Summary: Nico and the oldest Ayase twin (10 years, 2 minutes, give or take a month) go on a shopping spree.

Nico was sitting at her desk. Nozomi and Eli's ten year old twins were staying at the Kurosawa household while their parents took a quick trip to Russia to visit Eli's mom. Alisa had driven them down and stayed for a couple of days to enjoy the beach, but now Nico and Maki were on Vik and Teddy patrol alone, and it was tiring. Fortunately, Dia had just started a new historical fiction so she was reading and not wandering. The Koizumi-Hoshizoras were coming down on the weekend and a beach volleyball tournament was planned so it was a matter of keeping the active and diabolically inventive Ayase twins occupied until then.

"Aunt Nico?" Vik's gravelly voice broke Nico's concentration so the semi retired Idol looked up with a smile.

"What's up?"

"Can you take me shopping?" Vik, Eli and Nozomi's oldest child by 2 minutes, seemed hesitant, pulling on the brim of a NTV Beleza cap. Its shadows kept Nico from reading an expression.

"Sure." Nico closed her laptop, "What do you need?"

….Vik glanced back, at the open door. Nico grabbed her wallet, "Do you want to tell me on the way?"

Vik nodded, shoulder tension easing slightly, but not quite smiling, brim still blocking Nico's view.

Maki had taken Ruby and Teddy down to the beach, to teach Teddy how to use Maki's latest camera setup so Nico assumed she could just text her wife with the change of plan but then Ruby barrelled into her as Nico was grabbing her sunglasses and scarf, "Mommy!"

Nico picked up her youngest daughter in a huge hug, curious as to where the other redhead at the center of her life had wandered to...Dia came by that habit honestly…Ah, Maki had opted for the sneak attack, suddenly behind Nico, arms sliding around her waist and a lips landing quick kiss on the top of Nico's dark hair, "Missed you, Nico-chan."

"You mean you got hungry." Nico squeezed Maki's clasped hands.

Maki laughed and picked Nico and Ruby up to twirl them, "Maybe."

Nico sidestepped out of her wife's embrace, still holding Ruby, "Well, you're going to have to take you and the beach crew out somewhere, Maki-chan. Vik and I have a shopping emergency to attend to."

Maki's face started to fall but a slight shake of Nico's head caught her attention and she raised an eyebrow, which Nico responded to with an nearly imperceptible tilt of the head toward Vik.

Maki switched from mopey to flirty accusatory in a blink, "Oh good, fish tacos with fresh tomatoes it is! Let's go Ruby." Maki held out a hand for her daughter, then raised her eyebrows at Nico…."you never cook that for me, Nico-chan."

"'S too easy for Nico, I prefer a challenge."

"Shopping." Ruby insisted, clinging to Nico. "Pretty."

Nico turned to Vik, smoothing Ruby's red curls, "Do you mind, Vik? Ruby's very good when she's helping her mom pick out clothes, right Ruby?"

Ruby nodded earnestly.

"'s'ok, I guess. Ruby's cool." Vik shuffled, hands in pockets, green eyes on the ground, long blonde ponytail bobbing slightly at the back of her ball cap. Nico was suddenly reminded so strongly of a too shy Eli. Teddy's hair was shorter, but still blonde.

"There, that's settled. Ruby and Nico are cool enough to go shopping; Maki and Teddy can take dorky pictures of fish tacos all afternoon."

Vik giggled. Maki leaned over to kiss Nico, "See you later, love."

"Save me a slice of whatever you order for dinner. And don't forget we're watching the game."

Maki grinned, gave Nico a thumb's up, and loped off to wherever she'd left Teddy and Dia.

"Let's go," Nico glanced at Vik, "Numazu here we come."

Not quite the thrill of Tokyo, but Nico hoped it would have whatever it was Vik needed.

They drove in the Nico-mobile for awhile, before Vik spoke again, glancing to where Ruby was nodding off in the back seat. "Can you keep a secret?" Vic pounded out a rhythm on the dashboard, "Not from Aunt Maki, but from my moms…"

"Is something wrong?" Nico made sure to sound more calm than curious.

"Nah." Vik shrugged, voice breaking again, from nervousness or puberty Nico wasn't sure, "They'll just get excited and make a big fuss. Momo would be crying…"

"Eli is a crier." Nico agreed.

"I know. It's crazy embarrassing." Vik snorted, with the casual disrespect children have for their parents' sensitivities, "Momma bakes her a chocolate cake for her birthday or their anniversary and it's tears all over the place."

Nico was surprised Nozomi hadn't told her about this to tease Eli, but one did get rather protective of one's wife. She'd never tell Nozomi about some of Maki's more endearing quirks.

"So what are we shopping for?" They were nearly at Numazu.

"I...I" Vik's hands balled into fists, "want to try a sundress."

Nico smiled, "Then I know just the place to go."

Vik relaxed; Ruby hummed happily.

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Nico swept into a small boutique she and Dia frequently visited, their under twelve clothing game being on point. The manager approached right away, "How can I help you, Mrs. Kurosawa. Hello, Ruby."

Ruby hid her face in Nico's skirt as Nico glanced down at Vik, hands still shoved in board short pockets, yellow muscle t-shirt damp with nervous sweat, face still shadowed, and decided to take a chance, "This lovely young lady would like to try on some sundresses."

Vik was exactly like Eli in so many ways Nico thought as Vik's head snapped up to stare at her, tears starting in the corners of bright green eyes.

"Oooh, we just got in a new order, really bright, very fun...let me show you." Nico encouraged Ruby to follow her de facto cousin, Nico keeping a close and affectionate eye on a Vik who had decided to be excited, just this once, just this far from Tokyo, about girly clothes, just to try.

Vik stepped out of the dressing room, a light blue sundress with bright gold cartoon fish swimming pulled over board shorts, ball cap pushed back, but only slightly. The manager stepped forward, hand out, "Why don't you take your ca…" but was silenced by the fierce clamping of Nico's hand around her forearm. Nico smiled cheerily at the woman, but there was a flash of danger in her eyes and the manager stepped back as Vik frowned, glance skittering around the room.

"There's a game this evening, Hamasaki-san." Nico said quietly, then bumped shoulders with Vik, "We can't have anything get between you and your lucky cap, right Vik?" Chuckling, Nico pulled the brim back down, adding a gentle touch on Vik's cheek.

Vik's hands had been trying to find pockets in the sundress but when Nico spoke, there was a grin. And then Ruby squealed and everyone looked to where the tiny redhead had settled. She was bouncing up and down on a chair, hands clapping, "Pretty, Mommy, see. Pretty."

"Well, Ruby likes it, and she has excellent taste, which she gets from me. Sure, she looks like Maki, but we always have to keep an eye on what your Mama wears, don't we, sunbeam." Nico rolled her eyes at Hamasaki, slight whining drone to her voice. "Since we moved here, my wife prefers informal beach wear."

The manager tittered, "I know, it's so hard to get people around here to dress up for anything but New Year's and festivals."

"Well, at least we have those." Nico remembered she was in the middle of a question, "Do you like the dress, Vik?"

Vik was flipping the skirt at Ruby who was trying, with clumsy hands, to grab it from her seat. "It's so light."

"They're fun to twirl." Nico demonstrated, her dance experience choosing moves that let her own skirt float around her.

"But no pockets." Vik stated stubbornly.

"Ah," Nico tilted her head at Hamasaki, rolling her designer purse out from her side. "Ten year olds don't accessorize like we do."

"No. We do have latest Annello backpacks, really cute and bright, if you'd like."

"Maybe." Nico had gone over to Ruby, making sure the tiny redhead didn't bounce herself to the floor. "But first I think we need a sundress with pockets."

Hamasaki frowned, then sped to a rack, "Kangaroo pocket?"

"Like a hoodie?" Vik asked.

"Exactly." The manager pushed hangers around.

"Cool."

Hamasaki pulled a French blue and ivory striped sweatshirt dress off the rack, "It's not as light as the sundress, and a little more form fitting, but I've always thought that a very lovely blue. It's bright enough to go really well with the green in your team's crest."

Vik nodded, eyes alight with interest. Obviously this style suited Vik's current self image better than the floofiness of the sundress so Nico made a mental note. Now how could she surreptitiously sneak a picture for whenever Vik decided to tell Nozomi and Eli about this.

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Two sweater dresses and a fringed violet shawl later, they were back in the Nico-mobile. Everyone had picked out their own backpack as well, which Nico filled with silly socks for the people they'd left at home. Some of Maki's had tigers prowling the toes below Mt. Fuji on them. Ruby giggled at them for five minutes for reasons Nico couldn't figure out.

"We'll be home in time for the game." Nico announced after a quick travel time calculation.

"Good." Vik buckled in.

"Any musical preferences?" Nico wondered, before she defaulted to the latest K-Pop so she could keep up with trends there.

Vik shrugged, head back, eyes closed. Ruby was beating out a song on the arms of her carseat and ignoring the front seat occupants.

Nico took another risk, trusting her ability to read an audience. "Maki's been studying puberty blockers, if you have any questions. Nozomi said your family therapist's been mentioning them."

Vik grunted, an unhappy noise.

"She'd only need to talk to your parents if you want to take them."

Vik sighed, "I thought you were the number one coolest aunt in the universe, keeper of secret identities…"

"Of course, Nico is. But Nico is also the number one resource for all your fashion worries who happens to be handily married to the number one resource for all your medical worries, UNLESS," and here Nico let her voice drop an octave, hushed for added drama, "I catch a cold or break a ulna, then she sits around looking mopey and Nico has to import family to feed her."

Vik turned to look at Nico, the tween's face incredulous at the thought of the supercool Maki, who'd expertly wrapped Vik's sprained ankle last summer in under a minute, flustered.

"She's a big baby." Nico nodded, face half turned so Vik could see the seriously comic furrow of her eyebrows. "One time someone had to stitch Nico's headwound and big bad doctor Nishikino-Yazawa refused to leave the room and Cotorou had to catch her when her knees went weak. Nico is afraid of what will happen if Dia or Ruby ever ends up in the ER." Nico flexed, "So I've been working out. I challenged Eli to an arm wrestling match when she gets back."

"You're crazier than Momma says." Vik sounded in awe.

Nico winked, one hand rising to her temple in a gesture EVERYONE on the planet was now familiar with (at least according to Nico). "Nico Nico Ni, Nico never fails to impress."

Vik giggled.

"Just talk to Maki IF you want to." Nico turned her full attention back to the road, "We're both here for you."

Nico didn't think she'd get a reply, but her ears picked up a sotto voce, "Thanks" before this week's M Countdown's top song blasted over the speakers.

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Maki's face when presented with the socks had Nico giggling for five minutes. Maki held them up, at arms' length, and stared at them in all their bright blue, tackily decorated glory. "Ruby picked them out.' Nico informed her wife, "I looked for matching flip flops but no luck."

"Good." Maki glared, ineffectively, at her giggling, prankish paramour.

"I have a question for you, Aunt Maki." Vik announced suddenly to the room. Teddy and Maki both froze, Nico smiled encouragingly, Dia turned a page, and Ruby pulled off a sock to wiggle her toes freely.

"Sure." Maki raised an eyebrow at Nico. Teddy went back to deciding which of the backpacks Nico had bought as extras she wanted for herself.

"Did you really faint when Aunt Nico got stitches?"

Maki went white, then red, "NICO-CHAN! You promised never to tell anyone about that."

"No, Cotorou promised that. He likes you. Nico only promised herself never to let you anywhere near a wound."

Maki began muttering, breathing in flares and starts, as Teddy and Vik watched open mouthed a scene that was now so familiar to Dia that she automatically glanced up from her book, made eye contact with her sister, then put the book down, took Ruby's hand, and led her to the kitchen. Dia hesitated in the hallway, turning back, "Vik. Teddy. We're having snacks now. Don't delay." When Dia was sure she had the twins' attention, she made a beckoning gesture, "Come on."

Speechless, Maki and Nico watched their oldest shepherd the other three safely out of the room, then Nico grabbed Maki in a huge hug, spinning the taller woman slightly off the floor.

"What….hey...when did you...stop that…" Maki flailed at Nico, who kept giggling.

"Nico's been working out. Want to wrestle later?"

"Nico-chan! Children."

"They sleep soundly. Once the twins finish booby trapping the bathroom. That takes a lot of energy." Nico sank into a pillow, "Wonder if Dia will bring us back tea?"

"Nico-chan, she's too young for the stove."

"Which is why we have an electric tea kettle, Maki-chan. Don't worry. I aim to keep everyone who isn't a doctor out of the ER."

Maki knelt to kiss her wife, "As long as you start with you."

Nico smirked as Maki's lips neared. "Nico thinks you love the socks."

Maki did the only thing possible. Kiss Nico even more thoroughly than she'd planned and wonder if she could find a way to hint that the twins use the Fuji tigers as booby trap material. Or maybe if Maki left them out over the weekend, Rin could 'borrow' them. And then Maki stopped thinking about anything but the tingle of Nico's fingers sliding through her hair.

A/N: Who doesn't want a Pet Shop Boy song in their head? Have a favorite? I like "It's A Sin" and "West End Girls"

Have been wanting to spend more time with Vik and Teddy and I finally figured out where to start. Vik and Teddy are semi identical twins, who share genes from one parent and who each received a different set from the other parent (We are going with science babies in this AU). I came across an article about the one known case of this when I was researching intersex conditions and designing characters in this second μ's generation. Since I was planning for Nozomi and Eli to have twins, this seemed the perfect fit for them and the stories I was spinning.

In other news, the next Casual Lunacy chapter is chugging along.

Take care!