Little Moon

Chapter Five

Later that night, after several bedtime stories told by both Kei and Tetsu, Eru was wrapped up in her favorite blanket and sound asleep on the sofa. Tetsu and Kei were in the kitchen, nibbling on a range of snacks, and Tetsu's special tea: plain tea with mint and honey.

"What would you like to do tomorrow?" he asked quietly, listing a few places that were small, kid-friendly, and relatively quiet in terms of visitors.

"Those all sound great, and I know Eru would love them..."

"But?"

"After today, I just want to stay home."

"Understandable." Tetsu's heart did a little flip when Kei said 'home.' "Are you sure?"

Kei nodded. "We have enough here to keep Eru happy, I'd like a day to just relax with you, so movies or binging whatever is fine with me. Plus, our train leaves at 7pm, and we'll need time to pack everything up..."

"I can go for that," Tetsu said thoughtfully. "What do we do about meals? I mean, you've seen the rather barren state of my fridge."

Kei smiled. "Hmmm... Maybe we could go out to the grocery store? Or, surely you have delivery services here?"

"Of course!" Tetsu scoffed playfully. "So, completely in, or a trip to the store and then home for the rest of the day?"

Kei looked thoughtful, taking a sip of his tea. "If we are awake early enough, we can do the latter. But, to be fair, no alarms."

"Well, maybe one."

"She's usually up at the crack of dawn anyway. But, Eru's the only "alarm" we'll have."

"Done." Tetsu stood up and started putting away the snacks, and offered another cup of tea. "I'm going to the little corner store and pick up some food for breakfast."

"What are you going to make for us?"

Tetsu shrugged. "I know you both love pancakes, but... I thought french toast would be a good change."

"Sounds great!" Kei took the steaming cup of tea. "Eru hasn't had that yet, but she loves bread and eggs, so I think she'll love it."

"If not, I can alway make something else."

"Only if she absolutely refuses the meal. And she does have to at least try a bite first."

"Got it. Daddy knows best."

Kei's smile was bright, and there was a light blush on his face. Tetsu was absolutely charmed, and he sat down beside Kei, leaning in to kiss him. For the first time (or maybe second or third), Tetsu thought this was something he could get used to, something that he'd always wanted, but never really thought about it. Kei was the perfect partner for him, and little Eru had won his heart within the first few times he'd been able to spend time with her. Together, it felt like he had his own little family, and he wanted to keep it that way.

~*~

Kei woke up to the delicious smell of breakfast, wafting into the bedroom. He smiled and stretched, taking his time waking up. As he pushed himself up, pushing off the blanket, he heard hushed voices, one low and raspy, the other high and chipper. He wasn't sure who woke up first, but they'd clearly come to a mutual decision to let him sleep.

"Eru try!" he heard his daughter demand rather loudly.

"Shhh," Tetsu replied, no doubt with his finger up to his lips. "Daddy's still sleeping. Remember what I told you?"

"But, Eru want to try!"

"I know, sweetie. Let me finish this up, and I'll let you try, okay?"

"Okay."