."
Yuuki pondered. "Hm...pain that causes suicidal thoughts or waking up to find that my baby and myself were both alive and well...considering my circumstances...I'd go the latter."
"Only because the former would have killed you." Suki scoffed as she went to drink more tea.

"Killed you!?" Hunny seemed horrified. "Why?"
"Because, Yuuki wasn't well." Kyoya intervened.

"Will your next birth be okay?"
"There won't be one."
"To be an only child...I would be so lonely without Takashi." Hunny was so mortified that no one decided to tell him that Mori was his cousin, not sibling.

"Kain's going to be just fine." Yuuki bounced him lightly. The baby smiled, right up through his eyes. "He's got all the family he needs." The child would have five uncles. All of them hosts. All of them willing to drop the world should he need them too.

-

I was thinking about the good old times
And all the people who helped me survive
Now who the hell knows where I'd be
Without the branches of my family tree

I was thinking about the friends who cared
And all the times that we shared
And if I had the strength to be what I could be
Love and respect to the branches of my tree

(Family Tree, H2O)

-

Yuuki fit her pencil skirt again. Not because she was going out, but because she wanted to try it on. Again. Her waist was its old size again, except with a scar across the bottom of her abdomen. Her bust had grown, but would apparently shrink again when Kain started eating solids. Which was depressing. Suki still held onto the bet. Yuuki was young, she loved to be active, she loved to be healthy. She would never get pregnant again and her body wouldn't be at a stage where it could turn into a pear from carrying another child. For some reason, she was melancholy about it. Like she was missing out on some fantastic womanly development. A rite of passage that said she needed to go up a size in order to fully appreciate the total emotion of being a mother. It was as if she were missing something that she couldn't quite grasp. A lot of women complained about being larger after birth, but a lot of them also proclaimed the wonders of the human body and its ability to adapt and leave marks; stories under the skin, as such. Yuuki had a few stories. A scar on her shoulder-blade. One under her stomach. Kyoya had one between his ribs. It was faint, but it was there. Just like hers. Little stories. They weren't going grey. They weren't getting wrinkles.

They were still so young in the eyes of the world.

And yet they had seen so much.

They had done so much.

Been in the middle of it all.

Yuuki stood at the door to the nursery and smiled. Kyoya was sitting on the sofa by the window with his laptop in front of him; Kain was propped up against his torso so he could see the computer. The baby was staring at the screen; he looked slightly awed by the magical black marks that appeared on the white backdrop. They made no sense. But they were magical after all. At three months, or, supposed to be two, he was a bright baby. Happy and content. He couldn't do what a normal three month old could, like lift his head and chest, but he tried.

Whenever Kyoya paused to think for a second, his hand would stray to his son and his finger would get caught in the vice of a tiny palm. He would smile and push his glasses up with his other hand before tickling Kain gently on the inside of his elbow. The boy would get a small, but pleasant, surprise at the sensation and then stare at the crook of his arm for a minute while his father got back to work.

Yuuki laughed softly and headed down to the stable. Zero stood at the paddock fence. He'd seen her coming. "Hey boy. Missing me? I miss you." She ran a hand up his face. "My old friend. You were so faithful for so many years." Her horse had been three when she'd gotten him. That was when she was ten. He was almost off the circuit and only competed in small events. Other than that, he'd led a good life so far. "You're young, like me. But its time you stopped running around and leaping over things with me clinging to your back. Hey?"

Tachi came out of the stable, carrying a bale of hay. The horse stood dutifully by his master and stared at him. Waiting for the man to carry the food to him so he didn't have to leave. "Hey there, kid!" Her instructor waved and came over; dumping the hay at Zero's feet.

"You don't have to feed him. I was about to." Yuuki said after a brief hello.

"Ah. I don't mind. I have to do something while Misa is at school. Final year."
"Your daughter is very smart. What's she going to do?"
"Medicine."
"End up working for me."
"For your husband."
Yuuki grinned. "Well. Maybe." Pause. "Tachi, I was thinking..."
"Mm?"
"Zero's sprightly and fit and healthy, but he's not for the circuit anymore. I think it's time he retired from the competitions. We've made our millions there."
The man laughed. "You've made your millions there. I just helped."
The girl peeled a piece of wood off the fence. "He'll still get ridden every morning, as soon as I can get back on properly...but..."
"No, kid. I know what you mean. I made the same decision for my first competitive horse. He's got a lot in him yet, it's just not for gold anymore." He looked at her. "You wouldn't go to another Olympics?"
Yuuki scratched her head. "I'd have to train another horse. I love riding, but it was my mother who had the true heart for the competing. I enjoyed it, but it's not my passion."
"Where is your passion?"
"Its inside."
"And other than family?"
"I've decided to write a book."

"Yes?" Tachi leant on the railing. "About what?"
"I don't know yet. We'll have to see." Pause. "But it will help people understand life better. Kyoya likes my...theories, maybe other people will too."
"You're not old enough to understand life yourself."
"Physically."
Tachi squeezed her hand. "You're a good kid." He blinked from the sun. "But your son is better." He laughed.

Yuuki smiled. "Want to go see him?"
"Of course!" The man clapped. "I'd love to."
The girl scratched her horse's neck a few times. Zero pulled his head up and stuck it into her chest above the railing. She hugged it and they played their old game before he turned back to his feed, happy, and she turned back to the house. Kain would learn to ride on her horse. He'd learn to ride on an Olympian. And if he decided to ride competitively, he'd have the perfect mentors for it.

Kyoya was sitting, looking out the window when they came into the nursery. Kain had been turned over onto his stomach and was lying up against his father, fast asleep. The man was on the phone, his voice steady and firm. His hand dominated the small back of the child as he kept him against his heart.

"Now that is the sweetest thing..." Tachi said with a hand on his hip.

Yuuki smiled as her husband turned his head to their presence. He told whoever was on the phone to hold for a minute as the girl came to take Kain into her own arms and let him work a bit. She kissed him sweetly for a moment in the exchange and her son woke up. He blinked a few times, saw his parents and shut his eyes again. They shared a moment, husband and wife, or rather lovers; best friends, before Yuuki cradled Kain against her heart and carried him out into the main lounge.

"I misjudged Kyoya. After the whole Rose incident..." Tachi said down with his student as she held her son against her body. "He's really odd."
"To you. I understand him."
"We'll, I'd expect you to. He's a good father. In his own, finding an equilibrium, sort of way." Pause. "How's my godchild?"
"He's very good. Considering. I keep freaking out in case he caught a cold or something, his immune system wouldn't take to that very well at all."
"Still not right inside?"
"He will be. The doctor said it would just take more time than other babies. And a few drugs." Yuuki drew a lazy pattern on the back of her son's hair. Creating swirls in the tuft of hair.

Kain was a small child. Because of his premature birth, it was going to take a lot of care before he would adjust into a 'normal' lifestyle.

Tachi ran his finger up the baby's arm. "Does your dad know?"
Yuuki sighed. "No. Not yet. I sort of want him too. Apparently he's doing well. They're moving him to the house up here."
"You're house?"
"My house."
"I thought it was a youth facility?"
"We extended it. It caters for mainly youth, but parents and married couples too." She paused. "My father is still a parent. No piece of paper can say otherwise."
"How do you feel about that?"
"It's okay. We'll see. Mako adores his little nephew. He only see's Hanna ever weekend."
"Is he actually getting a divorce?"
"I hope not. Kira's a lovely person. But, they can make it right again. It just depends on whether they see the effort as worth it."

Kain shifted, waking up slightly to resettle himself. If there was silence, Clair de Lune or his parents voices, he would sleep. As long as he had that assurance. Yuuki used the moment to hand him over to his godfather.

Tachi cradled the baby against the crook of his arm. Kain fully woke up. He stared quizzically at the face. He knew Tachi. He knew Haruhi. He knew many of the Ootori's friends. But he didn't recognise them properly yet. They were friendly faces. Just without a label. The baby made a small noise, as if he'd gotten a fight and then dismissed it.

"He has amazing eyes." The man said.

Yuuki smiled. "He does." Kain had his father's eyes. Slate grey. Flat to everyone except those he knew. "He's got lovely eyes."

An hour later, Tachi left. The girl peeled her son from him and balanced him against herself as she said goodbye. She went back to Kyoya. He was still in the nursery, writing in a clipboard and stretched out across the couch until he was close to horizontal. Marvin sat silently on a side-table Yuuki had put in the room for him.

"You know, we have a study." The girl said, sitting by his hip. "And that you look very out of character, lounging and working."
Kyoya pushed his glasses up and laid his pen down. "I was going to move when you took Kain away, but then..."
"You got all caught up." Yuuki said sweetly over him.

Her husband smiled. "How is he?"
"He..." His wife arched her neck to look at her son. "...is asleep again."

The man put his work on top of his laptop and leant back. "Come here." He held one arm open for her.

Yuuki leant into it and stretched her legs down the sofa. Kain fitted snugly against her chest and steadied by a gentle hand. Kyoya closed his arm around her shoulders and let his hand fall on his son's back.

"Kodak moment." The girl said, folding her spare hand up to his collarbone.

Her husband let his other arm cross over himself and relax against her waist. Tangling them again. "Like that one?" He motioned across the room to an image above the bookcase.

It showed the entre host club, under a big old oak tree. Hunny was sitting on Mori's shoulders, beaming as he pushed a branch aside so he could be seen in the photo. The twins sat on the grass at the base of the trunk and linked themselves together. Tamaki and Haruhi stood not too far away, their hands joined. Yuuki was sitting in the tree swing. Apparently not aware that anyone was taking a photo. Kyoya was holding the rope and smiling as she looked up at him and laughed at some private joke. They were all dressed up. The newest Ootori in white. But now she wasn't the newest Ootori. Their son was.

"Mm. Like that one." Yuuki turned her head to her husband.

He pressed his forehead to hers. Kain slumbered on. Sweetly. Just like Yuuki and Kyoya had not known about each other until the day they met, hadn't known that something was missing until they spoke; Kain was a piece that existed invisibly until he came to be. One that fit perfectly. One that always was. Always meant to be. And always would be. Yuuki and Kyoya had never been complete without each other. But they, as a couple, had found something that made them even more breathtaking. Something that defined them without invading. Something that just was right. Without cause or explanation. Something that had come into their lives to bring more than just life.

Something precious and eternal. Just like them. To be loved like them. And by them. For forever and a day.

-

I never thought through love we'd be
Making one as lovely as [he]
But isn't [he] lovely made from love

Truly the angels best
Boy, I'm so happy
We have been heaven blessed
I can't believe what God has done
Through us he's given life to one
But isn't [he] lovely made from love

(Isn't she lovely, Stevie Wonder)

-

Kyoya opened the door after a long day at work and found that Yuuki and Kain were nowhere to be seen. He got to the lounge and found a thick set of muddy footprints, in two different sizes. It had been raining. But outside. Not inside.

A small force catapulted into the man's leg and wrapped its arms around his calf. A happy little noise escaped Kain. He'd come out of the kitchen and was wearing a pair of fluoro green gumboots and a set of damp overalls. He stared up with happy grey eyes and squeezed his father's leg tighter.

"We watched four episodes of The Wiggles today while it rained. Or he watched four. I watched one and decided to write for a bit. And then we went to see Zero and the big puddle in the middle of the paddock." Yuuki stepped lightly out of the door, where she'd been watching, and into her husband's arms. Her jeans were tucked into red boots and were sodden. "I think I found my bosom friend." She smiled after kissing him hello. "He jumps in puddles with me. I always wanted a bosom friend."

"What am I?" Kyoya pushed his glasses up.

"You're my best friend." Yuuki picked Kain up and balanced the eighteen month old on her hip. "He plays in the mud, so he's my bosom friend. He's like...me in a tiny little boy's body."

Kain stretched his arms out for his dad. His father took him gently and kissed the top of his head. "Is your mother very strange?"

The boy giggled and threw his arms around Kyoya's neck.

"He is like you." The man smiled. "In an odd, twisted, manly way."
Yuuki ran her hand over Kain's head and wrapped an arm around Kyoya's torso. "He's like you too. He plays with an abacus. All the time. And he sits on the floor, staring at the door, after you leave. He saw the basketball you and Tamaki played with the other day and tried to bounce it, it came right back and gave his face a happy, slightly painful hug."

Her husband laughed. He'd often found Kain clutching the window and pointing, making small noises as his mother exercised herself and her horse. There was a bit of them in everything of him. "Well, no saddles yet."
"He likes it when I ride."
"He's up that early?"
Pause. "Why do you think he's asleep when you wake up? That's not magic. That's playing with Tachi for an hour."

"Well, that's good then."
"What? Playing with Tachi?"
"Him being asleep." They'd found their moments again. Just them. The time had always been theirs, but now it was only theirs. The silence just after early morning. And the darkness of a sacred night. Just deep, poignant moments that everything had amounted to, everything that happened. Moments no one could take away and no one could describe. They were still indescribable.

"Mm." Yuuki let her head fall on her husband's shoulder. "We missed you today."
"I missed you today."
Kain clapped messily and almost fell backwards. He steadied himself, his expression surprised. He then laughed joyously and waved his feet. A gumboot fell off with a loud thunk and splashed water all over the floor.

Yuuki laughed. "That's where the puddle went." She kissed Kyoya tenderly, just below the corner of his jaw, before retrieving the shoe. She pulled the other one off while her husband realised how he'd become slightly damp, just by saying hello.

The baby stared at his mother's retreating back as she went to put his shoes outside, along with her own. His father bounced him lightly on his hip. "She should have thought of that first, hey?" He carried him through to the kitchen. "But I bet that's why she didn't." There was a mug and a Sippy cup and a packet of instant hot-chocolate. "I never thought I'd ever get two of you."

"It's a package deal." Yuuki smiled as she walked past him. "But this one needs to get into some dry clothes. Hey?" She waved a finger in Kain's face.

The boy spluttered happily at the attention. Kyoya blew warm air against his soggy hair. "Do you want dry clothes?"
Kain shook his head and grabbed the man's tie. Yuuki laughed. "Well, do you want to catch a cold?"
Not quite grasping the concept, the baby grinned and nodded his head. His father laughed and put him down on the countertop and pried the tiny fingers loose from his clothing. "Do you want mom to catch a cold too?"The boy nodded seriously. Catching something, no matter what it was, was a feat to all children. Kyoya leant his arms on either side of his son and put his face close. "Will you go put on dry clothes for dad?"
Hesitance. Small shake of the head.

"Would you have a bath for me?"
Pause.

Yuuki sat on the counter beside Kyoya's hand and gasped happily. "With bubbles?"
Her husband laughed and leant back. "Yes, with bubbles."
"I love you." She wrapped her arms around his neck as he stood straight. He caught her around the waist, knowing that her feet wouldn't quite touch the ground if she kept handing on as he stood.

He kissed her shoulder happily and lingered above her ear. "Don't drop the bottle."

She laughed. "No. No. I learnt that lesson a long time ago." She ran her nose up his neck after quickly glancing back to make sure her son wasn't about to leap off the bench-top. "Want to help?"

"Later." When their son was happily asleep and the night turned from sweet to decadent.
Kain was smiling behind them. He was the only person in the whole world who could watch the couple and not look away. It was because he came from them. And in a way no one could explain, he understood them intimately. He knew their genetics as they were his own. He'd lived in the deepest, most private moments. He'd touched their silence, heard it throbbing through space. Heartbeats making music. Of which, his now made them a symphony. He became part of eternity. And a tangible whole of theirs He was as much a part of them as they were a part of each other. And he would never feel alone or under loved. Not this child. Never this child.

-

"No."

"Yuuki. Don't be difficult."

"Don't be impossible."
"I'm being very reasonable."
"What you're suggesting is not reasonable."
"Because it's difficult?"
"What's that supposed to mean? I can do difficult things without holding your hand."

"I'm thinking of your own good."
"This isn't my good."
"Yuuki."
"Kyoya."
Yuuki was sitting on the floor, staring stubbornly at her husband. She had a picture book in her hands and Kain in her lap. Kyoya was standing, hand on hip, staring down at her. Their son was trying to look at the book, but his mother had shut it and locked him in between her arms.

"Can you not be stubborn for just once?" Dad.
"Can you not be pig-headed for just once?" Mom.
The man sighed. Yuuki had come off Zero that morning and had a huge bruise developing on her shoulder. She refused, point blank, to see a doctor. Kyoya's concern about any damage to the girl usually turned into a fight. She hated the hospital. She'd been there to many times before. This also meant that she sucked rather royally at looking after herself. "Yuuki, that has to hurt."
"It's a bruise. Of course it hurts."
"You can't even lift Kain with that side."
"I can."
"Prove it."
She scowled at him.

"Yes. I thought as much."
"You're a doctor." She shot back. "Check it yourself."

"Yuuki."

"What?"
"You'll do what I ask."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because, I hate the hospital. Lots of terrible things happen at hospitals. Except for Kain."

"Lots of good things happen at hospitals."
"Like?"
"Like, saving lives. The purpose of their existence."
"I thought it was to make money?" She scoffed.

Kyoya clenched his jaw. "How did it happen anyway?" He'd just walked through the door and seen her taking off her cardigan. No questions were asked, just a demand to her welfare.

"We were just cantering."

"Uhuh."
Yuuki sighed. "Took a corner to tight. Smacked into the post. Happy?"
"No." Pause. "You didn't tell me this morning."
"It didn't happen this morning."

"When did it happen?"
"After you left for work."
"Why were you riding?"
"Because I like riding."
"You should have been watching Kain."
"He likes it when I ride. He doesn't like it when you go to work."

"So this is my fault?"
"I didn't say that."
"Yuuki, how sore is your arm?"
"A lot less than you make it out to be. Why are you being so protective? I've fallen off before. And don't say 'because I love you darling' because that's generic and it's been done before."

"Why did you sit in a hospital for four days while I was there?"

"Because, I was concerned." Pause. "Kyoya, I'm not dying."
"Apply the same principle."
"I will kill you."
"As long as you get checked out while at the hospital."

Yuuki sighed. She didn't want to fight with him over a bruise. Maybe it was more than that to him. Maybe it was that inherit male dominance/protectiveness thing. Maybe he just cared when she was too stubborn to admit she'd made a mistake and tried to defy gravity; with all the consequences that implies. "You know. Kain thought it was hilarious."

The baby turned around his mother's arms and made a delightful noise at his name. Their tone's had softened. He didn't like their almost-fight. At all.

Yuuki smiled sweetly at him and put the book aside so he could hug her. "Hey baby. You thought it was the funniest thing in the world?"
Kyoya sighed. His son stumbled to him. Kain tugged his father's pant leg and stared up expectantly. Wanting a hug from his other half. And a hello. He hadn't said hello. The man glanced at Yuuki and then knelt down to the baby. "Hello." He smiled.

Kain grinned. The tension relieved itself. He hated the tension; it made him uneasy to see his parents fight. He didn't understand it. The boy wrapped his arms around his father's neck and giggled when he stood up, lifting him off the ground in a single, smooth movement.

"Kain?" Kyoya held his hand and balanced him on his hip. "Can you answer a question for me?"
The boy nodded. He couldn't speak, but he could understand.
"Has mommy been in a bit of pain today?"
Pause. Kain glanced at his mother. She was frowning at dad. The boy nodded slowly.

"Good boy." The man smiled happily at him. "Do you think she needs to see a doctor to stop her from being in pain?"

Nodding. Messy giggle. He was like his father. He liked questions. And answers. The right answers.

"And do you think she needs to stop being stubborn?"
Kain clapped and beamed before bouncing in agreement.

"I feel...so betrayed." Yuuki stood up carefully. "You still have a talent for manipulating things."
"I'm just trying to look after you."

"Yes, but please...don't get my son involved." The girl ruffled Kain's dark, tufty hair. "I'm still not going."

Her husband sighed. "You know it's because I love you and you're too stubborn to love yourself."

"Generic."

"True."

"It's also because you overreacted. Just a tad."
"Because you were obstinate. Just a tad."

"Kyoya, it's really just a bruise."

"Some bruise."

Later that evening, Yuuki came home with a sling and a hairline fracture on the top of her collarbone. She sat and scowled her husband for half an hour while he played with Kain. The boy loved his dad. When he went to work, he would scuttle through the foyer and stare at the door. Sometimes he'd point and made a questioning sound. When he came home, Kyoya had to brace himself for two small forces that wanted to say hello. Yuuki was faster, but Kain had learnt not to let go from Jasmine. Or maybe that was part of his mother's genetics; to be obdurate to a tee when the time was right for it. He'd also inherited her spontaneity. To the point where it was topped by his father's thinking nature. Kain would run and think at the same time. The middle of either parent. He was exactly what they were when they were together. He was her laugh and his silence and their understanding; in one person. In one cherished little body. He encapsulated everything that was unsaid in the relationship and expressed it in his own way. He was their son. And he was beautiful.

"Don't." Yuuki pointed at Kyoya as he went to say something to her.

"Don't say "I told you so', or what?"
"Well, you just said it, didn't you?"
"If you'd left it, you would have ended up going anyway."
She paused. True. "Yes, but couldn't we have left it and not fought?"
"You wouldn't have seen it from my perspective."
Yuuki sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just my riding. I can't have anything wrong with it. It's a habit."
"Ten falls to be experienced, remember?"
"Yes. But..."
"But no."
"But meh."

Kain giggled.

Kyoya smiled. "Immature hey?"
"Mmm. Sometimes."
The boy jumped up and down a few times, he was full of joy and contentment. His father picked him up. "I think its way past your bedtime."
Kain shook his head.

"Don't be like your mother."
"Hey. I never argued about that." She shot back lightly.

"Kain." Kyoya turned his attention to his son. "Are you tired?"
Nodding.
"Do you want to go to bed?"
Shaking of head.
"Do you want to stay up late like mom and dad?"
Nodding.

"Is it exciting?"
Nodding.

"Is it exciting when you're not very happy? Being tired isn't very happy."
"Or grammatically correct." Yuuki said happily as she stood by her son. "Is it?"

Kain stared at them and put a hand on his face. He shook his head.

His mother ran a finger down his nose. "Dad stay at home tomorrow, hey?"

The boy nodded vigorously.

"Yeah?" She turned to Kyoya. "Yeah?"

Kain was waiting, expectantly. His father stared at Yuuki. He loved his job. "Yes." He corrected.

"Whatever."
But he loved his family more. "No. I meant yes."
"Really?"
"Really."

"Yay." His wife kissed him merrily on the cheek. That was her victory for the night.

Kain let his head fall sleepily on Kyoya's shoulder. A minute later he was dreaming.

-

The Ootori Empire now encompassed a linked system of houses for those who needed help. Some of them had doctors, some of them just had psychologists, but all of them served the purpose of aiding people who asked for it.

Kyoya told Yuuki that her father was in the new centre. He also told her that he'd been in touch with those around him and had been told that she could go see him, if she wanted too. So they did. The family went to see the man who needed to forgive himself.

"Hey!" A young woman threw herself out the front door of the house and beamed brightly at the pair. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

Yuuki smiled and hugged the woman. "Chou, how's work?" The girl now helped girls with eating disorders.

"Busy." She sighed sadly. "Worse than when I came in."
"Or just more obvious." The girl smiled. "You're doing good though."
"And you're doing better." Chou knelt down to where Kain was standing. "How old is he?"
"He's almost two."

"TWO!" The girl exclaimed happily. "He looks like his father."
Kyoya appeared beside his wife. "Funny, I think he looks like his mother."
The girl stood up and smiled at the man. "We'll, you're both attractive. So, it's not really a problem is it?" Pause. "If he gets her wit though, that's going to be an issue."

Yuuki laughed. "Just because its to fast for you."
"Its to odd for me."
"Well...your face."

Kyoya shook his head. "Yes. Anyway. We're here to see Shang Cunxin."
"I know." Chou said. "I was actually sent to wait for you. Because I actually know who you are and what you do for a living."
Yuuki picked Kain up and balanced him on her hip. The boy rubbed his eye. He'd fallen asleep in the car. "How is he?"
"Shang?"
"Yes."
"He's good. Lunch just ended so, he'll probably be in the lounge. The races are on today and that plasma you bought for this place is like...being there."

Kyoya smiled and pushed his glasses up. Only the best. "We know the way. Thank you."
"Okay." Chou clapped. "If you need me, my office is across the gardens. I was moved."
"Okay." Yuuki thanked her and they parted ways. She and the girl spent an hour every week talking on the phone. Just like she spent an hour every day talking to either Suki or Haruhi on the phone, trying to work out how a diaper worked.

Kyoya put a hand on the small of her back and steered her through the corridors. "You wanted this remember?"
"Yes. But...okay. I want this. Can you hold Kain?"
Her husband took the baby. The boy didn't really have a problem with being exchanged. Each parent was different, but both emanated something he loved to absorb. Something only they could know about.

Kyoya walked behind his wife. It was her task, something she needed to do. If she wanted her father to move on, then she would make it happen.

The lounge was lovely. Comfortable. It had a set of brown, leather sofas, a giant TV for watching. The games room had the same thing, except with a gaming consol. There were paintings and books and games. And music and coffee and food. It was like the living room of a rich family, only for the use of those who needed it.

There were a few young adults in the room and a few older patients. One of the young men stood from where he was crouching at the arm of a sofa and greeted the couple. It was Liam. He had become head of House Management.

"Ah. My boss." He said pleasantly. "And my dear old friend." He smiled at Yuuki. "How are you?"
"Great. How are you?" She still worried about him from time to time.

"I'm fantastic. I wouldn't be if it hadn't been for you and a movie."
"Well. We do what we can." The girl laughed. "How's Su-yi?"
"She's large. Maybe you could talk to her? She thinks she's unattractive pregnant, and she's not."
Kyoya smiled and pushed his glasses up. "Just tell her that the curve is in the right place."
"Worked for me." Yuuki shrugged. "And look at the result."

Kain seemed to know he was being talked about and looked around. Liam waved lightly at the baby. "Hello Kain, long time no see." His first birthday had been a huge affair. "You produce good looking spawn."
"Well, we try." The girl said, kissing her son on the cheek.

Liam glanced at his watch. "I have to go....work for you..." He smiled at Kyoya. "So I'll leave you to it."
"Say hello to Su-yi for me." Yuuki said brightly. She wasn't nervous. She was in a place of friends.

"Will do." The man turned and pulled his phone out of his pocket as he walked away.

The girl sighed and looked around the room. A couple of people glanced their way and returned to the television, not quite knowing who the couple was. One person just stared.

He had skin like translucent white paper, it wrinkled across the brow, as if he'd spent his life frowning. Since the last time he'd been seen, he'd been in hospitals, aged care facilities, retirement retreated and finally; on their doorstep.

Yuuki met his gaze and smiled softly. "Hey, dad." Her walls were right up. It had become habit. But she would be pleasant. She needed to know if everything that had been done for him, had helped him. For he needed help. Not hate.

The man stood up and hesitated. "I...um..." His tone was no longer like sandpaper; it had been used to much to retain its edge. "I didn't think I'd see you again."
"Neither did I." His daughter raised an arm in expression. "But here we are." Pause. "Do you want to go outside?"
"Do you want to?"
"I offered."

Shang Cunxin nodded and headed for the door. He slid it open and stepped into the crisp, January air. There was a light snow on the ground. Kyoya pulled the hood of Kain's jacket up, making him look like a little Eskimo. The boy laughed at the fuzzy lining as it blocked part of his vision. Yuuki smiled lightly at the noise.

Her father turned and stared at the child. "He's yours?"
"He is." She said proudly.

"How...old..." His tone seemed edged with a slight loss.

"You've been a grandfather for one year, seven months."

Shang didn't say anything. He just buried his hands in his pockets and walked until he reached a bench. It was surrounded by trees and looked over a river. The water gurgled lethargically. Not quite having been frozen and retaining a small amount of life.

"His name is Kain." Yuuki said, sitting beside him. She kept a learned distance. "He was born two months premature and he has his father's eyes."

"Why was he premmy?" The man beside her wouldn't look at her. Like a dog who knew he'd been awful.

"Because, I miscarried."

"When?"
"A while ago."
"Oh."
"How are you?"
"Why are you asking?" The last time he'd cared, he hadn't.
"Because, I want to know."
"I'm...better. But I'm getting old. I'm seeing things now that I should have. I'm old Yuuki. I'm dying."

"Do you still...um...blame me?"
"No." His tone was slightly shamed. "No. That was wrong of me. I'm sorry."
"I know."
"Could you...ever forgive me for it?"
"I did. I've just been waiting for you to forgive yourself."

A short cry rent the air. A happy little cry. Kain had caught the first snowflake. Kyoya was standing just a short distance away, watching as the white began to drift down.

"Is he good to you?" Shang asked for the first time.
"He's more than good to me." Yuuki smiled at her husband. "He's the greatest thing that ever happened to me."
"How's your horse?"
"Zero? We retired from competition. He's good though."
"And life?"
"My life?"
"Yes."
"Well. It's everything a little girl would have dreamed of. Big house. Baby. Comfort. Prince Charming." She smiled. "It's good. It's really, really good."

Her father looked at his hands. "It didn't used to be."
"No. It didn't." Yuuki looked at the river. "But you sent me to Ouran. You gave me what I have."
"I didn't give you anything. Ever. And I'm sorry." His voice cracked.
"I know."
"I know you don't think anything much of me. But I've changed. You're husband sent me to Osaka and I discovered that I was the one with the problem. I have a problem Yuuki. And I took it out on you and Mako and I drove you away." Pause. "And I'm so, so, so sorry."
"Really?"
"Yes."

"Do you forgive yourself?"
"I don't know how."
"Know that I do."
Shang stared at his hands. They were old. He looked at his daughters. The skin was smooth and pale. "How old are you?"
It hurt a little that he didn't know. Yuuki swallowed. If he'd known, he would have said so. But he didn't, and that was him. Not her. "I'm twenty seven."

"Really?"
"Yes."

"How old were you when you got married?"
"I was nineteen."
"And when you miscarried?"
"Twenty three." Pause. "But you know what?"
"What?"
"I don't have an age. I don't. I never did. I just am who I am and there is nothing to specify who. I just know how. I could be sixteen all over again and it wouldn't make a difference."
"I wish you were sixteen all over. I wish...I could have a do-over."
"I'm giving you a do-over."
Shang looked at Yuuki. "What?"
"I'm giving you another chance."
"Why?"
"Because, If a man sins, forgive him. Even if he does it a thousand times."
"I think I've done more than a thousand."
"A thousand times a thousand. Dad. I can see you've changed. You're the person in the video." She smiled at the memory. "Where mom's holding me and you're filming. You can't tell me you didn't love her. Even though you didn't marry her for love." She looked him in the eye. "You're the first on sight the first time I fell off a horse. You told me 'Get up old bean, get back in the saddle and try again'. And that's really how I've lived. By your philosophy. You loved me dad, and you lost it. But it didn't change." Pause. "And I never gave up on you, even when I wanted nothing to do with your life."

Shang Cunxin stared for a minute before pulling her into his arms for the first time in six years. "Baby. I never meant those things. And I mean that now. I never meant to hit you. I never meant to hurt you." He was crying. "I never meant to cut myself out of your life."

Yuuki felt herself tighten instantly. A result of twenty years of misapprehended treatment. But something about him made her relax. Something sincere that had finally come up for air. She sniffed after a few minutes and let go. She was the one who let go. "Hey dad?"
"Yes?"

"Want to meet your grandson?"
He smiled and wiped a tear off his face. "Yes. I do." Snow had got stuck in his thinning hair and in the crinkles on his face. There were a few around his eyes. Stories of a time when he'd laughed.

Kyoya was holding Kain's hands above his head as he tested the icy ground. He had his mothers feet and was bound to fall over. Yuuki called her son and he looked up. His nose had gone red in the cold. His father let his hands go and watched carefully as he ran to his mother. He followed at a walk, his hands in his pockets. The shadow king coming out to watch in the sun.

"Hey you." Yuuki caught Kain before he could launch himself into the bench. "Hey. Want to meet your granddaddy?"
The boy stared at her and then over her shoulder at the man. He clapped and waved his feet in the air.

"Okay baby." His mother sat him on her lap. "Gee you're getting heavy."

Shang Cunxin looked at his grandson. He was dark haired, bright eyed, pale skinned. "It's Kain, right?"
"Right." Yuuki smiled warmly. "And he likes mud."

"Mud?" The man said to the child. "Why? Surely he's more refined than that?"
"Can you refine a child?" The girl said, her finger caught in her son's palm. "You can teach him manners, you can teach him rules and how to be a gentleman. But he's still a baby. Kyoya tried to refine my driving skills and it didn't work. Because I can't drive. Just like Kain, right now, cant be refined."

"Can I..." The man offered his hands. Yuuki handed her son over.

Kyoya stood behind her and wrapped his hands around her shoulders comfortingly. "Sir." He said flatly.

Shang looked up from the baby. "Mr Ootori. I..."
"I know." The man spoke over him. "This was my idea."
Yuuki put a hand over his and said thank you. "When you're better, and out of here, then you can come visit. Until then though, we'll come see you."
"Really?" Her father was astounded. "Thank you." Pause. "Really, thank you."

The girl stood up and wrapped her arms around her husband. He caged her against him. Protectively. "You be careful with my son." He said flatly. Still not trusting.

"I will." Shang Cunxin turned to the boy. He felt good for the first time in twenty years.

Yuuki looked up at Kyoya. "Thank you." She said softly.

He brushed her hair off her face. Her nose was red. "I love you."
"I love you, Kyoya. Thank you." She looked him in the eye. The way he looked back caused their world to stop. Pause for them. They decided their age, they decided there would be none. Everything was just as fresh and good and thrilling as it was when they first began. Just as terrifying as falling off a horse. The man kissed her deeply. Lovingly. He didn't care that her father was there. He hadn't been her father for so long. But now he was again. He wouldn't be able to watch them like Kain could. He would be forced to look away, like everyone else. But he had been invited into the mystery. As long as he kept it clandestine and did nothing to even advanced upon it.

-

Make it new but stay in the lines
Just let go
But keep it inside
Smile big, for everyone
Even when you know what they've done
They gave you the end but not where to start
Not how to build, how to tear it apart
So tell it all and fill up the air
But make it loud 'cause nobody's there
Nobody's there

Stop, turn, take a look around
At all the lights and sounds
Let 'em bring you in
Slow, burn, let it all fade out
And pull the curtain down
I wonder where you've been

(Lights and Sounds, Yellowcard)

-

The first time Kain went out to a public event of social worth, he went to the ballet. Beauty and the Beast was showing and Yuuki desperately wanted to go.

The boy loved it. The lights, the sounds, the colours. It was a child's dream. Kain sat on his mother for the first act and on his father for the second. Dad's shoulder was a lot more comfortable to fall asleep on.

The transformation was a particular hit. Kain had no idea how it was done and spent the next minute or so pointing at the stage and staring at his parents with wide, happy eyes.
"Yeah. Me too." Yuuki laughed.

Kyoya smiled. He was the only one who had analysed the situation and payed attention to the stage. The hydraulics were hidden in the set and the smoke machine was attached to the platform that had raised the beast. It had covered the fact that the dancer had pulled a mask off whilst waving his hand magically in the air to distract the audience from the fact that he was balanced on a piece of wood.

His son made a small noise and looked at him expectantly. "What?"

Kain pointed at the stage again.

"Magic." Kyoya said lightly, balancing the boy on his lap.

Yuuki was laughing at the outfit that the wardrobe had changed into after her 'transformation'. Her husband looked at her. Her eyes were bright, her face lovely. More lovely than any other in the room. He was biased. Because he was in love. Kain laughed with her, liking the noise more than the faux pas of fashion in front of him.

The glitter from the event wafted through the audience and the boy watched it. He was a watcher. He took in the world and didn't give away what he thought about it. Like his father. Only those near and dear knew what was going on upstairs. At that moment, he was besotted. Kain made a small noise, and settled comfortably against his father as the audience began to clap.

Kyoya held him gently. He was like his mother in the way he fit, it was non-invasive and always welcome. Yuuki smiled at the pair. A few mornings before, she'd come in after riding to find her husband and her son asleep together. Kain had escaped Tachi and climbed into their bed and onto Kyoya. He'd settled on top of his chest and gone to sleep. His mud covered shoes still on. His father hadn't seemed to notice. He was still fast asleep. Yuuki had walked in and was welcomed by a messy, somewhat guilty giggle.

"Baby..." She stared at the smeared blankets. "What did I say about boots?"
"I'm not wearing boots." Came the mumbled reply from Kyoya. Ever so slightly awake. His voice was husked with sleep.
Yuuki smiled. "Not you. It's the muddy bundle of joy that took my place."

"Hmm?" Her husband opened one eye. "Oh. Hm." He closed it again.

Kain crawled up his chest and opened it. "Wa." He said happily.

Kyoya caught the little hand. Anyone else would have had a cardiac arrest. Not his son. He just bounced a bit. The man groaned at the sudden attack on his airways and picked the boy off him before rolling over. Kain climbed up to his ribcage and petted it lightly. Demanding attention. When this didn't work, he took to tickling. Not quite grasping the concept, the baby waved his fingers over the man's face and just managed to be annoying.

Yuuki shook her head and went to shower. When she came back, Kyoya was sitting up groggily. Her son was holding part of the duvet and waving it in victory.

"Wow." She said, amused.

"You said he sleeps in the morning."

"He does. Just not this morning."
"Apparently."

Kain beamed and rubbed his eye.

"Baby." Yuuki picked him off the bed. "Don't wake daddy up in the morning huh? He's not a good morning person. He will eat you."

The boy stared at her.
"You tired?"
He nodded slowly. All work waking and no return play leaves for a sleepy baby and a dissatisfied husband. And an all around comical situation.

"Okay, Kain. Want a nap?"

Slight nodding.

"Dad not very good this morning?"
There was a short noise as Kyoya collapsed back against the pillow again.

Yuuki slipped downstairs to the nursery, pulled Kain's boots off and sat him in his crib. "You sleep a little, okay? Like every other morning. You and I are going shopping today." She gave him a plush tiger. "Love you." Her words were sincere, adoring. Understood, even to such a little person. She kissed her son lightly and ran a hand over the top of his head before putting Clair de Lune on low.

When she got back upstairs, the song was playing softly through the speakers. Yuuki crawled into bed again and wrapped her arms around Kyoya, nestling her face against the side of his neck and pressing her body against his back.

There was a short mumble.

"Do you want a plush tiger too? Or are you good?" The girl said sweetly against his skin.

Her husband raised a sleep laced hand to where hers rested against his stomach. He rolled onto his back and tugged her lightly so that her head was against his chest and his spare hand on her hip. He couldn't speak real words in the light of dawn, but he could appreciate it.

-

When Kain turned four, he developed a fear of storms.

Thunder rolled around in the summer and the rains came to pound the roof.

Kyoya sat in bed with a book and listened. Storms were one of Yuuki's favourite things. She'd told Kain before tucking him in that night. It seemed to settle the toddler slightly, but it didn't ease him completely.

It was close to midnight when the door to their room clicked open. Kyoya and Yuuki had been talking. About nothing in particular. Just talking. And watching. Adoring. Enjoying each other and the storm in a personal world of silence.

"Ma?" Came a small, unsteady voice from the door.

Yuuki turned in her husband's arms and looked to the noise. "Hey baby. What's wrong?" Kain was rubbing an eye, obviously a little distressed.

"Scared."
Kyoya propped himself on his elbow so he could see over his wife. "Storm?"

Slow nodding.

"Come here." Yuuki opened her arms.

Her son hurried across the room as another peel of thunder rolled around the house. "Is Zero okay?"
"Zero's fine. He's in his stall. It's warm in there. You remember how warm it is in there?"
Nodding. Kain crawled into his mother's arms. "Why is the sky fighting?"
Kyoya let his son clasp onto his fingers. "Because. Sometimes things need to fight to make something better. The rain is good, isn't it?"
Little nodding. Scared pout. "Why aren't you scared?"

Yuuki brushed his hair out of his eyes. It sat like her husbands, only it had a slight wave to it. "We've been in a lot of storms. And we know how to understand them."
"Will I?"
"Maybe one day."
There was a silence. Light flashed through the curtains and the rain pelted down harder.

"Kain?" The boy looked up at his father. His voice was strong and steady. "Come here." He petted the space on the pillow between himself and Yuuki. "Only tonight though. Okay? You need to learn that it's okay for it to storm." They would teach him. "You can get through it and be better than before, not scared."

The boy let his mother lift him gently over herself and settle him between them. He wouldn't always be with them. But he would always be them. Even if he didn't understand it completely.

"Daddy?" The boy said, his voice soft.

"Mm?"

"Why doesn't God just let it rain?"

"The storms remind us of something important."
"What?"
"That we are only human."

Yuuki smiled at her husband. "And that we break."

Kain stared at each in their turn. "Why?"
"So that we can find someone to put us back together again."

"Why does he let us break?"
"We break ourselves. We run away when we should stand and fight. We don't heal the right things. It's a lesson. And sometimes lessons are hard, but they are for the best."
Kyoya draped his arm across Yuuki's waist, trapping their son in between them. "Go to sleep Kain. It will make sense."
"Promise?"
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Then trust my promise. Okay?" He didn't know about his parent's story. He wasn't ready, or able to comprehend it. But one day he would. One day the storms would make sense.

"Okay."

A minute later, he was fast asleep, tucked up against his father's chest. Yuuki wrapped her arm around Kyoya's torso and pressed her forehead to his above their child. They watched each other for a very long time and made love in the moment where love stood brightest. As them. Together as a single form. Sleeping between them. Understanding the storms, but not what they meant. Just knowing that it was them that brought his parents together. That made them as they are. Where others had given up, they'd stood and endured. And been weathered. And broken. But come out beautiful, misunderstood, enthralled; as if heaven itself had made their marks everlasting and had blessed their eternity.

-

-------

If you discount the lyrics, that was the longest chapter yet.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Please do give me your honest opinion. Constructive criticism welcome.

Expect a short delay for the next chapter. Sorry, I have a lot to do at the moment and I want to write it properly. You deserve it.

Blessings,

-pp