[FFML] [fanfic][Yotsuba&!] Fuuka & Playing House (part 2/?)

[Mythril Moth]

And here's some more of the fic absolutely nobody wants.

Couple of things:

1. I changed the timeframe here; Fuuka and Koiwai will be married two weeks 
after the events of Tuesday evening, as opposed to two *days*. The changes 
have already been made to the online version.

2. If you missed the first part of this, find it here:

http://www.mythrilmoth.net/phouse.html

3. Project Miso has been implemented, even though I have not officially 
launched it. The Project Miso versions of this and my other Yotsuba&! 
fanfics (EXCEPT Pretty Neighbor 2nd Visit; that's gonna be a while) can be 
found by adding _miso to the end of the filename. Fair warning: For most of 
you, it's better if you stick to the "vanilla" versions; the "miso" versions 
differ in that 15% or more of the dialogue has been rewritten in Japanese.



Standard disclaimers apply. C&C welcome, unless you're going to tell me what 
a horrible story this is and that I should not write fanfic of this series 
ever, in which case don't waste anyone's time with that.



---------------------->tuesday evening

---------------------------->koiwai-ke

Asagi was mildly surprised when Koiwai-san returned...*with* Fuuka, who had 
done a complete mood reversal from absolute wreck to Happiest Girl On Earth. 
"Okay, what did I miss that someone's gonna be sorry I was left out of?" she 
asked.

"We're getting married," Koiwai said.

Asagi raised an eyebrow. "No, seriously, what happened?"

"He just told you, Oneechan," Fuuka said, giggling. "We're getting married."

Ena gaped. "EH?! Koiwai-san, you proposed to Oneechan?"

"Actually, it was kind of the other way around," Koiwai said. "Came outta 
nowhere, too. I was totally surprised."

The two Ayase sisters who had not been present for the dramatic moment 
exchanged a questioning glance, then stared at Fuuka. "Okay, even *I* missed 
*that*," Asagi admitted.

"Yeah, I mean, how'd this..." Ena gestured at the two of them. "How'd this 
happen without anybody noticing?"

Koiwai shifted uncomfortably. "Ah, if by 'this' you mean what I think you 
mean...there never was a 'this'."

Fuuka smiled. "It's...not quite what you're thinking," she said.

"Oh? Then what *IS* it, exactly?" Asagi asked, arms folded.

"Complicated," Koiwai replied.

"Not THAT complicated," Fuuka corrected. "Taking care of Kotashi and 
Yotsuba-chan makes me happy. So that's what I'm gonna do from now on."

Asagi blinked. "*THAT'S* what all the random cleaning and being over here 
hours on end was? You get off on being a housewife?"

"Pretty much," Fuuka said, blushing. "You didn't have to put it like *that*, 
though..." she added in a pained mutter.

The eldest Ayase sister shook her head. "Whatever. I'm too tired to try to 
make sense of that right now. C'mon, Ena, let's go home." She paused. "I'm 
guessing Fuuka's spending the night here?"

"Yeah...we have a lot to talk about, and after what just went down at your 
place, it'd take a crowbar to get her off me," Koiwai said, shaking his 
head. "Anyway, you girls head home...g'nite."

"Goodnight Oneechan, Ena-chan," Fuuka said. "We'll talk tomorrow, I 
promise."

"Damn right we will," Asagi said, shaking her head. "I gotta know all the 
details of this."

"Yotsuba-chan's asleep in the TV room," Ena told them as the two sisters 
made their way to the genkan.

"Thanks, Ena-chan," Fuuka said.

Once they left, Koiwai and Fuuka stood awkwardly in the living room.

"Want some hot chocolate?" Koiwai said after a minute.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. Oh, I'll make it--"

"No no, I'll make it this time," Koiwai said. "You don't have to do *every* 
single thing, you know. You've gotta let me do my equal share. That's just 
the way it works."

Fuuka nodded. "Alright."

A short while later, they sat at the kitchen table with mugs of hot cocoa. 
Koiwai took a sip of his, then said, "There's one question I have to ask, 
before anything else. The one thing about all this that's kind of front and 
center in my mind."

"Alright."

Koiwai stirred his cocoa idly for a moment before asking: "Are you actually 
in love with me?"

Fuuka sighed, closing her eyes. "I'm not honestly sure," she admitted. "I 
wondered that myself, and I've been trying to figure out if I am or not. The 
truth is, I just don't know." She smiled weakly. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, that's fine," Koiwai replied, sipping his cocoa. "Actually, I'm 
relieved to hear you admit that. It means you *are* thinking about this 
seriously and not in some kind of weird schoolgirl heat."

Fuuka blushed. "Kotashi! That's mean."

He chuckled. "Sorry."

Fuuka blew upward at her bangs. "I might be in love with you, I don't know." 
Fuuka said. "I mean, why else would taking care of you make me so happy? 
But...more than that, the feeling I have is...you ever lose a piece of a 
jigsaw puzzle?"

Koiwai nodded. "Yeah."

"That's kind of how I feel. When I'm forcing myself to study, to try to do 
what everyone expects of me, I feel like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple 
missing pieces. Then I come over here, and you and Yotsuba-chan are the 
missing pieces and the picture's complete." She paused. "Does that make 
sense?" she asked gamely.

Koiwai smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I think it does."

"Good."

"But why didn't you just tell me that?" Koiwai asked. "I mean, why let 
things get this crazy?"

"I was...I guess I was afraid. I thought if I told everyone how I feel, 
I'd..." She shook her head. "I didn't want to risk screwing things up and 
getting shut out. As long as I could feel happy and whole, nothing else 
mattered." She sighed. "I'm kinda stupid, huh?"

"No, just young," Koiwai said. "And trying to sort out some really 
complicated feelings." He shook his head. "To be honest, I don't think 
*I'VE* had any feelings as complicated as what you're going through, and I'm 
a lot older--"

"You're 27, that's not a 'lot' older," Fuuka said.

Koiwai blinked. "You know how old I am?"

"And your birthday, blood type, exact height and weight, clothing size, food 
allergies, likes and dislikes, how much you make on average a year, and what 
brand of beer you prefer." She took a drink of her cocoa. "For starters."

Koiwai stared at her. "What...the..."

Fuuka rolled her eyes. "That's the kind of stuff a housewife needs to know, 
after all," she said. "How can I take care of you if I don't know everything 
about you?" She smiled. "I know everything about Yotsuba-chan, too. Well, 
everything you know about her. Possibly a thing or two you don't."

Koiwai gaped at her. "That's...that's amazing. And a little scary, somehow."

Fuuka shrugged. "Okay, yeah, I admit it's a little stalkery, but..."

"And how did you even find out all that stuff?" Koiwai asked.

Fuuka rolled her eyes. "I've cleaned every inch of this house top to bottom, 
done your laundry, cooked and shopped for you. Anything I needed to know 
about you, I found out." She grinned. "I *can* study. If I'm studying 
something worth studying."

Koiwai blushed. "Um...thanks." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's gonna 
take a while to get used to all this."

"We pretty much have all the time in the world," Fuuka said, finishing her 
cocoa.

"One other thing," Koiwai asked. "When...I mean, exactly when did you--"

"It wasn't all at once," Fuuka said. "I didn't really realize how much I 
absolutely need you and Yotsuba-chan until a couple months ago. But I think 
the first time I felt some kind of connection..." She idly turned her empty 
cup around in her hands. "It wasn't long after you moved here. That day it 
rained really hard, and I helped Yotsuba-chan bring in the laundry, and you 
did the Pants Man thing."

Koiwai laughed. "I remember that day."

Fuuka smiled. "Yeah. I mean, it's not like it was a big holy crap 
revelation. It's just that..." She frowned thoughtfully. "It was just like, 
'this is nice, I like this'. That's what it was at first. And then over 
time, whenever I'd do something for the two of you, I started feeling more 
connected...and then, a couple months ago, I realized I needed to be part of 
this family. That I'm only really, truly happy when I'm here doing stuff for 
you." She looked down at the table, blushing prettily.

Koiwai drained his cocoa, now long since stone cold, and sat contemplating 
everything Fuuka had said. "Well, if this has been going on inside you for 
that long..." He paused. "I mean, knowing this isn't some sudden kneejerk 
reaction to exam stress makes this whole thing a lot easier to accept."

"This isn't some silly little schoolgirl crush," Fuuka said, voice firm with 
conviction. "This is something I've thought long and hard about." She 
blushed. "I was actually going to wait until after I graduated, then kind of 
try to ease you into the idea of being with me. I just didn't realize how 
fast things were going to spin out of control."

Koiwai raised an eyebrow. "You...were planning to play chess with my heart?"

"I'm a woman," Fuuka replied with a smirk. "It's what we do."

Koiwai laughed.

Suddenly, Fuuka turned very red. "Um, and...Kotashi..."


"Yeah?"

Fuuka pushed the tips of her index fingers together. "Um...like I said, I'll 
do anything you need me to...anything you want me to." She bowed her head; 
her bangs obscured her eyes. "Everything a wife is supposed to do."

It took Koiwai a minute to realize what she was saying; he turned scarlet. 
"Um...yeah...I think that's something we can hold off on until we're all at 
the same...comfort level...with this whole situation."

Fuuka let out a relieved sigh. "Okay. I'm honestly not really ready for that 
yet. I just...wanted you to know, I'm...I'll do that, if you want."

"I'm just not even gonna think about that right now," Koiwai said with a 
shaky laugh. "In fact, I think, um...we should probably sleep in separate 
futons for a while."

Fuuka blushed. "Probably a good idea." She toyed with the spoon in her empty 
cup. "I'm sorry if I embarassed you or anything. I just...as long as we're 
airing everything out, I just wanted to bring that up too."

Koiwai sighed. "Well, I can't fault you for being thorough..."

"Um...am I, um, I mean..." Fuuka stammered. "Are you...um...okay with me, 
you know, that way?"

"Huh?" Koiwai asked. "I don't quite get what you're asking."

Fuuka ducked her head. "I mean, I know I'm not as pretty as Oneechan, 
but..."

"Oh." Koiwai smiled. "You're just right, Fuuka-chan. Don't...don't worry 
about that."

Fuuka's face flamed. "Thank you," she said quietly. "That...thank you."

"It's really late," Koiwai said. "We really should get some sleep."

"Um..." Fuuka said, "I'm...not really sleepy. I don't think I can sleep 
tonight." She bowed her head. "Sorry."

"That's okay. Honestly, I don't think I can get to sleep right now either. 
Too much to think about."

"Is it...is it okay if we just sit up and talk?"

Koiwai nodded. "Probably the best idea right now, yeah..."

-------------------->wednesday morning

----------------------------->ayase-ke

Fuuka returned shortly after her sisters woke up. It was obvious she hadn't 
slept all night, but she didn't seem particularly fatigued.

"Have fun with Koiwai-san last night?" Asagi asked as Fuuka headed for the 
stairs. "Or do I want to know?"

"We just talked," Fuuka said, shaking her head. "We...kinda had a lot to 
talk about."

"I'll say."

"I gotta get ready for school," Fuuka said as she went upstairs.

Asagi sighed. "I guess I won't get to find out what's going on until later, 
huh?"

A short while later, a refreshed and dressed Fuuka came back downstairs. She 
ducked into the kitchen and grabbed a slice of toast and some juice. "Hi, 
Mom," she greeted.

"Good morning, Fuuka-chan," Mom replied, cheek resting against one palm as 
she watched her daughter. "You seem to be in good spirits this morning."

"Me and Kotashi talked a lot last night, and by the time the sun came up and 
Yotsuba-chan woke up, we pretty much agreed this is gonna work," Fuuka 
replied, smiling. "It'll be a little weird at first, but we're gonna make it 
work."

Mom smiled. "I'm glad. I'm still a little overwhelmed by all this, and your 
father probably has some things he's going to want to clear up with you 
two..." She sighed. "But I could see how you really feel last night, and I'm 
behind you on this. Now that I really understand what's going on with you."

"Thanks, Mom," Fuuka replied, hugging her mother. "Um, can I ask a really 
big favor?"

"Of course, dear."

"Can you kinda help Kotashi pack up my stuff today?" Fuuka asked. "Um...I 
kinda asked him to come over and start moving me out while I'm at school."

Mom raised an eyebrow. "You're not wasting any time."

"Why should I? I mean, I made it pretty clear last night," Fuuka replied. "I 
belong with Kotashi now. We're not married yet, but as far as I'm concerned 
that's a formality. I'm a housewife, and a housewife lives in the house she 
takes care of." She gave her mother a pleading look. "I really need to be 
there to stay as soon as possible."

Mom chuckled. "I never said anything about stopping you," she said. "Don't 
worry, by the time you come home from school..." She sighed. "Well, your 
home will be next door." Her eyes shimmered with sudden tears.

Fuuka bent down and hugged her mother. "Don't cry," she said. "Don't be 
sad."

Mom sniffled and smiled. "I can't help it...one of my babies is all grown up 
and leaving the nest." Wiping at her eyes with a napkin, she added, "and it 
isn't the one I hoped I'd be rid of first."

"Love you too Mom," Asagi called from the kitchen door.

Fuuka shook her head. "You know? I'm kinda glad I'm getting out of here now. 
You and Oneechan are enough to drive anyone crazy."

Mom laughed. "Have a good day at school, dear."

---------------------------->koiwai-ke

"Yotsuba, I need you to listen carefully, because I'm going to tell you 
something important."

"Okay Daddy," the green-haired girl said intently, sitting cross-legged in 
front of her father.

"The next few weeks are gonna be a little weird," Koiwai said. "I may be 
coming and going a lot more than usual, and right around the start of summer 
break you may have to stay next door during the day, because I've gotta go 
all the way to the city. But Ena'll be off school, so she'll be able to play 
with you."

Yotsuba brightened. "If Ena's out of school, then Fuuka is too, and we can 
all play!"

Koiwai smiled. "Actually, Fuuka's gonna be going to the city with me," he 
said.

Yotsuba blinked. "You're takin' Fuuka to the city but not me?" Her lip 
started to quiver.

"I'm sorry, Yotsuba, but..." Koiwai sighed. "See, me and Fuuka have 
something really important to do. Something grown-up. We're gonna be pretty 
busy and you'd be totally bored. That's why you're gonna have to stay here 
and play with Ena."

"Awww," Yotsuba pouted. "Okay." She tilted her head. "So what are you an' 
Fuuka gonna do?" she asked.

Koiwai sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That's the big thing I 
wanted to talk to you about," he began. "Yotsuba, there's gonna be some 
changes around here. It might confuse you a little for a while."

"Changes?" Yotsuba asked.

"You see, Fuuka's gonna come live with us from now on."

The little girl's eyes widened. "Really? She gets to stay an' don't gotta go 
home?"

"From now on, this IS Fuuka's home," Koiwai explained.

"AWESOME!" Yotsuba cheered. "But how come?"

Koiwai smiled. "Fuuka's gonna be your new mommy."

"EH?!" Yotsuba gasped, eyes huge. "Fuuka's gonna be Mommy?"

"That's right," Koiwai said. "And she's gonna take care of us from now on."

Yotsuba thought about that for a minute. "Daddy, are you marryin' Fuuka?"

"That's right, Yotsuba. I'm marrying Fuuka."

"Whoa," the little girl breathed, impressed.

"Anyway, today me and Fuuka's mom are gonna move her stuff over here, 
because Fuuka's really anxious to start living with us as soon as possible, 
and then in a couple of weeks we're gonna go to the city and do all the 
stuff we need to do so we can get married. And then you'll have a mommy."

"I get my own mommy...my very own mommy..." Yotsuba said, voice thick with 
wonder.

Koiwai smiled and ruffled her hair. "Yep." He stood and stretched. "Well, 
better get to it then..."

----------------------------->ayase-ke

"How can one teenage girl possibly have so much CRAP?!" Koiwai wondered, 
staring at the pile of boxes, bags, and miscellaneous stuff that had been 
cleaned out of Fuuka's bedroom.

"This? This isn't even that bad," Mrs. Ayase said. "Fuuka-chan's actually 
pretty good about not being a packrat."

"Then explain THAT," Koiwai replied, pointing to two alarmingly huge boxes 
which had been labelled "Weird T-Shirts". "Come to think of it, has she ever 
even worn one of those more than once? Because I don't remember ever seeing 
her wear the same one twice."

Mrs. Ayase shrugged. "What can I tell you? Fuuka-chan collects T-shirts."

Koiwai shook his head in disbelief, and bent to pick up a box. "I'd better 
get one hell of a backrub when she gets home today, that's all I'm sayin'."

Mrs. Ayase laughed.

----------------------->wednesday noon

----------------------->fuuka's school

---------------------------->class 3-2

"You seem to be in good spirits today, Fuuka," Shimau commented as she sat 
on Fuuka's desk, swinging her legs idly as she nibbled at her lunch.

"Mm," Fuuka nodded.

"Did something good happen?" Shimau asked.

"Mm-hmm," Fuuka replied with a silly smile as she picked around in her own 
bento.

"Perhaps...a boyfriend?" Shimau pressed.

"Something like that," Fuuka said, smothering a giggle.

"Then it is as Hiro-kun and the President suspected," Shimau said, nodding. 
"Not that I approve of their gossip or anything! It's just--"

Fuuka blinked. "Hiro-kun and the President were gossiping about me?"

Shimau bowed her head. "Yesterday afternoon, when they were teasing you," 
she said.

Fuuka blushed. "Oh."

"It's just...those notes of yours that Hiro-kun got hold of," Shimau 
explained, "he said that the name 'Kotashi' was repeatedly and prominently 
written, along with a great deal of information about such a person..."

Fuuka looked down at her lunch. "Oh," she said in a small voice.

"I must admit to being curious myself," Shimau said. "I don't recall knowing 
of a person by that name."

"You know him, you've just never heard his given name before," Fuuka 
replied. Looking around, she motioned Shimau to lean closer. "It's 
Yotsuba-chan's dad," she whispered.

"EH?!" Shimau cried, staring at Fuuka in shock. "You and Koiwai-san--"

"SHHHH!" Fuuka hissed. "I don't want people to know yet!"

"Sorry, sorry!" The two girls looked around to see if anyone was 
eavesdropping; fortunately, they were fairly isolated, and the chatter of 
other conversations in clusters of students around the room muffled Shimau's 
outburst.

"Whew," Fuuka sighed.

Shimau blinked down at her. "But...you're seriously...together with that 
person?"

"Yeah," Fuuka nodded. "Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but 
that we're together is the gist of it."

"How on Earth did that happen?" Shimau asked. "I mean, I have nothing 
against Koiwai-san, far from it, I just..."

Fuuka smiled. "It's okay, Shimau, settle down." She shook her head. "Like I 
said, it's complicated, and I don't want to explain it right here and now."

"Alright," Shimau replied. "If you ever do want to talk about it, feel free 
to call me." She tilted her head. "Or we can meet to discuss it after 
school. Unless you have plans..."

"Yeah, I kinda do," Fuuka said. "We're gonna be super busy over the next 
couple days."

"Busy?" Shimau blinked.

Fuuka glanced around the room again, then pulled Shimau close and whispered, 
"Don't yell, don't freak out, don't react at all, but we're getting 
married."

The round-faced girl stared at her, eyes wide, mute with shock. "I...see. 
I...congratulations."

"Thanks. Anyway, for the next couple days I'm gonna be busy with moving out 
of my parents' house and moving in with Kotashi."

Shimau blinked. "Already? Just when are you two getting married?"

"First week of summer break, but we won't have the ceremony until after 
graduation."

"I see..." Shimau frowned. "This certainly is a lot to take in. I wish you'd 
let me in on all this sooner..."

Fuuka sighed. "I'll tell you everything as soon as I have a chance, Shimau." 
She smiled. "And I haven't been keeping anything from you. This just kinda 
happened really, really fast..."

------------------>wednesday afternoon

----------------------------->ayase-ke

Mrs. Ayase peered out the door and saw Jumbo standing at the gate, carrying 
a huge bouquet of assorted flowers, at least half of which were roses. "Oh?" 
she asked. "And who are those lovely flowers for?"

Asagi suddenly leaned outside from behind her and waved at Jumbo. "You'll 
want to take those next door!" she called. "They're for Fuuka-chan!"

Jumbo blinked. "Eh?"

"Koiwai-san didn't tell you yet?" Asagi asked, a mischevious tone in her 
voice.

Mrs. Ayase facepalmed. "You didn't."

"Who? Me?" Asagi asked innocently, covering a giggle with her fingertips.

Mrs. Ayase rolled her eyes. "Yeah, those go next door. I'm pretty sure this 
demon child ordered them, but they'll be from Koiwai-san to Fuuka-chan."

"They're for Fuuka...from Koiwai?" Jumbo asked, blinking.

"He'll explain everything," Asagi said.

------------------>wednesday afternoon

---------------------------->koiwai-ke

"Oh good grief," Koiwai groaned. Shaking his head, he dug his wallet out of 
his pocket. "How much do I owe you, Jumbo?"

Jumbo frowned from where he was arranging the bouquet on the living room 
table. "An explanation," he said. "And I'll decide what else you owe me 
after that."

"Daddy's marryin' Fuuka an' she's gonna be my new mommy!" Yotsuba said from 
where she lay on her stomach on the floor, drawing.

Jumbo turned to slowly stare at Koiwai.

Koiwai sighed. "Yyyeah...turns out all that housework and Fuuka-chan being 
so eager to do stuff? Is because she wanted to be part of this family. My 
wife, Yotsuba-chan's mother."

Jumbo blinked. "She...this was her idea?"

"Yeah," Koiwai said. "It was a total surprise, and at first I was kinda 
freaked out by it, but...we talked a long time last night." He smiled. "I 
think it's gonna work out just fine."

Jumbo shook his head in bewilderment. "And her parents are okay with this?"

"Her dad's taking us up to the city first week of break to do the 
paperwork," Koiwai said.


"That soon?!" Jumbo bellowed.

Koiwai shrugged. "What can I say? Fuuka really went all out convincing us to 
let her do this."

"I see..."

Koiwai stood and slapped the large man playfully on the shoulder. "Hey, look 
at it this way," he said. "You're gonna make a killing off us when we do the 
ceremony after graduation."

"No I'm not," Jumbo said, stone-faced.

Koiwai's face fell. "Eh? You're not?"

Jumbo shook his head. "You really think I'd charge full price for my best 
friend's wedding?" He grinned. "Wholesale plus ten yen."


Koiwai sighed with relief and returned the big man's grin. "You had me goin' 
there for a minute," he said.

"But it'll be 7800 yen for these," Jumbo said. He snickered at Koiwai's 
exaggerated moan of pain.

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

Fuuka came home to find all her belongings boxed and bagged up and stacked 
all over the house, mostly in the bedroom. She also found a large, beautiful 
bouquet of flowers on the living room table.

"Welcome home, Mommy!" Yotsuba called, running up to her and hugging her.

"Hello, Yotsuba-chan," she said, smiling. "So your Daddy told you?"

"Uh-huh!" Yotsuba beamed up at her. "You're gonna be the bestest Mommy 
ever!"

Fuuka knelt down and embraced the little girl. "I'll do my best," she said.

"Yo," Koiwai called from the stairs.

"Hey," Fuuka greeted. "For me?" she asked, indicating the flowers.

"Of course," Koiwai replied.

Fuuka smiled. "Thanks." She knelt by the table to have a better look at the 
flowers and to smell them, then stood and walked over to Koiwai, kissing him 
on the cheek. "So, I guess...it's time to unpack all my stuff and get 
settled in, then?"

"Yeah," Koiwai replied. "I'd have already unpacked it, but..." He turned 
pink. "I had a mental image of Yotsuba running around the house waving a bra 
around, and I decided it could wait until you got home."

Fuuka laughed.

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

Yotsuba had gone out to jump rope with Ena and Miura while Koiwai and Fuuka 
unpacked.

Koiwai stared in disgust at the purple T-shirt Fuuka had just pulled out of 
the box. "Uh," he said in a flat tone.

"What?" Fuuka asked. "Is the color bad?" She held it up against her body. 
"Or the size?"

"It's...not that..." Koiwai said. "It's...the printing..."

Across the chest of the royal purple shirt, printed in big block yellow 
letters, were the words "FUCK BABY" in English.

Fuuka blinked. "Eh? What? Is there something wrong with it?" She examined 
it, brow furrowed. "I bought it because that first word is so close to my 
name in romaji..."

Koiwai coughed, and explained to her exactly what that word meant.


Fuuka dropped the shirt in horror, face blue and eye twitching. "Burn that," 
she said disgustedly.

Koiwai sighed. "I'd better check all the shirts you have with English on 
them, just to be sure there's nothing else like that."

"Um...yeah, good idea," Fuuka agreed in a small voice.

In all, Koiwai found fourteen shirts with slogans on them that were wildly 
and hilariously inappropriate. By far the most baffling was one with the 
legend, "I Trusted The Government, Now My Dick Glows In The Dark".

Fuuka had made a very strange noise when he translated that one. "Who comes 
UP with this crap?" she asked.

Koiwai shrugged. "I have no idea."

"I'm never buying a shirt with English on it ever again," Fuuka said, 
nauseated.

"Eh, some of these are okay. A couple of them are even cute. Just...check 
with me first from now on, okay?"

"Okay."

-------------------->wednesday evening

---------------------------->koiwai-ke

Getting Fuuka's stuff unpacked had wiped them both out; Koiwai suggested 
ordering pizza for dinner since they both needed to be in bed early, and 
Fuuka had heartily agreed.

"Ne, Mommy, can you cook this too?" Yotsuba asked as they ate.

Fuuka laughed. "I don't know, I've never tried. I doubt I can make it this 
good, though."

"Besides, if Mommy's cooking, you'd rather have her make okonomiyaki, 
right?" Koiwai said.

"Yeah! Or pancakes and lots of syrup!" Yotsuba said as she got tomato sauce 
all over her face.

Fuuka giggled. "I think I can manage that."

"Now, Yotsuba," Koiwai said, "there's something important you have to 
understand about Fuuka becoming your mommy."

"Hmm? Something important?"

Koiwai nodded. "Yeah. From now on, you have to do what she tells you just 
like you have to do what I tell you. Because if you don't, she might get 
mad, and she can punish you."

Yotsuba's eyes widened. "Mommy, you'd punish me?"

"If you're a bad girl, I might have to," Fuuka said sadly. "But you're a 
good girl, right?"

"Uh-huh!" Yotsuba replied.

Fuuka smiled. "Then you shouldn't have to worry about it."

"Also, Fuuka's still going to school until she graduates," Koiwai explained. 
"So for a little while, she'll be gone most of the day."

"But as soon as I come home I'll make lots of time for you, Yotsuba-chan," 
Fuuka promised. "As soon as I tidy up and make dinner every day."

"Okay!" Yotsuba replied. "How long are you still gonna go to school, Mommy?"

"Well," Fuuka replied after a bite of pizza, "Summer break starts week after 
next, so I'll be off for a month and I'll be home all the time then...well, 
except for however long it takes to get the formalities out of the way..."

"Fomaddities?" Yotsuba asked.

"Formalities," Koiwai corrected. "She means when we go up to the city to get 
married."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and after that, like I said, I'll have a whole month to just be your 
mommy," Fuuka said with a smile. "But then I'll have to go back to school at 
the end of August, and I'll graduate in March. So it'll be a while yet...I'm 
sorry."

"But after she graduates, she's your mommy all day every day from now on," 
Koiwai said, smiling.

"So you can put up with me having to go to school for a little while longer, 
ne Yotsuba-chan?"

"If I gotta," Yotsuba pouted. Then she tilted her head. "But you're gonna 
sleep with me an' Daddy from now on, right?"

"That's right," Fuuka said. "I'll always be here when you wake up in the 
morning and when you go to bed at night. I'll be the one to make your 
breakfast, and I'll be the one to make your dinner, too."

"Most of the time, anyway," Koiwai said. "After all, I still need to do my 
fair share of the work."

"So Daddy's still gonna make dinner sometimes?" Yotsuba asked.

"Yeah, I'll still make dinner sometimes."

"Good, because Daddy's curry is the best!" Yotsuba said. "And the sausage 
bowls, too!"

"Sausage bowls?" Fuuka asked.

"I'll make it tomorrow," Koiwai replied.

"Finish up your dinner, Yotsuba-chan," Fuuka said. "I still gotta give you a 
bath before bed."

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

The futons were spread out adjacent to each other; Fuuka yawned hugely as 
she shuffled into the bedroom, dressed in her pajamas, carrying a 
similarly-attired Yotsuba.

"We're all gonna sleep together?" Yotsuba asked.

"We are," Fuuka replied around a yawn. "But for right now, Mommy and Daddy 
are sleeping in separate futons, so you'll have to decide which one of us 
you want to sleep with."

"Mommy!" Yotsuba declared. "I'm gonna sleep with Mommy tonight!"

Fuuka smiled. "Okay, sweetie, you can sleep with me tonight." She hugged the 
little girl tightly, then set about bedding down for the night.

When Koiwai came to bed, Fuuka and Yotsuba were already sound asleep. He 
smiled at them, then laid down on his own futon.

*This may really work out just fine after all...*




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Mythril Moth
www.mythrilmoth.net