Yukito & Erin Maki's Apartment

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

"God, I'm sorry--I'm such a baby sometimes! I'm really, really sorry, Erin..." Cassie said through her tears, her voice thickening, "And I wanted to give y'all something else too. I was saving it for later, but I guess now's a good a time as any."

"What?" Erin sounded interested at that, as Cassie pulled out a little ornament from her pocket of a couple in a little car. Even Yukito had to smile when he saw the creation, as Erin squealed with delight and reached over for the ornament excitedly.


Cassie resumed as Erin kept giving little sounds of happiness, "I just...really wanted you to have this. Just, um...ignore the year, please? I didn't have time to fix it."

"Our First Christmas Together," Erin read aloud, making Yukito smile again while she turned to show him, giggling happily now. He couldn't help but wonder if it was a cover, though. She had seemed too upset a moment ago to be over it so fast... And he had hated that look she had sent his way when she had arrived. "Look, Yukito!" she squealed, running to his side and lifting the figure close to his eyes. Erin was laughing more freely now. She turned back around to Cassie and gave her friend an excited hug, still clinging to the little ornament. Just as quickly, Erin turned back to Yukito and pulled him into a kiss. Her continued antics were like doubled and tripled reassurances, and he chuckled a little. "You put it on the tree," she said, handing him Cassie's gift and bouncing a little on the balls of her feet. Then she kissed his cheek for good measure.

"You sure? We could put it on together.." It was a lame suggestions, and he knew it. Plus, he could never figure out how one could cut a cake or put an ornament on 'together'. But he said it anyways.

Erin turned around and started pulling things out of boxes. "Okay, let's use all this stuff! Ooh, I like this one," she cooed as she placed it on the tree. With a smile, Yukito sat down on the balls of his feet right beside her. This was how he had been hoping to make her feel. While Erin was preoccupied with the ornaments, Yukito sent Cassie a sideways glance, mouthing, 'Thank you'. He didn't know if she'd understand, but he hoped she would. This was supposed to be something special. Something to make Erin smile, when she had thought Christmas was going to be so drab and lifeless this year. He wanted this for Erin...

Our first Christmas. Together.

~~~

"Thanks for coming over, Cass," Yukito called from the doorway, his arm around Erin's waist as they watched her go. For some time, he remained there, thinking. "Erin..." he started slowly, tightening his hold on her, silently asking her to be honest. "What do you wish for, on your birthday cake and on stars, and on New Years and things like that? What kind of things do you usually wish for?" He turned to look at her, the close vicinity he was holding her at making his nose lightly brush hers.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

As it turned out, unveiling the little Precious Moments ornament was the best thing Cassie could have done. Immediately the distress faded from her friend's face, and Erin let out a little squeal of delight as she took the familiar ornament out of Cassie's hands, looking over it ecstatically. "I just...really wanted you to have this," Cassie told them over Erin's sounds of excitement, a timid explanation. "Just, um...ignore the year, please? I didn't have time to fix it."

And that's what they did--neither of them bothered to look at the date engraved on the back, across the tiny porcelain car's bumper. Cassie felt a little pang at that, because part of her did want them to notice it--the date nearly 23 years earlier of Cassie's parents' marriage. She wanted them to know exactly what the ornament meant to her, and how she hoped the two of them would have more luck than her parents had had. But they didn't even glance at it, instead focusing only on the words across the front. "Our First Christmas Together," Erin read, her eyes shining with happiness. "Look, Yukito!"

Cassie watched as Erin continued to gush over the ornament, first pulling Cassie into a tight hug before turning her attention to Yukito. "You put it on the tree," she told him after a kiss or two. Cassie gave a soft smile as Yukito asked, "You sure? We could put it on together.."

See? They deserve this. They deserve this so much more than I do, or than my parents ever did. And that makes it all okay, right? She looked on, glowing with pride as they hung up the little couple on the tree, in a spot where it could be seen prominently among the other ornaments. Somehow, it looked even better on their tree than it ever had on Cassie's massive Christmas trees in the past. Perfect.

"Okay, let's use all this stuff!" Erin cried. "Ooh, I like this one," Yukito moved to sit next to her, glancing over at Cassie and mouthing something that could only be 'thank you.' She smiled softly at him, acknowledging it with only a nod. No. Thank you. Both of you.

She moved closer to them, digging through the box as well. "Okay, Erin, we've got to find the one with your name on it. We found Yukito's already, but it wouldn't look right if yours wasn't on there too...and the stockings! Find the stockings, and we can find a place to hang 'em up! I mean, there's no chimney, but..."

---

Before they knew it, Erin and Yukito's apartment had been transformed into a Winter Wonderland, and it was time for Cassie to go on home. "Thanks for coming over, Cass," Yukito said warmly as she shrugged into her jacket. She smiled. "No problem. Thanks for letting me help y'all decorate. I'll see you later, okay?" She gave Erin a hug and hesitated just slightly before she gave Yukito one as well, although much quicker and more awkward. Then she gave a little wave and let herself out, her hands in her pockets as she walked down the hallway of the apartment building.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.

Cassie has left the North Pole--Makispenser version!

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

Soon, Erin was eagerly rifling through all the boxes laid out across the living room floor, in patches of bright Christmas-y colors. Cassie had moved near her, helping her out. "Okay, Erin, we've got to find the one with your name on it," she said, "We found Yukito's already, but it wouldn't look right if yours wasn't on there too...and the stockings! Find the stockings, and we can find a place to hang 'em up! I mean, there's no chimney, but..."

Erin laughed aloud, running over to the nearest blank wall. "Here! We'll put 'em here, obviously. I mean, I've never had a fireplace, but always had a stocking. Didn't you see that part in The Santa Clause where the chimney magically appears?" She playfully reenacted the scene with a few gestures and sound effects, the ran to dig for the stockings.

---

The place had been totally transformed. And it was awesome! It felt so cold, and warm at the same time, just as Christmas should be. Everything glittered and grinned and she couldn't help but hum cheesy Christmas carols. Once everything was in its right place, Cassie started to head out. Yukito and Erin walked her to the door-- even if Erin's was borderline skipping. It was harder to skip, though, when you were linked with another person.

"Thanks for coming over, Cass," Yukito said as Erin nodded fervently. "It's beautiful!" she chirped again, not caring how lame she might be for repeating it, getting so excited, or still humming Deck the Halls.

Cassie smiled back. "No problem. Thanks for letting me help y'all decorate. I'll see you later, okay?" She gave Erin a hug which she returned excitedly, still bouncing a little, then waved the entire time that Cassie said goodbye to Yukito and headed out. "Byyyeee!" she called out, loudly enough to surely annoy neighbors. "I love you! You are a beautiful Christmas angel that I love to pieces!!"

A look at Yukito, and Erin pulled him excitedly back inside to share more of their tiny Christmas bubble.

TEH ENDZORZ!!!!!

[Elda Forever]

Dinnertime!



Erin Spenser


Yukito couldn’t have been too thrilled about Erin’s insistence that they have her parents come over for supper soon. She missed them more than she could say, and her dad’s very brief visit to their apartment a while back had reminded her just how much she did miss them. The idea that she had missed a Christmas with them hit her hard when she thought about it, even now. The thought that if she and Yukito did marry one day, she’d never get to be their little girl in the same way again… Erin wanted to keep them, to share with her parents all the new parts of her life.


Once everyone was on the same page –it didn’t take her parents long at all to “find an open night” for coming over—Erin had insisted that, for lack of a dining room table (or coffee table… or table in general), they buy a picnic-style blanket. She’d busied most of the afternoon making various picnic-appropriate dishes, also adding things she hoped Yukito would be happy about, too—curry (“rice, spice, and chicken!” she’d sung to herself) and melonpan for one of the desserts. (Other desserts now included chocolate and apple pies and chocolate chip cookies). Now she sung along with the radio blaring from the kitchen, bringing the dishes one by one into the living room, where she’d spread out the blanket in the center of the floor. Once everything was spread the way Erin wanted it, she turned around and down the hall to find Yukito. “Hey! Hey! Everything’s ready!” She was bouncing a little on the balls of her feet, her unstraightened hair falling in stretched-out waves over her shoulders. “Are you?” She didn’t have to wait too long—a knock came to the front door. “Oh, c’mon!” She grabbed his hand and took him along side her as she reached out for the door, only letting go to embrace her mom in a hug, then her dad. Of course, they both gave every possible formation of “we’ve missed you” that they could think of, though this time, Erin didn’t protest. “Come in!” Erin gushed after kissing their cheeks. She felt like a weird mix between a child showing her newest art creation, and a grown woman with her own home… Now she stood at the head of the indoor picnic, knowing it was probably silly to feel so proud, but she did.


And as Erin stepped out of the way, her parents stepped in, Mandi giving Yukito a gentle hug now. She smiled at the gesture, knowing it and happy to see it, but inside wondering if Yukito really would rather not have it. Even if it was physical proof of inclusion. Of family. She knew what it was—did he? Her dad extended his hand to Yukito: “Nice to see you again.”


What might have been an awkward moment for Yukito didn’t faze Erin, who felt like she might bubble over she was so happy. “Hey, come sit, look, there’s croissants, and sandwiches, and, um, carrots, and, oh, curry, too!” She laughed, thinking to herself, Which one of these doesn’t belong? Erin sat down first, grinning up at them, and waited.



Yukito Maki


This is bound to be awkward. Things were so different since that first time he'd sat down with Erin's parents during dinner at his house. He remembered his mom had rambled on about academics, and he'd failed miserably at trying to push the positive limelight over on Erin. Then, they'd taken refuge from the parents in his room - her father ensuring the door was open and the light was on. The idea had then been laughable. Now the idea of it made Yukito smirk. Then, it had been simple enough to just be friends. To talk about how rough the social system at school was and to promote their ownbands with little subtlety. The main thing that had been different about Erin was that she made him ramble on a little too much, made it a little too easy to trust her. He knew now how to see through her defense mechanisms, noticed her weaknesses and fears. Now things were so much different. He was much different. He pulled on a clean shirt and slipped out of the bathroom just as Erin came bouncing to the hall, calling out for him.


“Hey! Hey! Everything’s ready! Are you?”


Yukito arched an eyebrow, then shrugged. "Hard to say. What does ready include?" He never said it out loud, but her father sort of scared him. Over time they had started working on a mutual understanding - mostly because they were both constantly looking out for Erin so she didn't trip off her own little cloud nine too quickly at times - but it wasn't much more than cordial. At least, not to Yukito's eyes. "Show me what you have set up," he asked, reaching down to take her hand just as a knock came on the door.


“Oh, c’mon!” She grabbed his hand, still on its trip down to hers in the same moment, and took him along side her as she opened the door. Yukito stood right behind her as she embraced both her parents, the usual mingling of the three voices, gushing happy phrases. Yukito wondered how they could understand each other when everyone was talking so fast, and over top of each other.


“Come in!” Erin gushed after kissing their cheeks, then stepping back to let her parents come in. Then, unexpectedly, Mandi moved in to give Yukito a hug. Instantly, her scent washed over him, reminding him more of how Erin used to smell. It was strange to feel those arms around him, gentle and trying to offer a friendly greeting. He tried not to stiffen, hesitantly returning the gesture, his expression unsure when they'd pulled apart. Then, Jacob stepped up, giving Yukito a flash of concern before the man extended a hand. “Nice to see you again.”


Yukito looked up into his face, his expression blank for a second. Then, he gave a little smile, nodded, and took his hand wholeheartedly. This was Erin's old world, now she was trying to mesh them. He wanted to know all about her, and some of the things about Erin she couldn't tell him - it could only be shown through her parent's eyes, even if they were a little biased. And way overprotective.


"I'm glad you guys came," he said sincerely, his voice subdued as Erin practically danced over to the 'picnic' lunch she had meticulously set up. "Erin's missed you."


“Hey, come sit, look, there’s croissants, and sandwiches, and, um, carrots, and, oh, curry, too!” Erin laughed, grinning up at them.


Yukito gestured to the picnic absent-mindedly, "Table is next on the list. Even if we'd rather get a killer speaker-system instead." A little smile played at his lips as he sat next to Erin on the floor, folding his legs beneath him and scooting to be close to her.




Erin Spenser


After a flurry of greetings and “missed you”s and “love you”s between Erin and her parents, she stepped aside for them to greet Yukito. She’d thought on it before—how they perceived her and Yukito, how it had taken them so long to shift from the wary and leery pair to the inclusive expressions they’d started to give now. Erin had to hand it to them, they were really dealing well with the whole thing. It was some kind of symbolic thing, them coming to share a meal at her and Yukito’s home… (She still felt a little rush when her mind worded it that way.) And now, Erin felt as though she could bubble over in joy that her mom was hugging Yukito, that he and her dad were talking with normal talking—not about something she did, not about anything huge, just talking. It was kind of nice. Really nice, actually.


Erin took her place near the indoor-picnic setup, smiling brightly. ”Erin’s missed you,” Yukito was saying as Mandi sat down nearby (cheerily commenting on the pace despite her unsure expression). Erin’s ears perked up at her name, and she cast Yukito a wary look. Mandi heard, too. ”We’ve missed you, too,” she told Erin quietly, recalling her attention only for a second with resting her hand on her daughter’s knee. Her dad had told Yukito something similar, Erin’s eyes now back on them, as he continued, ”…can imagine how loud the silence is without her there now.” What, were they trying to make her feel guilty?


She shifted forward, hoping she could just redirect them all to something besides her. “Hey, come sit, look, there’s croissants, and sandwiches, and, um, carrots, and, oh, curry, too!” Erin rattled it off fast, eyes finding Yukito and hoping for a word of approval at least. He didn’t seem too excited, not like the last times she’d made it. Oh, well… fine. Erin absently traced the rim of the bowl of rice. Yukito was still talking to her dad. "Table is next on the list. Even if we'd rather get a killer speaker-system instead."


The comment distracted her enough from pouting at Yukito’s apparent disinterest. “Oo, no, if we get to pick one I am totally cool with picnicking more!” She caught his hand as he sat down next to her, excited again. “Then we could play our music everywhere in the house instead of carting the speakers from one room to the next, or the radio, or whatever. Oh! It can be like those old houses where you have the radio built into the wall and it pipes the music into all the rooms! You know? Have you seen those?” During her sudden burst of words, her dad had sat down next to her mom on the floor, by the little lunch layout, so that the four of them made an L shape around the square cloth. Erin paused for breath, grabbing a croissant in the meantime, then catching Yukito’s eye with an impish smile on her face. “Itadakimasu!” she chirped, proud of her ability to mimic the word now almost exactly as Yukito said it. Still smiling, Erin bit into the croissant, moving a little to the song that was stuck in her head at the moment. Knowing her way of setting tables (and tablecloths), her parents had taken each a plate from the little stack Erin had set near the dinner’s dishes and were already choosing what they wanted.


“The Japanese ‘bon apatite’, right?” asked Jacob, genuinely curious. Erin was surprised he remembered it, but not surprised he’d figured out the basic meaning. “Can you say it again?”


The smile on Erin’s face flourished at the expression of interest. It was an interest in something besides her, and an interest in something from Yukito’s end. Taking interest in my love’s culture. Okay, you definitely get points for that… She sent Yukito a bubbly, approving look.


“This is all so good,” Mandi chimed in, focusing on her daughter’s handiwork to ignore the simplicity of her current living space. “I miss your cooking, too. You’re spoiling Yukito, aren’t you? Oh, Erin!” She let her fork stop, crossed over her plate and turned her attention to Jacob. “Did you—” He nodded, smiling. “Okay, good.” Then back to Erin: “We still have your Christmas presents, and Yukito’s, too,” she explained with a smile as Jacob excused himself back outside. A twinge of guilt renewed its old spark within Erin—the idea that she’d left them to be alone, for Cassie to be their surrogate daughter while Erin was off giddy in her own world, it never settled in her. Probably because it wasn’t something that should be settled, she had decided. But still, feeling it was never welcomed.


“I didn’t mean to, Mama, I didn’t even think of how—”


Mandi shook her head, cutting Erin off with another touch on her knee. “Not now. Just accept them and we’ll make a promise to do better to one another this year, okay?”


“Uhh…” No, I dunno anything about this year… I don’t want to promise something and screw it up again… Already her mind was searching for a way to make it up to them. Anything. School… “Oh, hey—”


“You want to come back home for a night and give me or your dad kitchen duty off?” Mandi cut her off, teasing, and peeling the crust from the sandwich in her hand.


Erin shook her head, grateful for the shift in subject. “No, ‘cause I’d have to clean it up then. That’s what Yukito’s for,” she giggled, sending said helper a nudge with her shoulder. “I love you!” she told him in a playfully apologetic tone. Jus then, the door reopened, and her dad returned, lifting a couple of bags from the doorstep and walking to set them just behind Erin and Yukito. “After supper, right?” he asked with a knowing smile.


Erin smirked back mischievously. She knew what he expected. And it was easier to be different than expected if she allowed the feeling of guilt to remind her why they had to bring the presents now. “Fine by me. We have dessert, too, don’t forget that, too.” Her smile broadened at the thinly veiled look of surprise on Jacob’s face. “All right then.” He glanced at Yukito, feigning dubiousness. “Who is this and where did you put Erin?” he whispered. For an instant Erin’s eyes widened and she wrinkled her nose at her father. He smiled, shrugged. ”Nevermind. She’s back.” By the time the words left his mouth, he was back to sitting next to Mandi, an expression on his face now that Erin couldn’t read. “What does that mean?” she asked, suddenly feeling demure. She hated not knowing. A quick glance and her hand found Yukito’s.


”What does what mean?” Jacob responded, the same look on his face—a weird mixture of amusement, pride, bewilderment, maybe a dozen other things or none of what she thought she saw. Because those didn’t make sense. She hadn’t done anything to amuse him, or please him… maybe confuse him.


“That face!”


”What face?” It was still there. He knew what she was talking about.


“Ugh! Nevermind!” Erin rolled her eyes. “Just eat your stupid croissant. Or carrot. Or whatever…” The moment of frustration melted away into a quiet smile, and gently this time she nudged Yukito a little. She tilted her head very close to his and whispered, “What should I say about school?”


Yukito Maki


”Erin’s missed you,” he told Mandi as they moved toward the picnic setup Erin was so proud of. He wanted her to know, before Erin got started on reassuring them how happy she was, that there were times when she'd looked so lonely, and unsure of herself without the constant guidance from her parents. After all, there had been that whole deal where she'd fun for her father's advice. The bristling at the mere thought of the occasion had ceased at last, but there was no honesty in him believing he'd soon forget it.



”We’ve missed you, too,” Mandi told her daughter quietly. Jacob turned Yukito's attention toward him, and echoed similar thoughts. ”…You can imagine how loud the silence is without her there now.”


Yukito's lips curved up in a smirk. Yeah, he could imagine. He'd known it. It's what my life was like before. Way too silent. Always wishing mom would come home early, or that something disastrous would come just so I wouldn't be alone.


Erin drifted back into the conversation.“Hey, come sit, look, there’s croissants, and sandwiches, and, um, carrots, and, oh, curry, too!”To be honest, he didn't hear her at first, his eyes still on Jacob. There was always an incessant feeling of not being in Jacob's approval that nagged at Yukito. Before, when they'd first met, Yukito hadn't wanted the approval – he'd seen Jacob's face when he'd heard of Yukito's academic plans, but he had seen that same face when he'd been called into Mr. Spenser's office and had been forced into signing the stupid paper about suicide.


He wondered if Jacob remembered that as much as he did himself.


Then, it hadn't mattered so much. Now, the heavy weight of Erin's need for her parents, the tight string that still tied her to them, had been wrapped around his ankle before he'd realized it. Their opinion mattered. He wanted to be a part of them, like she was. Because he was a part of her, and she was a huge part of him.


Explaining the odd set-up on the floor, he promised, "Table is next on the list. Even if we'd rather get a killer speaker-system instead."


Erin leapt on the idea, in a very typical way. “Oo, no, if we get to pick one I am totally cool with picnicking more!”Yukito's eyes sparkled, and laughed at her.


“Erin...” he chuckled. They moved to sit down. On the floor. But Erin was starting to gush at the mention of music.


“Then we could play our music everywhere in the house instead of carting the speakers from one room to the next, or the radio, or whatever. Oh! It can be like those old houses where you have the radio built into the wall and it pipes the music into all the rooms! You know? Have you seen those?” She paused just long enough for a croissant, smiling impishly over at him.


“Erin...” he murmured again, shaking his head. “A table, remember?” He gestured toward their 'picnic'. “It's kind of important. You know, to hold stuff, to sit at?” He arched an eyebrow, then added in a quieter voice, “To do homework at?”


“Itadakimasu!” she chirped, Still smiling, Erin bit into the croissant, moving a little to the beat of a song only she could hear. Yukito shook his head, reaching for a plate and finally giving the curry his full notice. His lips curved into a tight smile from how big it was.


“Itadakimasu!” he echoed happily in a half-sung voice, touching his palms together for a moment before dishing himself out twice what his normal helpings were into his bowl.


“The Japanese ‘bon appetite’, right?”asked Jacob, the prodding curiosity making Yukito glance up in wonder. Yukito hesitated, then gave a nod, obviously unsure. “Can you say it again?”


Stifling a desire to send Jacob a quizzical look, he nodded again, repeating it, but slowly, the way he used to tell Erin. “I-ta-da-ki-masu.” There was a profound feeling to such a simple question. It felt as if all eyes were on him, even if they weren't. It was more like all ears at their non-table were tuned in to the little exchange, proverbially hanging on each word with surprise and, he thought, approval.


“This is all so good,”Mandi chimed in, “I miss your cooking, too. You’re spoiling Yukito, aren’t you? Oh, Erin!”


Yukito's eyes glimmered a little, and he patted his belly gently, looking between his plate and the still-flat abdomen that was just a little larger than before. “I'm getting bigger,” was all he said, feeling immediately afterward that it was kind of a stupid thing to say.


Mandi turned to Jacob, a question in her gaze. “Did you—”

Wordlessly, Jacob gave a knowing nod. Yukito looked between them quickly, unable to hide the look in his eyes. He'd known what she'd meant, just from that? Unless it had something to do with fattening people up, or meals or something, there was no context to go on. How did he know? How did she know, that he knew? It was as foreign an idea to him as the French on the menu during the double-date with Kagayakisan and Cassie so long ago. Hopelessly lost, and all he could do was find it sort of comical in its own way.


“Okay, good.” Mandi seemed pleased, then turned to Erin to explain. “We still have your Christmas presents, and Yukito’s, too,” she explained with a smile as Jacob excused himself back outside. Yukito's eyes widened until they were nearing plate-size. ”Yukito's, too,”? What....?His surprise from the statement made it hard for him to follow the strange half-cryptic exchange between Erin and her mother. He wasn't even sure it had anything to do with the presents, in all honesty. His plate held above his folded knees, forgotten mid-scoop, Yukito just stared at the place where Jacob had vanished through the door, not sure what to say. He didn't get pulled back into the conversation from his haze of denial until he heard the phrase 'come back home'. Yukito whipped his head back to Mandi.


“...For a night and give me or your dad kitchen duty off?” Mandi was saying. Yukito's breath caught until he saw Erin shaking her head. It felt to him as though even one night with her parents again might remind Erin of how easy and simple it had been before they'd moved in together. No disapproving looks, no hearing him swear out the budget, no having to scrimp on lunches so they'd actually have a dinner, no awkward moments crawling into bed, no depending on only one person.


It was practically dream world for Yukito. He still wasn't sure it was Erin's.


“No, ‘cause I’d have to clean it up then. That’s what Yukito’s for,” she giggled, sending him with her shoulder. He didn't fight it, nearly spilling his plate. “I love you!” she told him in a playfully apologetic tone. He just rolled his eyes.


“Right. You keep me for my dish-washing abilities.”

When Jacob reentered the room, Yukito had a hard time covering up the jubilant gleam in his eyes when the two bags were set nearby. There was no hint of what was inside from the exterior – no tags or labels he could tell from. Curiosity of a kind of gift-giving he wasn't used to made his fingers start to itch, and the result was him freezing up, clinging to his plate with both hands. How was he supposed to react to this? He had no idea. Just say thank you? Race to the bedroom and scrounge up a last-minute gift?


“After supper, right?” Jacob asked with a knowing smile.


“We don't...I mean...” Yukito swallowed, his voice sounding distanced and hollow. And apologetic. “We don't have anything for you guys. I didn't think you'd...”


“Fine by me. We have dessert, too, don’t forget that, too.” Erin declared with a smug look, earning an expression of surprise from her father.


“All right then.” He glanced at Yukito, feigning dubiousness. “Who is this and where did you put Erin?” he whispered. For an instant Erin’s eyes widened and she wrinkled her nose at her father. He smiled, shrugged. ”Nevermind. She’s back.” By the time the words left his mouth, he was back to sitting next to Mandi. Yukito dropped his plate to his knees, staring down at it for a moment. Why had he given himself that huge a portion?


“What does that mean?”Erin asked, looking over at Yukito with a similar dubious expression that her father had had a few moments before. His heart gave a little jump when her hand touched on his, until he took hold of it in response.


”What does what mean?” Jacob responded with false innocence. Yukito felt like he was totally in the dark here.


“That face!”


”What face?” Yukito wasn't sure what 'that face' meant, but he had to admit Jacob's expression was strange. He was looking over at Erin with some sort of tangled mixture. Sad and proud and surprised? Yukito looked over at Erin. Was it because of her? Did it mean the same as all that 'where did you put Erin' thing? Yukito shrugged over at Mandi, picking up his fork again to continue the meal while the rest of them sped ahead of him into areas he didn't know.


“Ugh! Nevermind!”Erin rolled her eyes.“Just eat your stupid croissant. Or carrot. Or whatever…”Yukito saw the smile that grew on her warm, pink lips, and noted the slight nudge of his shoulder again that was probably just an excuse to be a little bit closer to each other. She tilted her head very close to his and whispered, “What should I say about school?”


He sent her a searching look, then lifted on shoulder in a shrug, “All that you want. Tell them about the one we looked at you liked.” Leaving the happy announcement all to Erin, he took a healthy bite of the curry, and felt his lungs constrict. Obviously, Erin had does something different, and much better, to the previous recipe she'd used. Lamely trying to be unobtrusive, he slipped a little more curry onto his plate, avoiding the carrots and taking half a croissant. Not that he hated them – he just didn't want them like he wanted the curry.


Erin Spenser


"Table is next on the list,” Yukito told her parents as they all sat down around the tablecloth. “Even if we'd rather get a killer speaker-system instead."

He was probably kidding, but there was still the chance it could happen. A table could wait, right? “Oo, no, if we get to pick one I am totally cool with picnicking more!” In fact, it was a fun little weird tradition they had—eating on the floor. Doing everything on the floor. It was weird, and familiar, and friendly, and quirky, and she liked it. It hurt her back after a while, but still. She wouldn’t mind keeping that for streaming music throughout the little home.

Apparently, he was joking though. Yukito laughed her name, sitting down next to her. It didn’t keep her from going on about the music thing, though. And maybe she could convince Yukito, too. “Then we could play our music everywhere in the house instead of carting the speakers from one room to the next, or the radio, or whatever. Oh! It can be like those old houses where you have the radio built into the wall and it pipes the music into all the rooms! You know? Have you seen those?”


“Erin...” he repeated, shaking his head, making her smile. She loved being able to get a reaction out of him, even something as small as that. “A table, remember?” he said, gesturing to the tablecloth. “It's kind of important. You know, to hold stuff, to sit at?” “But I can sit right here!” she objected playfully. “And the floor is the biggest shelf in the house!”


He arched an eyebrow, then added in a quieter voice, “To do homework at?”


Erin sent him a little nudge. “Can it,” she whispered back playfully, then turned her attention to the lunch. “Itadakimasu!” The song in her head made her shift a little as she started eating, smiling at seeing people she loved enjoying the food she made.


“Itadakimasu!” he echoed happily, only furthering Erin’s bright smile at his beautiful mannerism.

“The Japanese ‘bon appetite’, right?” her dad asked, making Erin grin proudly and Yukito nod briefly. “Can you say it again?”

After a moment of hesitation, Yukito repeated it, Jacob echoing it to the best of his ability. Which, at least to Erin’s ears, wasn’t so bad. It felt so good for him to express interest in Yukito like that, bits and pieces that had become such an intricate part of her. It was like everything was finally coming together, the two nearly separate spheres of her world interlacing.


“This is all so good,”Mandi chimed in, “I miss your cooking, too. You’re spoiling Yukito, aren’t you? Oh, Erin!”


Erin looked over at her mom expectantly, but then was distracted by Yukito’s response to Mandi’s “spoiled” comment. “I'm getting bigger.” Erin started giggling, then laughing, her head falling onto his shoulder for a moment.

Mandi was talking to Jacob. “Did you—”


He nodded, excusing himself back outside. The idea crossed Erin’s mind that maybe one day she and Yukito would be able to communicate that easily, then the thought vanished, too.


“We still have your Christmas presents, and Yukito’s, too,” she explained, then immediately started trying to persuade Erin to come back home for a day or two.


“No, ‘cause I’d have to clean it up then. That’s what Yukito’s for,” she giggled, sending him with her shoulder, making his plate tilt. “I love you!”


Yukito just rolled his eyes. “Right. You keep me for my dish-washing abilities.” But her smile spread splittingly as his face shifted into a bright, surprised expression when her dad returned. Did he light up like that when she gave him stuff? Aww… you’re so cute. I love you.


“After supper, right?” Jacob asked with a knowing smile.

Erin’s answer was cut off by Yukito’s compulsion for manners and courtesy and all that jazz. “We don't...I mean...” Yukito paused, and Erin looked at him quizzically. “We don't have anything for you guys. I didn't think you'd...”

She smiled, understanding. It was sweet of him. So sweet, but he didn’t need to worry like that. It didn’t work like that. To save him, Erin turned to her parents and said, “Fine by me. We have dessert, too, don’t forget that, too.”


That wasn’t what he’d expected. “All right then.” He glanced at Yukito, feigning dubiousness. “Who is this and where did you put Erin?” he whispered. For an instant Erin’s eyes widened and she wrinkled her nose at her father. He smiled, shrugged. ”Nevermind. She’s back.” By the time the words left his mouth, he was back to sitting next to Mandi.


“What does that mean?”Erin asked, trying not to laugh.


”What does what mean?” her dad replied, teasingly grating her.


“That face!”

”What face?”


He was teasing her on purpose, and it was hard not to laugh or squeal in opposition. “Ugh! Nevermind!”Erin rolled her eyes.“Just eat your stupid croissant. Or carrot. Or whatever…”Her eyes turned to find Yukito, and she nudged closer. “What should I say about school?”


He sent her a look, then lifted on shoulder in a particularly unhelpful shrug. “All that you want. Tell them about the one we looked at you liked.” Tell them you were wrong, and they were right. Tell them you caved and admitted defeat. Oh, lovely… Her face fell a little at being assigned to do it all on her own. She held his hand a little tighter. Don’t make me do it alone… But she knew he would.


He went back to eating his lunch, which was pretty much all rice, spice, and chicken, leaving Erin to speak on her own. “Um…” She pulled apart another croissant with her fingers, staring at the flakes intently. “So, since—I mean—I was thinking about how, since Yukito’s at work during the day, I didn’t wanna be home alone all the time since I didn’t have a car, and didn’t wanna wait for everyone to come pick me up—” Erin stopped herself. She was rambling. She bit her lip, nibbled on one part of the bread, then rushed it out, trying to sound as casual as possible. The gushing and hugs and knowing looks were just words away. “I’m just gonna start back with school until I’m done, and Yukito’s helping me find a good one that I like, so I can play music there, too, and—” And there’s people like me.


And the gushing started. Her mom leaned over, giving her a tight awkwardly-angled hug from her side, brightly bubbling about how proud she was, and so happy she was making the right decisions, blah blah blah… Next to Mandi, Jacob gently gestured for her to calm down, but he was smiling, too. It made the heat come to Erin’s cheeks. “Y’all… c’mon…” She glanced at Yukito for help.


”I’m sorry, baby,” Mandi apologized, still beaming. ”But I can’t help but be happy for you!” Another hug, and Erin was beginning to wish she hadn’t said anything.


“Come on… just eat… There’s cheesecake.” That's right. Distract with dessert.



Yukito Maki

“Erin...” he repeated, shaking his head, smiling at her antics. “A table, remember?” he gestured to the tablecloth. “It's kind of important. You know, to hold stuff, to sit at?”

“But I can sit right here!” she objected playfully. “And the floor is the biggest shelf in the house!”

He arched an eyebrow, then added in a quieter voice, struggling against the smile and resulting in an intensive lip-twitch. “To do homework at?”

Erin sent him a little nudge, almost toppling his precarious plate. “Can it,” she whispered back playfully, then turned her attention to the lunch. She didn't see the blank look he sent her, his mind taking almost a full twenty seconds to figure out what she meant. Can it? Doesn't she mean “It can”? Or does she mean like a literal... Oh... He could have done a serious facepalm. Stupid English homonyms. “Itadakimasu!” Erin chirruped, oblivious to his confusion. Oh, well. Whatever.

“Itadakimasu!” he echoed before starting in on his beloved curry, catching in his peripheral Erin's beam, sent in his direction.

“The Japanese ‘bon appetite’, right?” her dad asked unexpectedly, making Erin grin with pride and enthusiasm. Yukito, more surprised by the gesture, gave a nod. “Can you say it again?” After a moment of hesitation, Yukito repeated it, Jacob echoing it to the best of his ability. The edges of Yukito's lips curved up at the imitation, and he nodded again in apparent approval.

“This is all so good,”Mandi chimed in, “I miss your cooking, too. You’re spoiling Yukito, aren’t you? Oh, Erin!”

Yukito patted his belly. “I'm getting bigger.” Erin started giggling, then laughing, her head falling onto his shoulder for a moment. He smirked, looking over at her face, proud to have made her laugh.

Then, a surprising thing happened. Jacob brought in presents – for Erin, of course. And for him. He couldn't remember anyone giving him presents after knowing him so little. And he had been pretty sure Jacob didn't like him that much, after all. It was unexpected, but the prospect, the wondering, of what Mandi and Jacob would have gotten somebody like him was making him insatiably curious.

“We don't...I mean... We don't have anything for you guys. I didn't think you'd...” He probably looked like he had reverted back to toddler mode, which was made more amusing by Erin's apparent indifference to the presents. She smiled, as if he was a very amusing child, then turned to her parents to handle the awkward moment. “Fine by me. We have dessert, too, don’t forget that, too.”

“All right then.” Jacob glanced at Yukito, unsure. “Who is this and where did you put Erin?” he whispered. For an instant Erin’s eyes widened and she wrinkled her nose at her father. He smiled, shrugged. ”Nevermind. She’s back.” By the time the words left his mouth, he was back to sitting next to Mandi. Erin and her father exchanged a short conversation that Yukito didn't quite follow. But it had something to do with Jacob's face. When Erin gave up, humorously exasperated, she nudged closer to Yukito. “What should I say about school?”

He sent her a look, then shrugged “All that you want. Tell them about the one we looked at you liked.” It was one of his typical, little-help responses when he had no idea what to do himself. It was always an awful cover. He could see it on Erin's face that he'd said something wrong, and now he felt strangely guilty even as he tried again to start on his dinner. Well, what could I say? 'Sorry, your daughter moved in with me so you wouldn't make her go back to school. But now that we're living together and sharing the same bed...ended up taking her to the hospital, so on, she's strangely compliant. Almost like I talked her into it. Nice, eh?'

“Um…” She pulled apart another croissant with her fingers, staring at the flakes intently. “So, since—I mean—I was thinking about how, since Yukito’s at work during the day, I didn’t wanna be home alone all the time since I didn’t have a car, and didn’t wanna wait for everyone to come pick me up—” She stopped abruptly, biting her lip and started to nibble on the bread. Yukito looked over at her, then his eyes flickered to her parents, seeing the look in their eyes.

“She's actually a pretty good driver,” Yukito mumbled uselessly, poking at his chicken with his fork while raising that shoulder again, his eyes still on her parents.

“I’m just gonna start back with school until I’m done, and Yukito’s helping me find a good one that I like, so I can play music there, too, and—” Then it started. Yukito wasn't even sure what to call it, but there were a lot of hugs and voices. Yukito moved a little away so they'd have access to the slightly-awkward Erin glomp. “Y’all… c’mon…” Erin murmured, looking over at Yukito. He could see the heat on her face, and he gave her a crooked smirk.

“Hey, why don't “y'all” leave some of her left alive for when school's back in session?” He chuckled, then his voice tried to revert to some level of seriousness. “It's not like she was destined for criminal life if she didn't go or anything, but we talked about it, and it just seemed like the right thing to do right now.” He shrugged. “There are a lot of kinks to work out, but I think...” he paused, pressed his lips together for a moment, and mended, “I believe if she wants to, we can make it happen. And she really likes the place we picked out. Well..” he smirked, “She picked out, really....and I'm proud of her, you know?"

”I’m sorry, baby,” Mandi apologized, still beaming. ”But I can’t help but be happy for you!” Another hug. Yukito was just relieved it wasn't hugging on him for the time being.

“Come on… just eat… There’s cheesecake.” Erin's awkwardness emanated from her like a visible vapor, and Yukito moved to lean up against her as they were before their little announcement. A little announcement...and they took it like it was some huge, deal. I mean, it is a big deal, but...gosh. They're so odd about it, going mushy all the time. It makes me wonder how they'll take other news from us. Why was he suddenly holding her hand and wondering what kind of news they might have for her parents one day? It was just too easy to imagine.

Yukito patted his belly. “Looks like I may get one of those beer bellies they talk about on TV, Erin...” he muttered in feigned distress in response to her dessert comment. “There's nowhere here to put it. But I can't help but hope I'll like this mysterious 'cheesecake'.” He turned to explain to Mandi, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. “I've, uh..never had any. Erin told me it was a tragedy that I hadn't...I can't imagine it, though...Cheese and cake? It brought a weird mental image..”


Erin Spenser


“What should I say about school?” Erin asked Yukito quietly, earning curious (or nosey) looks from her parents. Unfortunately, Yukito just shrugged, which meant he wasn't going to tell her what to say. Making her explain it on her own. Yay. “All that you want," he said, and Erin wrinkled her nose unsatisfactorily. "Tell them about the one we looked at you liked.”


She shot Yukito a look that she hoped told him he hadn't been very helpful, then tried to start to her parents, focusing more on her plate of food nervously. “Um…”Erin trailed off, nervously mutilating a piece of bread. “So, since—I mean—I was thinking about how, since Yukito’s at work during the day, I didn’t wanna be home alone all the time since I didn’t have a car, and didn’t wanna wait for everyone to come pick me up—” She stopped abruptly, biting her lip and started to nibble on the bread.


“She's actually a pretty good driver,” Yukito chimed into the silence. Erin didn't look up to see anyone's faces, feeling her own face turn hot. Why was it so hard? Because it's like I'm admitting I was wrong, after fighting for what I wanted so hard.


If she didn't rush it out now, she'd never get it out at all. And so the words tumbled out. “I’m just gonna start back with school until I’m done, and Yukito’s helping me find a good one that I like, so I can play music there, too, and—” When they realized what she was saying, it only too seconds for her to be engulfed in hugs and exclamations of delight. She could only handle so much of that. “Y’all… c’mon…” She looked over to Yukito for help, and he just smirked at her.


“Hey, why don't “y'all” leave some of her left alive for when school's back in session?” He chuckled, his words making Erin unable to keep from smiling. Hehehe… you said 'y'all'. “It's not like she was destined for criminal life if she didn't go or anything, but we talked about it, and it just seemed like the right thing to do right now.”


"Of course not," interjected Jacob. "But it's still something that needs to be done, and I'm glad you're doing it." He sent a smile in Erin's direction.


Yukito shrugged. “There are a lot of kinks to work out, but I think...” he paused, pressed his lips together for a moment, and continued, “I believe if she wants to, we can make it happen. And she really likes the place we picked out. Well..” he smirked as Erin's nerved calmed back down some. “She picked out, really....and I'm proud of her, you know?"


A smile grew on her face more naturally now, hearing the words that Yukito was proud of her. It was hard, and scary, and frustrating, and so much more… But he was proud of her.


”I’m sorry, baby,” Mandi apologized, still beaming. ”But I can’t help but be happy for you!” Another hug. It was starting to get old.


“Come on… just eat… There’s cheesecake.” Yukito's nearness helped to ease her awkwardness. She held his hand, feeling the comfort in the familiar touch. Her parents looked amused, or… something. Happy, either way. It was weird. "With chocolate?" asked her dad knowingly. She nodded, smiling.


Yukito patted his belly. “Looks like I may get one of those beer bellies they talk about on TV, Erin...” Erin started laughing immediately at his words. "You? You're joking, right? You eat like a freaking bird most of the time!" she announced, still bubbling with laughs, leaning into him. She used to be so shy about showing her affection for Yukito in front of her parents. It was so different now. She could probably even kiss him and it would be okay. Not a deep, long kiss-- just a regular, quick one. But still.


“There's nowhere here to put it. But I can't help but hope I'll like this mysterious 'cheesecake'.” He turned her mother, saying, “I've, uh..never had any. Erin told me it was a tragedy that I hadn't...I can't imagine it, though...Cheese and cake? It brought a weird mental image..”


Mandi smiled and started to explain the concept of the cheesecake when Erin interrupted louder: "It's like cream cheese, Yuyukun, like what you put on bagels and all. I use it in junk all the time! And you combine it with other junk like sugar and all on a graham cracker crust and.. It's a cheesecake… well, it's more like a pie, but whatever. You want me to go get it?" she asked, not waiting for an answer as she rose to her feet and crossed the few steps towards the kitchen. "I love being a hostess!" she chirped to whoever was listening, then retrieved the icy confection from the refrigerator.


"Ta-da!" Erin set the pie down in front of Yukito, since mostly she'd made it for his benefit. "I'm not ready for cheesecake yet," she muttered to him, reaching over to playfully steal a morsel from his plate.


"Are you sure you don't want to open them now, though?" Mandi asked, and Erin shook her head. She wanted to, actually, but now it was a personal challenge to wait. And she was doing good. "Yukito, you need to try sooome," she prodded, nudging him a little.


Yukito Maki


“Come on… just eat… There’s cheesecake.”Yukito leaned up against her instinctively, silently apologizing for not being very helpful with her parents. He was just glad they didn't hug him as well. Even though that part was kind of a given. He was, after all, the negative influence. An older guy who had conned Erin into moving in with him.


"With chocolate?"asked her dad, looking eager. She nodded, smiling. Yukito patted his belly, commenting that he was going to get a beer belly. There were no outward signs yet, but if she kept it up with curry like this...


Erin started laughing immediately at his words. "You? You're joking, right? You eat like a freaking bird most of the time!" she announced, still bubbling with laughs, leaning into him. He just smirked. He couldn't really argue with her or anything. But he liked the way she teased him about it.

“There's nowhere here to put it. But I can't help but hope I'll like this mysterious 'cheesecake'.” He turned her mother, saying, “I've, uh..never had any. Erin told me it was a tragedy that I hadn't...I can't imagine it, though...Cheese and cake? It brought a weird mental image..”

Mandi smiled and started to explain the concept of the cheesecake when Erin interrupted louder: "It's like cream cheese, Yuyukun, like what you put on bagels and all. I use it in junk all the time! And you combine it with other junk like sugar and all on a graham cracker crust and.. It's a cheesecake… well, it's more like a pie, but whatever. You want me to go get it?"she asked, not waiting for an answer (so she didn't see him nod) as she rose to her feet and crossed the few steps towards the kitchen."I love being a hostess!" she chirped, making Yukito smirk. Yeah, she really did. Somehow, she got a kick out of playing hostess. And he would have offered to help a lot more, if he didn't know how much she liked it.


He wasn't sure how to tell her he didn't care much for cream cheese.


"Ta-da!"Erin set the pie down in front of Yukito, and he arched one eyebrow at the white, fluffy-looking creation with an enormous heap of cherries on top that just swam in blood-colored syrup. "I'm not ready for cheesecake yet," she muttered to him, reaching over to playfully steal a morsel from his plate. He sent her a teasing look that said, 'Oh really? It sure looks like it..' Before lifting his fork and prodding at the surface of the cheesecake. It practically had a pudding substance. Even if it looked like it had a cake-consistency. In a pie-shape. All in all, this was a confusing creation.


"Are you sure you don't want to open them now, though?"Mandi asked while Yukito was preoccupied with study every aspect of his cheesecake slice before eating it. Erin just shook her head in response. Not easily deterred from a subject she enjoyed – especially not cooking - and knowing Yukito's tendency to not move forward without a little nudge, Erin did just that, bumping his shoulder again. "Yukito, you need to try sooome,"she prodded.


He rolled his eyes playfully, taking a careful bite. He wasn't sure what he expected, but cheesecake wasn't it. He gave an involuntary shudder at the powerful taste of the cherries and accompanying syrup and the cool-tasting cheesecake mixture, then laughed at his own reaction. “Um...” he managed after swallowing, “It's...yeah, I can see how you'd have a hard time describing it...” He turned to her, and gave a nod-bow without thinking about it, “It's good, Erin...Really. Especially since you made it.” He met her eyes, smirking, then leaned over and planted a gentle, thank-you kiss on her lips, feeling like he had just gotten away with something totally worth it. Then he went back to his cheesecake as if nothing had happened. Even if his cheeks were feeling warmer than before.


Erin Spenser


"Ta-da!" Erin set the pie down in front of Yukito, as if the whole thing was for him even though it was really for everyone. His initial reaction evaded her as Erin busied herself with returning to her spot with a flourish and playfully stealing from his plate. "I'm not ready for cheesecake yet." A smile grew on her face at the look he gave her, but she kept the stolen bite anyway, making a show of the fact that she could confidently "steal" from him. It was hard to suppress the giggles as from the corner of her eye Erin saw Yukito's experimental proddings of the cheesecake. Like it was an alien lifeforce he had to examine. You're so weird… did I ever examine your food like that? Except for lettuce-ghetti?


"Are you sure you don't want to open them now, though?" Her mother's question momentarily distracted her, and Erin immediately shook her head. Now it was a personal challenge to wait. Surprised, Mandi let off with a little shrug that read, "All right, whatever you say." Returning easily to Yukito, and seeing he still hadn't even tried it, Erin leaned over enough to nudge him. "Yukito, you need to try sooome."


He rolled his eyes, making Erin giggle again, and finally he took a timid bite. Like she'd poison it or something. "Yukito, just cut the drama and bite it. Honestly." Now she rolled her eyes at his elaborate, amusing reaction. He shuddered, then laughed, making her laugh, too. Chuckles even came from her parents, Mandi trying to be polite and cover it up with her drink in front of her mouth, but it wasn't working. Erin made herself quiet down when she saw Yukito was trying to speak. “It's...yeah, I can see how you'd have a hard time describing it...”


"Yukito!" Erin drawled, a mix of frustration at his evasive response, and amusement at his reaction. It was so rare to get this much of a reaction from him, it was sort of a Kodak moment.


Yukito turned to her with a curt nod that made her smile. “It's good, Erin...Really. Especially since you made it.”


"All right!" Erin grinned, clapping shortly in her excitement of earning Yukito's approval. When she looked at him again, he leaned forward and briefly gave her lips a kiss, sending a little fluttering in her stomach. It was absolutely ridiculous that he could do that with a vapor of a kiss, but she liked it that way. The fact that it was like a public declaration of his love for her in front of her parents didn't hurt either, and she felt the warmth in her face as Erin smiled back at him. Mischievously, as though they'd both accomplished something particularly sneaky or tricky. Yukito, however, just went back to eating his cheesecake. Erin didn't look over to see the look her parents were exchanging, That knowing look mingled with the awkward sadness of watching a child growing up too fast. Instead Erin plucked a piece of Yukito's cheesecake with her fork, dripping little rubies of cherries, and tried it herself. In the meantime, she managed to drizzle her shirt in cherry, too, and immediately leapt to her feet with a little squeal. "I'll be right back!" she announced brightly, amused by her own clumsiness, then disappeared into the bedroom to fetch a new shirt.


Meanwhile (back at the ranch), Erin's parents took opportunity of the alone time with Yukito. "That was a very interesting response to cheesecake, Yukito," Mandi commented, still clearly amused.


Jacob, however, wasn't going to waste a single moment. "So who brought it up first, you or her? Getting her back in school." He paused a beat before adding, "It doesn't really matter, it's just curiosity. But thank you for helping her get back into it…" Mandi nodded in agreement, echoing similar sentiments. Another brief moment, then Jacob asked, very seriously, "Yukito, what are your plans for our daughter?"


Yukito Maki


Yukito turned to Erin with a curt nod that made her smile. “It's good, Erin...Really. Especially since you made it.”


"All right!" Erin grinned, clapping shortly in her excitement. With amusement he moved over and gave her a brief touch of the lips, seeing her expression blossom somewhere on cloud nine. Content to leave her on that happy note, he returned to the cheesecake, still marveling over the fact that she could make something like that. He could watch her cook all the time and still not get it. Of course, he liked watching her cook and would use any excuse why he couldn't actually lead the meal just so he could watch her do it, but that was beyond the point...


He rolled his eyes when Erin stole some of his cheesecake – he wondered if her reasons for not getting her own were the same as his for not cooking on his own – and smirked in satisfaction when she managed to dribble some of the messy cherries on her shirt. “That's a good color on you,” he commented, her squeal of silliness contagious.


"I'll be right back!" she announced brightly, amused by her own clumsiness, then disappeared into the bedroom to fetch a new shirt. He smirked after her, but inwardly he cringed; she had left him alone with her parents. And it almost looked intentional.


That was a very interesting response to cheesecake, Yukito," Mandi commented, looking very amused by it. Yukito felt his coloring start to shine through, making his own cheeks begin their imitation of the cherries that decorated their dessert.


“Eh, yeah. Fortunately being unorthodox doesn't bother her too much..” he poked at his cheesecake some more, taking smaller bites now in case they asked him something he had to answer quickly. Though what kind of questions would require that, he hadn't the slightest idea. What is the usual suggestion? 'Just smile and nod'? That should work...if her dad wasn't a psychologist...crap.


”So who brought it up first, you or her? Getting her back in school."


Yukito held his fork in his mouth for a moment, just sending Jacob a blank look. He was fairly sure it had been him who had suggested it first, but he had left it at that, and Erin had been the one to initially agree. Either way sounded weird to answer, so he was hesitant. “Eh, I'm not sure. We've been talking about it back and forth for awhile, though...” That was a pretty lukewarm question, right? Nothing to put any limelight on either of them too much, or make it more awkward than this already was.


Fortunately, Jacob didn't linger long on the subject, though he didn't seem satisfied with the answer. "It doesn't really matter, it's just curiosity. But thank you for helping her get back into it…" Mandi nodded in agreement, echoing similar sentiments. Yukito glanced between the two of them, uncertain where to take the conversation now. In order to save everyone some embarrassment, he usually tried to talk mostly to Erin when her parents were around, not drawing them in but trying to be amiable just the same. Now what was he supposed to do? He glanced toward the bedroom door. How long does it take to change a shirt, anyways?


Another brief moment, then Jacob asked, very seriously, "Yukito, what are your plans for our daughter?"


Despite his precautions, Yukito nearly choked on his cheesecake at that. The result of the question made him jolt as though someone had just fired off a revolver next to his head. With a painful swallow he managed to stifle most other reactions, almost killing himself in the process. That came out of practically nowhere. Can't we just talk about the weather or something, and you can pretend I'm not a totally crazy, messed up delinquent that happens to be living with your precious daughter? It suddenly felt like he was a very small, disabled being trying to scale a protective wall the Spensers had placed around their baby girl. At this point he was trying to dodge the well-aimed arrows being shot from little slats in the fortress.


“I...” I plan on kissing her every single day until my lips fall off. I plan on watching her cook until my eyes go blind. I plan on hearing her laugh again and again. I plan on marrying her. “I plan on being here for her, and...uh..with her, for a very long time.” He prodded at the remaining crust of the cheesecake with his fork, but didn't take the final bite, looking back up at Jacob's face, “I love her, more than anyone else I've ever known. And that hasn't changed a bit since we've moved in together.”


Erin Spenser


Playfully, Erin reached over to steal from his piece of cake, in the meantime christening herself with the cherry sauce. Actually, she found the incident pretty entertaining, but just for kicks she played like it bothered her a little. Not seriously, though. "That's a good color on you," Yukito commented, making her laugh and breaking any pretending she might have been successfully emulating.


"I'll be right back!" she announced, still twittering over the whole thing as she excused herself into the bedroom and started shuffling through piles. The trick was finding a shirt that matched her camo-patterned capris. Only, after a few tries, Erin succumbed to the realization that, just like last time and the time before that, she still only had that one particular shirt she liked to wear with that one particular pair of pants. So then she started looking for something else to wear for them instead… After some time, she caved and grabbed plain black shorts and a Thrice band t-shirt. It wasn't as cute as her other outfit, Erin thought, but it would have to do. She was wasting a lot of time trying to find a new outfit, anyway. She only paused now to check in the mirror and, satisfied, strolled back down the little hall.


Back in the living room, as Erin had been searching for clothes, Yukito struggled with his answer as her parents waited patiently. Soon enough he did start speaking. “I... I plan on being here for her, and...uh..with her, for a very long time.”


A small smile of relief edged Mandi's lips as she watched Jacob, who also seemed satisfied with the answer, at least in his own way. If he was going to take her away from them, and she really wanted to try being so grown-up and alone just because of him, at least he was in it for the long-haul just as much as she was. At least now he knew-- they both knew-- Yukito was probably taking it as seriously as Erin did. Whenever they got to speak with her on the phone, she always sounded so happy and busy, and even if they were eating on the floor, they were still taken care of. Though seeing them without a proper table still sent shivers of depression down the provider's spine. He finally gave a little nod in Yukito's direction. "That's good to hear, Yukito… That you are with her in the long run." He must have loved her, after the entire hospital ordeal. Hopefully they could avoid any more of those…


Just as Erin got into hearing range, Yukito was saying, "…love her, more than anyone else I've ever known. And that hasn't changed a bit since we've moved in together.”


She grinned and sped up rushing to lean down and give him an excited hug from behind. "Aw, you are sweet! I told you so! I told you.." Assuming her attempt at a stern face, Erin poked her index finger on his head at her emphasized word. Then just as quickly she turned and resumed her seat on the floor. "What did I miss?"


"Not much… but we did learn Yukito is a very good catch," Mandi informed her, her words honest but voice teasing, though Erin missed the tease.


"I know," she replied honestly, playing with a strand of hair around her finger and bubbling inside at her mother's words. "I'm glad you agree with me!" she tacked on proudly. Suddenly feeling too much the center of attention, Erin turned eagerly to Yukito. "Hey, I made melonpan again, too, with chocolate chips… Do you want it?"


"Or maybe you want to open the presents now?" prodded Mandi gently, and this time Erin's interest peaked. "Oooh, yeah, I forgot!" She put her hands on Yukito's arm, attention locked on him for the brief moment. "Which one do you want?" she asked, starting to feel the excitement her dad had missed from her earlier.

To be Cont'd

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki


He wasn't sure how Erin managed to learn to be comfortable with people staring at her all the time like this. He shuffled a little, made himself look up into Jacob's face, and said, “I... I plan on being here for her, and...uh..with her, for a very long time.”


Apparently he was either amusing or had hit the right, honest answer. Mandi looked pleased, and almost bubbly, in a quieter, but similar way that her daughter held. Jacob was harder to read, but Yukito didn't see disapproval there."That's good to hear, Yukito… That you are with her in the long run."


Yukito exhaled slowly, then added in a serious voice, "I love her, more than anyone else I've ever known. And that hasn't changed a bit since we've moved in together.”


He hadn't realized Erin entering the room again until it was too late, and she was already glomping him from behind. Jumping about a foot in the air from shock and natural fear, he tried to let out a nervous laugh. “Erin...” Don't scare the crap out of me like that...


"Aw, you are sweet! I told you so! I told you.." Assuming her attempt at a stern face, Erin poked her index finger on his head at her emphasized word. Yukito just arched a disbelieving eyebrow at her. Right. Whatever. Then just as quickly she turned and resumed her seat on the floor. Yukito glanced briefly over her new outfit, then immediately buried his face in his pitiful remainder of cheesecake, sensing the conversation of 'sweetness' would not end so quickly and would hardly be about cheesecake. "What did I miss?"


"Not much… but we did learn Yukito is a very good catch,"Mandi informed her in a playful tone. Yukito stared awkwardly down at his plate, trying to will away the blush. God, you people! I dunno what I'm supposed to do? Mumble 'thanks'? Ignore it? Preferably I can bury my head in a pillow and pretend I'm not here?


"I know," Erin continued the flippant discussion with her mother. Yukito wanted to risk a quick glance at Jacob, to figure out how he responded to talk like this. "I'm glad you agree with me!"she tacked on proudly, then turning to Yukito. "Hey, I made melonpan again, too, with chocolate chips… Do you want it?"Yukito started to nod with as much energy as he could muster with his face practically planted on his plate, then hearing Mandi mention the presents again. "Oooh, yeah, I forgot!"She put her hands on Yukito's arm, attention locked on him for the brief moment. "Which one do you want?"


Yukito just looked down into her face, distracted from logical thought for a moment with watching her, then just shrugging, eyes wide. “Um...I dunno...whichever, I guess. I didn't really expect anything in the first place...” Erin, he wanted to add, I almost told your parents I want to marry you...


Erin Spenser


Erin just caught the tail end of Yukito's sentence, but she knew it was about her, and about him telling her parents he loved her. The moment sent a rush of fresh butterflies coming from her stomach and into her head, and she quickly surprised Yukito with an ecstatic hug. He surprised her, though, giving a startled jolt at her touch and awkwardly calling her name. She was too happy with his words to do anything but giggle at the overdramatic response.


"Aw, you are sweet!" she announced proudly. "I told you so! I told you.." Playful now, she pressed her forefinger to his head for emphasis on the word, then turned quickly to sit back down and rejoin the picnic. "What did I miss?"


"Not much… but we did learn Yukito is a very good catch,"Mandi informed her in a playful tone.


"I know," Erin said without missing a beat. "I'm glad you agree with me!"she tacked on proudly, then turning to Yukito, too excited now to register the scarlet in his cheeks. She took gently hold of Yukito's arm and prodded, "Hey, I made melonpan again, too, with chocolate chips… Do you want it?"


"Melon-what?" her dad asked quietly, only picking up on the name of the fruit he wouldn't eat. Erin was distracted with the look on Yukito's face, though, as he nodded awkwardly, and she realized then just how out of place he must feel. Maybe it was mean of her, but when he looked like that Erin thought it was just too adorable, and she grinned. But her mom brought up their presents again, and her excitement returned.


"Oooh, yeah, I forgot!" She put her hands on Yukito's arm, attention locked on him for the brief moment. "Which one do you want?"


For a moment he just stared at her blankly, still flushed, and she giggled until he finally answered, “Um...I dunno...whichever, I guess. I didn't really expect anything in the first place...”


"The whole point of a surprise is that you didn't expect it," Erin said, teasing him a little and rolling her eyes. "Come on, open it!" A quick perusal of the tags on the presents bags found Yukito's, which was shockingly light. She shrugged, and handed it to him with a grin. Inside the bag, among the tissue paper, were five envelopes holding cards from Home Depot for $50 each, along with a guitar's capo and a collection of differently-weighted picks. "I'mma wait for yours first," she said to him excitedly, kneeling forward in anticipation and bouncing just a little, that feeling of being a kid on Christmas coming back in welcomingly.


Yukito Maki


The fact that Erin took notice of his obvious blush only made the action burn onto his face more adamantly, and she took hold of his arm in an amused attempt to comfort. "Hey, I made melonpan again, too, with chocolate chips… Do you want it?"He just nodded, and she seemed to lean in a little closer, curiously, so he looked up to try and offer her some sort of reassurance – he tried a little smile. Even if he felt like he was still thrust uncomfortably in the spotlight. Letting Erin take the lead in social things and conversations was so easy and convenient, and he liked it that way. He'd been content to be 'the quiet one' as long as Erin was there to make up for both of them in cheerfulness and 'glowiness' as he'd called her before.


"Melon-what?" her dad asked quietly, though nobody answered him for a long time. Yukito pointedly didn't look back up at Erin, feeling her eyes on him. Doesn't she get it? I don't want her to be staring at me right now...He wanted to physically shrug off the direct attention, as he had when his mother did similarly, but the sensation of her next to him made him restrain the blatant dodge.


“Melon-pan,” he mumbled unhelpfully to Mr. Spenser. “It's...bread.”


"Oooh, yeah, I forgot!"Erin leapt back into action, her hand on his arm, and he involuntarily looked up toward her face, "Which one do you want?"


For a moment he just stared at her blankly, and she giggled until he finally answered, “Um...I dunno...whichever, I guess. I didn't really expect anything in the first place...”At all. Unless there happens to be a chastity belt in my bag or something. That might make a little more sense...He flushed deeper at his own sarcasm.


"The whole point of a surprise is that you didn't expect it,"Erin said, teasing him a little and rolling her eyes, oblivious to the dark places his mind was going. She held out a bag to him, and he took it hesitantly. His eyebrows shifted at the lack of weight, and his curiosity piqued, making the edges of his lips twitch."Come on, open it!"


He glanced up at her, noticing she hadn't grabbed her own gift yet. “What about you?”


"I'mma wait for yours first," she said to him excitedly, kneeling forward in anticipation and bouncing just a little. He tried not to frown, but she was doing exactly what he had hoped she wouldn't – again, everyone was looking at him. Automatically, he curled up over the bag, peering into it and trying to pretend he was invisible here, and they weren't all staring at him, expecting some sort of wild reaction or activity. But despite his inevitable shyness kicking in, Yukito couldn't resist being full of awe and curiosity at the contents of the bag. He hadn't been expecting toys or anything stupid, but the little, hidden sting of disappointment at an assortment of envelopes was a believable result, in his mind. He smiled a little, arching an eyebrow and opening them. Immediately his eyes widened at the amount on the card.


“Fifty dollars?” he murmured in surprise, looking at the remaining cards. Quickly, the numbers in his head added up. That was over $250 dollars, just in little, innocent-looking envelopes. And they hadn't gotten to Erin's gift yet. “T-two hundred and fifty?” It looks like we'll be getting a table. Oh my God. “Thank you...” he mumbled, letting an awkward moment pass before shoving his arm back into the bag to pull out an object roughly about the size of a harmonica. A guitar capo, along with picks of different design and weight. He smiled at them, though his mind was still racing with the gift cards. He looked up at Erin, “We could get a table...” he told her stupidly, his face still lit up from the prospect. “And that extra shelf in the bathroom you need, if we do it right..”


Erin Spenser


"Com on, open it!" Erin insisted, on her knees in anticipation. Yukito just glanced up at her, sort of distantly.


"What about you?"


"I'mma wait for yours first."


Yukito didn't look too pleased by that, but Erin was too excited to let it rub off on her. She beamed at him, watching him open the little bag and peering close to try to see inside. He was so slow! "Yukitoooo…"


He was curled up over the little bag, and Erin leaned forward enough to hear him mutter, "Fifty dollars?"


"Huh? What? Lemme seeee…"


"Erin, wait," cut in Jacob, and she sat back with a half-hearted roll of her eyes. "Fine…"


After a second Yukito spoke again. “T-two hundred and fifty?”


"Two-hundred and fifty what? Yukito…." she drawled out, feeling a laugh building up in her.


“Thank you...”


"Yukito!!" Erin squealed, caving to the laughter and taking the envelopes out of his hands. Looking at it, his random number comments made sense. Her eyes widened. "Ooooh… !" Sound system!! Erin thought excitedly, remembering the beginning of their lunch. Best belated Christmas present ever!! She looked over quickly to Yukito, who was still searching at the remains of his present. "There's more?!" she asked energetically. "What is it?"


“We could get a table...” Yukito told her, sounding half-stunned. “And that extra shelf in the bathroom you need, if we do it right..”


"Hey!" Erin retorted playfully. "What happened to the sound system? That's what you just said we'd get if we could…" She pouted a little, taking one of his hands in hers. "I like our table setup now, anyway… it's different!" Like us! she wanted to add, but didn't. Though the thought made her smile more, and she looked at Yukito's face more closely. "Yuyukun, you're so red now, are you hot?" Erin touched one finger to his cheek, smiling. "You're red like a cherry, almost as much as when I found your makeup in the bathroom! Your face was so priceless," she rattled off, giggling at the memory.


"What?" Mandi piped up curiously, not sure she'd heard right. "Do I want to know if I heard that right?" Jacob said quietly to her, but not so quiet it couldn't be heard. Erin didn't notice, though, since she was too busy laughing and giving Yukito a hug and trying to persuade him for the sound system instead of a table. "We won't cart radios and iPod speakers everywhere, and it'll be so much fun to play with, and you said we could!" she told him quickly, quietly, smiling close to his face. "And if you really want a table I bet I can find one used online, anyway. Please?" she tacked on in an unusually quiet voice, nearly kissing him, but stopping at the feel of her parents' eyes on her. Instead, she just hugged him. "What?" Erin asked with a grin in their direction.


"I'm still trying to figure out why you found his makeup…." Jacob told her, sounding perfectly confused, and pointing from Erin to Yukito in a small gesture as he referenced them.


"Huh? Oooooh…" The comment and the memory made Erin laugh again, even as she held him. She looked up at Yukito with an impish grin, then reached out to grab her own present. "I want my turn now!" Erin reached out to open her present, loving the feeling the entire situation gave her. Inside her bag there was a circular, silver jewelry boxcovered in Celtic knots, and she heard the sliding sound of jewelry occupying the space inside. Eagerly, Erin lifted the lid and pulled out a chain necklacewith her initial against a black dogtag in a silver emblem. "I love it!" she announced, then looked back at Yukito, holding it against her so that it dangled where it would hit were she wearing the necklace. "Do you approve?" Erin asked jokingly, grinning broadly.


Yukito Maki


"Yukito!!"Erin squealed, caving to the laughter and taking the envelopes out of his hands. Her eyes widened. "Ooooh… !There's more?!What is it?"He didn't hear her, still pulling out the remainder of his gifts, the guitar capo and the picks. But even as he looked at the final part of his gift, his mind was still seeing numbers.


“We could get a table...” Yukito told her, the images of actually having that particular piece of furniture dazzling him in its own way. “And that extra shelf in the bathroom you need, if we do it right..”


"Hey!"Erin retorted playfully. "What happened to the sound system? That's what you just said we'd get if we could…" She pouted a little, taking one of his hands in hers. "I like our table setup now, anyway… it's different!"


“Well, we could get a low table like they have back home...Then we can still--” he muttered quietly, as Erin raised a finger to his cheek suddenly. He looked over towards her, trying to pretend he wasn't already blushing from the awkward situation.


”Yuyukun, you're so red now, are you hot? You're red like a cherry, almost as much as when I found your makeup in the bathroom! Your face was so priceless," she rattled off, giggling at the memory. Yukito jerked a bit like he'd been shocked, and turned to stare into her face with an appalled expression.


“Erin!” She seemed determined to make him as embarrassed as possible, and he could tell from the looks her parents were sending him now that they had heard that one loud and clear. Even if the information hadn't computed quite yet. At least my mother didn't blurt out random and unexplained facts to people like this...


"What?"Mandi piped up curiously, not sure she'd heard right. "Do I want to know if I heard that right?"Jacob said quietly to her, but not so quiet it couldn't be heard. Yukito wanted to bury himself in something thick and fluffy so they couldn't see the continuing inferno on his cheeks. And Erin remained clueless.


”We won't cart radios and iPod speakers everywhere, and it'll be so much fun to play with, and you said we could!" she told him quickly, quietly, smiling close to his face. He couldn't meet her eyes, just staring down at the table with a torn expression. "And if you really want a table I bet I can find one used online, anyway. Please?"she tacked on in an unusually quiet voice. "What?"Erin asked with a grin her parents' direction, finally noticing the looks they were sending each other in an attempt to make sense of why their daughter's boyfriend had more makeup than her.


"I'm still trying to figure out why you found his makeup…." Jacob told her, sounding perfectly confused, and pointing from Erin to Yukito in a small gesture as he referenced them. Nowdo you get it, Erin?He looked over at her darkly, working his lips and feeling the strangeness of the heat in his cheeks.


"Huh? Oooooh…" She just laughed. Just laughed, and hugged on him, and sent him a mischevious little grin, as though she had been waiting for the opportunity to mention it to her parents.


“It was for our band...” he mumbled, “It's not, like.. wear-it-everyday stuff. It's stage makeup. We were going to be Visual Kei...” You both probably think I have some creepy fetishes now or something..great.. He let out a sigh. There was nothing to do now but keep going. It wasn't as if they were going to forget that little tidbit any time soon.


Distracted already now that her plot had gone through beautifully, Erin turned to her present. "I want my turn now!" Yukito shifted in his seat, dropping his little collection into his lap and playing with them each in turn with his hands as Erin pulled out her new toys. "I love it!" she announced, turning to Yukito with the little dog-tag-like necklace held in what would soon be its new home. "Do you approve?" Erin asked jokingly, grinning broadly. He nodded.


“Definitely.” He was going to add more, but felt it would have been too cheesy and lame with her parents right there, and would probably come across as overkill. Like he was trying to emphasize that they were doing okay, and her parents didn't have to worry about her. Yukito reached out and took hold of the necklace, turning it over in his hands and inspecting it. “I like it. Two new shinies for you to play with...”


Erin Spenser


Too caught up in the moment, Erin looked over both Yukito's blatant embarrassment and her parents' confused questions and plunged on her own train of thought, leaning close to his warm face as though at any moment she might kiss him. "We won't cart radios and iPod speakers everywhere, and it'll be so much fun to play with, and you said we could! And if you really want a table I bet I can find one used online, anyway. Please?" He was quiet, not responding. Her parents were quiet too. She looked over at them, still smiling. "What?"


"I'm still trying to figure out why you found his makeup…." Jacob told her, sounding perfectly confused, and pointing from Erin to Yukito in a small gesture as he referenced them.


"Huh? Oooooh…" She couldn't help but burst into laughs then, as the realization hit her of the misunderstanding taking place before her. Still laughing, Erin leaned over to give Yukito, the object of her current amusement with his adorably flushed face, a bubbly hug. How could she not laugh? And every time she tried to stop so that she could explain the confusion, Erin started to laugh again. Thankfully, Yukito spoke for himself.


“It was for our band… It's not, like.. wear-it-everyday stuff." The way he said it made Erin fall into giggles again, and she tried to stifle it with covering her mouth, but it didn't work. Just the idea of Yukito wearing "wear-it-everyday stuff" was too funny! "It's stage makeup. We were going to be Visual Kei...”


"Why do you talk like it's bad or something? Stage makeup is stage makeup," Erin put in breezily, rolling her eyes at him. "You're so ridiculous." She turned to her parents and rattled off, "Anyway, he talks about visual kei like you know what it is. Like, if glam rock and Jimi Hendrix had a baby, it would be visual kei." She didn't give time to let her parents respond to that bit of information, diving for her present and announcing, "I want my turn now!"


She pulled the present out of the bag and relieved it of its gifting tissue, revealing the glimmering objects inside."I love it!" She turned to show it to Yukito, still too enthused to catch his true level of embarrassment. "Do you approve?" she teased, and he nodded. Aw, come on.. Just a yawn? Why do you have to be so boring sometimes, Yukito? Erin thought laughingly. “Definitely,” he verbalized.


"Good, 'cause I was gonna love it whether you did or not, but I figured you would anyway, because, I mean, c'mon, how could you not, right?" The words poured out fast in her excitement as Yukito reached out and took hold of the necklace to examine it. “I like it. Two new shinies for you to play with...”


More laughs came at the word "shinies" from Yukito. "Give it back, I wanna wear it!" she ordered, grasping the necklace again and unsnapping the chain. Erin looped it around her neck until it clicked closed once more. "Hey, let me see what else was in your present," she insisted, leaning against him and sending him a bright smile. A glance towards her parents told Erin that their confused moment had passed, silently and contently waiting for her excitement to mellow again. Her arm now loosely around Yukito's, Erin piped up, "Hey, doesn't anyone wanna try my newest melonpan success? Or," she added with some laughter, "what Yukito calls 'bread'," she quoted, intentionally adopting as deadpan of a tone as she could for the last word, then laughing again.


"I don't think I can try anything else right now, Erin," her dad answered before Erin could rise completely, stopping her before she rushed off to divvy up servings. Her face didn't hide her disappointment very well, and she sat back. Now all her work and all her excitement about sharing it was going to go to waste. "But we would love to take some home with us for later," Mandi amended, aptly reviving the light in Erin's face again. She hopped up completely this time. "All right!" She pulled Yukito by his hand. "Come with me!" She took the few short strides to the kitchen, busily tearing off chunks of the bread, leaving it on the dish, then diving down to look in the cupboards. "Hey, Yukito, do we have a basket or something? Some kind of transporting-food-thing? A rubbermaid container, or something? Or a towel might work, huh?"


Yukito Maki


“It was for our band… It's not, like.. wear-it-everyday stuff." His poor explanation sent Erin careening into the giggle kingdom, and he finished with a demure,"It's stage makeup. We were going to be Visual Kei...”


"Why do you talk like it's bad or something? Stage makeup is stage makeup,"Erin put in breezily, rolling her eyes at him. Maybe because it's not so easy to explain to your parents. "You're so ridiculous." She turned to her parents and rattled off, "Anyway, he talks about visual kei like you know what it is. Like, if glam rock and Jimi Hendrix had a baby, it would be visual kei." Yukito only had time to open in his mouth in protest, declaring ,”It's not like that!” just as Erin dove for her presents, unable to restrain herself anymore. "I want my turn now!"

Yukito tried very hard to subdue his utter embarrassment, focusing instead on her giddy ramblings over her shimmering gifts instead. "I love it! Do you approve?"


“Definitely,” he said simply, meaningfully.


"Good, 'cause I was gonna love it whether you did or not, but I figured you would anyway, because, I mean, c'mon, how could you not, right?" He just rolled his eyes at that, taking hold of the necklace and looking a it more closely.


“I like it. Two new shinies for you to play with...”


More laughs came from the bubbly Erin. "Give it back, I wanna wear it!" she ordered, grasping the necklace again and unsnapping the chain. There was no ceremonious 'would you put it on for me?' moment with Erin. No, she wasn't that romantically inclined, which he supposed he should be very thankful for. "Hey, let me see what else was in your present,"she insisted, leaning against him and sending him a bright smile, wrapping one arm around him possessively. He held up the capo and the picks for her inspection. "Hey, doesn't anyone wanna try my newest melonpan success? Or," she added with some laughter, "what Yukito calls 'bread',"she quoted, intentionally adopting as deadpan of a tone as she could for the last word, then laughing again. Yukito rolled his eyes yet again at her overtly energetic teasing.


"I don't think I can try anything else right now, Erin,"Jacob stated before she was all the way to the kitchen.


"But we would love to take some home with us for later,"Mandi amended, aptly reviving the light in Erin's face again. She hopped up completely this time. "All right!"Unexpectedly, she pulled Yukito up with her, and he arched an eyebrow as he stumbled his way around their 'table'.”Come with me!"


“As if I have a choice...”he muttered sarcastically. Once in the kitchen, he halted to watch her start her little kitchen spins of busyness. "Hey, Yukito, do we have a basket or something? Some kind of transporting-food-thing? A rubbermaid container, or something? Or a towel might work, huh?"


“You seem almost determined to bring up as many embarrassing situations for me as possible when they're here...” his fingers toyed with a hand towel on the counter, that he picked up after a moment's hesitation and handed to her. “You're acting all weird anyways, actually.” He smirked over at her, tilting his head to the side to show that he was teasing her.



Erin Spenser


"Hey, let me see what else was in your present," Erin insisted once she had her necklace fastened and hands free. He showed her the picks and capo, and Erin's smile broadened. They were small tokens, but they were true signs of genuine effort on the part of her parents, and of genuine acceptance. That they took the time to try to find things he not only could use but might like, that said a lot. Gifts in general said a lot. This was a very, very good thing. Then her thoughts wandered back to her own version of gift-giving. "Hey, doesn't anyone wanna try my newest melonpan success? Or," she added with some laughter, "what Yukito calls 'bread',"she quoted, intentionally adopting as deadpan of a tone as she could for the last word, then laughing again. She missed the look on Yukito's face completely in her mirth.


"I don't think I can try anything else right now, Erin,"Jacob stated before she was all the way to the kitchen, and Erin's face fell a smidgen.


"But we would love to take some home with us for later,"Mandi amended, aptly reviving the light in Erin's face again. She hopped up completely this time. "All right!" As she rose, Erin automatically took Yukito's hand and pulled him up with her. ”Come with me!"


“As if I have a choice...” he muttered, but Erin didn't really hear him. "What?" she asked absently, then immediately began searching through the cupboards and cabinets for what she wanted. "Hey, Yukito, do we have a basket or something? Some kind of transporting-food-thing? A rubbermaid container, or something? Or a towel might work, huh?" Finally when her disheveled head came back out from one of the pretty much empty cupboards down below, Erin saw Yukito fiddling with a hand towel on the counter. Now he seemed almost absent-minded. "What?" she asked again, but this time he had her attention.


“You seem almost determined to bring up as many embarrassing situations for me as possible when they're here...”


"What?" she started, then the realization dawned on her, and Erin's eyes softened from curiosity into apology. "Not on purpose," she muttered in defense as she took the towel he was now offering to her.


“You're acting all weird anyways, actually.”


Midway through tying the corners of the towel in a knot to hold the bread inside, Erin paused and looked over at him, injured. "Well, sorry that I was enjoying having my boyfriend and parents in the same room for once…" She glanced away, towards the refrigerator, pouting. "Maybe if you wouldn't ignore them so much I wouldn't keep talking so much and I wouldn't accidently embarrass you." Erin sullenly crossed her arms over her, feeling the edge of the countertop press into her back and frowning. "They want you to be a part of us, Yukito… they're trying to bring you in and you won't even give them a chance. I know they're my parents and it's weird for you, but still…"


Yukito Maki


”Come with me!" Erin commanded, pulling Yukito along with her to the kitchen to send some melonpan along with her parents when they left.


“As if I have a choice...” he muttered, but Erin didn't really hear him.


"What?" she asked absently, then immediately began her hunt through the cupboards. He watched her, noting how empty they still seemed. He sometimes went in and separated out the boxes as far as he could so they would look like they were full for her. "Hey, Yukito, do we have a basket or something? Some kind of transporting-food-thing? A rubbermaid container, or something? Or a towel might work, huh?" His fingers had found a hand-towel on the counter, and he took that up and offered it to her. Erin, not seeing it at first, moved the cupboard door away from her face and caught sight of his expression and his towel. "What?" she asked again, and he let a beat or two pass to ensure himself that she was actually paying attention this time.


He raised a single shoulder briefly, unsure himself now just what it was. The hand-towel dropped to the counter again, not important for the moment. “You seem almost determined to bring up as many embarrassing situations for me as possible when they're here...”


"What?" was the phrase of the hour. He didn't respond, just turned back to twisting the hem of the towel around his fingertip, a stray string now tightly wound around his fingertip and prodding into the nail. It was amazing how transfixed one could become with inanimate objects. A glance up at Erin showed him an almost remorseful look. "Not on purpose," she muttered in defense. He gave a little nod.


"Oh, I know. It's..It's not that big a deal, I guess..." He held out the towel for her again and she took it this time. It felt weird, the way she had reacted to apologetically. He tried to instill some humor back into the conversation with a smile and, “You're acting all weird anyways, actually.”


His attempt at teasing her bubbly spirit only resulted in another look. He was getting better at reading those. "Well, sorry that I was enjoying having my boyfriend and parents in the same room for once…" She glanced away, towards the refrigerator, pouting. He hovered behind her, ready for an opening. "Maybe if you wouldn't ignore them so much I wouldn't keep talking so much and I wouldn't accidentally embarrass you." To further express her disapproval of the whole conversation, Erin crossed her arms over her chest and sent him a Yukito-exclusive frown. The ones she liked to save for him when he said something she didn't like or didn't want to hear. He couldn't suppress a coy smile. "They want you to be a part of us, Yukito… they're trying to bring you in and you won't even give them a chance. I know they're my parents and it's weird for you, but still…"


He took a step closer to her so that he could gently pull her arms apart, leaning in until his nose brushed against hers. "I'm not ignoring them, Erin. Honestly. I'm terrible at this meet-the-parents thing." he paused, considered, and amended, "Or rather, this meet-with-the-parents-again thing. Most parents don't like me. Honestly. And I'm trying to show them but I don't think it's working..." Just what exactly he was showing them, he hesitated to say, wanting it to mean more than the words implied. "I love you, Erin. But I'd have more experience in hacking into the government than dealing with parents like this." He planted a kiss on her lips, trying to plea his case with her as gentle and with as much skill as he could manage. "I like your parents and want them to think I'm good for you, that's all..."


Erin Spenser


Erin popped her head back out from the cupboards, finding Yukito staring her way. Like he wanted to say something. "What?"


“You seem almost determined to bring up as many embarrassing situations for me as possible when they're here...”


"What?" she repeated, suddenly feeling guilty… If she had done that, it had been completely unintentional. She'd been enjoying herself… It was actually fun, but now… "Not on purpose," she muttered, and Yukito gave a short nod.


"Oh, I know. It's..It's not that big a deal, I guess..." Erin's face fell as she halfheartedly took the towel he offered. You guess… “You're acting all weird anyways, actually.”


The comment riffed her. "Well, sorry that I was enjoying having my boyfriend and parents in the same room for once…" She glanced away, towards the refrigerator, pouting. Why did he have to be so mean at the worst times? She didn't think she'd been acting weird, just happy, but no, she couldn't do that. It was too much for him. Her lips pursed in agitation, then she added to her retort, "Maybe if you wouldn't ignore them so much I wouldn't keep talking so much and I wouldn't accidentally embarrass you." She sent him a cold look, arms crossed defiantly. "They want you to be a part of us, Yukito…" Erin tried explaining. "They're trying to bring you in and you won't even give them a chance. I know they're my parents and it's weird for you, but still…" I want us all to be a family…


Stepping closer, Yukito wordlessly pulled her arms free from blocking her off, leaning in until his nose brushed against hers. A sort of peace offering, or apology, or… something like that. She looked at him with sad eyes, though, even so. "I'm not ignoring them, Erin. Honestly. I'm terrible at this meet-the-parents thing."[/b] he paused, probably thinking what Erin was thinking, too, because he corrected, "Or rather, this meet-with-the-parents-again thing. Most parents don't like me. Honestly. And I'm trying to show them but I don't think it's working..."


"Show what?" she asked quietly, feeling confused about this whole thing now. Her parents were being perfectly accepting of him, didn't he see that? So why did he feel like he had to try so hard? And if he felt like he had to try so hard, why didn't he hardly acknowledge their presence?


"I love you, Erin. But I'd have more experience in hacking into the government than dealing with parents like this." Before she could respond to that, Yukito planted a kiss on Erin's lips, effectively silencing whatever had been about to pop out of her mouth. "I like your parents and want them to think I'm good for you, that's all..."


"Yukito," Erin responded, her tone edging toward frustration, though she draped her arms around his neck in acceptance of him. "Don't you see how they're accepting you already? You don't have to worry so much about proving yourself or whatever… Okay?" This time, it was Erin who gently touched her nose to his. "Promise you won't worry so much about it? Just… try to relax… talk just a little… and besides just to me," she added, now smiling at him. As if that was the final word on the matter, Erin returned his kiss just as the sounds of footsteps reached her ears. As did the flustered sounds of her mother trying to back out and simultaneously shoo her husband out with her. She pulled away, hands dropping back to the counter behind her, and turned wide-eyed to see her parents. "It's, uh, it's almost done…" she muttered, moving to fold the towel around the bread, fidgeting as she tied a clumsy knot on top.


"It's okay, Erin," her mom said quietly, smiling, suddenly beside her with her arm around Erin's shoulders. "We're used to you getting distracted."


"I was't distracted," Erin muttered, feeling the warmth in her face and examining the fabric of the towel before handing it over to her mom.


"All right, then, you were busy," she teased.


"Stop it," Erin muttered, pouting again. "Here," she said, placing the loaf in her mother's hands while still avoiding her eyes. She'd only tease her again.


Her dad was still by the door, but he didn't look upset or awkward or anything… the lack of obvious emotion on his face irritated her. Then he smiled, probably at the confusion on her face, and walked in to take her into a hug. "I think it's time for us to head out, Erin."


"All right," she replied, still feeling awkwardly shy from their intrusion a minute ago.


"Thanks for having us," he added, and Erin recognized the phrase he used as he left his friends' houses… it was weird for him to use it with her. Not bad, maybe… just… weird… And it made her miss them. He kissed her head. "We love you."


"You, too," Erin replied timidly, glancing at her mom, and then hugging her, too, as Jacob looked over at Yukito. "Thanks for letting us stop by," he said with a small wave. As Mandi echoed the sentiments, Erin followed them out the kitchen and then out the front door, waving as they backed out the drive way, feeling less and less shy as the car pulled away.


Once the door was closed, she turned to Yukito, smiled, then laughed for no real reason other than embarrassment-recovery, and hugged herself to him.


Yukito Maki


She visibly stiffened, insulted by his comments. "Well, sorry that I was enjoying having my boyfriend and parents in the same room for once…" She glanced away, towards the refrigerator, pouting. "Maybe if you wouldn't ignore them so much I wouldn't keep talking so much and I wouldn't accidentally embarrass you." She sent him a cold look, arms crossed defiantly. "They want you to be a part of us, Yukito…They're trying to bring you in and you won't even give them a chance. I know they're my parents and it's weird for you, but still…"


Instead of opting for words to initially soothe her, Yukito came closer to hold her closely, pulling her close to him and touching his nose to hers. Her eyes were wide and mournful, and he gave her a little smile, reassuring her as he'd wanted to most of the evening."I'm not ignoring them, Erin. Honestly. I'm terrible at this meet-the-parents thing. Or rather, this meet-with-the-parents-again thing. Most parents don't like me. Honestly. And I'm trying to show them but I don't think it's working..."


"Show what?" she asked quietly, not getting it. He let out a sigh, nuzzling her a little before giving it another attempt.


"I love you, Erin. But I'd have more experience in hacking into the government than dealing with parents like this." Before she could respond to that, Yukito planted a kiss on Erin's lips, effectively silencing whatever had been about to pop out of her mouth. "I like your parents and want them to think I'm good for you, that's all..."


"Yukito," Erin responded with hints of exasperation. He knew it wasn't too seriously an annoyance, though, because her arms wound around his neck. His fingers came up to wrap around her forearms as he met her eyes evenly, still as a statue as she spoke. "Don't you see how they're accepting you already? You don't have to worry so much about proving yourself or whatever… Okay?" This time, it was Erin who gently touched her nose to his. "Promise you won't worry so much about it? Just… try to relax… talk just a little… and besides just to me," she added, now smiling at him. Despite the fact that he still wasn't as sure as she was – since he still counted the past events in a very prominent light – of her parent's acceptance, he still couldn't help but smile back at her.


He began to lean in closer to her, but suddenly sounds pulled both Erin and him at attention, turning to the doorway to see her spying parental figures trying to make a quick getaway of it. Of course, Mandi was faster on the get-go than her husband, and had moved into an almost-innocent position of shooing him away. Yukito, still in a bit of a shock at having them standing there watch them, fell a little forward when Erin swiftly pulled her hands away, his palms catching on the counter behind her just before he pushed himself a little ways from her. He took a step back and felt his cheeks flush again as Erin, mirroring her mother in quickness, tried to make it seem as though she had been diligently working on the melonpan. "It's, uh, it's almost done…" she muttered, moving to fold the towel around the bread. Yukito leaned against the opposite counter and shoved his hands in his pockets, sure he couldn't come up with anything better.


"It's okay, Erin," her mom said quietly, smiling, suddenly beside her with her arm around Erin's shoulders. "We're used to you getting distracted."


"I wasn't distracted," Erin muttered, surprising him by sounding almost as flustered as he felt.


"All right, then, you were busy," her mother teased. Yukito glanced over at Jacob, seeing yet again an unreadable expression there. Crap...


"Stop it," Erin muttered, pouting again. "Here," she said, placing the loaf in her mother's hands as though she couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Her father stood in the doorway watching the scene, then slowly allowed a smile to creep across his face before stepping in to offer Erin a hug. Yukito wasn't sure what to think about that. He stands there staring then moves in for a hug? That's kind of an odd thing to do, right after you walked in on your daughter cuddling with her boyfriend in their kitchen... It was such an odd situation overall, though, it didn't look as strange as he tried to make it.


"I think it's time for us to head out, Erin."


"All right," she replied, not pouting like she normally might have, because she still had a trace of pink on her face.


"Thanks for having us," he added, and kissed her head. "We love you."


"You, too," Erin replied timidly, glancing at her mom, and then hugging her, too, as Jacob looked over at Yukito. Sorry you had to see that..He didn't move, but returned the gaze, and smiled a little, mentally willing the man not to attempt an embrace. Yukito knew he wouldn't be able to handle it, just from the way he felt when the man was standing in the room watching him.


"Thanks for letting us stop by," he said with a small wave. Yukito waved back and gave a nod, but inwardly he started to wonder what it was that let him communicate the no-hugs thing with him without saying anything. On one hand, it saved them both a lot of trouble, but on the other it was a little unsettling.


As Mandi echoed the sentiments, Erin followed them out the kitchen and then out the front door, waving as they backed out the drive way, and Yukito waited quietly behind her, waiting until the door was shut to send her a look. He arched one eyebrow up at her, saw her smile, and started to laugh as she bumped against him into a hug.


“Wow... that was awkward...” was his only comment for the moment.


Erin Spenser


Erin turned to pull herself to Yukito in a hug, hiding her warm face a little in his shi[rt, but smiling all the while. “Wow... that was awkward...” he announced, as if she couldn't figure that out for herself.


"No, really?" She paused, feeling a little laugh in her throat, then asked jokingly, "Why don't they put freaking doors on kitchens anymore, huh?" Slowly, Erin pulled away from him and went back to their little picnic, taking for herself another piece of the cheesecake. It was pretty ridiculous how happy his liking the dessert made her feel, but then, she didn't really care if it was ridiculous or not. It was just nice to be happy because of it. "Do you want another one?" she asked him, showing Yukito her piece with the little triangle tip missing.


Erin took another thoughtful bite. "Was it really that bad for you?" she asked after a minute. "I mean… was it me, or them, or all of us…?" A little discontent shrug. Would it always be that weird? For him? Always? Erin thought into the future, feeling the sadness creep up on her at the thought of years from now, repeating the same uncomfortable scene. What did that mean? Was it possible for them all to blend better, for him to be really integrated as part of the family? "I think they're trying to show you that they can see you as family…" she muttered, getting a bit of the graham cracker crust without any of the filling on it. "Do you have any other family over in Japan, Yukito?" Erin asked casually, pulling up some of the leftover cherry syrup with her finger.


Yukito Maki


Erin turned to pull herself to Yukito in a hug, hiding her warm face a little in his shirt, making him smile. “Wow... that was awkward...” he announced.


"No, really?" She paused, feeling a little laugh in her throat, then asked jokingly, "Why don't they put freaking doors on kitchens anymore, huh?"


“Probably an idea from parents with daughters...” he muttered, sounded pretty disappointed that they'd been interrupted. Then, a little pensively, he added, “It was a lot less awkward than the last time we were caught in the kitchen...” He let the sentence dangle there, as Erin pulled him back to the picnic with a blissful air. He watched her take another piece of cheesecake, his mind replaying the meal from start to finish.


"Do you want another one?" she asked him, showing Yukito her piece with the little triangle tip missing.


“I'll just steal from yours,” he added, taking up his own fork and slicing out a bite for himself from her piece.


Erin took another thoughtful bite. "Was it really that bad for you?" she asked after a minute. "I mean… was it me, or them, or all of us…?" She gave a shrug that added a lot more puncuation to the sentence than he could sort through in those quiet moments.


“No,” he started slowly, taking another bite from her, “It was me, I think. I'm just not used to anything like it...it's almost like you're inviting friends over, not your parents... I don't know..” It was his turn to shrug, “And it wasn't really bad, you know. Just kind of embarrassing to watch your dad try to compute why the hell his daughter's boyfriend needed makeup...” Despite himself, one side of his lips started to twitch upwards into a smile.


"I think they're trying to show you that they can see you as family…" she muttered, taking a bit of the graham cracker crust without any of the filling on it. He avoided the crust, liking the creamy bit a lot better. She could nibble crackers if she wanted. "Do you have any other family over in Japan, Yukito?" Erin asked casually, pulling up some of the leftover cherry syrup with her finger.


He reached over for another forkful, sly in his taking of just cherry and actually cheesecake-goo. “I have a grandfather I used to go see once in awhile around New Years. I don't think I have many more surviving relatives. If there are, I don't remember ever meeting them...” He shrugged, “Maybe there's more on my dad's side, since he never talked to me about them. But I'm not too interested to go dig them up on Google or something, you know?” Another lift of his shoulder, and he took another piece, not realizing he'd managed to eat a large share of her slice already. “Mom used to talk about my grandmother, but she was a single child, too. But she died when I was a kid, from some kind of influenza... Needless to say, our holidays are a lot quieter than yours...most of the time it was just mom and I. Once in awhile, just me...” He looked at her plate and laughed, “I guess I should have gotten one of my own...”

Erin Spenser


"Why don't they put freaking doors on kitchens anymore, huh?" Erin asked, half jokingly.


“Probably an idea from parents with daughters...” Yukito muttered in response, only earning a little roll of her eyes and a smile. "Yukito…"


“It was a lot less awkward than the last time we were caught in the kitchen...”


Erin's stomach jumbled a little. "Yeah," she replied quickly, busying herself with the cheesecake. She didn't want to be reminded of how guilty that whole thing had made her feel. "Do you want another one?" She gestured, holding out her plate to him.


His response made her smile. “I'll just steal from yours.”


"Yay!" she chirped as Yukito took a forkful of the pie. Then she took another bite and was quiet for a moment, then, "Was it really that bad for you? I mean… was it me, or them, or all of us…?" She shrugged, unsure.


Yukito's answer was slow. As usual, when he was being exceptionally thoughtful. “No,” he stated, taking another bite from her. “It was me, I think. I'm just not used to anything like it...it's almost like you're inviting friends over, not your parents... I don't know..”


Erin gave a little laugh at that. "No, definitely not…"


“And it wasn't really bad, you know. Just kind of embarrassing to watch your dad try to compute why the hell his daughter's boyfriend needed makeup...” At his words, Erin burst into laughter, her head back and laying against him, passing the plate to his lap because it was about to fall. Finally, when she could talk again, Erin said, "I think they're trying to show you that they can see you as family…" Erin reached down for some of the pie crust. "Do you have any other family over in Japan, Yukito?" She dragged her finger into the cheery syrup and stuck the sweetness in her mouth.


He reached over for another forkful, leaving the naked crust she'd worked so hard on. Did he not realize how hard it could be to make really sooth graham cracker crust without any kind of kitchen equipment? Really? “I have a grandfather I used to go see once in awhile around New Years. I don't think I have many more surviving relatives. If there are, I don't remember ever meeting them...”


"Aww… that sucks," she muttered sincerely.


Yukito just shrugged. “Maybe there's more on my dad's side, since he never talked to me about them. But I'm not too interested to go dig them up on Google or something, you know? Mom used to talk about my grandmother, but she was a single child, too. But she died when I was a kid, from some kind of influenza... Needless to say, our holidays are a lot quieter than yours...most of the time it was just mom and I. Once in awhile, just me...”


In Erin's mind, that was just tragic. And wrong. He'd missed out on so much… "Fine, more reason for you to come with me to all my holiday stuff. It'll be fun with you!" she exclaimed, grinning at him, then laughed at where his eyes fell. He'd taken most of the filling off her cake, leaving her with mostly a bare crust. And they both laughed. “I guess I should have gotten one of my own...”


"No!" Erin objected brightly, still laughing. "Friends share! I like sharing with you!" She put her arms around him, hugging him to her and giggling.



Yukito Maki


Her laughter was, not surprisingly, very filling in the small apartment. Curled up against him in the quiet of the comforting sense of each other's presence. "I think they're trying to show you that they can see you as family…" Erin reached down for some of the pie crust. "Do you have any other family over in Japan, Yukito?" They snacked together on the singular piece of cheesecake, not realizing at first that Yukito was taking all the filling while Erin ate all the crust.


“I have a grandfather I used to go see once in awhile around New Years. I don't think I have many more surviving relatives. If there are, I don't remember ever meeting them...”


"Aww… that sucks," she muttered. He just shrugged in response – it was awfully hard to miss something you never knew was actually absent in your life from farther back than you could remember. The whole 'I always knew something was off' feeling from cliché romance films didn't apply here to Yukito. His circle had just always been smaller than Erin's.


“Maybe there's more on my dad's side, since he never talked to me about them. But I'm not too interested to go dig them up on Google or something, you know? Mom used to talk about my grandmother, but she was a single child, too. But she died when I was a kid, from some kind of influenza... Needless to say, our holidays are a lot quieter than yours...most of the time it was just mom and I. Once in awhile, just me...” Another shrug. He didn't bother to add that he'd sometimes felt very lonely, and other times he'd preferred to be alone.


"Fine, more reason for you to come with me to all my holiday stuff. It'll be fun with you!" she exclaimed, grinning at him, then they both began laughing as they both realized Yukito had eaten away at most of the cheesecake and just left Erin a hollow crust.


“I guess I should have gotten one of my own...” he commented, smiling up at her sheepishly.


"No!" Erin objected brightly, still laughing. "Friends share! I like sharing with you!" She put her arms around him, hugging him to her and giggling. He gave a few chuckles of his own, trying to make the stiffening in his arms as unnoticeable as possible before he had to move away. Kissing her cheek, he sent her a smug little smile, looking more childish than usual as he told her matter-of-factly, “I like your cheesecake.”


Picking up their plates and starting to collect them precariously in his arms, he added, “But I think that visit did go well...and you really needed to see them again.” His head tilted a little to the side as he watched her, smiling but a little sadly now. “I can tell that you miss them...”


Erin Spenser


“I guess I should have gotten one of my own...” Yukito muttered, and Erin couldn't suppress her grin.


"No!" she objected loudly. "Friends share! I like sharing with you!" Impulsively, Erin pulled him to her in a hug. He pulled back and gave her cheek a kiss. She looked up at him, silently asking for another kiss, but he didn't give her one. He smiled, though, which sometimes was just as good. “I like your cheesecake.”


"Good. I think it liked you, too," she said with a little laugh, holding up one of the dishes to him. "Thank you, love," she drawled out, sending him a smile. Then she got up and started helping him. "Fine, I can help, too," she said, teasing like it was really a chore.


“But I think that visit did go well...and you really needed to see them again.”


Erin paused and looked over at him. Why did he have to always be right? Was it that obvious?


“I can tell that you miss them...”


She did. She missed so much about them. She missed having supper with them, she missed their nudging her to do school work, she missed making lame jokes with her dad, she missed seeing them both buried behind newspapers, she missed hearing them talking together, even if she wasn't involved. She missed the lack of responsibilities, too.


"It's worth it being here with you, though," Erin told him honestly, moving past him and into the kitchen. Maybe they could do this more often, and she wouldn't miss them quite so much.

We are done here.

[Elda Forever]

OOC: This is set right after the Yukito's Nightmare scene in the unseen scenes thread. ^.^ Enjoy the fluff! BIC:

Good morning afternoon...

~~
When Erin woke up, she was still soundly resting where she had fallen asleep, Yukito beneath her head as a pillow, and her hand next to her face, on his chest, feeling the rhythm of his breath. He felt warm. She felt warm, too, actually, and Erin figured it was what had awoken her in the first place. The sun was coming in now in its fullest, so the light didn't help either. Part of her was curious what the time was, wanting to reach across Yukito to his phone, or turn over and find her own, but that would mean leaving him. She blinked slowly. But I don't wanna leave him... Not now that he felt so much closer. He was so much closer. Erin looked up at his face to see if he was awake, then gently nudged his cheek with a kiss, keeping her close contact, her arm stretching across him and resting on his far shoulder. Absently, lightly, she shook his shoulder with her hand and brushed her nose against his cheek. "Mornin', love... Mm.. ohayo."

~~

He'd woken up several times during the morning to find Erin still laid against him, warm and soft and not shifting or moving in the least. It was an indescribable moment of bliss he experienced, just feeling someone against him – feeling her against him – when he woke up. He was sure that the swelling in his chest would have woken her up. She had to feel that. Instead, he'd closed his heavy eyelids and drifted back off to sleep, oblivious to any phone rings or noises outside. It didn't matter. This, this here...was a more intimate sleep than he'd ever experienced, and he never wanted to wake up and realize it had never happened. If it was all just a dream, then it sure did suck at points. If it was all just a dream, he was okay with that, and didn't want to ever wake up anyways.
The sunlight poured into the apartment for hours, slowly making its journey across the sky overhead unnoticed by the two teenagers so closely entangled. An entire day began to drift off into a lazy afternoon with no motion from either of them. Just a long-overdue sleep.
When at last he awoke once more, it was to the burning sensation of her lips against his cheek, making goosebumps rise on his arms – and good ones, at that. He kept his eyes closed, wishing to prolong the feeling a little longer. Yukito relished the moment where he didn't have to see her – he could feel her nearness, and sense her thoughts, and hear her breathing. Erin shifted a little, then shook his shoulder lightly as she brushed delicately across his cheek some more."Mornin', love... Mm..ohayo." she murmured happily.
Unable to subdue himself any longer, a foolish grin broke out across his face. He let out a contented sigh, the filling of his lungs lifting her up a little bit, then dropping her back down closer to him. Yukito chuckled, “Mmm...mornin', Sunshine.” He opened his eyes, then immediately blinked in slow surprise at the color of the light in the room. “That is, if it's morning at all...man...how long did we sleep?” He took his arms from their spot around her shoulders to stretch them, and found both hands asleep. Sharp pangs raced up his fingers as he flexed them, trying to get feeling back into them so he could pull her to him by her shoulders again. Yukito blinked back up at her, his eyes widening as his memory caught up to him, revealing to him just how closely they were across each other, and just how much laughter and bliss was swirling around Erin's eyes as she looked down at him. A smile swept across his face, admiring this new view of her. “Wow...you're so beautiful...” he found himself murmuring, with no time to regret them. There was no reason to now, anyways. He'd already laid bare himself to her in a way he had with no one else. She'd been the only one he thought would accept that. The fight between him and his instinct had at the very least come to a dulled compromise, and he intended to debate his case to the death if he could wake up with her beside him every morning. Taking his still-tingling fingers, he brushed back a wavy lock of her hair away from his face, twirling it around the tip of his thumb with an indescribable quietness. “I want every morning to be like this...” he tilted his head to the side, his eyes flickering from the lock of her hair he had imprisoned to her round, gorgeous face with the stunning eyes, his voice returning to that child-like wonder of early that morning. “Can it? Will it...really?”

~~

He didn't seem to wake up with her light kiss, so gently she shook his shoulder, nudging him with her nose and staying close as she called,"Mornin', love... Mm.. ohayo."

Suddenly a smile cracked Yukito's face, and she wondered just how long he'd been awake as she tried to wake him. Erin laughed quietly at him, the expression on his face, the way his breath affected her, too. She pulled up closer to his face so her head could lay on his shoulder as he gave a subdued laugh of his own, keeping her smiling. “Mmm...mornin', Sunshine.” She cuddled closer at the nickname as Yukito finally opened his eyes. “That is, if it's morning at all...man...how long did we sleep?”

"I dunno," Erin answered breezily. "We must've needed it bad, though… You stayed." She sent him a blissful smile. "I'm so glad you stayed…"

As Yukito pulled his arms away from her--she'd gotten so used to them she'd forgotten-- Erin felt the icy coldness of absence. "Now I'm cold," she muttered, but too happy to be complaining. Just observing. She looked over at him with a smile, words failing her. She didn't even care to try to think her feelings into words, she just wanted to feel them and let them be. It finally, finally, finally felt like things weren't just going to get better in the future, if she just waited long enough… He finally, finally, finally felt safe with her. And he wanted her. He did. He wasn't just putting up with her, or anything. She grinned wider at the warm expression on his face. “Wow...you're so beautiful...” he murmured, making Erin's face feel suddenly much warmer than before, and her grin brighter. "You act like you don't see me every day," she said, giggling, and giving his cheek another brief kiss. "I think the same about you, you know," Erin tacked on quietly, resting her head close to his and briefly closing her eyes again. Wordlessly, Yukito separated a lock of her hair, clearing it from her face. She could feel him playing with it, and the thought amused her, adding to the smile that she couldn't wipe off if she wanted to. “I want every morning to be like this...” he told her simply, and Erin locked her eyes on his intently. "Me too."

“Can it? Will it...really?”

In answer, Erin snuggled close again, as if to remind them both that she could do so. The hand that had held his shoulder now felt the strands of his hair brushing along her fingertips. "What do you think?" she asked playfully, then added much more somberly, "I love you." A pause, Erin's hand leaving his head again and coming to rest on his chest, then she perked up at the thought that occurred to her. "You want breakfast for lunch? Or… whatever time it is?" She pushed herself up a little, looking down at him with a perky smile. "What do you want? Come make it with me." Briefly she leaned back down to give him another kiss. "I can help you… it'll be fun! I promise!"

~~

“Mmm...mornin', Sunshine," he blinked stupidly at the sunlight washing over them, "That is, if it's morning at all...man...how long did we sleep?”

"I dunno," Erin answered breezily, only concerned with smiling down at him and cuddling closer, "We must've needed it bad, though… You stayed." She sent him a blissful smile that sent an electric shock through his system. "I'm so glad you stayed…"

He smiled, "I had no intention of leaving."

Yukito was forced to pull his arms from her in order to get some feeling back in them, and Erin immediately protested with a quiet, "Now I'm cold," In response, he just stuck his tongue out at her for a moment, flexing his fingers and willing the pangs from sleepiness to leave the tips of his hands. The whole time he could feel her eyes on him, though he kept his eyes trained on his tingling fingers. When his eyes did flicker back to meet her face, he felt that thick thud of joy rise up into his throat again, studying the way the sunlight filtered through her hair, giving it a warm golden look, and the contented smile on her face.

“Wow...you're so beautiful...” he murmured, as her expression went pinkish.

"You act like you don't see me every day," she said, giggling, and giving his cheek another brief kiss. 'Sometimes, I really think I don't. Not really.' In a moment like this, it felt like he didn't appreciate her near as much as she deserved.

"I think the same about you, you know," Erin tacked on quietly, resting her head close to his and briefly closing her eyes again. Wordlessly, Yukito separated a lock of her hair, clearing it from her face.

He softly whispered, “I want every morning to be like this...” he told her simply, and Erin locked her eyes on his intently. "Me too."

“Can it? Will it...really?” He couldn't help it if his voice sounded like a weak, vulnerable child's. Mentally, that was where he had gone back to. A time from years ago when something in him had gone dormant and undeveloped, frozen in time until he had been determined enough to bring that part back out into the light. The sun continued to warm them distantly, as Erin snuggled close again. Yukito's arms came back closer to meet her, and her fingers danced lightly through his hair as her own long brown locks curled and trailed across his shirtless collar. The jolt in his gut was met with an overpowering grin.

"What do you think?" she asked playfully, knowing that his heart was probably hopping somewhere along the path from his toes to his forehead. He gave a giggle, making her bounce a little. More somberly she added, "I love you."

He tilted his head a little, peering up at her. "I love you, too. No matter what."

A pause, Erin's hand leaving his head again and coming to rest on his chest, a weight that made the blood in the veins beneath her palm rush and flash with heat, making it hard for him to pay attention to her words when she voiced ,"You want breakfast for lunch? Or… whatever time it is?" She pushed herself up a little, looking down at him with a perky smile. He was still reeling, and wondered if it was obvious on his face. "What do you want? Come make it with me." Briefly she leaned back down to give him another kiss, and a short laugh escaped his lips as they touched hers.

"I can't make anything more complex than toast and you know it..." he chuckled. "Unless you want me to leave you in shock and awe at my frosting-dribbling skills..."

"I can help you… it'll be fun! I promise!"

"Aww, but Erin..." he moaned, leaning farther back into his pillow, reaching for her hand to anchor her down to him. "I don't want to get up yet!" Yukito pulled himself up to a sitting position so he could catch her lips again, his other hand reaching up to race his hand along the back of her neck and finding his fingers playfully entangled in her hair. "Can't we just stay a few more minutes?" Another kiss on her jawline. "Please?" He was sure he was getting very close to convincing her, when his own stomach betrayed him, emitting a dull sound that pleaded her side of the argument. He frowned, staring down at his belly. "Traitor," he growled.

~~

"I love you," she told him quietly, feeling a wave of warmth in the way he looked at her.

"I love you, too. No matter what."

A pause, Erin's hand leaving his head again and coming to rest on his chest when she finally broke the silence. "You want breakfast for lunch? Or… whatever time it is?" She pushed herself up a little, looking down at him with a perky smile. It felt impossible now to think that everything wasn't going to be all right. Because for right now, it was. "What do you want? Come make it with me." Briefly she leaned back down to give him another kiss, and a short laugh escaped his lips as they touched hers.

"I can't make anything more complex than toast and you know it..." He chuckled, making Erin roll her eyes playfully. "Unless you want me to leave you in shock and awe at my frosting-dribbling skills..."

"You have frosting-dribbling skills?" she asked, then broke out into another smile and pulling at his hand a little. "I can help you… it'll be fun! I promise!"

"Aww, but Erin..." he moaned, leaning farther back into his pillow, reaching for her hand and pulling her back towards him. "I don't want to get up yet!"

"Yukito!" she called back, starting to laugh and pulling back away, hoping he'd follow. "We've been lying here forever! I'm starving!"

Yukito pulled himself up to a sitting position, suddenly catching her in another kiss, his free hand reaching to the back of her neck, his fingers playfully entangled in her hair. She beamed at him, feeling giddy at this little gesture, leaning in closer towards him. "Can't we just stay a few more minutes?" He asked, giving another kiss, this time on her jaw. If she hadn't already been sitting back on her knees, Erin was sure she would have gone weak in them. "Please?" She bit her lip, trying not to cave, because she really was hungry and needed to move around so bad, but he was being really persuasive, too… The quiet moment shattered with the protests of Yukito's own stomach, confirming her suspicions as she let out a victorious "Ha!" and pointing her finger on the center of his chest. Yukito frowned, looking down and muttering, "Traitor." The rhetorical comment sent Erin into laughter as she drew Yukito into a hug, her head on his chest. "I told you so!" she announced proudly. "I-- told-- you!" Pulling back again, Erin took his hand in hers as she rose to her feet, pulling at him. "Come ooon," she urged. "You're not gonna go beyond toast if you don't try…" At the word 'toast', the laughter returned.

As soon as she could, Erin's arm slipped around him so that they were linked together as they went the few feet to the kitchen. "So, are we making peanut butter pancakes or breakfast enchiladas? Or I can show you my way of making doughnuts, but I don't think we have the right pan for that… I really want breakfast," she muttered as an afterthought. Reaching the fridge, she let him go and opened it to get out the peppers sitting in the bottom. "Here," she said, handing it to him, but not pulling her hand back. "Cut 'em into little cubes, and then we can mix 'em in with the other stuff…" She trailed off, that sense of blissfulness resurging, and Erin lifted her face to give him a short kiss. "Flour, broth, salt, and pepper. I can guide you…" she offered, taking his other hand in hers, leaning in close to him. Without saying anything else, she pulled him into another hug, burying her head against his chest and inhaling a deep, content breath, momentarily forgetting her hunger.
~~

She was adamant and utterly playful in her attempts to pull him into the kitchen. Her laughter filled up the room more than anything else on the earth could, he was sure. "Yukito! We've been lying here forever! I'm starving!"

Yukito pulled himself up to a sitting position, suddenly catching her in another kiss, his free hand reaching to the back of her neck, his fingers playfully entangled in her hair. "Can't we just stay a few more minutes?" He begged, giving another kiss, this time on her jaw. Hopefully, he thought to himself, he had learned a few persuasive tips and tricks from his very headstrong girlfriend. By the way she seemed to melt into him, he figured she was giving some good signs, and might even give in. "Please?" She bit her lip, and he smiled up at her, thinking his battle won.. when his stomach gave a protesting gurgle, interrupting the single suave moment he had acquired and making Erin chortle out a victorious, "Ha!" She sent a finger pointing at the center of his chest, as if there was any chance either of them had missed noting the source of the noise. Yukito frowned, looking down and muttering, "Traitor." The rhetorical comment sent Erin into laughter as she drew Yukito into a hug, her head on his chest. Yes, the little waves were still there, and he noted with satisfaction how feeble they were to the extremely new and much more confusing reactions of having her close like that.

"I told you so!" she announced proudly. "I-- told-- you!" Pulling back again, Erin took his hand in hers as she rose to her feet, pulling at him. He was afraid if he didn't give in she would pull his arm out of his socket - again. "Come ooon," she urged. "You're not gonna go beyond toast if you don't try…" Her delightful giggles accompanied her flirtatious words as he relented, allowing her to lead him into the kitchen like a dog on a leash. On their way out, Yukito's eyes found the discarded shirt on the ground. With the chill in the room, he couldn't help but feel a tug toward the shirt. It was a feeling that quickly evaporated as Erin's arm slipped around him and pulled them close like they were one creature, her warmth making his gut jolt pleasantly and grin devilishly. They strode quickly past his shirt, and just before they entered the kitchen he paused by the thermostat, turning the set temperature up some to ward off the slight chill in the air still. He smirked down at Erin, "I'm afraid I'm not so warm-blooded as you. So it's either you stay glued to me like this or the heat goes up a bit." He kissed the top of her head, then realized it wasn't quite close enough and caught her ear, "Unfortunately, I would be too good at keeping you from accomplishing anything in the kitchen if you stay stuck to me."

"So, are we making peanut butter pancakes or breakfast enchiladas? Or I can show you my way of making doughnuts, but I don't think we have the right pan for that… I really want breakfast," she muttered as an afterthought. Reaching the fridge, she let him go and opened it to start her expedition. He took a step back, feeling the delayed breeze from the fridge door. But a second later he had to come closer again so he would be able to take the peppers from her. "Here," she said, handing it to him, but not pulling her hand back. On impulse he took her hand in his, already feeling her body heat a little lessened by the cold refrigerator. "Cut 'em into little cubes, and then we can mix 'em in with the other stuff…" As she spoke, he laid her palm against his chest again for a moment, feeling that need to reassure himself that things wouldn't stay so scary anymore. The jolts seemed too little, leaving an empty space only filled when she raised her face to give him a brief peck, as if all of this was so natural and uninteresting now. He plopped the peppers unceremoniously on the counter, intent on keeping her close. "Flour, broth, salt, and pepper. I can guide you…" she offered, taking his other hand in hers, leaning in close to him.

"You do that, Erin." he said with a little smile, just as she came to meet him again, wrapping her arms around him with her chilly fingers against his bare back, contrasted with her warm cheek against his collarbone. He was glad he'd freed his arms, encompassing her and drawing her in with a central sort of balance he'd had to keep separated before. For several seconds, they stayed that way, and he found himself incapable of even lessening the smile on his face. "My mind won't accept that it's over. It just seems like too much...too much good for me. First, getting you back, then you moving in with me, now this..." He didn't need to tell her yet his future aspirations for them. And he felt like saying them aloud could jinx it somehow. Either way, he entertained an image of them doing this for way too many mornings. Sometimes grouchy and unpredictable or illogical, other times high off a sort of sweetness that was intangible as it was unimaginable. With reluctance, he released her, chuckling. "Told you I could distract you. What was it you said you needed? Flour, salt, and pepper..and what else?" He went to fetch the ingredients from her, his pleasant stomach flip-flops distracting and messing with him enough that he got the wrong cupboards the first couple of tries, but he managed to get what she needed. Once it was laid on the counter he reached back in for her, laying his hip against hers and swaying a little bit on the kitchen floor. Erin... he wanted to murmur, We've finally moved farther forward. I'm exhausted still but I'm healing fast. What step do you want me to take next? Would you like me to promise - formally, at least - all the things I want to give you, and will? Do you want to have a cause to celebrate, instead of the tears we've had? What can I do to make this last for us?

~~

Gleefully, Erin wrapped her arm around Yukito, pulling him close to her. And for some reason, she got a jolt of extra happiness as he passed up reverting to hide behind his shirt. For no particular reason, she was giggling when he made them both halt by the thermostat. With his free hand he nudged it up just a bit. He smirked down at Erin, who grinned back blissfully. "I'm afraid I'm not so warm-blooded as you. So it's either you stay glued to me like this or the heat goes up a bit." The words on the tip of her tongue were cut off by his gentle kiss to her head, and as he tilted his head down by her ear, she returned a kiss to his cheek. "Unfortunately, I would be too good at keeping you from accomplishing anything in the kitchen if you stay stuck to me." She started giggling again, both from his words and from the tickle his words breathed into her ear. "Aww… why do you always have to be right?" she teased, giving him another peck on the lips and pulling him along again into the kitchen.

"So, are we making peanut butter pancakes or breakfast enchiladas? Or I can show you my way of making doughnuts, but I don't think we have the right pan for that… I really want breakfast," she rattled off, slipping away from him enough to stick her head in the fridge. Once Erin found what she wanted, she turned around and handed him the pepper. "Here." She handed it to him, but not pulling her hand back. Yukito took her hand in his as she echoed the instructions she'd done enough times to recite without thought. "Cut 'em into little cubes, and then we can mix 'em in with the other stuff…" As she spoke, he took the hand he held and laid her palm against his chest again for a moment, perpetuating her smile until she tilted her head to give him another quick kiss. And all she kept thinking was how, finally, after waiting and crying, and being afraid, and worrying, and being upset, and more awful waiting, it was all finally the way it should be. They were finally safe. It finally felt like she could say she loved him in her truest way, and he'd hear her, and understand. Everything felt finally right, and beautiful, and fabulous. She didn't notice his dropping the peppers absently on the counter, reciting what else they'd need. "Flour, broth, salt, and pepper. I can guide you…" she offered, taking his other hand in hers, leaning in close to him. She was hoping that meant she could hold his hand and guide him that way, showing him with her hand on his what to do…

"You do that, Erin," he told her with a little smile, just as she came to meet him again, wrapping her arms around him, feeling the coolness of his skin under her fingertips It felt so easy, and so good, and so nice to just lay her head against him. It was a rare moment where she was wide awake and wanted to stay as perfectly still as they were just now. Again, the thoughts swirled in her head about the goodness, the perfection of this very moment. "My mind won't accept that it's over. It just seems like too much...too much good for me. First, getting you back, then you moving in with me, now this..."

"Mmm…" was her only, thoroughly content response, as she snuggled close, absorbing the warmth she felt against her cheek.

Yukito slowly released her, chuckling. "Told you I could distract you."

Erin jut laughed. "It's not distraction if I choose it!"

"What was it you said you needed?" Yukito asked, bringing her back down to earth a little bit. But just a little bit. "Flour, salt, and pepper..and what else?"

"Just the broth… It's not open yet so it’s still in the cupboard, too," she said as Yukito started looking in the cupboards, and she grinned as he peered in the wrong ones. She couldn't look at anything else but him even if she tried. But then, she didn't really want to try, so it didn't matter.

Once he'd gotten everything out and laid on the counter, Yukito pulled her back in next to him, laying his hip against hers and swaying a little bit on the kitchen floor. She peered up at him, still feeling that blissful smile on her face that she was sure would make her face super-sore, but she didn't care. Erin kissed him again, briefly resting her head on him before drawing him toward the stove, one arm still around him. "Okay, let's cut the peppers first into little pieces and put them in the sauce pan… I already know you got that," she told him with a grin. "Then we're gonna put in some flour, mix it in a little, then pour in the broth… And you gotta keep stirring that, but I can do the bacon on the other burner, and we'll scramble the eggs-- it's super easy. Okay? Then after that we just gotta assemble them, like little Legos! But food," she added with a laugh.

~~

"Mmm…" was her only, thoroughly content response, as she snuggled close to his barren chest. Goosebumps rose on his arm as his body temperature started bouncing erratically, and he started to chuckle, telling her, "Told you I could distract you."

She just laughed, perfectly content to be continuously distracted by him. "It's not distraction if I choose it!"

He tilted his head down towards her, kissing the area right behind her ear. On his slow way back, he whispered, “Could you have chosen not to?” He smirked, “Then it totally counts.” He made himself pull away so he could actually help her finish in the kitchen – mostly because he wanted to get them back to bed anyways – instead of being one big shirtless distraction. "What was it you said you needed? Flour, salt, and pepper..and what else?"

"Just the broth… It's not open yet so it’s still in the cupboard, too," she said as Yukito started looking in the cupboards, and she grinned as he peered in the wrong ones. He felt her eyes and felt even more how much bigger the room felt this morning than previous mornings. After pulling out the salt and pepper, he glanced over his shoulder to see her smile and gave a half-embarrassed chuckle. “What are you looking at?” He turned away to fumble his way to bringing out the flour, “I'm that amusing, eh?”

Once he'd gotten everything out and laid on the counter, Yukito pulled her back in next to him, laying his hip against hers and swaying a little bit on the kitchen floor as if to some unheard music. She peered up at him, her face practically casting a ray of light around the room with its intensity. Erin kissed him again, briefly resting her head on him before drawing him toward the stove, one arm still around him, ready to do what she had mentioned and guide him through this cooking attempt.

"Okay, let's cut the peppers first into little pieces and put them in the sauce pan… I already know you got that," she told him with a grin. He smirked knowingly, moving to obey. The cutting came easily, and as she spoke he leaned into her and tried to memorize her instructions. "Then we're gonna put in some flour, mix it in a little, then pour in the broth… And you gotta keep stirring that, but I can do the bacon on the other burner, and we'll scramble the eggs-- it's super easy. Okay? Then after that we just gotta assemble them, like little Legos! But food," she added with a laugh.

“Food-legos...” he muttered with a smile, trying to move his arms as little as possible so they could stay as close as he could physically manage. “So when did you start cooking like this? Did you just push your mom aside and take over or something?” He smirked at the mental image of her bluntly telling her mother out of the kitchen. “You were a very cute kid, you know...” He pushed aside the last of the peppers, “Now what? Is the saucepan ready?”

~~

"Told you I could distract you."

"It's not distraction if I choose it!" Erin objected with a laugh.

Yukito tilted his head down towards her, kissing the area right behind her ear and sending a happy jolt through her at the simple gesture.“Could you have chosen not to?” he whispered to her as he pulled back, making her start giggling. "Maaaybe…."

He smirked. “Then it totally counts. What was it you said you needed? Flour, salt, and pepper..and what else?"

"Just the broth…" she said half-distractedly. "It's not open yet so it’s still in the cupboard, too." Happily, Erin watched him search (and fail a couple times) for the ingredients she'd requested until he turned around and gave a little laugh, seemingly unsure if she had to guess. “What are you looking at?”

"Nothing!" Erin said, smiling playfully and raising her hands in mock surrender. "I'm just standin' here!"

“I'm that amusing, eh?” he asked, and she started laughing. "I love you!" Erin said, as if that were her defense. She beamed at him.

With everything out now, Yukito pulled her back to him and she started to rattle off the process for their breakfast enchiladas. "…And you gotta keep stirring that, but I can do the bacon on the other burner, and we'll scramble the eggs-- it's super easy. Okay? Then after that we just gotta assemble them, like little Legos! But food," she added with a laugh.

“Food-legos...” Yukito echoed, making her giggle. It sounded so much funnier and cuter when he said it.

"Yep!" Erin started working on the bacon and eggs on the burner right next to him, happy she chose something that didn't take much thought. It would be totally okay if she was a little distracted, which, really, it was kind of hard not to be right now. Erin smiled, the heat rising from the stovetop and hitting her face, along with it the smell of eggs and bacon. She'd forgotten for a moment just how hungry she was. "Hey, can you get out the tortillas for me? As soon as these are all done, I'm gonna cook them in here…"

“So when did you start cooking like this?" Yukito asked her. "Did you just push your mom aside and take over or something?”

Erin burst into laughter. "Sort of, kind of, not really?" she said, raising her shoulders a little. "I used to so-called 'cook' with her all the time since I can remember, but she always does pre-packaged stuff, and never uses real sugar, and freaks if there's too much butter…" She wrinkled her nose. "I started taking a home ec class in sixth grade, which was my first and easiest A ever, and I dunno, I could just do it… and people like it…" She shrugged again. "I'm good at it, and it's fun for me." She looked up at him with a smile. "I kinda like things like that… a lot."

“You were a very cute kid, you know...”

At that she had to laugh outright. "How do you know, huh? Are my baby videos on Youtube now or something?"

“Now what? Is the saucepan ready?” Erin glanced down and nodded. "Just add in all the stuff you got out… I don't really measure so much, so if you want I'll just tell you when to stop adding… It's a sauce so it's not gonna be a lot of anything, just pretty liquidy. Except for the peppers, obviously." She directed him, stopping him with her hand over his when he started to add too much, or pulling it down a little when he needed to add more. "Now you can just stir it every once in a while as I finish this part." She started working on toasting the tortillas in the now-bacony pan.

It didn't take long at all with two people, even with Erin directing Yukito along the way. Bacon, cheese, egg, and sauce all done, she first fixed one little stack of enchiladas, then stepped back. "You can finish the rest now." A second later, Erin dodged back forward and took the first finished product. "But I'm taking this one," she said, sending him a grin and grabbing a fork, took a bite out of it. "Mmm… hurry up and finish one so you can try it!" she prodded, then scampered up next to him. "Or here, this," Erin said instead, holding a biteful on the fork up to his mouth.

~~

Erin started working on the bacon and eggs on the burner right next to him as he chopped peppers. They were standing practically shoulder-to-shoulder, and he smiled a little as he peeked over to watch her happy face, stirring her creation and content for the moment. He kept expecting something drastic to come up and ruin the simple and blissful moment, but it didn't come. He leaned over to kiss her cheek briefly. "Hey, can you get out the tortillas for me? As soon as these are all done, I'm gonna cook them in here…" He nodded, reluctantly moving away from her heat.

“So when did you start cooking like this?" Yukito asked her as he pulled out the tortillas, shivering at being so close to the fridge. "Did you just push your mom aside and take over or something?”

Erin burst into laughter, a sound he hoped would ring a lot more often in the future. "Sort of, kind of, not really?” she said, raising her shoulders a little. "I used to so-called 'cook' with her all the time since I can remember, but she always does pre-packaged stuff, and never uses real sugar, and freaks if there's too much butter…" She wrinkled her nose. "I started taking a home ec class in sixth grade, which was my first and easiest A ever, and I dunno, I could just do it… and people like it…" She shrugged again. "I'm good at it, and it's fun for me." She looked up at him with a smile. "I kinda like things like that… a lot."

He tilted his head to the side at her, curious about this little part of her. He'd once sat on his counter and 'helped' his mother cook. But soon he'd gotten in trouble for taking his own exploits too far and shoving ruined foods in disturbing places. Then, he'd been banned from the kitchen, and books had been much more interesting to him than boiling pots. To Erin, he commented,“You were a very cute kid, you know...”

Another ringing laugh, "How do you know, huh? Are my baby videos on Youtube now or something?"

He smirked, “I've seen your baby pictures. You pick any three out of that photo album and you can scientifically prove how pretty and endearing you were.” He set aside his finished peppers and wiped his hands off a bit to get rid of the seeds. “Now what? Is the saucepan ready?”

Erin glanced down and nodded. "Just add in all the stuff you got out… I don't really measure so much, so if you want I'll just tell you when to stop adding… It's a sauce so it's not gonna be a lot of anything, just pretty liquidy. Except for the peppers, obviously." He lifted the cutting board up and started pushing in his ingredients, feeling a jolt in his gut when her hand gently trailed across his and guided it with patience and expertise. He didn't look at her face, so he wasn't sure if she saw the ridiculously giddy look he was battling on his face. "Now you can just stir it every once in a while as I finish this part." She started working on toasting the tortillas in the now-bacony pan.

He was surprised when she made a little stack, his belly telling him he was hungry but his head thinking of other things he would rather do after the enchiladas. Then, she stepped back and voiced a very scary sentence. "You can finish the rest now."

Yukito's eyebrows raised at her declaration, and he let out a chuckle, not thinking her fully serious at this point in time. Then, he paused, still grinning, “Oh gosh, you're serious...” He looked back and forth between her and the still-hot pan, his tone incredulous, “Are you sure?”

"But I'm taking this one," she said, sending him a grin and grabbing a fork, took a bite out of it. He stepped up to the stove and she added, "Mmm… hurry up and finish one so you can try it!" she prodded, then scampered up next to him. "Or here, this," she suddenly held up a fork-full, and he stared at it, pausing before cautiously taking a bite. After a moment, he gave a nod of approval. It didn't look very appetizing, but he could definitely get used to it.

With a mischievous smirk, he shrugged, “I guess it's worth a shot, but you had better stay close, just in case...” As he stepped up to the pan, he tried to remember when she'd turned them over, the first time turning it too early, then trying to put it back. He hissed as the oil hit his suddenly clumsy hand. He then tried to be patient for the tortilla to cook, and when he checked it next found a large, scraggly brown circle around it. “Shoot...” he mumbled, remembering to lighten his language a little this time.

By the time he'd cooked the other side he'd burnt his hands about a dozen times and resulted in a very dry, crusty piece of wanna-be-tortilla. “I give up,” he growled, tossed the tortilla to the plate with an ironic clank as the hard substance hit another hard substance. “I'll just use whatever ones you left.” He placed the tortillas on the plate, hesitated a moment before remembering he was supposed to sauce the plate first. He was growing increasingly embarrassed and therefore more flustered as he started stacking the ingredients on, trying to recall the order she'd put it in, and the amount. He was pretty sure he'd used too much egg, but he was now getting desperate to end up with only one more total, and didn't want the excuse of a lot of excess ingredients for making more. Once completed, he shot a look of disapproval at his teetering stack, the top tortillas clinging desperately for a hold on his messy clumpings. He sent Erin a playful scowl, commenting, “You're freaking magical or something...”

~~

"You can finish the rest now," Erin announced, stepping back from him and grinning widely. She was sure he felt totally out of place, but it was so endearing, too! And she had more faith in his abilities than he did-- someone had to.

The moment of confusion on his end passed, and Yukito saw she'd been serious. “Oh gosh, you're serious...” She gave a nod, giggling. He looked back and forth between her and the stovetop comically. “Are you sure?”

"Um, yeah. But I'm taking this one," she said, sending him a grin and grabbing a fork to taste the first creation. It was so good. "Mmm… hurry up and finish one so you can try it!" she prodded, then scampered up next to him. "Or here, this." Erin held up a bite on her fork to him, waiting for him to take it. After a pause, he did, and her smile broadened when he nodded. "Aw, c'mon, that's all I get? Just a nod? Come ooon, Yukitooo…" She nudged him with her head, wrapping her arms around him and hugging herself to him. "I thought I did really good…"

“I guess it's worth a shot," he said, going back to his cooking attempt. "But you had better stay close, just in case...”

"I guess I can do that," she said, giggling a little as she moved back enough for him to move around the stovetop, but close enough for her. It was really funny, actually, the way he spazzed over popping oil and jumped back and grumbled bitterly when the food in the pan wouldn't work the way he wanted. It was cute, like someone learning to ride a bike the first time, and getting mad whenever they'd fall or wobble or something.

“I give up,” Yukito growled after several valiant attempts. Erin just kept giggling. "Aww… don't be a quitter! Quitters never win!"

“I'll just use whatever ones you left,” he muttered as Erin leaned over to examine his crispy tortilla attempt. "Aww, it's not that bad… just Louisiana-blackened!" More giggles.

She watched Yukito overload his stack of tortillas with the mixture, too much filling for it to stay stable, even if it did probably taste better that way. "It looks like food-Jenga," she said, laughing a little.

He sent Erin a playful scowl, commenting, “You're freaking magical or something...”

"You're just new at it, Yukito, but I'll take the compliment," Erin said with a huge smile. "Come on, let's go sit down and eat…" She pulled him to the living room and sat down on the floor, close against him with the plate in her lap. "Hey, let me try yours! It looks.. Puffy…" she tried, laughing, and reaching over for a bite, spilling some of his stack and her laughter increased. Instead, she just picked up with her fingers what had fallen onto the plate. "Mmm…! Still good even messy!" she announced happily. "Your turn!"

~~

She offered a taste of her own stacked creation to him to try, and when he tasted it, he gave a long pause before nodding. Apparently, she had been expecting a more vivid reaction, because she exclaimed, ”Aw, c'mon, that's all I get? Just a nod? Come ooon, Yukitooo…" She nudged him with her head, wrapping her arms around him and hugging herself to him. "I thought I did really good…"

Yukito stared at her for a second, his expression unreadable, then make a huge effort to look surprised and awed, letting out sounds of, “Mmmm! Mmmm..This is just freaking amazing! I am gonna dieee...” He drew back from his dramatic expression, sending her a mischievous smirk and reaching past her for the pan she had set aside.“I guess it's worth a shot," he said, going back to his cooking attempt. "But you had better stay close, just in case...”

"I guess I can do that," she said, giggling a little as she moved back enough for him to move around the stovetop. He stumbled with everything, botching the entire system that Erin had done with calculated ease, and at each grumbled swear she became more and more amused by him, as his face became heated not just from the pan.

“I give up,” Yukito growled after several blackened tortillas. Erin just kept giggling. "Aww… don't be a quitter! Quitters never win!"

“I'll just use whatever ones you left,” he muttered as Erin leaned over to examine his work. "Aww, it's not that bad… just Louisiana-blackened!" More giggles. He sent her a self-mocking smirk. Right...that makes it SO much better.. He turned to the still-warm tortillas Erin had created and started shoving ingredients on with some semblance of order.

"It looks like food-Jenga," she said, laughing a little.

He sent Erin a playful scowl, commenting, “You're freaking magical or something...” How she had managed to make every single one freaking perfect, he was sure he'd never figure out.

"You're just new at it, Yukito, but I'll take the compliment," Erin said with a huge smile. "Come on, let's go sit down and eat…" She pulled him to the living room and sat down on the floor, close against him with the plate in her lap. On entering the room, he immediately heard and felt the difference in temperature, away from the chill of the refrigerator and the emanating heat of the stove. The living room felt moderate, though he still shivered a little as he sat down. Sitting closer to Erin offered a little more heat, and any excuse right now would do. He was a little surprised that the apartment seemed so much bigger, given that they were determined to stay as close as possible without standing on each other's head, thus taking up less room.

"Hey, let me try yours! It looks.. Puffy…" she tried, laughing, and reaching over for a bite, spilling some of his stack and her laughter increased. Automatically, he jerked a little to try and save the pile, and ended up spilling a little of the sauce off the edge of his plate. Erin quickly took a bit of his serving, while he wiped at the spot on his pants absently. "Mmm…! Still good even messy!" she announced happily. "Your turn!"

He sent her a look, but did start in on the breakfast, done with his dramatic ejaculations about the glory of foodstuffs and their cooking together. Even though he did like it, and he was excited about it. He leaned up against her, testing out the different ways they could settle into each other. “You know, if you're this giddy by me taking my shirt off...” he smirked, nuzzling into the area on her neck usually hidden by hair, “Imagine how I'd react to you doing the same.. You're so warm-blooded... aren't you getting too hot in here?” He laughed roguishly, placing his plate in a safe place so that he didn't spill it more.

“I'm just teasing you..” he chuckled, setting aside the plate and laying down on the carpet, curling himself around her. “And I just feel so exposed now...in a lot of different ways. And my mind is going a thousand different directions.” He sighed through the in-suppressible smile, “You kind of add to that, just so you know. In a big kind of way.”

~~

"Come on, let's go sit down and eat…" He didn't respond as Erin pulled him into the living room, but he stayed close to her, and it made her heart leap up into her head whenever she felt him so close. All the heart-leaping was a little dizzying, and totally and completely wonderful.

"Hey, let me try yours!" Erin said, reaching over and helping herself. It was so nice to be so close… "Nice" didn't cut it."It looks.. Puffy…" Some of the overstuffed stack slipped down, making a bigger mess, and making bigger laughs come from her. Yukito jerked a little, only adding to the mess as she took her bite. "Mmm…! Still good even messy!" she announced happily. "Your turn!"

Silently, Yukito ate some of the breakfast-- their first breakfast they'd really cooked together. So many firsts, she thought giddily, watching him even as he leaned up against her. All the new, easy, simple gestures they could make now were sending her head spinning, and she loved every minute of it.

“You know," Yukito said, breaking the unusual moment of silence. She shifted her head up to look at him again, smiling demurely. "If you're this giddy by me taking my shirt off...” Erin's smile widened as she glanced away, her face feeling warm. Yukito nuzzled against her, feeling his breath on her neck, and her heart leapt again. “Imagine how I'd react to you doing the same…" Her eyes widened, playfully aghast. "You're so warm-blooded... aren't you getting too hot in here?”

"Yukito!" she squealed, feeling the warmth in her face elevate to heat, and Erin gave his side a shove. "Stop that!" she ordered, the word elongated by giggles that came out of nowhere. Again. "It's not the same!"

Yukito only gave a robust, devious laugh, and she gave him another shove. "Stop iiiiit…"

“I'm just teasing you..” he chuckled, moving the plate to the side and shifting to lay down next to her. She shifted too, just a little though, to see him better. The heat faded away in her cheeks and she smiled at him warmly. “And I just feel so exposed now...in a lot of different ways. And my mind is going a thousand different directions.”

"Sounds complicated," she muttered without thinking, giggling again at his words.

“You kind of add to that, just so you know. In a big kind of way.”

"I make it complicated?" she asked, cocking her head a little at him. Then Erin shoved her plate farther away and leaned back, shifting until she was on her side, lying on the floor beside him, her feet opposite of his. For a moment, she just smiled, enjoying the blissful little moment. Then she leaned forward in a sudden rush of movement and kissed his lips. It was short, and when she broke it off, Erin dropped her chin into her hands and smiled at him again. "Your turn," she repeated teasingly.

~~

"You're so warm-blooded... aren't you getting too hot in here?” he asked, his eyes sparkling as her face went crimson.

"Yukito!" she squealed, feeling the warmth in her face elevate to heat, and Erin gave his side a shove. He could only smile at her, letting the force shove him forward a little bit, the places that she had touched tingling. "Stop that!" she ordered, giggling, "It's not the same!" When his response was only to start laughing, long and loud and deviously, she shoved him again. "Stop iiiiit…"

“I'm just teasing you..” he chuckled, moving the plate to the side and shifting to lay down next to her. She shifted too, then smiling up at him warmly. He then attempted to explain to her his tease, the purpose of it. Even if she knew he'd like the reaction to it. Yukito's fingers rose to play with the ends of her hair absently. “And I just feel so exposed now...in a lot of different ways. And my mind is going a thousand different directions.”

"Sounds complicated," she told him, then started to giggle at some unspoken joke. He just smiled at her. If only she had an inkling, could get inside his skin for a moment and feel all the kinds of sensations he was feeling now. It felt like everything beneath the surface was constantly moving, in motion and rolling across all his muscles and aches and happiness, and adding an air of euphoria to the new belief. “You kind of add to that, just so you know. In a big kind of way.”

"I make it complicated?" she asked, cocking her head a little at him, making him chuckle again at the look on her face. Then she discarded her plate – neither of them were as hungry as they had thought, apparently – and sprawled on the floor next to him. They watched each other's faces for a moment, with her expression a little more exuberant than his, though his eyes shimmered more to look ather – then she leapt forward and caught his lips, making him laugh into the kiss. "You make it very..." he sighed, "Very complicated." It sent his mind back to the first day she'd kissed him, and a lot of the little times in between that he wanted to remember. When she was done teasing him back for his tease, she pulled back, propping up her face in her hands and beamed his direction. "Your turn," she repeated matter-of-factly. He arched an eyebrow.

“It's not the same if you prompt me,” he told her with a roll of his eyes, but then leaning in closer until their shoulders were touching, his breath catching each time they came in contact that way. He sucked in a quick gasp, and decided to let it out in that hollow space behind her ear, feeling the tickle of her hair on his cheek and shoulders. Once he was quite thoroughly out of breath, he allowed his lips to brush her neck, nuzzling against her tenderly as he pulled back as slowly as he dared. On his way to her lips, he caught three different spots, on her neck, her jaw, then her cheek. By the time he caught her mouth he was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes closing as he finished the kiss by placing his cheek against hers. “That work for you?”

~~

"I make it complicated?" she asked, expression quizzical. He didn't answer right away, and so Erin pushed her own plate away and laid down next to him. They were both quiet for a moment as she watched him with a bright little smile. Then Erin lunged forward to kiss him, sending him laughing as their lips met. It was such a funny sensation, and she loved it. But she was teasing him, really, so she pulled away shortly. "You make it very..." he sighed, "Very complicated."

Erin shot him a playful glare, then turned to drop her chin into her hands. "Your turn."

“It's not the same if you prompt me,” Yukito commented, rolling his eyes and making her giggle more as he leaned over to be closer to her. Close enough to touch her, and it made her exhale a content sigh. His warm breath by her ear sent her into more giggles, and she could have turned around and hugged him tight to her right then and there and not move for hours, she was sure. Her heart leapt up again in the giddiest way when she felt his lips brush against her, kissing her over and over until he was kissing her lips, and she was pretty sure she might explode. Her smile grew blissfully as he rested his cheek against hers. “That work for you?”

"Mm-hmm…" she replied airily, having no other words at the moment. Then suddenly she'd wrapped her arms around him in a hug, falling backward onto the floor and laughing as she gave him a kiss on his cheek, and then on his lips. "Is this what we've been missing?" Erin asked lightly, her nose and forehead touching his. She laughed again. "Yukito, you're squishing me, move!" (Despite the fact that she was the one who had held him there, and had fallen backwards.) She shifted, also shoving him the way she wanted, until now she laid on her side, nestled happily under his arm and beaming up at him. "This is much better," she declared with a light laugh. "I like us this way…" Erin buried her face against him, kissing the spot at his shoulder that suited her head so nicely and then resting it there. "I love you," she sighed happily. "Let's stay just like this, okay?"

~~

“It's not the same if you prompt me,” he told her with a roll of his eyes , amusing her. Then he leaned in slowly, coming in a kind of close contact he'd been wanting to do for over a year, but hadn't had the strength of will to allow. It was nice to be able to touch her now. It was more than nice. At her sigh, he let out a slow breath against the sweet-smelling place behind her ear, and making her giggle with the sensation. His smile became increasingly devious as he neared her lips in short, soft kisses as he left a trail along his journey, and felt her respond beneath his touch. When he'd finished he caught her lips and touched his cheek against hers tenderly. “That work for you?” he asked as he grinned at her, proud to see the reaction on her face.

"Mm-hmm…" she replied airily, reaching out to enshroud him in her arms, falling backwards with him entangled in her. He pressed against the floor behind her, gently propping himself up until she was all the way down. Erin gave him a kiss on the cheek that was ticklish with her laughter, then met his lips again, as though it was a perpetual magnet for them, a way for them to communicate using the same tools – though not necessarily the same methods – as usual. "Is this what we've been missing?" Erin asked lightly, her nose and forehead touching his.

He let out a low growling sound from the back of his throat, and added a smirk as he responded, “Maybe this is just a beginning...” Yukito laid across her, kissing at her neck and jawline with quick and more frantic movements, at work to cause that little bubbling laugh that made something flutter beneath his skin.

"Yukito, you're squishing me, move!"

He looked down at her, then tilted his head to the side curiously. “How about...no?” But he relinquished his argument at the slightest shove from her, as she positioned the two of them as she pleased. When she was done, he had her curled beneath one arm as she sent her surreal smile up at him. "This is much better," she declared with a light laugh. "I like us this way…" Erin buried her face against him, kissing the spot at his shoulder she continually returned to, resting her head there when she was done nuzzling him. "I love you," she sighed happily. "Let's stay just like this, okay?"

“Okay...” he breathed, giving a little nod that indicated calm, though every muscle of his body was starting to tingle and breathe of its own accord in order to accommodate the swelling in his chest. “I like it better this way, too...” He trailed a finger from the lowest point he could reach on her back all the way up to her neck, moving slowly as he pondered. The hand that had lifted to her neck now played in the tangled mess of her hair, as he felt acutely how thankful he was that he had decided to stay. He knew Erin had quickly become a very vital piece of his life, and it was impossible to pin down in words just what about her had done that for him. To her, he'd shown his weakest side, his softest side, his most fearful side, and in those vulnerable moments, he had trusted her enough to show her the side of him he hadn't known himself for years – his own happiness, burning and growing more each day. It was as though they could hide behind the doors of the crappy apartment and the world suddenly got a lot less impoverished and perverse, that the air was a little easier to breathe in and out. For a long time, he sat silently, his fingers playing absently in her hair, still messy from the night before as he turned over and over again in his mind the events he could remember, from the nightmare to his first moment of awareness, to their shared tears to the forlorn look on her face when she'd stare at him in the dark.

“Erin...” he started, instantly regretting it and drawing a blank on anything more trivial to be wondering about. It was idiotic and she would laugh at him, and he knew it. Knew it to be a fact. But there was nothing else his flailing mind could come up with, so he mumbled it with embarrassment written on his face. “When I first took my shirt off last night and told you I was done with it all... you looked away from me...” It wasn't really phrased as a question, but he said it as though it was, his eyes flickering away from her face as he trailed off. What he really wanted to know was if there had been a good reason for her not wanting to see him like that, at least at first. She didn't seem to be having a problem with it now, curled up against him and all smiles and sunshine. Though he tried to put that moment out of his mind, it had bothered him. Bothered him enough to make him wonder, and for the moment to keep replaying in his mind and pushing a little deeper each time. “I know, it's stupid, but...”

~~

[Elda Forever]

~~

"Is this what we've been missing?" Erin asked lightly, her nose and forehead touching his.

“Maybe this is just a beginning...” Yukito responded roguishly. It was so easy, so good to hold him close as he laid across her and started to kiss her again. Lots of kisses, sending her head spinning and heart dropping and she loved every minute of the feeling. He kissed her so much, that finally it felt like she couldn't breath, but Erin still let out a laugh and ordered, "Yukito, you're squishing me, move!"

Pausing, Yukito sent her a thoughtful look, as if she'd given him a serious mandate to ponder. The finally, he made his decision. “How about...no?”

Erin playfully made a gasp of disbelief at his obstinacy, even as he moved enough that she could shift to her side quite happily. She tucked herself under Yukito's arm so that he was still holding her, and so that she was still right against him. "This is much better," she announced brightly. "I like us this way…" Erin buried her face against him, kissing the spot at his shoulder she continually returned to, resting her head there when she was done nuzzling him. "I love you. Let's stay just like this, okay?"

“Okay… I like it better this way, too...”

Automatically, Erin held him tighter to her when she felt Yukito's finger tracing along her. Reaching her neck, his fingers intertwined with her still bed-head and Erin lifted up her face to see him, sending him another daydream-smile as she gently kissed his lips again. And again. And was about to again when he called her name. “Erin...”

"What?" she muttered, going ahead to complete the kiss she'd wanted to start in the first place.

“When I first took my shirt off last night and told you I was done with it all... you looked away from me...”

Her elation melted away a bit at his words. In fact, the heat of embarrassment came creeping back up instead. Crap… he noticed! He wanted her to explain that, didn't he? How could she explain that? 'Oh, see, I really like how you look, and you're always hiding it under shirts so I can't ever see, but then you did, and it's not like I could just stare at you when you were in emotional turmoil…' Yeah, she wasn't saying that. But the awkward guilty feeling had seeped onto her face, and she tried to cover it with a shy smile, glancing away. "Yukito… come on…"

“I know, it's stupid, but...”

"It's not stupid, don't say that," she objected, but then was still caught with giving him an answer. "Do I have to tell you?" Erin asked, the anxiety at admitting her thoughts like that welling up. She bit her lip, biding her time until finally she rushed out, "I like looking at you but didn't think you would want that while you were upset, okay? Don't laugh at me…"

~~

His hand trailed benevolently along her back and reached her neck, then twisted the long strands of her hair around the tips of his fingers. He could feel her cling to him all the tighter as he did so, then she lifted her face to him with a beatific smile, then placing her lips on his repeatedly while he fell into thought. It was so easy to fall into a comfortable place with her now, and a restfulness soon started to fall into sleepy reverie. When she continually came to press upon his lips, he relinquished to her the right to do as she pleased. But then he found himself speaking up. “Erin...”

"What?" she muttered, going ahead to complete another kiss. He started to smile, but then realized he had to finish the thought now.

He spoke hesitantly, his eyes drifting off while his hand still continued to twirl around in her hair, albeit slower. “When I first took my shirt off last night and told you I was done with it all... you looked away from me...” The insinuated question instantly had its effect on her, that rapturous grin as she'd been enjoying the moment vanishing. She smiled again, but it was differently this time. "Yukito… come on…"

He turned away, going heated in the cheeks himself, and having the vapid sensation of walking into something unnecessary. “I know, it's stupid, but...” he started to sit up, feeling at a loss as to what he could say to mend up that slip up, and pretty irritated at her lack of response. If she couldn't just say it, then what did she expect him to react with? He'd already been concerned, now his cause was just confirmed by her avoidance. Yukito felt confused and insulted while simultaneously guilty and ashamed, his face growing more and more heated.

"It's not stupid, don't say that," she objected quickly, halting him with a single phrase as he stayed on the carpet with her on top of him, but he didn't look her way.

"Do I have to tell you?" Erin asked, actually stopping and waiting for his answer. He wasn't sure what to say to her. Instead, he opted for silence, not sure he could trust his voice. Just say it. Say that it wasn't what you expected. If you just tell me what was wrong, then I can start to fix it, and maybe you'll -"I like looking at you but didn't think you would want that while you were upset, okay?” She told him suddenly, the words rushed as though they were a waterfall that had just been released. “Don't laugh at me…"

Yukito's breath was suddenly very difficult to control, wanting to stop and rush at a whim that was not his own. “I don't need you to--” he cut himself off, sure that calling it a lie to her face – his initial reaction – would not go over well. His second reaction was to actually consider it, imagining the way her eyes had locked on him before, and he felt that exposure again, acutely, as his stomach did a few acrobatics for good measure during the moment. His face grew tangibly hot as he held onto her, mumbling, “I thought you saw me as too...” There were a hundred words he could use, but none of them fit right now, not when she'd just said the opposite was true. Slowly, he looked over at her, his smile nervous again as he kissed her cheek. “I have high expectations of myself for you, Erin,” he told her, “There's a lot I'd do for you, if I just knew it was what you wanted. Last night, I knew you wanted me to stay, to really be with you...” He looked down again, stifling a shy smile, "I'm just not used to this, and I thought..."

~~

"Do I have to tell you?" She bit her lip, hoping he'd drop it or say nevermind or just kiss her or something, but no. He just stared her down, like he needed to know, like it was vital knowledge, and as embarrassing as Erin felt saying it, she had to, for him. So quickly, she confessed shoving her words together. "I like looking at you but didn't think you would want that while you were upset, okay? Don't laugh at me…"

Erin peered at him anxiously; he didn't look at all pleased by her admission, and she wondered if she'd started blushing yet. It was pretty hard to get her to blush, usually, but maybe this… “I don't need you to--” Yukito started, then stopped. Her brow wrinkled in uncertainty, trying to fill in the blanks of what he had just been trying to say. At the same, he wasn't letting go of her, like Erin had thought he would. Admitting that to him so frankly felt almost like she'd done something wrong. It was supposed to be the other way around, wasn't it? Wasn't he supposed to be the one who couldn't take his eyes off of her? Didn't that mean there was something wrong with her? Did Yukito see that? Did he care? Was it bad of her?

“I thought you saw me as too...” Yukito started again, then he trailed off. "To what?" Erin muttered, feeling lost for the moment. The carpeting was starting to make her arm itch with how she was laying on it. "I love you, Yukito," she reminded him, giving him a shy smile. "Daisuke!"

Yukito gave a light kiss to her cheek. “I have high expectations of myself for you, Erin." She listened, for the moment not sure what he meant by that. Then, his next words helped her out a bit more. "There's a lot I'd do for you, if I just knew it was what you wanted. Last night, I knew you wanted me to stay, to really be with you...” His lips twitched in what might have been a smile. "I'm just not used to this, and I thought..."

"Yukito, I love you how you are now. I do." She pulled away and sat up, scratching at the place that the carpet had been itching on her arm. "I dunno what kind of expectations you have, but I love you now, not later when you've achieved whatever expectations you have or something… Now. I do, as you are, Yukito," Erin repeated, looking up at him, her expression pleading with him to believe her. She leaned forward and kissed him again. "I don't know what else I can do to show you that, so you know I mean it, but…" A little shrug. "I do. I mean it a lot. I mean," Erin added, shifting her position a bit and fidgeting with the hem of her borrowed shirt. "Don't you feel the same about me?"

~~

Her confession caught him off guard and wordless. He could feel her eyes on him but had no coherent reply for her at his disposal.

“I don't need you to--” Yukito started, then stopped. There was something almost tangible getting caught in his throat, and he wasn't sure what to do about it but keep going until he managed something. “I thought you saw me as too...” Yukito started again, then he trailed off as all the right words escaped him for words too shallow, too pathetic, and not what he wanted to say aloud at all..

"Too what?" Erin muttered, obviously getting frustrated by his strangled speech. "I love you, Yukito," she reminded him, giving him a shy smile. "Daisuke!"

He met her eyes for a moment, then gave a light kiss to her cheek and imagined he was finding the words there, on the lips of the one who almost always had something to say. “I have high expectations of myself for you, Erin. There's a lot I'd do for you, if I just knew it was what you wanted. Last night, I knew you wanted me to stay, to really be with you...” His lips twitched in what might have been a smile. "I'm just not used to this, and I thought..."

"Yukito, I love you how you are now. I do." Her words weren't near as reassuring or believable as her tone, as she moved away to fuss with their position on the carpet. That tone was of the sort that was prepared – and accustomed to – repeating a conviction as many times as necessary. A tone that just wanted to be believed. "I dunno what kind of expectations you have, but I love you now, not later when you've achieved whatever expectations you have or something… Now. I do, as you are, Yukito," Erin repeated, looking up at him, her expression pleading with him to believe her. She leaned forward and kissed him again. By this time, his skin was heating up again, raising nervous little shudders the more she touched him. In more ways than just physically. "I don't know what else I can do to show you that, so you know I mean it, but…" A little shrug. "I do. I mean it a lot. I mean," Erin added, shifting her position a bit and fidgeting with the hem of her borrowed shirt. "Don't you feel the same about me?"

Abandoning his usual moment for the correct response, Yukito found himself blurting, “Every time I get afraid, you come back with a hundred promises I never expected from anyone. Yes, Erin. Every single day you take my breath away a little more, when I was already amazed by you from the very first.” He was able to manage a sharp inhale, slowly letting it out as his mind soaked in what he had actually said. “You're beautiful. You're loved, more than anyone I know, but you deserve that love because you always give it back more than anyone else. Sometimes, you make me feel like a complete idiot for not loving you enough in return for that, for not being able to make you happiest in the world.” He leaned forward, breathless again, and pressed his lips to hers. “You're so strong and beautiful... I can't help but love you and want to keep you all to myself, selfish or not. I stopped making excuses for not loving you enough a long time ago, when I came to your parent's house at three in the morning to tell you that I did still love you, whether it was good for us or not. I love you, and that doesn't change once it happens.”

~~

Trying her best to get him to see the truth in her words, Erin leaned forward and gave him another kiss. "I don't know what else I can do to show you that, so you know I mean it, but…" A little shrug. "I do. I mean it a lot. I mean," she shifted mid-speech, playing with the hem of her shirt that wasn't really hers. "Don't you feel the same about me?"

Yukito surprised her with a sudden blurted response that made her heart leap farther up into her throat as he let the words tumble out. “Every time I get afraid, you come back with a hundred promises I never expected from anyone. Yes, Erin. Every single day you take my breath away a little more, when I was already amazed by you from the very first.” A smile blossomed on her face at his words. He really found her amazing from the first,even before she'd really considered him as anything more than a cute crush? Wow.... it was enough to make her feel giddy, if she didn't feel that way already....“You're beautiful. You're loved, more than anyone I know, but you deserve that love because you always give it back more than anyone else. Sometimes, you make me feel like a complete idiot for not loving you enough in return for that, for not being able to make you happiest in the world.” He leaned forward to give kiss her again, and she moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him and coveting her ability to do that simple act. “You're so strong and beautiful... I can't help but love you and want to keep you all to myself, selfish or not. I stopped making excuses for not loving you enough a long time ago, when I came to your parent's house at three in the morning to tell you that Idid still love you, whether it was good for us or not. I love you, and that doesn't change once it happens.”

His words had Erin smiling dreamily again, and she couldn't choose between keeping her eyes locked on his expression as he talked to her, or nuzzling against him, so she'd just kept alternating between the two. As his little speech finished, Erin looked up at him curiously. "Once what happens?" was the only thing she asked, not giving him time to answer immediately as she gave him another kiss on his cheek that quickly finished on his lips. Then Erin laid her head to rest under his chin, waiting for him to answer now and relishing all the things he'd said. She didn't want to forget those any time soon.. or at all, for that matter. "I thought you didn't love me then," she muttered after a minute. "I didn't know a lot... so I thought you didn't want to hold me a lot because you didn't like me as much as I thought, and I misunderstood.... I thought you would forget me..." Even thinking about all that made her still feel a little sad, so she pulled closer for his comfort, and her smile returned. "I'm glad we're here now," she commented lightly. "Let's just stay like this..."

~~

"Don't you feel the same about me?"

He had no time to hold back the words as they tumbled about in any way they chose. “Every time I get afraid, you come back with a hundred promises I never expected from anyone. Yes, Erin. Every single day you take my breath away a little more, when I was already amazed by you from the very first.” Her warming face made his breath catch, a clear indication in the sound of his voice as it caught.“You're beautiful. You're loved, more than anyone I know, but you deserve that love because you always give it back more than anyone else. Sometimes, you make me feel like a complete idiot for not loving you enough in return for that, for not being able to make you happiest in the world.” He leaned forward to give kiss her again, and she moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him, her bare arms against his bare back, and sending shivers up and down his spine. When he pulled his lips from hers, he added, “You're so strong and beautiful... I can't help but love you and want to keep you all to myself, selfish or not. I stopped making excuses for not loving you enough a long time ago, when I came to your parent's house at three in the morning to tell you that I did still love you, whether it was good for us or not. I love you, and that doesn't change once it happens.”

Erin looked up at him curiously. "Once what happens?" Instead of giving him time to inhale in for enough strength to respond, she cut him off with another spine-tingling kiss of confusion and energy, then curling up under his chin comfortably, protectively.

“Once I'm not afraid of loving you. Once I'm not afraid to hold you and tell you things I won't tell anyone else. Once I...once you're mine.”

"I thought you didn't love me then," she muttered after a minute. "I didn't know a lot... so I thought you didn't want to hold me a lot because you didn't like me as much as I thought, and I misunderstood.... I thought you would forget me..."

“You're not very forgettable...” he muttered, holding her tightly as she nudged herself in closer. “You're like a very colorful anchor for me..”

"I'm glad we're here now," she commented lightly. "Let's just stay like this..."

“I can deal with that,” he chuckled, nudging until he was face to face with her. “And me, too. I love you, Erin. And you have no idea how much being here with you means for me.”

~~

"I love you," Yukito told her. "And that doesn't change once it happens.”

Erin looked up at him curiously. "Once what happens?" Before he could answer, she kissed him again, impulsively, for no other reason than that she wanted to and she could. Then she let her head rest against his chest, under his chin, and let him speak.

“Once I'm not afraid of loving you" he said, and it was a good thing he continued, because that alone didn't make much sense. How can you be afraid of loving me? "Once I'm not afraid to hold you and tell you things I won't tell anyone else. Once I...once you're mine.”

For a moment his words drew out another smile from Erin. And for that moment, she was quiet, thinking on what he'd said. After that moment of silence, her muttered words broke it. "I thought you didn't love me then. I didn't know a lot... so I thought you didn't want to hold me a lot because you didn't like me as much as I thought, and I misunderstood.... I thought you would forget me..."

“You're not very forgettable...” he muttered in reply, holding her tightly as she nudged herself in closer. “You're like a very colorful anchor for me..”

Another smile easily flitted to her face. If only he could see the picture in her head at that description. It was enough to make her giggle. "I'm glad we're here now," she commented lightly. "Let's just stay like this..." Because it felt so right and perfect. Because if it ended now, maybe it would never start again…

“I can deal with that,” Yukito responded easily, chuckling. It felt so new and good to be so close to him when he laughed, even just a little. “And me, too," he added, nudging his face close to hers. She was smiling so much it hurt, but it was the good kind of hurt that she didn't want to let go. "I love you, Erin. And you have no idea how much being here with you means for me.”

She kissed him again, no words coming out soon enough for her. "It's not like I'm going anywhere any time soon," she observed playfully after a moment, and hugged herself close to him.

~~

She smiled so easily, letting out a tiny giggle. "I'm glad we're here now," she commented lightly. "Let's just stay like this..." He was content to feel her against him again, warm and comforting and innocent and happy.

“I can deal with that,” Yukito responded easily, chuckling. He could see and feel the movement's affect on her. “And me, too," he added, nudging his face close to hers. "I love you, Erin. And you have no idea how much being here with you means for me.”

She kissed him again, the flipping and dancing in his abdomen doing anything but calm. "It's not like I'm going anywhere any time soon," she observed playfully after a moment, and hugged herself close to him.

“That's good to know..” he breathed a sigh, his hand playing with her hair again. After a long duration of silence, he spoke again, memories tingling at the edges of his thoughts and coming back in a cool wave. His voice, relaxed and slow, as he absently twirled a lock of her hair around his fingertip. “When I was little, my mother used to take me to the playgrounds to play. I'd go around and around, crawling up the same places all the time and never really getting anywhere. When I got home...I always felt so excited, like I'd accomplished something big, even if I hadn't been anywhere but down the block the whole day...” he paused, “I wonder now, what it was I'd accomplished. It was really just burning off that energy all kids have. But I felt proud of myself for managing to spin the fastest, jump the highest, slide the most.. Maybe I liked to think of myself as stronger, more successful and stronger, than I actually was. I think I liked to believe myself the best there, and I felt so proud of myself for that. It was the one place I could be the best, and the strongest. Even if I never really was..” He trailed off, not sure what to add. With a little smile, he mumbled, “I don't even know why I just told you that...it seems kind of strange.” He winked at her, “And did you know, at school I used to stuff my vegetables in my milk carton?”

~~

"It's not like I'm going anywhere any time soon," Erin said happily, hugging him close to her.

“That's good to know..”Yukito said, sighing a little. She beamed, hugging him as he played with her hair. It was ridiculous how such tiny, natural movements could make her feel so wonderful and bubbly. And that she could sit there so contently, silently, for what felt like so long, and it was more than okay.

“When I was little," Yukito started, still playing with her hair in his fingertips. "My mother used to take me to the playgrounds to play. I'd go around and around, crawling up the same places all the time and never really getting anywhere. When I got home...I always felt so excited, like I'd accomplished something big, even if I hadn't been anywhere but down the block the whole day...” he paused and Erin giggled at the picture his words had painted in her head. “I wonder now, what it was I'd accomplished. It was really just burning off that energy all kids have. But I felt proud of myself for managing to spin the fastest, jump the highest, slide the most.. Maybe I liked to think of myself as stronger, more successful and stronger, than I actually was. I think I liked to believe myself the best there, and I felt so proud of myself for that. It was the one place I could be the best, and the strongest. Even if I never really was..”

"Aww… I wonder if we'd known each other as kids if we woulda got along or what," she thought aloud, still giggling a little with the pictures in her head.

“I don't even know why I just told you that...it seems kind of strange.”

Erin shrugged. "So? I like hearing things like that from you."

He winked at her and continued, as if taking that as a cue, “And did you know, at school I used to stuff my vegetables in my milk carton?”

Erin laughed aloud. "You're terrible! You would be the kid that does that! I know school lunches are crap, but ew! I mean, I might have thrown the food, but at least I didn't stuff it in places!" She kept laughing, and pulled herself up to her feet, then took Yukito by both his hands and tugged, signaling him to follow her. "Come on, let's go lay back down." A quick kiss, and she bowed out of the living room to disappear down the hallway.

[Ummm yeah, I guess this can be "wrapped up" now? XD I dunno… haha.]

[GGJ5]

Art

Yukito Maki

He was still holding the piece of paper by his fingertips, firmly holding it but afraid to clutch it protectively in case he crinkled the already worn page. It felt like the buildings just faded past him, warped and too distant. Like he was in a thick glass globe that encased him on all sides. Trying to keep himself under control, he kept his gaze at the ground and walked into the house. The key was chilly in his hand, and he fumbled with it numbly, his brow a little furrowed as the only outward sign of distress. The apartment was empty when he entered it, with only Chica coming up to greet him in silence. Erin wasn't home from school yet. One hand pushed back the front door, and it closed partially, swinging back open as he went into the bedroom.
He started to remove his jacket but only got it slid off his shoulders before his eyes locked on a particularly hollow-looking space on the wall. He sauntered to the bed and dropped the drawing on it, his own face staring up at him in an almost accusatory fashion. He seemed to say Why are you doing this? Is it really going to make anything better? Or is it just going to make it harder on you?'

Yukito's face remained passive as he went back to the Volvo to grab the picture frame he'd bought today out of the passenger seat. Within minutes he had the drawing safe behind the glass, still staring at him. He stopped to inspect it, unsure if a drawing was supposed to have no glass so it wouldn't smudge, or if it was better to have it so it wouldn't be touched. He decided it would have to do as it was. Chica curled up on the bed while he continued to inspect the only thing he had left that was truly Natalie's. He knew it would continue to ache to look at it. He knew it would continue to constrict his breathing. But he had to hang it up. It was a painful reminder to himself, a physical handprint of his memory. It was something he had to face, yet another demon of the past. But he was hoping this one wouldn't be as cruel.

I'm such a masochist. Or maybe just a narcissist? I don't know...not anymore.

The moment his hammer first struck the wall, Chica hurled herself from the room, knocking over several objects on her way out. He didn't notice her missing, or hear Erin getting home as he gave the last few swings of the hammer, then the clatter resounding of the frame bumping up against the wall as he positioned it, completely in his own world. Non-responsive, he heard Erin's voice but didn't speak. Once he was done, he stepped back to view it anew, then slid down to the floor, his back against the edge of the bed. Yukito let out a long exhale that belied how breathless he felt, pulling his knees up to his chest. His eyes were still locked on the drawing as he rested his chin on his knees, murmuring, "M'sorry..."

----

Erin Spenser

Yukito's car was already parked when Callie dropped her off. Erin strolled into their home, dropping her bags by the door. "Hey, kareshiiii! Come say hi to meeee!"

When Yukito didn't come down the hallway, Erin's lips pouted into a short frown. "Yuyukun, I haven't seen you all day!" she called as she walked into the bedroom.

It was a much different sight than normal, and not one that warmed her heart. Yukito sat by the bed, looking sick or beaten down or something else totally miserable. And a new feature drew her eyes to the wall, not too far from where Yukito had sunk down. A little duplicate, somewhat younger Yukito, illustrated by a fine-tuned hand. Quickly the dots began connecting. But the dots were put on the back burner as the image of the real Yukito looking so bleak took priority. She bit her lip, torn between rushing to his side and examining the new feature that had apparently caused Yukito's current state. "Hey…" she called softly, in a voice that she hoped said, "It's okay. Really." With genuine curiosity piqued now, Erin crossed the room to the illustration, her fingers tracing the frame. He'd just bought this frame. For the picture. The one that showed a well-crafted version of his younger self. When she spoke, it was almost a whisper, surprising even herself from the quick change from a moment ago.

Yukito let out a long exhale in response, pulling his knees up to his chest. The usual signal of "I feel like crap. Life sucks." But he was looking at the picture, too. "M'sorry..."

The unexpected apology snagged her attention. She left her stance in front of the portrait and swiftly turned to kneel close beside him. "What are you sorry for? Yukito…" Her hand brushed against his face for a moment, a silent gesture that it was really okay. "Are you apologizing because it's from Natalie? Yukito, don't be sorry for that. Don't you ever be sorry for that." She kissed his forehead, then glanced back up at the picture again, a smile coming to her face. "She did such a freaking awesome job with that, too." Erin turned her attention back to Yukito. "Did Liv give it to you, or did you have it before?" Resting her hand on his shoulder, leaning close into him, Erin pressed on. "Tell me about it."

------

Yukito Maki

He watched fixedly Erin's hand tracing the frame of the drawing, her touch delicate and almost timid and shy to his eyes. It was so strange to see her next to it, so strange to stare at his own image and feel as if he didn't know the person behind the penciled-in eyes. In addition, seeing Erin looked over at him, he had the vision of Natalie standing there next to Erin and the drawing, all three sets of eyes looking at him and each with a different part of him, his past and his present and his future. Feeling that hollow vulnerability in his gut, he drew his legs to his chest and exhaled slowly. To the air, to himself, to the drawing and especially to Erin he murmured, "M'sorry..."

Erin looked at him in confusion, moving over to him. “What are you sorry for? Yukito…"

His shoulders gave a quick and abrupt shudder as though he was about to break down again, but he swallowed it, his face tensing and his eyes shutting as he dropped his chin, straining to hold up the thin thread of resolve. He didn't want to look at the picture anymore. He felt Erin's hand against his cheek, and quickly was capable of inhaling again. "Are you apologizing because it's from Natalie? Yukito, don't be sorry for that. Don't you ever be sorry for that.”He continued to stare intently at his knees as her lips brushed his cheek. It felt like should be sorry. It felt like he was trying to drag her down again with all of this baggage he carried.

He glanced up to see Erin turned away from him, looking at the picture. He watched her profiled face as she studied it, a smile inevitably coming to her face and loosening the tightness in his chest, offering him the sanctuary of distraction. "She did such a freaking awesome job with that, too."


“She had a lot of other really good ones,” he murmured, his voice crackled and strained. But this was the first I saw her do. The first she did of me. The first time I spoke to her. The first everything with her.

"Did Liv give it to you, or did you have it before?" Erin asked, gently but with genuine interest in the story of how he acquired the drawing. Her hand dropped to his shoulder, her whole body leaning in to offer him a little solace with her presence, a direct answer to his silent prayer. He leaned his head over to rest against hers, letting out a deep sigh. "Tell me about it.”

“Liv was at du Monde today. I had to talk to her. I feel like...like I need to connect with her somehow. Just some contact. Like we spoke the same language once, even if we don't anymore.” His voice was calm and hollow, his gaze distant and looking at the carpet and fighting the temptation to look back at the reflection of his own haunted image on the wall. “Then we talked awhile, and I said 'I just need anything of her. Just one, of anything.' And Liv had it with her, and she gave it to me. It was the first day I met Natalie, that day,” he looked up, pointing a single finger at the drawing, “See the fountain? Do you remember it? We went by it on our way to the beach. It's small and pretty. She was there that day and told me to sit down so she could draw me...” He trailed off, thinking on the foggy memories of that day. Then, mimicking the sarcastic undertones and flippant little noises, he related, “ 'Do you speak English, or what? Sit down.' 'How do you do that?' 'Your eyes, I want to capture it...' She liked my face, and kept saying over and over again that she couldn't do it. Capture it.... 'Sit still, and think just what you were thinking...' ”

'Your eyes, I want to capture it...'

Another sigh.

“I love you, Erin,” he murmured, shifting so he was closer to her, cuddling up against her and inhaling her scent in with every additional sigh. “I don't know why, exactly, I just need this here. Just one thing...”


------

Erin Spenser

Once again, Erin was out of her element. Sometimes it was like this, where it was like Yukito was haunted. And she was never really sure what the best thing to do was. All she could do was what came to her, and right now, it was asking about it. She was genuinely curious-- this was part of Yukito's past, the parts she uncovered over time even after getting story after story from Yukito. And she loved him, past, present, and future. So things that helped to make him the way he was... they interested her. And a lot of the way he was, it was owed to Natalie. So Erin went back to examine the picture again. "She did such a freaking awesome job with that, too."

“She had a lot of other really good ones,” Yukito muttered, and she could hear the ache in his voice. Again, she was torn. Yes, she wanted to thank Natalie for bringing him to her, in a way. But she wanted to scream at her for the scars she'd left on Yukito, on someone she claimed to love... look how she'd wounded him! But he'd loved her... she couldn't be that mad at someone he loved, could she? It was still confusing....

"At least I get to see this one," she decided. "Did Liv give it to you, or did you have it before?" Her hand dropped to his shoulder as she leaned in to warm him. He leaned his head over to rest against hers, letting out a deep sigh. "Tell me about it.”

“Liv was at du Monde today. I had to talk to her. I feel like...like I need to connect with her somehow. Just some contact. Like we spoke the same language once, even if we don't anymore.” Erin nodded quietly, unsure if he was speaking figuratively or literally. Couldn't he speak some Norwegian? At least this way he didn't sound so achy...It was good for him to talk this way, Erin felt. And it was probably good for her, too. “Then we talked awhile, and I said 'I just need anything of her. Just one, of anything.' And Liv had it with her, and she gave it to me. It was the first day I met Natalie, that day.” He paused, as if letting the significance of that announcement sink in for Erin. It was definitely sinking in. Wow.... No wonder he'd been so torn up... He was now pointing at the background of the portrait. “See the fountain? Do you remember it?" She'd passed a dozen of them, and didn't remember one from the other, actually, but Erin was sure Yukito had walked her by there, and so she nodded. "Mmhmm."

"We went by it on our way to the beach. It's small and pretty. She was there that day and told me to sit down so she could draw me... 'Do you speak English, or what? Sit down.' 'How do you do that?' 'Your eyes, I want to capture it...' She liked my face, and kept saying over and over again that she couldn't do it. Capture it.... 'Sit still, and think just what you were thinking...' ”

"Aw, Yukito, then that's really great you get to have it back again... And see, I told you... your face is just different! She knew it, too." Erin smiled up at him, hoping that the openness of conversation would help him feel better in some way. Okay with having the memories he had.

Another sigh.

Well, maybe in time, then....

“I love you, Erin,” he murmured, shifting so he was closer to her, cuddling up against her as Erin played with the fringes of his hair absently. “I don't know why, exactly, I just need this here. Just one thing...”

"Yukito, you sound like you feel bad for wanting it around... You don't have to feel bad for it. I already told you I thought it was awesome, and you need to keep it. It carries a lot of her with it, and we should have a bit of her. It wouldn't be right otherwise." Despite the lingering anger she felt at Natalie, for leaving him and hurting him among other things, Erin believed what she said. It wouldn't be right to leave unspoken the spirit that filled his memory, that in a roundabout way brought them together. It wouldn't be right to forget to acknowledge her, and it was such a simple and pretty portrait, too, it just fit right in... "If Liv has anything else from her she'd like to share, it's all good," Erin reassured him quietly, giving him a soft smile. "I can see what she meant, though, in your eyes sometimes. I mean, I don't draw... Unless you count cartoon doodles and hearts... But I think I know what she meant. You do have this thing about you, this.... aloofness... like in your eyes. Not a bad kind, just there... and then it's not. I think it's what made me keep looking back at you when I first saw you." She smiled at him again, kissing his cheek. "What else?"

----------

Yukito Maki

He pointed up at the drawing, to pull her attention to the background. “See the fountain? Do you remember it?" Erin gave a little nod. "Mmhmm." He continued, "We went by it on our way to the beach. It's small and pretty. She was there that day and told me to sit down so she could draw me... 'Do you speak English, or what? Sit down.' 'How do you do that?' 'Your eyes, I want to capture it...' She liked my face, and kept saying over and over again that she couldn't do it. Capture it.... 'Sit still, and think just what you were thinking...' ”

"Aw, Yukito, then that's really great you get to have it back again... And see, I told you... your face is just different! She knew it, too." Erin smiled up at him, and a little smile came to his lips, gentle as he sighed. She was being so good about this,and he had tried so hard to avoid it with her, even though all of him wanted that drawing up on the wall more than he could say.

“I love you, Erin,” he murmured, shifting so he was closer to her, cuddling up against her. Instantly he felt the waves of relaxation come as she toyed with his hair, the slight pull on his scalp soothing as her presence. He was starting to believe this wouldn't be another ugly mess, a futile attempt of his to have Natalie's presence remembered and thought of, instead of some old and decrepit antique left in an attic, or a charred remain that had been burnt down to the ground. “I don't know why, exactly, I just need this here. Just one thing...”

"Yukito, you sound like you feel bad for wanting it around... You don't have to feel bad for it. I already told you I thought it was awesome, and you need to keep it. It carries a lot of her with it, and we should have a bit of her. It wouldn't be right otherwise." He felt tears starting to well up and his throat tense from choking down those tears as she spoke, his face in a tight lipped smile as his brow furrowed, straining not to cry. "If Liv has anything else from her she'd like to share, it's all good.” She sent him a smile, and he raised one hand to rub at his eye, silently berating it for its threats as he gave her a little nod. Yukito breathed in once, and let it out, now much more in control.

”I can see what she meant, though, in your eyes sometimes.” The comment made him look over at her in curiosity. ”I mean, I don't draw... Unless you count cartoon doodles and hearts... But I think I know what she meant. You do have this thing about you, this.... aloofness... like in your eyes. Not a bad kind, just there... and then it's not. I think it's what made me keep looking back at you when I first saw you."

For a long moment, he just stared at her, a smile waiting on his lips as he listened to her. “Well, I'm glad you like them.” Inwardly, though, he examined her words with more serious, thinking on that 'aloofness' and knowing what it was she probably saw. “I happen to think your eyes are one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. And I know that's what made me keep looking at you first.” Though of course he had usually casually glanced away when she noticed, most of the time. At least until his resolve had crumbled at getting her back, at needing her to be there. He didn't take her eyes for granted anymore, wide and warm and innocent.

"What else?"

“Hmm?” he murmured, still watching her face, then resting his head against her again, his arm reaching around her to hold her close his voice gentle and calm now. “What do you mean?”

--------

Erin Spenser

”I can see what she meant, though," Erin said, "In your eyes sometimes. I mean, I don't draw... Unless you count cartoon doodles and hearts... But I think I know what she meant. You do have this thing about you, this.... aloofness... like in your eyes. Not a bad kind, just there... and then it's not. I think it's what made me keep looking back at you when I first saw you." She gave him a soft smile, resting herself against him in a silent form of comfort, doing her best to wait out the silence with him. The silence he needed and used so well.

“Well, I'm glad you like them," Yukito said finally. “I happen to think your eyes are one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. And I know that's what made me keep looking at you first.”

Erin gave a soft laugh at that statement. "I don't think so... I'm pretty sure I saw you first..." She paused, trying to rework her thoughts to focus on what Yukito would feel was important right now. And right now he wanted that to be Natalie. She redirected herself, addressing what she thought were Yukito's thoughts: "What else?"

“Hmm?” Yukito looked over at her briefly, then rested his head against her again. Almost automatically Erin's fingers traced the back of Yukito's hand, a mini-massage that took the place of hand-holding. “What do you mean?”

"I mean about Natalie. Anything else you're thinking about her, you know? Good things." As soon as the words left her mouth, Erin was almost certain she'd set herself up to receive a wound. But it would only be a tiny one, a little pang of jealousy left over, and that was natural, right? Plus she wanted to hear more, even if it hurt just a little. It wasn't like it used to be. And he needed to share, if he wanted to. It would be a lot more than a little wound if he shared these precious pieces of past with someone besides herself. So it was worth it.

---------

Yukito Maki

“I happen to think your eyes are one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. And I know that's what made me keep looking at you first,” he told her, thinking the sharing time was over and they had to go back to avoiding the issue again. Erin gave a soft laugh at his tease.

"I don't think so... I'm pretty sure I saw you first..." She paused, and he didn't interrupt her, his mind wandering briefly off into his memories when she spoke up again. "What else?"

“Hmm?” he glanced up into her face, a little confused at the prompt, then dropped his head to lean on her, drawing something nameless and utterly necessary from the contact. He let out a relaxed sigh as her fingers trailed against his hand. She always did know, somehow. “What do you mean?”

"I mean about Natalie. Anything else you're thinking about her, you know? Good things."

Yukito closed his eyes, sifting through what he was fairly sure he had already told her, setting aside immediate memories that wouldn't fit in her 'good things' category. But the problem was, he had discovered, that all she heard about were the good things he remembered about Natalie. All the surprises, the smiles, her talents and her likes. Looking at the drawing on the wall, it was hard to remember her with those flaws, the mistakes she'd made that made her as whole and complete a person as her loves and beliefs. It felt like he'd been idolizing her in his head. And maybe he always had.

“I don't know... she liked to take charge of everything. Everyone around her were like pets, and she had to take care of them.” The frown on his face grew more and more distinctive, his voice speeding up as if that pressure on his chest was really an engine that was now growing momentum, a runaway train of his thoughts. “She bossed me around a lot, and I used to like it, because then I knew what was expected. But she got frustrated with me, and told me to back down, figure it out myself. It was as reckless of her to let me follow as it was stupid of me to do so. I wanted her to fix me. She made me think she could. But she was even more lost than I was, and she needed me even more than I could give. She needed me, but she couldn't love me, she never did. I told her a thousand times, and she never said it back. She couldn't tell me because it meant admitted she needed me more.” Tears were in his eyes, refusing to fall. At some point he had raised his head, looking accusingly up at the drawing. “It hurts because I'm afraid she's still lost and nothing I can do about it. Even if I could have before. It hurts because I never just let go of her like I should. But I'm better, now. I pushed harder than she did, and I found it.” Yukito wiped furiously at the tears, trying to wipe away all traces of them before looking at Erin. “She's not you, Erin. She kept herself protected. You wear your heart on the outside.”

--------------

Erin Spenser

"What else?" Erin asked, resting against him, comfortable in the familiarity of his form.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

"I mean about Natalie," Erin said, gently wrapping her hand over his. Keeping it. "Anything else you're thinking about her, you know? Good things."

Yukito closed her eyes, and Erin wondered if maybe he was already ready to move onto other things… It would have surprised her… But soon he spoke up again. "I don't know... she liked to take charge of everything. Everyone around her were like pets, and she had to take care of them.” For remembering something that was supposed to be good, he didn't seem too pleased. Erin watched his eyes intently.“She bossed me around a lot, and I used to like it, because then I knew what was expected. But she got frustrated with me, and told me to back down, figure it out myself. It was as reckless of her to let me follow as it was stupid of me to do so. I wanted her to fix me. She made me think she could. But she was even more lost than I was, and she needed me even more than I could give. She needed me, but she couldn't love me, she never did. I told her a thousand times, and she never said it back. She couldn't tell me because it meant admitted she needed me more.”

It didn't look like the talking was doing any good at all. He looked like he was aching and all torn up, and it was gonna tear her up, too, and… She couldn't start crying, too, not when he was sharing himself so honestly. How could she not have loved him back, Erin wondered, unaware of the baffled look crossing her face. How could someone he cherished so much not love him back? And then had the gall to leave him with these wounds? Gently Erin brushed her lips to his cheek.

“It hurts," he said, glaring up at the new image. "Because I'm afraid she's still lost and nothing I can do about it. Even if I could have before. It hurts because I never just let go of her like I should. But I'm better, now. I pushed harder than she did, and I found it.” Yukito wiped furiously at the tears, as if Erin might not notice them. She bit her lip, pulling him closer in a hug. Found what? Half the stuff he said when he got all pensive and reflective like this didn't make sense to her… “She's not you, Erin. She kept herself protected. You wear your heart on the outside.”

Erin gave a short laugh at that, smiling as she held him close. "I'm guessing that's more of a good thing than bad then?" With a slight sigh she shifted, seeing his face clearer now. "I wish she would have loved you," Erin thought aloud suddenly, then returned to hug him tightly as she held her head against him, eyes closed almost fervently. "I love you, Yukito… I love you so, so much that I can't even say it, and even though she left you and hurt you and didn't love you back like you deserve, she let me be with you, she let you hold me like this, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, and I love you and don't want you to be sad every time you think about her, because good things came from it all, too, and it's gonna keep getting better," she rattled off, feeling her own mood elevating back up from that contagious sadness. She smiled at him. "I love you."

---------

Yukito Maki

The more he spoke, the more he wondered. Things were never simple, were they? Sorting through the memories and the images was difficult, and painful. Gently Erin brushed her lips to his cheek, making his eyes ache.

“It hurts," he said, glaring up at the new image like a petulant child whining at a perceived wrongdoing. "Because I'm afraid she's still lost and nothing I can do about it. Even if I
could have before. It hurts because I never just let go of her like I should. But I'm better, now. I pushed harder than she did, and I found it.” Yukito wiped furiously at the tears, irritated with
himself for continuing to cry in front of her. He should be the strong one. Erin clung closer to him, offering comfort in the embrace. With a final swipe at the tears, he added, “She's not
you, Erin. She kept herself protected. You wear your heart on the outside.”

Erin gave a short laugh at that, smiling as she held him close. He didn't respond, just watching her expression with a blank one of his own, his face still damp and his resolve stabilizing under her smile. "I'm guessing that's more of a good thing than bad then?" With a slight sigh she shifted, "I wish she would have loved you," Erin added, suddenly falling over to hold him again, "I love you, Yukito… I love you so, so much that I can't even say it, and even
though she left you and hurt you and didn't love you back like you deserve, she let me be with you, she let you hold me like this, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, and I love you and don't want you to be sad every time you think about her, because good things came from it all, too, and it's gonna keep getting better,"

Yukito considered her words for a moment, feeling an unspeakable relief at her words, similar to the ones he'd been playing in his own mind like a broken record, especially in the last few weeks. Though it seemed so distant and so faraway for her, graduation, their wedding day, it
felt like a rush of air to him, quickly coming up and overwhelming him. Yukito smiled, his hand reaching up to the back of her head and running through her hair. She smiled up at him, radiant and comforting, letting him know he didn't have to sit in silence within his own head. He didn't have to bury memories.

"I love you,” she said, easily but meaningfully at the same time. Words that carried no effort but much subtle force behind them. Without saying anything, Yukito leaned forward and kissed her, his hands wrapping around her and pulling her towards him, wanting to feel her weight against him. He deepened the kiss, at a loss for words.

He was just thankful. And relieved.

Teh ends!

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

The day had been spent in a frenzy, surrounded by boutiques and dresses and shoes and more dresses and more boutiques and shops and dresses and dresses and dresses. Erin and Mandi had actually narrowed it down to three dresses, but towards the end of it she'd started feeling so overwhelmed and hot all she wanted to do was lie down and bury her face in the pillows.

On the way home, when Mandi asked her about the dresses and the other things they'd looked at that day, Erin responded with a complaint or whine or curt answer. It got to the point where her mother got fed up with the whining and just quit asking.

When she walked in, she dropped the bag or brochures and small-purchase things by the door, next to where she kicked off her shoes as she shook with a surprise sneeze. "Yukito...? Tadaima..." Erin flopped down onto the couch, bare feet resting on the arm as her head sank into the cushion. "It's hot in here, Yuyukun," she drawled out, plopping a bridal magazine in front of her face, thumbing through the pages she'd marked previously. Erin drew in another breath to call out the things she'd bought that day, but instead of words a cough came out. "Ow," she pouted, letting the magazine fall on her face.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

“Is she still not home yet, Chica?” Yukito murmured to the cat, frowning as he gave the mewing creature her dinner. She purred, biting at his hand as he tried to pet her, then brushing up against his leg. Music played lowly in the background while he put away the food from the dinner he'd made – only macaroni and cheese, but made, nonetheless, and with no black coloring involved – that she hadn't come home in time to enjoy. In Japanese, he murmured to the cat, “I guess that's what we can expect when girls go shopping for dresses, eh?” Chica didn't respond, then racing across the house at a sound. She'd always been very temperamental, and Yukito usually didn't mind her, but today the house was feeling too quiet, and he hadn't gotten a text from her in awhile. He was torn between bugging her through messaging and ignoring her absence as a whole. She should have let him know she'd be late before he had called to ask, anyway. It hadn't bugged him then, but it was bugging him now.

Deciding against all of the above and just keeping himself busy until she got home, he went to his dresser and pulled out a couple of novels he'd bought a few months ago, flopping on the bed in their room and opening it up. It hadn't exactly been a secret from Erin, but he'd been keeping it to himself, not sure how to bring it up, and needing it to be a solitary thing anyways. After the amusing but unhelpful session of co-reading the marriage books her dad gave them, he'd realized that studying with Erin was much harder than reading and giving her an explanation or update later.

“Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse: Practical Self-help For Adults Who Were Sexually Abused As Children,” he read aloud, letting out a sigh as Chica poked her head into the room, irritated that he hadn't followed her and given her the desired amount of attention. He held up the book to the cat, smiling softly as he waved it, “Now, don't look at me like that. I am not a self-help book kind of guy. But I figured it was about time..” He let out a slow sigh, the cat jumping up onto the bed and starting to knead the blankets determinedly. “The wedding is coming up so fast...I don't want to get into something this big carrying all this baggage...That's not fair to her.”

At the end of the chapters were exercises and it kept talking about writing things down and doing little weird things like that. For the most part, he ignored that, and just read the information inside, soaking it in and often surprised by how close so many things came to making sense as he continued. Apparently, talking to Erin about it went against a lot of odds, and he gave a little smile, distracted from his reading by remembering that first night-out together at the pool, where he'd really opened up to her for the first time about what happened. Then, he recalled that she'd been trying to teach him how to swim, which reminded him of their trip to the beach while visiting Japan. Chica brushed up against his face, and he petted her absentmindedly. Then came the sound of the doorknob turning, sending Chica bolting into the bathroom.

"Yukito...? Tadaima..." she greeted, giving a sneeze while Yukito tumbled off the bed, yanking open his dresser drawer and dropping the book back in, closing it tight, and coming out into the living room as Erin took off her shoes. His hands in his pockets, he wandered out as she flopped down onto the couch quite dramatically, dangling over the edge of his temporary bed.

“Okaerinasai, Nikkou. Tired?”

"It's hot in here, Yuyukun," she complained, flipping through one of the many, many bridal magazines she had acquired over the last few days.

“Too much running around,” he guessed, crouching down next to her on the bed and reaching over to brush the hair away from her face gently. He frowned, then, thinking she felt quite warm. Erin gave a harsh cough, making him frown deeper.

"Ow," she pouted, letting the magazine fall on her face. Wordlessly, Yukito bent closer to her, lifting up the magazine from her face and laying a kiss on her forehead, lingering a bit when his lips made contact with the skin there and feeling she was far too warm. Erin had always been high-energy and in turn very warm-blooded, but this went beyond her normal temperature. He just knew it.

“Sunshine? You're very hot...” he paused, lips working as he considered, trying to remember if they had a thermometer. We'd better... “I'm serious. I think you have a fever. Stay here a moment.” He stood up, going into the bathroom and thus freaking Chica out of the room in her own giddy bounds. Yukito found the thermometer and heading back into the living room. It was one of those thermometers that was inserted into the ear, and had to be held for a few seconds. He always recalled them being uncomfortable and strange, but they weren't as bad as the painful oral thermometers, at least. The cat tackled his legs a couple of times along the way, but he managed to get back to Erin's side and put on a plastic disposable cap onto the tip. “Tilt your head a bit, Sunshine. Come on,” he ordered, with a tone gentle but determined. For a long moment after it beeped, he stared blankly at the thermometer, then gave a laugh. “It's in Fahrenheit...I was gonna say, that is like three times what it should be!” He pulled out his cell phone for a moment and changed the calculation. “Okay, you're about thirty-eight degrees Celsius, a hundred point three degrees Fahrenheit.” He reached over and brushed her hair again, “I think you're sick, Erin..”

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

And he wasn't even there to greet her. She plopped down onto the couch after calling out, "Yukito...? Tadaima..."

Soon enough Yukito appeared in the room. “Okaerinasai, Nikkou. Tired?”

"It's hot in here, Yuyukun," she responded, stubbornly flipping through a dog-eared magazine. She wanted to show him what she'd found and what she still wanted, but she wanted to curl up in the bed and sleep, but she wanted to talk, and it was all really just irritating...

“Too much running around,” Yukito said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I wasn't running," Erin objected frankly. "Trust me, you can't run in most of those dresses."

Yukito's hand graced her face, and his countenance changed. "Wat?" she asked before a cough came out with a force. "Ow," she pouted, letting the magazine fall on her face. Wordlessly, Yukito bent closer to her, lifting up the magazine from her face and laying a kiss on her forehead. "Heey..."

“Sunshine? You're very hot...”

"Don't act surprised," she retorted playfully, already feeling the itch of another cough. No more coughing... I can't sing if I'm coughing! Erin began willing herself not to cough, chanting a mantra in her head.

“I'm serious. I think you have a fever. Stay here a moment.”

"Yukitoooo," Erin drawled out in protest, Chica's romping in the background. "I can't have a dumb fever, I didn't even catch your flu!"

But Yukito still came back with the thermometer, and she repeated her previous complaint in one word: "Yuyukun...."

“Tilt your head a bit, Sunshine. Come on.”

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "This is ridiculous..." The statement was punctuated with another cough that she could feel too much for comfort. He always had to be right!

Yukito was, of course, undeterred. He put the tip of the thermometer into her ear as she wrinkled her nose. For a long moment after it beeped, he was quiet, before suddenly laughing. “It's in Fahrenheit...I was gonna say, that is like three times what it should be!”

"This is America!" Erin teased him playfully. "So am I dead or not?"

Yukito converted the thing on his cell phone, the thermometer out of reach of Erin and driving her nuts. Why didn't he just show it to her already? "Yukito! I have eyes!"

“Okay, you're about thirty-eight degrees Celsius, a hundred point three degrees Fahrenheit.” He reached over and brushed her hair again, even as she rolled her eyes. “I think you're sick, Erin..”

"That's stupid!" she objected hotly, bolting upright and sending more coughs out, which made her next words both grainy and plaintive. "Yukito, I didn't even get your stupid flu. Have I ever been sick since you've known me?" Staring up at him with obvious discontent, she waited for his response.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

“Sunshine? You're very hot...”

"Don't act surprised," she retorted playfully, a typical Erin response, but Yukito pressed.

“I'm serious. I think you have a fever. Stay here a moment.” He went to the bathroom, Chica trailing him as he went and attempting to trip him up as he retrieved the thermometer.

"Yukitoooo," Erin drawled out in protest,"I can't have a dumb fever, I didn't even catch your flu!" How does that make you immune to anything? he wondered, coming out into the living room again and setting up the previously-unused thermometer. As soon as she saw it in his hands, Erin moaned his name again, not liking the idea of being sick one bit. He ignored her complaints, kneeling next to the couch and gently ordering, “Tilt your head a bit, Sunshine. Come on.”

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "This is ridiculous..." But a cough escaped her, and he sent her a look, brushing back her hair and putting the thermometer in her ear. She wrinkled her nose, and he smiled a bit, about to comment when it beeped. When he pulled it out to check, though, he stared for a long moment at the thermometer. It didn't compute. He blinked stupidly for a moment, then let out a laugh. “It's in Fahrenheit...I was gonna say, that is like three times what it should be!”

"This is America!" Erin didn't seem in a mood to be amused. "So am I dead or not?" In response, he pulled out his cell phone, converting it so he would have some idea of how bad the fever was. It only took him a moment, but Erin protested, wanting to see it herself. "Yukito! I have eyes!"

“But I have to know, too,” he told her emphatically, finishing the calculating quickly, “Okay, you're about thirty-eight degrees Celsius, a hundred point three degrees Fahrenheit.” He reached over and brushed her hair again, even as she rolled her eyes. “I think you're sick, Erin..”

"That's stupid!" he jumped when she flew up into a sitting position, making herself fall into a coughing fit. Her voice became gravely from her fit, but she still protested, "Yukito, I didn't even get your stupid flu. Have I ever been sick since you've known me?"

Yukito worked his lip a little, thinking. True, she'd escaped his flu (though that was partially because he'd avoided getting any shots and had traversed halfway across the world, with all-new germs to deal with), but she had been taken to the hospital for her appendicitis and she'd given herself a concussion before. Not any real illness, to be sure, but he knew better than anyone how feeble a body could get, and how easily an injury could worsen. “No, not really. But that doesn't make you Superwoman, Erin. You've got a body that gets sick or tired sometimes...” He ran his hand through her hair, “It might be just stress or something. You never know..it could be gone really quickly, if you just take the rest of the evening off.” He kissed her forehead again, secretly enjoying the idea of being able to take care of her this time, instead of the other way around.

Reaching down with one hand to pet Chica's head as she passed by him, he asked her gently, “We could watch a movie together if you want. Have you eaten lately?” He picked up the thermometer and went to put it away, grabbing his laptop on the way out so they could pick out a movie. It only took him a few minutes to drag a chair over to set the laptop on and plug it in, then he went to the kitchen for snacks. There were poptarts and chips, of course, but he also grabbed her a bottle of water and started microwaving the macaroni and cheese from dinner tonight. He wasn't sure how it would hold up to a reheating, but it was worth a shot. He came to sit next to her, dragging over another chair to work as a makeshift coffee table, setting the bags and plates on it quietly. Then, he pulled up Netflix. It always amused him to look at their movie recommendations. Erin and he liked a variety individually, but combined, they had historical documentaries, Disney films, horror flicks, slapstick comedy...a little of most things. On the front page was the old version of Oliver, something called Veggie Tales, Gladiator, Up! and Serenity. "Anything look good to you?" he queried, opening up the Oliver and Up! on extra tabs, thinking she could use some more upbeat films at the moment.

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"So am I dead or not?" Erin asked shortly, but Yukito only responded with a quiet examination of the thermometer, and playing with his phone, and generally ticking her off. "Yukito! I have eyes!"

“But I have to know, too,” he responded without a beat. “Okay, you're about thirty-eight degrees Celsius, a hundred point three degrees Fahrenheit. I think you're sick, Erin..”

"That's stupid!" Her body protested against her comment with coughs that made her feel like an old lady, and it only served to make her feel grumpier. "Yukito, I didn't even get your stupid flu. Have I ever been sick since you've known me?"

For a moment, she'd thought she'd got him there. But of course, she couldn't change facts, and Yukito knew that... “No, not really. But that doesn't make you Superwoman, Erin. You've got a body that gets sick or tired sometimes...”

"Or maybe there was kryptonite!" Erin argued lightly, making an effort to ease his apparent worry.

He ran his hand through her hair. “It might be just stress or something. You never know..it could be gone really quickly, if you just take the rest of the evening off.”

"Off?" Erin asked. "What all does 'off' mean? Like when I had to stay in bed forever after my appendicitis? Yuyukun, that sucked! I don't wanna do that..." She dropped back down onto his temporary bed, a reminder of how terribly she missed him next to her. Maybe YOU made me sick, kareshi, with leaving me, she pouted inwardly.

He kissed her forehead again, Chica becoming selfish for some attention too. “We could watch a movie together if you want. Have you eaten lately?”

"No..." she responded petulantly, glancing at the wall and wrinkling her nose as a sneeze built up inside her.

Soon Yukito had set up a little mini-theater on the computer for them, Erin sitting up enough to lean against him in her favorite movie-watching position. She nibbled a bit at a couple of chips, but this time for once it seemed to be more enjoyed by Yukito. She didn't feel good enough to eat, anyway.

Yukito browsed through their selections, pretty eclectic if she had to say so. Erin liked to believe most of that was her doing, too. "Anything look good to you?"

"Up!," Erin decided quickly, pointing to the cover, then taking over the computer for a moment to click play. And just as quickly, she went back to her position beside Yukito, cuddled against him but shaking against him with a few more coughs. "This is so not sanitary," she declared, half kidding. "The beginning is kinda sad, though.... I bet Ellie woulda been a really awesome mom to have..." Erin reached into the bag and pulled out a perfectly massive potato chip, immediately holding it up to Yukito's mouth.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

He ran his hand through her hair, attempting to soothe her complaints. “It might be just stress or something. You never know..it could be gone really quickly, if you just take the rest of the evening off.”

"Off?" Erin asked. "What all does 'off' mean? Like when I had to stay in bed forever after my appendicitis? Yuyukun, that sucked! I don't wanna do that..." She flopped back, petulant and whiny. He just kissed her forehead again, not able to tell her any differently, but wishing he could.

“We could watch a movie together if you want. Have you eaten lately?”

"No..." she moaned, wrinkling her nose. Inwardly, Yukito was glad, hoping to earn some praise for the meal he'd made. But Erin just nibbled at a couple chips, and he stifled his disappointment as he set up the computer for them to watch a movie, crawling up onto the couch so she could lean against him, their default position during film-time."Anything look good to you?"

"Up!," Erin decided quickly, pointing to the cover, then taking over the computer for a moment to click play. When she crawled back to him she let out a few coughs that made him pull her a little closer. It was moments like this that he felt a little shock of realization, knowing his hands wouldn't tremble to hold her close, or even have her tightly up against him, warm and shifting until she was comfortable against his chest. "This is so not sanitary," she declared, half kidding. I couldn't care less, he thought with a little smile. "The beginning is kinda sad, though.... I bet Ellie woulda been a really awesome mom to have..."

He let out a little grunt of agreement, his elbow propped up on the arm of the couch and his knuckles resting against his lips, the other arm wrapping around Erin possessively. The next instant, an enormous potato chip was in front of his face, making him instinctively jerk back. “Wha-?” Erin was offering him a huge chip, and after a moment's hesitation, he opened his mouth to receive it, not able to get the entire thing in his mouth and feeling it crunch against the roof of his mouth painfully. He let out a little grunt, frowning and reaching up to catch the majority of the chip as it crumbled. "Geh....She reminds me of you a little, to be honest." He said once as soon as he safely could, brushing off the residue off his shirt and furrowing his brows at it.

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

Erin clicked play on the movie and as it loaded on the screen, she reverted to the safe place nestled against him, coughing a little. To her pleasant surprise, Yukito pulled her tighter. She smiled. "This is so not sanitary,.... The beginning is kinda sad, though.... I bet Ellie woulda been a really awesome mom to have..."

She leaned forward just enough to get the potato chips, finding a good one to give to Yukito. Offering it up to him, her eyes widened in amusement at his quick reaction, like it was a giant potato-chip-shaped fly or something. “Wha-?” She giggled, waiting for him. He tried and got, like, half of it. Crumbs sprinkled like little fried potato raindrops. "Yukito! You failed at eating a chip!" She started laughing more at that, which ended up making her cough and reach for the nearest drinkable thing. Automatically her thought turned to her voice, then to the band, and her eyes widened again, but she wasn't amused.

"Geh....She reminds me of you a little, to be honest."

"Yukito, I just realized I can't practice like--" A sharp sneeze interrupted her, her hands flying instinctively to her face. An unfortunate moment later, Erin was grateful for that instinct, but not for the lack of tissues. "Yuyukun," she said, voice muffled and nasally simultaneously, "I need a Kleenex.... or a box of 'em... I think my face is falling off."