-Extras-

Ready

even further down the road (four years after Aika and Ryuunosuke's wedding)

...

A chubby finger pointed down at the next photograph that appeared when the page was turned. "Who's this weirdo guy wearing a tiger on his head?"

"That 'weirdo guy' is my husband, Tora. Don't you recognize him?"

"...Oh yeah! It looks just like him! Except for that hat. Is he s'posed to be a furry or somethin'?"

"Pffft! Sure! Why not? Yes, he's a furry. You see, I like living on the wilder side of life, so it was only right for me to marry a tiger and keep him as my pet."

Tora walked into the room then, seeing his wife sitting with that commoner woman's daughter in her lap. The two appeared to be flipping through a photo album, and from the sound of what they were talking about, he knew they had stumbled upon those godforsaken wedding photos.

"Akari, if you start telling people that I'm a furry, then I want a divorce." He warned, his tone dark enough to block out all the sunlight spilling in through the room, and low enough that it was like thunder crashing through the giggles from the other two.

"Careful Mai-chan," Akari only continued in her teasing. "He's never been fully trained, so he still bites sometimes. I would keep your distance, if I were you."

"But-" The little girl wriggled her way off of Akari's lap and hurried over to Tora, where she latched onto one of his long legs, her head not even coming up to his knee. With big, baby-doll eyes colored a pleasant milk-chocolate (just like her mother's) she stared up at the man and grinned. "I like Uncle Tora, even if he's a weirdo."

Akari didn't bother to hide her smirk, seeing the wide-eyed look on Tora's face. It was both a hilarious and touching scene to watch. "And why is that, Mai-chan?"

"'Cuz he pushed me on the swing that one time at the park."

"That's all?"

"When mama said I couldn't have any ice cream, he bought me some."

"I think that was just to spite her..."

"And he told me that someday soon, he hopes he has a kid just as cute as me! But I don't think that'll ever happen- I'm pretty cute."

That last comment had Akari dropping the album to the floor as she suddenly stood up. "He told you that?" She blurted out, staring at Tora who was now glaring down at the small human attached to him.

"I never said such things." He grit; and Mai started giggling as he lifted up his leg, trying to shake her off (to no avail).

"Yes you diiiid~" The child sang through her laughter, her ponytail coming loose with a particularly hard shake. "The last time you came over! And the time before that, you were asking my dad stuff about being a dad."

Akari ran over to them and picked up the toddler, holding her up to eye-level with her. "Mai-chan, did he really say someday soon? Is that really what he said? Uncle Tora said that? What else do you know about this?"

An evil smile just like Aika's appeared on the little girl's face. "I'll tell you everything I know if you take me out for ice cream."

Immediately, Akari set the kid down on the floor and grabbed her hand, dragging her through the modest home to the front door. "Do you want strawberry, or vanilla?"

Since they were stuck babysitting their 'niece' for most of the day, the Igarashi couple were again seated in Aika and Ryuunosuke's living room later that evening. Mai was asleep on the couch- for several hours, she had gone through a sugar rush after the ice cream, before Tora finally managed to wrestle her into her pajamas and wrap her up in a blanket cocoon that she couldn't escape from.

"I hope that little trouble maker gives her mother grey hairs..." The tiger mumbled as he collapsed on the floor next to the couch and closed his eyes for a moment.

"I can't believe you would admit your secret thoughts to a child like that, and not expect anyone to find out about it. Baaaaka." His eyes snapped open when his wife began rambling. She had been so quiet up until now. He knew it was too good to be true. "Let's recap what I heard from her, shall we? You're ready to have kids, but you didn't know how to bring it up with me. You've been thinking about it for months. You've been trying to spend more time with Mai to see what being a parent is like, even subtly asking her father for tips... I knew something was up with you lately! I just knew it! But you told a three-year-old instead of your wife why?"

Her face suddenly appeared hovering directly above his own, her hair trailing down towards his face in waves of cinnamon. "Because you're a coward, apparently!"

Reaching up, Tora placed a hand against the back of her head and pulled her mouth down to his. After a few moments of automatically relaxing into it, she jerked away and he smirked up at her. "Shuddup, dearest. The brat's finally asleep."

"How many times do we all have to remind you not to call her that? It's not very nice, even if she laughs at it! And although I will quiet down, shutting up is not something I plan to be doing after all of this very sudden news." Silver-blue eyes pinned him in place with a hard look.

Golden eyes closed themselves off from that look, as Tora let go of her and used his hand to cover his face instead. "God woman, do we really need to discuss this now?"

"And why shouldn't we now? If not now, then when?"

"Later."

"Later, when."

"..."

"Tora."

A sigh escaped his lips at the sound of her tone. She was getting ready to explode, if he didn't somehow calm her down first. And he couldn't use his usual methods for that, not with a child in the room at least...

"Tora Igarashi, you have until the count of ten to-"

"I want a baby."

Silence. And when he removed his hand from his face and looked up at her, her eyes were wide with wonder. He smiled, happily amused when her mouth started moving but no words came out.

"Specifically, your baby. Or rather, ours." Rolling onto his side, he then sat up and pulled her across the carpet toward him. She had gone limp from the shock, so he pressed her against him with a satisfied smirk and kissed the top of her head. "Something else to call mine."

Akari barely managed to find her words again. "You want... to try for a baby?"

"Only if you do." He answered honestly.

"But- but- but-" She turned in his arms to face him. "But that means... we'd be parents."

He cocked an eyebrow. "I distinctly remember you saying that we'd make good parents."

"I'm not worried, I'm just trying to figure out how different it's gonna be."

"Well, for one thing," Tora leaned into her ear, licking the shell of it before pressing hot lips just underneath it and kissing the skin there softly. "you'd have to learn to be quieter during sex, so that the kids don't hear."

Kids. Akari's eyes widened again. That was plural; he meant more than one. And just hearing him talk about it, as if he already had the idea of their family in his head... she fell back against him, her heart flooding with a tingling warmth.

"So, we're really doing this? We're ready now?" She asked quietly, trying to make sure that he really, truly wanted this. For a while, she thought she was the only one who'd ever be ready for such a major commitment. Such a huge responsibility. Such a wonderful blessing. Even though he wasn't against the idea, he always seemed more anxious than her about it. And she never wanted to pressure him.

"Let's put it this way." Tora pulled away and stood up, walking from the room to go cool himself down with a glass of water. He was becoming a bit flushed, and he had always hated that feeling. "As soon as we get home, I'm throwing out your birth control pills."

"So pretty soon..." She responded shyly, standing on shaky legs. Was this a dream? She felt like flying. She was drifting on clouds at the moment. "We'll probably be able to start trying."

He stopped in the doorway and looked back at her with a purr at his lips, "No use in waiting. We can start trying tonight, and every night after that... until it works."

His wife was laughing now, her face lit up with the same faint blush that he had just a minute ago. "And what about after it works? I guess we won't need to keep-"

"Oh, you poor naive thing." He growled with a smirk. "After it works, knowing what I've done to you... I guarantee I won't be able to keep my hands off of you."

"My stomach will get all swollen though-"

"Just the thought of that makes a certain part of me swell up as well."

She moved to collapse into a chair, not even bothering to chase after him and smack him for such a comment. She was far too happy for that.