Forever With You

“Yacchan, would you mind watching the boys a little while longer?” Prince Tsuki asked her as he walked into the nursery. This time, he was holding a sleepy Haru, while Prince Kuroo followed him in with Yuki, already sound asleep.
“I don’t mind at all,” she said as she hastily rose from her rocking chair to curtsy. “If you can wait a little bit, I’ll just put Aiko in her cradle and then get their bed ready…”
“That’s okay, we’ll do it,” Prince Kuroo told her quietly. “You sit back down. I know you’ve been after the boys all day, plus keeping up with her, so you need to rest, too.”
“They’re sweethearts,” she defended her charges with a smile. “Chaotic sweethearts, but still.”
“Chaotic sweethearts,” Prince Kuroo snorted. “Good one! Nailed them perfectly.”
“You’re wonderful, Yacchan,” Prince Tsuki said with a relieved smile. “Thank you!”

They went into the bedroom set aside for the boys for when their parents had to deal with matters longer than usual, or just wanted to spend a night together without worrying about their boys wandering in at the wrong moment. Hitoka giggled softly at that thought, as she carefully moved Aiko’s rocker cradle in place in front of the rocking chair. With great care, she nestled her daughter on her back inside, and made sure she was comfortable. Then, she settled back into her chair, put one foot on the side of the cradle, and slowly rocked them both. She rested her head back, her elbows on the arms, folding her hands on her stomach while she waited for her company to settle their children in bed.

“We’ll be back in the morning,” Prince Tsuki half whispered when they came back out. “Thanks again for helping out on such short notice.”
“It’s fine. That’s why I’m here. It’s the job you gave me.”
“But we hope you’re taking some free time for yourself, too,” Prince Kuroo said as he crouched down to peer at Aiko. “Such a little angel,” he murmured. “If she weren’t already asleep, I’d ask if I could hold her.”
Hitoka smiled at him. “You two dote on her like she was your own.”
“Just like you dote on our two little menaces,” Prince Tsuki said. Hitoka smiled at him. “Yacchan, a friend of ours will be here shortly. He’ll be docked for the next couple days to explore the islands.”
“Okay. Do you want me to keep the boys while he’s here?”
“Not anymore than usual.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll also be heading back to Nekoma. We’ll be leaving tomorrow evening.”
She took a deep breath, and then exhaled. “I’ll be ready.”
“Thank you, Yacchan.”
“No wonder Aiko’s an angel,” Prince Kuroo said as he rose to his feet. “She gets it from her mother.”
“Please,” Hitoka said, blushing furiously.
“I mean it,” he said as he took Prince Tsuki’s hand in his and started for the door. “See you in the morning, Yacchan.”
“See you. Have fun with your friend.”

Once they were gone, she pried her fingers apart and took a deeper breath to calm herself. Though, why she was even anxious about a visitor, and one they considered a friend, was beyond her. It usually didn’t matter, since she would always have the boys while visitors were here in the first place. Breathing deeply, she counted backwards slowly from ten, and closed her eyes. It almost worked.

Aiko started fussing in her sleep, and Hitoka bent to lift her out of the cradle. Her daughter snuggled into her chest, grabbing a tiny fistful of fabric, and nuzzled her little face into her neck. Hitoka nearly cried again; she loved her daughter so much. She swayed, hoping to calm her daughter back down into slumber, but little whimpers escaped, so she started walking around the room, gently jostling her baby. When that didn’t seem to work, she opened the door and went out into the little garden, walking slowly, and humming her favorite lullaby, over and over again.

The cool night breeze coming in off the ocean helped quite a bit. Hitoka made a mental note to crack open the windows a touch. She hadn’t realized how stuffy it was inside. As she walked, she looked up at the myriad of stars, a full moon, and the light reflecting off the water. She almost wished she didn’t have to go to Nekoma, that she could stay behind with the children. But she knew it wouldn’t happen. Prince Kuroo and Tsuki loved their boys too much to be that far apart from them, even if they left them with her. She would never leave Aiko like that, either. So, she’d go to Nekoma; she’d do it for her kids.

~*~

Eita and Taichi walked up the wide main path from the harbor to the main residence, his guitar case slung over his shoulder. They’d successfully left Kenjiro behind, as well as his two guards, Wakatoshi and Reon. The latter two were more difficult to convince to stay behind, but Eita assured them he didn’t intend to be gone too long, just until after seeing Kuroo, Tsukishima, and the kids. He’d be back as soon as it was over, promise. Cross his heart, hope to die.

Well, maybe not that last part. The idiom didn’t go over too well with his terribly stoic guards. Still, they stayed on the yacht, so that was a plus.

The moon was full tonight, so there wasn’t much need for the torches that lit the way, but judging on the two phone calls from earlier, it seemed they started rolling out the red carpet before being told to stop and tuck it back in. Eita grinned mischievously at Taichi as they walked. It had been a while since he’d last seen his friends, and each time, they were at Nekoma instead of here. He was excited to start exploring.

At the meeting house, halfway toward his goal, he saw two familiar faces and smiled. Sugawara and Nishinoya were part of Kei’s retinue, and his best friends. He looked around briefly, and shook their hands with a bow as soon as he met them.

“Where’s Tadashi?” he asked without preamble. “He’s usually here with you lot.”
“Nah, he came down with a cold while we were in Nekoma, and the doctors kept him there,” Noya explained.
“I hope he’s alright?”
“Oh, he’s fine… now,” Suga replied, gesturing for them to follow. They turned down a side path, one that diverted around to the back of the residence.
“Why are we going this way?”
“Figured you wouldn’t want to be noticed by anyone else,” Noya explained.
“Uh, Noya? It’s dark, and we came in late. Who’s out here to see us?”
“You’d be surprised. Anyhow, this way, you’ll get to enter the house unnoticed, and we get to sneak around like spies.”
“Okay, now I know where the boys get it from,” Taichi said ironically.
“Not from me!” Both Noya and Suga protested, feigning innocence.
“No, no,” Taichi kept up the banter. “You have to be related somehow. They wouldn’t both act like chaotic little gremlins, otherwise.”
“Uhhh… have you met their parents?”

Eita laughed as they walked along, but instead of keeping up with the conversation, he was looking around. Obviously, there wasn’t too much to see in the dark, but the moon lit up a fair amount of stuff he could see; the island at night was a feast for the senses, and he was here for it! Like, he could see the silvery light reflecting off the ocean, choppy with the incoming tide. The hedgerows on his left, that bordered the residence, were dark green with summer foliage. He could hear the palms sway with the incoming breeze. He felt the cool breeze, and shivered just a little from the chill. He could smell the soft fragrance of night blossoms, tantalizing and sweet.

Well. If he didn’t know his own heart better, he’d say he just fell in love with the Crow Islands. He was already making plans to come back, and for longer than two days.

The bantering continued from his friends, and soon they pulled ahead, walking faster as they joked and tossed insults at each other. Eita kept his pace regular, even slowing it down a bit to enjoy more. With his hands behind his back, he strolled along the path, looking, listening, letting his senses soak in all they could. So, it was only after they rounded a slight bend that he heard something else. A soft, lilting, mezzo soprano voice. He slowed his walk even more until he stopped completely.

It was a lullaby. An old one, but he knew it well. In fact, his mother sang it to him every night before he went to sleep. He even sang it for Kuroo’s children a few times, though probably not nearly as sweet as this. This singer’s (well, she was humming, really) range was slightly lower than his mother’s. Hearing it now brought back memories so clearly that he could hear both voices, in clear melodic counterpoint with each other. Following the sound, he finally saw who he assumed was the singer.

She was tiny; couldn't be more than five-feet tall, if that. Her blonde hair looked almost silver in the moonlight. It was held back by a single plait, with little wisps escaping the style. And she was swaying gently with the lullaby. Her back was to him, but he could tell she was holding something. When she spun in a slow circle, he had his answer. In her arms was a baby. A sleepy little girl with the same hair color as the lady, presumably her mother.

Her eyes were closed, so she didn’t see him. But as she swayed, her hand slowly rubbed the child’s back. Then, she stopped humming, she opened her eyes and peered down at her baby, smiling when she found her asleep.

She was an angel. They were both angels.

“There you are!” he heard Taichi say, and his friends sauntered back to him. “We thought you might’ve fallen off the path.”
Eita blinked and then looked at them, shrugging sheepishly. “Sorry.”
“Why’d you stop, man?” Noya said. “Come on! They’re waiting for ya!”
“Okay, thanks,” he replied.

Eita glanced back at where she was last standing, but now she was gone. He began to think he might’ve just imagined the whole thing. He’d have to ask Tetsu or Kei about it later.